Ch.62Chapter 62. Transferring Allegiance to Aeshus (3)

In the southern part of the continent, at Tepelo Castle occupied by the Karelia Army.

This castle, adjacent to the border with the Ohana Army, was governed by Lunarian Ineanne.

At first, many questioned whether she had been given too much responsibility so soon after her arrival—

But as time passed and Luna proved her abilities, those complaints quickly subsided.

Her clear system of rewards and punishments, and her meticulous attention to details that other castle lords would ignore, effectively silenced those who doubted her.

It wasn’t surprising, considering that Karelia, and Vanessa who assisted Karelia, prioritized ability above all else in their appointments.

And in the royal palace of Tepelo Castle—

Tifa and Luna were having a private conversation for the first time in a long while.

“Old man Cain wants to see me too?”

“Yes.”

“Why? I’m busy training the recruits.”

“He said he has something to show us.”

“Really? What about the others?”

“He mentioned he’d prefer if it was just us.”

“Huh, is that so?”

Tifa said with a grin.

“Cain, me, and Luna… the three of us together reminds me of old times.”

“…”

In truth, Luna had thought the same thing.

The only difference from back then was…

That ‘that person’ was no longer here with them.

“Right. You’ve heard the news too, haven’t you, Luna? About the white-haired magician in Brans territory.”

“Yes.”

“I’m one hundred percent sure it’s Swen.”

“You think so too?”

“Of course. How many other young men with white hair could cause such an absurd commotion?”

Just as Luna had immediately recognized it was Swen when she heard the news.

Tifa too had quickly detected it was him.

“So magic really does exist, huh?”

“But is it actually magic? The rumors say he performed a ritual to the sky.”

“What else would you call dropping rocks from the sky if not magic?!”

“…Is that so? But Swen never used magic when he was with us…”

“Maybe he was just hiding his powers?”

“…Hmm…”

Luna wore a slightly puzzled expression.

But Tifa, as if none of that mattered, bumped her fists together and said:

“Anyway! If even a scrawny guy like him can use magic! I should be able to use it too, right?”

“But as I was saying, it might not actually be magic—”

“Don’t care! Starting today, I’ll train and figure it out somehow. Though I’m strong enough without magic anyway!”

Lately, Tifa had been pushing herself through almost murderous training.

She strengthened her body by repeating simple movements hundreds or thousands of times.

Three times a day, she ran 3km around the territory of Tepelo Castle.

From the moment her confidence in her own strength was shattered—

The day she was utterly defeated by Irene Juliette… she began intense training, driven by the realization that “this level of strength isn’t enough to help Luna, let alone protect myself.”

Even when it overlapped with her duties, she never missed a day of physical training, even if it meant reducing her sleep.

Luna, understanding Tifa’s determination, had mainly assigned her to train the soldiers since becoming castle lord.

When the soldiers trained, Tifa trained alongside them, making efficient use of even her duty hours.

At that moment.

“You’re both here. Sorry I’m late.”

From a distance, Cain slowly walked toward them.

But… he wasn’t coming alone.

“Hurry up, old man! Wait, who are those people behind you?”

People?

Well, they were people, but… more precisely, they were young boys and girls.

Cain was accompanied by one boy and two girls.

The oldest, the boy, appeared to be around 16 years old.

“Cain, who are these children?”

“…I was just about to introduce them to Lady Luna and Miss Tifa.”

As Cain stepped slightly to the side.

“It is an honor to meet you, Lady Lunarian.”

The three young people knelt before Luna in unison.

“They are my relatives. Due to circumstances… they are all orphans now.”

“Huh? Hey, old man. You had relatives? You said you had no family at all.”

At Tifa’s words, Cain nodded and replied.

“…Well, that was true when I was at Zeilant Castle. These children were in an orphanage in another territory.”

“An orphanage?”

“Yes. I thought it would be good to introduce them to Lady Luna now that some time has passed.”

As Cain finished speaking, the children introduced themselves in order, starting with the oldest boy.

“My name is Francis.”

“I am Charlotte.”

“I’m Violet.”

Luna looked into Francis’s eyes.

Golden eyes and somewhat dull blonde hair.

She felt like she’d seen him somewhere before… or was it just her imagination?

Charlotte also had golden eyes similar to Francis.

Violet had black eyes like Cain.

Both girls had black hair.

“It’s nice to meet you all. I am Lunarian.”

“So, what’s the purpose here? Introducing your relatives can’t be the only reason you called us.”

“Well, that’s right. Listen.”

Cain looked at Luna with his most serious expression and said:

“Lady Luna. Please take these children under your guardianship.”

“These children? Me…?”

“Yes. Though it’s embarrassing to say myself, they all possess extraordinary qualities. They will surely be of help for your great cause in the future.”

“By great cause, you mean…?”

Cain nodded at Luna’s question.

“I don’t think it’s your intention to remain a castle lord under the Karelia Army forever.”

“Ah, I see.”

Tifa nodded as if finally understanding why they had been called.

“So these kids will be on our side later?”

“That’s right.”

“…”

Indeed.

As Cain said, Luna had never intended to abandon her ambitions here.

Hadn’t she promised Swen? That if an opportunity came, she would never let it go.

If she did that, he promised he would definitely return to her side.

She had never forgotten his voice telling her that when he left.

“It would be good to have them stay at Lady Luna’s mansion, planning for the future. You don’t have any servants right now, do you? If you take them in as servants, it wouldn’t seem strange to others.”

As castle lord, Luna had been given the enormous mansion where the previous lord, Carlos, had lived.

She had been somehow managing alone in a place too spacious for one person, without any servants.

“But why me…? Since they’re your relatives, wouldn’t it be better for you to keep them with you?”

“Heh heh… Lady Luna. I understand what you’re saying, but I’m already quite old. I might die next month for all we know. It’s a natural thing for someone who has lived as long as I have.”

“Don’t say such things…!”

“Yeah, old man. They say the biggest lie old people tell is ‘I’ve lived long enough, I should just die.’ Shouldn’t you at least live to see Luna rebuild her country?”

At those words, Cain chuckled and said:

“Well… I think I’ve already done my part by introducing these children to Lady Luna.”

“Hmph. I get that they’re relatives, but how talented are they that you’re so confident?”

“Miss Tifa will understand in time. What I mean, that is.”

After saying that, Cain bowed his head to Luna and said:

“Anyway, I hope Lady Luna will take them in. Before anyone else does. I promise they will be of great help.”

“…”

Eventually, she would need to break away from the Karelia Army and raise her own forces.

Having more people who would follow her will was never a bad thing.

“…Would you all please stand up?”

At Luna’s voice, the kneeling children all rose.

She walked slowly toward Francis, the oldest among them, and said:

“Francis.”

“Yes, Lady Lunarian.”

“You can call me Luna from now on. It’s fine to think of me as your guardian. I look forward to our time together.”

At Luna’s words, Francis blushed slightly and bowed his head.

He seemed awkward around women.

“I… I understand. I’ll do my best.”

Luna then briefly greeted Charlotte and Violet as well.

Fortunately, they didn’t seem to have any aversion to her.

Watching Luna, Cain was lost in thought.

‘I considered waiting a bit longer… but indeed, Lady Lunarian is the only lord worthy of my service.’

These children, whom he had risked his life to hide, born of noble blood like himself.

If these children served under Lunarian, they would surely provide legitimacy comparable to Serpina’s in the future.

They could effectively challenge her, who maintained her tyrannical rule with overwhelming legitimacy.

These three people didn’t know it yet—

But their fates had changed significantly after meeting him.

Originally, Cain would have died without making up his mind, only passing these children to Luna in his final testament.

But having stayed with Luna at Zeilant Castle and fled south with her—he had been able to choose a new lord to support before his life ended.

The same was true for Tifa.

Rather than discovering mana by incredible coincidence after a long time—

Hearing about the magician ‘Swen’ had made her consider, much earlier, that magic—or ‘mana’—might actually exist.

She was the only combat-type general who could read mana. It was as if her potential was being unleashed earlier.

Lunarian, who had gone from the ruler of a small country to becoming a castle lord of Karelia, one of the continent’s major feudal armies.

Tifa, who recognized the existence of magicians much earlier than usual.

Cain, who through various experiences, quickly decided which lord to serve.

All of this was possible thanks to just one person—Swen.

Swen’s existence was dramatically reducing the time needed for the “royal build-up” of Lunarian’s army.

* * *

A week had passed since I arrived at Valhalart Castle.

During that time, Irene and I were able to enjoy our time together after so long.

“Should I hold it like this?”

“Yes, that’s right. Now tie it here like this… and it’s done. Three more to go.”

First, we made something like a scarecrow together for Irene’s training.

I couldn’t help but smile at how typical it was of her that the first thing she brought into the room was a training dummy.

In our spare time, we walked around various parts of Valhalart Castle together.

Valhalart Castle had a different charm from Anel Castle, and it wasn’t a bad place to stay.

Considering this was essentially a border, it showed how the Aeshus Army had managed to protect Valhalart Castle like an iron fortress.

Though there was still some tension… the peaceful atmosphere here was impossible to find in Kelstein, which was also on a border.

I was immersed in a feeling I hadn’t experienced in a long time.

Peace.

Back then, when I belonged to Luna’s army.

The memory of dancing with Luna while inspecting Zeilant Castle after the harvest, when the atmosphere had completely changed.

That exact feeling I had back then… I was now experiencing here at Valhalart Castle with Irene.

‘I wonder how she’s doing.’

Coming from Brans Army to Aeshus Army—I still couldn’t find the answer to the question “Can Lunarian Ineanne become the unifying monarch of the world?”

Nevertheless, my belief that she was doing well somewhere remained unshaken.

‘It wouldn’t be so bad to just spend time with Irene like this.’

I could tell this period of peace wouldn’t last long.

Unless the Brans Army was foolish, something would certainly happen soon.

Rather than spending time worrying about such things, I decided to enjoy the peace while it lasted—

I spent each day very meaningfully with her.

After about 10 days had passed.

Irene and I were returning home after purchasing tea leaves and other necessities from a general store in the castle.

That’s when.

‘Huh?’

There seemed to be some commotion in that back alley.

“What’s wrong, Swen?”

“Nothing. Just… something concerning is happening over there.”

A young woman wearing a veil was surrounded by three sturdy-looking men.

From the atmosphere, it didn’t seem like the woman and the men knew each other.

Even from a distance, it wasn’t difficult to see that the woman was in trouble.

‘Ruffians, perhaps.’

We were officers of the Aeshus Army.

That meant our walk also served as a patrol to maintain public order.

If we hadn’t seen such a scene, it would be one thing, but having seen it, we couldn’t just ignore it.

I approached them.

“What are you doing there?”