episode_0337

“Huh? Well done―”

Before I could finish saying anything, Serpina buried her face in my chest and said.

“I did my best… … . I tried my best to look as if nothing happened… … ”

“Serpina… … ?”

“I wanted to run away, but I didn’t run away from the name Eingart. I… … did well… … ?”

I couldn’t bring myself to say anything in response, so I just looked at her with blank eyes.

Oh my god.

Our absolute being, Serpina, who seemed as if she would never collapse… was lashing out at me as if she were a little child.

Was Jenna’s death really that shocking to her?

But there must have been many instances throughout her life where she was betrayed by those she trusted, or lost someone precious to her… …

Has all that damage accumulated to the point where you can no longer endure it?

Anyway, what I have to do hasn’t changed.

“Of course. Serpina. You did well. You must not have wanted to do it. You must have had a lot of complicated feelings, but you did really well.”

“Yeah… … .”

Serpina, after hearing what I said, began to calm her heavy breathing little by little.

“Swen… … Okay.”

“Yes… … ??”

My face almost got hot for a moment, but-

“You smell good. You smell good… …your body smells good.”

… … What, are you talking about the smell?

I was thinking of asking if it was possible to smell something even with clothes on, but actually, there was a word that came to mind when I thought of smell.

“It smells good, Serpina, too.”

“Huh? Me… … ?”

Serpina looked up and stared at me intently, blinking her large golden eyes as if trying to focus on what I was saying.

No… … Was this person this cute?

“It’s the scent of yuzu.”

“Ah… … That. You mean the smell of perfume.”

“Do you smell perfume?”

“Yeah. It’s the perfume my mom used. When I was really young, she gave me the perfume as a gift… … When I wore that perfume on my body, I felt like my mom was protecting me… … .”

Now that I think about it, the yuzu scent that was always so strong felt a little fainter.

Maybe you didn’t sprinkle enough because you were absent-minded.

“What kind of person was your mother?”

“She was a kind and gentle person. She passed away early because she was not well… … I don’t have many good memories of my family, but I never thought badly of my mother. They were short, very happy times. ”

After that, I continued the conversation by asking her light questions.

It was just a trivial chat with no significant details – but for me, it was a precious time in which I could learn more about Serpina von Eingart, the ruler of Serpina County, and what kind of person Serpina was.

As I continued to talk, I could feel her trembling and breathing becoming more and more peaceful. If I remember that my goal was to calm her down, I think this was a pretty good strategy.

As the conversation was coming to a close, Serpina looked at me and said:

“That’s amazing.”

“Huh?”

“Swen, after talking to you… … my anxiety has gone away.”

“That’s good. I told you, I’ll protect you.”

“Yeah.”

Serpina said that and hugged me again.

This appearance was so different from Serpina’s appearance up until now that I still felt like I couldn’t get used to it.

Would you believe me if I told you right now that it would be more natural to say, “I especially liked your leisure activities.”

“Smell… … Mommy smells good, but Swen, yours smells just as good.”

“… … Yes?”

Instead of answering me, she pressed her face against mine as if she was going to pierce my chest.

“I wish I could smell you too.”

“Swen, I wish you and I could smell the same… … . I want to mix so strongly that anyone can tell right away. ”

“… … !”

-Gulp.

I swallowed without realizing it.

Does this guy even know what he’s talking about?

A beautiful blonde was rubbing her whole body against mine, saying things like, ‘I want to share your scent’ and ‘I want to mix you up’.

Even though she didn’t have an overwhelming size like Irene, she still had objectively very large breasts, so the constant rubbing of her plump breasts against me was a bonus.

The Serpina of now was not her usual self.

A state where he has finally lost his trusted general and has become discouraged by another rebellion.

In this situation, if the only person she trusts were to ask her to ‘do something for me’, she would do whatever it took.

I had that thought a while ago.

I have Airen and Reika, and I have the position of national strategist, so Serpina is basically in my grasp. That’s a bit of a crazy idea.

And now.

It occurred to me that not only the Serpina Army, but also Lady Serpina who leads it… … had fallen into my grasp.

okay.

You can do anything.

She’ll do anything I tell her. Anything.

What is a country? It may not be impossible to take the monarch into my hands and reign as a de facto monarch.

‘……no.’

but.

I won’t do that.

I won’t try to manipulate Serpina while she’s weak.

She has been abandoned by most people, so I cannot abandon her as well.

As I thought about that, the male lust I felt for her body quickly subsided.

… … Okay. This is fine for now.

I gave Serpina a light hug.

“I wish I could do that too.”

I reached out and ran my hand through her hair, combing it between my fingers.

Looks like I’ll be following her around for a while.

First, I need to meet the lords of the northern territory and sort things out… … .

At that moment, things about Serpina-sama and Serpina-kun began to grow bigger and bigger in my head.

The scariest thing at this point was that even I was trying hard to ignore ‘that fact’.

* * *

Somewhere in the southern continent, in the Ohana County region.

“Is that true… … ?”

“That’s right. I heard there was a rebellion at Eingart Castle.”

“What are those guys in the central region doing? If there was a rebellion in the capital, they wouldn’t respond to it. Tsk tsk.”

“Thanks to you, Serpina didn’t come down here, so isn’t that a good thing?”

“That’s true, but… … .”

There was a woman who secretly eavesdropped on the small talk among the residents as if she were a rat.

‘There was a rebellion at Eingart Castle… …?’

If that’s the case, now would be a good opportunity to attack Serpina’s army…

At that moment, the man in front of the woman spoke as if he was annoyed.

“Miss. Are you going to buy it or not?”

“Huh? Ah… … I’ll buy it. Sorry. Just a moment.”

After somehow finishing the calculation with her only arm, the woman walked towards the hut where her friend was waiting, carrying the food.

“I’m here.”

“… … .”

Inside the cabin, another woman was sitting on a chair, looking out the window without saying anything.

There was nothing in the two different colored pupils. No despair, no hope, no pain, no sadness, no joy, no emotion. It was empty.

Who would believe that the woman sitting here was once a rival for supremacy over the continent alongside Lynn Branth and Serpina von Eingart?

“Yuuri. I’ll put this on the table, so eat it whenever you want.”

The woman who brought the food – Anima clumsily set the table with only one arm left.

I wanted to eat with him, but since Yuuri became mute, he never ate in front of me.

That day.

Leaving Epinel behind, the place Anima chose to survive was the Southern Continent.

At first, they thought about escaping to the central western part of the continent where the Bran’s Army was located, where the path was relatively easy – but considering that remaining within the central continent could become dangerous at any time, and that Lin, with whom they were currently in a pact, could find them and Yuuri and send them to Serphina, they thought that escaping here was the best choice no matter how many times they thought about it.

Although Yuuri had lost his voice since that day, and he himself had been living a helpless life taking care of Yuuri, it was not that he was short on money or anything, so perhaps he should take comfort in that.

‘At first I thought about going under Navidos Ohana, but… … .’

Anima had also come to the Southern Continent, so she could sense the gust of wind caused by the Lunalian Army quite vividly.

Even so, it wasn’t as if Ohana had no chance. If she had attacked Tepel Castle while the Lunarian army was fighting against the Roland army, she would have had a good chance of winning. Even though there were wizards, the war was ultimately about pushing through with the number of soldiers, so it was even more so.

But I had a gut feeling when I saw that he wasn’t moving even an inch.

Ohana knew that she was not worthy of being served.

‘It’s best to stay buried here for the time being.’

One day, the opportunity will come. A chance to take revenge on our enemy, Serpina.

He had no intention of doing something so cruel as to force the exhausted Yuuri to lead the country again.

The only one who can take revenge on Serpina. If there is such a being, I will gladly pour out all my meager talents.

‘The most likely thing right now is… … .’

In Anima’s view, the country with the highest chance of fighting and winning against the Serpina Army is――

* * *

The capital of the new Lunarian army, Madlan Castle.

“Is that true?”

“Yes, sir.”

The soldier politely told Zinor the news he had heard.

“It is said that the new commander of the Serpina Army is the famous knight, Irene Juliette, known as the ‘siege warfare specialist’!”