An Unexpected Reunion (1)
"She told us to come in person?"
"That is correct."
Lin listened to Parfalle's report, sank into thought for a moment, then let out a long, heavy sigh.
"She's dead set on humiliating me, isn't she."
"……"
She already didn't want to admit that they had been the ones to propose an alliance. And now Serpina was summoning her outright — as if determined to complete the picture of Lin yielding a full step. From Lin's position, that was the only conclusion that made sense. After all, that particular brand of public humiliation had once been her own favorite method.
But too much time had already been wasted. Lin could no longer afford to sit idle and let the days slip away doing nothing.
"Parfalle. What am I supposed to do?"
"My lord……"
Ever since Parfalle's reinstatement as State Tactician, the crumbling situation of the Brans Army had, in truth, begun to improve. They had lost Elgaim Castle, yes — but without her taking command at the front, far more territory would have fallen far more quickly. Anel Castle itself might well have been in danger.
That was why Lin trusted Parfalle above all others. No — more than that. She knew she was no longer capable of sound judgment on her own, and so she had no choice but to lean on her even harder. Ever since she had cast Airen aside, lost Swen, and watched territory after territory be stripped away, she could no longer trust even her own thoughts.
And Parfalle, as if forcing a decision upon her, spoke in a tone of unyielding firmness.
"……I am deeply sorry to say this, but for the sake of the nation, you must close your eyes and endure."
"You're telling me to go myself."
"Yes. Think carefully. That kind of open, face-to-face humiliation — you can swallow it as many times as you must. Is that not far better than the Brans Army collapsing entirely, and you going down in history as the foolish ruler who destroyed a once-mighty force?"
Once Parfalle had realized just how deeply Lin relied on her counsel, the force of her words had grown considerably sharper. Considering how she once hesitated to speak even the plain truth for fear of wounding Lin's pride, it was remarkable progress.
"……"
Lin bit down hard on her lower lip. The copper taste of blood rose across her tongue.
"Do we really have to go this far? ……We've already proposed the alliance. That alone means they've won. Isn't that enough……?"
"This is Serpina we are dealing with — the woman known far and wide as a tyrant. If that witch is involved, she is more than capable of far worse."
Privately, Parfalle considered Lin to be much the same sort of person, but she kept that thought to herself. Lin's temperament was irrelevant. As long as she sat on the throne, taking her side was the only realistic path to saving the Brans Army.
If the Brans Army she had chosen — after turning down countless other offers — collapsed like this, it would mean her choice had been wrong. And to prevent that, had she not endured even imprisonment just to stand here now?
So this was the moment to tell Lin what she needed to hear.
"Think of it this way, my lord. Use this humiliation to hone your blade further, and wait for your moment. The opportunity will come. Serpina von Aingart is not, in my judgment, a person capable of claiming the entire continent. You know as well as I do how many people across the land despise her. Do not forget — it was precisely because so many resented her slaughter of the imperial princes and her climb to the supreme seat that the empire shattered and this age of chaos began."
"……I know. I know that much, at least…… Haa."
Lin exhaled a long sigh, but Parfalle found herself relieved by it. The pattern was familiar — her counsel was being accepted.
"……Let me think about it for a bit."
She said she would think, but Parfalle already knew she would go. It was time to begin preparing the diplomatic mission. With the sovereign herself making the journey, the arrangements would be considerable.
"Understood. I ask only that you decide swiftly."
She turned to leave and begin the preparations — and at that exact moment:
"My lord!"
The doors of the audience chamber burst open without warning. Under ordinary circumstances it would have been an outrageous breach of protocol that set the entire court on edge — but there were situations in which such behavior was forgiven. The first was a messenger bearing urgent news. The second was someone of considerable influence within the state.
This was the second.
"Brother……?"
The man who strode in was Chel Brans, freshly recovered from his convalescence and awaiting assignment to the defensive forces. Behind him followed Kalintz — Chel's younger brother, and Lin's second elder brother.
"Is it true that you intend to form an alliance with the Serpina Army?"
"……"
At those words, Lin snapped her head away once more. It was a silent protest that she had no desire to discuss the matter further — but for Chel, this was not something he could simply let pass.
"You must not, my lord! You know full well that Serpina is a woman of treacherous depths. Taking her hand would itself become an indelible disgrace, and the people's trust in our army would shatter beyond repair. Not only that — a great many of our subordinate generals already harbor serious doubts about this decision. I beg you to reconsider!"
"I……"
"My lord. My comrades — the brave soldiers who shed their blood for the Brans Army — lost their lives not long ago at the hands of none other than the Serpina Army. Even if an alliance brings us something, it will last only a moment, and we will surely lose far more than we gain. Please, think again……!"
Under the desperate appeals of Chel and Kalintz, Lin's body trembled. Ever since she had lost confidence in her own decisions…… she had surrendered a great deal of the keenness and charisma she once possessed.
"I…… I don't know. Parfalle. Talk to Parfalle……"
"My lord……"
Kalintz looked at his sister — a woman who had become someone else entirely — with a pained expression. The girl who once looked ready to devour her own brothers whole had grown far more fragile than she had ever been as a child.
"Tactician."
"……"
Chel fixed his gaze squarely on Parfalle's eyes.
"I understand the reasoning behind your proposal to join hands with Serpina. Indeed, if we can set the northern front aside for a time as you suggest, we would be able to effectively hold back the southern forces, including the Hesna Army. But what happens after six months? Even if the alliance is extended — what then? Do you truly believe that scrambling merely to hold the territories we currently possess is the best course?"
"We cannot afford to lose any more land. We have already…… come too far the long way around."
At the very beginning, it had been fine. Before Parfalle was imprisoned, withdrawing all soldiers and generals toward Anel Castle might have been acceptable. Serpina's forces would have seized the abandoned territories immediately upon invading — but the losses would not have been so severe. Those lands had already been declared forfeit, after all. They could have gathered everything at Anel Castle and properly reorganized their lines.
But Serpina had refused to play along with the Brans Army's gambit. Instead, she left them alone, reinforced the border garrisons, and simply halted her advance. The generals and soldiers stationed in those effectively abandoned border territories of the Brans Army had, of course, reached the peak of their fury — and with the passage of time, the army had recovered enough spare strength that there was no longer any need to concentrate everything on Anel Castle simply to quell that rage.
In other words: where once it had been advantageous to lose territory quickly, now it was advantageous to hold it.
It would have been better to decide before Elgaim Castle fell — but that could not be helped. Parfalle's conviction was that the answer now was to minimize further blunders as much as possible.
"General. I am sorry, but at present, taking Serpina's hand is the only way."
"Then…… we are simply to obey in silence? To take the hand of our sworn enemy — to form an alliance with the very people who, mere months ago, took the lives of our own?"
"……Yes."
"!!!"
Chel started in shock at Parfalle's words and looked toward Lin — but the woman on the throne kept her face turned away, refusing to meet her brother's eyes.
"……Is that…… so."
"General Chel. I know this is a difficult request, but I ask that you endure this humiliation for now. I beg of you."
"……"
Chel gave no answer. He stood in silence for a long while — then offered Lin a brief, curt bow and turned on his heel.
"Come, Kalintz."
"……"
Under ordinary circumstances, failing to observe proper courtesy toward the sovereign would have been grounds for punishment — but Parfalle could only watch their retreating backs in silence.
There will be many who cannot understand this now…… but once we produce results, they will come to accept it.
Of course she knew the alliance with the Serpina Army would provoke fierce opposition. But international relations were a matter of advantage — and once the benefits became clear, they would change their minds and follow her decision. That was what Parfalle believed.
She had earned military merit on the battlefield, but she had always been the type to craft strategies from the rear rather than cross blades herself. A woman more interested in treatises on warfare than in the hearts of people could only think this way.
And Lin, who ought to have been the one controlling her, was in no position to control anything — she was leaning on Parfalle with desperate dependence. With so many catastrophic blunders already having halved the national power of the Brans Army, Lin no longer possessed the absolute authority she once wielded.
And punish Chel? Antagonizing a man who had fought on the front lines and taken wounds in the war against the Serpina Army would have been pure folly in the present situation. Quietly, there were still a fair number of officers who remained loyal to the Brans Army looking to Chel rather than to their dissatisfied sovereign. Lin had never risen to power through popular affection in the first place — she had ruled through results — and so the number of those who followed her personally had always been small.
……It's fine. All I need to do is produce results.
That aside — this was pure Serpina, wasn't it. Not long ago she had spread baseless rumors about the Aesius Army selling off prisoners of war, and now she was demanding that if they wanted an alliance, they bring their sovereign in person to Aingart Castle. To a woman that vicious, the continent could never be allowed to fall.
I will prove that the lord I chose was the right one…… no matter what.
And so Parfalle pushed through a decision that would, without question, benefit the Brans Army. She was a brilliant woman — but she was not a person who could move the hearts of others.
And so, leaving a lingering unease in its wake, a diplomatic mission was assembled for the sole purpose of securing an alliance with the Serpina Army.
Lin and Parfalle, along with several dozen armed escorts and roughly ten thousand soldiers. Parfalle would have preferred to bring Chel or Kalintz as the vanguard, but she judged there was no need to provoke the two of them any further.
They were, in effect, walking into enemy territory — but the purpose was an alliance, and no matter how deranged a witch Serpina might be, she would not lay hands on a foreign sovereign who had come for diplomacy. Least of all the sovereign of the Brans Army. Such an act would destroy what little remaining goodwill she had not only abroad, but among her own people as well.
Parfalle turned to Lin, who was staring blankly at the assembled mission.
"My lord. Are you prepared?"
It was a simple question about readiness — but what it truly meant was readiness of the heart.
"……Yes."
Yes. She no longer wanted to make mistakes. She did not want to commit the same foolishness as when she had lost Airen — clinging to stubborn pride for no good reason. Parfalle's words were sound. If following her counsel cost nothing but pride, then pride was something that had to be discarded.
"Understood. We will depart shortly. Please board the carriage."
"All right."
And so the diplomatic mission, Lin among them, set out on the long journey from Anel Castle to Aingart Castle in the northern continent.