Ch.393Chapter 393. The World is Divided into Two Nations (2)

* * *

The Haizel Castle, formerly of the Brans Territory, now belonging to the Serpina Territory.

Lynn, no longer a lord but a castle lord, was focusing all her energy on internal affairs, repairing watchtowers and castle walls near the border.

“My lord, I have completed all the tasks you commanded.”

“Thank you, Belut. But you know, I’m no longer a lord.”

“However…”

“It would be disrespectful to our new lord, so I’d prefer if you called me Castle Lord from now on. …I’m sorry.”

“…Lady Lynn…”

Belut, kneeling, shed tears before wiping them away bravely and speaking.

“…Understood, Castle Lord. Your decision—I will carry it through to the end, even if I fall into the fires of hell.”

“No, please don’t go that far. If it seems like you might die, you should disobey orders.”

“No! I, Belut Ruga, consider it my life’s pride to risk my life for one who acknowledges my name. Even though we’ve come under a new lord… you will always remain in my heart, Lady Lynn.”

“Thank you.”

After sending Belut away, Lynn let out a short sigh.

Beside her was Farfalle—no longer a national strategist, but now an ordinary military officer.

“You’ve worked hard, Castle Lord.”

“Not at all. …If anything, the people who are still following me are the ones who’ve had it tough.”

After the announcement that the Brans Territory would surrender to none other than the Serpina Territory, about twenty percent of the officers serving under the Brans Territory expressed their intention to resign and disappeared into the world.

Among them was Cecile Lohengrin—the woman who had entrusted herself to Lynn to seek revenge against Lunarian.

“I respect your decision, Lady Lynn. Thank you so much for taking care of me until now. Please stay healthy.”

‘Cecile…’

What must it feel like for someone whose life was saved by their lord to vow revenge in the face of that lord’s death?

She couldn’t help but feel sorry for not being able to fulfill that promise.

After all, the Brans Territory was deeply indebted to the Lohengrin Trading Company and to her.

Of course, Lynn also wanted to fulfill her wish, but…

From the beginning, it was too late for the Brans Territory to accomplish anything.

In light of the current situation, that was the cold reality.

“There will likely be a personnel reorganization soon. It seems many people, including you and me, will be assigned to new territories.”

“Really?”

“It’s from the National Strategist, so it should be certain.”

‘…’

The National Strategist must refer to Swen.

After many twists and turns, Lynn had ended up under the same flag as Swen, regardless of the form.

Even now, when she closed her eyes, she could clearly see his image—facing her pointed sword without a trace of fear, saying “Kill me if you wish.”

At that moment, the lord you served was Lunarian. The one responsible for the fall of our territory, who took Anel Castle—which had never been captured by outside forces except for Kalintz’s internal rebellion…

Then why was she now under Serpina?

Though she was curious about that… in truth, for Lynn, such matters were secondary.

“…Lady Lynn.”

“Yes.”

“Do you intend to continue helping Serpina build a unified empire under her rule?”

At Farfalle’s words, Lynn turned her head for a moment.

Outside the window stretched a blue sky.

A high, high sky that perfectly matched the blue light reflected in her eyes.

“You know, Farfalle.”

“Yes, speak.”

“Do you know why I accepted your advice to surrender to Serpina?”

“…Because it was the most rational choice, wasn’t it?”

“That could be part of it… but there’s a bigger reason.”

Lynn lightly twisted her finger through her hair.

“Because Irene is here.”

“…!”

“I wanted to atone, even a little, by helping the country where Irene belongs.”

Though it’s all meaningless now, she continued to mutter the same words while gazing at the sky.

“But I wonder… if Serpina is truly the one who will grasp the world…”

“Lady Lynn…”

Lynn was no longer a main player.

Isn’t it often the case that people who can’t maintain objectivity about their own affairs suddenly become wise and view situations objectively once those affairs are no longer their own? Lynn was exactly like that.

“The momentum is already with Lunarian, and I’m not sure how Serpina will deal with it. If she can overcome this situation… perhaps the continent is still destined to remain under the Einhart Empire. So—”

—I’ll do what I can and watch.

The final battle for the continent.

* * *

After that.

I was able to hear everything about what happened that day from Serpina.

Everything about what occurred that night at the Einhart mansion… all of it.

“So… it wasn’t actually you who massacred your siblings, but Algot?”

“…That’s right. Brother Algot gathered Brother Sidmid, Brother Stadel, and Sister Lilirose in one place… and had them all executed using his private soldiers.”

“How could that be… Why? Was there no other way?”

“Even an emperor cannot ignore the influence of powerful noble families. In the end, it’s as if all the authority over territories belongs to them. On top of that, rebel forces including Orlando Brans were rising up here and there.”

“To be honest… despite his legitimacy, Brother Algot had an extremely low chance of becoming the next emperor safely. If he continued to be caught in the turmoil, the imperial crown would have been on Brother Sidmid’s head. And—”

—my second brother, Sidmid von Einhart, was the mastermind behind the empire’s massacres, including the Piviola Academy massacre.

“…!!”

“Brother Algot must have decided he couldn’t let Brother Sidmid take the throne. Except for Brother Stadel and Sister Lilirose who had already sided with Brother Sidmid, what remained was… me, who had no power base.”

I couldn’t say anything in response to the shocking truth she was revealing in such a calm tone.

Serpina von Einhart. A tyrant of the ages.

According to the in-game setting, she was a notorious villainess who, despite having no foundation, successfully hid her fangs until the end, massacred her brothers and sister, and quickly took control of the empire.

But that wasn’t it. She had simply been forced to take on the imperial crown, a power she never wanted.

“Why… didn’t you tell the truth?”

Despite already sensing the reason, I couldn’t help but ask the question.

The profile of the woman who had taken on all the sins looked so lonely.

“How could I speak of it? The moment I did… the empire that Brother Algot tried so hard to lead would have been shattered. And… I was asked to.”

“Asked by Algot…?”

“No.”

She slowly shook her head.

And then—she spoke that name before me.

“I was asked by Aria.”

“Aria…?”

“The mistress of Brother Algot, who had no consort. She was like a sister to me in many ways.”

I was thinking it wasn’t unusual for someone in such a position to have a mistress or two, when—

‘…Wait.’

Algot’s mistress?

“Could it be…”

“It seems you already know. Yes. Brother Algot’s mistress, the immortal woman who entrusted me with maintaining the empire… Aria Ineanne.”

“!!!!!!”

“The sister of Lunarian Ineanne, the lord you serve and my rival. Having lost both her legs and unable to escape death, she asked me to organize the continent’s chaos and create the peaceful world that Algot had tried to build.”

How could I throw away the imperial crown and flee?

Knowing full well that I was the only one left bearing the Einhart name.

“Lady Serpina…”

“That’s the whole story. …How embarrassing. I had resolved to keep this in my heart alone for life, yet my weakened spirit has made me lean on you.”

When Lady Serpina told me she hadn’t killed anyone, she was literally backed into a corner.

How could one explain the despair of discovering that a trusted knight was trying to assassinate you?

“No. Thank you for being honest with me then. Thanks to that, I think I know what to do now.”

“…Thank you, Swen. I truly believe I can live because you are here.”

I was about to say that wasn’t necessarily true, but I thought it would be better to be her pillar of support at this point.

“I feel the same way. That’s why you must continue to live.”

“…I promise.”

“And thanks to learning that fact, I think I know a little about what to do.”

“You know what to do?”

I nodded slowly at her question.

“…How to deal with Lunarian’s forces, with Lady Luna.”

“…!”

As long as Lady Serpina sits on the throne, she can never defeat Lunarian’s forces.

Now, I had to face that absolute fact—a prediction with Intelligence 100 that was guaranteed to be correct.

“It might be frustrating and slow-going. Still, can you trust me?”

Serpina, slightly surprised by my words, hesitated for a moment—

Then, drawing the mark of the absolute ruler at the corner of her mouth, she said:

“I trust you, Swen. Everything I have is yours. So feel free to give your instructions.”

“…I think that’s something a ruler should never say, but… thank you.”

Alright.

Let’s try somehow.

If I can reduce Lady Lunarian’s hostility toward Lady Serpina… I can do anything.

I repeated to myself several times that I would definitely create a world where the two could coexist.

* * *

But before I could even begin anything—

“They’ve deployed to two locations simultaneously?”

“Yes! Large forces from Lunarian’s army… are advancing toward our territory from both Anel Castle and Laclaine Castle!”

Lunarian’s forces had begun to officially point their swords at Serpina’s army.