Ch.48Chapter 48. Northern Fortress Defense Battle (7)

“Burn down the… fortress?”

Kalintz nodded at Taltin’s words.

“Yes. It’s our lord’s order.”

“That… can’t be.”

Kalintz lowered his head and trembled his fist in disbelief.

But I actually thought Lynn’s decision was extremely wise.

‘The strategic value of this fortress is close to zero for the Brans army. Rather, if it’s captured by Serpina’s army, it’s more likely to become a fatal blade aimed at our forces. They probably tolerated it because the leader was none other than Kalintz, but now that Kalintz has acted on his own out of desire for achievement, it’s hard to trust him anymore. Ordering him to burn down the fortress and return is the most rational decision.’

In fact, I initially thought that a mind with 100 intelligence would predict “destroy the fortress and escape.”

However.

If she was going to issue such an order anyway, she should have done it when Kalintz was taken prisoner.

But after ordering us to fight, and after we successfully defended it, now she orders us to burn down the fortress?

At this point, her intentions became easier to read.

‘I can’t stay with the Brans army for long.’

Even if I’d be fine, I couldn’t keep putting Irene in danger.

I felt it was time to move to another country soon.

“…Damn it…!”

While Kalintz Brans had quite a high position within the Brans army,

that position came solely from being a member of the “Brans family.”

No matter how capable he was, he couldn’t refuse the orders of his lord, Lynn Brans.

“Now that I’ve delivered the message, I’ll go prepare. Please be ready to evacuate by the end of today. Well then.”

Taltin bowed his head and slowly left the room.

After he left,

Kalintz sighed several times, then looked at me with great regret and said:

“I’m sorry, Swen. To think we have to destroy this fortress… that you risked your life to defend.”

Well.

I didn’t particularly risk my life, but there was no reason not to use that misunderstanding.

“It’s fine. If I was able to work for you, Lord Kalintz, that’s enough for me.”

“Is that so?! Do you really think that?”

Hearing my flattering courtesy, Kalintz suddenly approached me, put his hand on my shoulder, and said:

“I’ll try to persuade our lord once more! If you could perform that ritual of yours, praying to the heavens, just one more time! We could annihilate Serpina’s army, gather our forces, and finally plant the Brans army’s flag in the north! Yes, what do you say? Won’t you help me make history?!”

‘Good grief.’

I thought he would be reflecting after carrying out such a reckless operation.

But after seeing “my ability,” he seemed to think it was worth trying again.

Of course, I don’t have the ability to summon natural disasters. Obviously, I can’t make meteorites fall from the sky.

So I should politely refuse here, I thought, but at that very moment—

“Lord Kalintz.”

It was Irene standing beside me who spoke first.

“I cannot allow Swen to take on such dangerous tasks again. Please exercise restraint.”

“…What?”

Kalintz looked at Irene with an expression of disbelief.

“General Irene… I appreciate you staying to defend the fortress, but you probably didn’t stay and fight of your own will, did you? Am I right?”

“…”

Kalintz Brans was practically Lynn Brans’s closest confidant.

He couldn’t help but know that she didn’t particularly approve of Irene.

“I’m now asking Swen, who fought for me ‘of his own will,’ not because our lord ordered him to. I’d appreciate if you understood when to interject.”

“Absolutely not. Please don’t drag Swen into your reckless operations. If you insist on taking Swen, you’ll have to cut off my head first.”

Kalintz exclaimed, slightly taken aback by Irene’s strong wording:

“Are you defying my orders, Irene Juliette?”

Though Kalintz’s tone was very stern, Irene didn’t back down at all and stared straight at him.

Considering that she would normally have backed down by now, this was quite surprising.

“It’s not defiance. It’s advice. Please listen to my advice, Lord Kalintz. Shouldn’t we avoid making another wrong decision that sacrifices many people and puts our forces in danger?”

“What?! How dare you, you…!”

“And currently, our lord has ordered us to ‘dismantle the fortress and retreat.’ I believe disobeying our lord’s orders constitutes defiance, but what do you think, Lord Kalintz?”

As Irene spoke sharply, Kalintz couldn’t contain his anger and placed his hand on the sword at his waist.

“You abandoned dog—!”

“Lord Kalintz!”

And then,

To prevent the atmosphere from heating up further, I immediately intervened and bowed at a 90-degree angle.

“Please set aside your anger, Lord Kalintz. I deeply regret to say that swaying the will of the heavens requires many conditions. Even if we perform the ritual again, there’s no guarantee it will succeed.”

“S-Swen…!”

It’s annoying, but there’s no need to needlessly provoke Kalintz here.

I mixed in some words he would want to hear.

“And if you disobey our lord’s orders here, I’m concerned about your reputation, Lord Kalintz. I’ve heard that a great general knows when to exercise patience. And as far as I know, I believe Lord Kalintz is the most patient general in the Brans army. Even First Sword Chel would concede to you in this regard.”

“…D-do you think so…?”

“Yes. That’s why I wanted to work under you, Lord Kalintz.”

“…Hmm, ahem.”

Kalintz cleared his throat unnecessarily a few times.

The furious demeanor from earlier was gone, and he had completely regained his composure.

He’s much easier to handle than I thought.

That was truly fortunate.

“Both General Irene and I are exhausted from risking our lives to defend the fortress, making it difficult for us to make proper judgments right now. However, we both hope that Lord Kalintz will make the right decision. I earnestly request that you, as our commander, consider this and show the patience that is characteristic of you.”

“…Hmm… Patience, is it. Well… Swen, you must have been through a lot too, and with our lord’s orders… that would be the right thing to do.”

Kalintz wasn’t that stupid.

Once he cooled down, he could understand what was right with just a little thought.

He must have had time to think about various things while alone in prison.

He sighed deeply and looked at Irene beside me.

“Irene, regardless of the reason, I’ll specially overlook this matter considering your service in fighting for the fortress. But next time, you should think more about how to speak. Understand?”

“Yes. Thank you very much for forgiving my rudeness. I will keep your words in mind.”

Fortunately, Irene bowed her head instead of becoming more confrontational.

‘Phew.’

“So we have to destroy the fortress after all…”

Kalintz muttered as he left the conference room.

Alone in the conference room, I could finally speak to Irene.

“Lady Irene. There’s no need to be so confrontational with Lord Kalintz.”

“No. Swen, I don’t want to put you in dangerous situations anymore. It would be the same with anyone other than Lord Kalintz. I absolutely cannot compromise on this.”

It seemed that her sense of debt to me was greater than I had imagined.

Then… perhaps it’s time.

I carefully asked a somewhat impertinent question.

“Even against your lord, Lady Lynn?”

“…”

Hearing those words, Irene slowly turned her head toward me.

Her violet eyes were looking at me more clearly than ever before.

“Swen. …There’s something I need to tell you. It should be fine to say it now.”

“What is it?”

Hearing my question, Irene put on a very solemn expression.

Then, she drew the sword from her waist.

With the sound of the sword leaving its scabbard, she thrust it into the floor.

Her sharp blade stuck into the conference room floor.

Holding the sword with both hands, she spoke in a very serious tone:

“Swen.”

“Yes.”

After hearing my response, she closed her eyes.

I couldn’t know exactly what she was thinking—

But I thought it might be about Lynn Brans, whom she truly wanted to protect.

But by now, she must know.

That she herself could never protect Lynn no matter what.

She slowly opened her eyes.

With a very serene expression, with only me reflected in her eyes, she whispered:

“…From now on, I will live not for Lynn Brans, but for you, Swen.”

I said nothing, only looking at her face seriously.

“My sword will exist to protect you. My body will be used for you. I, Irene Juliette, from this moment on, am solely yours, Swen.”

“If anyone tries to harm you, whoever they may be, I will use all my strength to prevent it. …And.”

She, who had been so solemn, blushed with a somewhat girlish expression.

“If you don’t mind… I was thinking… I could continue to brew tea for you.”

“That’s the most important thing, Lady Irene.”

Hearing my words, a faint smile appeared on Irene’s face.

It was a very solid smile that wouldn’t crumble no matter what.

“You have a somewhat light-hearted side even at moments like this.”

“But that really is the most important thing.”

Irene spoke again in a serious tone:

“While we’re with the Brans army… no, regardless of which army we belong to, I, Irene Juliette, will be a knight solely for you. Just as you said you would protect me.”

Only after hearing those words did it begin to feel real.

I had finally succeeded in changing the predetermined fate.

I had managed to save her from the tragic fate of dying because she couldn’t abandon her faith.

Just for this, I felt fortunate to have come to the Brans army.

“I look forward to working with you, Lady Irene.”

“Mm.”

After our brief private ceremony ended,

She asked in a somewhat serious tone:

“By the way, Swen. There’s something I want to ask you.”

“Please go ahead.”

“It seems your heart’s true lord is not Lady Lynn.”

Hearing Irene’s words, I shrugged my shoulders.

There was no point in hiding anything from her now.

“Was it that obvious?”

“It certainly was.”

If it were her usual loyal self, it would have been different, but now her body and heart belonged not to Lynn Brans but to me.

Therefore, despite being part of the Brans army, she had no hesitation in uttering such disloyal words.

“I’m curious about your true lord. Whoever it is, if it’s someone you, Swen, wish to follow, I will follow them too.”

Lord.

Yes, my lord.

From the beginning, there was only one person.

“I serve the only person who can conquer this continent and become the unifying monarch.”

“Oh? The only person? Who might that be?”

“You probably know them, Lady Irene. Didn’t you meet them in person a few months ago?”

“…!!!”

She seemed to have a guess, and asked me in surprise:

“Could it be… you think Lord Lunarian will become the unifying monarch…?”

Ah.

Thank you, Lady Irene.

At last, you’ve asked another suitable question.

I was able to input “that question” after such a long time.

‘Will Lunarian Ineanne become the unifying monarch?’

And once again—

The answer came disappointingly quickly.

[Yes.]

‘Ha.’

I let out a sigh of relief.

You’re safe, my lord.

* * *

Madellan Castle.

This place, the capital of the Karelia army, was undisputedly the largest city in the southern part of the continent.

During the Unified Empire era, it served as the commercial center of the south, with fertile land and surrounding mountains making it an excellent location for building a city.

And here, a red-eyed woman with cute cream-colored short hair—

“Thank you all for your hard work! Please hang in there a little longer! We’ll soon reach our target!”

She was plowing the fields with farmers, holding farming tools.