Will It Reach, or Will It Not
Even as she waited aimlessly for Swen, time continued to slip past, moment by moment.
How many more days had she spent waiting with that aching heart?
"Still no word today…?"
"None, my lady."
Why hasn't he come…?
A great deal of time had already passed. By now, word of their uprising should have reached every corner of the continent. And yet nowhere was there any report that the man—Swen—had come looking for them.
As far as Luna knew, Swen was no longer with the Brans Army. He was far more likely to be under the neighboring Aesius Army—or, if those wild rumors were true, under Serpina's command. Whichever it was, enough time had passed that a man riding at full gallop should already have arrived.
They had not raised their banner quietly, either. They had done so under the protection of Kane—no, of Kyle von Aingart—more splendidly than anyone else.
What was a newly risen force supposed to do first? Fight? Bide its time? Launch into diplomacy? Every single one of those choices needed Swen's counsel more than anything else. Fortunately they still had time to wait.
Which meant Swen needed to arrive soon.
He had promised he would return.
To Luna, the idea that Swen could know of this and still not come was simply impossible. So her thoughts inevitably drifted toward a darker possibility.
Could he be in a situation where he can't even hear the news?
If something personal had prevented him from learning of their uprising…
Or worse—if something had happened to him?
Surely not.
Am I… already too late?
A scenario she could not bear to imagine brushed through her mind. She forced it down.
…No. Believe and wait. Swen will come. He will… he will come.
Luna steeled her heart once more, clinging to the certainty that Swen would arrive.
The soldier standing before her, unable to hide her disappointment, could only fidget in awkward silence. Realizing she was making him uncomfortable, Luna offered a light apology.
"I'm sorry. You needn't take it so much to heart, Violet."
"Not at all, my lady. I only regret that I have no good news to bring you. Should anyone come seeking to enlist, I will report it at once."
"Please do."
Waiting for Swen was vitally important—but she could not afford to spend every hour of every day doing nothing but waiting.
A few hours later, Luna was receiving Violet's report on the situation around them.
"Neither the Ohana Army nor the Karelia Army has made any direct move yet?"
"That is correct."
The one delivering these reports was Violet, who was effectively serving as state strategist. With Swen—the only rightful holder of that office—absent, it hardly mattered who sat in the seat for now.
Their inaction means… just as Violet predicted, they must be short on supplies.
Time would eventually bring the harvest season. When it did, Karelia's sheer numbers would come crashing down on them in earnest. Luna's side would not be idle in the meantime—they would continue conscripting and training—but whether they could hold out until then remained an open question.
In this situation, what could she accomplish without Swen?
Unless the very survival of the nation hung in the balance, she had to wring every drop of wisdom from her own mind rather than lean on anyone else. Violet was at her side, yes, but the girl was still a novice strategist.
While she was lost in thought, Violet broke the silence again.
"That covers the situation immediately surrounding our forces… Next, if I may, I would like to speak of the broader state of the continent."
"The state of the continent?"
"Yes. I thought it best that you be informed."
Knowing how the whole board was moving was always worthwhile for a sovereign. Back in those distant days at Zeiland Castle, Swen had spoken in much the same vein.
Luna nodded her assent.
"First, of the three factions into which the Brans Army has split… Kalintz's forces appear to have successfully held Anel Castle against Chel's army. Lynn's original Brans Army has dug in in the western continent and shows no particular movement."
"How long do you expect that chaos to last?"
"Longer than one might think. That Chel failed to take Anel Castle is rather unexpected."
"I see…"
The Brans Army—where Swen was once believed to be. The three-way turmoil showed no sign of resolving easily. And the fact that the central continent was so tangled was, in its own way, extremely important to Luna's forces. As long as that region stayed busy, the northern neighbors of the southern continent—the Roland Army and the Hesna Army—would have their hands full.
She had been hoping the chaos would continue, so that when Ohana finally moved against them, Hesna might strike Ohana from behind. Yet Hesna, with its newly lengthened borders, seemed unlikely to bother attacking this far south. That was the part that troubled her.
"The Aesius Army next door is reinforcing its troops and watching events unfold. I suspect they will not remain idle much longer, however. Word has come that they rejected the alliance Hesna proposed."
"And after that?"
"Lastly… regarding the Serpina Army."
At the mere sound of Serpina's name, Luna's brow twitched.
"For the time being she will likely avoid starting any new wars and concentrate on consolidating the central territories she already holds."
"Why?"
"The northern continent still has not been fully pacified. Sporadic rebellions continue to break out. Well—such is the natural fate of a tyrant without popular support."
There was nothing puzzling about why people kept rising against Serpina. She was a tyrant. A bloodless, tearless witch who had made the people of the continent miserable and slaughtered every one of her siblings for her own ambition. That was simply how the world saw her—and for someone like Lunarien, who had lost her own sister to those hands, the hatred ran even deeper.
Then Violet continued.
"…There was, however, one piece of news that caught my attention."
"What was it?"
"It seems the mage who had only been a rumor within Serpina's army has finally appeared."
"…!!!!"
The moment she heard the word mage, Luna shot to her feet. Violet did not flinch this time. After the way Luna had reacted on the carriage ride back, she had more or less expected it.
"Was it… a young white-haired man who used the magic?"
"No. The one who used magic was a woman, not a man."
"What…?"
"A great many witnesses claim to have seen her create flames in her bare hands and hurl them. The mage is a young woman with pink hair. That much, at least, appears to be solid fact."
Not the white-haired mage—not Swen. Someone else entirely who could wield that kind of power?
What was that supposed to mean?
Luna's thoughts tangled at once. Hadn't Aesius supposedly sold the "white-haired mage"—Swen—to Serpina? Had that been nothing but a false rumor Serpina herself had spread?
If it was a false rumor, that would actually be a relief. It would mean Swen was not under that detestable woman.
Then where was he?
He was definitely not with Brans… so was he still under Aesius after all?
Only then did the true weight of the word mage sink in.
So mages really did exist.
Had Swen truly been a mage all along? The Swen she had spent time with had performed a few almost miraculous feats, but nothing that looked like actual magic. Something closer to future-sight or prophecy felt nearer the mark.
Still—if mages truly existed, and one of them had fallen into Serpina's grasp… what could they possibly do to stop her?
While she struggled to reach any conclusion with so little information, Violet carefully summed things up.
"Serpina is in the north and we are at the southern tip, so we need not concern ourselves greatly for the moment… but I believe we must accept that mages do, in fact, exist."
For even Violet to speak so firmly, the evidence must have been solid.
"Understood. Violet—may I leave the gathering of information on this mage to you?"
"Leave it to me, my lady."
Luna answered, then sank back into thought.
That's right. Mage or no mage—once Swen returns, everything will be solved. He will light the path for us. He always does.
To Luna, the idea that Swen might have changed his mind was simply impossible. Such a thing could not happen. If he had not come, the only explanation was that something had befallen him.
But what kind of man was Swen? He was the sort who always produced the correct result, as though he already knew everything that would happen. The man who had worked miracles across the continent did not seem the type to fall into genuine danger.
It was less a reasoned thought than a belief—almost a faith.
Swen… I'll wait as long as it takes. You will come. You will… so I'll hold on somehow and keep waiting…!
And so, while Luna's hope—whether it would reach him or not—was carried away on the wind—
"Swen."
"…Ah?"
Irene's worried voice pulled me out of my daze.
"You look as though something is troubling you."
"Ah—well…"
"…"
Troubling me.
Yes. That was exactly it.
This might well be the most momentous dilemma I had faced since the day I was possessed into this world.