The King's Return (5)
Ninety thousand troops. The prize territory of Teppelo Castle. And supplies she could gather in any quantity she desired, if only she reached for them.
A once-in-a-lifetime moment.
A single, thread-thin chance that the woman who had spent so long building Karelia's trust could seize only once.
On a continent where no scrap of land sat empty, if she truly meant to raise an army of her own, this was the most favorable hour she would ever see.
And that "favorable hour" was the sort of thing that could vanish from her grasp like a mirage at any moment. The very next day, Karelia might suddenly issue the order, Lady Luna, step down from your post as castle lord — and from that instant, it would simply be over. She would not even have the leisure to debate whether to betray or not.
Luna herself, however minor her nation had once been, had once dreamed of conquering the entire continent. Of course she understood the advantage of her present position all too well.
……
In silence, Luna seriously ran the scenario of what would happen if she did not betray.
Once she entered battle, her forces would dwindle. As her territory expanded, Karelia's officers would pour in like a flood. For now, perched at the very edge of the border, she could use the Ohana Army as a buffer and keep Karelia from responding at once — but once the war progressed past a certain point, even that would become impossible. That much was certain.
Moreover, no matter how lofty Luna's ideals and how deep the trust she commanded, that trust was confined to Teppelo Castle. Even here, far more people would leave her side the moment she actually turned traitor than would stay.
This was not some other nation. This was the Karelia Army. That people chose to follow her — of all people — in an age like this meant that many of those gathered here valued honor and the righteous path above all else, even in such turbulent times.
The resentment now rising was only because Vanessa, who currently moved like Luna's own shadow, had used war preparations as a pretext for tyrannical governance —
and once the situation settled and Karelia resumed full control of internal affairs as before, those feelings would fade just as quickly. That, too, was the truth.
In every respect.
This was the moment to move.
This was precisely the "opportunity" Swen had spoken of.
As Luna's expression grew grave, no one around her said a word. They held their silence.
They all knew. Luna was not the sort of woman who would make that choice.
But at the same time, they knew that if Luna truly harbored great ambition — no opportunity greater than this was likely to come again.
In the end, everything was a decision only Luna could make.
Everyone tacitly acknowledged that offering further advice here was meaningless. All they could do was follow whatever decision their true lord handed down.
And what their true lord, Luna, could do was——
……Swen……
Swen.
What am I supposed to do?
Because this is the kind of world we live in, am I supposed to shrug and say it can't be helped…… and stab the person who took me in in the back?
If I do something no different from the tyrant Serpina, can I still be forgiven? Can I still face the suffering people without shame?
Luna slowly closed her eyes —
and posed the question to the Swen who always lived inside her chest.
Ever since she had parted from that man, whenever a choice left her throat tight and her path blocked, Luna would close her eyes and think, What would Swen have said?
That she had been able to make countless decisions alone was surely because that mindset existed within her.
What would my strategist say right now?
And between the efficient thing and the right thing…… which would my strategist choose?
Remarkably, the moment she thought it, she felt the hesitation that had hung like fog in her mind simply dissolve.
The choice Swen would make?
That was, of course—
"……Tifa, and everyone else — I understand what you've said. But."
Luna slowly opened her eyes and looked at those who wished to elevate her as their new sovereign.
Then, in a voice that did not tremble in the slightest, she declared with quiet pride—
"I will not betray my lord…… I will not abandon my faith with Lady Karelia."
——The right thing.
And, at the same time, the most efficient thing.
Luna had never for a single moment forgotten that the answer Swen would have given her had always been that.
"Yeah?"
"Yes. And because that decision is also for his sake."
"If it's you saying so, of all people, then it must be right. Fine. My decision's the same."
Unlike Tifa, who accepted it easily and moved on, Mets could not hide his agitation, as if the answer were nearly impossible to swallow.
"But my lady! Is this not precisely the golden opportunity that must not be missed if you harbor great ambition? I beg you to reconsider once more—"
"No."
Where Mets burned hot, Luna answered in a tone of remarkable calm.
"Mets, I am not raising this simply because I place such weight on loyalty alone."
"……My lady?"
"As you say, this may appear to be a chance that will never come twice……"
"A sovereign of a nation must be able to reach her hand into filthy places. There will be times she must stain her own hands with dirty blood. Noble ideals alone do not make a ruler. However……"
"You would lose the single most important thing of all — your cause."
"!!!"
——In the end, my lord's greatest strength is the will that, no matter what she does, she will never lose those noble ideals.
That's right, Swen.
I believe that is exactly what you would say.
No matter how tempting what lies before your eyes may be, you must not seize it carelessly.
At the very least, to become a sovereign who can truly surpass Karelia, you must accumulate a cause greater than hers.
And that, in turn, would be the most "efficient" path of all — that is what you would tell me.
So.
I will not rush.
Just as Swen said, a far better opportunity than this will surely, inevitably, come again.
Besides — did he not say it himself?
If we go all the way to the end, we win.
I believe in Swen.
Even without forcing the reckless gambit of betrayal here…… I firmly believe things will work out.
"And so, as for your wishes…… I am truly sorry, but I would ask you to set them aside for now. However — the ideals you have spoken of, I will never forget them, no matter what happens."
"……"
At Luna's words, no further objections came.
Karelia, who had ultimately pushed Vanessa forward under the banner of war — a decision that ran counter to her own convictions.
And Lunarien, who, even with such a favorable situation laid bare before her eyes, had ultimately chosen to keep her convictions.
This situation was more than enough to shake the heart of a certain someone present to its core.
After that—
the discussion with Luna flowed into ordinary "war preparations," and no more radical talk emerged.
But…… there was, without question, someone whose heart had been changed by that conversation.
"Encourage Lunarien so that she will betray."
"Encourage her, you say?"
"She is not a woman who will forever be content remaining beneath Lady Karelia. Shake her, and she will surely respond. The moment she makes up her mind, report it to me at once."
"But…… what if she does not betray?"
"……There cannot be two suns in the sky, can there?"
"!!!"
"I trust the meaning of my words has been adequately conveyed."
……
Mets — a man now firmly counted among the Lunarien faction.
In truth, he had approached Luna from the very beginning under a secret directive from Vanessa.
Vanessa had said Luna was a woman of ambition.
On that point, he had agreed. From his own observation, and from the reactions of those around her, Luna was not someone who would be satisfied with the post of castle lord.
But as he spent time at her side, a different feeling began to take root in his heart, little by little.
It could not have been otherwise.
Objectively speaking, Lunarien far surpassed Karelia in the qualities of a sovereign.
The two women were cut from the same cloth. But Karelia was an extremely rigid person — someone who would never walk an unrighteous path, a figure ill-suited to a chaotic age.
Moreover, she lacked decisiveness, and at critical judgments she would trail off mid-sentence. Drawn by sentiment, she frequently made the wrong choice.
If her convictions had truly been as sharp as a blade, he might have been willing to die alongside her — but from the moment she had closed her eyes and condoned the tyranny of Vanessa, who held her absolute trust, doubts about his original lord had inevitably begun to bloom.
With his faith in her already badly shaken, the figure of Lunarien had begun to enter his sight more and more clearly.
An extraordinarily fine opportunity had rolled to her feet. Her own ambition was real. And yet, unlike Karelia, Lunarien had chosen to uphold her convictions.
Even if she had said she had not made that decision for the sake of loyalty alone, the fact remained that she had not been the first to choose to abandon Karelia.
Yes.
This person might not be unilaterally swayed by someone like Vanessa.
This person might, at critical moments, make thorough decisions according to her own will without hesitation.
Mets organized the situation once more.
Contrary to Vanessa's expectations, Luna had not chosen the option of plunging a knife into her lord's back.
Then what was he to do now?
Two suns could not rise — so one of them would have to fall.
In that case.
Was the sun that needed to fall…… truly Lunarien?
Was the sun he was duty-bound to serve Karelia?
……
After deep deliberation, the decision he reached was……
In the audience chamber, Luna had been discussing the coming battle with Tifa and Violet when a sudden report left her eyes wide with shock as she demanded confirmation.
"You were ordered…… to kill me?"
"That is correct."
At the words of Mets, who knelt and confessed everything, Luna's body trembled faintly.
Mets's choice had been Lunarien.
No matter how many times he thought it through, he had concluded that Lunarien — not Karelia, who seemed to be unilaterally manipulated by Vanessa and unable even to keep her own convictions — was the sun that rightfully ought to hang in the sky.
Luna held her silence for a moment, then carefully posed a question to Mets.
"That…… was not an order from my lord, Lady Karelia, I trust?"
"No. It was a secret directive from the strategist…… from Lady Vanessa."
"Then why tell me all of this?"
"Because I do not wish to lose Lady Luna here under some absurd false charge."
Mets closed his eyes and bowed his head.
"I desired Lady Karelia's dominion over the realm. But is that something only Lady Karelia as a person can achieve?"
"……!"
"What I desire is for an outstanding, wise leader who loves her people to unify the continent. And as I have already said, there is no reason that person must necessarily be Lady Karelia…… Rather, if someone is to stop Serpina's tyranny, I have come to believe Lady Luna is more suitable."
"May I ask why?"
"I do not know if you are aware of it yourself…… but Lady Luna, you always speak with a face full of conviction."
"……!"
The reason she could be certain in every decision.
It was because of that man.
Even now, it was the same.
Because she firmly believed the words that if they went all the way to the end, they would win — that very thing called a cause had rolled before her eyes like a ripe pumpkin!
"And so I, Mets, wish to entrust my fate to Lady Lunarien."
The moment Mets finished speaking, Tifa burst out in an agitated voice.
"Luna. We can't just let this slide, can we? No matter what choice we make over here, those people are only thinking about devouring you!"
"I agree with Lady Tifa, my lady. It appears the time has come for you to make a decision."
"……"
Several minutes of silence followed.
At last, Luna broke the silence that had seemed as if it might last forever.
"Tifa. Violet. I'm sorry, but would you call everyone here at once?"