Ch.360Chapter 360. Lunarien vs. Brans (2)

And so, just as Ginor finished his thoughts and opened the door to leave the room.

“Lord Ginor.”

“…!”

Suddenly, a woman’s voice came from behind him.

A voice filled with great affection yet tinged with a certain chilling coldness.

Startled, he turned his head… and there stood his lord, Lunarian.

“M-My lord…?”

“You seemed to be having a pleasant conversation with people I haven’t seen before… who were they?”

For a moment, Ginor’s heart sank…

But perhaps due to his years of experience, he quickly regained his composure, bowed his head, and replied.

“They are young people I know personally. I had something to ask of them.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Luna, still maintaining her smile, asked.

“It must be important if Lord Ginor needed to ask for help. What was it?”

“…”

Ginor realized this was a critical moment in his life.

Should he lie and move on? Or should he just be honest?

There was only one reason to hide it. When it came to Swen, Lady Lunarian was incapable of making rational judgments.

It had been that way when he was first appointed, and Violet’s testimony later confirmed it.

There was no basis for judgment. Now, it was only intuition built over more than 60 years of life. A time to choose based on feeling.

And Ginor’s choice was—

“To be precise, they were personal messengers.”

“Messengers?”

“For communication with Lord Swen.”

“!!!!!”

Luna’s expression turned deathly pale upon hearing this.

—Ginor’s choice was to speak honestly.

Looking at it objectively, this wasn’t something worth hiding. Not getting caught would have been best.

Rather, if he tried too hard to conceal it, it wouldn’t be strange for a ruler to suspect he was exchanging secrets with a spy from an enemy country.

Besides, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that his lord had approached them first and extracted information before speaking to him.

In such a situation, lying might make her think, “Why isn’t he telling me about his communications with Swen?” and cause her to be wary of him. For someone serving as a national strategist, nothing is more awkward than being viewed with suspicion by the ruler.

Judging by her pale face, it seemed she hadn’t known about it…

Whatever the case, it was better to be honest about what needed to be said.

“L-Lord Swen…”

“I’ve been in contact with him. The young people I just met were messengers bringing a reply from Lord Swen.”

“!!!”

Luna, having cast aside the mask of gentle smile she had been wearing until now, approached Ginor and asked almost pleadingly.

This is real.

The person facing me now is the real Lady Luna.

“How is Lord Swen? Is he safe?”

“Yes. He seems to be doing well.”

“No. That’s impossible…”

“Pardon? However—”

Luna cut off Ginor’s words and stated definitively.

“He’s being deceived by a woman like Serpina. So even if he said he’s doing well… that’s not really doing well. No—”

—He shouldn’t be doing well.

If such a nonsensical thing were true, it would mean the world has gone wrong.

“…!!”

For a moment, Ginor wondered if he had misheard.

Shouldn’t be doing well?

That was more of an assertion than a prediction.

A stance that extreme people might take, refusing to accept anything else.

But Swen had said, “This is the path for everyone’s happiness”…?

“So, why did you contact him?”

“Well… I asked when he might return here.”

“!!!”

Luna once again lost her composure and clung to Ginor, asking almost pleadingly.

The Red-Eyed Dragon who never blinked an eye even after striking down people in a single blow… was now so precariously shaken because of just one man.

“W-When is he coming? When is Lord Swen… my strategist… when is he returning…?!”

“Well… it seems he wishes to remain with Serpina’s forces for now.”

“Why?!”

“It seems he believes that path is for your benefit, Lady Luna. I don’t know the exact reasons myself, but…”

“…Lord Swen…”

Luna released Ginor’s sleeve and muttered with her head bowed.

…There was no life in her eyes. They were dead eyes that sent chills down one’s spine.

“Why… Lord Swen… why, why is serving under Serpina the path for me?”

“What kind of sweet talk did she use to deceive our kind-hearted Lord Swen…”

“That hateful woman… Serpina… what on earth did she say…!!!!!”

Her ruby-colored eyes blazed with the emotion of anger.

A pure, spotless anger never before seen in the usually gentle woman.

“I can’t forgive her. That woman who manipulates my Lord Swen with her silver tongue… never… I will never forgive her…!!!!”

“—My lord!”

With a firm grip, Ginor placed his hand on Luna’s shoulder, bringing her back to her senses.

“Please calm yourself. While I know something about Lord Swen… surely you know him better than anyone else, don’t you?”

“I know him… best?”

“Yes.”

Ginor quickly offered words he thought she would want to hear, in an attempt to calm her down.

The fact that she lost her rationality when Swen was mentioned meant that his existence to her was more than just that of an excellent strategist.

If that was the case, he needed to elevate her status. And manipulating people with his tongue was what Ginor did best in the world.

“He’s not someone who would make meaningless decisions, is he? And he certainly wouldn’t betray you, Lady Luna.”

“…That’s right. Lord Swen would never betray me! Never…! For me, in that village. At Castle Zeilant…”

Luna, who had been raging irrationally just moments ago, began to shed tears.

“At Castle Zeilant, he sacrificed himself alone for us… *sob*.”

Though Ginor was curious about what had happened, that wasn’t the important thing right now.

He spoke as if comforting a subordinate. Though he knew it wasn’t an appropriate attitude toward his lord, there was no choice at the moment.

“That’s right. Hasn’t he always worked for your sake, Lady Luna? That heart didn’t change even when he was in Aeshus. Even when he was under Yurie, he was always thinking of you. Of course, you know this better than anyone, don’t you?”

“Yes… I know.”

“So I believe his current decision… to serve under Serpina, must ultimately be a decision for the benefit of our Lunarian forces. Though I don’t possess the mysterious abilities of Lord Swen and can’t even begin to guess what he’s thinking… nevertheless, wouldn’t it be the right path for you to trust in Lord Swen, Lady Luna?”

“…!!”

With those words, life gradually returned to Luna’s dead eyes.

“You’re right…! I need to trust him… Swen always… always trusted me. And Swen promised that by trusting him… he would give me the world…”

“…?”

Wait a minute.

He promised to give her the world by trusting him?

Apart from being new information, there was something significant about that sentence…

‘No. I need to focus on resolving this first.’

Ginor dismissed the stray thought, bowed his head, and said.

“So, my lord, how about trusting Lord Swen for now? He must have his reasons, and they will ultimately benefit our forces. Perhaps it would be best to focus on dealing with the Brans forces before us?”

“…Lord Ginor is right. So that we won’t be ashamed when our strategist returns… we should do what needs to be done.”

Saying that, she bowed to Ginor at a 90-degree angle, most unbecoming of a ruler.

“I apologize for my behavior, Lord Ginor. I showed you an embarrassing side of myself.”

“Not at all, my lord. Please don’t do this. As your servant, it’s only natural that I offer such advice.”

After somehow calming Luna down.

Watching her retreating figure as she went to organize the troops, Ginor was left alone with his thoughts.

‘It’s clear that Lord Swen is our lord’s sore spot.’

While he had told her it was “for the benefit of Lunarian forces,” Swen’s words had strictly included everyone.

Moreover, given the circumstances so far, it was highly likely that “everyone” included Serpina von Einhart.

What if his lord found out about that…?

‘…’

Not wanting to think about the conclusion, Ginor shook his head vigorously.

Yes. This was no time for such idle thoughts, starting with himself.

After all, once they dealt with the Brans forces and advanced into the central continent, they would inevitably share a border with Serpina’s forces, whether they liked it or not.

This issue could be addressed when the time came.

‘Lord Swen. Whatever your scheme is… I hope you’re not foolish enough to think you can embrace both Lady Lunarian and Serpina.’

Well, being able to see the future, he probably wouldn’t make such a foolish decision…

With such thoughts, Ginor quickly left the place.

* * *

The capital of the Brans forces, Castle Anel.

The news traveled swiftly like a legless horse and reached the ears of the blue-haired sovereign.

“So. They’ve declared war against our forces, you say?”