Ch.375Chapter 375. Time Flows Equally for Everyone (2)

* * *

In the audience chamber of Einhart Castle.

A soldier knelt before Lady Serpina and spoke.

“I am here to see Your Imperial Majesty.”

“Yes. You may skip the formalities. What brings you here?”

“I’ve come to deliver a report from Commander Irene.”

The soldier then handed over a parchment scroll that he had been carefully keeping on his person.

“Thank you for your hard work. Until I give you a reply, please rest and recover from your journey.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

After the soldier withdrew.

Serpina glanced at me standing beside her and asked.

“What do you think?”

“If it’s something General Irene would report in the current situation… it must be about the border.”

“You’re thinking the same as I am. Probably—”

—It must be about the Lunarian army.

—It must be about the Lunarian army.

Finding it amusing that we had uttered those words almost simultaneously, Serpina looked at me with a soft chuckle.

“…It seems our minds are in sync.”

“It appears so.”

Serpina slowly unfolded the letter.

“…”

“What does it say?”

“Would you like to see for yourself?”

“It’s fine if you just summarize the important parts.”

“If that’s what you prefer.”

Serpina rolled the parchment back up, set it aside, and turned to look at me.

“It can be summarized in two points. First, it seems the Hesna army has been destroyed.”

Given that the deception by the Lunarian army and the former Ohana army had succeeded, this wasn’t particularly surprising news.

It was literally just a matter of time.

“What about Aski Hesna’s movements?”

“Well, it seems she has submitted to the Lunarian army.”

“…I see.”

“Well, a woman of Hesna’s caliber might have thought she could handle things herself… That’s what she might have thought. What do you think?”

“Me?”

“Yes. If you don’t mind, Swen, I’d like to hear your opinion.”

…That’s right.

Now Serpina also knew that Lunarian was the ruler I served.

She naturally thought I would know Lunarian well.

I thought it would be proper to dispose of a captured lord to prevent future troubles—

But in truth, that only applied to those who were threatening or ambitious.

Hesna in the game wasn’t a particularly bad ruler, but she wasn’t an exceptional one either.

Someone of Lunarian’s caliber, who now led a nation of this size, could certainly control her, so perhaps that’s why she allowed it.

I could speculate that Ohana might have done something in the process… but I had far too little information about the Lunarian army to make accurate predictions.

In my memory, the Lunarian army was just a small nation with only four people, with Zeilant Castle as its capital.

And honestly—

“I’m not exactly sure… but I think my lord’s judgment is probably correct.”

“You don’t know either? I thought that if anyone would know what Lunarian was thinking, it would be you. Of course, being a true ruler, she might find it difficult to share all information with you, but—”

“No, that’s not it. She’s not the type to hide things from people she likes.”

“…Ahem.”

Watching Serpina clear her throat, I gave a bitter smile.

—Honestly, I could no longer be certain that I knew what kind of person Luna was.

“Actually, I haven’t served Luna for that long.”

“You haven’t served her for long?”

“Yes. In fact, purely in terms of time, I’ve served you, Serpina, the longest.”

That wasn’t all.

I had been with the Brans army and the Aeshus army longer than with the Lunarian army.

The time I served Luna was truly just a fleeting moment for me.

Serpina looked at me with slightly widened pupils, as if surprised, and said.

“Then Swen, you still hold in your heart a ruler whom you served only briefly?”

“Yes.”

“I’m curious about the reason.”

The reason.

At first, it was very simple. Because I discovered she was destined to become the unifying ruler.

But now, it wasn’t just for that reason.

“Just because. She was the only one who believed in me when I had nothing.”

“When you had nothing…?”

“Yes. Believe it or not, I spent quite a long time wasting away in taverns.”

She came looking for me multiple times when I had neither fame nor anything else, and recommended me.

After taking me in, she pushed through with only my words, despite opposition from existing generals.

None of the other rulers I served gave me that level of trust from the very beginning.

“She believed in me… so naturally, it’s only right that I repay that trust, isn’t it?”

Hearing those words, Serpina turned her head away from me for a moment—

“…I’m envious.”

“Pardon?”

“I truly envy Lunarian Ineanne.”

That she could meet you first.

That she established herself in a place where she could face you.

“Swen, to receive that level of trust from you… honestly, I’m jealous. If I could be her, I would abandon even my imperial bloodline.”

“…”

This time, I refrained from speaking carelessly.

I wanted to be honest with Serpina. I didn’t want to deceive her unnecessarily. Therefore, I had no choice but to be sparing with my words.

As much as Serpina was dear to me, my promise to Luna was also important.

“…Well, it would be unfair of me to be childish about such matters. As you said, Swen, I’m not the type to burden someone I love either.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Anyway, if you don’t know much about Lunarian… then you probably don’t understand why the next matter has happened either.”

“The next matter?”

Ah, that’s right, she said there were two points to summarize.

“It seems the Lunarian army has amassed troops at the border.”

“…!!”

I could immediately understand as soon as I heard that.

That was why this letter had arrived.

While the fall of the Hesna army was basically a given at this point, the fact that troops were being gathered at the border—

“I don’t know if it’s to invade our army, or to defend against an invasion from our army…”

“For defense… do we have troops deployed at that border?”

That area connected to the Brans territory.

And we had a non-aggression treaty with the Brans army. Naturally, we wouldn’t have concentrated troops there.

As I thought, Serpina shook her head.

“No troops are concentrated there. That’s why I wanted to ask for your thoughts. About what Lunarian might be thinking by gathering troops there.”

“I see…”

War…

War with the Lunarian army. No matter how many times I thought about it, it was a concept I couldn’t quite grasp.

“In a situation where they’re already facing off against the Brans army, I don’t think they would want to expand the front. It would be inefficient.”

“Ginor Nighthart was there, wasn’t he? I don’t think someone of Ginor’s caliber would make such a reckless move. Well, considering how the Lunarian army has grown, they might use some outlandish method we can’t even imagine.”

“…”

What would happen if our army fought against the Lunarian army?

…We probably couldn’t win.

Because Serpina didn’t have the “destiny” that Luna had.

“What do you think we should do?”

Is Irene waiting for my lord’s decision—that is, my decision?

Knowing that I need to return to Luna’s army, is it really okay to prepare for war?

That was the essence of that letter.

It seemed like this wasn’t something I could command from afar; I needed to go and see the situation for myself.

“How is Einhart Castle doing?”

“It’s in a fairly stable state. We’ve done several additional recruitments since then, so the vacancy in the internal affairs position has been resolved.”

“Then shall we head down to Valhalat Castle soon?”

“Will you be coming with me?”

“Yes. To respond proactively, I think it’s right for you to come along, my lord.”

Serpina fell into thought for a moment, then posed a question to me.

“…Do you think it would be most effective for me to go down to Valhalat Castle with you?”

[It’s the best choice available.]

“…Again with the ‘available’?”

Since the first time the word “available” appeared.

My predictions had consistently been along the lines of “relatively better” or “the best available option.”

The repeated emphasis suggested there was definitely something there—but unfortunately, there was no way to find out at this stage.

Still, judging by the answer, this seemed to be the best decision, so… it should be fine.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Actually, I was thinking the same thing. Perhaps… we might have to start a war, so I can’t afford the luxury of sitting on my backside in the capital. However.”

Serpina looked straight into my eyes and said.

“I can’t think of a suitable person to entrust Einhart Castle to.”

“A suitable person?”

“Yes. You obviously need to come with me, and if war might break out, we absolutely must take General Kransis and General Irian as well. Not to mention Reika.”

“When Jenna was here before, I could entrust the capital with peace of mind… but now I can’t think of anyone suitable.”

Just mentioning Jenna’s name made her expression forlorn.

Yes. Too many people had died.

They didn’t die in war. More than 80% of our talented people died in the rebellion.

We couldn’t just put someone who had just joined as an internal affairs officer in charge of the capital castle.

‘Isn’t there someone trustworthy…’

Someone who had some individual ability and at the same time was unlikely to betray us—

When I narrowed it down, there was actually one person who came to mind.

“Um, my lord.”

“What is it?”

“There is someone suitable we could entrust it to.”

“Is that true? Who do you have in mind?”

Serpina asked, tilting her head in surprise.

“Well… they’re definitely a good person, but they’re not officially affiliated with our country.”

“That doesn’t matter. If you recommend them, I’m willing to go and recruit them myself.”

“If that’s the case… would you come with me for a moment?”

Serpina nodded at my words.

“Even if it were a hellfire pit, if you wished to go there, I would accompany you.”

“No, you don’t need to be that determined… but still.”

I extended my hand to Serpina.

“I’ll do the same. Wherever we go, I’ll be with you, my lord… with you, Serpina.”

“Yes. I’ve always known that, Swen.”

She took my hand without hesitation.

The warm sensation felt at our fingertips bound us tightly together.

* * *

And so, the place I brought Serpina to was the dormitory—a place of memories for me.

The time I shared a room with my roommate, the guard knight Jenis, now felt like a distant memory.

And now, here—

That person who had lost their place to stay due to the recent rebellion at Einhart Castle was residing.

“M-me…?”

“Yes. Please lend me, Serpina, your strength, Iolline.”

Iolline Al Caskie.

Currently the only support we could lean on.