If You Trust Me (2)
"Of course, as you say, it is certainly a dangerous method."
If a good opportunity presented itself, I could not afford to let it pass. That was how I survived—limited as I was to nothing more than prediction.
"But it will be fine. The odds that I will not die are extremely high."
Even if a future in which I survived had been fixed at one hundred percent, I deliberately chose the word odds instead of flaunting certainty. The less I seemed prepared to betray them, the more it would land with Kane.
"What Lin is after is me myself. She will almost certainly keep me alive. But without me, Lin will have failed to obtain what she wants, and she will use her overwhelming forces to hunt every last one of you down. You will not last long. And if Lady Lunarien were ever to fall into Lin's hands, she would die without question. Lin has a habit of never forgiving anyone who once contested the world with her—no matter how minor a sovereign they might be."
I looked Kane straight in the eyes as I spoke. I could feel the momentum of the conversation shift to me.
"As you said, Kane, raising a new banner is an extraordinarily difficult thing. It could take years. But death is the end. Everything ends. As long as we live, however, we can do anything. Even if it takes time—so long as breath continues. As long as Lady Luna, the very spirit of our army, still lives, we can accomplish anything. In this moment, when the Lunarien Army stands on the brink of extinction, if we are to keep the lamp from going out, you must flee. Now."
"……"
Kane listened, then let out a short breath. A faint smile touched his lips.
"You really are staking your life on this."
Well, I'm staking it on a brain with Intelligence 100, so it's a fairly safe asset, but still.
"Very well. I will trust you."
"You will not regret it."
A way to save both Lunarien and Kane, to keep Tifa alive, and to preserve both mercenary companies intact: remaining alone in the emptied castle and surrendering to Lin Brans. This was, without question, the best path.
I turned to the two captains.
"Lord Gustav, Lord Aaron—take your companies and leave the central regions for a time. When the Lunarien Army reappears, rejoin us then."
"……Understood."
"Well, it isn't a difficult request, but……"
"And as I said a moment ago, we will place half of the Lunarien Army's remaining troops under each of your companies. Take them all with you."
Both captains looked startled.
"Lord Swen…… do you truly mean that?"
"I do."
"……"
Gustav nodded slowly and spoke.
"We are mercenaries. We belong to no nation; we take contracts and do the work. And so long as the Lunarien Army to which we swore loyalty no longer exists on this continent, we may use those troops in the service of other powers."
"That is fine. The Lunarien Army will reappear on the stage of history. Help us then."
"……Remarkable confidence. You are a strange man, Lord Swen."
Aaron nodded at Gustav's words.
"Understood. We will leave this place for a while. The soldiers will receive the same treatment as our existing mercenaries."
"I am grateful for that."
I looked at Tifa and Kane.
"Lady Tifa, assist Lord Gustav in attaching the troops to the Raven Mercenary Group. Kane, assist Lord Aaron with the Chilein Mercenary Group. Enemy forces will be upon us soon—move as quickly as you can."
"Understood."
"……Damn it, is this really the only way?!"
And so the other four left the chamber. Alone in the royal castle, I gave my final instructions to Luna as well.
"My lord. Gather as many troops as you can without hindering the escape, and prepare to flee. Take Lady Tifa and Kane with you, and plan for the days ahead. If you do, a new opportunity will come to our army."
"………"
Luna could not answer. Her head was bowed.
"My lord?"
Only when I called her a second time did she lift her face—fragile as glass that might shatter at a touch—and speak in a voice full of quiet anguish.
"……Lord Swen."
"Please speak."
"Must you…… stake your life? Can you not come with us?"
"……"
If going with them had been the correct decision, I would have gone. But the mind of Intelligence 100 was adamant: I must leave the Lunarien Army. For the sake of the future, I could not remain with them in this moment.
"I must. The objective of Lin Brans's army is not the fall of Zeiland Castle, nor the destruction of the Lunarien Army. It is me."
"Why……?"
"As I said, it seems she wishes to bring me into the Brans Army as a subordinate."
Luna's voice trembled so badly she could barely force the words out.
"But…… I—I……"
She slowly raised a shaking hand and clutched the sleeve of my coat. Only then did I realize she was crying.
"I…… cannot leave you behind, Lord Swen. I cannot abandon you alone in the jaws of danger and run away by myself."
"It is not dangerous. I will survive. And I will return to your side. Without fail."
"But—but…… even so, even for the sake of the future, I cannot make you a sacrificial lamb……!"
In that moment, something rose hot in my chest. Had I grown fond of this woman in the time we had spent together?
I set my hand firmly on the shoulder of the girl still gripping my sleeve. The sharp sound of the contact filled the empty castle.
And I raised my voice.
"Lunarien Iniang!!!"
"……!!!"
She flinched and looked up at my face. Her ruby eyes trembled like those of a lost puppy.
"……Did you not say you would bring peace to the world? That you yourself—not anyone else—would unify the continent? That is what you told me the day you recommended me."
"Th-that……"
"I also remember you saying you would place absolute trust in me. Was that a lie?"
"……N-no. I just……"
I spoke to her with complete sincerity.
"I am not trying to become a sacrificial lamb. As your vassal, I have simply chosen the best move available. I will survive. And we will meet again. Without fail."
Then, slowly meeting her eyes, I spoke the promise that would one day have to be fulfilled.
"!!!"
I saw her pupils contract in shock. The words were not a lie. This decision would only hasten her unification of the continent.
"So…… for the sake of the future, flee. Now. I will deal with the Brans Army myself."
"……Hic."
Drop by drop, tears began to fall from her eyes again. Then, without a word, she came into my arms. I held her naturally, soothing her as gently as I could so that the tears would stop and composure return.
"It will be all right, Lady Luna. Trust me. I will come for you again. I swear it."
"……All right."
She slowly drew back, wiped her tears, and opened her trembling lips.
"……You must come back. You must."
"I promise. I will return to your side. Without fail."
That, too, was no lie. So long as the sovereign destined to unify the continent was Lunarien, standing at her side was the correct answer.
"……Then."
As she turned and began to run, I called after her once more.
"My lord! Stay well! And if an opportunity comes, never let it slip! I will return to your side—without fail!"
She paused, looked back at my face for a moment, then turned again and fled the castle at speed.
……
Looking back, Luna might have been the only lord who would trust me on the strength of a single sentence: Trust me. No further explanation—just those words. The thought came to me only now.
Even if I had said, If I am wrong, take my head, a lord who answered, I am not sure your head is worth that much, would have ended the matter right there. No matter how minor the nation, no matter how scarce its talent—trust was something only a sovereign could freely decide.
The reason I had been able to push my opinions so relentlessly was that she, as lord, had trusted me without condition. Even the unerring counsel of a man with Intelligence 100 meant nothing if the sovereign refused to listen.
When I came back to myself, something like tears had gathered at the corners of my eyes. I scrubbed them away roughly with my sleeve.
This is no time to stand here sniffling and wallowing in sentiment.
I still had work to do. I set my feet in motion to carry out my final duty as strategist of the Lunarien Army.
Luna burst from the castle and raced toward the barracks where the soldiers were gathering. Even as she ran, the tears would not stop.
Lord Swen…… Lord Swen.
Swen had spoken with certainty—that Lin Brans would spare him. But Luna had heard the other word. In that earnest exchange with Kane, he had said the odds of survival were high.
A man who always advanced his opinions with absolute conviction had, for the first time, used that ambiguous phrase: the odds are high. High odds were not one hundred percent. They left room for the slim possibility that he would die after all.
Which meant that right now, Swen was…… essentially sacrificing himself for the Lunarien Army, even though he might not survive.
I'm sorry, Lord Swen. Because I…… because I am a powerless lord. Because I am such a worthless leader that I can do nothing for you in a situation like this……
The only person who had ever come to this minor nation after she had wandered the continent making recruitment offers that no one accepted. The man who had not opposed her using sudden gold to relieve the people of her domain, but had instead supported her will; who had understood when she chose not to conscript to the absolute maximum out of consideration for her people.
If only she had steeled her heart a little more, the way a true leader should. If she had poured every coin into the city's development and raised as many soldiers as possible…… then perhaps she would not have had to sacrifice Swen.
Of course she knew, even so, that nothing would have changed. The enemy numbered more than eighty thousand. From the moment a minor power had caught Lin's eye, its destruction had been inevitable.
……Lord Swen……
She whispered his name again and again, and then she understood. Standing here regretting that she had not been ruthless enough in the past, murmuring apologies he would never hear, solved nothing.
If she truly cared for the man who was sacrificing everything for their army, then she had to place absolute faith in his words: that this was their best path.
Swen had said that if she trusted him, he would place the world in her hands. He had also said not to let any opportunity slip—and that if she did not, he would survive and return to her side.
……I will trust you. I will trust you, Lord Swen, and I will survive somehow. Even if the decisions become cold, when opportunity comes I will never let it go. Everything that happened today, and every word you spoke to me…… I will live without forgetting a single one of them. Lord Swen.
Luna thought: if the qualification to unify this continent existed in human form, then that form was surely the man named Swen.
So please—please, without fail…… we must meet again, Lord Swen. If you cannot come to me, then I will find you by any means necessary…… without fail……
In the heart of the leader named Lunarien Iniang—in the heart of the woman named Luna—a fragment that could never be removed sank deep and lodged itself firmly in place.