Ch.218Chapter 218. Whether It Will Reach, Whether It Won’t

Even as I waited endlessly for Swen, time continued to flow relentlessly.

How many days had I spent waiting with an aching heart?

“Still… no news today?”

“That’s correct.”

‘Why hasn’t he come…?’

Quite some time had passed.

Surely news of our uprising must have reached the continent by now.

Yet despite this, there was no word from anywhere that the man… Swen… had arrived.

As far as Luna knew, Swen was likely serving under the Aeshus Army next to the Brans Army, or if those strange rumors were true, possibly under Serpina’s forces.

Regardless of where he was, enough time had passed that he could have arrived if he’d ridden at full speed…

After all, hadn’t he staged his uprising with the protection of Cain—no, Kalle von Einhart—more spectacularly than anyone else?

What should be done first after staging an uprising?

Engage in battle? Bide time and wait for the right moment? Or perhaps engage in diplomatic efforts?

For each of these options, Swen’s advice was needed more than anything else. Fortunately, we had time to wait.

So, Lord Swen needed to arrive quickly.

He had definitely promised to return.

In Luna’s mind, it made no sense that Swen would know about this situation and not come, which naturally led her thoughts to—

‘Could he be in a situation where he can’t receive news?’

If some personal matter had arisen, preventing him from hearing about the uprising…

Or worse, what if something had happened to him?

Surely not.

‘Did I… act too late?’

An unthinkable scenario flashed through her mind.

‘…No. I must believe and wait. Lord Swen will definitely come. He will… definitely come.’

Luna steeled her resolve once more.

Firmly believing that Swen would arrive.

In front of Luna, who couldn’t hide her disappointment, the soldier could only fidget uncomfortably without saying a word.

Realizing his concern, Luna offered a light apology.

“I’m sorry. Please don’t worry too much, Violet.”

“Not at all, my lord. I apologize for not bringing good news. If anyone comes seeking appointment, I will report it immediately.”

“Thank you.”

While waiting for Swen was extremely important, she couldn’t afford to waste time solely on waiting for him.

A few hours later.

Luna was receiving reports from Violet about the current situation in the surrounding areas.

“Are neither the Ohana Army nor the Karelia Army showing any direct movement yet?”

“That’s correct.”

The one reporting these matters to Luna was Violet, who was essentially serving as the state strategist.

In any case, without Swen, the rightful and only suitable owner of the state strategist position, it hardly mattered who currently held the position.

‘The fact that they’re not moving… it seems they’re short on supplies, just as Violet predicted.’

As time passed, the harvest season would inevitably arrive.

When that happened, the Karelia Army would launch their resource offensive.

Our side wouldn’t just be sitting idle either; we would continue additional recruitment and training of troops, but… whether we could hold out until then remained questionable.

In this situation, what could I do without Lord Swen?

Unless it was a critical matter concerning the nation’s survival, I had to somehow rely on my own wisdom without depending on anyone else.

Although Violet was by my side, she was still just a novice strategist.

While lost in thought,

Violet broke her silence once more.

“We’ve finished discussing the situation surrounding our army… now I’d like to talk about the continental situation.”

“The continental situation?”

“Yes. I thought it would be good for you to know.”

As a ruler, it was always meaningful to understand the overall situation.

Back in those now distant-feeling days at Zeilandt Castle, Swen had said something similar.

Luna nodded in agreement.

“First, regarding the Brans Army now divided into three states… it seems Kalintz’s forces successfully defended Anel Castle against Chel’s army. Lynn’s original Brans Army is holed up in the western continent showing no particular movement.”

“How long do you think this chaos will last?”

“It seems it will be a longer conflict than expected. It’s quite surprising that Chel’s army failed to conquer Anel Castle.”

“I see…”

The Brans Army, where Swen was presumed to have been.

The chaos of its three-way split showed no signs of easy resolution.

And the fact that the central continent was in such complexity was, in a way, very important for Luna’s army.

As long as they were in turmoil, the northern countries of the southern continent—the Rolland Army and Hesna Army—would have their attention divided.

She had hoped this chaos would continue, so that when the Ohana Army began to move against her forces, the Hesna Army might strike them from behind… but with Hesna’s extended borders, it seemed unlikely they would bother attacking in this direction, which worried her.

“The neighboring Aeshus Army appears to be reinforcing their troops while observing the situation. However, I think they might move soon. I’ve heard they rejected an alliance proposal from the Hesna Army.”

“What’s next?”

“Finally… regarding the Serpina Army.”

Luna’s eyebrows twitched slightly at the mention of Serpina.

“It seems they will focus on maintaining their current position, including the territories they’ve captured in the central continent, without initiating any further wars for the time being.”

“And the reason?”

“The northern continent appears to be unsettled. There are reports of intermittent rebellions. Well, that’s to be expected under the reign of an unpopular tyrant.”

It was an answer that left no question as to why people continued to emerge who couldn’t accept Serpina.

Simply because she was a tyrant. A witch without blood or tears who made the continent’s people miserable and killed all her siblings for her own greed… that was the perception.

This was especially true for someone like Lunarian, who had lost her sister to Serpina’s hands.

At that moment.

“However, there is some concerning news.”

“What is it?”

“It seems a magician, previously only rumored, has appeared in Serpina’s army.”

“…!!!!”

Upon hearing the word “magician,” Luna reflexively rose to her feet.

Violet wasn’t surprised this time. Considering Luna’s attitude during their carriage ride back, such a reaction was expected.

“Was it… a young man with white hair who used magic?”

“No. The one who used magic was a woman, not a man.”

“What…?”

“There are many eyewitnesses who saw her creating and shooting flames from her hands. The magician is a young woman with pink hair. This seems to be firmly established as truth.”

Not a white-haired magician, meaning not Lord Swen… but someone else who could use magical powers?

What was this about?

Luna’s mind became suddenly confused.

Hadn’t the Aeshus Army supposedly sold the “white-haired magician”—Swen—to Serpina’s army?

Was that just a false rumor spread by Serpina’s side?

But.

If it was a false rumor, that would actually be fortunate.

It would mean Swen wasn’t under the detestable Serpina.

So where was Lord Swen then?

It was certain he wasn’t with the Brans Army… was he still with the Aeshus Army?

More importantly, the core of the rumor—the word “magician”—finally registered in her mind.

Yes. Magicians really did exist.

Was Lord Swen indeed a magician? But the Swen that Luna had spent time with, while he had demonstrated some magical proofs a few times, didn’t seem to have used actual magic.

Rather than magic, it was more like future prediction or prophecy… something in that realm.

Anyway, if magicians truly existed, and one happened to be in Serpina’s grasp… what could we possibly do to stop her?

To Luna, who couldn’t reach a proper conclusion due to insufficient information, Violet carefully summarized:

“Since Serpina is in the north and we’re at the southern edge, we probably don’t need to worry too much for now… but it seems right to acknowledge the existence of magicians.”

It seemed this was an incident with solid evidence, enough for even Violet to speak this way.

“I understand. Violet, may I entrust you with gathering information about magicians?”

“Leave it to me, my lord.”

Luna replied and then fell into thought.

‘That’s right. Whether there are magicians or not, everything will be resolved once Lord Swen returns. He will surely light our path.’

For Luna, the idea that Swen had changed his mind was inconceivable.

Since such a thing was impossible from the start, if he hadn’t come, it could only mean something had happened to him.

But what kind of person was Lord Swen?

He was someone who always produced the right results, as if he knew everything that would happen in the future.

It seemed implausible that someone who had been creating miracles across the continent would find himself in a dangerous situation.

No, rather than a thought, it was more like faith—a belief bordering on devotion.

‘Lord Swen. I’ll wait for you forever. You will definitely… definitely come… I’ll endure somehow and keep waiting…!’

As Luna’s wish, which might or might not reach him, was carried away by the wind—

* * *

“Swen.”

“…Huh?”

While I was momentarily lost in thought, Lady Irene’s concerned voice reached my ears.

“You seem troubled by something.”

“Ah, well…”

“…”

Troubled.

Troubled… yes, troubled.

Perhaps this was for me—

The most significant concern I had faced since my possession.