Ch.253Chapter 253. Proof (6)

The first to react were the residents living below Kelstein Castle.

Most of them were people currently living in the territories of Lord Kalintz and Lord Chel.

“Is it true that Lady Serpina from the north is conducting relief activities?”

“They say you need to have family there?”

“I have relatives at Utiner Castle! If I go there, I’m sure I can get help.”

For people devastated by the epidemic, news of relief camps felt like rain in a drought.

After all, neither Kalintz nor Chel had taken any action to provide aid.

Of course, not everyone received the news optimistically.

“Wait. That witch is providing relief? Does that make any sense?”

“Don’t you remember the rumors from a while ago? They said that cursed woman was spreading the disease with magic.”

However.

Given the unusual circumstances, such typical accusations no longer resonated with the territory residents.

“So what is this Yurie woman doing for the territory residents?”

“Whether it’s a trap or not, it’s worth checking out. Dying of starvation or dying of disease—we’re dead either way!”

Someone who silently helped the territory residents.

And someone who claimed “there must be some ulterior motive” but offered no help.

For residents facing survival issues, the gap between these two figures was inevitably enormous.

How could their hearts not be moved when a lord completely unrelated to them offered help, while they could do nothing but smell rotting corpses and pray for the plague to pass?

Of course, the positive opinions came primarily from those living in the affected central continent regions.

Residents of the southern continent who had avoided the disease, or those in the west-central region who had narrowly escaped thanks to Lynn’s early lockdown, unanimously refused to believe that Serpina was performing acts of kindness without ulterior motives.

Nevertheless, public opinion at the grassroots level was, for the first time in history, siding with Serpina—

The weight of this fact began to bring about consequences beyond what any of the lords had imagined.

* * *

“Thank you so much.”

“I will never forget the kindness Lady Serpina has shown us.”

By the third day, many people began visiting the camp.

Among them were some with no connections to the northern continent, but we didn’t bother with thorough screening.

There was a physical limit to how far people could travel to reach this place, and Ian had judged that those who made it here during an epidemic had essentially prepared themselves to die, so we wouldn’t be overwhelmed by visitors.

His judgment proved correct, and throughout our operation of the camp, we never struggled with shortages of supplies.

After all, our army had occupied the entire northern continent and stockpiled considerable resources.

Ian was the most enthusiastic participant in this entire process.

“Here you are. Please take this.”

“Thank you so much. May I know your name…?”

“There’s no need to remember our names. Just remember Lady Serpina’s name. And remember that she is not someone who harms territory residents with magic for no reason.”

“Oh my, of course. I will never forget her kindness for as long as I live…”

With the lord himself actively engaging with residents from the central region, offering words of encouragement and distributing supplies, the soldiers also participated enthusiastically in the relief efforts.

If they had shown any reluctance in distributing supplies, it might have been difficult to counter the rumors Yurie had spread, but this level of commitment was more than sufficient.

“I didn’t expect you to be so proactive,” I said, approaching Ian discreetly.

“Oh? Swen.”

Seeing me, he smiled warmly.

“Didn’t you say that after receiving the blessing magic, one absolutely wouldn’t contract the plague for at least a week?”

“That’s true, but I thought it might be hard to believe.”

“No. I trust you, Swen.”

I couldn’t detect any ulterior thoughts in Ian’s eyes as he said this.

Well… though it’s awkward to say myself, his family would have been wiped out if not for me, so such trust wasn’t strange.

So there was no need to be suspicious.

“I’m grateful for your trust.”

“Good. I’ll get back to work now. Why don’t you look after Miss Reika?”

“Miss Reika just fell asleep. So shouldn’t I also help with the work, as is proper?”

“Is that so? Well, I won’t stop you, but…”

At that moment.

Ian paused briefly in thought, then looked at me with a very serious expression.

“Swen. I have a question.”

“Please go ahead.”

“What is your relationship with Miss Reika?”

“…Pardon?”

His expression was so serious that I momentarily tensed up, expecting something grave like “I’ve received information about rebels planning to defy Lady Serpina.” My face betrayed my surprise at such an unexpectedly trivial question.

“Well, watching you two these past few days, you seem quite close.”

“…Is that so?”

“Swen, I’m curious about your relationship. Are you perhaps lovers?”

“No, nothing like that… I’m not married yet.”

“Really? Speaking of marriage, now that it’s come up… I don’t think I’ve heard your response yet.”

“What?”

What is he talking about now?

Seeing my confused expression, Ian tilted his head slightly and asked:

“Haven’t you heard from General Irene?”

I hadn’t.

But I didn’t want to speak ill of Lady Irene, so I decided to play the fool.

“Um… my memory isn’t very good. I tend to forget things.”

“Is that so? That doesn’t sound like you… though I suppose it’s rather silly to define what is ‘like you’ in the first place.”

Ian continued in a completely serious tone.

“I’d like to know what you think about our Iolline.”

Iolline. A name I hadn’t heard in a long time.

The twin sister of my roommate Jenis, and a woman with whom I once shared a room for a night.

Because I saw her changing clothes, she and Irene were the only two women whose undergarments I knew.

It felt a bit wrong to remember someone by such details—

—Wait a minute.

“What? By what I think… do you mean marriage?”

“That’s right.”

Marry Iolline?

While I was momentarily stunned by this unexpected topic, Ian continued with complete composure and seriousness.

“Swen, someone like you would be most welcome in our family. Iolline misses you terribly. It may sound odd coming from me, but I believe Iolline’s beauty is not inferior to most women. Moreover, she has spent a long time studying to become a virtuous bride. I’m certain she would be an excellent companion for you.”

“Well, that’s…”

“If you have someone else in mind, a concubine arrangement would be fine too. I’d even be willing to pass on the Al Caskir name if you wish. I’d appreciate it if you’d consider it positively.”

His rapid-fire delivery left me unable to respond properly, but Ian seemed fine with ending the conversation there.

“Well, you can give me your answer at your leisure. Don’t feel pressured. If I don’t hear back, I’ll take it as such. Of course, refusing won’t disadvantage you in any way, so don’t worry about that. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

After Ian left.

I briefly recalled Iolline’s face.

She was certainly beautiful.

She had a very well-balanced, beautiful figure, and her personality… was quite modest, making me think she would indeed be good at supporting her husband, as Ian had said.

But… I couldn’t marry yet.

Protecting Lady Serpina and keeping my promise to Lady Luna—

These two tasks alone were enough to occupy my mind, making it impossible to even imagine settling down somewhere.

Besides, if I were to marry, my honest feeling was that I’d want to marry Irene first.

“Haven’t you heard from General Irene?”

Ian’s words made one thing clear.

Lady Irene had not conveyed Ian’s—or more precisely, Iolline’s—marriage proposal to me.

I could pretend not to know why, but… I don’t want to.

The reason she didn’t tell me…

“…Haah.”

I sighed softly and covered my face with my hands.

It’s hot. My face is burning. Lady Irene’s face appears in my mind.

‘I miss her.’

…Anyway, the marriage proposal isn’t something I need to think about right now.

In this world, a man could have up to four wives, so there was no need to make a hasty decision.

It was a matter I could consider slowly and decide later.

After cooling my face a bit, I followed after Ian.

* * *

In the royal castle of Rambow, under the Aeshus territory.

“…A relief camp?”

“Yes. They say Serpina’s forces have set up camp below Kelstein Castle to aid the central territory residents.”

At Epinel’s words, Yurie, seated on the throne, scoffed in disbelief.

“Ha!”

She slowly rose from her seat, trembling as she spoke.

“That detestable woman. Does she think such meager actions will cover up her use of magic?”

“…”

And then, a few days later.

“The camp operations seem to be going very smoothly. The residents closest to us in Kalintz’s territory are practically worshipping Serpina like a god.”

“…Forget it. It’s just a show put on to save face.”

“If it were just to save face, she would have simply sent supplies rather than going through the trouble of running a camp. Besides, isn’t it strange that she would care about saving face in the first place? Would someone who cares about such things act like this?”

“What are you trying to say, Epinel? Are you suggesting Serpina is a good person?”

“…”

Normally, Epinel would have responded with some diplomatic words—

But this time, he couldn’t just let it go.

He felt obligated to explain the current situation to Yurie.

“Yurie. We’ve been outplayed.”

“…What?”

“If she really intended to spread disease using magic, there are too many unnecessary actions she’s taken.”

“…”

Yurie bowed her head and remained silent.

In truth.

She had vaguely realized it too.

If Serpina’s goal had truly been to kill people, she wouldn’t have forcibly relocated them. And then to run a relief camp on top of that—objectively speaking, what reason would she have to go that far?

Even so, there was no way to back down.

She had already boldly proclaimed that Serpina was the culprit behind the disease.

“What… should we do now?”

Epinel sighed in relief as he looked at Yurie.

He had been worried about how to handle the situation if she had stubbornly insisted on her position.

Perhaps Anima, who hadn’t fully regained consciousness, might have offered a more plausible answer…

But Epinel was primarily a military figure. He knew his own limitations—while he excelled at defeating enemies on the battlefield, he was weak at seeing the bigger picture.

So, despite knowing he could only offer the simplest answer… now was the time to speak up.

“For now… don’t make any additional statements about it. Just stay quiet. Serpina already has a bad image, so if we just pretend not to notice, this might blow over without much trouble.”

“…Haah.”

“It can’t be helped. We’ll have to wait for the next opportunity. …Everyone makes mistakes. I think you know that self-reproach is a luxury we can’t afford right now.”

“I know. I know…”

Yurie closed her eyes and once again prayed to the heavens.

She prayed that the plague would pass as quickly as possible, and that the repercussions of her claims would not be as severe as Epinel suggested.

* * *

However, a few days later.

“They’re demanding that our territory operate relief camps…?”

The soldier reported to Yurie with a troubled expression, barely managing to continue.

“I’m very sorry to say this… but people are asking why the Aeshus territory isn’t doing what Serpina’s territory is doing.”

Making a mockery of her prayers, the time for decision had come all too quickly.

And worse, it was a “zugzwang”—a situation where any move she made would inevitably be a bad one.