I Can See Right Through Your Actions
"Clean up the Asius Army? All of a sudden?"
"That is correct."
I closed my eyes. Then, slowly arranging across my face the carefully practiced expression of a strategist who looked exceedingly profound, I spoke.
"Ever since our schemes involving both the Allepel Army and the Charam Army fell through, the atmosphere within the Asius Army has grown unstable. There appear to be subordinate generals who have begun to question the leadership of Baranga Yuuri Asius. With the entire force in disarray, Yuuri seems intent on finally settling the weaker nations to her rear — a plan to recover from her recent failures."
"Is that so? And how exactly do you know that?"
"I sent intelligence on the matter not long ago."
Of course, every word of it was a lie. And yet I could feel my track record — every absurd deduction of mine having turned out true — shaking her resolve with considerable force.
"This is precisely the moment. Construct a small fortress as close to Valharat Castle as possible — one that can be raised with maximum speed — and use it as a forward base before advancing. You must build the fortress. A site right beside the mountain range would serve well. The Asius Army has yet to finish dealing with the Charam and Allepel forces; the opportunity is now. As for troops… the forces currently stationed in the east should be more than sufficient."
"Why a fortress?"
"Because only by building a fortress there will favorable fortune gather to our army."
She listened to my nonsense with remarkable seriousness, then rested her chin on her hand and sank into thought.
Roughly forty thousand. A little thin for taking Valharat Castle… but she would find it difficult to dismiss my words outright now. Still, I had not ruled out the possibility that she might refuse.
In the days since joining the Brans Army and advising her, I had learned one thing with vivid clarity: Lin fundamentally trusted no one. So even coming from me, a claim as fanciful as "favorable fortune will gather to our army" would not be easy for her to swallow.
Yes. What I intended to say was not finished yet. Valharat Castle was nothing more than a decoy — bait to conceal my true demand.
Time to cast the line. The kind of bait she would be certain to take.
"As for the vanguard… yes. General Chel would be suitable."
"Chel? The one in the south?"
"Correct. Alternatively, it might be wise to give General Kalintz — currently under disciplinary confinement — another chance. The momentum is entirely on our side, after all."
"Pulling Chel away would be awkward, and Kalintz is thoroughly unreliable. Anyone else?"
Right now. I rolled the bait on my tongue and spat it out.
"Frankly, I don't think it much matters who comes… so long as it isn't General Airen."
"…Hmm?"
Lin caught the name that had left Swen's mouth with perfect clarity.
So long as it isn't Airen?
She tilted her head, a look of puzzlement on her face.
"Airen? Why her?"
"Ah… well."
At her question, a faint sheen of cold sweat appeared on Swen's brow, and he spoke as though he scarcely knew what to do with himself.
"I don't fully understand it myself, but… I sense an ill omen."
"An ill omen?"
"Yes. I've never mentioned this before, but I often attempt to commune with the heavens. In moments when one must pray to the sky — as before — daily communication is essential if one is to respond at the proper time and place."
Lin understood that at once. He really did, whenever he had no duties, go off to some strange cave and meditate with soldiers standing watch in front of him. As his sovereign she could have dragged him out by force if she wished, but it hadn't seemed particularly dangerous, so she had simply left him alone.
So inside that cave, he's communing with the heavens or whatever.
It was complete nonsense. And yet, because he was the one saying it, it somehow felt entirely plausible. She had come to acknowledge his abilities, at least. She still had no intention of trusting him unconditionally — but the way he laughed off even insults, so obsessively protective of his own advancement, had begun to loosen her wariness. Perhaps he wasn't quite the giant she had feared.
Having said that, Swen made an exaggerated gesture, closed his eyes, and turned his face toward the sky.
"Like this… I speak to the heavens with my whole heart. What must we do from here? What is the most efficient path we can choose?"
"…Is that so?"
Of course it was pure drivel. Or it would have been — if the speaker had not been Swen, the man who had called down a meteor from the heavens. He had worked genuine miracles. He read the international situation with uncanny precision and kept saying nothing but the right things. That record wrapped this madman's nonsense in a veneer of absolute credibility.
"For this operation, it isn't as though I failed to consider General Airen, our specialist in siege warfare… but for some reason, her compatibility with this particular campaign is extraordinarily poor. It is far too dangerous. In other words…"
Swen slowly opened his eyes and spoke in a voice that seemed to tremble slightly. To any observer, he looked like a frail man afraid of something.
"I believe General Airen's life will be placed in peril."
"…!!!"
"Therefore, I would recommend employing someone other than General Airen. She is a pillar of our army. Sending her does not mean we would fail to achieve victory — but staking her life on a matter that another general could handle just as well is simply inefficient."
"…I see."
Having said that, Lin immediately sank into thought.
A renewed invasion of the Asius Army. Swen claimed to have personally sent intelligence, but she had not heard it with her own ears, and the uncertainty was real. No matter that he had shown genuine miracles, no matter that every word from his mouth somehow proved correct — if she moved her soldiers again and took losses, the situation could become truly dangerous. The surplus troops beyond those needed to hold the borders had already been squandered by Kalintz. Forced conscription would only erode public support.
Ordinarily she would have deliberated more carefully. But—
Airen's life… could be in danger?
That single premise was enough to twist the circuitry of Lin's thinking with absurd ease.
The Swen she had observed thus far — for all that his hunger for advancement was so extreme he could smile through the most humiliating remarks — was, in the end, an extraordinarily capable strategist. His counsel was always right. At first she had thought it bordered on the supernatural, but his more recent advice had come with its own grounds as well. Yes, he was making the preposterous claim of "communing with the heavens"… but he had already proven the results. He was a man who could communicate with something vast.
Rumors of him being a mage were circulating, but as far as she was concerned, magic did not exist in this world — and the "mages" she had learned of from ancient texts never performed rituals or offerings to commune with the heavens.
Which meant…
She could eliminate Airen… with no risk at all?
Honestly, she hated Airen. From the moment they first met — the daughter of a bodyguard knight — she had never liked her. There was no particular reason. Looking back, the absence of a reason was the truth of it. At first she had thought it was because Airen outshone her in every respect, but in the end she was the sovereign and Airen merely a subject.
But to simply seize Airen and execute her because she disliked her? She could invent a suitable pretext if she wanted, but the risk was considerable. If word spread that she was a tyrant like Serpina, any number of things would become difficult going forward. Were she sitting atop an overwhelmingly powerful force the way Serpina was, it might be different — but the current Brans Army was nowhere near that level.
She was cunning, but she was not stupid. If Airen was to be disposed of, the battlefield was the place. Dying in combat made for the most natural picture. Honestly, hadn't she later come to regard her previous decision — leaving Airen to hold a fortress — as a serious misjudgment? Anyone could see she had been sent out to die. Fortunately Swen had somehow held the line, so the intent never became obvious.
And now… one of her subordinate officers — the one who seemed to say nothing but the truth — was telling her that Airen's life might be in danger.
Lin glanced around. Parfalle was not present. Only two soldiers on guard duty had overheard the conversation between her and Swen. That was enough. She could clean Airen up without a whisper of rumor.
As for Swen himself, he was more of a petty climber than she had expected. Give him what he wanted and she was confident she could steer him however she pleased.
She thought: at last, a real opportunity had arrived. The chance to clean out her true thorn in the side — in a rather different sense of the word!
And if his words were correct, the outcome of the battle might mean reclaiming the castle and Airen's death at the same time. Of course she might not die… but as long as Swen was at her side, further "communions with the heavens" would likely turn up other opportunities.
Ordinarily she would have thought more carefully… but before bait this delicious, she was spinning her happy little fantasies as quickly as any ordinary person.
"…All right, Swen. Since the opinion is yours and no one else's, I'll review it favorably. The final details may end up a little different, of course — but that won't be a problem, will it?"
I watched Lin as she sank into thought at my words.
Think. Think again. Think it over as many times as you like and decide for yourself — how best to make use of my counsel.
Please. Think and think again. The chance to exploit my advice has just fallen into your lap, hasn't it?
Valharat Castle doesn't really matter, does it? That isn't what you want. You want to kill Airen Juliette, don't you? You want to eliminate her without any risk at all?
Play the generous sovereign. Before long you'll summon her with a benevolent smile and announce that you're giving her an opportunity. You'll order her to build a small fortress in the front yard of Valharat Castle and use it as a base for the assault. You'll have to follow my advice to the letter — if even one piece is out of place, the fate I've so carefully marked out might twist.
And at the end, you'll smile and tell her you look forward to her distinguished service. In the end, you'll build the fortress and hand her full authority.
You'll do exactly that, Lin Brans.
I can see right through your actions…!!
"…All right, Swen. Since the opinion is yours and no one else's, I'll review it favorably. The final details may end up a little different, of course — but that won't be a problem, will it?"
Got her!
With absolute certainty, I bowed at the waist and addressed her.
"Understood. However, if the timing slips any further, everything may come undone once more. I urge you to move as quickly as possible."
"Fine. And if this truly wins us Valharat Castle… I'll appoint you the new State Tactician of our army."
"…!!!"
I arranged the most astonished expression I could manage on my face, then spoke in a voice that trembled just slightly.
"I-if you would do that for me… I swear I will continue to serve Lady Lin with the utmost loyalty."
"Mm. But don't get your hopes up too high. Replacing a State Tactician isn't as simple as it sounds."
I knew that much already. Those words were her way of keeping me on the hook. In her eyes, I was a man so obsessed with advancement that I would smile through even the most humiliating insults.
And for that very reason, I felt a surge of gratitude toward her.
Thank you, my lord. Thank you for remaining underhanded to the very end. Thank you for moving exactly as I planned.
"Then I shall take my leave."
"Go on. You've worked hard. Starting tomorrow, you're free to rest until I assign you a new task."
"I shall await the day you summon me."
I walked slowly out of the royal castle. Of course, I had no intention of seeing her again. This had been our final private audience.
Well then. Time for me to make my own preparations.
I hurried home.