Encounter, Serpina's Army (1)
Some time later.
A woman with short purple hair strode boldly down the red carpet of the audience chamber. Soldiers stood at attention on either side, yet she showed not the slightest trace of intimidation as she walked all the way to the throne where Yuuri sat.
And then, the moment she arrived before Yuuri, she dropped to one knee, bowed her head, and spoke.
"Greetings. I have come today to deliver a message from our sovereign, Lady Serpina."
"……."
Yuuri looked down at her in silence for a long moment. Before admitting her, she had thought she would be fine. But now that the envoy of Serpina's Army stood before her eyes, the memories of the time she had lost everything rose unbidden.
Memories she could never forget — of Piviola Academy.
The armor of the soldiers who had stormed the academy had borne the crest of the Aingard Empire. She had learned later that after the emperor's sudden death, something akin to a "final battle" for the next seat of power had broken out among his children…
And the one who had survived that battle was none other than the sovereign this woman served — Serpina.
The hegemon of the North. A merciless tyrant. The woman who wrote history in blood — Serpina von Aingart.
In all likelihood, she was the sworn enemy of the Asius Army.
Yuuri did not let it show as a sovereign… but that did not mean she had forgotten.
Because of whom did we raise the crimson banner? For whose overthrow did we take up arms?
"Lady Yuuri?"
At the envoy's prompt, Yuuri finally nodded and answered in a calm tone.
"Speak. I will at least hear what you have to say."
"……."
The purple-haired woman studied Yuuri's face for a long while. Then, in a thoroughly flat and colorless voice, she delivered a bombshell.
"Lady Yuuri. The tide of the age has already been decided. We request that you make a rational decision for the sake of your people. That is the opinion of our lord, Lady Serpina."
"……What did you just say?"
"Exactly as I said, Lady Yuuri."
The envoy bowed her head once more.
The tide of the age has already been decided. Make a decision for the sake of your people.
Yuuri had no difficulty reading the true intent buried in those two sentences.
Surrender.
Surrender and join Serpina's Army — that was what this woman was saying, the very moment their borders had come into contact.
"You came all this way… just to say that to me?"
Yuuri swallowed the rage rising in her chest and spoke in as restrained a voice as she could manage. The envoy who had come to demand her surrender, by contrast, answered as if it were a matter not even worth considering — in a tone like someone tossing trash onto the street.
"That is correct. I ask that you make a wise decision."
"……."
Yuuri clenched her fist on the armrest without realizing it, knuckles whitening.
What enraged her most… was not the demand for surrender itself.
It was the vivid, unmistakable sense that Serpina had not sent this envoy to mock her.
From Serpina's perspective, this was almost certainly what she considered the rational course. Even if Yuuri held four castles as her territory, her nation was still a far smaller power than Serpina's Army. Rather than committing troops to root them out one by one, a simple surrender would spare both sides a pointless war of attrition.
Yes. A pointless war of attrition.
Serpina's Army clearly believed that conquering the Asius Army would be nothing more than a wasteful drain of resources — and that was why they could make such a demand so casually.
Instead of raising her voice in anger, Yuuri spoke in a voice lowered almost to a growl, her heterochromatic eyes cast down — and delivered her answer as sovereign of the Asius Army.
"Go back and tell Serpina this. We have no intention of surrendering — and no intention of living under the same sky as her."
"……."
The envoy nodded, then rose to her feet.
"I shall convey Lady Yuuri's words exactly as spoken. Farewell."
With that, the envoy left. Once she was gone, Zinor, who had been standing nearby, carefully addressed Yuuri.
"What do you intend to do, my lady?"
"What do you mean by that?"
Yuuri's reply was sharper than usual — but Zinor did not flinch.
"You were right not to accept the demand for surrender. I would not have accepted it either. However… was it truly necessary to add that we have no intention of living under the same sky as her?"
"……."
Zinor's point was sound. Even if the other side had been the first to provoke them, there was nothing to gain for a weaker nation by taking a hard line against a great power in diplomacy. Humiliation could be heard with one ear and let out the other. In an age of chaos, refusing to nurse a grudge was among the most important keys to long-term survival.
Yuuri knew that as well as anyone.
But…
Of all people… I cannot afford to yield to Serpina von Aingart.
Yuuri answered Zinor in a tone firmer than she had ever used with him.
"I know. But… no."
"?"
"Zinor, you wouldn't understand even if I explained."
You wouldn't understand even if I explained.
Zinor tasted something bitter in his mouth. He had always known there were certain things even he, the state strategist, could not fully enter into… but hearing those words, he said nothing more and simply watched the side of Yuuri's face.
The thirst for vengeance burning in her eyes was plain to read.
…….
Against the Brans Army, she had been colder and more clear-headed than anyone. Yet the moment Serpina's Army entered the picture… she was starting to look just like the founding generals who had stood with her from the beginning. That worried him.
It will be fine. The Brans Army has not fully collapsed yet, and the South will not simply sit still either. Serpina's Army cannot stretch its borders that wide.
For now, the first step was to consolidate the newly acquired territories from within.
Rather than sigh, Zinor turned his mind to the futures he could still shape with his own hands.
"Is that so?"
"Yes. She says she has no intention of surrendering."
The woman who had just visited the Asius Army as an envoy was kneeling before Serpina, reporting everything she had experienced.
The purple-haired woman with the short cut — Erin Rise.
A general who had served Serpina since childhood, a fellow student from her academy days. Had it not been for Jena, she would almost certainly have become the state strategist — a woman of exceptional brilliance.
"She also said she has no intention of living under the same sky as you."
"Is that so? How interesting."
The words were one thing, but Serpina's face as she rested her chin on her hand was the picture of boredom.
The Asius Army.
A small nation in the eastern reaches of the continent, led by Baranga Yuuri Asius. Not entirely powerless the way some minor states were — but still a thoroughly insignificant country compared to the nation that had unified the North.
In truth, Serpina did not even consider them rivals, aside from the Brans Army and the four nations of the South. Ever since she had begun unifying the North, she had made a habit of offering weaker states the chance to surrender first. This had been no different.
Yes, the Asius Army had absorbed the Charam Army and the Allepel Army in the meantime — but that only meant three envoys had been reduced to one. It was hardly a development of any real significance to Serpina's Army.
Must we spill blood after all?
If they would not surrender, there was nothing to be done. The fact that they had gone out of their way to say they had "no intention of living under the same sky" suggested a personal hostility toward her…
……But that is only to be expected.
She was long accustomed to being hated. From the moment she had taken the name of Aingart upon herself, being hated by someone had become her lot in life.
So then — was it time to go to war with the Asius Army?
Having won victory after victory against the Brans Army, the morale of Serpina's forces was higher than it had ever been. Riding that momentum, conquest would not be difficult.
"Well done, Erin. You may go."
"Yes, my lord. I take my leave."
After dismissing Erin, Serpina was lost in thought for a moment — when Jena, standing beside her, carefully spoke up.
"My lord. So long as we are still contending with the Brans Army, taking on the Asius Army as well would be unwise. Even with our superior numbers, if our border doubles in length, any number of difficulties could arise."
Serpina looked at her.
"Jena. How unexpected. Have you been neglecting your studies of late?"
"……Pardon? What do you mean by that…?"
"I mean that I have no intention of attacking the Brans Army for the time being."
"……?"
Jena tilted her head, not understanding. Serpina regarded her and laid out her thinking.
"You heard the recent report, I trust — that Kalintz Brans and Chel Brans, who had been holding the Brans Army's front lines, have withdrawn."
"Yes, I did. But their forces have not been fully pulled back, so—"
"That is precisely why I will not attack."
"……Forgive me. My learning is insufficient. I cannot fully grasp my lord's meaning."
"It is simple. Why would they pull back not only their troops, but their finest commanders as well — instead of reinforcing the front?"
"Surely to keep from losing Anel Castle?"
"Yes. Now that I have said that much, you understand what I mean, do you not?"
"What? That is… ah."
Jena finally nodded, grasping what Serpina was driving at.
"I do not know whose judgment it was, but it was an excellent choice. To assess one's own strength with cold clarity, and hold what can still be held. If a territory is going to be lost anyway, one must know how to abandon it boldly if there is to be any future. If this was Lin Brans's decision, then one could say the Brans name still carries some weight."
"But what if I do the opposite of what they expect — and simply stop advancing? What do you suppose the soldiers and officers left behind to hold the border will think?"
"……You mean to provoke internal division?"
"It is a method that requires no direct intervention."
Jena nodded.
"It seems a sound plan. Even if we leave those territories alone, they will hardly be in a position to reinforce their forces. If they had that kind of leeway, they would have reinforced long before fighting us. And any troops raised by conscription under those conditions will not be particularly strong… Truly, this is Lady Serpina's way."
"Jena. Spare me the uncharacteristic flattery."
"Understood."
Whether things would unfold exactly as she intended remained to be seen.
"But in the meantime, the Asius Army might… ah."
Jena started to speak, then stopped. She had already realized, quite naturally, what Serpina intended to do next.
"Yes."
Serpina's golden eyes flashed, and a faint smile touched her lips. It was the kind of smile that, regardless of the words that accompanied it, would make anyone who saw it revere her from the depths of their heart.
"In the meantime, we will settle the Asius Army."