Ch.388Chapter 388. I Cannot Be Your First

* * *

Outside the city gate.

I stood at the very front with Irene, escorting our lord as she descended from the carriage.

As the Legion Commander and National Advisor, it was only natural for the two of us to take the lead.

“Welcome, my lord.”

As Irene bowed respectfully, Serpina extended her hand to commend her efforts.

“Irene. Thank you for overseeing the central continent in my absence. Without you, I could not have successfully suppressed the rebellion at Einhart Castle.”

“I merely fulfilled my duty as your subject.”

After finishing her greeting with Irene, she slowly approached me.

“Swen.”

“…?”

I kept my head bowed, but when she remained silent for a long moment, I became curious and was about to slightly raise my head when—

Suddenly, with a rush.

“…!!”

Serpina embraced me tightly.

“My lord…?”

“…I missed you.”

I wasn’t the only one surprised; Irene, who was watching, also seemed taken aback by this unexpected situation, her face flushing.

“I missed you, Swen. I understand it was a necessary request, but being separated from you… now feels more frightening to me than any trial. Being without the only ally who was always by my side… was far too unsettling.”

“Lady Serpina…”

“Forgive me for being childish. But… I hope you understand that restraining myself any further would be too much, even for me.”

I silently stroked Serpina’s back.

Though the soft sensation made me slightly nervous… I didn’t want to run away out of embarrassment.

The intense citrus scent, now as familiar as a mother’s embrace, enveloped my entire body.

“…I missed you too.”

We silently shared each other’s warmth for a moment.

Glancing at Irene… she was watching us with what seemed to be a touched expression.

Having heard about Serpina’s personal circumstances from me, she seemed to be having various thoughts of her own.

After we ended our brief embrace.

“Well. This may be sudden, but I have something to tell you.”

“I also have several important matters to report to you, my lord.”

Serpina’s golden eyes gleamed at my words.

“Reports, you say? Coming from none other than you, Swen, I’m curious about what you consider important.”

“You may speak first if you wish, my lord.”

“No. Let me hear your story first.”

When she insists like that, well, as a subject, I should follow her orders.

“First, Anel Castle has fallen. I heard that General Tifa of the Lunarian army made quite an impact as a mage.”

“I’ve heard about that as well. It was an inevitable situation.”

“Is that so?”

I thought she wouldn’t have received the news since they would have been marching in formation toward this place…

Perhaps she had been gathering intelligence on her own while continuing the march?

“Besides that… due to the Lunarian army’s declaration of war, we lost Raclaine Castle to them.”

Serpina tilted her head slightly and said:

“Is that so? I heard about the declaration of war, but so they’ve actually occupied the castle. When I heard about Anel Castle, I thought they had diverted their forces there… It seems we need to recognize that the Lunarian army has the capability to operate on two fronts.”

So she had heard about Anel Castle but not about Raclaine Castle?

Although the two incidents occurred almost simultaneously… it seemed there was some missing link I wasn’t aware of.

“I am deeply sorry, my lord.”

In response to Irene’s words, Serpina extended her hand in a gesture indicating it was alright.

“How many could have predicted that the Lunarian army would suddenly unify the southern continent and push toward us, especially when our elite troops were all sent to suppress the rebellion? I understand it must have been an extremely difficult battle for you. So, instead of apologies, I would appreciate better results in the future.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“And secondly, this is somewhat personal…”

“What is it?”

I glanced at Irene.

Having just witnessed the embrace between Serpina and me, she must understand the nature of our relationship.

Irene slowly nodded.

For both Irene and Serpina’s sake, I needed to clearly state what needed to be said.

“I intend to marry Irene.”

“!!!!!!”

It was amusing.

She had barely reacted when hearing about Raclaine Castle’s fall, dismissing it as something that could happen, but now she stared at me with pale eyes at the mere news of marriage.

“I plan to… formally take Irene Juliette as my wife.”

Serpina stared at me for a long time, unable to speak, and then—

“…I see.”

She said that with a somewhat bitter smile.

“I expected it, but I cannot be your first, it seems.”

“That’s—”

I quickly gestured to stop Irene who was about to say something—

“I believe that deceiving my heart simply because you are my lord would ultimately be deceiving you, Lady Serpina.”

“…You’re right.”

“My feelings were sincere then and remain so now. I would like you to know just that.”

“I know.”

Serpina remained silent for a moment with her head bowed—

Then, smiling, she looked at Irene.

“I apologize, Irene. Though I was unaware, I ended up embracing your husband-to-be.”

“Apologize? Not at all, my lord! I just…”

Irene hesitated for a long time, not knowing what to do—

Finally, as if resolved, she looked directly at Serpina with her violet eyes shining.

“I… as your subject, this may be presumptuous of me to say…”

“But if I were to have a family…”

“…!”

“Having lost my father at a young age and essentially becoming an orphan—if I were to have a family, I would sincerely wish for someone like you, Lady Serpina.”

“Irene…”

“So if my lord were to marry Swen in the future… I would hope we could live happily together as a family. Whether I’m first or second doesn’t matter to me at all. If I dare to love the person my lord loves… such order is merely a secondary concern.”

Serpina blinked her golden eyes as she looked at Irene—

Then, letting out a slight laugh, she spoke with a somewhat more relaxed expression:

“Irene, I think I understand why you receive so much love from Swen.”

“…”

“…Thank you for accepting me as family. I too am essentially an orphan like you…”

“Irene, having a woman like you become family… would truly be a joyous thing for me as well.”

Feeling the atmosphere becoming too heavy, I changed the subject to lighten the mood.

“By the way, didn’t you say you also had something to tell us, my lord?”

“Yes. If circumstances had allowed, we could have had a more personal conversation… but unfortunately, the current situation doesn’t permit that.”

Serpina, who had momentarily appeared flustered by the marriage news, returned to her usual sovereign demeanor as she looked at me.

“Swen. While marching toward this place, I received an envoy.”

“An envoy, you say?”

“Yes.”

Marching with a large number of soldiers naturally took quite a long time.

Unless forced marching, they would obviously need to set up base camps to rest along the way, and if the sovereign was among them, encountering an envoy wasn’t unusual.

The issue was—

The number of nations that could send envoys was limited.

‘There are three countries remaining on the continent.’

The Lunarian army, the Brans army, and our Serpina army.

The Lunarian army sending an envoy? Absurd. They had just declared war, and although they had captured some of our generals as prisoners, even if diplomatic efforts were made, there was no need for them to send an envoy first when they were the ones holding prisoners.

So it must be the Brans army, and if they sent an envoy to us, there could only be one reason.

“Did the Brans army request reinforcements?”

Although they were in a precarious state after losing Anel Castle, they could have held out to some extent if the Serpina army joined forces with them.

But even that seemed strange. It would merely be prolonging the inevitable; having lost Anel Castle, the Brans army could no longer exert significant influence on the continent.

Hearing my words, Serpina drew a seductive arc at the corner of her mouth, as if amused.

“You’re right that it was the Brans army, but it seems you haven’t figured out why they sent the envoy.”

“…?”

Serpina immediately erased her smile and spoke in the serious tone of a sovereign:

“The Brans army has expressed their intention to surrender.”

“!!!”

Surrender.

The Brans army… to the Serpina army?

That proud Lynn, voluntarily proposing surrender to us, the Serpina army, whom she had every reason to hate?

As I realized why Serpina knew about Anel Castle despite not knowing about Raclaine Castle—

“That can’t be…!”

Irene, standing beside me, couldn’t hide her shock at something she never imagined possible.

What must she be feeling, witnessing the surrender of her former lord—who had once oppressed and tried to kill her—to her new lord?

“They said they would surrender all remaining territories and armed forces. The western continent is essentially lost since it can’t be accessed without Anel Castle… what do you think, Swen?”

“Well, there’s not much to think about…”

Very simply.

Setting aside all cause and effect relationships, looking just at the conclusion—there was no reason not to accept the surrender.

First, the talent pool. While the Serpina army currently appeared to be a powerful nation, consecutive rebellions had devastated our pool of talented individuals.

And the rebellion at Einhart Castle had put the final nail in the coffin. In conclusion, Nathan Al Caski had essentially committed suicide while holding most of the Serpina army’s officers in his grasp.

We had to fill all administrative positions at Einhart Castle with novices, and even Ioline, who took the role of castle lord, was a rookie who had been commissioned less than a year ago.

Second, territory.

Although Anel Castle was lost, if the Brans army joined us, we could definitely secure dominance over the central continent.

Currently, the left side of the central continent was occupied by the Brans army and part of the right side by our army—absorbing the Brans army would undoubtedly make the map look much prettier.

Additionally, unlike the central-eastern region, the central-western continent had escaped the impact of the epidemic thanks to Lynn’s tightly sealed borders. It was the best choice in terms of replenishing our forces.

‘I see.’

So that’s why they offered to surrender to our army.

Unlike the Lunarian army, our army could gain quite a lot by acquiring the Brans army.

However, the biggest issue was whether to keep Lynn Brans alive—

I wondered if it was right to accept someone who had once tried to kill none other than Irene.

“Swen.”

At that moment.

Irene approached me and spoke, as if reading my thoughts.

“I’m fine with it. I don’t dwell on the past. I left all such lingering feelings behind at the northern continent fortress when I came with you.”

“Lady Irene…”

“Whatever conclusion you reach, I’ll trust your judgment, so please don’t feel burdened.”

“…”

My judgment, is it?

Yes.

It should be fine to ask my Intelligence 100 brain.

Thanks to Serpina asking “what do you think,” I was able to input the question.

‘Is accepting the Brans army’s surrender an efficient method?’

[It’s the most efficient method available.]

As I expected, it was an efficient method, but… once again the phrase “the most efficient available” appeared.

From some point on, my predictions always came with ambiguous prefixes like “the most” or “in the current situation.”

By now I should suspect something’s amiss, but right now I needed to focus on the task at hand.

“My lord. Please accept the Brans army’s surrender.”

Serpina nodded in agreement with my words.

“I also thought that would be most efficient. Since even Irene says it’s fine, there’s no need to hesitate further.”

Looking at Serpina who had made up her mind—

I, quite belatedly, came to fully realize the current situation.

The Lunarian army.

And the Serpina army.

The continent had finally been divided into two powers.

Everything was flowing exactly as Intelligence 100 had predicted, to a frightening degree.