First Meeting (3)
"I would guess he is currently with Serpina's army... though I too have been living in seclusion of late, so I am not well-informed of the latest news. Given that he was essentially sold as a prisoner, the most likely possibility is that he is being detained. I can only apologize for being of no help to you, my lord."
Zinor deliberately framed it as Swen being detained by Serpina, so as not to unnecessarily provoke Luna's temper.
He could not be certain, but for some reason he felt that was what he ought to say in front of her.
Luna, who had no way of knowing his intentions, slowly nodded and composed her thoughts.
"No. That alone... is enough."
Just knowing where Swen currently was had been enough.
I see.
So Swen is currently... detained by Serpina's army.
In that case, the story Violet had told her might not have been mere baseless rumor after all.
She still did not know what purpose that woman had in exchanging a hostage for Swen.
But wasn't it obvious what a tyrant would do?
A momentary amusement, a vile and filthy hobby—or perhaps she had simply coveted Swen's abilities and acted of her own accord.
Whatever the case, just knowing that he was alive, no matter his circumstances, was satisfying enough.
At that point, another question rose to the surface.
Why had Swen been with the Asius army?
"Um... would it be all right if I asked a few more questions?"
"Of course, my lord."
"Why did Swen... go to the Asius army? I had assumed he would still be with the Brans army..."
Zinor stroked his beard for a moment.
"I do not know the full circumstances..."
"That's all right. As I said, please just tell me what you know."
"He betrayed the Brans army and defected to ours."
"...What? Betrayal?"
"That is correct."
Swen betrayed them?
Why?
No—betrayal from Swen's perspective would be different in nature from her own betrayal of Karelia.
There was no way an arrogant woman like Lin would have treated Swen seriously, and the very fact that Swen had been with the Brans army in the first place was essentially the same as them forcibly taking him from her side.
But even so, had there been a reason for him to go so far as to betray them and cross over to the Asius army?
Strangely.
All too strangely, she was desperately curious about the reason Swen had betrayed them.
Was this a sovereign's intuition, or—
"Do you... happen to know the reason?"
—a woman's intuition?
"The reason... I do not know the reason Lord Swen himself chose to betray them. After all, he did not defect alone. To put it more accurately, it would be better to say he followed after someone who had already betrayed them."
"Pardon? Followed after...?"
"There was a female knight who defected with him."
"...What?"
At the words "female knight," Luna's eyes began to grow cold once more.
"If I had to guess, I would say he followed after her. The two of them seemed to share a rather special relationship."
"...???"
Huh?
A special relationship?
Special enough that they even betrayed together?
The reason he left the Brans army, even going so far as to betray them to join the Asius army... was that?
Luna's fingertips grew cold.
Of course, it was not a story her mind found difficult to accept.
It was Swen who had done it, so there must have been a reason, and she was well aware that she had no right to say anything about whatever path he took after going over to the Brans army.
Moreover, the very fact that he had betrayed the Brans army was practically a declaration that he would one day return to her, was it not?
Whoever he met in the process was not important.
After all, the relationship between Swen and herself was that of sovereign and subject, was it not?
So if she thought about it rationally, it should not have been such a shocking story...
But why.
Why... does my heart sink like this?
This was a different emotion from when she learned that Yuuri had sold Swen away.
If the previous emotion had been pure rage, what she felt now was... not so much anger as something deeper, more intimate.
Luna herself did not realize what that emotion was—but if anyone knew what she was focusing on most, they would have no difficulty identifying it as a thoroughly human feeling.
In that moment, a woman's intuition began sending her signals more fiercely than ever before.
"Um... what is the name of that female knight?"
"She is a renowned general. You must know of Airen Juliette, known as a specialist in siege warfare, my lord?"
"!!!!!!"
Airen Juliette.
Of course.
Of course she knew that name.
At the very moment when Swen had gone to negotiate with Lin, staking the fate of Zeiland Castle—the vanguard of the Brans army that had invaded their forces had been none other than Airen.
And yet.
The female knight who seemed to be regarded so specially by Swen.
The one he had wanted to follow even to the point of betrayal—why did it have to be Airen, who had attacked their army?
There were things she could not understand from start to finish, but what bothered her most was something else entirely.
Why... did it have to be a woman?
Why, of all things?
In this moment, asserting itself more strongly than ever was her identity as a woman.
And likewise.
Zinor, who had been sitting across from her, watching her attitude change moment by moment as he told her the story, could by this point conclude with near absolute certainty.
Her expression shifting every time Swen's name came up, and her current demeanor.
Putting it all together, there was only one conclusion.
This person called Luna... held Swen dear.
More than a sovereign cherishing a subject.
That was why she was more agitated than necessary by news of him, and why she could not hide her emotions even in front of someone she was meeting for the first time.
...It seems this is not the time to explain things as they are.
He did not know what had happened between them in the past, but there was no need to go stirring up trouble.
Zinor cleared his throat a few times, then carefully opened his mouth.
Perhaps I should try to calm her down for now.
"However, that is all merely this old man's speculation, my lord."
"Speculation... you say?"
"Yes. The only truth is that the two of them defected together. Everything else is in the realm of speculation, so I think it best to consider that we cannot know what is true until we hear it directly from him."
That everything was merely his own speculation—that was the best Zinor could do.
In the first place, this woman... his lord kept referring to Swen as "Swen" with a particular reverence.
It felt less like a sovereign addressing a subject and more like a woman referring to her beloved husband.
He did not know the details, but stories of women jealous of their husband's other wives were not particularly surprising.
It had been the right call to bring up Airen first instead of Reika, just in case.
At first, to win her trust, he had considered casually mentioning that Swen might become his son-in-law.
But from that reaction, he could be certain. Bringing that up now would by no means be a good decision for their sovereign-subject relationship.
Besides, it was only a possibility, nothing confirmed, so there was nothing strange about not mentioning it.
There was no need to provoke her here, so there was no need to say any more about that female knight... about Airen.
Especially things like what expression Swen made when he looked at Airen... it would be best to keep that hidden for the rest of his life, if possible.
As expected of the sharp-minded Zinor, he had grasped the core of the matter quite well.
Meanwhile, Luna's ruby eyes wavered at Zinor's words.
Speculation... speculation.
Right.
If it is only speculation.
No—even if it is not speculation... it is not that important a story, is it?
Swen's words had always proven right in the end, so there was a high chance that something she did not know was hidden behind the scenes.
He must have his reasons. He must have his intentions... Thinking that way, she was finally able to settle her emotions.
Only then did Luna calm her trembling body, bow her head once more, and speak.
"Ah, I... apologize. I must have shown you a rather discomposed side of myself..."
"Not at all. As I said earlier, that is fine... but would it be all right if this old man also presumptuously asked you one question, my lord?"
"Please go ahead."
"How did you come to meet Lord Swen?"
"Swen..."
Luna lowered her head and recalled the first time she had met him.
It had taken five visits before he became her ally, and at every critical moment he had always guided their army down the optimal path with advice no one else could have conceived.
To Luna, Swen was a guide, the state strategist of their army, a reliable partner in governance, a subordinate she could trust more than anyone... and.
"...Swen is the savior of my life."
"The savior of your life?"
"Yes. You may not know this, but... I too was once one of the lords leading a minor power in the western continent. If Swen had not been there... I likely would have lost my life at the hands of Lin Brans."
Zinor nodded silently.
And only then did he think he understood why Swen had sent him here.
In that case, Lord Swen's final destination was this place all along.
It was commonly known that the Brans army, where he first rose to prominence, was his first post of service.
But even before serving Lin, he had already been serving the woman before him—Lunarien.
Even when he was with the Asius army, and even after his person had fallen into Serpina's hands, that thought likely never changed.
Once the conversation had more or less settled.
"Then I shall take my leave first. Please summon me whenever you have orders to give."
"Understood. Thank you for choosing our army. ...And thank you for sharing your story with me today as well."
At those words, Zinor bowed at the waist, then looked straight into Luna's eyes and said,
"Not at all. I look forward to working with you from now on, my lord."
And so Zinor, by joining the newly formed Lunarien army, once more made his presence known on the continent.
The board Swen had laid across the continent began to slowly gather toward her.
