The Meeting (2)
"She finished this meal cleanly as well. It seems she no longer intends to refuse food."
"Is that so."
Seated upon the lord's chair with one leg crossed over the other, Serpina received the jailer's report concerning Anima. She extended the hand that had been propping up her chin toward him.
"Very well. You need not report on the prisoner any further. Should something arise that requires a response, you may report it then."
"Yes, understood!"
She watched the jailer salute and withdraw, then sank into thought.
If Anima is a graduate of Piviola Academy… that would explain the murderous intent she holds toward me. It may well be that the Acius Army has gathered a great many from that place.
When she had gone to deliver the demand for surrender, she had thought their reaction rather sharp for so small a nation—
Feeling the pieces of the puzzle in her mind click into place one by one, Serpina closed her eyes.
…Composure.
The word she quietly carved into herself whenever her heart began to waver.
This was no time to dwell on the past. What mattered to her was not the past, but the present—and the future.
She was reordering her resolve when a messenger approached.
"My lord!"
"What is it?"
"The forces that sortied to Gelstrom Castle have just returned."
That the troops had returned meant… they had been defeated, in the end.
She had known the odds of victory were not high, and for that reason she had prepared a Plan B and succeeded in landing a blow against the Acius Army—but receiving the result of defeat itself was hardly a pleasant feeling.
"I see. How many remain?"
"Including the wounded, roughly twenty-three thousand, it seems."
More than half lost, then.
As Serpina's expression tightened slightly, the messenger answered as though gauging her mood.
"Even so, they succeeded in inflicting enormous damage upon Gelstrom Castle as well. I doubt they will be in any position to reinvade this way…"
Serpina gave a slight nod.
"What of Vilans and Nemia?"
"General Vilans returned safely with the retreating forces, but… General Nemia, well…"
"…?"
Sensing something ominous, Serpina rose from her seat—and the messenger hastily waved his hands.
"Ah—no! She has returned alive. However… she has sustained a severe injury."
"An injury?"
"Yes. She is under absolute rest at present."
She had not died.
That alone was enough for Serpina to feel a deep relief welling within herself. Yet as an absolute sovereign who must continually send her generals to the battlefield, excessive displays of emotion risked diminishing her dignity.
Still, she had no intention of simply letting it pass.
"You there. Would you escort me to where Nemia is?"
Hearing her words, the messenger answered in a voice that rang out loud.
"Yes! Of course. It is an honor to attend you. This way, please."
Guided by the messenger, she arrived at the military hospital of Hisphil Castle.
Physicians dispatched from the capital, Aingart Castle, moved busily about as Nemia, lying in a bed in one corner, greeted Serpina.
"Ah… my lord. You have come…?"
"You need not speak needlessly, Nemia. Rest."
The female general Nemia.
She possessed no particularly outstanding ability, no exceptional strength or talent—yet in Serpina's mind, she had always been a fiery general with a booming voice and eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
That same woman now lay there so pitifully, letting out small, pained moans.
"I am ashamed, my lord… I swore I would deliver Gelstrom Castle into your hands…"
"That hardly matters."
Serpina turned her head toward the physician standing nearby. Sensing her unspoken question, he carefully opened his mouth.
"I am told there was tremendous bleeding in the midst of the battlefield. Had the decision to withdraw not been made so quickly, I doubt she would have survived."
"Bleeding…"
Serpina turned back and examined Nemia's body where she lay. She could see no wound that looked as though it could have produced life-threatening blood loss. There was a bandage wrapped around her head, but… something told her instinctively that was not the whole of it.
They had said she was severely injured, had they not?
Then her eyes fell upon the white blanket covering Nemia's lower body.
…Surely not.
She slowly drew the blanket aside.
And only then did the decisive wound that had forced the retreat enter her sight.
Her right leg… was gone from the knee down.
Nemia looked up at Serpina's widened eyes and gave an awkward little laugh.
"Haha… forgive me. I have ended up in such a state. Had I fought to the end, we might have taken Gelstrom Castle…"
"Nemia."
"Epinel Rosencross was every bit the formidable warrior I had heard. As a fellow woman, she was strong enough to command my respect. Crossing blades with her was enough to tell me… that I could never defeat her. I did my utmost, but…"
"…"
"With a body like this… I am finished as a general. Once a peaceful world was achieved, my small hope was to return to my hometown and spend quiet days with my family—but even that now feels like water already gone downstream. My lord. I…"
"Nemia."
Serpina took Nemia's hand in both of hers. Though life still flowed through her and blood still circulated, her hand was terribly cold.
"My lord…"
"You did the best that was yours alone to do. That you returned alive is enough."
"But it was my inadequacy that forced the retreat. Had there only been more time, we surely could have taken the castle…"
"If you truly feel yourself lacking, then use the life that remains to you for my sake."
At Serpina's words, Nemia offered a bitter smile.
"I… can no longer take the field. Even if I offer this worthless life, I fear I would only hinder you rather than be of any help."
"Taking the field and fighting is not the whole of war. Besides, Nemia—do you not still have a reason you must work?"
"My lord…?"
"You said you have five younger siblings, did you not?"
At that, Nemia looked startled for the first time.
"…You remembered?"
When she had first been commissioned into Serpina's army, she had mentioned her family in passing before her. That Serpina—who commanded countless generals under her banner—would remember it was something she had never even imagined, and so the surprise was all the greater.
Objectively speaking, she was not an outstanding general who stood out in Serpina's eyes. She had never achieved any truly great merit, either.
"To feed and raise them, this is hardly the time to stop working, is it? Still, it will be difficult for you just now. Rest for a while. Your stipend will continue without interruption."
"B-but…"
"Once your body has recovered, I would have you help train the next generation. Practical drills are important, but teaching theory matters as well. If you become a specialized instructor in the barracks and teach the soldiers tactics grounded in your experience on the battlefield, that alone will be of great service. A general who has returned from the brink of death has much to teach simply by existing."
She spoke of battlefield experience and lessons to be learned and the like… but Nemia had no difficulty recognizing it for what it was—Serpina's consideration.
Even as a barracks instructor, demonstrating techniques and conducting drills was more efficient with all four limbs intact. Nor was she the type particularly well-versed in theory.
But if she retired from the army as things stood, she would have no means of feeding her younger siblings. Even if she wanted to work, a body like this could not manage even hard labor.
Serpina had taken that into account. She was telling her that her employment would be maintained—that she need not worry.
"My lord…"
"Do you remember the moment you entered my service? I told all of you to swear your loyalty upon your lives. If you mean to keep that oath, then I will never abandon any of you, no matter what comes."
"…"
"Nemia. Entrust to me the dream of continental unification for which you staked your life. I will stand upon my two legs and look out through your eyes. I will never forget the dream you placed in me."
"…Hic."
Nemia's body trembled faintly at those words. Then from both her eyes… tears began to spill down.
To the world she was known as a tyrant without blood or tears, and in truth Serpina was ruthlessly cool-headed and made decisions sharp as a blade—but to Nemia, she was the one and only sovereign on the continent worth serving.
She alone was the sole figure fit to be the absolute ruler of the continent.
And so, as Nemia shook and wept for a long while… Serpina simply stood by her side in silence, saying nothing, until she regained her composure.
It was the moment another unfinished dream was added to the two legs of the absolute sovereign.
Several hours later.
Having finished her visit at the hospital and returned to the castle to devote herself once more to her duties, Serpina was approached by a soldier.
"An envoy from the Acius Army has arrived?"
"Yes, my lord."
An envoy from Acius—then they had come to negotiate over Anima, no doubt. She had been intending to make contact with the Acius Army herself in any case.
If they have come this quickly… Anima's existence must be of tremendous importance to them.
In that case, she would not simply hand her back.
That was how she survived these troubled times: show as much mercy as possible to those who were her own people—and ruthlessly calculate profit and loss with those who were not.
If Anima was important to the Acius Army, there was no reason not to exploit that thoroughly.
"Where is the envoy?"
"Waiting in the audience chamber."
"Understood. I will go at once."
Serpina moved swiftly toward the audience chamber, already considering what she might demand. Not gold or treasure, perhaps… but Lacline Castle itself might be within reach.
She entered the audience chamber, settled into her seat, and spoke in a low voice.
"Raise your head."
Only then did the envoy of the Acius Army enter her field of vision.
In that instant—
…Huh?
The envoy's features registered clearly in her eyes.
A young man with short white hair.
And when at last that envoy lifted his head—
!!!
Her world stopped for a moment.
Those beautiful golden eyes went wide, and began to tremble violently.
White hair. Gray eyes.
A face she had seen before.
That man… looked exactly like the man from her dreams.
No—that was not all. If it had been only that, she would not have been this shocked.
I may already know that man.
The thought struck something deep in her unconscious with fierce intensity.
And then.
The moment she fully faced him, her heart began to pound as though it would burst—and a name she had never once spoken aloud slipped from her lips with unnatural ease.
"…Swen…???"