Monthly Regular Meeting / Brans Army (3)
"You mean… we should invade the north?"
For the first time, Parfalle made no effort to hide her flustered expression—as if she had just heard something she had never even imagined.
"That is correct."
At my words, the retainers who had been listening in breathless silence began to murmur among themselves. Airen, too, stared at me in open astonishment. She clearly had never expected me to go this far.
Well, of course. Even I hadn't expected myself to say something like this.
"Swen… do you even understand what you're saying right now?"
Cold sweat beaded on Parfalle's forehead. The woman who had once tried to overwhelm me with sheer presence was nowhere to be found. She was simply scrambling, caught off guard by the absurdity of the topic I had thrown out.
That was when it hit me.
Ah. I can use this, can't I?
I carefully chose the most natural phrasing I could manage and asked, almost casually,
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
"I mean, do you truly believe that sending troops north to attack Serpina's territories is the best course of action available to us?"
How thoughtful of her to hand me such a perfect model answer.
I quickly fed Parfalle's question into the system.
Is sending troops north to attack Serpina's territories the most efficient option available to us at this moment?
The question was entered. All that remained was the conclusion.
[Yes.]
Just as I thought.
I had already cut away everything that didn't fit, again and again, until only this remained—but it had still been nothing more than a personal guess based on experience, without the prediction ability to back it up. My confidence had been shaky. Now that the seal of approval from a mind with Intelligence 100 had been stamped on it, there was no more reason to hesitate.
The best move the Brans Army could make this month was to attack Serpina's northern territories.
Why? I had no idea, of course.
Whether she sensed what I was thinking or not, Parfalle spoke again, her voice sharper and faster than before, almost spitting the words.
"With our current national strength, we cannot invade a single castle in the north. Serpina's vast territories already give her a clear numerical advantage in total troops, and those troops are seasoned veterans who rapidly pacified the north and crushed the scattered rebellions that broke out afterward. Our own soldiers have gained experience through many battles as well… but given how aggressively she has pursued conquest after conquest, it is only fair to say her troops hold the edge in skill."
And she had almost certainly absorbed every mercenary company based on the northern continent as well. Parfalle didn't seem to know that part yet.
"Even if we somehow managed to sortie from Kelstein Castle, the closest target we could realistically attack would be Cherien Castle to the northeast. Roughly forty thousand troops are currently stationed there. Accounting for a siege, we would need at least seventy to eighty thousand. If we gather more forces and pull in the garrisons from the smaller castles near the northern front, that number isn't impossible… but then Kelstein Castle would inevitably be left empty. Do you really think Chorel Castle to the northwest and the fortresses around it would simply sit and watch?"
She paused, drawing a long breath. My proposal must have rattled her more than a little.
"To prevent that, we would have to pull troops from other borders. Temporary truces with the neighboring states still hold for now, but they will all expire before long. And conquering a northern castle is not something that can be finished in such a short window—not by distance, and not by troop strength. Serpina's army is no minor power."
She fixed her eyes directly on mine.
"So I cannot understand at all why you would make such a proposal, Swen. If you have grounds for it, I would like to hear them. Why did you reach that conclusion?"
Grounds, she said.
I had none.
My prediction had simply said so.
But Luna was not here. Lin Brans would never trust me blindly the way Luna had. Coldly speaking, outside of Luna herself, there was probably no one who would simply accept my wild claims on faith.
So I had to say something.
If I had had time to sit with a confirmed prediction and slowly craft a plausible story, it might have been different—but right now I simply lacked the information to explain why it would work.
What was I supposed to say?
I was still staring into her eyes, refusing to look away, when a voice cut in from behind.
"That's enough."
Lin's voice. When I came back to myself, she had already walked right up to us. Both Parfalle and I had been so focused on the debate that neither of us had noticed.
"This is dragging on too long. We'll stop here for now. Agreed?"
She was cutting the debate short?
I read her intentions without difficulty.
She doesn't want to be persuaded by me.
The new topic was so radical that any further discussion would almost certainly revolve around me. She already held me in fairly high regard, so she must have assumed I would produce some convincing stratagem. If I did, the retainers would have no choice but to be swayed—and then my words, which were really Airen's proposal, would become the monthly policy. She was trying to prevent that.
For a sovereign, it was a petty move. But given how Lin had always treated Airen, it was entirely in character.
Still—her assumption that I actually had a convincing plan was a spectacular misunderstanding. I had only just gained certainty myself; I still had no idea why it would work.
But a misunderstanding like that… from my position, I could hardly fail to exploit it.
"I…"
"If that is my lord's will, I have no objection."
I answered first, seizing the initiative. Parfalle hesitated, glancing at me, then finally nodded.
"…I have no objection either."
"Good. That's how it should be."
Lin was a sovereign with more than a little arrogance. She rarely tolerated anything that crossed her temper. One look at how she treated Airen for no better reason than personal dislike made that clear enough. Parfalle, who served her more closely than I did, would know it even better.
"All right. I'll ask all of you. Those who think Parfalle's opinion is better—raise your hands."
The crowd raised their hands as one. The numbers were barely different from before.
"Next. Those who think we should switch to Airen's proposal—raise your hands."
This time, not a single hand went up.
With the debate cut off at this point, the result was entirely expected. It didn't particularly matter to me. Whether the Brans Army made the optimal choice or not wouldn't change my life. They were the ones who would regret it, not me.
"…That settles it, Swen. No clear winner emerged from the debate, but it's fair to say Parfalle had the upper hand. You failed to persuade anyone."
I bowed my head as humbly as I could and answered in the most courteous tone I could manage.
"How could I possibly hope to defeat Lady Parfalle in debate? I am content simply to have learned from her."
"…"
The look Parfalle gave me was anything but ordinary… but in any case, I seemed to have navigated the situation well enough. All I needed was to raise Airen's favorability, after all.
With the debate concluded, I slowly returned to my place behind Airen. She watched me come back with open worry in her eyes.
You really don't need to look so concerned…
Lin raised her voice, clearing the atmosphere.
"Our army's operational directive for this month is the capture of Valharat Castle. Perform your assigned duties to the best of your ability."
"Yes, my lord!"
The retainers' voices rang through the royal castle. Lin raised a hand.
"Next is the assignment of individual roles. The duties for the castle walls have been posted—check them yourselves. That concludes the monthly meeting. Well done, everyone."
And with that—
My first monthly meeting of the Brans Army came to an end.
Once the retainers who had attended the meeting departed, the royal castle felt somewhat empty, save for the guards who remained on duty. There, Parfalle paced with a grave expression.
Swen… how does that man know everything?
She had done her best not to show it during the debate, but every word he had spoken in the early stages had been correct.
The secret proposal from the Charam Army.
Not long ago, an envoy had arrived bearing gold under the pretext of improving relations, and had casually mentioned a grand plan to her. He had said it would be difficult to speak of in front of the sovereign, and had told her first, in private. That was also when she had learned of the Aishers Army's plan to invade the Alefel Army.
And yes—after hearing Swen's words, she had found herself half-persuaded.
Why had the Aishers Army left such a weak nation unconquered for so long? "Chose not to conquer" was less natural than "could not conquer." And if that was the case, what was the reason?
Up to that point, she had genuinely been impressed by the man called Swen. She had even begun to understand why her lord Lin paid him such careful attention.
Until he said they should attack Serpina's territories.
That proposal is absurd.
Throwing out a ridiculous idea in a debate to shake the opponent was not unheard of. She still had no idea how he had seen through the secret proposal she had received—but his words struck her as little more than empty bluster.
Just then—
"Parfalle."
"Yes?"
Lin, seated on the throne, spoke.
"What do you think of Swen's opinion?"
"His opinion… you mean the proposal to attack Serpina's northern territories?"
"Yes."
Parfalle answered without a moment's hesitation.
"It is a proposal with extremely little practicality. Was that not why you yourself cut the debate short midway, my lord?"
"…Well…"
The reply was less than decisive, but Parfalle had no intention of changing her view.
"We need not concern ourselves with the north for the time being. In return for the trust you have placed in me, I, Parfalle, will place Valharat Castle firmly in your hands."
"…"
Lin did not answer. She sank into thought.
And she wondered:
Why did I cut the debate short?
Lin knew full well that the man called Swen was no ordinary person. From the beginning, he had given the impression that he somehow already knew Serpina's northern army intended to attack the Brans Army. Did that mean he had informants in the north? She could not say for certain, but perhaps he possessed some means of learning the situation and climate of the north, and spoke on that basis.
After all, without performing something close to a "miracle," that humiliating ceasefire agreement would never have been concluded.
So even a proposal that absurd… perhaps, just perhaps, it was actually feasible. Deep down, she had been thinking exactly that.
But Swen had not come forward with his own opinion. Strictly speaking, the position he was advocating was Airen's. If Swen won the debate and persuaded them all, the Brans Army would adopt Airen's proposal as its monthly directive.
She could not stand that.
Even a woman who normally made cold, rational judgments for the sake of the nation found her judgment clouded the moment Airen Juliette was involved.
Swen's prediction of her reaction had been correct.
Of course, setting aside her personal dislike of Airen—if Swen's words had been trustworthy enough, she would have changed her mind. But the notion that he could somehow "learn the situation and climate of the north by some means" was nothing more than her own baseless speculation, a fantasy. No matter that she herself had recommended him, she could not place blind faith in him without solid grounds.
Swen was not her only retainer, and the Brans Army had quite a few strategists besides its chief, Parfalle.
Even so, because the words had come from Swen—who seemed to possess an uncanny insight—she could not dismiss them entirely.
I should leave some troops in the north, just in case something happens.
She would not send the large force Airen's proposal called for—but peeling a few units off the force meant for the Aishers invasion and sending them north seemed reasonable enough.
Come to think of it, Swen was living in the same house as Airen. Neither of them had complained, so they must be getting along well enough. She had considered offering them more convenient arrangements if Airen came to apologize first, or if Swen said he was uncomfortable—but if neither of them came to her, what was she supposed to do?
…Forget it.
Lin was an extremely stubborn woman. If the two of them were satisfied, she saw no reason to change anything. That unbending nature of hers was part of what gave her charisma as a leader—but it also produced rigid decisions in the strangest places. And in that sense, her evaluation of Swen, who never came to her of his own accord, was growing more and more ambiguous.
Swen. Whether you are a man who can become mine… or a man who cannot… I think I need a little more time to find out.
No matter how capable he was, if in the end he could not become hers, then when that time came…
She twisted a lock of her hair around her finger as she thought. It was a habit of hers whenever her mind grew crowded.