Question (2)
"The Deputy Commander of the Occupation Forces… is that what you mean?"
Upon the red carpet of the audience chamber, the red-haired knight Airen asked the question with a look of open disbelief—but the woman seated upon the throne, gazing down at her, answered in a tone of absolute finality.
"It is. This is a time for consolidating our internal affairs. You need not do anything immediately—but when the hour comes, I intend to make full use of you. Airen, I shall look forward to your achievements."
"…"
On a day of assembly convened to announce new appointments, with several generals summoned for the occasion, a surprise nomination had been made.
Deputy Commander of the Occupation Forces.
For Serpina's army, already preparing its full-scale expansion into the Central Continent, it was a post of enormous strategic weight—one through which a commander could earn tremendous military merit.
Of course it was welcome news. Airen knew better than most, from bitter experience, how rare it was to find a lord who recognized one's worth and chose to employ it in earnest.
And yet—was she truly fit to accept this office?
She had barely arrived. On the surface, she had already changed lords twice. Airen, sharper of instinct than anyone, had no difficulty sensing the distrustful gazes fixed upon her. No one dared speak against their sovereign Serpina's decision—but those eyes. Those were the eyes of people who refused to acknowledge her.
Perhaps, she thought, she ought to decline—cite her own inadequacy and step aside. In that very moment—
"Airen Juliette."
Serpina spoke the name in a low, deliberate voice.
"There is only one reason I have placed your name in this position. You possess the ability befitting it. Therefore, I will not accept any refusal on the grounds that you are 'not capable enough.' Of course—I will not force you."
Airen was briefly flustered by words that seemed to have read her mind. But honestly, setting every surrounding gaze aside—as a knight and as a vassal—she felt genuine gratitude toward Serpina, who was giving her wings to spread her ability.
In the Brans Army, needless to say, she had never been given a post of real consequence. Even in the Asius force, she had been crowded out by founding retainers and never entrusted with anything of true importance.
From Airen's perspective, if she would eventually have to leave this place following Swen anyway—then at the very least, before that day came, she wanted to repay the woman who had shown her such consideration by earning some measure of military merit.
The separate residence. The decision to house Reika—a civilian—among the officers' quarters. In the end, all of it amounted to kindness she had received.
"…I understand. I gratefully accept my lord's command."
Serpina smiled with satisfaction—then turned a cold, mocking smile upon the gazes arrayed around Airen. When she spoke again, her tone was the opposite of the one she had used with Airen: ice-cold and absolute.
"You would all do well to remember this. In this nation, the standard by which a general is judged is neither length of service nor pedigree. It is whether they possess outstanding ability—and whether they can distinguish themselves in the position they are given. These two criteria alone shall be used. And the judgment of those criteria—shall be made by Serpina von Aingart herself."
She lifted her chin slightly and looked down upon her assembled retainers.
The sovereign. The charisma that belonged inevitably to those born to lead pressed down upon the entire audience chamber with crushing force.
"If any of you have grievances, bring them to me directly. Expressing an opinion is perfectly acceptable. I will hear you as many times as necessary. If you bring logic capable of overturning my will, there is no reason I should refuse to listen. We are generous enough to lend an ear to your words—but We are not merciful enough to forgive defeated mongrels who band together in the shadows and stir up needless trouble. I trust you all understand what I mean."
In other words: if you dislike Airen's elevation, do not take it out on her—come and take it up with me.
Serpina's legitimacy and power had become Airen's shield.
My lord…
Watching her, Airen found herself entertaining a slightly blasphemous thought. According to Swen, the sovereign destined to unify the continent was not Serpina but Lunarien… If that were true, did it mean a woman like this would ultimately fail to seize hegemony and fall into history as a defeated figure?
Her heart wavered for an instant—then she set the matter in order once more.
Whether it is Lady Serpina or Lady Lunarien… whoever I serve, I will simply follow Swen's will. Keeping the Swen at my side safe. That is all I need to think about.
No matter what anyone said, her sword—and her shield—belonged to Swen. A wolf raised solely to protect another had no intention of betraying the master who had saved her.
After the audience had fully concluded, someone caught Airen's shoulder as she was about to leave the royal castle.
"Airen."
"…My lord?"
"Take this."
What Serpina handed her was a small golden key.
"Behind the barracks stands a separate residence. It is a building owned by the imperial house. The entrance bears the imperial crest—you will find it without difficulty."
"Pardon? Why are you giving me this…?"
"I am granting that place to you. I shall assign roughly twenty maids to manage it."
"Granting it to me, my lord?"
"The Deputy Commander of the Occupation Forces can hardly continue living in the officers' quarters, can she? And that girl you keep with you must feel rather out of place as well."
"Ah…!"
She had been thinking of even that?
Setting everything else aside, Airen felt a sincere rush of gratitude toward her.
"Thank you so much for your consideration."
"Repay your thanks with military merit."
"Yes!"
Strength naturally entered her answering voice.
With this, I can live separately…!
Parting with Silin was a little sad, but they had never been destined for a long acquaintance. If fate continued to bind them, they would meet again just as they had this time.
And Reika, who had always been flustered over how to introduce herself whenever they encountered people, would be able to live a little more comfortably as well.
And most decisively…
Couldn't I… bring Swen here…?
She might be able to bring him back and live with him again. Setting everything else aside, that alone filled her with gratitude toward Serpina.
Since the Saint Valentino Festival, she had grown busy again in one way or another and had not been able to see his face. Before coming to Serpina's army, she had seen Swen every single day—but living apart had made her feel it keenly.
She wanted to see him every day. She felt the deficiency of Swen in her system like a physical lack. From morning until night, she wanted to remain at his side forever.
If it was a separate residence, of course there would be a room she could give him…
Couldn't they live together again?
Should I try asking him…?
At that moment—
"You look happy, Airen."
"Ah—y-yes?!"
At the sound of Serpina's voice, the solemn composure Airen had worn until moments before vanished without a trace, replaced by an expression of pure girlish panic.
Right. I was in front of Lady Serpina. What on earth was I just—!
"I-I, um, I'm sorry. That was—"
"No. There is nothing to apologize for. It is a beautiful smile—one that makes even the one watching it feel happy. If you do not mind, would you tell me what you were thinking?"
"…"
"If you do not wish to say, you need not. Do not feel pressured. I have no desire to pry."
Serpina's words were an immense relief to Airen. How could she possibly confess, before her sovereign, that she had been giddy at the thought of living with a man?
And then—
"…I envy you."
"Pardon?"
"I cannot even remember the last time I wore a smile as full of happiness as the one you just showed… We cannot recall it at all."
In Serpina's profile, Airen read a reflection of her own past self. That pitiful figure that had never put down roots in the earth—that looked as though it would shatter at the slightest tremor…
It felt as though the version of herself from the days before she had found Swen—the one who would hold her—was standing before her now, clad in the armor of an absolute ruler.
"…I have talked too long of useless things. I leave the rest to you, Airen."
"Yes. Since you have placed your trust in me, I will make certain to produce results."
Airen watched Serpina's back as she turned and walked away with measured steps. For some reason… that retreating figure looked unbearably lonely.
Several days after I had last been granted an audience with her, Serpina summoned me once more, and I made my way straight to the audience chamber.
Another alliance proposal, maybe?
There was nothing else she would call me for.
After our previous conversation, I had decided that next time a reasonably acceptable offer came in, I should simply suggest forming an alliance without overthinking it. I would be leaving this place eventually anyway—there was no need to always deliver the most ruthlessly efficient advice. Taking a moderate advantage was hardly a catastrophic loss, so there was no reason to feel guilty about it either.
The problem is that Lady Serpina is rather sharp…
She had always been unnervingly good at reading expressions. One wrong move and I could easily get tangled up in something unnecessary. If she noticed I was giving half-hearted answers…
I'll have to play it by ear.
And so, when I arrived at the doors of the audience chamber—
They're slightly open?
From beyond the unclosed doors of the audience chamber, a woman's voice drifted out. I pressed myself close against the wall beside the door and focused every scrap of attention on the sound.
Serpina was speaking with a female retainer.
"I am not saying that my lord's will is wrong. I merely believe there is a need to moderate the pace."
"Erin. The outcome will not change either way. I believe it wiser to bring the retainers around as quickly as possible."
"However, there are still many who have not accepted that woman as one of our own. My lord is well aware of her history, is she not?"
"Are you claiming that my personal acceptance of her into our ranks is insufficient?"
"That is not what I mean, my lord."
Serpina was speaking in a distinctly aggressive tone, yet the woman answering her was responding with remarkable composure and precision. That someone could express an opinion so freely before the sovereign suggested that Serpina's army was less rigidly hierarchical than I had assumed.
"A great many subordinates harbor doubts over the fact that Lord Irian—who earned countless military merits in the conquest of the Central Continent—has been passed over. I myself could not help but feel the weight of my steps. I beg you to take this into consideration. A society in which the rewards of merit do not properly return can never remain healthy."
I swallowed hard and held my breath.
Even I'm getting tense over here…
"Very well. Then let us set everything else aside and focus solely on the individuals themselves. Are you claiming that Irian—who has only just passed the age of twenty—is so extraordinary that he surpasses a general once called the Specialist of Siege Warfare?"
Huh?
Specialist of Siege Warfare?
That was a title I had heard more than a few times…
Lady Airen…?
"Of course, she may well surpass Lord Irian in ability, but—"
"Erin. Allow me to state this once more, personally. The sole criteria by which our army selects generals for key posts are these: whether the person has ability, and how much they can achieve in that position—those two alone. If someone has earned merit, the reward should be ample gold or treasure. It must not be a key office. Stagnant water is bound to rot. Irian certainly has talent, but he still has many shortcomings for the role of Deputy Commander. It means he is still in a period where he must learn more."
"…"
"She has merely been assigned patrol duties. And yet, among the people of the territory and the soldiers who work alongside her, her name is already being spoken of with respect."
Serpina's tone was unyielding.
"Look at the path she has walked, and her qualifications become even clearer. Who was the defense commander of that Brans Army fortress at the choke point on the central front—the one we ourselves could never break through? Who was the red-haired female general who, alongside Chel Brans, expanded their territory at a breakneck pace when the Brans Army was still merely one of the Central Continent's warlords? Erin—you know this well, do you not?"
"However, that is—"
"Forgive me for cutting you off, but I cannot allow myself to be persuaded by reasons such as 'there are many who cannot accept her,' no matter how much I might wish to. If you have prepared some other logic, I will hear it. Speak."
"No, my lord. …Thank you for hearing me out."
Footsteps approached before long, and I quickly slipped into the shadows off to the side. Only after a purple-haired woman emerged from the doors and her figure had receded into the distance did I begin to piece the situation together.
What happened?
From the context, the "that woman" Erin had been referring to was almost certainly Airen. Given the talk of a key post, it seemed Airen had been appointed to some important office.
And apparently the retainers were unhappy about a newcomer rising into a position of power—
And Serpina is personally covering for her…?
Thinking of it that way, the entire conversation snapped into perfect place.
And the moment I realized it, a wave of gratitude toward her rose up in me.
Airen had been a lonely general who longed for recognition from others. Having her ability recognized and being entrusted with a key post must have been a source of profound joy for her.
The only sovereign who had recognized the worth of a woman who, even when no one else acknowledged her, always personally tended to every single wounded soldier on the battlefield. Neither Rin, who had raised her, nor Yuuri, who had held her for even a brief moment, had managed to do what Serpina had done.
Somehow I feel more grateful when she treats Lady Airen well than when she treats me well…
Well, I could talk that over with Lady Airen later. I had been wanting to see her face anyway—having something to discuss would make a fine excuse.
I took a light breath, then stepped into the audience chamber.