Ch.352Chapter 352. Aftermath

* * *

The first person to visit me when I regained consciousness was my lord, Serpina.

“Swen…!”

She rushed to me with an urgent expression I had never seen before as I sat resting on the bed.

“I heard from Reika. Are you alright, Swen? Your body?”

“I’m mostly better. I can’t say I’m completely recovered yet, but…”

At that moment.

With a sudden movement.

She threw herself into my arms.

I could tell without seeing her face that she was trembling. …She was crying. Serpina was.

“Thank goodness. I’m so relieved… If only I…”

If only I had been in my right mind.

If I had gone to the battlefield with you, I would have noticed you were making such an absurd plan…

‘……’

Honestly, I had nothing to say.

If it had been Lady Serpina, she would have noticed I was hiding something and persistently questioned what it was. In truth, this was an operation that could never have been carried out under her supervision.

It was only possible because Irian, though Commander-in-Chief, had essentially become my subordinate. The circumstances aligned to make the seemingly impossible possible.

“I’m sorry, Swen… I’m sorry for putting you in such danger…”

“It’s not your fault.”

I slowly stroked Serpina’s back.

She smells nice. The scent of yuzu. She’s wearing perfume this time.

Considering what perfume meant to Lady Serpina, this was quite significant.

Perhaps she too was slowly, little by little, trying to stand up again.

Only after comforting her for quite some time were we able to have a proper conversation.

“How is Reika?”

“She’s gone to rest as she was on the verge of collapse. She depleted herself to the point of exhaustion to heal you… She’ll probably remain asleep for a while.”

That’s right.

Even when I was regaining consciousness, Reika was sobbing while continuously casting healing magic on me.

A mage who had depleted their mana inevitably needed to rest. Like a discharged battery needing to recharge, they required several days to recover.

Reika’s recovery would be faster since she was a top-tier mage, but other mages would take one to two weeks—at that moment.

‘That’s right.’

I had forgotten something important.

“Um, my lord. By the way, what happened to the mage among the enemy forces?”

“We captured them all.”

“All of them, but there was only one, right?”

“Yes. Reika was correct.”

Only then could I hear the detailed circumstances from Serpina.

The third mage to awaken on the continent was Marilyn Al Caskie, the second daughter of the rebel leader Nathan Al Caskie.

She had apparently used a “forbidden technique,” sacrificing her younger brother to use magic.

That’s what hit me, and Reika, who detected the magical power, immediately suppressed it—that seemed to be what happened while I was unconscious.

‘So Reika would have been the one to die if she had been hit by that magic.’

No matter what victory might have been predicted in battle, I couldn’t sacrifice Reika.

It wasn’t just my selfish desire. Strategically, it would have been foolish to sacrifice our overwhelming magical power just to defeat some rebels.

That’s why they targeted the mage.

The more I thought about it, the more unforgivable they seemed… but the ringleader had been captured, and the mage too, so there was no need to dwell on it further.

“What happened to the prisoners?”

“I plan to have Nathan publicly executed in the square today. The rest won’t be able to escape death either.”

“That’s a good approach.”

It might seem cruel, but this was a man who had incited rebellion in the capital city.

People needed to know what the consequences were for rebelling against Serpina’s forces.

Especially for a rebellion in the capital.

“As for Marilyn Al Caskie…”

“Execution. There’s nothing more to consider.”

Serpina had always maintained her composure, though lately I had noticed she became more emotional in front of me—

Even taking that into account, this response was quite aggressive and sharp.

“I absolutely cannot forgive her, of all people. The one who put Swen in danger…!!”

“Isn’t there some circumstance to consider?”

Her father Nathan was the rebel leader.

Marilyn was Nathan’s daughter.

At a glance, it didn’t seem like she would have acted on her own initiative.

But Serpina was resolute this time as well.

“Such matters are of no concern to me. Only one thing matters: that woman put you in danger. That’s all.”

Well…

I wasn’t planning to argue for sparing her life at this point.

She had to die. It would be foolish to spare someone who knew how to use magic and had, for whatever reason, harbored hostility toward Lady Serpina.

“Still, don’t execute her publicly.”

“I know.”

Well, I wasn’t saying this out of sympathy for her.

To be honest, putting a young woman on the chopping block and beheading her, whether justified or not, wouldn’t be a pleasant spectacle for the people of the domain.

“What happened to Merry? The rebel strategist, I mean.”

“She’s dead. The fool tried to escape through an emergency exit that Jenna had prepared. Did she think I wouldn’t know? Such a stupid woman with so little foresight—”

Serpina trailed off.

I see. Merry was the one who carried out Jenna’s assassination. She must have been as hateful to her as Nathan or Marilyn.

“I plan to keep Yupia Al Caskie imprisoned for the time being. She herself is close to an ordinary person without even magical power, so there shouldn’t be any problems. But she won’t be able to live normally either.”

“……”

Though young and destined to be used as a sacrifice, she had still used magic against our forces in the first battle.

Although she was being used… how often does personal sentiment become a hindrance in times of war?

As for the treatment of the remaining armed forces involved in the rebellion, execution was generally decided upon.

Finally, we were able to suppress the rebellion at Einhart Castle and bring the incident to a close.

After finishing her explanation, Serpina once again trembled and leaned against me.

“I… should have been on the battlefield…”

“I should have stopped you somehow. I… I was too weak.”

I quietly listened to her words, then—

Adding a few spoonfuls of confidence to my voice—

“You don’t need to worry so much, Lady Serpina. Actually, I was planning to carry out this operation no matter what, even if you had been there.”

“What…?”

“Well, I have the divine eye, don’t I? And you’re the only one who knows about it. So I thought you might believe me if I insisted I’d be fine? And actually, I am fine now.”

“Are you openly telling me that you would have betrayed my trust?”

“Yes.”

For a moment, Serpina looked at me in shock, her face pale…

Then, with a soft sound.

“I suppose so.”

For the first time since hearing of Jenna’s death, she smiled.

“I would have trusted you and done as you said. I would have trusted you completely. It would have been the same in the end. You… would have made Reika and me cry.”

—You’re a man with many sins, Swen.

“My lord.”

I changed my expression to a serious one.

Then, slowly taking her hand, I said:

“You need to let Jenna go.”

“…!!”

“I think it will be difficult. Letting go of someone who was like a founding contributor to your reign. But, my lord, you must be able to stand firmly even without me. You must bear the weight of Einhart’s crown once again. Because everyone in this country is looking only to you.”

“Swen…”

“Aren’t you the only legitimate ruler of the Einhart Empire?”

Why am I saying these things now?

Do I want Serpina’s forces to endure?

…It’s a question I no longer need to ponder.

Yes.

I want Serpina’s forces to endure.

I don’t want her to… collapse in vain.

Even if a fading future is predetermined.

“……”

“Bury your fallen comrade in your heart, and step forward again, one step at a time. My divine eye will shine upon you, my lord.”

Serpina stared at me silently for a while…

Then, smiling once more.

“—I see.”

She smiled brightly at me.

That appearance was like a bright yellow sunflower.

“I seem to have been too childish with you, Swen.”

“Yes. Though I rather enjoyed that cute side of you.”

“You speak such words before your sovereign? You’re quite bold, Swen.”

“But you’ll trust me as long as I produce results, won’t you? I believe in you, my lord.”

“Hehehe.”

It wasn’t just her manner of speech that had returned to how it used to be.

Serpina’s eyes no longer trembled.

She looked like a leader who had decided which way to go.

“Yes. As you say, my continuing to hide away is not what she would have wanted either…”

Serpina said this, then rose from her seat and began to walk away.

Just as I thought she was about to leave the room.

“Swen.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“…I have something to tell you.”

“?”

“……”

Serpina stood with her back to me, saying nothing for a while…

“I need… to prepare myself.”

“Prepare yourself?”

“Yes. When I’m ready, I’ll come back. I promise.”

I don’t know what it’s about, but it probably isn’t anything too important.

I nodded without much thought and said:

“Alright. I’ll always be here, so please tell me whenever you feel comfortable.”

“I will.”

And with that, she closed the door with a thud and left the room.

‘Haah…’

I stretched my arms out on the bed and tilted my head back.

—In the end, I couldn’t bring up the dream.

‘Well, I’ll have a chance to bring it up someday…’

Anyway, we stopped the rebellion, so that’s what matters.

Since my physical condition wasn’t completely recovered either, there was no need to rush.

Thinking this, I lay back down on the bed.

It was truly a rare moment when I could rest alone without any worries.

* * *

A few days later.

Jenna’s funeral was held in the square of Einhart Castle.

* * *