Ch.289Chapter 289. When Conveying Your Feelings, Do It Clearly

* * *

Everyone remained silent on the way back to where the others were waiting.

Of course, while no words were spoken aloud—a massive typhoon was raging inside Irene’s mind.

‘……’

She had done it.

She had finally acted on what she had only ever imagined doing.

It was a half-impulsive decision, but not simply an action carried away by the mood.

The catalyst for these feelings could be traced back to just a few days ago.

* * *

“How are you feeling, Lady Reika?”

“Lady Irene…!”

Unlike Swen and herself, who were riding horses in formation with Serpina, Reika—who couldn’t ride—was following in a carriage at the rear of the procession, escorted by soldiers.

Reika in particular wasn’t accustomed to such long journeys. She was the type to tire even faster than the physically weak Swen.

Of course, even though she had been sitting the whole time, Serpina had sent Irene to check on her, judging that she might be exhausted after following them for such a long distance in forced march.

Reika’s physical condition was extremely important to Serpina’s forces.

As a mage who served as the ultimate weapon in most battles, even Serpina herself, as the ruler, was paying special attention to her condition.

“My lord asked me to check on your condition.”

“I’m fine. H-how is Lord Swen…?”

“Swen is fine. He seems to be pushing himself, but… he appears to be holding up well so far.”

“I see… that’s a relief.”

After saying that, Reika huddled her knees for a moment.

“Um… Lady Irene. Could we talk for a moment?”

*

“It’s narrower than I expected. Seems like it’s a carriage for just two people.”

“Thank you…! For specially making time for me…”

Settled in the carriage, Irene raised her hand dismissively as if to say it was nothing.

“Not at all. I’m sure my lord would understand this much. Anyway, what’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing special… but, um, I-I have something I must tell Lady Irene…”

“Something you must tell me? To me?”

“Y-yes…!”

Reika’s face was filled with determination.

Curious about this expression rarely seen on her, Irene tilted her head and asked.

“What is it?”

Of course.

Until that moment, she couldn’t even begin to imagine the weight of the answer she was about to receive.

“I… I did it.”

“Hmm?”

“With Lord Swen… I did it…!!”

“…?”

Clap!

Reika’s hands firmly grasped Irene’s knees, filling the carriage with a crisp sound.

“K-ki, kikikiki… k-kiss…!!!!”

“!!!!”

“I kissed him…! With Lord Swen!!”

Silence.

After the sound of hands striking knees, an indescribably profound silence followed.

Grasping Irene’s shoulders, which seemed about to turn to stone, Reika cried out pleadingly.

“That’s why! I wanted to tell… at least you!”

“Uh, uh…?”

“You… like Lord Swen, don’t you, Lady Irene?”

“No, that, that’s…”

To Irene, who couldn’t grasp how the conversation had turned from talk of a kiss to this—

Reika delivered her message as if throwing it at her.

It was a first. For her, who had always been hesitant and lived in others’ shadows, to assert her presence so strongly.

“I… didn’t want to be underhanded about this…! I-I also… like Lord Swen. I want him as my husband. But, I… also like you, Lady Irene. If I could serve both you and Lord Swen, and build a family together… that would be enough for me…!”

“Lady Reika…?”

“So, Lady Irene… if you can… convey your feelings to Lord Swen… don’t hold back… if you miss the t-timing, truly…”

Reika slowly removed her hands from her shoulders.

“Truly… it could become a very difficult situation…”

“…”

“If you have feelings you want to convey, you must express them clearly when the time comes… If you don’t and it’s too late, you might lose everything precious… A strangely tangled thread takes a very long time to unravel. So…”

“Lady Irene must… convey those feelings… to Lord Swen…!!”

Hearing those words, her mind, which had seemed to drift away somewhere, slowly returned.

Is that so…?

Must I convey these feelings?

“But…”

Swen had asked her to wait.

Wouldn’t pushing her feelings onto him when he had so many other things to deal with just be a burden to him…?

“I…”

Wouldn’t it be selfish?

Wouldn’t it just make things harder for him when he was already troubled by matters concerning Lunarian?

“I can’t burden him, so…”

Seeing Irene unable to continue speaking properly, Reika took Irene’s rough, coarse knight’s hands firmly in both of hers.

“I can’t know what you’re thinking. But one thing is certain. Lord Swen could never dislike you…!”

“R-Reika…?”

“Sometimes I’ve been… jealous… When Lord Swen talks with you, he becomes more splendid than any other man… he looks happier than when talking to anyone else… Many people converse with Lord Swen. I feel he treats me very kindly and gently when talking with me too… but still… that expression, he only shows it in front of you.”

“…!!”

“So… there’s no way Lord Swen would feel burdened if you express your feelings…”

Hearing Reika’s words, Irene recalled something Serpina had once told her.

Was it that she alone could make Swen show such a splendid expression?

Both Serpina back then and Reika now said the same thing. That Swen showed his most wonderful smile when he was with her.

“Really…?”

Seeing Irene’s face flush red, Reika nodded with a faint smile.

“Of course… he likes you so, so much. I-I don’t lie to Lady Irene… So—”

* * *

‘She told me to convey my feelings, that’s right.’

Irene carefully observed Swen following behind her.

…His expression clearly showed he was flustered.

His cheeks were slightly red. What about me? Am I blushing like Swen too?

Without a mirror she couldn’t check, but considering how hot her face had felt since earlier, she thought she probably looked no different from him.

‘…Haa.’

What was I thinking, doing something so bold?

Even if I wanted to convey my feelings, honestly, I had no idea how to go about it.

Just because Reika said she had kissed him… I vaguely thought I could do it too.

Swen was the first man she had ever gotten close to. She had never been taught how a woman should behave when conveying her feelings to a man.

Besides, she thought herself completely devoid of feminine charm.

Compared to Reika, who was very girlish and would make a good supportive wife, or Serpina, who possessed goddess-like beauty that made one want to dedicate everything to her, she was practically just a tomboy.

Though Swen would be horrified to hear it, Irene was so pure in that regard that she was completely unaware of the devastating effect her figure had.

Even so.

‘He didn’t say he disliked it…’

If Swen didn’t dislike it, then it must be okay.

I’m not sure if my feelings were properly conveyed… but two things became clear.

That I want to become Swen’s wife.

And the certainty that if Reika also became Swen’s wife, we could all live very happily together.

What Irene clearly felt while staying with the two of them was—a sense of bond and belonging.

The very things she had desperately sought but couldn’t find during her time with the Brans forces.

* * *

It didn’t take long to conquer the rest of the territory, starting with Zog Castle.

The problem was that not only Zog Castle but all the remaining territories had been completely burned down.

Of course, our side’s response had also become much faster. There’s a significant difference between facing ruins without any preparation and facing them with preparation, so our army’s response was becoming much more efficient and quicker.

The greatest achievement in this process was that Serpina had finally begun to win the hearts of the Central Continent’s territorial residents.

Although relief camps had been set up before, they were limited to “those with family in the Northern Continent” and required residents to travel quite far, so they could only have a relatively small impact. Now, however, we were digging right into the Central Continent itself to conduct relief activities, so we were bound to catch the eyes of many more people—

In this situation, even those who had lived under the Brans forces for a long time would naturally favor “those who came into the ruins to help them” over “those who burned everything and fled.” That was crystal clear.

“Thank you, Lady Serpina…”

“We will never forget this kindness.”

After somewhat settling the chaos in Chel’s territories in this way.

Our forces were finally able to concentrate troops near Alcanwood Castle, where Chel was making his last stand.

Countless siege engines, the mage Reika, well-fed and well-trained troops in overwhelmingly greater numbers than the enemy.

Before this battle that seemed impossible to lose, Serpina carefully asked me a question.

“What do you think, Swen? Do you judge that we will win this battle?”

“…”

I thought we would probably win without any issues, but I still wrote down her question as it was.

‘Can our forces defeat Chel’s forces in the battle for Alcanwood Castle?’

The answer was output immediately.

And—

[We will win the battle itself.]

‘…?’

—what I heard was a conclusion that gave me an uneasy feeling.