Ch.60Chapter 60. Transferring Allegiance to Aeshas (1)

Taking over the fortress proceeded much faster than I had expected.

It seemed that managing the new fortress would be Epinel’s responsibility.

That’s probably why she came all the way here in the first place.

With Aeshus army’s finest general positioned at the front, the Brans army must feel like they’ve been struck by lightning from a clear sky.

It couldn’t be helped. Since we’d earned their enmity, we needed to keep destabilizing the Brans army.

Given Lynn’s personality, she would never quietly step down, and having joined another army, she would certainly harbor resentment.

In that case, bringing soldiers was a much better decision. I also wanted to avenge what happened to Irene.

Moreover, taking control of the central region from the Brans army and restoring balance was extremely important for me personally.

When the Lunarian army eventually mobilizes, it would be much easier to face two balanced nations than a single massive country.

After she secured our fortress,

I followed our new lord to Valhart Castle with Irene.

On the way to Valhart, I was lost in thought.

‘It seems I’ve only gotten better at lying.’

She said she would make sure I never regret this decision.

Eventually, Irene and I would leave the Aeshus army.

Of course, we probably wouldn’t betray them by taking soldiers like we did when leaving the Brans army—we’d likely just quietly resign—

but who knows how situations might unfold over time.

And another lie.

“Really? Then conversely, you think I’m the one who will become the unifying monarch?”

‘Can Baranga Yurie Aeshus become the monarch who unifies the continent?’

[She cannot.]

Despite making that prediction, I shamelessly gave her an immediate answer.

Well, why she’s destined not to become the unifying monarch—I’ll probably find out while staying here.

As I was lost in these trivial thoughts.

“Um… Swen.”

“Yes?”

Irene grabbed my sleeve and said.

“That… what was that situation…?”

“Which one?”

“That… what you said at the end in front of Lady Yurie… why did you suddenly say such a thing.”

Ah.

I immediately understood what she meant.

“Lady Yurie seems to have more of a playful side than I expected.”

I said that while recalling what had just happened.

It seemed our new lord wasn’t as serious as I had thought.

The way she showed intense interest in our joint escape was closer to that of a girl full of girlish sentiments than a ruler.

“Our lord seems to think I abandoned everything to follow you, Lady Irene, in some kind of romantic escape.”

“What…!”

Irene’s face turned bright red as she paled.

“Well, if that’s what she thinks, there’s no harm in playing along. Thanks to that, she accepted our surrender smoothly.”

After sighing briefly, she regained her composure and said.

“…I…I see… So you were playing along…”

“Well, not entirely. After all, I truly do want to protect you, Lady Irene. I told you that night, didn’t I?”

Hearing my words, Irene looked at me with slight surprise—

Then, with her face still red, she nodded with a smile.

“…Yes.”

I stared at her smile, momentarily entranced.

She was truly a lovable woman. Her appearance was exceptionally beautiful, and her chest was ample enough to definitely catch a man’s eye.

Just based on her looks alone, one wouldn’t regret selling off an entire country for her.

But I… didn’t think of her as merely ‘beautiful.’

As I said before, she was ‘lovable.’ That was the crucial difference between her and Yurie, who was simply beautiful.

Now that we were in a new country, I hoped she would regain her self-esteem.

Her confidence must have been thoroughly crushed during her days in the Brans army, where her achievements went unrecognized.

“It doesn’t have to be now. When everything is over… make sure to tell me. I’ll be waiting.”

‘…When everything is over, huh.’

I hadn’t planned to wait until then.

Mulling over her words, I made my way toward Valhart Castle.

*

Valhart Castle had a distinctly different atmosphere from Anel Castle or Kelstein Castle.

First, I noticed subtle differences in people’s attire. It was definitely different from Zeilant Castle where I first settled, Anel Castle, and Kelstein Castle located on the route to the north.

The atmosphere among the territory’s residents… if I had to compare, it was closer to the somewhat tense atmosphere of Zeilant Castle rather than the peaceful ambiance of Anel Castle, though there was still a sense of peace in the air.

The castle walls were extremely high, and well-trained soldiers patrolled the interior, working to maintain order.

To summarize, it was a situation where ‘tension about war exists, but all residents clearly sense that they are safe.’

After all the soldiers had returned,

Yurie approached us and said.

“You both worked hard coming all this way. I’ll say it again, thank you for becoming part of my family. It couldn’t have been an easy decision to defect to a smaller nation.”

Irene bowed her head and said.

“Not at all, my lord. We are the ones who should be grateful for taking us in.”

“Thank you.”

After hearing our greetings, she nodded and briefly looked up at the sky.

The day had already grown dark, with stars scattered across the sky.

“It’s late today, so there’s no need to come to the royal castle for anything. We’ve already completed all the necessary ceremonies. Our army’s next regular meeting is in three weeks. I’ll call you if something comes up, but if nothing special happens, you won’t need to take on any missions until then.”

Three weeks.

That was a longer idle period than I expected.

If it were an urgent situation, she would have given orders immediately, but perhaps the internal affairs were stable enough that it wasn’t necessary.

During this free time, it would be good to explore Valhart Castle and familiarize myself with the geography.

“Understood.”

“Right. Speaking of which, you two need a place to stay, don’t you?”

Yurie put her index finger to her lips and made an “hmm” sound as she pondered.

“Let’s see… vacant houses… there’s one that was recently built… yes, that should work. Irene?”

“Yes. Please tell me.”

“There’s a road leading southeast from the plaza called Shamen Street. Go to Number 9 on Shamen Street. You can stay there. It’s a newly built building so it should be clean, but there might be some dust.”

“That’s fine. I’ll take care of the rest. I’m extremely grateful just for providing us with a place to stay.”

“Really? That’s good then.”

Yurie said with a smile.

“Then I’ll be going now. You both worked hard today. See you at the next meeting if nothing comes up.”

At that moment,

I called out to Yurie as she was about to leave.

“Excuse me… my lord.”

“Yes?”

“Where should I go?”

Let’s say Irene goes to Number 9 on Shamen Street.

Then where am I supposed to go?

Given all the talk about family, I didn’t think she would treat us differently.

But.

Yurie spoke as if wondering why I would even ask such a question.

“Hm? I already told you. Number 9 on Shamen Street. You go there.”

“…So that’s where I should go?”

“?”

At that moment when the conversation seemed misaligned—

I realized something.

“Um… perhaps.”

“Hehehe.”

Yurie covered her mouth and laughed again.

To someone who doesn’t know better, it might look very elegant and dignified… but that was unmistakably the laugh of a girl who enjoys mischief.

“You two will live together, of course.”

“…!!!”

“No… that’s…”

Irene tried to say something in embarrassment, but Yurie cut her off as if she had no intention of listening.

“I’m not that insensitive. It’s just the right space for two people, so stay there from now on. Got it?”

“…”

Well.

Come to think of it, didn’t we already live together before?

I nodded.

“Understood.”

“Good. I’ll be looking forward to good news. Well then.”

After Yurie left,

Irene and I stood there in silence for a while.

It was strange.

Just a moment ago, I was able to maintain my composure thinking, ‘Didn’t we already live together before?’

But why… did my face feel so hot now?

And it seemed no different for Irene standing beside me.

With her face completely flushed… she just fidgeted, glancing at me.

It was a bit awkward, but as I had just thought, this wasn’t our first time living together.

In situations like this, dragging things out would only make the atmosphere more awkward.

“Let’s go, Lady Irene.”

“Huh?! Oh… y-yes. Let’s.”

And so, Irene and I headed toward what would become our new home.

*

Upon arriving at our new home, we lit the lanterns.

It was indeed a clean, nice house that showed signs of being newly built.

It was more spacious than our place in East Anel, the kitchen area seemed more sophisticated, and the overall facilities felt better.

Crucially… the bed was large. Easily a double bed.

I’m not sure why the bed stood out so much in my consciousness.

“We’ve… arrived.”

After unpacking her things lightly, Irene again said nothing.

I needed to take the lead here.

“Shall we clean first? There seems to be some dust.”

“Cleaning…”

The day had grown dark, but it wasn’t deep into the night yet.

People were still walking around on the streets.

Actually, that didn’t really matter. To be honest, I just wanted to escape the awkward atmosphere quickly.

“Let’s do that. Let’s clean first. Yes.”

Irene seemed to want to move her body too, as she agreed with my suggestion.

And so, we thoroughly cleaned the house where we would be staying.

Cleaning definitely helped time pass well.

Moving our bodies until every corner of the house was clean seemed to clear away distracting thoughts.

After the cleaning was done,

Silence greeted us again.

“Now, let’s bathe. We’ve worked up a sweat. And we’ve traveled a long way.”

“Hmm. Good idea.”

So we took turns bathing.

Cleaning our bodies after cleaning the house made both body and mind feel refreshed.

Now… there was truly nothing left to do.

The night had deepened.

Silence descended once more.

And this time… Irene spoke to me first.

“Swen.”

“Yes?”

With her face completely flushed—

Looking at me with a slightly trembling voice… she moved her small lips.

“…Shall we sleep together?”