Transferring Allegiance to the Asius Army (1)
Seizing the fortress went far faster than I had expected.
It seemed Epinel would be the one to manage it from here on out. That was probably why she had come this far in the first place. With the Asius Army's finest general planted on the front line, the Brans Army must have felt as though a bolt of lightning had struck them out of a clear sky.
It couldn't be helped. Having earned their enmity, we had no choice but to keep shaking the Brans Army. Given Lynn's temperament, she was never going to quietly accept our resignation—and once we joined another force, she would harbor a grudge no matter the form it took. If that was the case, bringing soldiers with us was by far the better call. I also wanted to pay them back for what they had done to Irene.
Besides, wresting control of the central region from the Brans Army and restoring the balance was critically important to me personally. When the Lunarien Army eventually rose, facing two nations held in a reasonable equilibrium would be far easier than contending with one colossal power.
And so, after she secured our side's fortress, Irene and I followed our new lord toward Valharat Castle.
Along the road to Valharat, I sank into thought.
Seems the only thing I've gotten better at is lying.
Promising I would never let her regret this decision… When Irene and I would leave the Asius Army someday regardless. Of course, unlike our exit from the Brans Army, we would most likely resign quietly without taking soldiers with us—but living through it, there was no telling how circumstances might shift.
And then there was the other lie.
"Is that so? Then, conversely, you believe I am the one destined to become the unifying sovereign?"
Can Baranga Yuuri Asius become the unifying sovereign who unites the continent?
[No.]
Even with that prediction in hand, I had brazenly answered her on the spot. Well—why she was fated never to become the unifying sovereign was something I would learn soon enough by living here.
I was lost in those idle thoughts when—
"Um… Swen."
"Yes?"
Irene caught hold of my sleeve.
"That is… what… what sort of situation was that…?"
"What do you mean?"
"That… the last thing you said in front of Lady Yuuri… Why did you suddenly bring that up?"
Ah. I knew at once what she meant.
"Lady Yuuri seems to have more of a playful streak than I expected."
I said it, and the earlier scene rose again in my mind. Our new lord was apparently not nearly as solemn a person as I had imagined. The way her eyes had lit up with rapt fascination at the idea of Irene and me fleeing together had belonged less to a sovereign than to a girl brimming with girlish curiosity.
"I think our lord believes I abandoned everything to run away with you, Lady Irene—some kind of lovers' elopement."
"Wha—!"
Irene's eyes went wide, the whites showing all around, and her face flushed a deep red.
"Well, if that's what she thinks, there's no harm in playing along a little. Thanks to it, she accepted our surrender without any trouble."
She let out a short sigh, then finally recovered her composure.
"…I… I see… So you were matching her story…"
"Well, it wasn't entirely for show. I do want to protect you, Lady Irene. I told you that night, didn't I?"
Irene looked at me again, startled once more—then, still flushed, she smiled and nodded.
"…Mm."
For a moment I simply stared, captivated by that smile.
She truly was a lovely woman. Her face was strikingly beautiful, and her figure was full enough to seize any man's attention at a glance. Judging by looks alone, selling off an entire country for her would not have felt like a loss.
But I… had no intention of calling her merely "beautiful."
As I said—she was lovely. That was the decisive difference between her and Yuuri, who was beautiful and nothing more.
Now that we had come to a new nation, I hoped Irene might recover her self-worth as well. Under the Brans Army she had spent day after day performing brilliantly only to go unrecognized, her confidence thoroughly crushed.
"It doesn't have to be now. When everything is over… please tell me. I'll be waiting."
…When everything is over, huh.
I hadn't planned on waiting that long.
Turning her words over in my mind, I set my feet toward Valharat Castle.
Valharat Castle carried an atmosphere altogether different from Anel Castle or Kelstein Castle.
For one thing, people's clothing was subtly distinct. It was clearly different from Zeiland Castle, where I had first settled, from Anel Castle, and from Kelstein Castle on the road north. As for the mood among the people of the domain… if I had to place it somewhere, it leaned closer to Zeiland's faintly tense air than to Anel's easy calm—and yet a certain peacefulness still came through.
The walls rose remarkably high, and well-trained soldiers moved through the interior, diligently maintaining public order.
In short: a place where the tension of war still existed, yet every last resident could clearly sense that they were safe.
After sending all the soldiers back, Yuuri approached us.
"You've both worked hard coming all this way. I'll say it again—thank you for becoming part of my family. Defecting to a minor power couldn't have been an easy decision."
Irene bowed her head.
"Not at all, my lord. It is I who should thank you for taking us in."
"Thank you."
Hearing our greetings, she nodded, then glanced up at the sky. Night had already fallen, and the heavens were thick with stars.
"It's late, so there's no need to come to the royal castle for anything today. All the necessary rites have already been performed. Our army's next regular council is in three weeks. I'll summon you if something comes up, but if nothing does, you won't need to take on any special duties until then."
Three weeks. More free time than I had expected. If the situation had been urgent, she would have issued orders at once—so the internal administration must have been solid enough that she didn't need to.
In the spare time, it would be wise to walk Valharat Castle and get a feel for the geography.
"Understood."
"Right. More importantly—you'll need a place to live, won't you?"
Yuuri pressed a finger to her lips and made a thoughtful little sound.
"Let's see… houses that are empty right now… There's a place we finished building not long ago… Yes, that should do. Irene?"
"Yes. Please go on."
"The road running southeast from the plaza is Shaman Street. Number Nine, Shaman Street. You can stay there. It's a newly built house, so it should be clean enough—though there will probably be some dust."
"That is perfectly fine. I will handle the rest myself. Merely providing us a place to live is more than enough to be grateful for."
"Is that so? Then I'm glad."
Yuuri smiled.
"I'll be going, then. You both did well today. If nothing comes up, I'll see you at the next council."
At that moment, I called after her as she turned to leave.
"Ah… my lord."
"Hm?"
"Where should I go?"
Irene was headed to Number Nine on Shaman Street. So where was I supposed to go? For all her talk of family, I hadn't expected her to treat the two of us differently—
But Yuuri answered in a tone that suggested the question itself was strange.
"Hm? I told you. Number Nine, Shaman Street. Just go there."
"…So that is where I am to go as well?"
"?"
The conversation felt misaligned—and in that instant, I realized something.
"That is… could it be—"
"Hehehe."
Yuuri covered her mouth and laughed again. To someone who didn't know better, it might have looked elegant and refined… but that was unmistakably the laugh of a girl who loved a good prank.
"The two of you will live together, of course."
"…!!!"
"No… that is—"
Irene tried to say something in her fluster, but Yuuri cut her off without the slightest intention of listening.
"I'm not that dense. It's the perfect size for two people, so you'll live there from now on. Understood?"
"…"
Well. Come to think of it, Irene and I had lived together before, hadn't we?
I nodded.
"Understood."
"Good. I'll be looking forward to happy news. Well then."
After Yuuri left, Irene and I stood there in silence for a long while.
It was strange. Only moments ago I had been able to stay calm by thinking things like, We lived together before, didn't we? So why… did my face feel this hot?
And the Irene standing beside me seemed no different. Her face was thoroughly flushed… and she only fidgeted, glancing at me for cues.
It was a little awkward, but as I had just thought, this was not our first time living together. Dragging things out with unnecessary words would only make the atmosphere stranger.
"Shall we go, Lady Irene?"
"Mm?! Ah… y-yes. R-right."
And so Irene and I set off toward what would become our new home.
Arriving at our new nest, we lit a lantern.
It was a clean, fine house that clearly showed it had been newly built. Larger than the place we had in East Anel, with a kitchen that looked a touch more refined, and better facilities overall. And most decisively… the bed was large. Easily big enough to be a double.
I wasn't sure why the bed was registering so strongly in my awareness.
"We're… here."
Irene set down her things lightly, then fell silent again.
I would need to take the lead here.
"Shall we start with cleaning? There seems to be a bit of dust."
"Cleaning…"
The day had grown dark, but the night was not yet deep. People were still walking the streets. Not that any of that particularly mattered. Honestly, I just wanted to escape this awkward atmosphere as quickly as possible.
"Let's do that. We'll clean first. Yes."
Irene seemed to want to move her body as well, and agreed. And so we cleaned the house we would be living in from now on.
Cleaning certainly made the time pass. Working until every corner of the house was spotless scattered some of the idle thoughts, too.
When the cleaning was finished, silence welcomed us once more.
"Right. Next is a bath. We've worked up a sweat, and it was a long journey."
"Mm. A good idea."
We took turns bathing. Washing clean after the cleaning left both body and mind feeling genuinely refreshed.
And now… there was truly nothing left to do. Night had deepened as well.
Silence settled over us again.
This time… Irene spoke first.
"Swen."
"Yes?"
Her face was thoroughly red as she looked at me, and in a faintly trembling voice… those small lips moved.
"…Shall we sleep together?"