Ch.215Chapter 215. The Lunarien Army Reappears (1)

* * *

After the series of commotions had settled down.

Luna was gradually accepting the still unbelievable truth.

“So all of you are……”

“I apologize for deceiving you, Lady Luna.”

Francis knelt down and offered a respectful apology.

Charlotte and Violet, who were beside him, also knelt down in unison.

“My name is Francis von Einhart.”

“Charlotte von Einhart.”

“…Violet von Einhart.”

Cain Nerkis—no, Kyle von Einhart had desperately hidden these three individuals with enormous legitimacy, and now they were kneeling before Luna.

The heirs of a family who were mere outsiders even among the Einhart branch family, with nothing but royal blood flowing through their veins.

Perhaps that was precisely why they had been able to preserve their lives until now.

Cain had desperately hidden them during the chaos and risked his life to head south.

“Duke Luna.”

“Cain… no, Lord Kyle. That’s……”

“Please call me whatever you feel comfortable with, Duke Luna. Whether Cain or Kyle, my heart’s decision to follow you remains unchanged.”

Seeing Luna’s complicated expression, Kyle nodded as if he understood.

“I know you harbor ill feelings toward the imperial family. However—”

“I know. I don’t blame you, Lord Kyle. Rather, I’m grateful.”

Luna stood up and bowed her head to him.

“Without you, I don’t think I could have properly persuaded people. And I know that having someone from the Einhart family supporting me will provide legitimacy to many people in our future activities. …And.”

And then, with a bright smile—

“You’ve always been by my side helping me. So, my feelings toward the imperial family… are secondary.”

“My lord……”

“The bad one is Serpina, that person… so it’s okay.”

“……”

The bad one is Serpina.

Upon hearing those words, Kyle hesitated for a moment—

But soon bowed his head deeply and replied.

“My lord. Please unify the continent. Remove the Einhart Empire that has already fulfilled its purpose… and create a new nation. I, Kyle, will devote the rest of my life to serving you.”

As Kyle finished speaking, the three before him also conveyed their opinions.

“The same goes for us, Lady Luna.”

“We haven’t forgotten the kindness you’ve shown us.”

“If I can be of help to Lady Luna… it would be an honor.”

“Everyone……”

The support of Einhart imperial survivors, albeit from a branch family, gave her a legitimacy that Serpina would envy.

The righteousness that came from never having been the first to point a sword, despite being called a traitor.

Just as Swen had said they would eventually win, it felt like everything was suddenly falling into place as soon as she seized the opportunity, but—

‘Not yet.’

This was merely the first step.

There was still a mountain of challenges ahead.

Nevertheless, it had to be done.

Because he would come looking for her.

To greet him with dignity when he arrived, she needed to establish a proper nation as soon as possible.

The situation was also much better than when she had been stranded at Zeilant Castle.

‘Lord Swen. We’ve raised our flag again. I’ll wait for you forever. You must come back…!’

Luna’s clock, which had stopped at Zeilant Castle, began to tick again after a long time.

* * *

The uprising of Lunarian, the lord of Tepello who had been under Karelia.

The news that she had turned her sword against her own lord spread with surprising speed.

At the royal castle of Madeleine.

The face of Makana Karelia, the absolute ruler of Karelia, was etched with shock and great distress.

“Is… is that true?”

“It is with great regret that I must report this…”

Lunarian’s uprising.

That meant—Lunarian had betrayed her.

“How could this be… Then, the generals who went there…?”

“General Gail and three other generals appear to have been imprisoned, and the rest… most of the officers stationed at Tepello Castle… seem to have defected to her side.”

Thud.

All Karelia could do upon hearing the news… was simply collapse into her seat.

She had merely trusted.

She had simply wanted to believe in people—what else could she have done?

Naturally, she hadn’t even thought of a Plan B.

Karelia had considered Lunarian to be someone similar to herself. Even Vanessa’s main reason for being wary of Lunarian was because she was too similar to her lord, Karelia herself.

She had repeatedly warned that if Lunarian ever showed superior qualities as a lord, or further, as a ruler… the existence of Lunarian would grow far larger than Karelia.

Despite this, Karelia had trusted Luna.

She was convinced that with all the trust she had given, and since they were similar in nature, Luna would never betray her.

Truly, until this moment, she had never sincerely entertained the thought of ‘Lunarian betraying her.’

A naivety too fragile for a ruler, almost like that of a maiden.

The “only weakness” of her lord that Vanessa had been so concerned about—

Had decisively caught her ankle at the critical moment and brought her down.

‘Then… what should I do now?’

“M-my lord…?”

Only then did Karelia realize that the person who had delivered the news was staring blankly at her, and she issued orders with a trembling voice.

“For now… please gather… as many troops as possible.”

“Y-yes!”

Fortunately, the soldier quickly grasped the situation and rushed outside.

And almost simultaneously, a familiar woman’s voice pierced Karelia’s ears.

“My lord!”

Vanessa was running toward her from a distance.

Her expression made it clear. She must have heard the news too.

“Va…nessa.”

Seeing her lord looking at her with empty eyes, Vanessa’s expression momentarily crumpled with sadness—

But she quickly swallowed that sorrow, sighed briefly, and said:

“What’s done is done. It cannot be undone. I have no intention of wasting time saying ‘I told you so.’ Now is the time to implement what we can and must do.”

“H-how could this… Lady Luna, betrayed…”

‘……’

Lunarian’s betrayal.

Vanessa immediately grasped that Metz had not succeeded in instigating her.

Metz had… been won over. By her.

Judging by how no information had leaked while all the troops were taken, this seemed certain.

‘I was foolish.’

Lunarian was similar to Karelia.

Naturally, if she followed Karelia, Lunarian would follow without resistance. Their character and ambitions were of the same nature.

And the main reason Vanessa had been wary of her was… because even in her own eyes, Lunarian was more suitable as a ruler than Karelia.

Despite knowing this, thinking that a spy would unconditionally remain loyal to their side was, in retrospect, a painful mistake.

‘The question is how much Lunarian has figured out… but it doesn’t matter. The fact remains that Lunarian betrayed us. Rather than continuing to keep her with us if she hadn’t betrayed us, eliminating her now is actually beneficial for our army.

Losing the troops was painful, but it was just one territory after all.

We still had the advantage in every aspect, so all that remained was to help Karelia compose herself and assist her in commanding…’

That’s what she was thinking when.

“My lord…?”

Vanessa easily noticed from Karelia’s expression that there was something she couldn’t bring herself to say.

At the same time, a sense of anxiety began to heavily press down on Vanessa’s shoulders.

“Is there something else?”

“W-well.”

Karelia opened her mouth with a trembling voice.

“The military provisions and funds…”

“…Pardon?”

“Lady Luna said she lacked sufficient war supplies for her troops… and that she planned to attack three territories simultaneously… so…”

Vanessa’s complexion turned pale as she heard her lord’s trembling voice.

“Don’t tell me… you handed over all available resources except the bare minimum?”

——Nod.

‘…This can’t be.’

It was the worst situation, but Vanessa couldn’t carelessly say anything.

Transporting resources was naturally within the ruler’s authority. Rather, reporting every such action to her, the strategist, would not have been appropriate even in her own view as the absolute second-in-command under the ruler.

Although she had now been given military authority, it was only to handle the dirty work before the war to preserve Karelia’s image of gentle charisma, which was her strength. She had never intended to overstep her authority here.

So she couldn’t criticize it now.

But the thoroughness with which all resources had been drawn away suggested that betrayal had been planned from the beginning.

Lunarian Ineanne.

Behind that innocent face, had she been sharpening her knife all along?

‘…Is this really her true nature?’

Vanessa, if anything, had anticipated this situation yet simultaneously couldn’t fully accept it.

She had been wary of Lunarian. She had monitored and observed her actions and movements continuously since Lunarian had consistently shown exceptionally efficient results among the castle lords at Tepello.

As Karelia said, she was a woman very similar to Karelia. Straightforward, honest, and valuing loyalty.

Vanessa had certainly noticed and been cautious of her overwhelming military prowess and sociability that made everyone think favorably of her.

That’s why she knew.

This kind of scheme—draining all efficiency and perfectly backstabbing—seemed too devious for the Luna she had observed.

Neither Tifa nor Cain, whom she had brought along, seemed like people who would devise such cowardly plans.

The officers reported to have participated in the betrayal were… at best diligent people, not particularly outstanding.

Could a woman capable of devising such a plan have hidden her true nature all this time?

If so, she herself would have noticed. Vanessa knew she had quite a devious personality. Because of that, she was uncannily good at identifying people of her own kind.

This was almost as if… yes.

‘Is there… someone else by her side?’

Someone I don’t know.

The shadow of an extremely cunning strategist type who excels at devising such plans and thinks only of efficiency—

The thought that such a person was ensnaring her made Vanessa’s body shiver momentarily.