What You Cannot Know Until You Face Them
Yuuri tilted her head, looking puzzled by what I'd said.
"Swen, you're saying you'll go?"
"Yes."
"Why? Not that I mind you going, but… is there some reason?"
A reason.
Because something in my head was screaming for me to intervene, and I wanted to know what the hell was about to happen — I could hardly say that out loud.
I was still searching for an answer when an unexpected ally stepped in.
"Let him do as he wishes, my lord."
"Zinor?"
"He is gifted with words, and particularly skilled at extracting what he wants from others. I understand he has a record of several major negotiations to his name. With a viper like Serpina on the other side, there is nothing to lose by sending him."
"Is that so? That's the first I've heard of it."
I kept my head bowed and my expression carefully bland, giving no sign of surprise.
Zinor's words were, to put it bluntly, something he had invented on the spot.
I had handled a few negotiations before. The results I'd achieved while serving under Luna's forces had been respectable enough.
But I had never told him any of that.
So what he was saying now was simply a convenient story, pieced together with plausible-sounding words to help me out.
Even so, his current title as State Tactician and his past as Imperial Prime Minister lent the fabrication an air of absolute credibility.
"Hmm… if Zinor says so. Lutz, I'll have Swen take this one instead. Keep working on the mission you already have. That all right?"
"…As you command. I will carry out my orders."
Lutz answered with a faint look of disappointment, then glanced my way.
He probably thought he'd just lost a chance to distinguish himself.
His gaze was less than friendly, but I let it slide right past me.
If he went, we wouldn't get the best result anyway.
If anything, he ought to be thanking me.
The other party wasn't just anyone — it was Serpina. The kind of woman who might simply take a messenger's head without a second thought.
"In that case, Swen. I'd like you to make contact with Serpina's forces as our envoy."
I bowed at the waist.
"I will bring back a result that satisfies you, my lord."
"Good."
Yuuri closed her eyes for a moment, then rose from the throne and looked down at all of us.
"…Everyone. Thank you for gathering on such short notice. Our Asius Army never abandons family. Just as we are doing everything we can to save Anima right now, every one of you is precious family to me. Don't forget that. Until you're called on again, focus on your duties. Understood?"
"Yes! We will keep it in mind!"
The soldiers' answering roar brought the brief council to a close.
"Swen. You can rest until I send for you again."
"Yes."
And so the crowd filed out of the royal castle.
As I stepped out of the audience chamber, Irene spoke up.
"Swen. Do you have some kind of plan?"
"A plan?"
"Whenever you insist on stepping forward yourself, you always have one already in place."
A plan.
I had predictions, nothing more. No real plan to speak of.
There was no need to hide that from Irene, of all people.
"I'm just going to throw myself at it. Sometimes the path only opens once you collide with something."
"Is that so?"
Irene smiled faintly at my words.
The same smile that had always held me up.
A lock of her red hair swayed gently, framing her pale face just so.
"All right. I believe in you, Swen. The rumors about Serpina are so terrible that I can't help worrying… but I think you'll manage."
"…"
Instead of answering, I took her hand lightly in mine.
"…!"
Perhaps because it was so sudden, she looked at me in startled surprise — then, after a moment, accepted my touch.
"You're heading to the barracks, right? I'll walk you there."
"Ah? Uh… yes."
She said it with her face flushed, head bowed.
Moments like this made her truly, genuinely adorable.
Enough that I found myself wondering what on earth Lin Brans had found so objectionable about a woman like this.
Then—
"Forgive me if I'm interrupting."
I turned at the man's voice to find Zinor had somehow fallen in behind us.
Irene released my hand and immediately offered a formal bow.
"Good day, State Tactician."
"Mm. General Irene. I have something I wish to discuss with Swen for a moment. Might you spare him?"
Irene glanced at me.
I nodded slowly without a word, and she read my meaning at once.
"Understood. Then I'll take my leave. Swen — I'll see you later."
It was a little disappointing not to walk with her, but there was nothing for it.
"Yes. See you later."
Irene left first.
In her place, I matched my pace to Zinor's and walked slowly toward the outer grounds of the castle.
"Thank you for helping me back there. I honestly wasn't sure how I was going to persuade her."
"I helped because it seemed to be what you wanted… but do you have something in mind?"
When I said nothing, Zinor nodded slowly to himself.
"It would appear you saw a future in which you had to go yourself."
"That again?"
"Whether it is empty talk or not, the outcome of the negotiation will tell us. Now that you are going in person. Wouldn't you agree?"
Zinor said it with a curl of his lips.
I chose silence over any further reply.
Saying too much and having my ability actually figured out would be a problem.
And having him misread things just this far was useful to me in its own way.
Zinor, for his part, seemed in no mood to press me further. He let the subject drop.
Instead, he raised a different one.
"She is a fine general."
"Pardon?"
"I mean General Irene."
Zinor spoke while looking in the direction she had gone.
"Among the soldiers, praise for her character is everywhere. Once you become State Tactician, you end up knowing how the generals are regarded in the field whether you want to or not. Even Emma, who is held in such high esteem in the Asius Army, never received quite that level of admiration. It seems she has truly won the soldiers' hearts."
"Well, she always gives everything she has. She treats the soldiers with sincerity, never spares her own life on the battlefield, and is utterly loyal to her lord. That kind of person."
"Is that why?"
"Pardon?"
I turned to look at him, wondering what he was getting at.
"Why she was chosen by you."
"…Excuse me?"
"Swen. The woman who will become your first wife."
"…"
I stared at him, momentarily speechless.
He, on the other hand, remained perfectly serious, as if he couldn't understand why I was reacting this way.
"Am I wrong? It certainly looks that way to me. The two of you already live in the same place, do you not?"
"…That's true, but."
"Then it is as good as decided that you will share a bed. Surely you aren't going to tell me you have no particular feelings on the matter?"
No particular feelings…
No.
He was right.
Irene wasn't here, and there was no real need to hide it.
"As you say, Lord Zinor, I hold feelings for Lady Irene."
"I see. So the woman who will be your wife will also be the sword and shield that protects you."
"If you put it that way… though for now, the feelings are entirely one-sided on my part."
"Swen."
At my words, Zinor looked me straight in the eyes.
"A woman does not make that kind of face for a man she does not care for."
"Pardon?"
"I saw it from behind. The way General Irene smiled looking at you. That was the face of someone in love."
"…"
His words brought back the smile I had just seen.
It had been, without question, an utterly lovely face.
If that face truly held love… did that mean Lady Irene held feelings for me as well?
"More importantly — why bring this up all of a sudden?"
"Call it an old man's whim. The older one gets, the fewer interesting things life has to offer. And also—"
Zinor looked at me with a light smile.
"A sword and shield are well and good, but I wanted to suggest that it might be even better to keep someone who uses magic, as you do, at your side as well."
"You're being completely open about it now."
"What is there left to hide at this point? If you and I become family, General Irene becomes my relative as well. My daughter may fall short of General Irene in training, but she is more than capable of being of use to you. She also has a gentle enough nature to support you as a wife. Well? Won't you give it some positive thought?"
"Lord Zinor."
"Yes?"
"Have you always been this kind of person?"
"Ha!"
Zinor laughed long and hard at that, clapped me on the back a few times, and strode on ahead.
"Whatever you may have thought of me, I am merely a frail old man who has no desire to make an enemy of you. I will take my leave."
I stood where I was and watched Zinor disappear — then let out a quiet sigh.
Truly. You can never know a person until you meet them and speak face to face.
Lunarien. Lin. Yuuri.
Irene, Reika, and Zinor as well.
Even if you memorized every scrap of information about them a hundred times over — their ages, their stats — until you actually met them, you knew nothing at all.
Which meant that perhaps I…
…know nothing about Serpina either.
With that thought, I left the royal castle behind.
Hisphil Castle. The royal keep.
"The wall repairs are complete, my lord."
Seated in the lord's chair, Serpina listened to the report from the castle's steward, Yuan, with a look of satisfaction.
"Well done. Inform all the officers who were assigned to the work that they may return to their original duties."
"Yes, my lord!"
Yuan was about to withdraw when—
"Wait."
"Your command, my lord."
"What is the current condition of the prisoner we took?"
"You mean Anima Ingram. The situation is unchanged. She keeps her mouth shut and says nothing at all."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. I am told they have tried several times to persuade her to serve you… but she refuses even to eat, and remains completely silent."
"…"
A silent protest, then.
Well. Of course they hated her.
They hated her, and that was precisely why they had stepped into the trap she had laid.
If the woman simply starved herself to death, that would be inconvenient.
Not because her life was precious in itself — but because killing a captured prisoner outright was simply inefficient.
"Yuan."
"Yes."
"Escort me to the underground dungeon."
"You intend to interrogate her yourself?"
"I do."
Yuan bowed low and answered in a clear voice.
"Yes, my lord! This way, please."
"…"
Serpina rose from her seat — and followed Yuan down toward the prison where Anima was being held.