Why Are You Asking That?
After leaving the royal palace, Irene made her way toward the training grounds with a portion of the occupation force. Her schedule had not allowed her to accompany Swen, and she walked slowly, lost in thought.
Is it simply that the time isn’t right?
By nature, Irene supported every decision Swen made. That his conclusions were always, ultimately, the correct ones was something she could vouch for more firmly than anyone else present—she had stood at his side longer than any of them.
Even so, this particular opportunity had looked, even to her eyes, like a genuinely good one. The opinions of General Cransis, commander of the occupation force, and Strategist Jena had seemed perfectly reasonable at first glance.
And yet—
What people like them think doesn’t matter. Swen’s opinion is what matters. Even if his judgment turned out to be wrong, I would simply make it right with my sword.
Irene steeled her heart once more. To her, the future of Serpina’s army was far less important than the man named Swen himself. If he said it was so, then it was so. She had neither the chance nor the desire to consider any other course now.
Just then—
“General Irene.”
At the sound of her name she turned and found Irian standing there.
“General Irian. What is it?”
“Nothing urgent—only that, now that our policy has been decided, I thought it best to disperse the current occupation force across the continent. I meant to speak with Commander Cransis about it, but I cannot find him.”
“Ah.”
With Swen’s proposal adopted, the occupation force would no longer gather and march south. Instead they would be stationed throughout the northern continent for the time being, handling defense and public order. The capital garrison was far too small to be split for the task, so dividing the occupation force had been all but inevitable.
“I had been thinking the same. I will pass the word along.”
“Then I leave it in your hands.”
As Irian bowed politely, Irene posed a question of her own.
“Come to think of it, you voted in favor of Swen’s opinion.”
“I did.”
Irene knew all too well where she stood within Serpina’s army. There had been no open insubordination among the occupation troops, yet she still sensed a subtle current of incomplete acceptance of her as deputy commander. Compared to her days in the Brans army it was nothing—she was getting by well enough—but Irene was not so dull as to miss that she was being watched with caution.
What mattered more was that the problem was not hers alone. The outsider who had come with her into Serpina’s ranks—Swen—was currently entangled with their lord Serpina in strange rumors, and it was obvious he faced far harsher scrutiny from the subordinate officers than she did. Irene knew perfectly well that Swen was not a frivolous man… yet objectively speaking, a man who had changed the masters he served several times was never going to win universal recognition simply because he was talented.
In that climate, the fact that they had won the show of hands was largely thanks to Irian, whose popularity among the officers was exceptionally high. Before Irene had taken the post, Irian had been all but certain to become deputy commander himself. He had every reason to resent her—and Swen, who had arrived with her—yet instead he was helping them. Of course it had not been entirely free of obligation; not long ago they had done his younger sister a favor. Still, this was an age of chaos, when gratitude and trust were treated as less than dog food. There was no need to belittle the will of someone who chose to honor them anyway.
“I wanted to thank you on his behalf. Without you, Swen’s view could never have been adopted as the correct course.”
“I simply believed Lord Swen’s words were right.”
“Is that so. In any case, I will be certain to convey your suggestion. Well then.”
She offered a parting nod and was about to turn away when—
“General Irene. Please wait a moment.”
“?”
“There is something I wish to ask about Lord Swen.”
“Of me?”
“You and Lord Swen are… particularly close, are you not?”
……!!
For an instant Irene’s words failed her and color rose in her face. She cleared her throat several times, then answered in a tone of extreme gravity.
“That is true.”
I just said it was true……
Particularly close to Swen. Well… if one called it close, it was close enough. They had weathered three nations together, after all. And they were the sort of people who would share a warm cup of tea for the rest of their lives—or so she told herself while busily rationalizing.
“To be frank, I would like to know whether Lord Swen has a wife—and if so, how many.”
At the word wife—
Irene froze, staring blankly, and asked in a daze,
“…Why are you asking that?”
“I believe you already have a rough idea of the situation, General… but my younger sister Ioline seems to have taken a liking to Lord Swen. If he has no objection, I would like to open formal marriage discussions.”
Ioline… that pretty girl who resembled Irian, the one she had met before?
Irene fell silent for a moment, thinking. At present Swen had no wife at all. There was the matter of the marriage talks with Reika, but given the circumstances those had come to a complete halt. So of course she ought to say he had none…
Why wouldn’t the words come out cleanly?
Yet showing any sign of refusal here would also be troublesome. Causing Swen inconvenience through her own selfishness was something she hated more than death. Whether or not to entertain marriage talks was for Swen himself to decide, not her.
While she stood there unable to speak, lost in the dilemma—
“If it is not too much trouble, General, I would be grateful if you could sound him out casually. Of course, if it feels burdensome I will ask him myself, so please do not worry overmuch.”
“Ah? Ah… yes. Understood.”
“Then I will take my leave first.”
Irene watched Irian’s departing back for a long while. Yet even as she watched, her gaze was empty—the man filling her mind was not Irian at all.
A young, handsome man with white hair. Someone to whom she owed so much that offering everything she had would still not be enough. Swen.
Thump. Thump.
Simply thinking of him deeply set her heart racing again.
What do I want to become to Swen?
His bodyguard? A comrade who always stays at his side?
Or…
……I want to see him.
They had gone to the royal palace together only a few hours earlier, yet already she missed him. Still, these days were far better than before. Once work ended she could see Swen. The time the three of them—herself, Swen, and Reika—spent together had become precious to her.
I should buy something delicious from the square today.
With that thought her steps lightened. She set aside for the moment the heavy question of what sort of existence she wished to be to Swen.
And so Irene, body and heart alike, was becoming more and more hopelessly entangled with the man named Swen.
Several days had already passed since the regular council.
The occupation force had been temporarily split into several small units and dispatched across the continent in what amounted to temporary postings. The official reason was “strengthening public order and conducting search operations.” In any case, with soldiers moving about, pointless disturbances were certain to decrease.
In the midst of all that, I found myself once again heading to that familiar annex, summoned by Serpina.
Given the strange rumors circulating, a little more caution with my person might have been wise… but it was my lord’s command, so there was little choice but to obey. Besides, I had no particular duties assigned to me at the moment.
When I arrived at the annex, Serpina greeted me with a smiling face.
“You have arrived, Swen. Rather quickly, I see.”
“It was no one else but my lord who called for me.”
“Hearing you joke more often, it seems life has become rather livable of late?”
She said this and then laughed softly—kuhuhu.
……She was beautiful.
A person so lovely that every time I faced her, my heart felt as though it were being shaken in real time.
“With me summoning you so frequently, it is no wonder strange rumors arise.”
I’m glad you already know.
I swallowed the words and bowed my head deeply.
At that moment Serpina stepped close to me while I still had my head lowered and whispered,
“What shall we do about it, Swen?”
“……Pardon?”
“Shall you and I, this very night, turn those strange rumors into the absolute truth?”
“……!!!”
I jerked my head up in shock and looked at her.
She was… smiling. Not the oppressive smile of an absolute ruler, but the mischievous smile of a young girl.
“Think on it. Is it not unfair to have rumors spread about something one has never done? In that case, rather than being swept along by the rumors, making them real seems a rather fine method to me. I offer the suggestion specially, out of consideration for you.”
For the briefest of instants I actually considered simply accepting the offer outright—then I hastily lowered my head again and said,
“…I am deeply ashamed. It is because I failed to conduct myself with proper care. From now on I shall be far more thorough.”
“No. You came only because I summoned you—what fault could there be in that? If one must find fault… it would only be that you are a man in the full bloom of youth. And one possessed of rather pleasing looks at that. People of the world care far more about how things appear on the surface than about their true nature.”
“…….”
She kept bringing up my appearance, though honestly I still didn’t really understand… but right now the faintly sorrowful note in her words made it hard to pursue the subject further. That people cared about outward appearance was something she, of all people, would know best even if she wished she didn’t. She herself possessed a face that could have made her an absolute ruler on beauty alone.
“So then—what is the matter today?”
“There is a place I would like you to accompany me to.”
“Accompany you…?”
“Would you attend me for a short while?”
“Attending you is no trouble, but how many soldiers will be coming along?”
“Soldiers? The only one accompanying me will be you.”
“…Pardon?”
I asked her with a puzzled expression.
“I have no intention of refusing… but are you truly certain I will suffice?”
Even as the words left my mouth, I had no confidence I could protect her. My martial strength was rock-bottom, and to use magic I needed Reika. What if we ran into a band of bandits in the middle of nowhere? Of course, given her skill with a blade she was unlikely to fall to mere bandits, but she was not some ordinary general—she was the lord of a nation. If there was even a chance her precious person might suffer the slightest wound, avoiding it was the wiser choice.
Serpina curved her lips as though she found my words amusing.
“Swen. Even I am not so pure and naive as to leave Aingart Castle with only you for company. It seems you rather underestimate me.”
In that case I wasn’t sure “attend” was the right word, but I had no desire to earn her displeasure, so I kept my mouth shut.
“It is fine, Swen. A little back-talk will not cool my feelings toward you.”
……How on earth did she read my mind so uncannily? Hiding anything or telling a lie in front of her was an extremely difficult task.
“And come to think of it, that would not be so bad either. Fleeing with you to some place where we need bear no responsibility at all… as a tale of a man and a woman, would that not make a rather fitting ending?”
“…Your jest goes too far, my lord.”
“A jest? How disappointing. My heart is always sincere. Fufufu…♥”
Serpina covered her mouth with her hand and laughed again, then slowly began to walk. I stayed close behind her and followed.
*
Leaving the annex, we walked an earthen path thick with uncut grass where no one came or went. Our destination was a small hill behind the annex. It was hard to believe such a place existed so near the bustling royal palace of Aingart Castle… yet this was the annex Serpina used. Commoners of the domain, of course, and even her subordinate officers could not freely enter without her permission. Left untended, it was only natural that it would grow this desolate.
After we had walked for several minutes—
“Swen. Do you know?”
Without turning her head, still walking ahead, she spoke to me. I answered,
“Know what, my lord?”
In that moment Serpina stopped, slowly turned to face me, and carefully parted her pink lips.
“Why I am called a ‘tyrant.’”