Chapter 129

A few days later.

Those who claimed to be Sidemid’s successors and attempted to incite rebellion began to be arrested one after another.

At that time, the soldier discovered this item at the residence of their contact.

From detailed uprising plans to schemes to assassinate Serpina—countless things were uncovered in this process.

I don’t know how they managed to find the evidence, but from Serpina’s perspective, it was truly a stroke of luck.

A stroke of luck!

It was something so close to coincidence that it could only be described as such.

Once they caught one, the “dissidents” began to be rounded up like potatoes being pulled from the ground.

This wasn’t just one or two people.

Dozens of individuals were bound and dragged to Einhardt Castle.

All of them were armed men who had been receiving pay from Serpina’s army.

They ranged from those who had barely been noticed to those who had been doing their part.

Among them, the most prominent figure was Raherven Yenichka, who had once been recommended for the position of Kelshtain Castle’s lord.

He was the man who had taught Serpina the basic etiquette of the imperial court when she was still a young girl.

Originally a follower of Sidemid von Einhardt, he was now known as someone who had completely pledged his loyalty to Serpina.

The unwavering loyalty evident in his minor actions made it clear to anyone that he was now fully devoted to Serpina.

‘…….’

Serpina had also thought so—

But now, standing here, no matter how much she had seen, she couldn’t help but be flustered.

I see.

The ghost of her second brother still haunts the continent.

Serpina, known widely as a tyrant due to her past large-scale purges—

Was, in fact, a surprisingly lenient monarch.

She spared no mercy for those who followed her, and if someone had ability, she would overlook their lineage or past and allow them to freely demonstrate their skills.

The one thing she would never forgive, however, was betrayal.

In the process of occupying the Northern Continent, countless rebellions had occurred, and the fate of all those traitors was to meet their end on the execution grounds.

Even now, nothing had changed.

She could not show mercy to those who challenged her authority.

That was the fate of one who carried the bloodline of the great Einhardt Empire.

*

A few days later, in the underground prison of Einhardt Castle.

“You’ve come, my lord.”

“……Lead the way.”

The day before the execution.

Serpina headed to the solitary cell where Raherven, awaiting his death, was imprisoned.

Upon arriving at the prison—Raherven greeted her with the same expression he had worn when he was her etiquette teacher.

“Oh. You’ve come, Princess Serpina.”

Not “my lord.”

He called her “Princess.”

Before his betrayal was discovered, he had called her “my lord” without hesitation, but now, he stubbornly refused to let go of the title “Princess.”

—Even now, he did not acknowledge her.

“How foolish, Raherven. I thought you had lost your mind, but I never imagined you would chase after the faded ideals of someone long dead.”

“Princess, you know only one thing but not the other. It’s fine. I never truly expected anything from you anyway.”

Raherven laughed with a friendly expression—

But soon, his eyes lost their vitality, and he glared at her with a stern face.

“Who would sincerely follow a witch who slit her own brothers’ throats and drank their blood with her own hands?”

“……!”

From Raherven’s hollow eyes—the will of someone else could be read.

Sidemid von Einhardt.

The resentment of her second brother, who had hated, resented, and cursed her with tears of blood.

“Princess. Since this is fate, let me tell you something good at the end. I…… this old man, am only the first.”

What could be read from him, facing death, was not fear or terror—but anger.

And beyond that anger…… a kind of pity.

“Did you not foresee this when you drank the blood of the imperial family with your own hands? Countless people are targeting you, Princess.…… It will be a difficult battle, but I believe this is the weight that someone who deceived everyone and took what they should not have must bear.”

Serpina already knew that.

From the moment the will of Einhardt was “bestowed” upon her…… she had foreseen it all.

“…….”

“Princess. You have such a beautiful expression. But no matter how stunning your beauty, the ugly deeds you’ve committed cannot be forgiven.…… I wish you had learned not etiquette, but the art of survival from me. Well, give it your best shot, Princess. I’ll watch with joy from the afterlife.”

After finishing his words, Raherven laughed for a while with a metallic sound, then bowed his head.

It was as if he was saying, “I have nothing more to say to you.”

Sensing that no further conversation was possible, Serpina turned silently and left the prison.

On her way back to the royal palace…… she remembered that she had gone to ask why he had betrayed her in the first place.

She couldn’t ask the question, but she had roughly heard the answer.

‘Algord, my brother.’

“Serpina.”

‘Am I…… doing well?’

“You are the only one, Serpina. Among those who carry the blood of Einhardt, ■■■■■■■■■■…… you are the only one. That’s why this foolish brother entrusts everything to you.”

‘Can I really…… rebuild the unified empire with my own hands?’

“That’s why I ask you. The empire…… the divided empire, bring it back together…… bring peace to this world once more…….”

‘I…… I……!!!!’

The sharp awl, wearing the guise of her brother’s voice, tore through her mind.

I can’t do it.

I can’t, brother.

I…… I don’t have the confidence to do it well……!

—My lord!

“……?!”

At the moment when she was about to fall into panic again in the corridor leading to the royal palace.

The voice of the man who had pulled her out of panic before echoed once more.

“……Swoen?”

Serpina quickly looked around.

In this corridor of the royal palace, there was no sign of Swoen, let alone anyone else.

Was it an auditory hallucination?

Still…… it didn’t feel bad.

Remembering the moment Swoen had called out to her, she found herself calming down surprisingly quickly.

‘……That’s right, Swoen.’

He must have known everything.

After all, the reason the rebels were caught was entirely because Swoen had insisted on conscripting troops from Amire Castle and stationing them there.

The basis of his argument was completely different—but in the end, it turned out to be a godsend for Serpina.

If she hadn’t sensed even a hint of betrayal, and a blade had been aimed at her, it would have been a disaster.

To others, it might have seemed like luck—but she knew.

It was all thanks to Swoen!

And somewhere, vaguely—

Even though it would turn out like this, the fact that he hadn’t explicitly said so…… somehow, she felt she understood why.

‘I need to…… talk to him.’

Serpina immediately summoned Swoen.

It was more of an instinctive action than a rational decision.

*

“Swoen, I greet my lord.”

In the quiet audience chamber, the white-haired man Swoen knelt before her.

The moment Serpina saw him, she lost her composure and, with a slightly trembling voice…… slowly uttered his name.

“……Swoen.”

“Yes. Speak, my lord.”

“Did you…… know all of this would happen?”

“…….”

Swoen raised his head and looked at Serpina.

His gray eyes—were not empty.

They were clear and powerful, with no trace of the resentful ghosts of the past.

“You must know as well, Swoen. Among the traitors caught this time, there was that woman…… Sika.”

Sika.

The woman who, during the proposal meeting Swoen attended, had insisted on reinforcing the troops and immediately deploying them to the border.

If they had been deployed to the border, the number of troops in the northern region, where the rebellion was planned, would have been reduced. They wouldn’t have sent only the conscripted troops.

Whether she had considered that or not, regardless—

From Swoen’s perspective, it was clear that he couldn’t have spoken his mind directly in that situation.

No!

In the first place, even if he had said, “A rebellion will occur, so we need to reinforce the troops,” would she have believed him?

Thinking about it, the answer was simple.

She would never have believed him.

Because there was no evidence.

As long as her belief that she couldn’t decide matters of life and death without evidence remained alive, she wouldn’t have accepted his opinion, no matter how much he was the man from her dreams.

And so……

“And so you came up with a somewhat incomprehensible reason. The opinion that ‘we need to prepare for the Aishias army coming up the river.’ Now that I think about it, that was the only option that could lead to that conclusion……? When there’s a peasant uprising in the surrounding villages or the possibility of rebellion in nearby castles, there’s no reason to deploy troops there……!”

As she spoke, it became clearer and clearer.

She could see what Swoen had truly meant to say.

“But Swoen, you couldn’t say everything, could you! One of the traitors was among that group, and if you didn’t provide solid evidence, I wouldn’t have listened! So…… you used the fact that you had been in the Aishias army to create a hypothesis. A hypothesis that seemed plausible enough to convince me!”

It was a hypothesis that, while possible, had a low probability.

A desperate attempt to create a basis to persuade her.

And ultimately—because Serpina listened to him, she was able to uncover the traitors.

“There are moments when you must see what is not visibly apparent. There are times when even the obvious does not enter your sight.”

“That was…… what was unseen.”

The moment when even the visible does not enter your sight!

Now she understood.

Every word he said made sense.

She understood why he had been so “certain.”

Then how did he know everything?

It was a very important question, but for Serpina at this moment, it didn’t matter.

An ordinary person would have been crushed by this absurd situation.

Serpina didn’t know, but Lin Brance had been so overwhelmed by Swoen’s “always correct” advice that she had come to fear him.

But Serpina was different.

What mattered to her was that he had “known” everything.

And that he had tried to convey it to her in some way, without keeping it to himself.

Even going so far as to craft a plausible logic.

In other words, Swoen had not burdened her with everything…… but had taken her hand.

Something no one else had done, and this man who had only recently arrived!

In her life so far, always alone, bearing the weight of everything pressing down on her, moving forward—

For the first time, a clear and beautiful compass had appeared!

The more she thought about it, the more beautiful it felt, and Serpina, in a daze, spoke with a trembling voice.

She didn’t even realize it herself.

—Her face was flushed.

“You knew…… everything……! And you tried to tell me in some way, giving me desperate advice…… isn’t that right, Swoen……?”

As she repeated the words “knew everything,” naturally—

Serpina recalled a certain word from the past.

「Mind’s Eye」

The epithet of a legendary strategist who had served the Einhardt imperial family over a hundred years ago.

Though somewhat inconsistent, it was said that in the end, he only spoke the truth……

And now, that nameless great strategist had manifested before her.

“…….”

Swoen looked at Serpina with an incredibly calm expression……

Then, slowly bowed his head.

“Though it was dangerous in many ways, the fact that you listened to me was your decision, my lord. I am simply grateful to have been of help to you.”

“Ah……!!”

Truly, you are no ordinary man.

The man who appeared in my dreams…… was a man who could see through everything……!

“Swoen, truly…… truly, you are such an intriguing man…… For the first time in my life, I feel a thrill. Can you feel it? My heart…… towards you……!”

Her flushed cheeks and slightly panting voice were unavoidable.

But it couldn’t be helped.

For the first time since ascending the throne…… she had met someone so dazzling that she wanted to possess them.

Moreover, the object of her desire was the man who had always appeared in her dreams.

The white-haired, nameless man who, when remembered, made her chest tingle and filled her with a warm feeling.

To Serpina, this moment felt like a revelation from the heavens.

The only light shining down from a dark corner of the sky.

Serpina rose from the throne and slowly approached Swoen, who was kneeling.

Her dazzling golden hair swayed with each step she took towards him.

Finally reaching him, she matched his eye level and—

With a hand as white as jade, she lifted his chin.

And whispered words as if in an eternal dream.

“Become mine, Swoen. Your body, your heart…… serve me. If you do not……!”

Her last sentence trailed off like cherry blossoms in April.

If you do not, I will―――

* * *

After leaving Einhardt Castle.

I muttered with a slightly dazed expression.

“……Is this right?”

Something……

Something is happening……!