Choice, and Consequence (1)
The underground dungeon of Anel Castle, capital of the Brans Army.
"Here is today's meal."
It was a remarkably polite tone for a jailer delivering food to a prisoner. But he had little choice. After all, the person locked away here was—
"Thank you."
—Parfalle, who had held the position of State Tactician.
"Is there anything else you require?"
"No. You've been most accommodating. I'm managing well. Thank you."
"I'm merely doing what is proper."
"And my lord…?"
"She has yet to say anything particular… but General Chel asked me to tell you that she will do everything in her power to persuade her, so please wait a little longer."
"I see."
Parfalle nodded, then answered in a resolute tone.
"I am truly grateful for the consideration you've shown me each time. I shall never forget this kindness."
"Not at all. Then, if you'll excuse me."
The jailer offered Parfalle a light salute and withdrew. As the sound of his footsteps faded into the distance, the emotions in her mind grew sharper and clearer.
Imprisonment.
Parfalle's charges were failure to follow orders and abuse of authority. Despite having been ordered to stand and fight the Asius Army, she had acted on her own judgment and pulled the troops back near the capital of Anel Castle—and for that responsibility, she had been locked away here.
Lynn, enraged that Parfalle had done as she pleased, had ranted that failure to follow orders was treason and that traitors were to be executed. Only through the desperate intervention of the surrounding retainers had the matter been managed down to mere imprisonment.
Though she was in solitary confinement, it was not particularly uncomfortable. Meals arrived regularly. Readable books were provided. Even a private toilet had been prepared. There was a simple bed fully furnished as well. Of course, these were special provisions granted to Parfalle after her imprisonment, and it seemed Lord Lynn had not bothered to pick fault with even these.
Perhaps because once the excitement had cooled and she thought calmly, Lynn too had realized this approach was correct. That was Parfalle's guess, at least.
My lord…
Though things had come to this wretched state, Parfalle still had not let go of the thread that was Lynn. Certainly—she was somewhat arbitrary, arrogant, and a person who did not listen well to others. But if the situation improved, if nothing existed to tear at her heart, she was a capable lord who could charge forward without hesitation.
The world looked at Lynn and called her a tyrant, but she was not a being who brought blood simply by existing the way Serpina of the north did. From Parfalle's perspective—who judged that what this world needed was a lord's charisma—Lynn was the only one left worth serving.
Moreover, if Lynn had truly been beyond salvation, Parfalle's head would not still be sitting on her shoulders by now.
Parfalle let out a short sigh.
The matter of Airen Juliette had already left their hands. She needed to steel her heart once more. Now was the time to firmly rebuild their power with Anel Castle as the base. If Lynn changed her mind even now and said she would seek her counsel, Parfalle was ready to run to her side at any moment.
Please open your eyes, my lord…!
For that moment, she had to survive now. Parfalle forced down every last scrap of the food given to her, leaving nothing behind—to continue this tenacious life.
And in the royal palace of Anel Castle—
Chel was on his knees before Lynn.
"My lord. Several weeks have already passed since Parfalle was imprisoned."
"……"
"I beg you to reconsider, even now. She made her decision out of pure loyalty alone. And there is still a great deal of work she must do for your sake. In this precarious situation, with Serpina's army bearing down upon us, if we are not to collapse, you must first hold her accountable for her crime—and then employ her heavily once more."
Chel was speaking frankly to Lynn. In truth, he was the only person in this nation who could deliver direct counsel to Lynn, whose authority was absolute. He was bound to her by blood, and unlike Kalintz, who had no particular achievements to his name, Chel was a core talent of the state who had rendered countless meritorious services.
Lynn knew this as well. She also knew, of course, that her dignity could not be maintained forever in this age of chaos. Objectively speaking, the Brans Army had already lost more than half its territory. She was well aware that the series of recent events had lowered the loyalty of her generals to some degree.
And yet—
She could not afford to be pushed back one-sidedly here. The moment a person holding power showed weakness was the perfect opportunity to be torn apart. That was something her father had told her time and time again.
"Brother. But doesn't something seem strange?"
"Please speak."
"If Parfalle was right, Serpina's army should have launched an attack on our territory by now… yet there's been no particular movement so far, has there? Because we openly showed a loss of fighting spirit, the castle lords and soldiers along the border have only grown more confused, thinking they've been abandoned. I've been concentrating on the capital's defense out of consideration for you, Brother, but I can't keep putting up with this forever, you know?"
"That is…"
Yes. If Parfalle's thinking had been correct, every castle around Anel Castle should already have fallen under Serpina's army by now. They would keep advancing, and since we would be unable to stop them, withdrawing the troops was the right call—that had been Parfalle's opinion.
But Serpina's army had, at some point, stopped advancing entirely. Because of that, the soldiers and generals along the border had been left in an "abandoned" state for so long that discontent was steadily accumulating.
"…I believe it is only a matter of time."
"No. What if Parfalle's thinking was simply wrong?"
"My lord."
At Chel's words, Lynn let out a deep sigh.
"…I know, Brother."
I know Parfalle's thinking wasn't absurd, she muttered, lowering her head. Lynn could no longer maintain a strong front. Given her temperament, she would have raised her voice any number of times even against her eldest brother Chel—yet she could not. She, too, was being driven into a corner.
"…Brother. Listen."
"……"
Chel kept his head bowed in silence, focusing entirely on her words.
"If… if Swen had been here."
Swen. The white-haired man who called forth miracles. The general who, when Airen Juliette betrayed them, had followed her over to the Asius Army.
"If Swen had been here, what would he have said? Wouldn't he have told me what the best course would be…?"
Her voice began to tremble. Her blue eyes started to shake violently.
"I mean… looking back, everything he said was right, wasn't it…? And that boy… was deceived by Airen… and ended up like this, didn't he? So that means I…"
She covered her face with both hands. The woman who had always maintained such lofty charisma was openly falling apart before one of her own subordinate generals. This was not the first time Chel had seen her like this. Before she became a lord… it was the kind of weakness she had often shown only to him, her blood relative.
"Should I… have acknowledged Airen? Should I have recognized her…?"
"……"
"From the time we were children, she was born for nothing more than the sake of our family—and yet everyone said she surpassed me in every way… Did this happen because I refused to acknowledge her…?"
Silence. Chel knew all too well that saying anything more right now would only be poison.
"…No. I can't accept it. I should have killed Airen beforehand. I should have cut off her head long ago. Then… Swen too."
He had always been right. He had sworn his loyalty to me. He was deceived by Airen. Deceived by her, he betrayed me.
"My Swen would never have been deceived by her!!!!!!"
"My lord, please calm yourself!"
Chel rushed to her as she clawed at her own hair and tried to soothe her.
"Let go of me! I said let go!"
"Lynn! Calm down!"
"!!!"
Startled by the voice calling her by name, Lynn looked at Chel with the whites of her eyes showing. Standing before her was not a general of the state, but her eldest brother. It was a look she had not seen since childhood.
"Calm down, Lynn. This is a problem we can no longer do anything about."
"Brother… I…"
"Think it through carefully. You can build it all up again from the beginning. You're a lord. You can't afford to waver at a time like this. This nation rests on your shoulders. …Do you understand?"
Lynn said nothing, only lowered her head. Chel, as if he had not expected any particular answer from her, slowly stepped away, then bowed at a full ninety degrees at the waist.
"…I earnestly ask once more that you make the right decision."
And with that, he slowly left the royal palace.
Left alone in the palace, Lynn was only then beginning to understand—what kind of results her unreasonable "choices," driven by emotion, had produced.
And in the royal palace of Valharat Castle.
"An envoy from Serpina's army, you say?"
"Yes."
"Why? The envoy we sent hasn't even arrived yet, has he? Did they cross paths on the road somehow?"
Even if their paths had crossed, far too much time had already passed. By now, he should have arrived long ago. As Yuuri posed the question, the messenger who had brought the news answered with a troubled expression.
"My apologies. I don't really understand how the situation is unfolding either…"
"Is that so?"
It bothered her a little, but what of it? What trouble could there really be?
"Tell them to come in."
"Understood."
Before long, a single envoy arrived before Yuuri and dropped to one knee.
"I present myself before Yuuri, lord of the Asius Army."
"Never mind the greetings. Why don't you get to the point?"
"I have come here to discuss the treatment of the prisoner Anima Ingram."
At those words, Yuuri started in surprise and rose from her seat at once.
"Anima…?"
"Yes."
No—wasn't that something they could discuss with Swen, the envoy we sent? Why go out of their way to dispatch a separate envoy to us like this?
"…Go on, then."
"Our lord, Lady Serpina, states that she is inclined to release the prisoner Anima Ingram."
"If she's inclined to release her, she can just release her. Why stage this whole farce?"
Yuuri's tone was somewhat aggressive, perhaps from frustration, but the envoy paid it no mind and maintained proper courtesy as he spoke.
"However, there is a condition."
"We already sent seven thousand nine hundred gold. Or are you saying that alone isn't enough?"
"That is correct."
So they had realized Anima was an important general in our army. Yuuri shuddered inwardly.
That sly snake of a woman…!
What exactly was she going to demand? Surely she wouldn't ask for Lacline Castle or Gelstrom Castle? At least within the bounds of Yuuri's common sense, that was the maximum Serpina could reasonably demand.
If she asked them to hand over a castle… honestly, Yuuri could hand one over. There would certainly be complaints that it was an excessive overpayment… but if a castle was likely to be taken anyway, securing Anima's safety was the better choice. Zinor himself had said that, from their army's perspective, maintaining the three castles along the border would be disadvantageous in the long run.
"Fine. What do you want?"
But what came from the envoy's mouth was something Yuuri had never once considered.
"The man you sent to our army as an envoy."
"Swen? What about Swen?"
"Hand that man over to us."
"!!!"
What… did you just say?
To Yuuri, who stared in disbelief, the envoy continued in a perfectly flat tone—forcing upon the lord of the Asius Army the ultimate choice.
"Hand Swen's person over to our army. In exchange, we will release Anima Ingram."