Ch.281Chapter 281. Appointed as Strategist of the Serpina Army (2)

That day.

After having her life saved by Karelia, Cecile, who had barely survived and arrived in the western continent, heard the news—the deaths of Vanessa and Karelia.

‘My lord…!’

They ended up dead after all.

And worse, betrayed by someone they had trusted.

It wasn’t just her lord who was betrayed. During her time in Karelia’s army, wasn’t she herself the one who had strongly insisted that Lunarian should be accepted?

‘It’s my fault. If only I hadn’t approved of Luna…’

Even though she knew it wasn’t her fault, she couldn’t shake off that thought.

But she couldn’t just wallow in despair either.

Once she resolved that she must do whatever it took to prevent Lunarian, who had betrayed her lord, from gaining power, her footsteps naturally led her to the Brans army.

Yes. She would serve under Lynn. With Aeshus having essentially fulfilled its purpose, and with Serpina being someone she couldn’t serve even with a knife at her throat, Lynn was her only remaining option.

Besides, didn’t her family have a base in the western continent as well!

As for Lynn, when she first heard that Cecile wanted to join her ranks, she was suspicious about what was really going on.

Cecile Lohengrin. The daughter of the prestigious merchant family Lohengrin, who had been the actual backbone of Karelia’s army.

Lynn had heard that without her, it would have been nearly impossible for Karelia’s army to establish itself to that extent.

And now this woman was suddenly proposing to join their army.

Lynn remembers that moment clearly. The moment when this seemingly gentle woman pleaded desperately with burning eyes.

“I won’t say I need to avenge Lady Karelia. Just please stop Lunarian’s army.”

From Lynn’s perspective, there was no reason to refuse this proposal.

Not only was Cecile herself a fairly good politician, but having the backing of the Lohengrin family would be beneficial in many ways.

Indeed, as soon as Cecile joined the Brans army, she generously donated the financial resources of the Lohengrin trading company located in the west to the Brans army.

For the Brans army, which had lost Anel Castle and seen all its A-rank generals desert, this was like rain in a drought.

With money, they could naturally recruit troops, repair castle walls, and invest in the territory’s markets to revitalize them. The effect was amplified in the western continental territory, which was relatively underdeveloped.

Cecile, who provided the financial resources, quickly gained a significant position within the Brans army, and Farfalle also conveyed that she was not so much ambitious as burning with revenge, so there was no need to be overly cautious of her.

The most surprising fact was that the object of her hatred was Lunarian.

Lunarian Ineanne. Once an insignificant lord of a small country that she herself had destroyed.

Not long after starting her rebellion, she had swiftly destroyed Karelia’s army, which had been the most influential in the south.

The fact that Lunarian was the first monarch served by Swen, now renowned as the white-haired strategist, was known only to a very few individuals, including Lynn.

Indeed, she was no ordinary person. Of course, it was natural since Swen had been under her command from the beginning, but at that time, Lynn had failed to recognize this.

For a moment, the thought crossed her mind—if only she had listened to Irene’s advice back then, none of this would have happened.

‘…No.’

Lynn immediately erased the useless thought.

For Irene’s sake too, she had to somehow revive the Brans army that Irene had once tried to protect.

The current Lynn knew all too well that no amount of regretful tears would solve anything.

Anyway, what matters is the present.

Lynn looked directly into the eyes of Cecile, who was kneeling before her, and asked.

“Have you heard? According to what you’ve told me so far, it seems that ‘that person’ whom Luna kept mentioning is indeed Swen.”

According to Cecile, she and Luna had been very close since Luna first joined Karelia’s army.

“It must be certain. Throughout the time I was close to her, she kept saying, ‘I was able to save my life thanks to that person.'”

Saved her life.

Because it was Lynn, she could deduce how Lunarian had managed to survive.

The reason she survived was simple.

It was because Lynn had been so preoccupied with capturing Swen that she hadn’t pursued Luna.

Judging from Luna’s statement that she “saved her life thanks to that person,” the situation must have been…

‘It was all Swen’s scheme.’

He had said that his lord had abandoned him here, but in reality, he had deliberately created such a situation.

This was Swen, after all. There’s no way he wouldn’t have noticed that my real target was none other than himself.

So he threw himself at me. To save the life of his lord, Lunarian.

That’s the kind of man he was.

Only after hearing Cecile’s words did Lynn truly realize.

Perhaps she had never truly possessed Swen in the real sense, not even for a moment, from then until now.

…Anyway, if that was the case, there was one strange point.

—If that was true, why did Swen become the strategist of Serpina’s army instead of Lunarian’s?

How could a retainer who had decided to save his lord even at the risk of his own life accept the position of strategist under Serpina of all people?

While the position of national strategist was basically an appointed one, there wasn’t a single insane monarch who would threaten and force someone into the position.

The position of national strategist was the pinnacle of power outside of the monarch; it would be foolish to forcibly place someone unwilling in such a position of power.

In other words—Swen could have refused if he wanted to.

Of course, given that it was the villainess Serpina, there might have been circumstances unknown to her, but… that still didn’t explain why he remained there instead of returning to Lunarian’s army even until now.

“…What do you think?”

To Lynn’s question, Cecile paid her respects to her new blue-hued lord and answered.

“I don’t know the details, but I think I can make some guesses.”

“You can guess?”

“Before I speak, please understand that I don’t know much about that man.”

“Alright.”

“First, he might be deceiving Serpina and plotting something under her. But this is a hypothesis with low probability. Serpina is as intelligent as she is vicious and cruel. No matter how outstanding that man is, someone of Serpina’s caliber would easily notice if he was plotting something, and if she wanted to, she could easily cut off his head.”

Lynn could understand that much as well.

If Serpina had been a foolish woman, she would have collapsed even before conquering the northern continent.

Before that, Lynn had once led a nation that rivaled hers, sharing a border with her.

Considering what Serpina’s army had shown… she was certainly not an incompetent woman who relied solely on her lineage.

“Second, that man might have changed his mind.”

“Changed his mind?”

“It’s simple. He chose Serpina as the lord to serve. Changing the lord you serve in times of chaos isn’t such a big deal, is it? Just as I am now before you, Lady Lynn.”

Could that really be true?

Was he the kind of man who would so easily abandon the lord he had wanted to save even at the risk of his life?

No. He wasn’t such a trivial man. Lynn, who had once been with him, could be certain of that. There must be something she didn’t know.

‘I lack information…’

The missing link between the Brans army and Serpina’s army.

She thought she might need to learn a bit more about ‘Swen during his time in Aeshus’ army’.

Whatever the case, knowing about Swen was extremely important.

Whether she liked it or not, she would eventually share a border with Luna—and knowing about Swen could effectively pressure Luna.

This was Lynn’s intuition.

Two facts that only she could know.

It was the result of considering Luna’s strange obsession with Swen that she had heard from Cecile, and Swen’s behavior of constantly changing lords, which seemed almost like foreseeing the future.

“I understand for now. I’ll meet Luna soon enough, and when that happens, I’ll try to stop her as you wish.”

“What? Meeting soon means…”

“The southern continent will be unified. Under her name.”

“…!!”

Cecile was shocked, her face turning pale as she looked at Lynn.

Farfalle, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, carefully joined in.

“So that’s what you think, my lord.”

“That’s right. This is the woman Swen wanted to protect. The hidden royal bloodline and the second magician have emerged by her side. Karelia, who was considered the best ruler in the southern continent, collapsed in an unbelievably short time. Do you think small fries like Rolland, Hesna, or Ohana can stop Lunarian?”

Farfalle agreed with that opinion.

The balance in the southern continent had continued not only because the four nations had similar military strength, but also because, frankly speaking, the capabilities of the four rulers were not particularly good.

In Karelia’s case, at least she had the people’s respect, but the rest of the rulers were, in Farfalle’s honest assessment, just ordinary people who had seized territory at the right time.

That’s why they had prioritized conquering Serpina’s army.

Although everything had become twisted in the process of dealing with Aeshus’ army.

“And I can’t end up being just a ruler who paves the way for Lunarian. If that happens… I’ll regret it even in hell. I can’t let the Brans army, which Irene tried to protect, end like this.”

“…”

“So—I will stop Lunarian. I’ll organize the central continent, achieve victory in the battle against Lunarian’s army, and restore the former status of the Brans army. And I will personally deal with Serpina, the root cause who brought the continent to this state.”

“I will follow you even to the depths of hell, my lord. Command me anytime.”

“I too will do anything if it means stopping Lunarian.”

At the words of the two, Lynn smiled with her characteristic confidence.

There was no arrogance to be found in her sparkling blue eyes.

“Then I think it’s time to move, Farfalle.”

“…!”

Farfalle was slightly surprised, but soon bowed her head.

The plague had also subsided. Naturally, the time had to come.

“Command me, my lord.”

Lynn, her blue eyes flashing, said:

“Tell my second brother that if he surrenders, I’ll spare him for old times’ sake, but if not, there will only be war.”

Serpina von Einhart’s blade was for Chel Brans.

Lynn Brans’s blade was—for Kalintz Brans.

A second chance for those who had lost everything due to the plague—quite naturally, it did not exist.

That was the kind of era it was.

* * *

Southern Continent, Lunarian Army Territory / Madlan Castle, the capital of the former Karelia Army.

“That news” transmitted from Serpina’s army had, of course, reached here as well.