Ch.288Chapter 288. You Know Everything, Don’t You?

“What? Lady Luna? So suddenly?”

“Yes.”

Looking at her expression at this somewhat abrupt topic, it didn’t seem like she was just making idle conversation to pass the time.

I moved with her to a shaded spot under a nearby tree, where we both crouched down side by side, and I carefully broached the subject first.

“May I know the reason?”

“The true lord you served was Lord Luna, wasn’t it?”

“…Yes.”

I hesitated very slightly for a moment, but I had no intention of denying that fact.

“I’m curious about what kind of person she is, that you, Swen, could be so certain she would become the unifying monarch.”

It didn’t seem like her true intentions were fully revealed by that question alone, but since she had asked, it would be courteous to answer.

“She was a good person. She always trusted me completely. Even when I made outlandish claims, she listened to everything without asking for a single piece of evidence.”

Thinking about it now, I supposed it was possible because the state was quite small, but I didn’t want to undervalue the complete trust she had placed in me.

Just as her forces were small—back then, I was just a nobody, a rolling stone with no reputation as the white-haired mage or anything else.

“Also, she had a character that naturally made her subjects follow her. I think she was one of the few who felt her subjects’ pain as her own.”

“Like Lady Serpina just now?”

…Ah.

Only then did I realize why she had brought up that question.

“Are you… concerned about Lady Serpina?”

“…!”

Irene was startled by my words—

Then she put on a bitter smile.

“It seems I cannot deceive you, Swen.”

A person who was publicly called a tyrant, but who moved forward on her own path without minding it.

A woman who would willingly bear infamy to save others’ lives if there was a way, even if no one acknowledged her, even if she gained nothing from it.

It was just like that a moment ago.

Seeing how she treated the subjects who had likely been cursing her until recently, it was a scene that would make anyone question why she had earned the nickname “tyrant.”

Irene, being human, must have thought similarly.

She must be questioning the conclusion that “despite all this, Lady Serpina cannot become the unifying monarch”—the same doubt I had once harbored.

“I was just… curious. What kind of outstanding person Lord Luna must be, that Lady Serpina… cannot become the unifying monarch.”

Without my prediction ability of 100 intelligence, I wouldn’t have been able to be certain either.

But, at least in this world, my predictions were an immutable law.

As long as Lady Serpina remained the monarch, Serpina’s forces could neither defeat Lunarian’s forces, nor change her own fate or Lady Luna’s.

We didn’t exchange any words for a while.

Since I could guess what she was thinking, I calmly gave her time to organize her thoughts.

“…Swen.”

“Yes?”

“Just to be clear, I’m unconditionally on your side. No matter what happens, I’ll stay by your side.”

“Yes.”

“My body is your shield, and my conviction is your sword. If you choose to walk an unvirtuous path, I’m willing to stand at the very front and take the filth that would splash on you.”

“Thank you.”

“So, whatever decision you make, I have no intention of objecting. But still…”

“I’m still… a bit concerned about Lady Serpina.”

Saying that, Irene hugged her legs and buried her head in her knees.

The monarch who first acknowledged Irene when she was yearning for recognition.

The woman who threw herself in harm’s way when Irene was in mortal danger.

Of course, Serpina’s life would have been in danger if not for Irene, but that didn’t make her action any less extraordinary.

Rather, I had never heard of a monarch risking their life for a knight.

Nothing would have happened.

Even if Irene had died trying to protect Serpina, no one would have blamed Serpina for it, nor would it have added another page to her already accumulated infamy.

It was simply expected for a knight to sacrifice themselves for their monarch.

Dying in place of a noble monarch was considered an honor in itself.

Yet Serpina threw herself in harm’s way.

To protect Irene. …To avoid being hated by me.

“No matter how I think about it… I don’t want to just abandon Lady Serpina. Swen. It was when you and Reika went to the relief camp.”

As soon as I heard the words “relief camp,” I remembered the kiss with Reika, and my mouth felt dry for a moment, but I somehow managed not to twist my expression.

“I spent time accompanying Lady Serpina in your place, staying closest to her. At first, I felt very lonely and isolated without Reika or you… but thinking about it now, Lady Serpina filled that emptiness so well that she treated me, just a knight, with genuine sincerity.”

“The closer I got to her, the more I realized how lonely and solitary her life had been. Lady Serpina didn’t seem to show weakness publicly… but from my perspective, she seemed so fragile, like she could collapse at any moment.”

“Sometimes, the profile of my lord gazing out the window… reminded me of my former self.”

Perhaps it was because it was Irene, not someone else, that she could notice.

They shared commonalities in being hated—Irene by the Brans forces, and Serpina by this world.

“If we leave… will my lord be alright? Not just me, but my lord relies on you a lot…”

I looked up at the sky for a moment.

Through the gaps between the flowering trees, I could see the blue sky beautifully interspersed with clouds.

…I suppose it would be okay to tell her some of it.

Watching flower petals and white clouds drifting in the wind, I carefully revealed my thoughts to her.

“Well, I feel the same way.”

“…Really?”

“Why else would I still be here?”

Of course, it wasn’t solely for that reason; there were various complex factors involved.

Irene thought for a long time, unable to speak easily, then carefully looked at me and asked.

Her purple eyes flickered in response to her trembling voice.

“Is there… a way?”

“The Luna I met hated Serpina. She said she took up arms because she couldn’t entrust the world to her. I could tell from that moment. The fact that the two cannot coexist.”

“In this situation, is there a way for both Lady Serpina and Lord Luna… for everyone to smile?”

‘….’

I wouldn’t get an answer by inputting “Can Serpina von Einhart and Lunarian Ineanne coexist?”

Even if I could get an answer, I had no intention of inputting it here.

“Lady Irene. Do you remember? The battle at the Northern Fortress.”

“Of course I remember. Swen, how could I forget that battle where you saved me… when everyone else abandoned me, you reached out your hand.”

“Even then, everyone said it couldn’t be done, but we somehow managed, right? Who am I? I’m the man who made a meteor fall, aren’t I?”

That moment still appears in my dreams sometimes. In a way, it was the moment that changed my fate.

I, who had only planned to live in obscurity, met Irene after that day, met Reika, and changed monarchs three times until I met Serpina.

“So just trust me. This will all become part of a bigger picture. You’ll probably be surprised again when the time comes, saying something like ‘Swen, you really knew everything all along!'”

At my frivolous words, Irene finally smiled as if amused.

At the same time, a strong wind blew, and a few flower petals began to fall, fluttering.

“…I see. Well, Swen. You always knew everything…”

“Of course. And Lady Irene, you know that better than anyone, don’t you? Since you’ve been by my side the longest and closest, from the moment we lived together at Anel Castle.”

“…”

Due to her slightly flushed cheeks, her face looked very girlish.

Irene took a small breath… then turned her head to face me and asked.

“Then can you tell what I’m thinking of doing next?”

“Your thoughts, Lady Irene?”

“Yes. Swen, you know everything, don’t you?”

Even though I know many things, I can’t predict anything outside of strategy, combat, or state-related matters…

But perhaps caught up in the mood of falling flower petals, I racked my brain to give the most plausible answer.

“Um… are you thinking about the tea you’ll drink this evening?”

“Wrong.”

“Then, not tea but something diff—”

My words didn’t finish.

For a moment, I wondered what on earth was happening.

My vision darkened. Or more precisely—my field of vision was filled with one person’s face.

The red-haired lady knight who approached me closely with her eyes closed.

The soft sensation felt on my lips.

It’s a somewhat familiar sensation now. After all, I had similar experiences twice before.

What taste is this? Not yuzu, not the sweetness of cake. This is… the taste of Irene.

…Smack, smooch…lick.

A stimulating sound that properly excites all five human senses.

With our tongues intertwined, my mind goes blank.

It’s too… intense. Several times more sticky than anyone else.

Something much more intense than the passing scent of yuzu or the faint sweetness invades my mouth as if to devour it.

“…”

After what seemed like an eternity—slowly.

Very slowly she moves away.

Only then do I see Irene’s features, her face completely flushed.

Gone is the reliable lady knight; instead, there’s a provocative face of a female gasping for breath, desperately craving me as a male.

The overwhelming cleavage, impossible to hide with armor, pushes me even harder when I’m already disoriented.

Decorating that beautiful sight is the sound of wind. The red hair slightly swaying like waves, and pink flower petals falling as if fluttering.

“Lady… Irene…?”

“…”

We stare at each other for a long time without saying anything.

…My heart feels like it’s going to burst.

To be honest, this kiss was stirring me more intensely than any other.

Unlike with Lady Serpina or Reika who had quickly grasped the situation, I could only stare at her with a dumbfounded expression, unable to utter a single coherent sentence.

She was the one who broke the silence that seemed like it would last forever.

“Did you expect that?”

“N-no…”

“…Did you dislike it?”

Shake, shake.

I couldn’t answer that question and just shook my head like a fool.

“Good.”

Irene said that with a smile as bright as sunshine.

The smile she showed after escaping loneliness at the fortress. The smile I first thought I wanted to protect.

“Then… I’m glad.”

Irene slowly got up from her seat.

“Let’s go.”

“…Ah… um, …yes.”

I wish I could have understood what was happening, or at least said something cool and plausible—

But instead, I just mumbled a stupid answer and followed her back to where everyone else was, supporting my weakened legs.

—With unforgettable impressions adding up day by day.

I was growing to like this place more and more.