Ch.367Chapter 367. If What You Said Was Not a Lie

* * *

Just as I was getting used to the daily life of recuperating to regain my health.

Knock, knock, knock—I turned my head at the sound of someone knocking on the door—

“It’s been a while, Swen.”

Our master who stands above all others, Lady Serpina, revealed herself.

“You’ve come?”

“Yes. I wanted to see you.”

Serpina was about to put down the basket she had brought, but looked at the mountain of gifts already piled up and said.

“You are truly popular, Swen. What they said about people who associate with you—perhaps it was jealousy toward me, not about you.”

I was about to say that wasn’t it, that the people who would dislike me had mostly been swept away after the recent Al Caski rebellion, and that they were just trying to get on my good side because I was certain to become the new power—

But I didn’t want to bring up such heavy topics to someone who had come to visit me despite her busy schedule, so I just brushed it off with a joke.

“You caught me. Despite my appearance, I’m quite popular.”

“No, that’s not right. If we’re talking about factors contributing to your popularity, your appearance would account for about 80 percent.”

“…Sudden flattery won’t get you anything in return.”

“Flattery? Look into my eyes.”

Serpina now naturally approached me, casually crossing into my personal space.

Her golden eyes came close, looking as if they would devour my face.

My reflection in them showed… a face hiding its embarrassment.

“Do you think these eyes would tell you lies?”

“Well, about half of them.”

“Hahaha… Swen, you really never back down, do you?”

Serpina slowly moved away from me… and lightly stretched.

Amusingly, what entered my field of vision was the sight of her enormous breasts swaying once.

“In any case, I sincerely regret that aspect.”

“Which aspect?”

“That you are a handsome man who could easily tumble women into bed.”

“……”

Lady Irene, Lady Reika, and Lady Serpina too.

Even Lady Silin, and that brothel woman I briefly met at House Brans.

Somehow they all keep saying I’m handsome… but honestly, looking in the mirror, I don’t see it. Do they all have low standards?

‘Well, it’s probably just part of social interaction.’

“Why do you regret that?”

“Because it makes it difficult to prove my sincerity. Even if you were extremely plain, with an appearance that might cause misunderstandings—”

—I would have loved you just the same.

“…!”

“In fact, that might have been better. There would be fewer women competing for you. I would be willing to get along with women who recognize your true worth in such a situation. Isn’t it truly regrettable that I have no opportunity to prove my sincerity?”

“Well… thank you for saying so.”

I thought I had spoken rather curtly.

Serpina chuckled again, and placing her snow-white hand on mine, said:

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you blush in my presence.”

“What…?”

“Are you surprised? Hehe… It seems I’ve grown too. Well, I must grow. I’m always thinking about how to make you my husband, Swen.”

“…Haven’t you taken this joke far enough?”

“Joke? Don’t say such disappointing things. I am serious… I am fully prepared to defeat any competitor and win you over in any situation.”

Seeing Serpina smiling brightly as she said this made my heart feel strange again, and I turned my head away for no reason.

Somehow, since Jenna’s death… Serpina had been approaching me directly much more frequently.

She kept making physical contact like this, or emphasizing things like her breasts… I often felt she was desperately trying to make me see her as a woman.

Of course, since I loved Lady Serpina, I didn’t dislike such approaches, but… still, the war wasn’t over yet, and I wasn’t exclusively serving House Serpina—

—just as I was thinking this.

“Yes, Swen. About competitors.”

“…Pardon?”

“I’m talking about the true ruler in your heart, the one you truly serve.”

‘!’

Serpina’s expression, which had been playful until now, suddenly turned serious.

Because of this, I too became tense and couldn’t say anything.

“Swen. This is merely my conjecture, so you may disregard it. It’s just one conclusion I’ve reached by eliminating all impossible possibilities, as you have done.”

“But, if you have feelings for me. If during all the time we’ve spent together, you’ve felt the same resonance I have. Then… what you said at that time—”

—if your promise to protect me wasn’t a lie spoken out of momentary impulse or to escape a situation, but your clear sincere intention.

“Here, I would like you to be honest. I promise not to ask twice. If you say no, I will believe it’s no. So please tell me the truth, Swen.”

I closed my eyes lightly.

—I can’t avoid it anymore.

I can no longer avoid her, Lady Luna…

I had to acknowledge that the time when I could plan and think about everything alone was passing.

Serpina, looking at me like that.

With a slightly trembling voice… carefully moved her lips.

“Is the name of the true master you serve… Lunarian Iniang?”

* * *

After winning the battle, the Lunarian army successfully occupied Freiheit Castle, the nearest fortress, after completing their reorganization.

They had succeeded in planting the bright green flag in the central continent once again.

The plan to attack the Hesna army from behind was a great success.

The forces led by Ohana, the former ruler of the Ohana army and current commander of the 1st Corps of the Lunarian army, succeeded in capturing a significant portion of Hesna territory in a short period.

As promised to Ohana, the territory he acquired would become his domain when their army established the unified empire, where he would receive the title of Grand Duke.

The Hesna side would probably handle things on their own without separate orders. They had successfully prevented the Brans/Hesna alliance.

“All prisoners from the Brans army have been imprisoned in the underground dungeon.”

“Thank you for your hard work. Rather than recklessly trying to recruit them, I was thinking of giving them time to change their minds. What do you think?”

“I also think that’s the better approach. No one wants to serve under someone they were just crossing swords with. I think time will solve this problem.”

Honestly, the prisoners captured this time weren’t particularly outstanding talents, even from the perspective of the Lunarian army, which was short on human resources.

However, it’s not only exceptional people who lead a nation. Lunarian knew very well the value of ordinary people who could fulfill their roles in any field.

Therefore, she would never execute them carelessly.

“About Charlotte…”

While we captured many prisoners, we didn’t just gain things.

At Luna’s worried voice, Ginor bowed his head and said:

“I’ve requested gold to be transported from the capital. Lynn Brans is not a stupid woman; if we give her a satisfactory amount of wealth, she will make a wise decision.”

“I understand. Is there anything else to report?”

“It’s not grand enough to call a report, but it seems we no longer need to worry about the Hesna army. However, if you’re concerned about Ohana’s Grand Duchy becoming too large in the future—”

“That’s fine. It’s not that important a territory when discussing major nations anyway. And I’m certain Ohana knows his place… he won’t covet territory large enough to go against our wishes.”

“……”

Hearing Luna’s words, Ginor fell into deep thought.

To think that the novice ruler who once didn’t know what to do when making simple decisions had now grown enough to manipulate and control other rulers.

As Swen had said, it seemed this woman was indeed destined to lead the unified empire.

In truth, while it was called a deception strategy, it was a plan that couldn’t have proceeded smoothly if even one part had gone wrong.

For instance, if news of the Ohana army’s surrender had leaked out. And in fact, that possibility had been quite high.

Ginor, even when he was with the Aeshus army, had tried to deceive the Brans army by using the Charam and Alrepel armies. Although the plan was inevitably frustrated by Swen’s existence, the possibility of being detected by someone with insight could never be ruled out.

But she had succeeded in the deception perfectly, without even consulting him.

He wasn’t sure what Ohana was thinking or how he was moving, but that troublemaker was now playing a huge role in the Lunarian army’s goal of continental unification.

The most important fact was that it was Lunarian, not himself, who had created this situation.

She had the decisiveness that Karelia lacked. She possessed the strong fortune that Yurie didn’t have.

Unlike Serpina, who was hated by her subjects, not a single subject under the Lunarian army failed to praise Luna’s rule.

The enormous gold vein discovered at Madlan Castle helped the Lunarian army maintain low tax rates without straining the nation’s finances, and naturally, the subjects began to blindly support Lunarian due to their much-improved household situations compared to before.

This high approval rating was also advantageous for conscription. Forcibly gathering troops was an unavoidable decision in times of chaos. However, high public sentiment was diluting the resistance to conscription.

No, beyond that, the number of young men volunteering to fight for the Lunarian army was extremely high. Right after arriving in the central continent and removing the Brans flags, hadn’t several vigilante groups operating in the area surrendered, saying they wanted to wear Lunarian armor and fight?

A perfect nation!

Without a doubt, the Lunarian army was an ideally functioning nation compared to the countries Ginor had been through—the former Einhart Empire and the Aeshus army.

The only piece missing from such a Lunarian army—Swen.

The piece absolutely necessary for the unification of the Lunarian army had fallen into the hands of the most powerful enemy.

He wanted to contemplate this more deeply, but—

“Did you say an envoy has come from the Brans army?”

—as is typical in chaotic times, the luxury of time for calm reflection was simply not available.