Ch.415Chapter 415. The Sky Remains Forever and the River Flows Eternally (1)

* * *

After Swen’s forces finally took control of Valhart Castle—

The border area, which had been continuously engulfed in battle until now, began to grow remarkably quiet.

More precisely, the frequency of Swen’s army’s invasions decreased significantly.

While Luna’s forces continued to mobilize troops for battle, they had accumulated more defeats than Swen’s army and had lost most of their soldiers—

In conclusion, the fighting had entered a lull, allowing soldiers on both sides to rest for the first time in a very long time.

The current political situation on the continent could be summarized as follows:

The western and southern parts of the continent were Luna’s territory. Luna was mainly active on the western front. Although they had been pushed back to near Anel Castle, they hadn’t lost it, so they couldn’t be said to have lost the initiative.

The eastern and northern parts of the continent were Swen’s territory. Irene and Irian, who could be considered the main force of Swen’s army, were active in this direction. They had advanced to Valhart Castle at an incredibly fast pace, but to go further south, they would inevitably have to cross mountain ranges, so attacking the west was the more appropriate strategy.

Just up to here.

After the two countries had been split in half, time was simply passing without any significant battles.

That’s not to say that fighting had completely stopped.

Lunarian forces were steadily carrying out invasions, and in battles where the monarch Lunarian Ineanne participated, Swen’s forces were also accumulating considerable damage.

In such a situation, the morale of soldiers on both sides was inevitably falling.

“How long must we repeat this…”

“Couldn’t we just exist as two separate countries? There’s no Einhart Empire anymore anyway, right?”

Even though Swen had inherited the throne as Serpina’s husband, at that point, the “legitimacy of Einhart” had already been diluted.

As the chaotic period dragged on and the standoff continued, it was inevitable that people would start suggesting they should just live separately as two countries on one continent.

In this situation, the generals on the front lines, including Irene, were the ones who kept spirits up.

“Our lord understands your desire to end these chaotic times! Even if we seek to forge a path to peace, peace cannot be maintained without strength! Surely you all know this truth!”

“My fellow soldiers, lend your strength just a little longer! We must not forget that this is the time to sharpen our spear tips for lasting peace!”

In a situation where meaningless wars of attrition were repeating, they played a crucial role in preventing soldiers from losing their sense of purpose.

Irene’s contributions were especially brilliant.

To be frank—the reason Swen’s soldiers continued to sacrifice their lives for the country even after the unprecedented event of the monarch changing from Serpina to Swen was partly because Swen was “married to Serpina,” but more than 70% of the reason was their strong desire to follow their commander, Irene.

“She’s someone who has fought alongside us through storms and rain. If she gives an order, I’d charge into the fires of hell.”

“General Irene said it herself! This is no time to be tired already!”

At first, most people ridiculed Irene.

A general, a commander, deliberately eating the same food as her soldiers, sleeping in the same level of quarters.

Not caring about rewards after the war and personally tending to wounded soldiers.

Her actions couldn’t help but seem foolish rather than wise. After all, “prioritizing one’s own duties” was considered the highest value.

However, now no one could call her foolish.

At this point, she was the “true leader” of all soldiers, and it was undeniable that if Irene were to betray the country and establish a new one, most would gladly side with her.

The fact that she wouldn’t do such a thing because she was the wife of Swen, the monarch, was an enormous stroke of luck for Swen’s forces.

The only person who could completely capture the hearts of the soldiers under her command and skillfully direct any operation according to her will—

This was an achievement that no other general, including Chel Brans and Epinel Rosenkroz, had accomplished.

The figure most similar to her type was undoubtedly the Red-Eyed Dragon of the South, Lunarian Ineanne, but since she was a monarch rather than a general, they couldn’t be directly compared.

Anyway, they continued to repeat meaningless battles near the border.

Taking and losing ground. Losing fortresses, then reclaiming them.

Repeating such things, several weeks had passed before they knew it.

* * *

Inside the main barracks of Valhart Castle, Swen’s army.

“Just a little more strength! I too will fight alongside you until the very end!”

—Waaaaaaaaah!!

At the cry of the red-haired female knight Irene, the soldiers roared so loudly it seemed they might pierce the sky.

To an outsider, they would appear to be nothing less than valiant soldiers ready to fight at a moment’s notice, such was their extraordinary spirit.

However, Irene, who was closest to the soldiers and had been with them, knew.

That the continuation of this ambiguous state of unrest could only lead to unfavorable results.

‘I’m managing to calm them for now… but this can’t continue forever.

It’s already been several weeks since we’ve had a proper battle.

Since taking Valhart Castle, Swen’s army had been strangely dragging things out.

If they had continued the invasion with this momentum, they could have destroyed the Lunarian army, but they didn’t.

Of course, Irene understood why Swen wasn’t doing that—

But the soldiers, the uninformed junior officers, couldn’t possibly understand.

To someone who knew nothing, Swen’s procrastination looked like nothing more than an attempt to stall the war.

If he wanted unification, he should aim for it; if he wanted a system of two countries on one continent, he should negotiate with Lunarian—but he was doing nothing, focusing all his orders solely on maintaining the status quo.

Perhaps because of this.

Swen, who had ascended to the throne as if walking a prepared flower path without anyone’s hindrance, was now being put to the test by public opinion for the first time.

Normally, vassals or subordinate officers wouldn’t dare think of putting the king on a scale—but these were chaotic times, and who was above whom could change at any moment.

In this terrible era where even the bond between parent and child had become a joke, it wasn’t strange that the outrageous act of evaluating a monarch would occur.

What greeted Irene as she left the barracks with a worried expression was—

“You’ve worked hard, Sister Irene.”

“Lady Serpina…?”

Serpina bowed to Irene with a starlight-like smile.

“What’s the matter, Sister?”

Irene waved her hands in embarrassment, her face reddening.

“No, ‘Sister’… Lady Serpina, didn’t I ask you to treat me casually? That is, well…”

“But Sister, I fear earning my husband’s displeasure if I treat his legal wife too casually.”

“Oh… uh… b-but…!”

Seeing Irene unable to respond properly, Serpina eventually let out a chuckle—

“Hehehe. I was joking, Irene. I was just worried because you looked so troubled.”

“…Your jokes have improved, Lady Serpina.”

“Well, what I said wasn’t entirely wrong. You are indeed the first wife.”

“That may be the arrangement, but I don’t want to establish a hierarchy between us. If we’re by Swen’s side, we’re companions.”

“The more I hear, the more I understand why Swen chose you, Irene. You are… truly, truly a radiant woman. By the way, I wanted to ask something.”

“What is it?”

“It seems like you didn’t finish what you were going to say earlier.”

At Serpina’s words, Irene answered casually as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Ah… I was going to say that no matter what happens, Swen would never come to dislike you, Lady Serpina.”

“…What?”

“? Is there a problem?”

This time, it was Serpina’s face that visibly reddened, not Irene’s.

“…N-nothing at all. Ahem.”

“Is that so? Well, if you say so… So, what brings you here?”

Having finished the small talk, Serpina carefully brought up the main point.

“I have a message for you.”

“A message?”

“It seems our lord is considering an agreement.”

“An agreement? Surely not…”

“Not a surrender proposal. It seems to be a different kind of negotiation.”

“I see.”

…Well, in the current situation, it didn’t seem likely that Lunarian’s side would accept being divided from our army.

From her perspective, she probably couldn’t accept being separated from Swen—that was just speculation.

“The fact that you came to find me—”

“Yes. Our lord has designated you.”

“I see… It’s my first time serving as an envoy, so I’m a bit nervous, but if orders have been given, it’s a commander’s duty to fulfill them.”

At Irene’s words, Serpina slowly shook her head.

“You won’t be the one directly conducting the diplomacy. You’ll be accompanying as a guard knight.”

“What…? Then who…?”

In response to Irene’s question, Serpina quietly smiled and—

“It is I.”

She nodded, placing her hand on her chest.

“To meet Lunarian Ineanne… I, Serpina, will serve as the envoy directly.”