Ch.283Chapter 283. Such a Simple Matter After All…….

Luna stared blankly at the broken quill pen in her hand with lifeless eyes.

Right.

What was I doing here just now…?

I feel like I was talking to someone a moment ago.

…Ah. It was Violet. But why…?

That’s right… Ginor was dispatched elsewhere, so Violet was acting as the national advisor.

But…

Is that even important?

Doesn’t it all mean nothing?

Why did I rebuild my nation?

To save the territory’s people from suffering?

Because I couldn’t let Serpina, who killed my sister, take over the continent?

Those were reasons, but… I wanted to be with that person once more.

I believed that with that person, we could build an ideal nation.

I wanted to repay them that way. Because they saved my life. Because they were the only one who chose me when no one else would look my way.

That person knows.

They know that Serpina is the woman who killed my sister.

They must know, so why… why did you make such a choice…?

—I was the first to receive Swen’s selection.

I was first.

Meeting Swen, making Swen my advisor—I was the first for all of it…!

The broken pen offers no answer.

The broken heart offers no answer.

It’s not that there is no answer; it simply refuses to give one.

‘Why…’

Why.

The word “why” pierces her mind repeatedly like an awl.

‘For what reason…’

For what reason did you accept her offer?

A position you could have easily refused if you wanted to… why?

Why… would someone who should be my advisor alone take the advisor position of that hateful woman…!!!

Crack!

‘…!!!’

Only after the remaining half of the quill pen shattered into pieces in her hand did her senses slowly return.

As reason returned, an unpleasant conclusion formed in Luna’s mind.

‘Have you… decided to serve Serpina as your lord?’

Despite our army reappearing on the map.

And despite defeating Karelia.

Far from returning, when thinking about how he became Serpina’s national advisor… based on the information Luna had, that seemed the most likely possibility.

She had thought it impossible.

Someone of Swen’s caliber would never voluntarily serve an evil woman like Serpina.

So she had assumed he must have been threatened. That made more sense within Luna’s understanding.

Still…

Luna could understand that accepting the national advisor position meant… it wasn’t a simple relationship of coercion.

Serpina was no fool.

Of course, there were occasionally women like Yurie who appeared normal but made decisions that defied common sense, but Luna knew that if Serpina had been merely that kind of woman, she could never have conquered the northern continent.

If Swen’s decision was to serve Serpina… Luna would have to respect that.

True, he had promised to return. But thinking about it, she had only ever been on the receiving end from Swen.

After all, he was the one who saved her when she had nearly died throwing away her life.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Swen had already done everything he could for her.

It was Swen who had given her another chance to aim for supremacy.

Truly, she had only ever received.

Her life, opportunities, the will to move forward.

So—

The fact that he saved her life along with Tifa and Cain.

And the fact that through his advice, he helped the “New Lunarian Army” come into existence.

She should be satisfied with just that and support Swen’s new decision—that would be the proper thing to do.

‘I… I cannot let go of Swen…’

Luna simply couldn’t let go of her connection to Swen.

If she were to acknowledge it. If she were to acknowledge the fact that he had chosen Serpina instead of her… she felt she would truly fall apart.

Monarch’s duties or whatever, she felt she truly wouldn’t be able to do anything.

The only guiding light she had looked up to while climbing to this position.

Not once had she imagined a future where someone other than Swen occupied the advisor position by her side.

Therefore… she once again curved her thoughts in a different direction.

‘Wait a minute.’

If Swen had truly decided to serve Serpina, would he have sent Ginor here?

Wouldn’t he have naturally guided someone of Ginor’s caliber to serve Serpina alongside him?

Yet he specifically sent Ginor to serve her, and thanks to that, they were able to capture Karelia who was trying to escape.

This small doubt became a spark, swirling like a whirlwind in Luna’s mind.

It was hope. A very small hope.

A self-defense mechanism created by her instinct to maintain sanity and her absolute trust that “Swen must have a plan.”

‘So… originally… he intended to come to our army?’

Ginor, the mercenary group—everything was essentially part of the grand picture Swen had drawn.

The words “don’t miss the opportunity” were the same. Because of those words, Luna was able to seize the opportunity and devour the Karelia army.

In other words, when he first made the promise with her, he must have been determined to return under her command.

Having reached that conclusion, Swen’s actions began to make sense.

Moving from the Brans army to the Aeshus army, and then to Serpina’s army… it would have been natural for him to move between nations. Because Swen was trying to return to our army.

But, for some reason, Swen decided to stay by Serpina’s side.

Accepting the national advisor position must have been Swen’s intention. If so, what was the reason Swen had no choice?

Was he being deceived by Serpina? No. Serpina was an outstanding woman, but she couldn’t match Swen.

If he wasn’t being deceived, then the reason was—

‘…he’s being used.’

That witch Serpina is using Swen’s kind and gentle heart through her cunning rhetoric.

At least for Luna, Swen’s kindness was an established fact. Someone who wasn’t kind couldn’t possibly risk their life for others.

Swen pitied Serpina, and unable to turn away from that, he remained by her side, unable to do one thing or another—

But in reality, he wants to return here…?

‘…!!’

Luna sprang up from her chair.

Life gradually returned to her dead eyes.

‘Yes! Swen is being used. For some reason, he felt sympathy for Serpina… and became unable to leave her side!’

She must have used every method at her disposal.

While Serpina was a notorious villainess, one had to admit that she was a woman of exceptional charm.

Even when her sister was still alive, Luna had heard that Serpina was the most beautiful woman among all the women she had met.

Of course, she didn’t think that Swen would be swayed by mere feminine beauty, but it occurred to her that if Serpina wore a mask and portrayed herself as a woman of tragic circumstances, the kind-hearted Swen might naturally be swayed by it.

So she made it impossible for him to do anything and bound him to her side? Swen.

Of course, her only goal would be Swen’s extraordinary abilities.

As soon as she thought this, her mind, which had been incredibly complicated until just a moment ago, felt instantly clear.

Yes.

It’s all that woman’s fault.

The notorious villainess and devil who deserves to be cursed countless times, Serpina von Einhart.

‘Serpina…!!!’

Luna clenched her fist with trembling hands.

Killing her brothers with her own hands out of greed for the throne.

Massacring countless territory residents, plunging the continent into an abyss of suffering in an instant.

Not content with killing her only blood relative, her sister, just because she was related to her brother—now you covet my Swen?

‘Never… I will never allow it…!!’

Thinking about it, the answer was extremely simple.

Lunarian had killed Karelia, who was like a benefactor. To seize an opportunity. To reappear on the continent.

Karelia was an entity directly blocking Lunarian from becoming such an existence. If she had let her live, she couldn’t have resolved the chaos so quickly. She might have been pushed back for unexpected reasons and ultimately stagnated, or conversely, been defeated and lost her life.

It’s exactly the same.

Just as she killed Karelia to seize an opportunity, if she wanted to keep Swen by her side.

The entity blocking that right before her eyes—Serpina von Einhart—she just had to kill her.

This was much easier than with Karelia. While Karelia was a benefactor, Serpina was a villainess who deserved to die.

Thud.

Luna slumped back into her chair.

Yes. If you want something… you just have to kill everything that stands in your way.

Such a simple matter, why did she waste time with foolish worries?

Luna opened her mouth and laughed loudly.

Tears of unknown origin wet her ruby-colored eyes.

“Swen… wait, just wait a little. I will surely kill that wickedly evil witch who is disturbing your mind with my own hands, and bring you back… just as you saved me…”

If anything stands in my way, no matter who it is… I’ll kill them all.

Even as she muttered to herself, tears continued to flow down both her cheeks.

At this moment, Lunarian realized that “extremely simple principle.”

One certain fact was that it was making her closer to being a unification monarch.

—Everything was flowing exactly as predicted by Intelligence 100, frighteningly so.

* * *

In the audience chamber of the Einhart royal castle.

I was discussing the full-scale occupation plan for the Chel army with Serpina.

“Someone to replace Irene, you say?”

“Yes. For an efficient occupation plan, I believe it’s right to reassign General Irene back to her original position as deputy commander of the occupation forces.”

In terms of protecting Serpina, she was the most suitable person—

But looking at it coldly, using her only as a guard knight was the height of inefficiency, and Serpina understood that better than anyone.

“I agree with your words… but, well, I’m still cautious about who to trust.”

Serpina said that with her chin resting on her hand.

It couldn’t be helped. The heart of a woman who nearly got killed by someone she trusted so much would probably be too complicated to understand even in a lifetime.

“If you don’t have someone in mind for the successor, I’d like to appoint someone directly.”

“Swen, you mean?”

“Yes.”

There was just one person.

Someone with decent swordsmanship skills, who likely wouldn’t betray under most circumstances, and whose absence from the occupation forces wouldn’t cause any problems.

“If it’s your recommendation, Swen, not someone else’s, I can trust it. Tell me.”

I answered while meeting Serpina’s eyes without avoiding them.

“Appoint Jenis Al Kaski as your guard knight.”