Ch.410Chapter 410. Swift as the Wind, Fierce as Thunder (1)

* * *

Today was the day Lynn would leave Kelstein Castle to be assigned as the lord of Einhart Castle.

“Lady Lynn. My lord has said that you may exchange letters as much as you wish, so there’s no need to worry.”

“What kind of secrets do you think you and I would share?”

“I believe his words were that he trusts you completely.”

Lynn let out a short laugh at Farfalle’s words.

“I understand. But you’re smart, so I think Swen will make good use of you too.”

“I believe being assigned to the capital’s lord is also part of being put to good use.”

“…You seem to be talking back to me a lot lately?”

“Well, you’re no longer my lord.”

Farfalle smiled as she said that, and then-

“Since we’re colleagues now, I can say whatever I want.”

“Farfalle…”

After Lynn had inherited the throne from Orlando, she had recruited Farfalle, a prodigy from the Central Continent who had stood out at the recruitment venue for advisors. Since then, the two had been so close that they had rarely been apart except for a few moments.

Although Farfalle had once been imprisoned for disobeying orders to thwart Swen’s schemes, Lynn had continued to trust her until the end, and Farfalle had never left her side no matter what happened.

If one could call someone family even without blood ties, these two could certainly be considered well-matched sisters.

Until now, it hadn’t mattered because Lynn could simply give orders, but unless Swen ordered otherwise, this could be quite a long farewell. They might not see each other for months, or perhaps even years.

Despite knowing this, both understood that nothing would change if they didn’t move forward-

“Take care of yourself, Lady Lynn.”

“You too. I’ll be looking forward to hearing about your achievements in the occupation forces.”

“I think your shoulders will be heavier than mine, as the new lord.”

As they were exchanging their final farewells-

“Excuse me for a moment.”

“…!!”

A familiar woman’s voice came from beyond.

Someone Lynn never expected to encounter in this situation.

A person Lynn could never forget.

A woman who had once risked everything for Lynn but was abandoned by her-

“Irene…?”

Irene approached them with an extremely calm expression, then-

“Lady Farfalle. I’m sorry, but I’d like to speak with Lady Lynn privately. I would appreciate if you could leave us. If you still have something to say, I can wait.”

“Not at all. Our conversation is finished. Please excuse me.”

Farfalle glanced briefly at Lynn before carefully leaving.

Lynn… barely managed to hold onto her composure.

It’s okay, it’ll be okay… she told herself repeatedly like a mantra as she looked at Irene with trembling eyes.

“Um… Lady Irene.”

“Lady Lynn.”

Lynn was now a regular officer in Swen’s army who had to use honorifics when addressing Irene.

Irene was the most central figure among Swen’s officers—and the first wife of Lord Swen.

Although they had once met as lord and vassal, their positions had essentially been reversed 180 degrees.

“I see you’re heading to Einhart Castle today.”

“Y-yes.”

“Someone of your caliber should be able to govern Einhart Castle without difficulty. However, since Einhart Castle is built on the lower island, there are quite a few matters that require attention.”

Irene handed Lynn several sheets of paper.

“What is this…?”

“It’s a kind of report that the former lord, Lady Iolline, compiled about ongoing major projects, necessary tasks, and public sentiment trends. She wanted it passed on to the new lord.”

“Ah…”

So she had just come to handle official business.

Lynn hadn’t expected or hoped that Irene would come to greet her personally, so she carefully bowed her head and said:

“I understand. I will keep it in mind. Thank you, Lady Irene.”

“Your thanks should go to Lady Iolline, not me.”

“If possible, could you please convey my gratitude…”

“Hmm. That’s not difficult.”

And once again, what followed was silence.

In the tension that felt like walking on thin ice, Lynn couldn’t bring herself to say anything, so it was Irene who spoke first.

“Lynn Brans.”

“…Yes.”

“I consider this the last time I’ll bring up such matters. So I’d like you to listen with that understanding as well.”

“…?”

Raising her head with trembling eyes to slowly meet Irene’s gaze—

Unlike herself, Lynn saw Irene’s extremely calm eyes, devoid of any emotion.

“To pretend that nothing happened between us would honestly be difficult for both of us. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Th-that…”

…Now is the time.

Lynn bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle.

And then, she opened her mouth to say the words she had wanted to convey from the depths of her heart countless times.

“I-I’m sorry! Lady Irene, b-back then… before, I, I couldn’t… couldn’t understand your true feelings—”

“No.”

But.

Irene cut off Lynn’s words and said firmly:

“I didn’t bring this up to hear your apology.”

“Lady Irene…?”

“I’ll be honest. At first, I resented you. It’s true that I once craved your acknowledgment. But… now I have only one feeling toward you.”

—Gratitude.

“!!!”

“I have nothing but gratitude left for you.”

“Grati…tude…?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Irene gave a faint smile.

A smile she had never shown when she was by Lynn’s side.

“Whatever the intention was, looking at the result—thanks to you, I was able to meet Swen.”

“…!!!”

“So, if you still harbor feelings of guilt toward me, I wanted to tell you that you don’t need to. That’s why I came. For me, the future I’ll share with Swen is far more important than any lingering attachment to past events.”

After saying that, Irene placed her hand on Lynn’s shoulder, patted it a few times, and then:

“Live your own life, Lynn Brans. Let go of your guilt and painful feelings… I hope you live a life centered on yourself, not on others.”

Lynn stood pale-faced, giving no answer.

What was this situation?

Had she been forgiven?

If so… why didn’t the weight on her heart disappear?

But, unfortunately—

Lynn keenly felt that the loyal female knight who could have answered her question had long since found a new nest and left her behind.

“I look forward to your achievements at Einhart Castle. Farewell.”

As Irene disappeared, Lynn realized.

This was probably the last time she would have a private conversation with Irene like this.

Therefore—

“…Lady Irene!!!”

Irene stopped at Lynn’s cry.

Though she didn’t turn around, Lynn couldn’t help but say what needed to be said.

“I will never forget the fact that you dedicated yourself to me… So… please, be happy…!!”

Lynn barely managed to swallow the “I’m sorry” that kept trying to escape her lips.

Irene doesn’t want to hear my apology. From the beginning, I wasn’t even sure if I had the right to apologize.

Even expressing gratitude felt presumptuous. After all, Irene hadn’t bestowed anything upon her; she had simply persevered on her own path.

Therefore.

She could only say that she wouldn’t forget.

That she wished for her happiness.

Irene, without turning to look at Lynn who was bowing at a 90-degree angle…

slowly continued on her way.

Although it was a dream that had lost all of its beautiful blue color, stripped bare and tattered—

That dream would turn to dust, scatter across the earth, and bloom into blue flowers again.

—It was the moment when the overly long story between Lynn and Irene finally came to an end.

* * *

Meanwhile.

Small-scale battles were taking place at the border.

“We must not be pushed back! We cannot surrender Rudia Castle!”

“If this place falls, Zog Castle’s safety cannot be guaranteed!”

Thus, exactly two battles had ended.

Both battles resulted in embarrassingly easy victories for the Lunarian army.

Swen’s army had literally wasted resources by mobilizing troops for meaningless battles.

‘What’s going on? Why engage in meaningless battles?’

No matter how many times he thought about it, it was an incomprehensible decision—

But precisely because of this, Francis couldn’t shake off his doubts.

After all, the ultimate decision-maker on the other side was none other than that man—the white-haired strategist, Swen, the new lord of Swen’s army.

‘Swen…’

Francis recalled Swen’s face from their meeting at the prisoner exchange.

When Swen not only refused to return but actually took over the lord’s seat that Serpina had occupied, Francis had wondered what on earth was happening—

It bothered him that Swen was making equally incomprehensible choices on the battlefield.

‘Let’s wait and see how things develop. For now, our army doesn’t need to respond too hastily.’

He had complacently thought that the decision-maker would soon come up from Anel Castle to this place, and they just needed to wait until then—

A few days later.

“R-report! Rudia Castle… has fallen!”

“W-what?!”

Weren’t all our troops concentrated at the fortress near the border?

How did they break through the border?!

“What exactly happened?”

“It seems… the archmage said to be with Serpina… no, Swen’s army has begun to participate in earnest on the battlefield…!”

“What…?!”

“There are testimonies of seeing enormous fireballs that engulfed the surroundings in flames, fired repeatedly!”

The first to open the curtain on this reversal was the continent’s greatest asymmetric force who had ceased to hold back—Archmage Reika.