A Wavering Heart (1)
Not long after, the purge of the rebel forces was carried out on a massive scale.
Originally, the circumstantial evidence that Jennis had frequently associated with them, combined with the crime of failing to report at once despite knowing they were plotting rebellion, would have been more than enough to place the Al Kaski family in grave danger. Yet because he had provided the decisive evidence in this affair, the family was spared extinction, and he himself escaped disaster with a light sentence of roughly three months' imprisonment.
From Serpina's standpoint—she who never forgave anyone even slightly connected to rebellion—three months in prison barely counted as punishment at all. Jennis, for his part, seemed to accept the situation imposed upon him with quiet resignation rather than raise any objection.
In a way, I had rewritten the future that had already been set.
And so, after he was taken away to prison—
"I truly thank you, Lord Swen."
"I too must offer my respects. Had it not been for you, we would have faced a truly terrible calamity."
In front of the Al Kaski family mansion, Irene, Reika, and I found ourselves receiving endless expressions of gratitude from Irian and Ioline.
"As I said before, I am simply satisfied that we were able to cut the buds of rebellion before they bloomed. Please do not trouble yourselves over it."
"That will not do. How am I ever to repay this debt…? Lady Irene as well—we owe you a tremendous debt this time. I shall never forget what you have done."
Irene answered Irian, who kept bowing deeply before her, in her usual indifferent tone.
"As Swen said, there is no need to concern yourself. I merely did what had to be done."
"I know it was what had to be done, yet it is also true that it became a great kindness to us. My father taught me long ago never to become a man who forgets a debt of gratitude."
From Irian's perspective, of course he would want to thank us again and again. Even if it had never been his intention, his younger brother's foolish actions would have brought the entire family to ruin.
In any case, this also proved that the reason they had been absent from my memories was simply that they had already been wiped out.
"I shall never forget this kindness. Please take care on your way."
"Stay well, Lord Swen."
After exchanging final farewells with Irian and Ioline, I casually posed a question to Irene on the way back.
"When do you think we'll be able to move into the mansion?"
"Probably soon. All the necessary procedures have already been completed."
"Is that so? Then it won't be long before we can live together again."
"…Mm."
Irene nodded, her face flushed.
Reika, who had been quietly following beside us, looked at me with a soft smile.
"I'm happy that I get to live with you too… Hehe…"
Ah. So Reika would be living with us as well.
The mansion was large enough that each of us would have our own room, but still—this meant the three of us would be forming a cohabitation arrangement.
We've been apart until now, so there hasn't been a chance, but it's about time we talked things through.
Reika was currently the only one with whom a formal marriage discussion had taken place. Of course, contact with her father Zinor had been cut off, but considering that he had been the one to propose the match in the first place and had deliberately left Reika at my side, his intentions were clear enough without asking.
That left only Reika's own feelings.
If she truly wished to marry me…
It wouldn't be a bad idea to make a serious proposal to Lady Irene first.
It wasn't that I disliked Reika, but if possible, I wanted Irene to be my first bride. She was the one I had first thought of marrying, and no matter how one looked at it, she had switched lords twice and followed me purely on faith in me alone.
And so I would spend my time safely within Serpina's forces until Lady Luna raised her army, then cross over to her side—
With the bothersome matter of Jennis now resolved, I couldn't think of a better life plan than this.
Now that Lady Irene had become deputy commander of the occupation forces, the day would come when she had to take the field. Even so, as long as I had nothing but correct predictions, I was confident I could keep her alive. And compared to previous lords like Lin or Yuuri, Serpina was relatively willing to listen to me.
…Of course, these days her willingness to listen had begun to shade into something closer to obsession, but from a strategist's standpoint, being the object of a lord's fixation was far preferable to being at odds with her.
"I'll send someone before long, then."
"Yes. I'll be waiting. It'll take me a little while to complete the checkout procedures for the lodging anyway."
"Mm. Then… I'll wait until that day. Take care on your way, Swen."
"See you again, Lord Swen…!"
After exchanging farewells with the two women, I returned to my lodging.
Stepping into my room, I found the empty space with its bunk bed giving off a strangely lonely air. The time I had spent with Senior Jennis and Lady Ioline hadn't been bad at all.
From the standpoint of someone who would eventually leave Serpina's forces, saving a talent of Irian's caliber would surely be of great help to her. He wasn't a general brilliant enough to overturn the entire course of a war, but he had certainly distinguished himself in the fighting against the Brans army.
With this much, I no longer needed to feel any sense of debt toward her—or so I was thinking when—
…Hm?
Only then did I notice a slip of paper tucked near the door. I picked it up and checked the contents…
This is a summons from the Sovereign. Lord Swen, upon confirming this note, please proceed to the royal palace at once.
What is it this time?
I had gone back and forth so often that the road from the lodging to Aingart Castle now felt thoroughly familiar. Along the way I tried to guess why she might have called for me.
Does she want advice on how to deal with the traitors?
But that was simple enough. For the sake of the nation's discipline, there was no real option other than executing everyone involved, just as she had always done. Looking at how rebellions kept breaking out, even a conciliatory approach didn't seem likely to solve anything.
I didn't know the details, but Serpina's karmic burden appeared to be extremely deep and heavy, and that burden itself seemed to be what had made her a tyrant. The fact that rebellions continued to erupt even while she carefully looked after each of her generals and ran the state reasonably well only reinforced that impression.
Whatever the case, I need to keep playing the part of her ally, at least to a reasonable degree.
To move freely within Serpina's forces, her trust was more important than anything. I could feel her growing more fixated on me by the day, but as I had thought earlier—better to be properly used and clung to than to be left unused like I had been under Yuuri. From my perspective, that was far more advantageous.
With those thoughts in mind, I arrived at the gates of the royal castle.
The moment a soldier spotted me, he saluted and asked,
"Might you be Lord Swen?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"Her Majesty asks that you come to the reception room of the villa. She said you would know the place if I put it that way."
The villa—that place she summoned me to from time to time?
Lady Serpina really does like that location.
To my eyes it was nothing more than an old, somewhat desolate mansion, yet it seemed to hold some special meaning for her.
I offered the soldier a polite farewell and set off toward the villa.
Arriving at the villa, I opened the door and made my way to the reception room.
"You've come, Swen. Come, sit here."
She greeted me with a smile. Something about the tone of her voice, and the faint flush on her cheeks, felt different from the usual Serpina.
The cause was not hard to find. A wine glass filled with red wine sat on the table.
"My lord, I do not know if I may be so bold as to say this, but excessive drinking is harmful to your precious health."
"Do I look so frail that a mere few glasses would bring me down?"
"…Forgive my presumption."
I took a seat across from Serpina and looked at her face.
…Without meaning to, my gaze kept drifting toward her lips.
……
My first kiss, which had tasted of citron.
Since then, neither of us had brought up anything related to it, so I had simply acted as though nothing had happened. But the fact that something had happened could never truly become nothing.
We had kissed, and I had even received something close to a proposal from her.
Seeing her slightly intoxicated, her usual composure loosened, the memory of that night rose again unbidden, leaving my heart strangely restless.
The best thing to do at times like this was to change the subject.
"For what reason have you summoned me?"
"Must a sovereign always have a reason to summon one of her officers?"
"Not necessarily, but we are fundamentally here to be of use to our lord—"
"Simply."
Serpina cut me off. Then she looked straight into my eyes and spoke in a tone that held not the slightest trace of playfulness—only complete seriousness.
"I wanted to see you, Swen."
"…!"
"I wanted to see you… so I called for you."
The faintly tipsy expression on Serpina's face as she said those words looked terribly lonely. There was no hint of teasing, no sense that she was looking down on me.
Had this woman truly… simply wanted to see me, and that was why she had summoned me?
The events of a few days ago came back to me, along with the words she had spoken then.
As always… Serpina was a person whose true feelings were extraordinarily difficult to read.
Without a word, I took a glass from the cabinet, settled myself across from her, and said,
"My lord. I do not know what may be troubling you, but for today at least, I can serve as a drinking companion. If there is anything you wish to discuss, I will listen. Please speak freely."
"…Not merely a drinking companion—can you do other things as well?"
"Of course. Following my lord's commands is my duty, after all."
"Pretty words. I am not particularly fond of those who only speak smoothly. You are prepared, I trust?"
Seeing her smile as she said that, I felt an unexpected sense of relief.
"Of course."
But then—
Without the slightest hesitation, she began to speak words I had never even imagined.
"Is that so? Then I suppose I have no choice but to test you."
Serpina lightly traced a finger across her own lips, and in a voice that was thoroughly alluring—not the voice of a sovereign, but of a woman—she said to me,
"Swen. Tonight, stay by my side."