The Weight of the Answer
The day after my conversation with Irene, Serpina summoned me once again.
This time, however, it was not the audience chamber, but the same annex where she had once dragged me into a sudden sparring match.
Does Lady Serpina spend a lot of her time here?
As the ruler of a nation, having a few private pavilions was hardly unusual — yet this place carried a strangely unsettling air. If I had to put a name to it, I would have called it a space preserved under glass. It was not particularly far from the main keep, and it clearly stood within the castle walls, yet the chill that clung to it defied any easy description.
I was making my way toward the residence when I stopped short.
Huh?
A figure that looked like Serpina was crouching in front of a flower bed. Drawing closer, I confirmed it — the long golden hair, the distinctive hairpin. It was unmistakably her. And yet the profile she presented was so serene, so utterly peaceful, that for a moment I almost doubted she was the woman I knew.
Judging by the way her hands were busy, she was tending to something among the flowers.
Then she must have sensed my presence, for she turned toward me.
"You've come, Swen."
"What were you doing, my lady?"
"I was inspecting the flower beds for a moment."
I found myself wondering whether a sovereign truly needed to do such things herself — but I could not bring myself to ask. A king was allowed hobbies, after all, and the expression she had worn while tending those flowers had been, in more ways than one, remarkably becoming.
"I came today because my lord summoned me to this place—"
"Spare me the formalities. Follow me."
"…Yes, my lady."
I let Serpina take the lead and fell into step behind her.
Inside one of the annex rooms, a great map of the continent hung upon the wall. Standing before it, Serpina turned to face me with a look of absolute confidence.
"Swen. This concerns the 'test' you set for me. It afforded me a great deal of time for thought. I have called you here today so that you may confirm whether my conclusion is the correct one."
A test, is it…
Right. She was still under the impression that I had deliberately set her some kind of examination. What subordinate would have the gall to announce to their sovereign that they intended to put them through a trial — and before Serpina, of all people? Still, her misunderstanding had spared me the need to explain why my prediction had been correct.
The answer had been clear enough: It is an efficient alliance that presents a great opportunity for our forces.
On the surface, no matter how many times you looked at it, the Brans Army stood to gain far more. Setting aside the fact that the prideful Lin had been the one to propose it, the terms themselves were not especially outrageous. The only reasonable inference was that the alliance was, in truth, not advantageous to the Brans Army at all. After all, an opportunity for our side meant a benefit for Serpina's forces — and since the interests of the Brans Army and our own were fundamentally opposed, a true win-win was impossible.
You could arrive at an answer by reasoning from that foundation… but it would all remain in the realm of inference. Unlike previous occasions, there was no hard, material evidence. Trying to persuade Serpina with that alone would have been a stretch.
"Then listen well, Swen."
Still — standing right in front of me was someone who had volunteered to wring her own brains dry in my place. There was no reason not to take advantage of that.
"…Understood. Please go on."
"In my estimation… Lin Brans's intentions have clearly changed. From the moment she made this proposal, it is only reasonable to conclude that she is no longer the woman of pointless stubbornness she is reputed to be, but one who knows how to seize practical advantage when the moment demands it."
I shared that assessment. Extending a hand first to an army that was, for all intents and purposes, her sworn enemy must have been extraordinarily difficult for her.
Serpina pointed at the map with one finger.
"Swen. As you surely know, of every nation that currently exists, the one that stands to gain the most from an alliance with us is the Brans Army. The southern states do not share a border with us, and an alliance between the Asius Army and our own would simply seal their frontier shut. Only the Brans Army can safely hold the southern nations at bay without concerning themselves with our border. So — whether by appearance or by strategy — this alliance looks like an enormous windfall for Brans."
Her voice as she continued was remarkably sweet. She really was a woman who seemed to have packed every quality a human being could find captivating into a single frame.
"And yet you insisted that this alliance would also be efficient for our forces… What we receive is twelve thousand eight hundred gold. Yes, that is a respectable sum for a six-month pact — but it does not explain why you rejected every previous alliance proposal."
I met her eyes in silence. The sparkle in them carried a deliberate will to kindle a strange sense of anticipation in me.
"And it would be strange indeed if both the Brans Army and our own could walk away satisfied. You said this would be a great opportunity for us. The Brans Army's gain cannot become our gain. If they grow stronger still, the nation that suffers most is ours. Do you agree thus far?"
So even Serpina could derive reasoning of this caliber without difficulty. She was quite intelligent — that much was no surprise. The highest-capability figure in the entire Serpina Army was Serpina herself.
"I agree."
"How satisfying. Well? Do We not seem to be following your meaning rather well?"
She said this with a pleased little curl of her lips that was… oddly endearing. Not that I would ever dare speak that word aloud, even under pain of death.
"Please continue, my lady."
"Very well. In any case — even if she has changed her mind, the human heart cannot always pursue reason and practicality alone. Beneath the boots of our army, countless officers and soldiers of the Brans Army have lost their lives. And that was only a short time ago."
She looked at me then, her tone full of confidence.
"What must the vassals of the Brans Army think of this? The soldiers? Those who lost family or loved ones? This alliance — contrary to appearances — may land upon the Brans Army with a rather different meaning."
Ah.
I could roughly see where she was going. It was one of the several inferences I had already considered.
In other words, her conclusion was—
"Perhaps through this alliance—"
"'A schism may erupt within the Brans Army.'"
"My, my."
Delighted that our words had matched, Serpina let a languid, alluring smile curve her lips.
Yes. One of the inferences I had drawn — and the most realistic among them. That this alliance would fracture the Brans Army from within.
On paper, the pact was a gain for Brans. But human beings were not creatures who could always weigh profit alone and judge with pure reason. Lin Brans, swayed by her own heart, had cast aside Irene — a peerless and loyal retainer — with her own hands. Yuuri Asius of the Baranga line, unable to free herself from the shackles of the past, had made a choice that was foolish beyond measure for a sovereign. Human beings were not creatures of pure rational thought.
"Swen. You once said to Us: 'Anyone in that position would inevitably feel it.' Those words, taken literally, held something decisive. After all — I am a tyrant."
That was not the meaning I had intended, but if she chose to hear it that way, it fit almost too perfectly.
A tyrant… was she? Since my arrival, she had not once behaved like one — yet the terrible reputation that clung to her was an undeniable fact.
"Lin Brans, joining hands with the tyrant Serpina — her sworn enemy… Those who have endured humiliation after humiliation to remain in the Brans Army's service would have every reason to waver. And in truth, from a certain point onward, Lin has suffered nothing but defeat."
"That is not all, is it?"
"Oh?"
She had done the hard work of thinking this far. The least I could do was offer my own thoughts in return.
"The Brans Army is likely already fractured in its internal cohesion due to Lin Brans's successive misjudgments. The one thing still binding them together would be their hostility toward you, my lord — and if they join hands with you of all people, even that remaining center of gravity is likely to vanish."
In other words, whoever proposed this alliance could read the board — but could not read the human heart.
Probably Parfalle.
"Indeed, just as you say, Swen. The way you so cleanly fill in Our shortcomings… it almost makes Us wonder whether we were not originally a single body. Fufufu…♡"
As she spoke, she drew closer. I could see the slight sway of her chest — and no matter how hard I tried not to, I could not stop remembering how those enormous, watermelon-like things had crushed down on me only yesterday.
"Well, Swen? What of Our answer? Have We passed your test?"
A test, she called it. Her reasoning was certainly plausible — but after the absurd events of the recent past, I could no longer make absolute declarations without hard evidence. Better not to give a definitive answer here. If I wanted to extract myself from her orbit safely, I needed to keep building her trust.
"I am not certain the word 'test' is appropriate… but I would say you have come remarkably close."
"Of course, We have no intention of being satisfied with this alone."
Then she turned away and spoke in a low voice.
"This alliance — We shall handle it in person."
"You mean to go yourself, my lord?"
"We intend to visit Anel Castle."
"…Pardon?"
"Simply concluding the alliance would be enough to shake them from within — but We have given it careful thought. If We were an officer of the Brans Army, what sight would make Us shudder the most? And a certain image rose quite naturally to mind."
In that moment, Serpina turned her head to look at me. Her golden hair swayed lightly with the motion.
"Witnessing with one's own eyes the hated Serpina clasping hands with one's own sovereign."
…!
"If We can burn that scene into the Brans Army's memory, We can shatter their internal morale all the more thoroughly. Do you not agree, Swen? Fufufu…"
She said this and laughed like a mischievous child. It would certainly be more shocking — but that assumed the underlying inference was correct. Given that I had been handed the definitive answer of "advantageous to our forces," the premise was likely sound. Still, I had not expected her to take such an active role herself.
In any case — the precondition had changed to Serpina going in person, had it not?
The conditions have shifted, so I may as well run the query again.
Without much thought, I entered the question: Is forming an alliance with the Brans Army efficient for our forces?
And the answer was…
—That damned "prediction."
The prediction that carried the weight of absolute certainty.
It is an enormous advantage for our forces — enough to shift the destiny of continental unification.
!!!!!!!
"…Swen?"
My legs gave out. Without thinking, I caught myself against the desk beside me.
What did it just say…?
"What is the matter all of a sudden?"
"No… I— that is— Lady Serpina. Just… a moment…"
As I staggered, she stepped close and steadied me. Forgetting even to thank her, I turned the prediction over and over in my mind.
The forecast had changed.
The mere addition of the condition that Serpina would move in person had rewritten the future.
Wait.
An advantage great enough to reverse the destiny of continental unification — did that mean the unifier of the continent would change?
On a hunch, I entered a question I had received in passing during my conversation with Jennis.
…Can Serpina von Aingart unify the continent?
She cannot.
It hasn't changed…
Even in a situation where Serpina had resolved to "go herself," that prediction remained exactly as it was.
But here, "our forces" meant…
As long as I belong to the Serpina Army, it means the Serpina Army, doesn't it?
If I could also enter a question about Lady Luna, the picture would come into sharper focus — but ever since my affiliation changed, I had never received an answer as to whether she could become the unifier of the continent.
No. Before that—
Before that. The real problem was not about Lady Luna. It lay further back still.
If the destiny of continental unification shifts to us… doesn't that mean the Serpina Army, not the Lunarien Army, will gain the chance to unify the continent?
And yet…
And yet… why can Lady Serpina still not achieve unification?
Thump!
Thump!
My heart began to pound violently. My mind raced faster than it ever had before.
——And then I understood.
※ The destiny of continental unification shifts to the Serpina Army.
※ Serpina von Aingart cannot unify the continent.
Like a revelation from the heavens—
No. This was no revelation.
It was as though I had peered into a domain of the gods that no one should ever look upon—
and from those two results, a single fact emerged, leaving me staring blankly as comprehension settled over me.
Lady Serpina is… going to die?