Chapter 34

Rebellion.

The act of a vassal, entrusted with the stewardship of a castle, raising arms against their sovereign for some reason or another.

During the rebellion, retainers within the castle would either stay or be driven back to their original faction based on whether they joined the uprising—but resources like troops, gold, and food could easily be commandeered by the rebels.

Anyway, when a rebellion occurs, it will surely create fractures in the formidable ranks of the Serpina Army.

And at that moment—whether we invade the castle where the rebellion occurred or one nearby—it seems our army could gain an advantageous position, right?

But.

For the Brance Army to take advantage of this situation, it’s inevitable that we’d need sufficient troops stationed at Jeilrant Castle at the exact moment of the rebellion. Even if they hastily rise in revolt, no matter how strong the Serpina Army is, they’ll likely panic initially—but they’re a nation with the resilience to quickly suppress the rebellion and reorganize their forces before long.

So, it turns out I reached this conclusion thanks—coincidentally—to Lady Iren.

If Lady Iren hadn’t suggested something akin to ‘a warrior’s intuition’ about defending the north, there’s no way we’d have figured this out by now.

Of course, if Lin had directly asked me, I probably would’ve come up with an answer—but Lin isn’t the kind of monarch who asks me everything like Luna does and trusts me absolutely.

Besides, since I deduced things step by step, I was able to reach a conclusion. If she had just asked me outright, I would’ve instantly said, “Invade the northern territories of the Serpina Army,” but convincing her with the right words would’ve been quite troublesome.

Anyway—the plan is set.

As it stands, even if a rebellion occurs, the Aishias Army will be too preoccupied to do much, and ultimately, the Brance banner will fail to fly in the north.

Well, still—

“It’s fate, I guess.”

Lin Brance wasn’t destined to become a unifying ruler.

From my perspective, serving under the unifier, there’s no need to sincerely convince her.

Until now, all I needed to do was handle commerce-related matters in the market while spending time with Lady Iren.

With that thought, I tidied up the map and turned my head.

Lady Iren was asleep, crouched with her back leaning against something.

She was beautiful.

Long red hair.

A delicate nose and skin as white as someone who doesn’t wield a sword—though she clearly does.

She’s pretty enough that she could’ve married into a decent noble family and lived peacefully after learning basic etiquette—but she was born in an era of chaos, and her lineage wasn’t noble.

Somewhat foolishly stubborn but unwilling to take the easy way out—she carries her father’s legacy and fights hard despite the odds. A knight, a specialist in siege warfare, and the sole heir of the Juliette family serving the Brance clan—beyond all those titles lies Iren, the woman.

She bore so many burdens alone, with no one recognizing her efforts.

I had no intention of killing her.

This woman would undoubtedly be a great help in achieving the “completion of a unified nation” for my future master, Luna.

“Somehow, I’ll keep you alive, Lady Iren.”

Slowly moving away from her…

After dimming the lantern that faintly illuminated the room, I lay down on the bed.

Lying there, various thoughts swirled in my mind.

Wearing clothes adorned with the emblem of the Brance Army, attending meetings for the Brance Army, hearing about Lady Iren’s personal struggles…

Even amidst all that, one woman continued to linger in my mind.

Lunarien Iniyan.

The ruler destined to unify the continent.

“Come to think of it…”

A question I hadn’t asked myself in a while.

“Can Lunarien Iniyan truly become the ruler who unifies the continent?”

Before falling asleep, I idly inputted that question into my mind again to confirm.

…and then…

“…Huh?”

*

“Hey, you! Aren’t you gonna stop?!”

“AHAHA! Catch me if you can!”

The cheers and laughter of children.

“Is this… Is this price really okay?”

“Ah, it’s fine. Anel Castle has relatively good supply, so it’s cheap here. Go check the neighboring village and see what they charge.”

Customers haggling and merchants dealing with them.

In the middle of this incredibly peaceful marketplace, what I was doing was—

“Welcome.”

Surprisingly, working behind the counter as a shopkeeper.

“This is from the Brance Army. We hope for your continued cooperation.”

The store owner’s words indicated that commanders frequently came to help out like this.

Dozens of commanders from the Brance Army were assigned to commerce duties this month. The most capable among them—likely the one with the highest political stat—was leading the effort and distributing tasks accordingly.

My job? Customer service.

The location? A tavern.

A place where untapped talents gather and rumors from across the continent float around.

Back in my unemployed days, I spent time in taverns hoping someone would hire me. When these places thrive, attracting both talent and adventurers taking on quests, commerce naturally flourishes too.

Anel Castle’s tavern was massive, so there were several employees besides me, including another C-rank commander assigned to work here.

Being placed here suggests one thing:

‘My political stat isn’t particularly high.’

Thus, I was likely assigned to this less demanding role.

Of course, customer service can be endlessly refined if you want to specialize, but considering how leisurely I’ve been lately, it’s clear I’m not in a crucial position.

Without access to a status window, I have to estimate my stats myself.

Still, it’s not bad.

With plenty of free time, I can verify various things.

First up:

The question I asked last night before sleeping: “Can Lunarien Iniyan become the ruler who unifies the continent?”

There was no answer.

Not an ambiguous “I don’t know” but simply no response at all.

It felt similar to when the question hadn’t been asked yet.

Even though I could repeatedly ask questions I’d already posed, this one seemed blocked.

Sensing something off, I immediately threw out a few more questions.

All related to Lunarien from when we first met.

[Can Serpina von Einhardt unify the continent?] [Is Baranga Yuri Aishias a ruler who can unify the continent?] [Can Lin Brance unify the continent?]

Out of these, only the last question about Lin yielded an answer: [No].

Generally, I can’t ask myself questions directly.

To make predictions, I need someone else to ask me.

Once I’ve heard a question from someone, I can repeatedly reflect on it myself.

But for some reason, even past questions weren’t producing answers.

At this point, I hazily guessed a rule I didn’t know about before:

‘Questions I receive reset when I change masters…?’

If true, it explains why only the question about Lin works.

It was the first question Lin ever asked me after hiring me.

So, does that mean—

That my predictions as a strategist prioritize questions related to the faction I serve?

It’s concerning that I can still predict futures for other rulers, though.

Of course, this isn’t the perfect answer.

The reset might occur periodically—or maybe there’s some factor I haven’t noticed yet.

‘Guess I can’t figure it out for now.’

I could grab someone and ask, “Could you please ask if Lunarien Iniyan can unify the continent?” and easily confirm the result, but without Luna—who always listened to me unquestioningly—I’d draw attention asking such strange questions.

Though Iren is around, we’re not close enough for that yet.

‘I’ll get another chance to check eventually.’

With that thought, I half-heartedly handled my duties at the tavern, interacting with people.

Whether this counts as contributing to commerce is debatable, but in internal affairs, political stats matter far more than intelligence.

Not that I minded the work. Coming up with ideas to develop the market would’ve been tedious anyway.

Why bother being so diligent when I’m part of the Brance Army?

‘Might as well get to work.’

And so, I went through the motions without much enthusiasm.

*

It’s been a week since starting my mission.

On my way back from the market, I bought snacks that kids were carrying around everywhere.

Typical sweet jam-filled bread.

“I’m back.”

“Hmm. Good work.”

When I got home, Lady Iren greeted me, resting in her scandalously revealing maid outfit, drenched in sweat.

“Were you practicing swordplay again today?”

“That’s right.”

The tight muscles on her waist must be the result of that rigorous training.

Though it feels a bit awkward, I laid out the snacks I bought on the table. She approached, curious about what I brought.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a snack. I saw the kids in Anel Castle all carrying and eating it.”

“Ah… Do you have a sweet tooth, Swoen?”

“Not particularly, but you always make tea for me, so I thought it’d pair well.”

Lady Iren’s house did have desserts, but they were more savory than sweet.

Since we’re making tea anyway, why not enjoy something sweet together?

“There’s nothing wrong with avoiding sweets while focusing on training.”

Indeed.

That makes sense for someone who puts so much effort into her physique. She generally eats simple meals, except for that rare welcome feast she prepared for me.

“Well, if you’re avoiding sweets because of your training…”

Just as I was about to put the snacks away,

Thud!

She placed her hand on my wrist.

“…?”

“…”

“…Ahem.”

Unable to say anything, she awkwardly cleared her throat. When I tried to remove her hand, her firm grip kept me in place.

“Lady Iren.”

“What?”

“Do you want some?”

“…!”

Her face instantly turned red, confirming my guess. Over time, I’ve noticed she’s not very good at hiding her emotions, though she seems conflicted because it’s not part of her routine.

In situations like this, a little encouragement helps.

“It’s fine. A few pieces won’t hurt.”

Unaware that my words might be tempting devilish whispers, she covered her mouth with her hand and nodded hesitantly.

“Well, I’m not exactly craving sweets…but since you went through the trouble of buying them…”

She said this while slightly smirking.

What’s with that?

Hearing her obvious lie, I felt like teasing her.

“No, it’s fine. If you feel obligated to eat them, you don’t have to. I’ll eat them all. Don’t worry about it.”

“Wha—!”

Taking advantage of her momentary weakness, I moved the bread aside.

Like a cat eyeing a treat, she leaned closer, her violet eyes shimmering with genuine regret.

She really can’t lie worth beans.

Let’s call it quits here.

I chuckled lightly and nodded.

“It was a joke. Let’s eat together, Lady Iren. That’s why I bought them.”

Upon hearing my words, she pouted and complained.

“Swoen, sometimes I can’t tell what you’re thinking.”

“I hear that a lot.”

“…Fufu.”

Amused by my response, she stood up, heading to the kitchen.

“I’ll wash up quickly and bring the tea soon. Please wait a moment.”

“As you wish.”

It’s been nearly ten days since I started living under the same roof as Lady Iren.

I’m getting used to her presence.

*

‘The news’ arrived about two and a half weeks into my commercial mission.

“Are you saying I should halt my mission and immediately return to the royal palace?”

I asked the soldier sent to retrieve me.

“Yes. Your lord seeks you, Sir Swoen. He says halting your mission for now is acceptable.”

“Lin is looking for me?”

What could it be?

I couldn’t think of any reason she’d summon me at this point—but—

“I’ll find out once I get there.”

“I understand. I’ll prepare and depart for the royal palace of Anel Castle shortly.”

“Yes. I’ve delivered the message. Farewell.”

After exchanging brief pleasantries with the soldier, I explained the situation to my coworkers, left the tavern, and headed straight to the royal palace of Anel Castle.