The Lunarien Army Reveals Itself Once More Upon the Continent (1)
Once the string of upheavals had settled, Luna began, little by little, to accept a truth that still felt almost impossible to believe.
"Then all of you are…"
"I am sorry for the deception, Lady Luna."
Francis sank to one knee and offered a formal apology. Charlotte and Violet, standing beside him, dropped to their knees in unison.
"My name is Francis von Aingart."
"Charlotte von Aingart."
"…Violet von Aingart."
The three great pillars of legitimacy that Cain Nerkis—no, Kyle von Aingart—had risked everything to conceal now knelt before Luna.
They were the heirs of a branch so far removed from the main line that, beyond the imperial blood in their veins, they had possessed no power whatsoever. Precisely because of that, they had managed to survive this long. Kyle had hidden them with desperate care amid the chaos and fled south with their lives on the line.
"Lady Luna."
"Cain… no. Lord Kyle. That is…"
"Please call me whatever you wish, Lady Luna. Whether I am Cain or Kyle, my resolve to follow you has not changed."
Seeing the conflicted look on her face, Kyle nodded as if he understood everything.
"I know you harbor no fond feelings toward the imperial house. Yet—"
"I know. I have no intention of blaming you, Lord Kyle. On the contrary… I am grateful."
Luna rose from her seat and bowed her head to him.
"Without you, I do not think I could have persuaded anyone properly. And I understand that having a member of the House of Aingart stand at my side will, in itself, give many people a cause worth believing in. …Besides."
She smiled brightly.
"You have always been right here, supporting me. So my feelings about the imperial house are… secondary."
"My lord…"
"The one at fault is Serpina. That woman alone… so it is all right."
"…"
The words "the one at fault is Serpina" made Kyle flinch for an instant. Then he lowered his head deeply and answered.
"My lord. Please unify the continent. Cast aside the Aingard Empire, whose time has already run its course… and forge a new nation. This Kyle will pour out the rest of his life for you, body and soul."
The moment his voice faded, the three before him spoke in turn.
"We feel the same, Lady Luna."
"The grace you showed by taking us in—we have never forgotten it."
"If we can be of aid to you… it will be our honor."
"Everyone…"
Though they were only of a collateral line, she now enjoyed the support of surviving members of the Aingart imperial house—a legitimacy that even Serpina might envy. There was also the clean conscience of never having been the first to turn a blade against anyone, even if they had betrayed. Just as Swen had said she would win in the end, the moment opportunity appeared, everything seemed to fall into place at once.
But not yet.
She had only just taken her first step. Mountains of obstacles still lay ahead. Even so, she had to press on. Because he would come. When he returned, she needed to face him without shame—and for that, she had to shape a proper nation as quickly as possible.
The situation itself was far better than when they had simply been stranded in Zeiland Castle.
Lord Swen. We have raised our banner again. I will wait as long as it takes. You must come back to me…!
The clock that had stopped for Luna in Zeiland Castle began to tick once more after long years of silence.
The rising of Lunarien, lord of the Teppelo forces under Karelia.
Word that she had turned her sword against her own sovereign spread with astonishing speed.
In the royal palace of Madlen Castle, Macana Karelia—absolute ruler of the Karelia Army, seated upon the throne—wore an expression carved with shock and raw horror.
"Is that… truly so?"
"It is a report most painful to deliver, Your Majesty…"
Lunarien’s rising meant, in plain terms, that Lunarien had betrayed her.
"How could this… Then what of the generals sent to her side…?"
"General Gail and two others appear to have been imprisoned. As for the rest… the officers who had been serving in Teppelo Castle… most of them seem to have gone over to her."
Thud.
All Karelia could do upon hearing the news was collapse where she stood.
She had simply trusted. She had simply tried to believe in people. What else could a woman like that possibly do? Of course she had never even conceived of a Plan B.
Karelia had thought of Lunarien as someone much like herself. Even Vanessa’s greatest reason for keeping Lunarien in check had been that the girl was far too similar to her own sovereign. Vanessa had warned her again and again: the moment Lunarien displayed even slightly superior qualities as a castle lord—or as a ruler—she would grow far larger than Karelia herself.
Even so, Karelia had believed in Luna. She had been certain that the trust she offered, and the resemblance of their natures, meant betrayal was impossible. Until this very moment she had never once sincerely entertained the thought that "Lunarien might betray me."
A fragility far too soft for a sovereign—an innocence almost like that of a maiden. The "one weakness" Vanessa had fretted over for so long had, at the decisive hour, seized her ankle and pulled her down.
Then… what am I supposed to do now?
"Y-Your Majesty…?"
Only then did Karelia notice the messenger still staring blankly at her. In a trembling voice she gave the order.
"For now… gather every soldier you can… I would be grateful if you would."
"Y-Yes, Your Majesty!"
Fortunately the soldier grasped the situation quickly and bolted from the chamber. Almost in the same breath, a familiar woman’s voice struck Karelia’s ear.
"Your Majesty!"
Vanessa came racing toward her from the far end of the hall. One glance at her face was enough. She must have heard the news as well.
"Va…nessa."
The moment Vanessa saw her sovereign staring back with empty eyes, grief crumpled her expression for an instant. She swallowed it at once, let out a short breath, and spoke.
"What has happened has happened. It cannot be undone. I have no intention of wasting time saying I was right. Right now we must do what we can—and what we must."
"H-How… Lady Luna… betrayed us…"
…
Lunarien’s betrayal. Vanessa saw at once that Mets had not succeeded in goading her. Mets had… gone over. To her. The fact that no intelligence had come through while they handed over an entire force made that conclusion certain.
I was a fool.
Lunarien was a woman much like Karelia. Naturally, if she followed Karelia, Lunarien would have no reason to refuse. Their character and the texture of their ambitions were the same. And the greatest reason Vanessa had kept her in check was that, even through her own eyes, Lunarien was better suited to rule than Karelia herself.
Knowing that, she had still assumed a spy would keep absolute faith with this side. Looking back, it was a bitter, unforgivable blunder.
The real question is how much Lunarien has already seen through… but never mind. The fact of her betrayal does not change. Better to cut her out cleanly here than to keep her close because she never betrayed us. Losing the troops is painful, but in the end it is only one territory. We still hold the advantage in every other respect. All that remains is to help Karelia collect herself and then take command of the—
Her thoughts reached that point when—
"Your Majesty…?"
From the look on Karelia’s face, Vanessa realized without difficulty that there was something more her sovereign had not yet spoken. At the same moment a predatory anxiety clamped down hard on both her shoulders.
"…Is there something else?"
"Th-That is…"
Karelia opened her mouth in a shaking voice.
"The military provisions and war funds…"
"…What?"
"Lady Luna said the war materials matching her forces seemed insufficient… so she would capture three territories at once… and asked…"
Hearing her sovereign’s trembling words, Vanessa’s face went bloodless.
"You cannot mean… you handed over every available resource except the bare minimum?"
—A silent nod.
…This cannot be.
It was the worst possible situation, yet Vanessa could not bring herself to speak a single careless word. Transporting resources was, of course, within a sovereign’s authority. Having every such decision reported to a strategist would have been improper even from the perspective of a second-in-command who must remain beneath an absolute first. Though she had been granted military command for the coming war, she was merely dirtying her hands so that Karelia’s soft charisma—her greatest strength—would not be tarnished. She had never intended to overstep her sovereign’s authority here.
Therefore she could not reproach her now. Yet the thoroughness with which every resource had been drained suggested a plan prepared for betrayal from the very beginning.
Lunarien Iniang. Behind that innocent face, had she been sharpening her blade all along?
…Is this truly her nature?
Vanessa had half-expected something like this, yet she still could not fully accept it. She had kept Lunarien under constant watch from the moment the woman began posting uniquely efficient results among the castle lords of Teppelo. As Karelia said, she was a woman who greatly resembled Karelia herself—guileless, steadfast, a person who valued trust above all. Vanessa had noticed and guarded against the overwhelming martial strength Karelia lacked, and the social grace that made everyone regard her favorably. Precisely because of that, she understood.
To drain every last drop of efficiency and then deliver such a perfect stab in the back was far too sinister a scheme for the Lunarien she had observed until now. Neither Tifa nor Kyle, whom she had brought with her, seemed the type to invent so underhanded a plan. The officers known to have joined the betrayal were, at best, merely diligent people who had never particularly stood out.
Could a woman capable of conceiving such a scheme have hidden her true nature this long? If so, Vanessa should have sensed it. She knew herself to be a rather cunning person; she always spotted her own kind with uncanny accuracy.
This felt as if… yes.
Is there another person… at her side?
Someone she did not know. Someone highly skilled at weaving schemes like this—an utterly ruthless strategist type who thought only of efficiency. The thought that such a shadow was already tightening its coils around her made Vanessa’s body prickle with sudden cold.