Ch.337Chapter 337. Al-Kaski’s Rebellion (3)

“What? What do you mean I did well—”

Before I could finish my sentence, Serpina nuzzled her face against my chest and spoke.

“I… tried hard… I tried to act like nothing was wrong.”

“Lady Serpina…?”

“I wanted to run away, but I didn’t run from the Einhart name. I… did well… didn’t I?”

I couldn’t bring myself to answer and just stared at her with blank eyes.

This can’t be happening.

Our absolute ruler Lady Serpina, who seemed like she would never break down… was now acting like a child seeking comfort from me.

Was Jenna’s death such a shocking event for her?

But she must have experienced betrayal from those she trusted or lost loved ones many times throughout her life…

Had all that accumulated damage finally reached a breaking point where she could no longer endure?

Regardless, what I needed to do remained unchanged.

“Of course, Lady Serpina. You did well. Even though you didn’t want to do it, even though your mind must have been in turmoil, you did remarkably well.”

“Yes…”

Only after hearing my words did Serpina gradually calm her ragged breathing.

“Swen… I like you.”

“What…??”

For a moment my face almost flushed, but—

“You smell good. A good smell… the smell of your skin.”

…Oh, she was talking about my smell.

I was about to ask if my skin could smell through my clothes, but there was actually a word that came to mind when thinking of scents.

“You smell good too, Lady Serpina.”

“Hm? Me…?”

Serpina raised her head to focus on my words, staring at me intently while blinking her large golden eyes.

Wait… has she always been this cute?

“Like yuzu.”

“Ah… that. You mean my perfume.”

“Perfume?”

“Yes. It was my mother’s. When I was very young, she gave it to me as a gift… When I wore that perfume, I felt like my mother was protecting me…”

Now that I thought about it, the yuzu scent that usually emanated strongly from her seemed fainter now.

Perhaps she’d applied less in her distressed state.

“What kind of person was your mother?”

“She was kind and gentle. She had poor health and passed away early… I don’t have many good memories of my family, but I never thought badly of my mother. Those were some of my few truly happy moments.”

After that, I continued the conversation by asking her light questions.

It was trivial small talk with nothing important—but for me, it was a precious time to learn about Serpina as a person, not as Serpina von Einhart, the ruler of the Serpina Army.

And the more we talked, the more I could feel her trembling and breathing becoming calmer. If my goal was to soothe her, this strategy was working quite well.

As our conversation was winding down, Serpina looked at me and said:

“It’s strange.”

“What is?”

“Swen, talking with you… my anxiety has disappeared.”

“I’m glad. I told you, didn’t I? That I would protect you.”

“Yes.”

With those words, Serpina leaned into me once more.

The gap between this Serpina and the one I knew was so vast that I still couldn’t adjust to it.

Would you believe me if I said it would feel more natural if she suddenly said, “I have specially deigned to entertain you with my presence”?

“Your smell… my mother’s smell is nice, but Swen, I like your smell just as much.”

“…Pardon?”

Instead of answering, she pressed her face against my chest as if trying to burrow through it.

“I wish I could have your smell on me.”

“Swen, I wish you and I could have the same smell… so strong that anyone would know immediately… I want to mix with you.”

“…!”

—Gulp.

I swallowed unconsciously.

Did she understand what she was saying?

A beautiful blonde woman saying she “wanted to share the same smell” and “wanted to mix deeply” while rubbing her entire body against me.

Though she didn’t possess the overwhelming size of Lady Irene, she still had objectively large breasts, which were constantly pressing against me with their soft, springy texture.

This Lady Serpina wasn’t her usual self.

She was in a state where her spirit had finally broken after losing a trusted general and facing another rebellion.

In this situation, if the only person she trusted asked her for “something,” she would probably grant whatever it was.

I had thought about this recently.

With Lady Irene and Reika around, and with my position as State Strategist, the Serpina Army was practically in my grasp—a somewhat presumptuous thought.

And now.

Not just the Serpina Army, but Lady Serpina herself… seemed to have fallen into my hands.

Yes.

I could do anything.

She would do whatever I commanded. “Anything.”

What’s a country compared to this? It might not be impossible to take the ruler and effectively reign as the de facto monarch.

‘…No.’

But.

I won’t do that.

I won’t try to manipulate her by taking advantage of her vulnerability.

I can’t abandon her when most of humanity has already done so.

With that thought, the male desire I had felt from physical contact with her quickly subsided.

…Good. This is fine for now.

I gently embraced Lady Serpina.

“I would like that too.”

I reached out and ran my fingers through her hair, combing it gently.

It seems I’ll be following her closely for the time being.

For now, we need to meet with the northern territory lords to handle the aftermath…

Somehow, from a certain point, thoughts of Lady Serpina and the Serpina Army had been growing larger in my mind.

The scariest thing at this point was—that even I was deliberately ignoring “that fact.”

* * *

Somewhere in the territory of the Ohana Army, Southern Continent.

“Is that really true…?”

“Yes. I heard there was a rebellion in Einhart Castle.”

“What are those central folks doing? When there’s a rebellion in the capital, they should be responding to it at the very least. Tsk tsk.”

“Thanks to that, Serpina couldn’t come down here, so that’s fortunate.”

“Well, that’s true…”

There was a woman eavesdropping on the territory residents’ gossip like a little mouse.

‘A rebellion in Einhart Castle…?’

If that’s the case, now would be the perfect opportunity to attack the Serpina Army…

Just then, the man in front of her spoke irritably:

“Miss. Are you buying or not?”

“What? Oh… I’ll buy it. Sorry. Just a moment.”

The woman somehow managed to pay with her one remaining arm, then carried the food back to the hut where her friend was waiting.

“I’m back.”

“…”

Inside the hut, another woman sat in a chair, silently staring out the window.

Her eyes, each a different color, contained nothing. No despair, no hope, no pain, no sorrow, no joy—devoid of any emotion, completely empty.

Who would believe that this woman sitting here was once a rival competing for continental hegemony alongside Lynn Brans and Serpina von Einhart?

“Yurie. I’ll put this on the table, so eat whenever you want.”

The woman who brought the food—Anima—awkwardly set the table with her single remaining arm.

She wanted to eat together, but since Yurie had become mute, she never ate in front of Anima.

That day.

After leaving Epinel behind, the southern continent was where Anima had chosen to flee to survive.

At first, she had considered escaping to the mid-western continent where the Brans Army was located, as the path there was relatively less treacherous. But as long as they remained within the central continent, they could be in danger at any time, and there was also the possibility that Lynn, who was currently in an agreement with Serpina, might find them and send them to her. Considering all this, coming here for refuge was the best choice no matter how many times she thought about it.

Although Yurie had lost her ability to speak since that day, and Anima herself was merely living idly while caring for her, at least they weren’t short on funds, so perhaps that was some consolation.

‘At first, I thought about serving under Navidos Ohana, but…’

Having come to the southern continent, Anima was quite aware of the storm the Lunarian Army was causing.

Even so, Ohana wasn’t without opportunities. If the Ohana Army had attacked Tepel Castle while the Lunarian Army was at war with the Rolland Army, they would have had a good chance. Even with a magician on their side, wars were ultimately won by sheer numbers.

Yet seeing Ohana’s complete inaction, she instinctively knew:

Ohana was not someone worth serving.

‘For now, staying hidden here is the best option.’

Someday an opportunity would come. An opportunity to take revenge on Serpina, their enemy.

She had no intention of being cruel enough to make the exhausted Yurie lead a nation again.

If there was someone who could take revenge on Serpina, she would gladly pour all her meager talents into supporting them.

‘The one with the highest possibility right now is…’

In Anima’s view, the nation with the highest chance of fighting and defeating the Serpina Army currently was—

* * *

Madlan Castle, capital of the newly established Lunarian Army.

“Is that true?”

“Yes, Strategist.”

The soldier respectfully relayed the news he had heard to Ginor once more.

“The famous ‘Siege Specialist’ female knight, Irene Juliette, has been appointed as the new commander of the Serpina Army!”