Ch.413Chapter 413. Swift as the Wind, Fierce as Thunder (3)

* * *

“…..”

“Brother.”

Violet approached Francis, who had walked out listlessly, and supported him.

“Are you alright?”

“…Violet.”

Francis spoke in a voice that seemed ready to break into tears.

A vulnerable side he had never shown to anyone else.

Though they had different mothers, she shared the Einhart name with him—to her, his blood relative, he carefully revealed his true feelings.

“What was I… to Lady Luna?”

“To serve as a general, nothing more. I never expected more. I never dared to hope for more. If I could be Lady Luna’s sword, Lady Luna’s shield, that would have been enough for my life.”

“But… I never thought about a life where nothing was asked of me. I never imagined a situation where no matter what I did, I couldn’t help Lady Luna.”

“What… what was I, really?”

“Brother…”

“…Do you remember?”

Violet easily realized he was talking about the prisoner exchange ceremony and slowly nodded.

“Yes. I remember.”

“That white-haired man we saw then… what exactly is he to Lady Luna?”

Violet couldn’t say anything either.

She too knew that their lord, Lady Lunarian, had changed—

As if she had become a completely different person.

Her warm smile that always conveyed benevolence remained the same, but the soul that should have been behind it was no longer felt.

She seemed like an empty shell now, the current Lady Lunarian.

“What is he to Lady Luna… that I can’t even imitate him, let alone take his place?”

“Brother. Rest for now. Don’t think too deeply about it. You’ll feel better after you sleep.”

“…..”

Francis turned away silently.

Violet carefully followed him, but—

“Violet. It’s fine. I can go alone…”

“Will you be alright?”

“Yes. You… assist Lady Luna. There must be something you can do as her strategist…”

After Francis had gone.

Violet muttered the words she couldn’t tell him.

“No, brother. I can’t do anything for Lady Luna either. There’s only one person who can fill the void in Lady Luna…”

Violet slowly closed her eyes.

Will you return?

Since you said you still serve her as your ruler… will you someday end this meaningless war and return to Lady Luna’s side?

She sent words that would never reach him on the wind.

* * *

A few days later.

“Is that true?”

“Yes, it is. As of today, she has declared she will lead the vanguard on all battlefields. She asked me to relay that she will do so no matter what happens.”

Ginor stroked his beard at Charlotte’s words.

The fact that this message was specifically directed at him meant—

“So she’s saying she won’t listen to my opinions anymore?”

“…I apologize.”

For the national strategist to be told “I will do so no matter what happens” was essentially the same as saying she would not heed the military advice of the strategist who served as chief of staff.

In other words, it was a roundabout way of saying she would refuse even if someone other than Lunarian herself was proposed to take the field.

“I understand. In any case, our lord is the strongest card our army can play, so perhaps it’s not a major issue.”

“Well… that may be true, but I can’t help but worry.”

“Worry?”

Charlotte’s golden eyes deepened with concern.

“Something seems… out of control. She doesn’t feel like the Lady Luna of before, but like a different person. Her manner of speech and appearance remain the same, but… ever since Serpina became Swen, she’s somehow become a completely different person.”

“…..”

Of course.

What Charlotte knew, Ginor, the national strategist who watched her from the closest position, couldn’t possibly be unaware of.

“…You needn’t worry too much.”

“Does that mean… we can rest assured?”

“There’s no point in giving false hope, so I’ll be more direct. It means that no matter how much we worry, we can’t change anything.”

“But, that’s…!”

“How we feel? What advice we give? What countermeasures we devise—all of that is meaningless. Our lord will never bend her will. In this situation, as vast as a hurricane, chess pieces like us can change nothing.”

Shocked by his blunt expression, Charlotte’s eyes widened.

“Then what… should we do from now on? Should we continue fighting against Swen?”

“Well, though there’s nothing we can do—fortunately, I suppose, our lord doesn’t have many options either.”

“…?”

“If this great war is a chess game, the winner is already determined.”

“Someone who knows the most efficient move in any situation, no matter where the opponent places their pieces—that’s who.”

“…!!!”

“So, Lady Charlotte. Don’t act rashly. For now, follow Lady Luna’s will, but show the wisdom to preserve your life. Just think about what that man would say if you were to perish.”

“That man…”

The man who had passed away before them.

Ginor’s close friend and the savior of her life—Kale von Einhart.

“…I will heed your words, Strategist.”

“Good. Then, I’ll take my leave.”

After parting with Charlotte, Ginor remained deep in thought as he walked.

‘Swen. It seems you… have fallen in love with Serpina.’

Even when the Lunarian army was raised.

Even when Irene became a commander.

And even until he himself became the national strategist—the fact that Swen didn’t leave Serpina’s side meant that Swen’s objective was Serpina herself.

‘And perhaps, he didn’t anticipate this outcome.’

The Swen who was in the Aeshus army would certainly have returned here.

After all, he was the one who sent himself to Lunarian in the first place.

If there’s one fact that has been revealed—

‘It seems he cannot see the future.’

If he could see the future, he should have observed the future where he falls in love with Serpina—but there was too much circumstantial evidence that he failed to do so.

Although he couldn’t see the future, he had been most efficiently outmaneuvering our forces since becoming ruler.

In other words.

His ability wasn’t seeing the future—but pioneering it.

‘The strategist with the mind’s eye… is it?’

Someone who can provide the most efficient answer in any situation.

With such a person on the throne—even Lady Lunarian couldn’t possibly win.

But if that’s the case, when he said “Lunarian Ineanne is the most suitable to become the unifying ruler”…

“…Ha!”

Ginor threw back his head and laughed heartily.

‘So defying fate for love was the path for everyone’s benefit!’

Ginor sensed it.

That this war wouldn’t last as long as expected.

Only one thing remained.

Though he knew what the outcome would be, he didn’t know why it would turn out that way—waiting for the future that would be pioneered by a half-baked strategist.

And.

That half-baked strategist had his adopted daughter Reika by his side.

‘I hope it’s not too late. I’d like to see the end of these chaotic times before I die.’

Ginor carefully returned to the base camp.

His steps were considerably lighter than before.

* * *

The slight brake on our army’s unstoppable momentum came for a very simple reason.

“Lady Luna… you mean Lunarian has started leading the vanguard?”

“Yes. Reports from soldiers on the battlefield continue to come in about sightings of the red-eyed dragon.”

I’m also fighting in the middle of the battlefield right now… but it seems we’ve been missing each other because the border is so wide.

‘So that’s why such speculations have emerged these past few days.’

The recent Intelligence 100 answers—[We will inevitably be pushed back in this battle.]

Like this, although we still had the upper hand in the war, we were losing quite a few battles.

Of course, in some battles, I could find the optimal outcome by repeatedly asking questions.

Even if we were pushed back by Lady Luna, since I could freely ask questions as I wished rather than being questioned as before, it was fair to say we wouldn’t lose the war.

But.

I didn’t expect her to be this hostile.

Of course, I thought she would be hostile. Lady Luna’s goal was to hold the world in her hands.

Moreover, according to Lord Ginor, the fact that I was under Lady Serpina, whom she hated, probably didn’t sound very pleasant to her—I understood that much—

‘It’s okay. We can resolve this by meeting and talking.’

In any case, to have an equal conversation with her, I needed to have half the continent in my grasp right now.

So, I continued to ask questions relentlessly to find the most efficient answers, when one day—

[You will win the battle, but a great sacrifice is inevitable.]

‘…Huh?’

For the first time in a while, I hesitated at Intelligence 100’s answer.

A great sacrifice is inevitable.

It was a phrase I’d seen quite often. I especially saw this prediction when utilizing Lady Reika, the mage.

‘Is someone going to die?’

In the past, I would have argued with the ruler to set up the situation to figure out exactly who would die, but—

Now I just had to keep changing my mind and re-entering questions.

That way, I changed the questions several times, altering the commander-in-chief or participants.

And—

“…!”

—I easily uncovered the truth of the prediction.

[You will narrowly lose the battle.]

Just one person.

Remove one person, and the prediction changes.

Not winning with a great sacrifice, but narrowly losing.

I checked the invasion force list once more.

Enemy Commander-in-Chief, Lunarian Ineanne.

The general I had just excluded would be meeting her for the first time.

‘….’

The person I excluded—my former lord, Serpina von Einhart.

If she meets Lunarian Ineanne on the battlefield, there will be a great sacrifice.

That could only mean one thing—

‘Lady Luna…!’

I tilt my head back and close my eyes.

And I realize.

—The situation is far more serious than I thought.