Choice, and Consequence (2)
The hospital at the capital, Valharat Castle.
Gathered around Ernandof, who lay recovering in his sickroom, were all the founding retainers of the Asius Army—everyone except Yuuri and Anima.
"……There was no need for even Epinel to come."
Looking at Ernandof, who spoke with hollow eyes, Epinel clicked her tongue.
"Shut up. How's your condition?"
"I'm only alive because I can't die."
"Don't talk garbage after eating expensive food, Ern."
"……."
Ernandof's hands trembled. It was the look of a man swallowing down some kind of rage.
"I couldn't…… save Anima."
"I heard. It was an impossible situation. You did your best."
"My family was being dragged away in ropes, and I came back alone with my life intact."
"Ern……."
Emma looked at him with a somewhat sorrowful expression. Emma and Ernandof had served Yuuri together as retainers for a very long time. Having walked similar paths in life, their ways of thinking were similar as well.
"Didn't you hear me tell you to cut the nonsense?"
"Epinel, don't be too hard on him. I would have done the same as Ern."
Epinel looked thoroughly displeased.
"What does wallowing in sentimentality solve here? We need to charge in and bring Anima back already! What's Yuuri doing?"
"I think she sent an envoy. For negotiations."
"Negotiations, my ass!"
Bang!
Even for a castle lord, that wasn't language one should use toward a sovereign. But no one particularly called her out on it. If Zinor had been there, he would have told her to watch her tongue—but he wasn't present.
"Hey, Ern. So, when do they say you'll get better?"
"……The injuries seem serious. Pathetic, really."
"So you're out of commission for a while. Got it."
Epinel looked at Emma and said,
"Let's start preparing, Emma."
"Preparing?"
"Battle preparations, obviously. Anima's been captured and we're just sitting around wasting time? Don't tell me you're going to say we should wait and see how the negotiations turn out or something?"
"Calm down, Epinel. You're worked up."
"What am I—!"
Epinel fumed for a while longer, then flopped down into a chair.
"……Ugh, this is so annoying!"
"We sent seven thousand nine hundred gold. Unless Serpina is ridiculously greedy, she should release her for that much."
"You think that crazy witch will so much as blink at money? We'll be lucky if she doesn't demand a castle."
"And what's so wrong with giving one?"
"……Haa."
Hearing Emma's words, Epinel covered her face with her hand.
"I wouldn't be able to face Anima."
"……."
"How do you think she'd feel if she found out that right after achieving the western expansion she'd wanted so badly, we handed over territory as the price of her rescue?"
Emma couldn't answer.
"You know. How hard Anima worked. She was…… the hardest worker among all of us. It's not like she had some brilliant natural talent—how else do you think she came up with strategies and tactics of that caliber? You saw her too, staying up all night, working and working again."
"I know. ……I know."
When Zinor was appointed State Tactician, how deep must Anima's sense of loss have been? Especially considering that Zinor was originally a man who had eaten the empire's salt.
Rationally, she understood Yuuri's decision. A sovereign needed a broader perspective, needed to make macroscopic judgments. She also acknowledged that Zinor was, objectively, an exceptional individual.
But even so…… looking at Anima, she couldn't call her a foolish person throwing a childish tantrum either. Without her bone-grinding effort, it would have been impossible to plant the foundation of this Asius Army into the earth in the first place.
"That's why we have to go save her somehow, even now. Only then can we hold our heads high in front of Anima, right?"
"I understand how you feel, but…… honestly, it's not that simple."
Emma bit her lower lip.
"I thought the same thing. That we should lead the army right now and go save Anima. But…… realistically, it's not easy. In this mess, if Serpina doesn't keep Anima alive and kills her instead…… that really would be the end."
"So you're saying we shouldn't provoke her, just negotiate and beg and give her everything she asks for? Delightful suggestion. I'm sure Anima would applaud."
"What did you say? You—"
"Enough."
At that moment, Yuuri walked slowly into Ernandof's sickroom.
"……."
"Tch."
Even if the five of them lived essentially as a community of fate, Yuuri was still their representative figure. Epinel and Emma both knew that well—so they quietly closed their mouths and fell silent.
Confirming that the situation had settled somewhat, Yuuri approached Ernandof slowly.
"Ern, are you okay?"
"……For now, I think I've passed the critical point."
"I'm sorry I haven't been able to visit more often."
"It doesn't matter. ……Yuuri, you do what you can do."
Once the heir of the family he served—now a comrade who shared his soul—Ernandof spoke to her in the gentlest tone he could manage.
"What I can do……."
Yuuri mulled over Ernandof's words for a moment, then looked at everyone and said,
"I have something to tell you all."
"What is it?"
"Serpina has indicated she is willing to release Anima Ingram."
"!!!"
At Yuuri's bombshell announcement, everyone was momentarily stunned. But then—they easily grasped the meaning hidden within the sentence.
"Willing to, meaning."
"She won't do it for free, I bet."
"That's right."
Yuuri affirmed Epinel's words.
"Seven thousand nine hundred gold isn't enough? That witch of a woman. So she's determined to tear off some territory? Yuuri, let me say this in advance—no territory. If Anima finds out she was brought back under those conditions, she'll blame herself all over again."
"Ignore Epinel, Yuuri. I think giving up one castle is fine. We can just take it back later."
"……."
Yuuri looked back and forth between Epinel's face and Emma's. In her two differently colored eyes, two different opinions were reflected.
"……No, girls."
Yuuri let out a long sigh. It was the somewhat fragile side of her that only appeared before people she truly trusted.
"If it had just been a question of whether to hand over territory or not—Gelstrom or Lacline—I wouldn't even have hesitated."
"What are you talking about? What did she demand?"
"……The envoy."
"?"
"She says if we hand over the envoy, she'll release Anima."
At the words "hand over the envoy," the two of them tilted their heads in confusion rather than shock. Being shocked was only possible when something fell within the range of what a human could imagine. Just as few people would seriously believe a madman ranting that the world would end tomorrow—in Emma's common sense, in Epinel's or Ernandof's common sense—"hand over the envoy" was an act that couldn't even be conceived of.
"What does that mean?"
"I mean, she wants us to hand over the person of the general who went as our envoy. Then…… she'll release her."
"What……?"
Understanding the meaning at last, Emma and Ernandof stared at Yuuri with eyes gone white with shock. Epinel, too, let out a sound of pure exasperation, irritation mixed in.
"What kind of bullshit is that?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. ……She says she has no interest in receiving anything else. Not gold, not treasures, not even territory."
"Huh."
"Who went as the envoy……?"
At Ernandof's question, Yuuri answered with a shadowed face.
"Swen."
"A name I've never heard. Is there some connection with Serpina's side?"
"You know him. The white-haired mage. A pretty sharp guy."
"……Ah."
Ernandof, who had shown no reaction to the name Swen, responded to the keyword "white-haired mage."
"Is she after him because of the rumors that he can use magic?"
At Emma's question, Yuuri's expression twisted.
"I don't know either. Why she'd make a demand like that……."
"Could it be that he earned Serpina's grudge?"
"A grudge?"
Epinel nodded as she spoke.
"It has to be something like that, right? Otherwise she wouldn't demand we hand over an envoy's person. If she could just seize him, she would have done it already. The fact that she didn't, and instead made this reverse proposal to us, means she has something she wants to settle with Swen quietly—and if we just don't interfere, she'll give us what we want. Doesn't that sound right?"
"True. Without a grudge, it doesn't seem like a proposal she'd make."
Emma agreed with Epinel's opinion as well.
Is that so?
Was it not simply that he eloped with Irene out of love…… but that he had circumstances forcing him to keep running from Serpina?
Come to think of it, the target of that boulder he'd dropped had been Serpina's army as well. It wouldn't be strange if he'd earned her grudge.
"……."
To Yuuri, lost in thought, Emma carefully offered her opinion.
"There's nothing to hesitate over, is there, Yuuri?"
"……Huh?"
"Keeping a general who's earned Serpina's grudge is going to be dangerous in the long run. And leaving Anima as a prisoner for long is worrying too. We don't know when her head might get cut off—when the chance comes, we should bring her back quickly."
"But if we do that, we'd be selling out a general who was only carrying out orders as an envoy, a general who swore loyalty to our army."
"……."
Emma couldn't answer Yuuri's sound reasoning. She, too, was aware that what she was saying amounted to selling Swen out.
"……Yuuri."
At that moment, Epinel spoke with an extremely serious face.
"The final decision is your choice. It's your choice, but just my opinion…… no."
She slowly exchanged glances with Ernandof, and then with Emma. It meant the three of them were of one mind.
"If we're stating our opinion—we think this world is just a continuous series of choices. Simply put. Coldly speaking. The question is what benefits our army, and you decide based on that. And don't you already know the answer to that question?"
"……!"
The choice beneficial to the Asius Army. The choice more important to Yuuri herself, to all of them.
"These are chaotic times. What does human morality matter—even the laws of heaven are denied in this world. Everyone moves solely for their own benefit. I think Swen is certainly not a bad general. But it's also true that his talents seem somewhat constrained. I've heard that every time he uses something like magic, it shortens his lifespan. Even if we keep him, the more we use him, the more we'd be eating away at his life. We're already sacrificing him either way, aren't we?"
"Th…… that's."
"Just think carefully. Who is more important to us. ……Whatever decision you make, we'll all follow your will, but…… show us your sense of responsibility as a sovereign here."
Responsibility as a sovereign…….
Yuuri mulled over Epinel's words. Everyone simply chose what was more important to them and moved forward.
As she left the hospital and headed back toward the royal castle to answer the envoy, Anima's image rose in Yuuri's mind. The moment she sacrificed her arm to protect her. The moments she saved everyone with brilliant stratagems in times of crisis. She had truly, truly only suffered and worked herself to death for their army.
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't lose her…… not here.
The responsibility…….
Yes. Responsibility. A leader was a being who took responsibility.
Anima might reject this decision. She might resent her for doing something a sovereign must never do. But if she died, she wouldn't even be able to hear that resentment.
I'll take the responsibility.
Having made up her mind, weight settled into her footsteps.
When she arrived at the royal castle, Zinor and several of the castle's generals were gathered in the audience chamber, as if by coincidence. Judging by the situation, it seemed everyone had already roughly grasped the circumstances.
"My lord. I have heard the report."
As she sat upon the throne, Zinor approached her naturally.
"It is a proposal not even worth hearing. Refuse it."
"The reason?"
"There is no need to even state it. I have never seen anywhere a case of selling one subordinate general to save another."
Yuuri slowly nodded.
"Right? ……I think so too, Zinor."
Looking at such a Yuuri, Zinor inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Honestly…… he had been worried about what to do if she fell for the words "hand over Swen and we'll release Anima." It was a decision difficult to understand by common sense, but the significance of Anima Ingram within this Asius Army was by no means small. Judging by her reaction, fortunately she didn't seem about to make such an unreasonable decision.
"Hey, can you hear my voice?"
"Yes, I am listening, Lady Yuuri."
The envoy answered with his head bowed.
"Sorry for making you wait. I needed some time to think."
"It is fine. What shall I convey to our sovereign?"
Yuuri, hearing those words, let out a small sigh.
Anima. My childhood friend, and my eternal shadow. Even if you, and every being in this world, resent me and point fingers…… I'll carry it all and move forward.
"Go and tell her. I accept Serpina's proposal."
"Pardon? Meaning……."
In contrast to the envoy who calmly asked again, the pupils of Zinor beside her rapidly contracted.
Just now…… what did my lord, this woman, just say she was going to do??
"I'll hand over the person of our envoy, Swen. Release Anima."