The Price of Choice (2)
This was the throne room of Valharat Castle, capital of the Acius Army.
Yuuri had gone rigid for a moment at the news that a mage had appeared when a woman's voice reached her.
"Yeah. She revealed herself while they were putting down a rebellion inside Serpina's army, then started hurling giant fireballs."
The speaker was Epinel Rosencross — second-in-command of the Acius Army, and the most influential general in the force after Yuuri herself.
"Did you hear what she looked like?"
"A young woman with pink hair, apparently."
At the words pink hair, Yuuri's eyes went wide and her body gave a slight tremor.
Pink hair… isn't that Zinor's adopted daughter?
She was the only person in this country to whom Zinor had ever introduced the girl — and only because she was the sovereign. The existence of a mage had been kept under the strictest secrecy from the start, so she had told no one else either.
He had said his foster daughter possessed the aptitude to become a mage. That the moment she took the field, she could overturn the entire war, drive out the Brans Army, and make them masters of the central continent.
Yuuri had half believed him and half not. Betting on something so uncertain — whether it would even happen, and if so when — had never been her style. She had supported Zinor and contributed money for the girl, but that was as far as it went. It was fair to say she had expected nothing in particular. So when Zinor left, the word mage had not even existed in her mind.
But now.
The very existence that could have shaken the continent — a mage who had once been firmly within her grasp — had fallen into the hands of Serpina von Aingart, the mortal enemy of herself and everyone she held dear.
Wait. Zinor's adopted daughter enlisted with Serpina's army?
That was strange, wasn't it?
As far as she knew, Zinor had originally belonged to the Empire. Had he remained with Serpina's forces, a high position would have been all but guaranteed. The image of him serving under Serpina was hard to picture. So why on earth was the girl there?
The answer came from Epinel with almost insulting simplicity.
"And… there's evidence that a white-haired man was helping Reika cast her magic from right beside her."
…Swen?
"Probably Swen. The second I heard about the fireballs, I wondered if it might be him. But apparently it was the woman who cast the magic. Whether she's with him for some reason, or Swen was the one using it and made it look like she was… there are any number of possibilities. Either way, this puts us in a very awkward position."
"Awkward?"
"Don't you remember? We told everyone Serpina took Swen to kill him. But now it's clear he's alive. Of course, the only real commonality is the hair color, and there are plenty of ways this could have gone — maybe he begged for his life, whatever — so it's not as if we can't manage the situation. Still… white-haired young men aren't exactly common."
Epinel finished and let out a long sigh.
"Anyway, don't worry too much, Yuuri. I've already spoken with Emma and Anima about containing this. Even if Swen is alive, what I said wasn't entirely wrong, and everyone who had a grievance has already left. So even if the truth comes out now, we won't end up in chaos."
"Wait. What do you mean, 'not entirely wrong'?"
"Well, every time Swen uses that magic-like ability of his, he burns through his own lifespan, right? Serpina is working him to the bone without the slightest regard for that. So the idea that he holds a grudge against her is, in a way, correct. He's probably being coerced."
…
No.
Epinel, who knew nothing certain about the mage, could make that guess. But Yuuri herself — who had heard a fair amount from Zinor — knew it was not the case.
If Swen's ability was no different from the pink-haired mage who had just appeared — Zinor's foster daughter — then it was not a matter of lifespan at all. He was simply consuming mana, a power that clearly existed on this continent even if she herself could not sense it.
Of course, it was possible Zinor had lied, and that it truly did consume lifespan. She had never verified it, and the girl was only a foster daughter adopted as an orphan.
But there was one more piece of evidence that Swen was not cutting into his own life. In a way, it was the more decisive one.
The general known to have led the vanguard of that battle was the red-haired female knight Airen Juliette — the specialist in siege warfare.
Yuuri still remembered the first day she met them with perfect clarity. The two of them had been extremely close. Airen especially had looked at Swen with such open affection.
After betraying the Brans Army together and crossing the line between life and death to defect to her side — the moment Yuuri cast Swen out, Airen had abandoned the Acius Army without a second's hesitation and joined Serpina's forces where he was.
Would a woman who cherished Swen that deeply stand by and calmly watch him burn through his lifespan?
And more decisively still: she had never handed Swen over under threat from Serpina in the first place. Serpina had given her a choice. Whatever the proposal had been, whether to accept it or refuse had rested entirely on her own decision. She remembered that.
That decision. The unprecedented choice of essentially selling Swen away… had been something she made herself, taking full responsibility, solely to save Anima.
And once her thoughts reached that far, she realized something she truly did not want to acknowledge — all too naturally.
"!!!"
The white-haired man. And Zinor's adopted daughter, who had resigned from under her the moment that man left.
Having grasped what that meant without difficulty, Yuuri felt cold sweat run down her spine.
—Could it be that because I sold Swen out, the mage who was in my hands fell into Serpina's?
Looking at the nature of the battle, it had been a succession of impossibilities. Even if they were rebels garrisoned in a fortress, a mere three thousand soldiers had annihilated a force of ten thousand in just a few short days. Serpina's side had suffered casualties close to zero — anyone could tell how absurd the engagement had been.
All of it had been possible because of the mage. A being of that caliber. That overwhelming power that could have, even for a moment, become her own nation's strength…
…No.
Of course. Yuuri did not regret it.
If the same moment came a hundred times, she would make the same decision. She was sorry for Swen — but Anima was someone they absolutely could not afford to lose. It might not have been a wise decision as a sovereign… but even so, Yuuri simply could not give Anima up.
And yet, with just that one decision — with just the choice to cast out the man named Swen — she was now vividly realizing how much she had lost.
Zinor, who had been her state strategist. Reika, the foster daughter he had raised who was a mage. Airen, the outstanding female general who had led an impossible victory against overwhelming odds — even if magic had made it possible. And the countless soldiers and officers who had left her side over that incomprehensible decision.
They had all once stood under the banner of the Acius Army. Comrades who had shared her blood.
The knowledge that beings capable of creating the miracle of defeating ten thousand with three thousand might have become her strength made Yuuri feel even colder.
She did not regret choosing Anima — not at all, as she had just told herself. But the thought that perhaps that decision had been a critical one determining not only her own future, but the future of the Acius Army itself…
In that moment, for the first time, Yuuri properly felt the price of her choice.
After the rebels were suppressed, a stretch of peaceful days followed.
Serpina had now fully recovered even from the last of her remaining wounds, restored to her former condition. Everything had returned to the way it was before.
Except for one thing.
"Well then, we're off…!"
"Take care, everyone."
Namely, that now all three of them left the mansion every morning — no one stayed behind.
"How are you finding it, Miss Reika?"
"Me? Um… I-I think it's manageable. Organizing the ancient texts seems pretty doable, too… and my colleagues are kind. Hehe."
Reika, wearing an outer garment embroidered with the Aingart family crest, smiled shyly. When she had nothing particular to do, she seemed to spend her time as administrator of the Aingart Grand Library, putting the place in order.
It might have been a humble assignment for an officer, but someone had to do it, and it clearly suited her disposition. Besides, as long as Reika used her magic in battle, she more than pulled her weight. Because of her abilities, even if Serpina granted her special consideration, no one around her raised any particular complaint. And since she had expended a great deal of magic, assigning physical labor or busy work to someone who absolutely needed rest would have been awkward anyway.
In short, having been recognized as talent by Serpina, she was enjoying quite a few conveniences.
"I'm glad you seem to be adapting well."
Airen looked at her with a kind smile. Seeing Reika — whom she doted on like a little sister — doing well seemed to put her mind at ease.
And on her chest as well… it was clearly drawn. The crest that symbolized the Aingart family.
Of course. On the brooch of the cloak wrapped around me, the same crest was engraved.
All three of us had become people who ate the salt of the Aingart Imperial Family.
…
I swallowed the feeling of a stone sitting heavy in my chest.
"Well then. I'll see you this evening."
"B-both of you, d-do your best…!"
After seeing them off, I headed straight for where Serpina was handling her official duties.
What would happen today?
I closed my eyes and recalled the time I had recently spent with her. Since that day, Serpina had not openly asked me to be with her. She hadn't brought up the marriage proposal either. But I could tell from the atmosphere — that it was not a sign of giving up, but that she was calmly waiting for my answer.
In place of such conversations, we mainly discussed matters of state administration and internal affairs: occasions when she sought advice using my Intelligence 100 ability, which she firmly believed to be the Mind's Eye.
It was the kind of work a state strategist would do, but Jena was still away from her post. That, too, would end soon. Around next week she would finish her inspection tour and return to Aingart Castle.
What should I do going forward?
Hoping that today would pass without incident as well, I arrived at where she was—
…Huh?
I found myself looking at Serpina's face, drained of all color, her eyes wide and trembling—
"…Swen."
"My lord?"
"Something… unbelievable has happened."
—and felt with certainty that the clock of this continent was thoroughly, relentlessly racing toward a predetermined future.