Tectonic Shift (2)
The royal palace of Aingart Castle — capital of Serpina's army, and once the capital of the old empire.
"My lord. The force assigned to take Kelstein Castle, with General Irian at the vanguard, has safely departed on the date you designated."
"Mm."
A rebellion had broken out within the Brans army. Troops had been dispatched to crush the rebels who had sided with Asius — and that effort, too, had failed. Naturally, word of all this had already reached Serpina's ears.
She still had no idea what had driven events to such a state, but Serpina was not the sort of woman to let a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip through her fingers. She had gathered her soldiers at once and launched an immediate invasion of Kelstein Castle.
She had never imagined that her long-cherished ambition of advancing into the central continent would be realized in so anticlimactic a fashion… but she was a woman who moved by practical gain, not by glory. To Serpina, the process mattered far less than the result she reached.
With a look of satisfaction, she extended a hand toward the messenger delivering the report. Perhaps it was simply that her face was so beautiful — even the mere act of stretching out her arm left an impression as if a goddess from a fairy tale had stepped into the world. Anyone who beheld that dazzling golden hair and those golden eyes fierce enough to devour the very light of her locks would have no choice but to concede: this woman had been born to stand above them all.
"You have done well. There is nothing further to report, so rest until you receive your next orders."
"Yes, my lord!"
Once the messenger had withdrawn, Jena — the state strategist standing at Serpina's side — drew closer and spoke.
"If it is General Irian…"
"The son of General Kremton Al Kaski, who died last year. A young man who has only just come of age this year."
"I see. I heard he graduated at the top of his class from the Aingart Academy."
Serpina tilted her head with mild interest at Jena's words.
"Is that so? That is the first I have heard of it."
"He is held in extremely high regard by the generals fighting along every border. Even within the renowned Al Kaski family, his spear technique is said to be among the most gifted of his generation."
"Is that so."
Serpina's tone cooled slightly.
"Trifles like a famous name mean nothing in this country. This is no longer an age when one can survive on hollow talk of belonging to a great house or being a noble, the way it was under the empire. If he is truly that exceptional, let him prove it on the battlefield."
"I agree entirely with my lord's words."
Even setting Irian Al Kaski aside, Serpina's army overflowed with young talent. Their lands were relatively barren compared to the center of the continent, yet they held the entire vast northern continent — including Aingart Castle, former capital of the old empire — and the overwhelming legitimacy inherited from that empire gave Serpina's forces a talent pool that towered over every other army like heaven over earth. Legendary commanders whose names would be carved into the continent's history for generations might not have been numerous, but officers who could more than earn their keep no matter the situation or the place were more densely concentrated in Serpina's army than in any other force on the continent.
"More importantly. The report is late."
"If you mean a report… are you referring to the matter of the white-haired man?"
At Jena's words, Serpina turned her head toward her for the first time.
"Yes. Did I not say so? That I must see that man's face for myself."
"That is… I did not intend to delay telling you, but his movements have been so wildly unpredictable."
"Oh?"
Serpina arched one eyebrow with interest. The mere shift of expression was enough to flood the chamber with a beauty and dignity that could overwhelm everyone present.
"First… the intelligence regarding the rebellion within the Brans army."
"You mean the red-haired knight Irene defecting to Asius?"
"Yes. Upon investigation, she was not the only general who betrayed them at that time."
"And the fact that you are bringing this up now means…"
"Precisely."
Jena nodded as she spoke.
"The white-haired man is also said to have been a traitor who defected alongside her."
"I still have not heard his name."
"Swen, apparently. He was not a man of any particular renown until he performed something resembling magic at the fortress."
Swen…
Serpina turned the name over in her mind again and again. It was certainly a name she was hearing for the first time. And yet, the shape her lips made when she murmured it — that soft curve of the vowels — stirred a strange sense of calm within her heart. Why should simply whispering the name of a man she had never met wrap her in a feeling like this?
"At any rate, he is currently affiliated with the Asius army. Since then, he has not particularly distinguished himself."
"Is that so."
Serpina drummed her fingers against the armrest of the throne.
"What will you do?"
"…The Brans army is already finished. Now that the border line that should never have been allowed to fall has collapsed, it is only right to say they have no hope left. If we push into the center starting from Kelstein, the moment will inevitably come when our borders touch those of Asius, will it not?"
"In other words…"
"It is simple. I am merely repeating what I have always done whenever I want something."
Serpina let a leisurely smile curve her lips — so alluring it could have bewitched anyone who saw it.
"If that man is hiding within the Asius army, then I will simply crush the Asius army. Once something I desire has taken him in, I have no choice but to make them spit him out, do I not?"
"…"
Jena carefully addressed her lord.
"My lord. May I ask one question?"
"What is it?"
"Why are you so determined to meet this man called Swen? That is… is he truly a talent our army needs so desperately? I was the one who suggested he might be a mage, but since the incident at the fortress north of Kelstein, there has not been a single report of him using similar magic."
At first, Jena had believed that if Swen could be brought over, he absolutely must be. After all, there was a chance he was the mage who had finally appeared on the continent. But since that day, he had not so much as lifted a pebble, let alone performed any comparable miracle, and had been living rather quietly. Critically, the Brans army's recent defeat at the hands of Asius had had nothing whatsoever to do with any miracle of his. On top of that, he was a traitor who had already betrayed his own lord once. Whatever his reasons, her honest assessment was that his value as a subordinate general was considerably diminished.
"…"
Serpina easily guessed why Jena had asked such a question. But she did not offer a particular answer. Or rather — more precisely — she could not.
The conviction that she must meet the white-haired man was, in truth, an intensely personal desire that had little to do with recruiting talent. At first she had merely thought, He might be the man I have faced so many times in my dreams. But once she learned that a young man with white hair actually existed, she had begun, at some point, to feel a fundamental pull toward him that seemed to transcend everything. It was the first time in her life she had ever felt this way.
"…I do not know myself. It may sound absurd, but that is the truth."
"I see."
Jena did not press her lord any further.
"It seems the noisy days will continue for a while yet."
"I exist only to strive for the day when Lady Serpina reunifies the continent as swiftly as possible and restores the history of the great Aingard Empire."
"…"
Serpina gave no particular reply to Jena's words, so full of apparent loyalty. And so, when Jena briefly left to attend to her duties and Serpina was left alone in the audience chamber, she sat upon the throne and turned Jena's words over in her mind.
The great Aingard Empire.
The phrase left a bitter taste she could not ignore. Everything that damned "great Aingard Empire" had swallowed up until now flickered through her mind.
…Kh.
For a moment the past threatened to surface, but she swiftly wiped it from her thoughts. Memories of the past vanished into fog as if blacked out with ink, sealed deep within her heart. She was no longer permitted the luxury of dwelling on old thoughts. All that was permitted to her was to become a perfect iron woman and unify the continent.
From the moment [that incident] had befallen her, she had lived solely for the reconstruction of the continent. She had long since discarded any impulse to curse her bloodline or resent her fate.
Perhaps… this feeling of wanting to meet the man called Swen was a small deviation for someone who lived only for the empire. She simply wanted to confirm his face as soon as possible — to confirm quickly that he was not the person from her dreams. Then she would no longer have to wrestle with the old memories that kept rising unbidden.
Swen… if you truly are the man from my dreams…
Just as the train of thought threatened to lengthen again, Serpina swiftly pushed forward her identity as "Serpina." Right now, she had to be Serpina von Aingart.
Whatever the case, once she met him even once, it would be over. Thinking that, she simply continued to wait for something that would not come.
Just as I had expected, Serpina's army began advancing on Kelstein Castle once again.
If we threw everything we had into holding them off, we could probably manage it — but that very moment would be the instant our Asius army got its tail caught. The Brans army, which had once flaunted its overwhelming influence across the central continent, had collapsed with almost absurd speed.
And a few days later, word arrived that the Alefell army had vanished from the continent and been absorbed into Asius territory. Their lord, Alefell, had apparently met his end on the executioner's block. Already driven to the brink of destruction before the withdrawal, they had been occupied without much difficulty.
The Charam army still remained, but Yuuri's true objective was not a force she could topple whenever she pleased — it was Lacline Castle of the Brans army — so she had not bothered to send an additional expedition. Once she took Lacline Castle as well, she would become a feudal lord capable of exercising a certain degree of real influence. Only now was the Asius army beginning to expand its domain and assert its presence on the continent.
Irene and I returned to our duties at Valharat Castle after that day. The occupation forces were led by the Three Elites of Asius, with Epinel at their head, while Irene seemed to be being used as a capital defense general remaining in the capital to train the troops. As for me, I had been asked by Zinor and Yuuri to help with Reika's training.
Yuuri was the type who repeatedly and consistently elevated the founding generals who had helped her. One might have expected complaints about the way merit led to key posts, but neither Irene nor I felt any dissatisfaction — if anything, we were thoroughly content with this treatment. What pleased me most was that there was no need to send her into dangerous battlefields. She was going to fight plenty under the Lunarien army later anyway, and I felt we had already done more than enough for Asius.
"Well then, I will be off."
"Mm. I will see you this evening."
"Please brew that tea again today, after so long. The one with the smoky fragrance."
"Sure."
Irene smiled and nodded. Living with her had come to feel so natural by now that the idea of her not being in the room would have left it somehow empty.
…Lady Luna's uprising — I wonder when it will be.
Perhaps that was why, these days, I found myself counting down the days until the Lunarien army reappeared on the stage of history. The moment our affiliation became the Lunarien army, I intended to propose to Irene. Of course there was a chance she might refuse… but I still felt I had to at least put the words out there, so I would have no regrets.
It would be nice if I could get a prediction result even for a question like "Will Irene accept if I propose to her?"
Most likely the answer would come back as "Unknown." A mind of Intelligence 100 could know the outcome of wars between nations, but it could not predict the human heart. At times like this, the cheat ability felt truly inconvenient — but having it at all was better than nothing. It was thanks to this ability that I had been able to save Irene, after all.
Lost in such thoughts, I arrived at the Nighthart family manor before I knew it. It was time to spend with Reika.
Well then. Shall I go in?
I stepped into the manor.