Ch.332Chapter 332. Help Me

* * *

“……Phew.”

After finishing my meditation, I lightly caressed my rapier.

Good. I could feel the mana charging into the rapier.

Since I never knew when I might have the opportunity to utilize Reika’s magic, I needed to consistently train the rapier like this.

Quite annoyingly, this rapier would gradually leak mana if I didn’t use it after charging it. Though I couldn’t see it with my eyes, I could sense it instinctively, just as Reika had said.

I chuckled at the thought of a battery discharging, then soberly reminded myself that quite some time had passed since I crossed over to this world.

Let’s see.

I casually took out my pocket watch to check the time.

It was… 11:30 PM. In my original world this might not matter, but in this world, everyone would be sound asleep by now, preparing for tomorrow.

Perhaps I should rest now.

I lay on the bed, absentmindedly gazing at the starlight pouring through the window.

For some reason, I found myself thinking about Irene and Reika.

When we were at Einhart Castle, the three of us stayed together. We ate meals together every day and shared our daily news as if it were the most natural thing…

‘It really is lonely being on my own.’

Although I had recently met with Irene and Reika and enjoyed our time together, there was a profound difference between seeing each other occasionally and sharing our daily lives.

I wanted to return to Einhart Castle quickly, but if I didn’t stabilize the central continent now, this region would likely fall into chaos again.

For me, this was a much bigger problem than it might seem. This area around Valharat Castle in the central-eastern region would very likely share a border with Lady Luna’s country.

Recently, the Hesna army came with an offer to become a vassal state.

My intelligence score of 100 suggested accepting the offer, but I rejected it unilaterally for Lady Serpina’s sake rather than for the country.

Afterward, as I predicted, the Hesna army contacted the Brans army. Soon after, news arrived that the two countries had formed an alliance.

While publicly it was announced as a simple alliance, it wasn’t difficult to deduce that they had made the same offer to the Brans army as they had to us.

‘Does that mean the alliance between those two is a minus for our army but beneficial for Lady Serpina?’

The armistice agreement between our army and the Brans army still had time remaining.

Having allied with the Brans army, the Hesna army had no reason to provoke us.

In other words, unless they broke the agreement first, battles would only occur within the southern continent for the time being.

As I was wondering what could possibly happen to our army to warrant such a prediction—

Knock knock knock!

Someone was pounding on the door so forcefully that I had no choice but to get up in surprise.

“Strategist, are you there?!”

“Who is it?”

“I have an urgent message for you, Strategist!”

When I opened the door, a soldier with an urgent expression was looking at me, clearly at a loss.

“Calm down. What’s the matter?”

“The lord is urgently looking for you.”

‘Lady Serpina?’

Wondering what could be happening at such a late hour, I asked—

“A rebellion has broken out at Einhart Castle.”

“……!!”

My tired, drowsy mind suddenly became clear as if struck by lightning upon hearing those words.

A rebellion? At the capital, Einhart Castle?

Then… does that mean Castle Lord Jenna has started a rebellion?

Jenna herself, of all people??

No matter how I thought about it, if that woman had such ambition, she wouldn’t have willingly given up the strategist position to me.

It sounded absurd, but considering everything she had been through, not everything made sense anyway.

Reading my expression, the soldier bowed deeply and urgently exclaimed:

“The lord will explain the details. Please hurry!”

“I understand.”

I quickly dressed properly and left the room.

Above all else, I needed to face Serpina, who must be in turmoil.

* * *

After arriving at the small mansion connected to the royal castle.

“This is the place. I’ll go inform the others.”

“Very well. And please order General Irene and General Ian to assess the situation. Tell them that if necessary, all decisions requiring the sovereign’s approval, including preparation for deployment, will be left to their judgment.”

Someone needed to manage the situation in place of Serpina, who was likely in disarray.

I could trust those two. Even if Ian harbored other intentions, I could absolutely trust Lady Irene.

Normally such orders should come from the sovereign, but this much convenience should be acceptable.

“Yes, Strategist!”

After sending the escorting soldier away, I quietly knocked on Serpina’s door.

“My lord. It’s Swen.”

Only after knocking several more times did I hear a pitifully fragile voice from beyond the door.

“…Come in.”

“Excuse me, then.”

As I quietly opened the door and entered—

‘……!!’

For a moment, I couldn’t comprehend what was happening and could only stand there with a dumbfounded expression.

——Soft.

Foolishly, the first sensation I registered was “softness.” The inevitable feeling of another person’s body pressing against mine.

Looking down, I realized a delicate blonde woman had thrown herself into my arms.

“My lord…??”

“…Swen.”

I didn’t reject her leaning against me.

I gently stroked her back with my hand. The clothes she wore weren’t her usual uniform. A negligee.

I had seen this outfit before. The one she had shown me when she rose from bed. That garment that was see-through, making it difficult to know where to look.

How foolish that, despite my brain recognizing the gravity of the situation—

The subtle citrus scent tickling my nose and the feel of a woman’s body, so distinctly different from a man’s, were turning my mind into complete chaos.

I managed to step further into the room and quickly locked the door.

If anyone else were to see this… it would cause all sorts of problems.

“My lord. The current situation…”

“……”

“I heard about the rebellion. At Einhart Castle…”

Serpina remained silent for a long while, then slowly nodded.

“…Yes.”

“Who is behind the rebellion? Is it… Lady Jenna?”

Instead of answering, she slowly shook her head.

“Then…?”

And only then did she provide evidence that explained why she, who had already experienced several rebellions, had collapsed like this.

“She’s dead.”

“…Pardon?”

“Jenna… is dead.”

‘……!!’

Dead?

They killed Castle Lord Jenna and started a rebellion?

Does this mean someone capable of such an act had established themselves within Einhart Castle?

…No, it’s just that while I may not have had much contact with them, the country was large enough that the number of armed officers was incomparably greater than in the countries where I had briefly served before.

Even as a strategist, there were countless officers I had never met due to the distances involved.

“Jenna’s head… was displayed on the castle gate, they said.”

They went that far?

Such cruelty was unnecessary. It felt like a declaration of war against us, filled with resentment.

“What was their reason for rebellion?”

“The opportunity…”

Serpina’s voice began to tremble as she spoke.

She was crying. Serpina was barely managing to squeeze out her words.

“They said they wouldn’t miss the opportunity. The opportunity to drive out the witch and restore things to how they were…”

“They wouldn’t miss the opportunity?”

It was a vague statement, but seeing her condition, I couldn’t possibly press her further.

I should focus on what I could do now.

“First, please calm down. Even though they’ve rebelled, they’ve only occupied Einhart Castle. All the elite soldiers and mages are on our side. It may be somewhat chaotic, but we can subdue them without much difficulty.”

“……”

“And isn’t it I, not someone else, who stands by your side? So we will reclaim it. Considering our agreements with the Brans army, the two countries bordering us won’t cause any disturbances for the time being. During that time, if we focus on recapturing Einhart Castle, we can quickly suppress the rebellion without difficulty.”

“So please calm down. It’s just a matter of resolving what has happened, just as you’ve done well until now.”

All I wanted was for her to stop trembling and regain her composure. That was all.

So I brazenly uttered words that wouldn’t be comforting at all. It’ll be fine. It’s just doing what you’ve done before… words that could even sound miserable depending on how they were heard.

But that’s okay. What I wanted to say was, ‘It will be fine even if such things happen again.’

That’s when—

“Jenna… has died too.”

“What…?”

“The people who supported me… died one by one during the rebellions. Every time a rebellion occurred, those who lost their lives to the rebels… were all people who supported me.”

“Just for taking my side… just for saying they would follow me, they all died. There was nothing I could do. All I could do was suppress the rebellion too late and cut off the heads of those who called me their lord. Nothing else.”

“And now… even Jenna is dead.”

Saying this, Serpina finally lifted her face from my chest and looked directly into my eyes.

“Swen… I’m… so, so tired. It’s too much now. I don’t think I can hold on anymore. So—”

——Please, help me.

In her golden eyes as she spoke, there was no ambition or aspiration—only I existed there.