Ch.84Chapter 84. Did You Think You Could Deceive Me?

* * *

The royal palace of Anel Castle.

They say that while building something up is incredibly difficult, it can all come crashing down in an instant.

The territory of the Brans Army, which Orlando Brans had established with perfect timing and a solid foundation, began to collapse one by one without respite as soon as the border was breached.

“My lord! Serold Castle and Jog Castle have fallen to Serpina’s army! Rashion, the interim northern defense commander, has surrendered and joined Serpina’s forces!”

After hearing the messenger’s report, Farfalle, with an extremely grave expression, advised Lynn, who sat on the throne with a blank stare.

“My lord. We must gather all troops from the border and concentrate them at Anel Castle immediately. We’re hearing rumors of movement from the south as well. There’s a high possibility that the Aeshus army will mobilize again. Please make a decision quickly…!”

“……”

“My lord…!”

Despite Farfalle’s repeated attempts, Lynn gave no response.

She was now like an empty paper doll.

She wouldn’t answer when spoken to, merely listening to the news brought by messengers without reaction.

‘If this continues, we’re in real danger…!’

Currently, troops at the border were being crushed meaninglessly.

In Farfalle’s opinion, the best course of action would be to abandon territory and minimize the border.

If they could somehow defend Anel Castle, they could at least protect the western territory that had been prepared in advance.

The western land wasn’t particularly good, or to be honest, it was extremely barren—

But if they lost all their territory completely, that would truly be the end.

As long as they didn’t lose the capital, there was still hope. They could spread their wings again someday.

Although half their talented people had died or surrendered, weren’t the core figures still protecting the Brans Army?

“Lady Lynn…”

“……”

Lynn remained silent for a while—

Then, still staring straight ahead… she finally parted her heavy lips.

“Farfalle.”

“Yes…?”

“What… did I do wrong?”

And then.

She began roughly biting her fingernails with her lips.

Blood began to flow again from her already swollen fingertips.

“I… don’t think I did anything to deserve this… Where did it all go wrong? Why… why, why have we been pushed back this far…? Why…? My brother… What happened to my brothers…?”

“……”

Chel Brans was defending the eastern border with his body that hadn’t fully recovered yet.

Kalintz Brans was… somehow fighting at the northern border, but he couldn’t hold back Serpina’s army.

“Why did this happen…? How? I’m… supposed to be the one who unifies the continent, aren’t I? I’m not supposed to end like this in this narrow central region, am I? Our Brans Army… we… this shouldn’t be happening, right?”

“My lord. If you want to prevent the collapse of the Brans Army, you must make a decision now.”

“No!!!!”

Hearing Farfalle’s words, Lynn rose from her seat and threw the ceremonial sword that had been placed beside her.

“This can’t be happening!!! We can’t keep losing! We are the Brans Army! The nation that will eventually unify the continent!!!”

“……”

At that moment.

“…Ah. I see.”

Lynn suddenly widened her eyes.

“Heh, hehe, hehehe.”

She began to laugh unpleasantly, like someone who had lost her mind.

“Hey, you.”

“Y-yes!”

Then, looking at the messenger who had delivered the news of the castle’s fall, she said:

“Why don’t you… come over here for a moment…? That’s right…♡”

“……”

The messenger briefly shuddered at Lynn’s extremely gentle yet simultaneously eerie voice.

But in the Brans Army, Lynn Brans’s word was absolute.

Even the most skilled generals had to obey Lynn’s commands unconditionally.

A mere messenger certainly had no choice.

“I, I… um…”

After hesitating for a while, the messenger cautiously approached Lynn.

“Yes… come… closer…”

“……”

Trembling, he finally reached her face.

“What… do you need?”

“…Nothing much… hehe…♡”

Lynn placed her hand on the messenger’s face, lightly brushing his cheek—

Then, with lightning speed, she picked up the ceremonial sword from the floor and unsheathed it.

“M-my lord…?”

And then.

Slash!

“Ugh…!”

Right there in front of Farfalle—

She thrust the blade directly into the messenger’s abdomen.

“My… lord…? W-why…?”

Lynn glared into the eyes of the messenger, who looked at her with confusion.

The eyes that held that gaze contained no vitality, no color—they were completely dead.

“You. You were sent by Irene Juliette, weren’t you? Did you think you could deceive me?”

Lynn shouted with a voice full of madness, loud enough to shake the royal palace.

“There’s no way we would lose so pathetically! What?! It’s useless to try to deceive me with false news. You stupid bastard. A mere soldier trying to side with that red-haired traitor to deceive me?!”

“Guh…”

Thud.

The messenger collapsed on the spot without even a chance to respond.

Blood flowed from his abdomen.

The audience chamber, filled with the sounds of the soldier writhing in agony, soon fell silent as even those sounds ceased.

‘This can’t be…’

Farfalle watched the entire scene with a pale face.

Lynn’s condition was… more dangerous than expected.

Whether driven mad by her desire for revenge against Irene or not, she seemed unable to make proper judgments.

The once brilliant female ruler who, though somewhat cold, could see through the big picture and make mostly correct decisions, no longer existed.

What stood before him was… just a madwoman who killed messengers because of her own paranoia.

“…Farfalle.”

“…Y-yes.”

“You need to be careful. That damn woman’s spies are still scattered throughout our army. Right?”

“……”

Lynn grinned and pulled the sword from the abdomen.

Splatter!

As she wiped the blood from the blade, drops of red splashed onto her snow-white skin.

“I don’t want to deal with this myself, so filter them out for me? Understood?”

Farfalle felt as if the sky was falling as he heard those words.

Perhaps it would have been better not to suggest employing Irene back then.

If he had known that his lord Lynn could never accept her, should he have taken the initiative to exile her?

Those things no longer mattered now.

“Aren’t you going to answer?”

“Ah, y-yes… I understand.”

“Good. Good boy, Farfalle. Now go tell my eldest brother to gather as many troops as possible and recapture Laclaine Castle that was taken by the Aeshus army. Got it?”

“…Yes.”

After leaving the audience chamber, Farfalle approached one of the generals waiting outside and said:

“Excuse me, what is your name?”

“Huh? I’m… S-Silin.”

Silin answered Farfalle while trembling with fear.

The castle atmosphere was extremely chaotic due to the continuous defeats, and since Lynn’s word was law in this country, it was natural that generals like Silin were very anxious given Lynn’s poor condition.

Farfalle spoke with a very serious expression:

“Silin. I’m sorry, but could you do me a favor?”

“What… kind of favor may I ask?”

“You can send a messenger or deliver it yourself. Please arrange for all troops, including General Kalintz at the northern border and General Chel at the eastern border, to return to Anel Castle immediately.”

“What? Should I… say this is by the lord’s command?”

“……”

Farfalle slowly shook his head.

“Please tell them it’s the independent judgment of State Strategist Farfalle. And that I will take full responsibility.”

“What? B-but—”

“Please. I promise you won’t suffer any consequences.”

Taking action on one’s own judgment without the ruler’s command was an extremely presumptuous act in this era.

Especially for someone with as much power as a state strategist.

Of course, one needed that level of power to even say “I’ll take responsibility.”

Farfalle thought that in the worst case, his head might roll.

But the collapse of the Brans Army would mean he would become the state strategist of a failed nation.

He certainly wouldn’t be able to rise any higher.

Though she had a human side that valued her life, she was fundamentally a woman with very strong pride.

She wanted to prove that her judgment in choosing Lynn Brans over other rulers had not been wrong.

This was the only way to prevent the Brans Army from perishing.

She believed that the bright Lynn she once knew would surely understand.

“I would like to go myself, but I fear something terrible might happen if I leave our lord’s side right now. I ask you once more.”

“…Alright. Since it’s an order from the State Strategist, you don’t need to call it a favor.”

“…Thank you. Well then.”

Protecting Anel Castle.

Farfalle, with fire at her feet, quickly began to think.

To somehow prevent the Brans Army from disappearing from the map.

That was the only thing on her mind.

* * *

The day after having that special evening with Irene.

“Well, I’ll be going now.”

“Okay. See you later.”

After exchanging brief goodbyes with her, I headed straight to the Nighthart family mansion.

Passing through the now-familiar streets, I arrived at the mansion.

“Lord Swen. We’ve been waiting for you.”

“What?”

The maid was particularly welcoming to me.

“Lord Ginor is looking for you.”

“Lord Ginor?”

Why would Ginor be looking for me?

Could there be some kind of problem?

‘Did he perhaps notice that I can’t even sense mana, let alone perform anything resembling magic?’

With an unnecessarily guilty conscience, I slowly headed to the reception room where Ginor was said to be.

When I entered the reception room—

‘…Huh?’

Reika was sitting on the sofa inside.

Ginor was sitting in what appeared to be the seat of honor, reading a book.

Noticing my arrival, he spoke.

“You’ve come, Swen?”

“Yes. I heard you called for me.”

“Please have a seat first.”

As I sat down, I naturally ended up facing Reika.

What was strange was Reika’s attitude.

She couldn’t even make eye contact with me properly, her face completely flushed as she kept her head bowed.

‘What’s going on?’

Is this about some magical achievement?

Currently, Reika’s abilities were growing day by day.

If that were the case, this shouldn’t be such a tense situation… why is she being so shy?

At that moment.

Ginor’s voice reached my ears.

“Swen. Do you remember what I said?”

“What are you referring to?”

“That you would grant my request.”

A request.

I nodded and said:

“Yes, I remember. But I also remember saying I couldn’t agree to anything beyond my capabilities.”

“I remember that too.”

Ginor responded to my words in a very rigid tone.

Whenever I notice this, I feel that Ginor seems like someone who would never joke in his life.

If it were Cain instead of Ginor, he probably would have said something like “Do we really need to be so particular about that?”

Anyway, since the topic of a request came up, he must have called me to ask for something.

“So, what is your request?”

While I was thinking I’d have to refuse if he asked me to show an actual miracle just once, “that phrase” clearly reached my ears.

“Would you consider becoming my son-in-law?”

“…What?”

What?

Stunned by the unexpected words, I couldn’t even respond properly.

Looking at me, Ginor spoke in a very serious tone without a hint of playfulness:

“Swen. If you’re willing, I’ll give you my daughter Reika and the Nighthart name. What do you say?”