Chapter 84

* * *

Anel Castle Royal Palace.

They say it’s harder to build something up than to watch it crumble in an instant.

Orlando Brance had carefully laid the groundwork for the Brance Army’s territory, timing everything perfectly. But as soon as the borderline was breached, one by one, without rest, those foundations began collapsing.

“Lord! Serold Castle and Jog Castle have fallen to the Serpina Army! The temporary northern defense commander, Lashion, has surrendered and joined the Serpina Army!”

Upon hearing this from the messenger, Parphale approached Lin, who sat on the throne with a vacant expression, her face devoid of any emotion, and offered advice with a very serious look.

“Lord! We must immediately gather all our forces along the borderlines and retreat them to Anel Castle! Reports suggest the south is also beginning to move. It’s highly possible the Aishias Army will be on the move soon too. Please make your decision quickly…!”

“…”

“Lord…!”

Parphale kept talking, but Lin didn’t respond at all.

She looked like… an empty paper doll now.

No matter what anyone said, she remained silent, merely listening to the news brought by the messengers without reacting.

‘This is really dangerous if it continues!’

Currently, their forces along the borderline were being crushed meaninglessly.

In Parphale’s opinion, the best option would be abandoning the territory and minimizing the borderline.

If they could only defend Anel Castle here, then they might still hold onto the western territories they’d prepared beforehand.

The western lands weren’t particularly fertile—no, honestly speaking, they were quite barren—but…

If they lost all their territory entirely, that truly would be the end.

As long as they didn’t lose the capital, there would always be a chance to rise again. Even if half the talent pool was lost or had surrendered, the core members of the Brance Army were still holding strong, weren’t they?

“Lin…”

“…”

Lin didn’t respond again—

And then, finally, after staring straight ahead, she slowly opened her heavy lips.

“Parphale.”

“Yes…?”

“Me… What did I do wrong?”

And then…

She started biting her nails harshly, causing fresh red blood to trickle down from her fingertips once more.

“I… I don’t think I’ve done anything bad enough to deserve this… Where did it all go wrong? Why… Why are we retreating this far? Why?! My brothers… What happened to my brothers…?”

“…”

Chel Brance was struggling to guard the eastern border despite his not fully recovered body.

Kalintz Brance was fighting hard in the north, but he couldn’t stop the Serpina Army either.

“Why did it come to this? Why?! I’m supposed to be the one who unites the continent, right? This isn’t how things should end in this small central region! The Brance Army… We’re not supposed to end like this!”

“The Lord, to prevent the collapse of the Brance Army, we need you to make a decision NOW!”

“No!!!!”

After hearing Parphale’s words, Lin stood up and threw the ceremonial sword lying nearby across the room.

“This can’t be happening!!! There’s no way we keep losing! We’re the Brance Army! The future nation destined to unite the entire continent!!!”

“…”

At that moment…

“…Ah. I see.”

Lin suddenly widened her eyes and—

“Huh, heh, hehe, hahaha.”

Started laughing in a disturbing, unpleasant manner, as though she’d gone mad.

“Hey, listen up. You.”

“Yes, y-yes…?”

Then she turned toward the messenger who delivered the news about the castle falling.

“You… why don’t you come over here for a moment? Aren’t you such a good boy…♡”

“…”

Lin’s unnervingly gentle yet eerily chilling voice made the messenger tremble slightly. However, in the Brance Army, Lin Brance’s word was absolute. Even the highest-ranking generals obeyed her commands without question. How much more so for a mere soldier like him?

“Uh, uh… well, um…”

Despite hesitating for a while, the messenger cautiously approached Lin.

“That’s right… Come closer…”

“…”

Shaking violently, he finally reached close enough to her face.

“What… do you require?”

“It’s nothing serious… hehe…♡”

Lin placed her hand on the messenger’s face, gently stroking his cheek before swiftly grabbing the ceremonial sword lying on the floor.

“Lord…?”

With lightning speed, she drew the blade.

“Khhk…!”

Right in front of Parphale’s eyes—

She plunged the sword directly into the messenger’s abdomen.

“Lo-Lord…? Wha-wha-at…?”

Lin stared coldly at the messenger, whose eyes filled with confusion as he looked at her.

Her gaze was completely lifeless—void of any emotion or color, as if her soul had already died.

“You’re one of Iren Julieat’s spies, aren’t you? Did you really think you could deceive me?”

Lin screamed wildly, her voice full of madness.

“There’s no way we could be losing this badly! So what?! Trying to trick me with false information won’t work. Stupid kid. How dare you, a mere soldier, betray us and side with that traitorous redhead?!”

“Gr-grgh…”

Thud.

The messenger collapsed without even getting a chance to reply. Blood flowed from his stomach, filling the audience chamber with the sound of his painful death throes. Eventually, even that sound faded away, leaving silence.

‘How could this happen…?’

Parphale watched everything unfold with wide eyes.

Lin’s condition was worse than expected.

Had she gone mad with vengeance against Iren? It seemed she wasn’t making rational decisions anymore.

The wise female ruler who used to cut through situations with precision, making mostly correct judgments, no longer existed.

All that remained was a madwoman killing a messenger based on her own paranoid delusions.

“…Parphale.”

“Y-yes, my lord?”

“We need to be careful. That cursed woman still has spies lurking around in our army, right? Right?”

“…”

Lin smirked and pulled the sword out of the messenger’s body.

Plop!

As she wiped the blood off the blade, droplets splattered onto her pristine white skin.

“I don’t want to deal with this kind of thing personally, so please take care of filtering them out for me, alright?”

Hearing this, Parphale felt as though the heavens were falling.

Perhaps it would have been better not to recommend employing Iren in the first place. If she had realized Lord Lin couldn’t accept her, maybe exiling her would have been the better choice.

But now, none of that mattered.

“Do you understand?”

“A… yes, my lady.”

“Good. Be a good girl, Parphale. Go tell my eldest brother to gather as many troops as possible and retake Raclaine Castle from the Aishias Army. Got it?”

“…Yes.”

After leaving the audience chamber, Parphale found one of the waiting generals.

“Excuse me, may I ask your name?”

“Um? I-I’m Silin.”

Silin nervously answered, visibly trembling due to the constant defeats and the unstable state of the castle atmosphere, especially since Lin’s unpredictable behavior added to everyone’s unease.

Parphale spoke seriously.

“Silin-san, could you do me a favor?”

“Um, what kind of favor is it?”

“Whether you send a messenger or deliver the message yourself, please ensure that General Kalintz at the northern border and General Chel at the eastern border, along with all available troops, immediately return to Anel Castle.”

“Wha…? Should I say this is the Lord’s command?”

“…”

Parphale slowly shook her head.

“Please inform them it’s a unilateral decision made by the Nation’s Strategist, Parphale. And let them know I’ll take full responsibility.”

“But… shouldn’t…”

“Please. I’ll make sure you suffer no consequences.”

For someone of her rank to act independently without the ruler’s orders was extremely bold in this era, especially given her high position as the Nation’s Strategist.

Even though she held such power, it allowed her to claim responsibility.

Parphale knew her head might roll in the worst-case scenario.

However, if the Brance Army fell, she’d become nothing more than the strategist of a failed nation, unlikely to ever ascend higher.

Though she valued her life somewhat, she was fundamentally a proud woman who wanted to prove her judgment in choosing Lin Brance as her leader hadn’t been wrong.

This was the only way to prevent the Brance Army’s destruction. She believed the intelligent Lin she knew would eventually understand.

“I wish I could go myself, but leaving Lord Lin now would cause problems. I beg you once more.”

“…Alright. Since it’s the Strategist’s order, I’ll comply without calling it a favor.”

“Thank you. Then…”

Protecting Anel Castle.

Parphale’s mind raced rapidly, trying to save the Brance Army from disappearing off the map.

That was all that mattered to her now.

* * *

The day after a special evening with Iren…

“Well, I’ll be going now.”

“Yeah. See you later.”

After exchanging casual farewells with her, I headed straight to Nachtharde Manor.

Walking down the familiar streets, I arrived at the manor.

“Master Swoen, we’ve been waiting for you.”

“Huh?”

The maid greeted me unusually warmly.

“Master Jinoru wishes to see you, Master Swoen.”

“Jinoru?”

Why would Jinoru want to see me?

Could something have gone wrong?

‘Did he somehow figure out that I can’t sense mana or perform magic?’

Feeling uneasy, I slowly made my way to the reception room where Jinoru was said to be.

When I entered, I saw—

“…Huh?”

Reika sitting on the sofa, and Jinoru reading a book in what appeared to be the seat of honor.

Noticing my presence, Jinoru spoke.

“You’ve arrived, Swoen.”

“Yes. I heard you summoned me.”

“Take a seat first.”

As I sat down, Reika ended up directly across from me.

What was strange was her behavior.

She wouldn’t meet my eyes, her face bright red as she bowed her head deeply.

‘Hmm? What’s going on?’

Is this about some magical achievement?

Lately, Reika’s abilities have been growing stronger every day.

So this meeting shouldn’t be that tense… Why is she acting so shy?

At that moment,

Jinoru’s voice reached my ears.

“Swoen, do you remember what I said?”

“What exactly are you referring to?”

“About agreeing to fulfill my request.”

A request.

I nodded and replied.

“Yes, I remember. Though I also recall saying I can’t agree to everything.”

“I remember that as well.”

Jinoru responded in a rigid tone.

Whenever I hear him speak, I feel like he’ll never crack a joke in his lifetime. If it were Cain instead of Jinoru, he’d probably have said something like ‘Do we really need to nitpick about this?’

Anyway, since the topic of a request came up, he must have called me here to ask for something.

“So, what’s the request?”

Just as I idly thought he might ask me to show a miracle once, I clearly heard—

‘That word.’

“Would you consider becoming my son-in-law?”

“…What?”

Hearing an unexpected word, I froze, unable to respond properly.

Looking at my stunned face,

Jinoru continued in a completely serious tone, devoid of any humor.

“Swoen, if you’re willing, I will give you my daughter Reika and the name Nacht-harde. What do you say?”