Did You Think You Could Fool Me?
The royal palace of Anel Castle.
They say that building something up is extraordinarily difficult, yet it can all come crashing down in a single moment.
The territories of the Brans Army, which Orlando Brans had so carefully timed and firmly established, began to crumble one after another without pause the instant the border was breached.
"My lord! Serold Castle and Zog Castle have fallen to the Serpina Army! Temporary Northern Defense Commander Rasion has surrendered and joined the Serpina Army!"
Hearing the messenger's report, Parfalle turned to Lin—who sat upon the throne with a vacant, empty expression—and offered counsel with a face of the utmost gravity.
"My lord. Even now, we must gather every soldier from the border and concentrate them at Anel Castle. Word is that the south is beginning to stir as well. The Asius Army is highly likely to move again. You must decide, and quickly…!"
"……."
"My lord…!"
No matter how many times Parfalle spoke, Lin gave no answer at all.
In that moment she was like a hollow paper doll—empty inside. She neither replied when addressed nor reacted to the reports the messengers brought; she simply sat and listened.
If this continues, we are truly finished…!
Even now, forces at the border were being crushed to no purpose. In Parfalle's judgment, the best course was to abandon the outer territories and shrink the border to its absolute minimum. If they could somehow hold Anel Castle alone, they could at least preserve the western lands she had already prepared. Those western lands were hardly fertile—honestly speaking, they were barren beyond measure—but if they lost every last territory, that would truly be the end.
So long as the capital remained, opportunity remained. They could spread their wings again someday. Roughly half their talent had died or surrendered, yet the core figures still stood with the Brans Army, did they not?
"Lady Lin…."
"……."
Lin remained silent for a long while. Then, still staring straight ahead, she finally parted her heavy lips.
"Parfalle."
"Yes…?"
"What… did I do wrong?"
And then she began to bite her nails roughly with her teeth. From the already raw and broken tips of her fingers, fresh crimson blood began to trickle once more.
"I… I don't think I did anything that deserved this…? Where did it all go wrong? Why… why have we been pushed this far…? Why…? My brothers…? What happened to my brothers…?"
"……."
Chel Brans was still holding the eastern border with a body that had not yet fully recovered. Kalintz Brans was somehow managing to fight along the northern border, yet he could not stop the Serpina Army.
"How did it come to this…? Why? I… I'm supposed to be the one who unifies the continent, aren't I? I'm not someone who ends like this in this narrow central region, am I? Our Brans Army… we… this isn't how it's supposed to be, is it?"
"My lord. If you wish to keep the Brans Army from collapsing, you must make a decision even now."
"No!!!!"
At Parfalle's words, Lin shot to her feet and hurled the ceremonial sword that had been resting beside her.
"This can't be happening!!! We can't keep losing! We are the Brans Army! We are the nation that will one day unify the continent!!!"
"……."
In that instant—
"…Ah. I see."
Lin's eyes suddenly flew wide open.
"Heh, heh heh, heeheehee."
She began to laugh in a sickening way, like someone whose mind had snapped.
"You. Hey, you."
"Y-yes…!"
She turned her gaze upon the messenger who had brought the news of the fallen castles.
"You… why don't you come a little closer…? There's a good boy…♡"
"……."
At Lin's voice—soft, yet at the same time deeply chilling—the messenger shuddered for a moment. Yet in the Brans Army, Lin Brans's word was absolute. No matter how high-flying a general might be, if Lin spoke, he had no choice but to obey. A mere soldier of a messenger had no right of refusal.
"I-I… th-that is…."
The messenger hesitated for a long while before cautiously approaching her.
"Yes… a little closer…."
"……."
Trembling violently, he managed to come right up before her nose.
"What… is it you require?"
"…Nothing much… heehee…♡"
Lin raised a hand to the messenger's face and lightly stroked his cheek—then, with a hand as swift as lightning, she snatched up the ceremonial sword that had been lying on the floor and drew it free.
"M-my lord…?"
And then—
Shhk!
"Ghk…!"
Right there, before Parfalle's eyes, she drove the blade straight into the messenger's abdomen.
"My… lord…? Wh-why…."
Lin fixed the messenger with a cold stare as he looked up at her in bewilderment. Those eyes held neither light nor any color at all—they were the eyes of something completely dead.
"You. You're one of Airen Juliette's men, aren't you? Did you think you could fool me?"
Lin screamed in a voice thick with madness, loud enough to shake the royal palace.
"There's no way we would lose so pathetically, is there? And yet what?! Trying to deceive my eyes with false reports is useless. You stupid bastard. A mere soldier, siding with that red-haired traitor bitch and trying to trick me?!"
"G…ghk."
Thud.
The messenger collapsed where he stood without even a chance to reply. Blood poured freely from his abdomen. The audience chamber, filled with the sounds of a soldier thrashing in agony as he died, soon fell silent as even those sounds ceased.
This can't be….
Parfalle watched the entire scene with eyes gone completely white. Lin's condition was far more dangerous than she had imagined. Whether it was revenge against Airen that had driven her mad, she seemed incapable of sound judgment. That once-brilliant female sovereign—who, though somewhat ruthless, had always seen the larger picture and made the right decision almost every time—no longer existed. What stood before her was nothing but a madwoman who murdered messengers out of her own persecution complex.
"…Parfalle."
"…Y-yes."
"You need to be careful. That damned bitch still has spies planted all over our army, doesn't she? Hm?"
"……."
Lin grinned and pulled the sword free from the messenger's abdomen.
Drip, drip!
As she wiped the blood from the blade, crimson droplets spattered across her pure white skin.
"I don't want to have to use my hands for things like this, so filter them out yourself, all right? Understood?"
Hearing those words, Parfalle felt as though the sky itself were collapsing. Perhaps it would have been better if she had never recommended Airen's promotion back then. If she had known that her lord Lin could never accept that woman, would the correct answer have been to step forward and exile her first? None of that mattered anymore.
"No answer?"
"Ah, th… I-I understand."
"Good. That's a good girl, Parfalle. Then hurry and tell my eldest brother. Scrape together every soldier you can and retake Lacline Castle from the Asius Army. Understood?"
"…Yes."
Leaving the audience chamber, Parfalle sought out one of the officers waiting outside.
"Pardon me, but what is your name?"
"Yes? I am… S-Silin."
Silin answered Parfalle while trembling violently, as though terrified. Continuous defeats had left the atmosphere inside the castle extremely unsettled, and in a nation where Lin's word was law, the fact that Lin's condition was poor naturally left officers like Silin deeply anxious. There was nothing strange about it.
Parfalle spoke with an expression of the utmost seriousness.
"Sir Silin. Forgive me, but would you grant me a request?"
"Th… may I ask what sort of request it is?"
"You may send a messenger or speak in person—whichever you prefer. Please arrange for all forces, including General Kalintz on the northern border and General Chel on the eastern border, to return to Anel Castle immediately."
"What? Should I… say it is the lord's command?"
"……."
Parfalle slowly shook her head.
"Tell them it is the independent judgment of State Tactician Parfalle. And that I will take full responsibility."
"What? B-but—"
"I beg you. I will ensure that no harm comes to you, Sir Silin."
Acting on one's own judgment without the sovereign's order was, in this age, an act of extreme recklessness. All the more so for someone who held power on the level of a state tactician rather than an ordinary officer. Of course, only someone with that degree of authority could even say "I will take responsibility."
Parfalle considered that, in the worst case, her own head might roll. Yet if the Brans Army fell, she would become the state tactician of a failed nation. She would never rise higher than this. Though she possessed the human frailty of valuing her own life, she was fundamentally a woman of immense pride. She wanted to prove that her eye for choosing Lin Brans over any other lord had not been wrong.
This was the only way to keep the Brans Army from destruction. She believed that the sharp-witted Lin she once knew would understand.
"I would go myself, but I fear something terrible will happen if I leave the lord's side even for a moment. I ask you once more."
"…I understand. Since it is the tactician's order, you need not call it a request."
"…Thank you. Then."
Holding Anel Castle. With the fire already at her feet, Parfalle began to turn her mind at full speed. To keep the Brans Army from vanishing off the map by any means necessary—that alone filled her heart.
The day after I spent a special evening with Airen.
"Well then, I'll be off."
"Mm. See you later."
After exchanging a light farewell with her, I headed straight for the Nighthart family mansion. Passing through the now-familiar streets, I arrived at the estate.
"Lord Swen. We have been waiting for you."
"Pardon?"
The maid was welcoming me with unusual warmth.
"Lord Zinor requests your presence."
"Lord Zinor?"
Why would Zinor be looking for me? Had some problem arisen?
Don't tell me he's figured out that I can't even sense mana, let alone perform anything resembling magic?
Feeling oddly guilty, I made my way slowly toward the reception room where Zinor waited. When I entered—
…Huh?
Reika was seated on the sofa inside, while Zinor sat in a place of honor reading a book. Noticing my arrival, he spoke.
"You have come, Swen."
"Yes. I was told you called for me."
"Sit, for now."
As I took my seat, Reika naturally ended up sitting directly across from me. What was strange was her demeanor. She could not even meet my eyes properly; her face was flushed deep red, and she kept her head bowed low.
What is this?
Was this about some magical achievement? Reika's abilities had been growing by the day. If that were the case, this should not be such a tense occasion… so why was she so shy?
Just then, Zinor's voice reached my ears.
"Swen. Do you remember my words?"
"Which words do you mean?"
"That you agreed to grant me a request."
A request. I nodded and replied.
"Yes, I remember. Though I also remember saying I would refuse anything I could not grant."
"I remember that as well."
Zinor answered in an extremely stiff tone. It was something I felt every time, but Zinor seemed like the sort of man who would never crack a joke in his entire life. If it had been Kane instead, he would probably have scolded me for being so particular about such things.
In any case, since the subject of a request had come up, he must have summoned me to ask for something.
"So, what is the request?"
I was thinking comfortably to myself that if he asked me to demonstrate a miracle just once, I would refuse—when that word reached me with perfect clarity.
"Would you consider becoming my son-in-law?"
"…What?"
What?
Faced with a word I had never expected, I could not even answer properly and simply sat there stunned. Looking at me, Zinor spoke in a tone of the utmost seriousness, without the slightest hint of playfulness.
"Swen. If you are willing, I shall give you my daughter Reika and the name of Nighthart. What do you say?"