Ch.89Chapter 89. Encounter, Serpina’s Army (4)

“Swen?”

“No, um… please wait a moment.”

I could resolve this by going to negotiate myself?

Not someone else, but me personally—I have to go?

If someone else goes, negotiations won’t work, but if I go, they will?

‘Why???’

My mind began to overheat rapidly again, as this conclusion raised such fundamental questions that I couldn’t move past them.

But no matter how many times I ran the question through my head, the answer remained the same.

It has to be me, not someone else.

‘Huh, really.’

At times like this, I always think that if I’d been given clear reasons, it would have been much easier to convince people all along.

I carefully observed everyone’s expressions… then cautiously opened my mouth.

“I believe combat isn’t necessarily the only answer.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… I think considering negotiations wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

Despite this being the conclusion my mind had reached, I couldn’t hide my confusion about why negotiations would even be possible, letting my uncertainty seep into my words.

After all, no matter how I thought about it, there was no reason why Serpina’s army would want to negotiate with us.

Fundamentally, negotiations are only possible when the other party stands to gain something.

Why would they withdraw their forces when we have nothing to offer them?

Of course—I have no doubt this is the most efficient approach.

It was the same back when I was with Luna’s army, negotiating with Lynn. Negotiations always happen in some form. That’s why I’m being told to “go negotiate.”

But.

The difference from back then is—

“Swen?”

“Ah… yes.”

Yurie tilted her head questioningly.

“Are you saying we could reach a ceasefire agreement with Serpina’s army?”

“That’s right.”

“How exactly?”

This was the Aeshus army, not the Lunarian army.

And Yurie, unlike Luna, was not a ruler who trusted me unconditionally.

If it were Luna, she would simply accept it if I said “That’s correct.”

But Yurie was different.

To convince her, I needed to logically explain ‘why my opinion was correct.’

Yet, I couldn’t formulate a proper explanation.

“Well… I think I need to consider it a bit more.”

“You need to consider it more? Didn’t you already think it through?”

“What I mean is, it’s clear in my head… but due to my inadequacy, I’m finding it difficult to articulate it concisely.”

“Is that so? That’s a rather difficult answer to understand…”

Yurie stroked her chin with a troubled gesture.

“Anyway, if that’s all you have, it’s hard for me to accept your suggestion. Opinions need to be backed by reasoning, you know? I can’t just agree to negotiations without justification. From our perspective, we don’t even have anything that Serpina wants. And knowing Serpina’s personality, I doubt she’d be willing to negotiate anyway.”

If I had more time, perhaps I could come up with something.

But I simply couldn’t think of any words that would convince her.

If I could at least look at a map and confirm how things were unfolding, maybe—but the information available to me was ridiculously limited.

It’s like trying to cook without ingredients; you can’t make a dish without them.

“So, Swen. Your suggestion is rejected. I’m sorry.”

“No, I understand.”

Yurie gave a bitter smile after hearing my response.

“Don’t take it too hard. Truthfully, I wasn’t planning to negotiate regardless of what was said.”

Yurie spoke with a somewhat sharp tone.

“We’ll have to face them eventually, and even if we temporarily avoid conflict through negotiations, it would only be temporary.”

Well, that’s true in a way…

But according to my intelligence 100 brain’s prediction, this would not only be the most efficient approach but also the ‘most correct decision’ for the Aeshus army.

“Besides…”

At that moment.

Unusually for the normally gentle Yurie, I could see anger in her eyes.

“I don’t want to negotiate with Serpina’s army if I can help it.”

‘Ah.’

I immediately understood Yurie’s psychological state.

Though she didn’t show it as openly as Anima, she too had gone through the hell that was Piviola Academy.

The roots of the Imperial forces that attacked them back then would trace back to Serpina.

To convince her, I would need something that could overcome not just logic but also her deep-seated aversion… but having just made my prediction, I had nothing of the sort.

‘Should I give up pushing this opinion?’

It wasn’t me who would suffer from ignoring my advice, but Yurie, the ruler of the Aeshus army.

And she did say we would ‘win’ if we fought…

So even if it wasn’t the most efficient option, it wasn’t a terrible one either.

Besides, while this decision might be overwhelmingly advantageous for the Aeshus army, I couldn’t be certain whether it would ultimately benefit Lunarian, whom I would serve.

Of course, having various nations like the Aeshus army maintain some territory would make it easier for the future Lunarian army to achieve unification, rather than facing a superpower like Serpina’s army controlling more than half the central continent.

Anyway, given my prediction that Lunarian would become the ruler to unify the continent, that was inevitable.

So from my position, there was no absolute need to convince her.

‘Right. This is just the Aeshus army’s business. Irene isn’t in danger, and there’s no need for me to stand out unnecessarily.’

I had already repaid their kindness in accepting us during the battle with the Brans army.

Rather than pushing my opinion, it might not be a bad decision to just let it go.

“…”

Ginor gave me a strange look, but I wasn’t given any further opportunity to interject on this topic.

Afterward, several other opinions were exchanged.

Seeing how even ordinary generals freely offered advice to Yurie, she clearly wasn’t a closed-minded person.

The problem was that she refused to compromise on certain issues.

“Thank you all for sharing your opinions.”

Yurie stood up, extending her hand forward as she spoke.

“We choose to face them in battle. I understand the opinions of those who argue we should withdraw our forces, including Ginor, but we can never move forward if we concede defeat without even trying. We won’t send reinforcements immediately, but we might depending on the situation. I’ll speak separately with the generals who will be deployed in battle, so it would be good for everyone to prepare mentally. Understood?”

“Yes! Understood!”

I bowed my head along with everyone else in response to Yurie.

So it’s resistance after all.

Since she said we would win, I wasn’t too worried… but something still felt unsettling in a corner of my mind.

“Everyone, return to your duties for now. I’d appreciate if you continue with your normal activities unless given special instructions.”

As I was leaving the palace—

“Swen.”

Irene approached me with a worried expression.

“Lady Irene.”

“Should we negotiate with Serpina’s army? Is that the most efficient approach our army could take?”

“Yes, it is.”

“I see… Well, if it’s coming from you, it must be right.”

Thinking about it, Irene was likely to believe me.

She was the only person in the Aeshus army who had witnessed my seemingly absurd claims repeatedly proving true since our time in the Brans army.

“Then I’m thinking of trying to convince my lord.”

“Convince her?”

“Yes. Lady Yurie tends to listen to her generals’ opinions.”

“But how?”

“Well… come to think of it, why is negotiation the most efficient approach? Do we have some leverage against Serpina’s army?”

I hesitated for a moment before answering—

‘Right. There’s no need to lie to Irene.’

So I simply told her what I knew.

“Honestly, it’s just a feeling.”

“A feeling?”

“Yes. I just have a certainty that it’s the right answer.”

“I see…”

Though it might sound absurd and irresponsible, Irene nodded seriously instead of dismissing my words.

“Now I understand why someone of your caliber couldn’t convince our lord.”

“I’m ashamed.”

“No, don’t be. Well, if your intuition is that strong, then it must be right. I believe in you.”

Irene’s words of unlimited trust made me think of my former lord, Luna.

Irene didn’t trust me this much from the beginning. It was through spending time together and various experiences that she naturally came to believe in me.

In contrast, Luna trusted and supported me completely from the moment we met, as soon as I was recommended to her.

‘How could she do that?’

I suddenly wondered about her current situation.

Is she doing well?

“Thank you for your concern. I think we won’t lose the battle, so there’s no need to worry too much.”

“Hmm. Alright. I’ll see you this evening then.”

After parting with Irene and leaving the palace, I looked up at the sky.

Today, I kept remembering Luna’s face—the one who trusted me absolutely without any conditions.

Though she had a very fragile personality, her red eyes were incredibly intense.

Are you well, my lord?

I’m somehow getting by day by day, having changed lords twice now.

Until you reappear at the center of history… I’ll try to survive somehow.

With these thoughts, I walked away from the palace.

* * *

When Swen claimed that “we should negotiate”—

The one who took his opinion most seriously was Ginor, the national strategist standing beside Yurie.

‘Negotiations…’

Why would Swen suggest such a thing?

This was Swen, after all.

Ginor held him in extremely high regard. He was convinced that the Brans army began its downfall precisely when Swen left them for the Aeshus army.

He told Yurie he didn’t know exactly why negotiation was the right answer—

But Ginor suspected he might know but couldn’t tell for some reason.

‘If there’s a reason he can’t tell… is he in communication with Serpina’s army?’

That was unlikely to be the answer.

After all, he was the one who had hurled boulders from the sky at Serpina’s forces.

No matter what kind of spy he might be, no one would inflict such devastating damage on the enemy while pretending to deceive them.

Thinking about it that way, there was one possibility.

And since this was Swen, Ginor had a guess.

‘Magic… perhaps?’

While Swen himself claimed to “ask the will of the heavens,” Ginor believed he was indeed a mage, given his ability to detect mana and dramatically enhance Reika’s magical abilities.

He simply didn’t press the issue because he didn’t want to antagonize him.

After all, why create tension with a man who might eventually become his son-in-law?

If that was the case…

Perhaps Swen knew something through some magical power that neither Ginor, Yurie, nor anyone else knew—something he planned to use to persuade Serpina’s army?

Magic was a mysterious force whose effects and influences weren’t precisely known. Just because the world wasn’t aware of it didn’t mean Swen didn’t possess some miraculous magic that could resolve this situation.

‘If that’s true, this could be an excellent opportunity.’

If they could successfully negotiate with Serpina’s army, they could end this without losing any castles or troops.

But if the method involved magic, it would indeed be difficult to convince Yurie directly.

In that case—

‘I should step forward here.’

A proposal from the national strategist, rather than a mere general, would have a higher chance of being accepted.

Of course, Yurie herself harbored animosity toward Serpina’s army—

But she was fundamentally a very wise person. Having observed her closely, Ginor knew she would listen if things were explained well.

Ginor glanced at Yurie’s profile.

She seemed lost in thought, slightly biting her nail.

Nail-biting was a habit she had when anxious. As her advisor, Ginor naturally knew this.

She appeared to be worried about the upcoming battle.

‘Now is not the time. I’ll propose it when Lady Yurie is calmer… it won’t be too late then.’

And so—

In Ginor’s mind, Swen was becoming something akin to a great sorcerer with mysterious powers that could even control people’s hearts.