What Happened to Him
I tore the gag from his mouth at once and shook him.
"Senior? Can you hear me? Senior Jennis!"
"……!"
Fortunately, Jennis opened his eyes quickly and took stock of the situation.
"……Swen? What are you doing here……"
"I came to rescue you. Your little sister asked me to."
"……Ah……"
Jennis let out a short breath, then looked at me and nodded.
He seemed to have grasped the situation without much difficulty.
Now it was time to hear his story.
Turn the clock back a few days.
Jennis left the royal castle with a bitter expression, turning the same thought over and over in his mind.
My brother worked harder than anyone else on the battlefield. So why is there no reward for him at all?
The post of deputy commander of the occupation force was, without question, a position that would go to the most promising young general in Serpina's army.
Anyone could see that the seat belonged to Irian, who had distinguished himself so brilliantly in the campaign to suppress the Brans forces.
Until that woman Irene appeared.
I understand she's capable…… but in the end, it was my brother who fought for our army. And still……
He had always given Serpina his full loyalty, and he had always believed that was only natural even when nothing came back for it—
But the fact that the post had gone not to the brother he so deeply respected, but to a general who had only recently betrayed her former lord and entered their ranks, scraped raw at Jennis's insides.
Talking it over with Irian had resolved nothing either.
He was still wondering whether he should simply let it go when a group approached him.
"Don't you also find this unjust?"
It was an old general who, back when Jennis had only just joined Serpina's army, had kindly shown him the ropes.
As it turned out, there were quite a few officers in the army who shared his thoughts.
At the place the old general introduced him to, a face he had never expected to see greeted him warmly.
"Ah, so this is the renowned Jennis of House Al Kaski. A pleasure. It feels like only yesterday I was sharing a cup with your father—and already he has two grown sons. How enviable!"
The man who seemed to lead the group was Hutton Agyle, one of the Eleven Meritorious Retainers of the Aingard Empire, who had long since withdrawn from the front lines and was quietly passing his remaining years with odd jobs and idle pastimes.
He was a shrewd old man, widely regarded as the only person who might have been able to succeed Zinor Nighthart as the empire's prime minister. For that reason, in the still-unsettled days after order had been restored, he had been spoken of as a candidate for State Strategist within Serpina's army—
But he had declined on the grounds of old age, the post had gone to Jena, and he himself had simply spent his time quietly in the background.
That did not mean he had completely withdrawn from central politics, of course.
At first Jennis mixed with them simply to settle his feelings.
A stifled heart, after all, grows lighter the more it is shared with those who think the same way.
But at some point…… Jennis realized, quite naturally, that they were plotting something that must never be spoken aloud.
"If it had been Lord Algot, he would never have handled things this way."
"Lord Hutton, who was Lord Algot's right hand, has also expressed deep regret."
"Jennis—don't you also believe that Lord Algot was the true heir to the empire?"
They were one of the countless factions that refused to acknowledge Serpina.
The rallying points had merely shifted to Algot von Aingart and to Hutton Agyle, who had once enjoyed his favor—otherwise they were no different from the innumerable packs that had already appeared, borrowing the names of Algot and Sidmid.
In a situation where he now knew everything, the choice Jennis made in order to stay alive was to play along just enough.
He had considered reporting the truth to his sovereign at once, but of late there had been no opportunity for a private audience—and among the members of this gathering were people he had been close to, as well as the old general who was something of a personal benefactor to him. He simply could not bring himself to do it.
The moment he spoke, every one of them would die. That much was certain.
While he dithered, unable to decide, Jennis was already being treated as a full member of the group—and before he knew it, he was deceiving even his roommate, going so far as to ask his little sister for help, just to stay in contact with them.
And then, one day—
"My brother, you mean?"
"Yes. If Lord Irian, who must be deeply wounded by this affair, were to aid us, would that not become a cornerstone for a 'true Aingard Empire'? Of course, should we succeed, I personally guarantee that not only Lord Irian but you as well, Lord Jennis, will receive the standing you deserve. House Al Kaski will at last become founding meritorious retainers in the truest sense!"
After Hutton asked him to persuade Irian, Jennis knew he could no longer simply let things ride.
Just continuing to associate with them and share these conversations is already dangerous enough. One wrong step and my brother, my sister—no, our entire house—could be ruined. So even now, I have to tell my sovereign everything honestly……!
"Jennis. Never forget that you already have one foot in this. You know what you have to do if you want what you want, don't you?"
What Jennis wanted was for Irian to be recognized for the hardships he had endured.
But he could not commit the idiocy of dragging everyone to ruin for that—ruin that was all but guaranteed.
Countless rebel armies, forces far larger than this one, had all withered away as dew on the executioner's block. Call them meritorious retainers of the empire all you liked—how far could a faction gathered by a retired old man in the back rooms really grow?
And quite apart from all of that—Jennis himself had never once truly wished to betray Serpina.
"……I know."
So he answered that way for the moment, then headed straight for the royal castle.
Even if it meant a breach of etiquette, he would secure a private audience with Serpina and confess everything.
He might be punished for speaking so late—but that was still better than being entangled and watching his house fall to extinction.
But—
"……!!"
Someone struck Jennis hard across the back of the head as he made for the castle.
"Tsk. So he was going to talk after all. Damn brat."
"What should we do? Kill him?"
"We can't kill him. If we want any hope of bringing Irian Al Kaski over, it's better to keep him alive. Still…… best to make sure he doesn't set foot outside for a while."
Barely registering the voices of his attackers—
Jennis's vision slowly went dark.
Aingard Royal Castle.
I was in the audience hall, kneeling before Serpina as I spoke with her.
"Swen. For you to seek me out first—I am most curious what this is about. Or is it that you simply wish to spend some private time with me?"
"……"
Serpina wore a smile and tossed out a rather light remark—
But the matter I was about to report to her was far too heavy to deliver lightly.
She must have read the atmosphere in my expression, for she lowered her tone and asked in a grave voice,
"Something has happened, it seems."
"My lord. ……Please hear me without alarm. There was a matter that concerned me, and upon investigating it personally—"
"So once again, someone is after my life."
"……!!!"
At her words I looked up at her face in shock.
She…… was smiling.
It was a smile that held neither the charisma she showed as an absolute ruler, nor the allure she showed as a woman—
A hollow smile, lonely beyond measure.
"There is nothing to be surprised about. Your grave expression, and the simple thought that the time had come around again—that is all. Besides, Swen, you uncovered traitors once before and brought word to me. That a thing which has happened once should happen twice is hardly so unusual."
"My lord……"
Unintentionally, I had once rooted out a rebel force, yes.
That time it had been the remnants of Sidmid von Aingart; this time it was the remnants of Algot von Aingart. Beyond that difference, the two were much the same.
Looking at her lonely face, I thought—
……Yes.
In the northern continent, endless rebellions were still breaking out.
Even when I had played as Serpina's army in the game, no matter how high I raised loyalty, someone always rose in revolt.
Back then I had simply thought of it as a kind of "balance patch"……
But in a world that had become real, it meant she had to watch, over and over, as generals who had believed in her and followed her turned their banners against her.
"Speak, Swen. Tell me what has happened."
"……Yes."
Even if what I reported only made the weight of Serpina's crown heavier—
I could not pass over it in silence.
I had to protect her.
And so I told her everything I had heard from Jennis, exactly as he had told it to me.
That day.
Through the efforts of Swen and Irene, the entire cabal that had plotted rebellion under the name of Algot von Aingart was rounded up and imprisoned at a stroke, thanks to the confessions of those involved.
The ringleader was the retired old general Hutton Agyle—a man who had supported Algot in the succession struggle, and who, after Algot's death and Serpina's ascension, had withdrawn from the front and been living out his remaining years in quiet.
Or so it had appeared. Once this affair came to light, that quiet life was revealed to have been nothing more than a façade.
And among the traitors was Erin, a female general who had followed Serpina with particular devotion.
"……Erin."
"……"
Serpina looked at the woman who had always worked for her sake, and asked,
"Why in the world would you take part in such foolishness? It is a stupid act unworthy of the clever woman you were."
"Lady Serpina. Do you know how many people have been made miserable because of you? After snuffing out so many lives, how long did you think you could go on reigning?"
"……"
"It is not too late even now. Abdicate. Hand that crown to Lord Hutton, the rightful successor of Crown Prince Algot, who should have been sovereign from the beginning. Do only that, and he has said your life will be specially guaranteed. To cling now to Aingard blood that has already been defiled beyond repair is folly."
It was strange.
She had the feeling that she and Erin—who had always sworn her loyalty—no longer spoke the same language at all.
And she understood.
So this was it.
This was the feeling Rahelven, who had once taught her etiquette, had spoken of.
"Princess. Since we are bound by fate, allow this old man to leave you with one last kindness. I…… this old man, am only the first."
"Did you not foresee it when you drank the blood of the imperial house with your own hands? Countless people have their eyes on you, Princess. ……It will be a hard fight, I expect—but that, too, is the weight that must be borne by one who deceived everyone, coveted what she should never have taken, and then seized it at last."
So I…… am one who took what she should never have taken.
What she should never have taken.
The truth was, she had never even wanted any of this.
All of it—the destiny of House Aingart, the bloodline, the will to unify the empire—
Had they not all simply been "given" to Serpina?
On the way back from the prison, Serpina leaned against the wall and thought.
How long would she have to watch the eyes of those who had worked for her flip one hundred and eighty degrees and fill with hatred?
How long would this malice that seemed never to end keep circling near her?
And as she thought that…… she realized without difficulty that "that man" was involved this time as well.
Swen……
The last rebellion, and this one too—without him, neither would have been discovered.
Regardless of whether the rebellions would have succeeded, the fact that they had suffered no great damage was, without exaggeration, entirely thanks to Swen.
Perhaps Swen would be able to give her an answer.
On the way back to the audience hall, Serpina decided she would summon him.
Whether it was simply to commend his efforts in this affair and discuss what came next—
Or whether she merely wanted to see his face……
Even she herself could not say.