Chapter 18

Body:

*

After successfully concluding the agreement with Lin and leaving the royal palace, I glanced around and, confirming that no one was nearby, let out a short sigh.

“Phew… we made it…”

I could feel cold sweat trickling down my back.

I had been confident in my predictions. Once the outcome of a “ceasefire agreement” was determined, I knew for certain an agreement would be reached. Still, the moment the blade came close to my neck was terrifying. There’s a big difference between imagining death approaching and actually facing it.

Still, I couldn’t afford to lose momentum. If I lost it, we’d lose control over the negotiations. Since we had already put everything on the line, I desperately maintained my composure with the ‘better to have tried and failed’ mindset, which seemed to work well.

“The envoys were dealing with far more pressure than I anticipated.”

In games, it’s just a matter of clicking the diplomacy button -> execute button. But each envoy is like a home team player thrown alone into enemy territory. Especially during wartime, being an envoy to an adversarial nation must be even more stressful. Just like right now.

At that moment,

a soldier approached me.

“Are you the envoy from the Lunarien Army?”

“Yes.”

The soldier handed me a pouch he was holding. It felt quite heavy. It wasn’t difficult to figure out this was the agreed-upon three thousand gold.

“Normally, we’d transport this by carriage… but since both you and I need to deliver the news as quickly as possible, how about we ride horses instead? Is that alright?”

“Of course. That’s what I hoped for.”

From my perspective too, I needed to return as soon as possible.

“Then, please follow me. We’ll depart immediately.”

I followed the soldier.

“Hold on a little longer, everyone. I’ll be back soon.”

It was time to end this war.

*

Jeilrant Castle.

At the east gate, Tifa and Iren were engaged in fierce combat.

Though at this point, the victor was clear.

“Huff… huff…!”

Tifa, bleeding profusely from various parts of her body, managed to stay upright only by leaning on the axe stuck in the ground. Already dismounted from her horse, she had sustained serious injuries. If she hadn’t foolishly persisted against Iren despite realizing the gravity of the situation, she might have retreated safely.

Still, Iren showed no mercy toward Tifa. From atop her steed, she dominated the fight. In terms of skill and environment, Iren held all the advantages.

Iren looked down at Tifa from her saddle and said,

“Listen, friend. This is advice for your own good: if you don’t want to die, it’s best to surrender now.”

“…Shut up… you dog-faced wench…”

Despite Tifa’s curses, Iren didn’t seem particularly offended, not even flinching. She simply shook her head slightly and added,

“Excessive bravery isn’t courage, my friend. It’s unfortunate, but if you’d been on my side, I could have taught you much more.”

Tifa, gasping for breath, spat blood to the side and struggled to steady herself before pointing her axe at Iren and growled through gritted teeth,

“What… do you know about… having a sharp tongue? Come on, brat…!”

Iren glanced around. Arrows still rained from the enemy castle walls, though one catapult had been destroyed. The soldiers who had accompanied Tifa to intercept them seemed to have mostly succeeded in their mission.

‘The battle is tilting in our favor.’

Even if this duel cost us some time, it didn’t seem like the Lunarien forces could turn the tide. Taking out their commander would be important for breaking their morale.

With that thought, Iren addressed Tifa seriously,

“…I appreciate your determination to fight until the end.”

“Come on…!”

Just as Tifa was about to charge,

“…?!”

Sensing movement, Iren quickly turned her horse and blocked the incoming attack.

“Clang!”

“…So strong!”

From just the clash of swords, Iren instantly realized this person was stronger than Tifa, whom she had been fighting moments ago. Quickly assessing her opponent, Iren noticed…

Before her stood a woman with short cream-colored hair and striking ruby-red eyes. The Lady of Jeilrant Castle and ruler of the small nation of Lunarien—

Luna, mounted on a horse, pointed her sword at her.

Iren immediately recognized her as Luna. Though she’d only heard rumors before, seeing those dazzling ruby-red eyes confirmed it.

“So, you are Lady Lunarien Iniyan?”

“Lun…a…”

“Tifa, retreat inside the castle. Sorry for being late. I wanted to arrive sooner, but circumstances wouldn’t allow it.”

“But…”

“This is an order! Hurry!”

“…”

After sending Tifa away, Luna slowly turned her head to face Iren.

Iren looked at Luna and spoke,

“My name is Iren Julieat. Lady Lunarien, as a leader, you understand that sometimes we must lower the flags we’ve raised to prevent greater losses. You don’t wish to go down in history as an incompetent ruler who allowed Jeilrant Castle to be destroyed by war, do you?”

“Jeilrant Castle will not fall. You cannot defeat us.”

“Hmm. Such baseless bravado can be admirable in a leader. However, don’t you think this is the time to demonstrate other virtues? Have you considered it seriously?”

Iren continued earnestly,

“Surrender to us. That way, the harm inflicted upon your people will be minimized. As a leader yourself, you should make the decision.”

This was a genuine suggestion from Iren, devoid of any mockery. Iren wasn’t the type to relentlessly crush defeated foes. She didn’t enjoy tormenting the weak either. Therefore, she sincerely hoped they would surrender here to avoid further casualties. Continuing the fight wouldn’t change the result—Jeilrant Castle would be captured, and the Lunarien nation would fall.

In her own way, Iren was presenting a rational choice.

However,

“I thank you for your words, Lady Iren, but I cannot give up.”

“May I ask why?”

Luna replied with a very grave expression,

“…I believe Serpina von Einhardt is unfit to rule the world.”

“Hmm.”

“And…”

Luna stared directly into Iren’s eyes,

“I also believe Lin Brance is unfit to rule the world.”

“…!”

Iren was momentarily surprised. An overwhelming sense of resolve emanated from this petite figure. A regal aura that only someone who had reached a certain level of mastery could possess. An aura that existed within her own lord, Lin Brance…

Could it also exist within this ruler of a small nation?

“The same applies to others. I cannot entrust this world to any ruler. I will bring peace to the continent. And that… is something I must do.”

Something felt strange.

The woman standing before her certainly possessed formidable strength disproportionate to her size—but ultimately, she was just the leader of a small country facing inevitable defeat. Yet why?

There was no arrogance in this woman’s voice. It was as if she believed bringing peace to the continent and ruling it was something that was simply ‘meant to be,’ spoken with such confidence.

For a moment, Iren almost felt overwhelmed by her presence—but quickly regained her composure, drew her sword, and pointed it at Luna,

“…I respect your spirit. However, the world belongs to our lord, Lin Brance. That’s not something you need to worry about.”

“…”

A brief silence followed.

Iren then charged at her with sword drawn.

“!!!”

Clang!

Their blades clashed once.

Just as their decisive battle was about to begin—

“Airen-sama!!!!!!”

From afar, a soldier on horseback was rapidly approaching Iren.

“It’s dangerous here! Retreat!”

Despite Iren’s warning, the soldier did not withdraw. While a ruthless general might have punished their subordinate for disobeying orders at this point—

She instead checked the surroundings, suspecting something major had occurred to make him defy her command.

The number of enemy soldiers had noticeably decreased. Though they had suffered losses too, they still held a clear advantage.

‘The battle… our army is clearly winning. With a bit more time, Jeilrant Castle will be ours.’

Then why?

Why was he frantically calling her in this situation?

“What is it?”

The soldier arrived before Iren, his face pale as he shouted,

“Retreat, General! We must retreat the entire army!”

“…What?”

“!!”

Both Iren and Luna were startled by the word “retreat” and looked at the soldier. Despite the intense gaze of the two women, the soldier, who had rushed here from Anel Castle to deliver urgent orders, had to inform her as quickly as possible.

“An order from our lord! All hostilities with the Lunarien Army must cease immediately! We must quickly redeploy our troops to Kelshtain Castle in the north!”

“Kelshtain Castle?”

Is Kelshtain Castle in danger?

‘Surely…!’

Iren deduced the entire situation from that single word. Only one country bordered Kelshtain Castle.

‘The Serpina Army has… moved?!’

“General! Please issue the retreat order quickly!”

“…Damn it!”

If only they had a few more days…

No, even just one more day, and they could have captured the castle!

But she knew they couldn’t waste more time here if there was trouble in the north.

Iren looked at Luna and said,

“…Lady Luna, you’re quite lucky.”

“…”

Without waiting for a response, Iren immediately turned her horse. Soon after, the overwhelming offensive of the Brance Army suddenly halted.

Luna dismounted and slowly assessed the situation.

“Is it over?”

“The Brance brats are running away?”

The Lunarien soldiers began murmuring as they noticed the changes everywhere.

And then Luna remembered the insignia delivered by the Brance soldier earlier.

‘Wait. If the war has stopped…!’

At that moment,

From the same direction the soldier had come, another rider approached.

An old man in tattered clothes.

The first person to respond to her repeated recruitment offers.

The man who had promised to stop this war and asked her to hold on a little longer—Swen—was approaching.

“Swen-sama!!”

Upon reaching Luna, Swen dismounted and approached her. He then spoke seriously,

“Lord, there’s no need to form a pursuit unit. Let them retreat peacefully. They won’t bother us anymore.”

“S, Swen-sama… Does that mean…!”

“Yes.”

Swen nodded and then smiled confidently,

“We’ve successfully negotiated a ceasefire agreement.”

“…”

“As I told you before, I promised to definitely stop this war if you could just hold on a little longer.”

Hearing those words, tears streamed down Luna’s eyes. Then—

“—!”

She tightly embraced Swen.

“Thank you… thank you, Swen-sama… really, thank you…”

“…”

Perhaps the position of a ruler wasn’t suited for her from the start.

Yet despite that, she wanted to bring peace to the continent. So, she resolved to stand firm in her role and not turn her back on the responsibilities given to her.

Even so, Luna needed someone to lean on.

Did he understand her situation, or was it simple empathy?

Swen silently looked down at her hugging him, then slowly placed his hand on her back.

“This is our victory, Lady Luna.”

* * *