First Encounter (1)
This was the mansion where Irene and I lived.
With Reika still away on library business, the two of us sitting face to face over a meal was something that hadn't happened in quite some time.
"If something is troubling you, would you care to tell me about it?"
Had I been forced to wrestle with this alone, the solitude might have been crushing. But having Irene here with me eased the weight on my chest, if only a little.
"I imagine you already have some idea of what it is, Irene. Am I wrong?"
She answered with a bitter smile.
"…Hmm."
A brief silence stretched between us before she broke it.
"It seems Lady Luna has finally raised her banner in the southern continent."
"…"
"I don't know the full particulars, but it appears she rose through an act of betrayal… Not that I intend to hold that against her. Such is the way of a chaotic age."
According to Serpina, Luna's uprising had taken the form of open rebellion.
I didn't know the precise state of the Karelia Army, but Karelia herself and those of like mind under her were people who prized honor and loyalty above all else. Under ordinary circumstances, a rebellion against them should have had almost no chance of succeeding…
And yet, for reasons I couldn't fathom, a considerable number of Karelia's officers had apparently gone over to Luna's side.
"That aside, I never imagined she would end up under the Karelia Army… Was this part of your plan as well, Swen?"
"My plan…"
Entrust yourself to Karelia.
That was all I had ever said to her.
Everything that followed — the rebellion, the rest of it — had been Luna's own decision, entirely independent of me.
And even then, I had only been offering advice based on my knowledge of the game. I hadn't consulted the mind of someone with Intelligence 100.
When I thought about it carefully, all I could really do was foresee what the outcome would be. Orchestrating that outcome itself was, fundamentally, beyond me.
Of course, by changing actions in advance, I could alter results to a degree… but performing the kind of magic that made the impossible possible was something I simply couldn't do.
That day.
When I ordered Tifa to handle commerce and she came back hauling a treasure chest stuffed with gold coins. When I put Kane at the vanguard and a mercenary company appeared out of nowhere to repel Kalintz's assault.
Luna had insisted those miracles were entirely to my credit for the advice I'd given…
But I had only known that those choices were the most efficient ones. I had never once predicted that such things would actually happen.
At first, I hadn't even noticed how strange it all was.
But after spending time with the Brans Army, the Asius Army, and finally here with Serpina's forces — I had gradually begun to understand just how bizarre those events truly were.
"It wasn't something I planned. I simply…"
"Simply?"
"I can only guess that it was my lord's… Lady Luna's destiny."
Yes. Destiny.
Just as Serpina, shackled by some past sin or by the malice of the world itself, found her ankles seized at every critical moment — able to lead the formidable nation that was the Serpina Army to success, yet forever barred from becoming the unifier of the continent —
Luna was the opposite. She was destined to be that unifier.
No matter what she did, things ultimately bent to her will. No matter what decision she made, the situation unfolded in her favor.
If a goddess of fortune truly existed, Luna was a woman who lived bathed in that goddess's love.
That was how she had been able to raise a rebellion against the honor-bound Karelia Army while still securing a legitimate cause. Without that cause, she would have failed for certain — especially in a nation like that one.
So then… what was I supposed to do?
Return to Luna immediately, as I had originally planned?
Was I… supposed to abandon Serpina — that unfortunate woman who seemed to have been forsaken by the goddess of fortune herself?
"Swen."
"…Ah."
Irene's voice, now right beside me, pulled my consciousness sharply back to the present.
"I may not look it, but I have followed you across three nations. I can tell what you're thinking… and what it is that's weighing on you."
Having said that, Irene took my hand in both of hers and held it firmly.
These were the hands of a woman who wielded a sword. Rough and calloused, as they inevitably would be… and yet to me, they were softer and warmer than any saintess's hands could ever be.
"Swen. Whatever decision you make, it doesn't matter. Take all the time you need to think it through. Deliberate, and deliberate again, and then decide. Whatever the result… I will stand by your side forever."
"Irene…"
I nodded slowly, then laid my other hand over the back of hers.
"Thank you, Irene."
A woman who would remain at my side no matter what choice I made.
Perhaps it was her encouragement. The tangled knot in my chest seemed to loosen, if only a little.
Whatever happened, Irene at least would stay with me. That alone was enough to settle my heart.
Even after that, we spent a long while simply holding each other's hands.
Irene… this woman was a sanctuary to me that nothing else could ever replace.
Time continued its merciless march.
Though Swen had not come, the one mercy for Luna was that nothing particularly disastrous had occurred in the interim.
The Karelia Army had massed its forces and then simply… stopped moving. Negotiations with the Ohana Army remained sluggish, but under Violet's mediation they were still being carefully pursued.
In the process, they had at least confirmed that the Ohana Army had not already colluded with Karelia behind their backs.
It would have been a strange picture indeed — Karelia, who prized honor so highly, joining hands with Ohana, reputed the most unscrupulous of the four southern lords. But then, Karelia had already been led about by Vanessa and had squandered much of that glittering legitimacy.
With a rebellion already underway, there was no real reason not to reach for whatever advantage presented itself. And yet no such rumors had surfaced, which meant Karelia was failing to secure either cause or practical gain.
That was clearly good news for their side.
And still, ever since that day, Luna's heart had been drying out, crumbling bit by bit.
Why… why won't he come?
Swen was most likely no longer with the Brans Army, but with the neighboring Asius Army. And even if the rumors Violet had mentioned were somewhat true — even if Swen now belonged to Serpina's forces — enough time had passed for word to reach him and for him to make the journey south.
More than enough time for a single man on horseback to arrive.
Given the state of the northern continent, no matter where he was, if he had ridden at full speed he should have been here by now…
In Luna's mind, the idea that Swen knew of this and still refused to come was simply impossible. And so her thoughts inevitably arrived at one conclusion —
What if he's in a situation where he can't receive the news?
If he couldn't hear of it, many things fell into place.
Could he be detained by Serpina's army?
If she simply assumed that Serpina was holding him for some reason, then the reports of sightings of him in the north made perfect sense. It would also explain Asius selling him off. Prisoners transferred that way were routinely thrown into underground dungeons.
Swen's talents were extraordinary enough that Serpina might well have decided to put him to use. Or even if not — if some personal misfortune had simply prevented him from hearing of their uprising…
No. What if something had happened to him personally?
In that instant, a chill far sharper than any winter wind raced up Luna's spine.
Am I… already too late?
This was a chaotic age. An age when honor, trust, and human life were treated as disposable. It was hardly unusual for a single officer to wander from place to place only to vanish as dew on the executioner's block.
The moment that thought took hold, a fresh wave of suffocating dread closed in around her.
I kept waiting for the right opportunity… waiting and waiting to secure a legitimate cause… clinging to the belief that if I just held out until the end I would win… and in my irresponsibility I dragged things out so long that… I've already missed my chance??
It can't be…!!!!!
Just as that unbearable possibility flashed through her mind —
A soldier approached the audience chamber.
"My lord. A man has come seeking an audience. He wishes to enter your service."
"!!!!!!"
Color flooded Luna's face. She shot up from the throne that had once belonged to the castle's previous lord.
"Is that true?!"
"Y-yes?! Ah, th-that is… well—"
"Quickly! Bring him before me at once! Hurry!"
The soldier, startled speechless, was swept along by Luna's intensity and hurried off to fetch the visitor.
Swen…!
Ah…!!!
I knew it.
I believed in you, Swen.
You've come for me.
I've been waiting for this moment all along. I believed without a doubt that you would come…!!!!
Not for a single instant had she forgotten the promise they had made that day.
Luna could feel her heart pounding harder than it ever had before.
Yes.
She needed him. She needed him as a strategist — that was true. She needed to see him because of their promise, and because she owed him a debt of gratitude — that was also true.
But… only now did she feel she truly understood.
She needed Swen simply as a human being. As one person to another.
The first person who had ever recognized the potential that everyone else had dismissed and mocked. The one who had looked at a pitifully weak, insignificant lord of a minor state and told her she could unify the entire continent. The man who had always performed miracles beyond the power of words to describe — Luna needed him as a person, as a woman.
When they met again, the first thing she would say was thank you for waiting. And then, I'm sorry for making you wait.
Thank you for surviving. Thank you for coming back to me… Even if she spoke for days on end, she would never fully convey everything in her heart.
But that was all right.
They had found each other. Being at each other's side meant they could keep talking for as long as they needed.
Even then, Luna had never once considered the possibility that the man seeking to enter her service might be anyone other than Swen.
But—
"This is the man, my lord."
"Wh…?"
The soldier had brought a white-haired man. That much was true.
But that was where the resemblance ended. Beyond the white hair, he shared nothing with Swen.
A man who looked, by any measure, well advanced in years — closer in age to Kane than to herself — knelt before Luna and looked up at her.
"It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Lady Lunarien."
"…?"
"I am Zinor Nighthart. In days long past, I once served as Prime Minister of the Empire. If you would permit it… might this old man enter your service?"
—And the situation began to unfold in a direction Luna had never anticipated.