Opinion Proposal Meeting (3)
"…In that case, allow me to explain my reasoning as best I can."
"Speak freely of whatever you wish."
But the truth was, I had little in the way of actual grounds to offer.
My decisive evidence was the prediction of Intelligence 100. There was no way I could put that into words.
Even if I tried to explain it, I doubted it would be enough to persuade Serpina.
Thinking back to the matter with Irian, she would never move her army without a reason she found thoroughly convincing.
So what attitude should I take here?
If an absolutely correct outcome already exists…
That meant such a result was inevitable.
If I were Yuuri, and I were currently using the river to strike at the rear of Serpina's army in secret—what on earth would I be thinking to attempt something like that?
That was where I needed to begin.
I was just about to open my mouth from that starting point when—
"A moment."
Serpina extended one pale hand slightly as she spoke.
"Before I hear your grounds, may I first offer my own opinion?"
"Please do."
"Then I shall not decline."
Serpina slowly unfolded her clasped hands and continued.
"If the Asius Army truly does launch a surprise attack by way of that river, Amir Castle will certainly be placed in danger. Caught completely unawares, they might even lose the castle for a time. Yet no matter how many times I turn it over in my mind, I cannot see how that would bring the Asius Army any great advantage."
Having said that, Serpina glanced sideways at Jena.
Jena gave a slow nod and took up the thread.
"With the route limited to the river, there is a natural ceiling on the forces they can deploy. Even if they continue to reinforce, so long as we hold the line on this side, retaking the castle should not prove difficult. They cannot be unaware of that, so I find it hard to believe they would recklessly press such an attack."
She was right. From the Asius Army's perspective, this plan was little better than a gamble.
They would have to cross the river without being detected at all, the time required would be enormous, and securing a supply line would be so difficult that the troops they could field would be limited.
There might be the satisfaction of landing one hard blow, but they could never seriously use this route to advance into the northern continent.
"As my lord has said, losing Amir Castle would place us in a momentarily awkward position. But as I have already noted, if in the end we simply retake it, then the Asius Army gains nothing by going to such lengths. As things stand, Lord Swen's opinion amounts to claiming they would endure every hardship to invade this place for the sake of a single moment of impact, yet—"
"That's exactly it!"
"…!"
I hurriedly bowed my head toward the startled Jena.
"Forgive my rudeness, Lady Jena. But what you have just described is precisely the Asius Army's aim, and I could not let the point pass without speaking."
"Their aim, you say?"
"—Impact. Yuuri needs an impact great enough to astonish everyone."
Ironically, the moment I heard the word "impact," the overall picture began to take shape before my eyes.
"As my lord is well aware, I originally served under Yuuri as a member of the Asius Army."
"So you did."
"Having spent time at her side, I can say with certainty that I understand how they think and how their affairs turn."
At my words, Serpina drummed her fingers on the armrest with evident interest.
"Continue."
"To put it simply, one need only consider the situation in which the Asius Army currently finds itself."
I made an exaggerated gesture and spoke in a leisurely tone, as if I had suddenly become a silver-tongued orator.
"At present, Baranga Yuuri Asius is almost certainly enduring a rather dangerous stretch of time as a sovereign."
"The reason?"
She pressed the question even though she could not possibly be ignorant of it.
The naked intent to test me was plain, yet I did not find it entirely unpleasant.
Someone whose thoughts I could read was preferable to someone I could not read at all.
"The reason is that I exist here."
"Meaning…?"
Jena, standing beside her, added her voice.
Wondering whether Jena already knew the rough outline of the circumstances, I put a light question to her; she nodded slowly.
In that case, there was no need to explain two or three times over.
"Baranga Yuuri Asius played the worst possible card a sovereign can play: she simply abandoned me after I had been dispatched here as an envoy."
No matter how important Anima Ingram was to her, sacrificing another officer for her sake was the worst move imaginable, whether viewed in the short term or the long.
The interior must have been shaken. Even Zinor, who had sent me a letter, had clearly turned his heart away from her.
"She cannot undo what has already been done. Therefore, as sovereign, she must somehow settle the unsettled atmosphere within her ranks. And so the only thing she can do is—"
"Strike outward and create a common enemy."
Serpina cut in before I could finish, but—
It did not matter. Her words were exactly what I had been about to say.
"Precisely."
Create a common enemy, then turn every gaze in that direction and thereby quiet the fractured public opinion.
The opponent, conveniently, was Serpina's army—the very origin of all this. There could be no better justification.
Failure would still be failure, yet if she succeeded even for a single moment in planting the Asius banner on the northern continent, her renown would surely rise.
"But if it is merely a matter of attacking the outside, is there not a far simpler option? Were it me, I would have aimed for a castle along the border. Even if the siege succeeded, defending it afterward would be far easier."
"At present the Asius Army is already hard-pressed simply managing the territories it holds. This is only a hypothetical, but had they demanded Lacline Castle as the price for releasing Anima Ingram at the time, the request would likely have been granted. In such circumstances they themselves know that actually expanding their holdings risks becoming a self-defeating move. Moreover, it would require far more troops than a surprise attack. And besides—"
"—From the standpoint of forging unity, our army is the ideal opponent for them. The Asius Army has never been fond of Serpina's forces, after all."
Hearing that, Serpina fell silent for a moment in thought.
In those intelligent golden eyes, the glittering competitive spirit that had placed her in this seat began to show itself little by little.
"I see. Because there is something definite to be gained, they attack by way of the river… What they obtain is unity, and an impact great enough to obscure her own choices."
"That is precisely what I wished to convey."
I said it with a faint smile, and Serpina tilted her head again as if she found the whole thing amusing.
"Can you also explain why it must be this particular moment?"
"They cannot be unaware that the border lines have solidified to a certain degree. Both sides will continue to watch each other's movements. Is this not the perfect time to strike us from behind—now, when further invasion seems unlikely for the time being?"
"…"
Serpina stroked her chin with one hand.
"Swen."
When she called my name, I met her eyes once more.
"Raising an army to settle the situation, launching a surprise attack on the northern continent by river for the sake of a great impact, and choosing our army as the target—all of it remains little more than conjecture. The fact that her little prank will ultimately end without any real gain has not changed."
"…"
What a formidable opponent Serpina was.
She was the sort who never granted trust without an ironclad reason.
If there was a polar opposite to Lunarien, who had shown me absolute faith, it was surely her.
"And yet you still appeal to me for belief?"
I had… wrung out everything I could.
Working from the premise that "the Asius Army will come up the river" was an absolute certainty, I had constructed the most plausible scenario possible.
Having built it up this far, I almost began to believe it myself.
Serpina was the common enemy of the five core figures of Asius. If they could land a proper blow against that enemy, it would not be strange for them to judge that they could somehow paper over the present turmoil.
Thinking that far, it occurred to me that the architect of this plan must be Anima. Zinor would never have proposed a scheme so markedly lacking in practical benefit.
Beyond this, I had no more solid grounds to offer.
In that case, rather than drag things out, I needed to throw down my own decisive card first.
Time to bring this to a close.
I bowed deeply toward her.
"Lady Serpina. My opinion is, in the end, only one possibility among many. As I have said, based on my experience while serving in the Asius Army, I believe there is a very high probability that the enemy will come up the river. Yet whether to credit this opinion or not rests not with me, but with my lord. That is what I wish to make clear."
Serpina stared fixedly at my face without answering.
…Her striking beauty made my heart waver slightly; I suspected that would remain unavoidable for some time yet.
"In other words, you are saying this: you have a strong hunch that they will do so, yet no certainty that they will actually commit to the act. Whether I believe it or not is ultimately my choice. You have merely offered an opinion… is that it?"
"Yes."
"Does that not simply mean you lack grounds sufficient to persuade me?"
At that point I slowly closed my eyes and bowed my head.
Then, with the composure of one who had expected to hear exactly such a remark, I spoke.
"Lady Serpina. I cannot tell you everything just as it is. I can hardly present incomplete reasoning to my lord."
"That sounds as though you are still concealing something."
"I am merely asking for your understanding."
I knew the absolute outcome, yet I did not particularly know the reason, so I would simply put on a suitably profound air.
Once the conclusion arrived, it would become clear that I had been right, and the linguistic seeds I had scattered would gradually sprout and eventually bear the fruit of trust.
"When you called down a great stone from the heavens, did you also follow your intuition then?"
"…"
When I gave no answer, Serpina slowly nodded.
"Very well. I shall take your opinion under advisement."
"Yes."
"You have worked hard today. You may withdraw."
I bowed deeply once more.
"Should the need arise, please summon me at any time. I shall be waiting."
Leaving Serpina behind, I stepped out of the audience chamber and slowly ordered my thoughts.
For the moment, I had predicted that the Asius Army would come up the river simply because no other option presented itself, and I had fitted a reasonably plausible reason around it.
In the end, however, Serpina's words had been correct.
Whether that action would truly deal our army a blow worth the name—honestly, it would not.
Well, it's fine. Serpina said she would handle it herself, didn't she?
Since the highest efficiency differed from moment to moment, preventing a disturbance of this scale might well be the greatest efficiency our army could extract.
At any rate, after working my mind for the first time in a while, I felt tired.
I thought of asking Irene for a cup of tea for the first time in ages, only to realize a moment later that we no longer lived under the same roof.
I wonder how Lady Irene is faring.
Once the building I was to move into was finished and I took up residence, perhaps I would propose living together again.
If circumstances allowed, gently confirming her feelings did not seem like a bad idea either.
And if that happened, what would become of Reika? Would she end up lodging with us as well?
The thought that both of them might become my wives made my head feel slightly hot again, but—
There's no need to think about all of it right now.
For now, I would go back and rest a little.
Having sorted my thoughts, I slowly left the royal castle.