Episode 129: And the Result
*
A few days later.
Those who claimed to be the successors of Sidmid and attempted to incite a rebellion started being apprehended one after the other.
The place where the soldier discovered this object turned out to be the residence of their contact person.
From the detailed plans for the uprising to the schemes to assassinate Serpina—numerous things came to light during this process.
How the evidence was found remains unclear, but for Serpina, it could certainly be considered a stroke of good fortune.
“Luck!”
It was such an extent that it could only be described with that word—this all couldn’t have been anything but coincidental.
Anyway, once they caught onto them, it was as if the ‘disruptive elements’ began being caught en masse, like pulling potatoes out.
It wasn’t just one or two people.
Dozens were bound and dragged to Aingart Castle.
All were armed men who had been taking pay from Serpina’s forces.
The variety ranged from those who didn’t attract much attention to those who had been doing their fair share of work.
Among them, the biggest catch was Rahelben Yenichka, a man once recommended for the position of lord of Kelstein.
He was the man who had taught Serpina the basic etiquettes of the royal court when she was still a young girl.
Originally a follower of Sidmid von Aingart, but now he was known to be completely loyal to Serpina.
The unwavering loyalty evident in his minor actions made it clear to anyone that he was now fully committed to Serpina.
“…….”
Serpina had thought so too—
Being brought to this point, no matter how many unsightly sights she had seen, she couldn’t help but be taken aback here.
“So, the specter of my second brother is still haunting the continent.”
Serpina, widely known as a tyrant for her history of mass purges, was actually a relatively lenient ruler.
She did not skimp on mercy for those who followed her and allowed those with talent to flourish, regardless of their lineage or past.
The one thing she never forgave, however, was treason.
Throughout the occupation of the northern continent, countless rebellions occurred, and all those traitors ended as dew on the scaffold.
Nothing was different now.
“Those who challenge my authority must not be shown mercy.”
That was the fate of those who carried the bloodline of the great Aingart Empire.
*
A few days later, in the dungeons of Aingart Castle.
“Have you come, my lord?”
“…Lead the way.”
On the eve of execution.
Serpina made her way to the solitary cell where Rahelben, awaiting death in prison, was confined.
Upon her arrival at the prison—Rahelben greeted her with the same expression he used during his days as an etiquette instructor.
“Oh. Have you come, Princess Serpina?”
Not as a lord, but as a princess.
He reverted to calling her princess, a title he used before his treason was discovered, steadfast in not acknowledging her as his lord.
—He still does not acknowledge her.
“How foolish, Rahelben. I thought you were wise, but to chase after a faded ideal of someone already dead…”
“You only see one side, Princess. It’s fine. After all, I never really had any expectations of you.”
Rahelben laughed genially, then—
Suddenly, his gaze sharpened as he looked at her.
“Who would truly follow a witch who personally beheaded her brothers and drank their blood?”
“……!”
From Rahelben’s empty gaze—someone else’s will could be seen.
Sidmid von Aingart.
The grudge of the second brother who hated her, cursed her, and wept tears of blood.
“Princess, since we have this bond, let me offer you something good on the last day. I am… this old man is merely the first.”
What emanated from him, facing death, was not fear or terror, but—rage.
And beyond that anger… a kind of compassion.
“Didn’t you anticipate when you personally drank the royal blood that countless would target you? …It might be a hard fight, but I think this is also the burden that one who deceitfully aimed for something they shouldn’t have and ultimately seized must bear.”
Serpina was aware of such things too.
“From the day the will of Aingart ‘was bestowed’ upon me… I anticipated everything.”
“…….”
“Princess, you wear a very beautiful expression. However, no matter how beautiful you are, the hideous acts you’ve committed cannot be forgiven. …It would have been better if you learned not just etiquette but also how to conduct yourself from me. Let’s see how you fare, Princess. I’ll watch over you with joy from the other side.”
After finishing, Rahelben laughed for a while with a metallic sound, then bowed his head.
That gesture meant there was nothing more he wished to say to her.
Realizing they could no longer converse, Serpina silently turned and left the prison.
On her way back to the palace… she remembered that she initially went to ask why he decided to betray.
She couldn’t ask the question, but perhaps she somewhat got the answer.
“Algort brother.”
“Serpina.”
“Am I… doing well?”
“You’re the only one, Serpina. Among those who carry Aingart’s blood, you’re the only one… So, this unworthy brother will entrust everything to you.”
“Can I really… with my own hands, re-establish the unified empire?”
“So, I ask of you. The empire… reunite the divided empire, bring peace to this world again…”
“I… I…!!!!”
The voice of her brother, like a sharp spike tearing through her mind under the guise of his voice.
I can’t do it.
I can’t, brother.
I… I simply don’t have the confidence to do well…!
—My lord!
“……?!”
Just as she was about to succumb to panic again in the corridor leading to the palace.
The voice of the man who had pulled her out of panic before reached her once again.
“…Swen?”
Serpina quickly looked around.
In the corridor of this palace, there was no sign of Swen, let alone anyone else.
Was it an auditory hallucination?
Yet… she didn’t feel bad.
Recalling the moment Swen called her, she was astonishingly quick to calm down again.
“…Yes, Swen.”
He must have known everything from the beginning.
The fact that the rebels were caught at all was all because Swen insisted that it was right to conscript and station troops in Amir Castle.
Even though the basis for his argument was entirely different—ultimately, it turned out to be a divine move from Serpina’s standpoint.
Had she not noticed the edge of the sword aimed at her in a situation where she was unaware of the hints of rebellion, it would have been a disaster.
To others, it might seem like a stroke of luck—but she knew.
It was all thanks to Swen!
And somewhere, vaguely—
She felt that even though this would happen, he deliberately did not discuss it… she somehow understood why.
“I need to… talk to him.”
Serpina immediately called for Swen.
It was more of
an instinctual action than a rational decision.
*
“Swen, your lord has summoned you.”
In the quiet audience room, the white-haired man Swen knelt before her.
Upon seeing him, Serpina lost her composure for a moment and with a slightly trembling voice, slowly pronounced his name.
“…Swen.”
“Yes. Speak your command.”
“Did you… know everything that was going to happen?”
“…”
Swen raised his head to look at Serpina.
His gray eyes were not empty.
They did not show the presence of past ghosts filled with resentment, but were clear and strong.
“You knew too, Swen. Among the rebels caught this time, there was that woman… Shika.”
Shika.
The woman who, at the council where Swen participated, insisted on reinforcing the troops immediately and deploying them at the border.
If deployed at the border, the armed forces in the northern regions, where the rebellion was planned, would have been reduced. They wouldn’t have sent just the conscripted troops.
Whether she had considered that or not, from Swen’s perspective, there was no way he could have spoken plainly in that place.
No!
From the start, had he said, ‘There will be a rebellion, so we need to reinforce the troops,’ would I have believed him?
Thinking about it, the answer is straightforward.
I would not have believed him.
Because there was no basis.
Given my belief that one cannot decide on matters where lives are at stake without a basis, even if it was a man from my dreams, I wouldn’t have accepted his opinion.
Therefore…
“That’s why you used a somewhat incomprehensible reason. ‘We need to prepare for the Aishers army coming up the river,’ you said. Looking back, that was the only choice that could lead to that conclusion… right? There would be no reason to deploy the troops there if there were rumors of rebellion in neighboring villages or a possibility of rebellion in nearby castes…!”
The more she spoke, the clearer it became.
What Swen truly wanted to say became visible.
“But Swen, you couldn’t possibly speak plainly! Among the traitors was one mixed in the group, and without proper evidence, I wouldn’t listen! So… you used the fact that you had been with the Aishers army to construct that hypothesis. The most plausible hypothesis that could convince me!”
Indeed, it was a hypothesis with a low probability of being correct but if he aimed to persuade her, he crafted one plausible theory.
And ultimately—because Serpina listened to him, they were able to catch the traitors.
“There are moments when one must see the invisible. Even the most apparent things can be out of sight at times.”
“That’s what… was invisible.”
The moment when even the visible is out of sight!
Now she understood.
Every word he spoke made sense.
Why he had such “certainty,” she felt she understood.
Then how did he know everything in the first place?
That was a crucial question, but at that moment, it didn’t matter to Serpina.
Under normal circumstances, this unbelievable situation would have overwhelmed anyone.
Serpina didn’t know, but Lynn Brans had been so oppressed by Swen’s invariably correct advice that she feared him.
But Serpina was different.
To her, what mattered was that he “knew” everything.
And, not keeping it to himself, he tried whatever he could to convey it to her.
Even fitting it into a plausible logic.
That meant, Swen didn’t just throw everything onto her… he reached out his hand to her.
Something no one had ever done for her, who had always been alone, bearing everything that weighed her down, just pushing forward—
For the first time, a clear and beautiful compass appeared!
The more she thought about it, the more beautifully it seemed to prove itself, making Serpina utter in a voice trembling with newfound realization.
She wasn’t aware.
—That her face was flushed with emotion.
“You knew… everything…! And, to let me know by any means, you gave desperate advice… Is that not so, Swen…?”
As she chewed over the words that he knew everything—
Serpina remembered a certain term.
“Insight”
The epithet of a legendary strategist who served the Aingart royal family over a hundred years ago.
Although it seemed somewhat disjointed, the one who always ended up being right…
Now, seemed to be manifesting right before her eyes.
“…”
Swen, looking at Serpina with a remarkably calm expression, eventually bowed his head slightly and said,
“It was quite dangerous, but it was your decision to listen to my words. I am just grateful that I could be of help to my lord.”
“Ah…!!”
Truly, you were no ordinary man.
The man in my dreams… could see through everything…!
“Swen, truly… you are a fascinating man… For the first time since ascending to the throne, I feel thrilled. Can you feel it? To you as well… this feeling in my heart…!”
Her cheeks flushed, her voice slightly breathless.
But she couldn’t help it.
For the first time since taking the throne, she encountered someone so dazzlingly desirable.
Moreover, that person was the man from her dreams.
The man whose presence somehow made her heart ache gently and offered comfort.
To Serpina at this moment, this felt like a revelation from the heavens.
A lone ray of light shining through a dark corner of the sky.
Serpina rose from the throne and slowly approached Swen, who remained kneeling.
Her golden hair shimmered brilliantly as she moved closer.
Finally, reaching him and leveling their eyes, she gently lifted his chin with her pale, delicate hand.
Then, in a voice as if weaving an eternal dream, she whispered,
“Become mine, Swen. Your body, your heart… Serve me. If not…!”
Her final sentence dispersed like cherry blossoms in April.
If not, you—
*
After leaving the Aingart Castle.
I found myself mumbling with a slightly dazed expression.
“…Is this really happening?”
Something…
Something was unfolding…!
