Ch.274Chapter 274. Neither Despair Nor Lingering Attachment

* * *

This is a story from shortly after the fall of the Lunarian army, which had made Zeilant Castle its base.

Following the advice of the white-haired strategist who had saved her life through numerous miracles, Luna had sought refuge with the Karelia army in the south. Several weeks had passed since then.

Luna was busy working in the fields with the farmers.

It might have seemed rather comical for someone of a commander’s status to be doing fieldwork typically done by domain residents, but Luna didn’t mind and was giving it her all.

There were many people here who were wary of her.

Though she had somehow managed to be accepted thanks to the ruler Karelia’s goodwill, ultimately, to continue living here safely, she needed to earn the trust of others besides the ruler—

And the method Luna chose for this was nothing more or less than simply working diligently and steadfastly.

It’s okay. If I persevere, opportunity will eventually come. That’s what that person said.

While she was focused on farming with such thoughts in mind, someone approached Luna and spoke to her.

“Haha, working hard again today, Lord Luna.”

“Ah, my lord.”

The person who addressed Luna was the ruler Karelia.

Judging by her attire, she seemed to be out on an inspection.

“It appears you have quite a talent for farming.”

“Talent? Not at all. I’m simply doing what I can to the best of my ability.”

“No, I’m not just saying that. Considering that farming requires a certain amount of physical strength… Lord Luna, you might have a much sturdier body than you appear to have.”

Karelia said this and then laughed loudly.

Luna didn’t get flustered, as she now knew that Karelia often joked like this with subordinates she encountered during inspections.

“So, how are you finding it?”

“Finding what, my lord?”

“Your adaptation to our army.”

Luna bowed slightly to Karelia and said:

“Thanks to your consideration, I’m getting along just fine.”

In truth, she wasn’t getting along all that well.

After all, apart from the ruler Karelia and Cecile, who was closest to her, not a single person had readily accepted as a comrade someone who came from outside the southern continent, especially someone who had once been a lord of a small country.

Luna was definitely an outsider in the Karelia army. It was fortunate that she had no desire to be at the center, because if she had been ambitious, it would have been frustrating enough to give up.

“Is that so? I thought you might be having difficulties, since all your friends have been assigned to Tepel Castle.”

“Not at all. The domain residents are all full of energy, and my colleagues are very considerate. Once again, thank you for accepting an outsider like me.”

“Not at all. Regardless of what you did in the past, if we share the goal of defeating Serpina and bringing peace to the continent, aren’t we comrades?”

Saying this, Karelia lifted her head to look at the high sky.

Her deep green eyes quickly filled with the blue color of the sky.

“This Madlan Castle is very peaceful. But… conflicts never cease on the continent. You understand that the oppressive politics perpetrated by the Einhart Imperial Family could never bring about a golden age, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do.”

Luna answered with a resolute attitude, without hesitation.

The reason she had decided to become a lord despite her limited abilities was ultimately because she couldn’t allow Serpina to take sovereignty over the continent.

In the end, things didn’t work out well and she ended up in this situation, but she had never abandoned her dream of continental unification for even a moment.

“Indeed. Stopping Serpina is what’s important. The color of the flag that covers this continent is a secondary matter. It could be anyone. It could be Navidos Ohana, Seta Rolland, Aski Hesna, or Baranga Yurie Aeshus. Lynn Brans… well, she’s not the type of person I particularly like, but I think she could govern much better than that villainess.”

The continent cannot be entrusted to Serpina, the notorious villainess who killed all her own blood relatives and massacred innocent domain residents.

That was, in fact, a common thought shared by all the lords who had raised their flags on the continent, not just Karelia.

“That’s what I think. Even if I die and our Karelia army is destroyed… as long as the military boots that trample our army don’t belong to the Einhart Imperial Family, there will be hope. As long as it’s not them, I sincerely believe it doesn’t matter who destroys my country.”

“My lord…”

Karelia, who had been speaking seriously, soon let out a hearty laugh and put on a kind expression.

“Well now, if the strategist had heard this, she would certainly have had something to say. Lord Luna, I trust you’ll keep this a secret.”

“Of course.”

By strategist, she must be referring to Vanessa Trinity, the national strategist of this place.

She was the person who was most wary of Luna among everyone here. It was she who had strongly argued that Luna should never be accepted as a subordinate, and that if she were to be accepted, the three of them should be kept apart.

Since they could be nothing more than people serving under the same ruler, it was natural that they would have no occasion to share personal conversations.

“Anyway, if we share the desire to defeat Serpina, then you and I are comrades beyond the relationship of ruler and subject. So, don’t worry too much about how others see you. Everyone is just concerned, but they’re not bad people. I just wanted to tell you that they simply can’t easily accept a foreigner like you in these times.”

Luna finally understood why Karelia had come to see her.

She must be showing concern. The fact that my name keeps coming up in the central region must have had some influence too.

Considering that rulers don’t usually personally attend to such matters… Karelia was indeed a person of extremely benevolent character, just as rumored.

“Thank you for your concern, my lord.”

“Not at all. It’s hardly worth calling special attention, so please don’t feel burdened.”

Saying this, Karelia once again put a bright smile on her face and looked at Luna.

“Lord Luna. No matter what anyone says, you are my precious comrade. Please don’t forget that.”

* * *

And I—

‘…killed her.’

I killed Makana Karelia.

Karelia, along with Vanessa, disappeared like dew on the execution ground.

To confirm their deaths, Luna had to verify their severed heads.

One belonging to Vanessa, and… one belonging to Karelia.

The dead Karelia was smiling until her final moment. It could be said it was a fitting end for her.

‘I… killed her…’

—When she closes her eyes, she sees the image of Vanessa begging her for the ruler’s life.

And conversely, the image of Karelia telling her to cut off her head.

Sometimes they reach out to her. They grab her ankles, trying to drag her into a swamp of despair.

As she pushes away these ‘hallucinations,’ Karelia’s last words float around in her head.

Karelia told her not to make the same mistake she did.

So, in order not to make a mistake—Luna simply made a ‘rational’ choice.

In the process of pacifying the southern continent in the future, the thought that Karelia might stab her in the back at any time was certainly a logical inference.

This had nothing to do with Karelia’s character. It would be foolish to think that those with ambition, those with dreams colored by their own hues, especially those who led armies in turbulent times with their names at stake, would meekly serve under others.

No, even before that—the solid evidence supporting that hypothesis was herself.

Even though Vanessa had brought it upon herself, the fact remained that she had instigated a rebellion.

In the end, it was Karelia’s weak heart, unable to deal with her, that brought her down.

No, even before that—the fact that too many wrong decisions were ultimately the responsibility of Karelia as the ruler was also true.

Nevertheless.

The tears don’t dry up and continue to flow.

The fact that she killed someone who had trusted her with her own hands continued to torment Luna.

‘Am I…’

Do I regret the decision to kill Karelia?

‘…No.’

I don’t regret it.

Luna asks herself deep in her heart. The answer comes quickly.

There’s no way I would regret something like that. Even if I could go back in time, I would make the same choice.

She would cut off the head of Karelia who had accepted her. For her dream? For her ambition?

No… to keep a promise.

When the opportunity comes, never let it slip away!

I won’t let it slip away, Lord Swen.

I will definitely return to your side!

For the sake of having a place for Lord Swen to return to, I will never let it slip away.

So, I don’t… regret it.

‘I…’

After crying for a long time, Luna stopped her tears and slowly opened her eyes.

‘I… will somehow save Lord Swen from Serpina. For that, I need to become… even stronger.’

She erases Karelia’s face that remained in a corner of her heart.

‘He said he would return to my side… until then, I will absolutely… never miss an opportunity given to me by making choices swayed by emotions.’

Next, she erases the image of herself sobbing when executing Karelia.

‘Lord Swen sacrificed himself to save me. So now it’s my turn. I must be there for Lord Swen. Even if I have to sacrifice myself…!! So, for Lord Swen, I would…!!’

What remains is the ideal ruler Lunarian Ineanne who prioritizes efficient choices.

The rising hegemon of the southern continent who ‘never misses an opportunity no matter what happens.’

What is reflected in her ruby-colored eyes, which have grown somewhat darker, is neither despair nor lingering attachment nor anything else.

It is—

‘Whether it’s a few people or dozens—I won’t hesitate to get blood on my hands.’

—It is something more sinister than noble, darker than bright, damp rather than fresh, and sticky.

The one extremely human emotion contained in Luna’s eyes.

Obsession.

It was, clear as day, obsession for that man.

* * *

“We’re arriving at Einhart Castle!”

Time passed—

Finally, the carriage carrying Reika and me arrived at the capital city of Einhart.