*
Having successfully concluded the negotiation with Lin and leaving the royal castle, I checked my surroundings, and after confirming there was no one around, I let out a short sigh.
“I survived…”
I could feel the cold sweat running down my back.
I had confidence in my prediction. Knowing that a ‘ceasefire’ would ultimately be agreed upon, I was certain of it. Yet, the moment the blade touched my neck, fear struck me. There’s a big difference between contemplating death and actually facing it.
Still, I couldn’t afford to lose my momentum. Losing it meant losing control over the negotiation. Betting on this, I desperately clung to my composure with a ‘sink or swim’ mentality, and it seemed to have worked well.
“Envoys operate under far greater pressure than I thought.”
In the game, diplomacy was a simple mechanism of clicking a ‘diplomacy’ button and then ‘execute’. But each envoy is like a lone player from the away team thrown into the home team’s ground. Especially an envoy from a warring enemy nation, like now.
At that moment, a soldier approached me.
“Are you the envoy from Lunarien’s army?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
The soldier handed me a pouch he was holding. It felt quite heavy. It was easy to tell that this was the three thousand gold.
“Normally, we would have transported it by carriage, but given the urgency, both for you and me, I suggest we travel by horse. Is that alright?”
“That’s actually what I prefer.”
I needed to return as quickly as possible.
“Then, follow me. We are leaving immediately.”
I followed the soldier.
“Just wait a little longer, everyone. I’ll be there soon.”
It was time to end the war.
*
At Jeilant Castle.
At the eastern gate, Tifa and Airen were engaged in a fierce battle.
By this point, the winner was clear.
“Huff… Huff…!”
Tifa, dripping blood from various wounds, somehow managed to stand by planting her axe in the ground. She had already fallen off her horse and was fortunate not to be more seriously injured, though she had stubbornly insisted on facing Airen to the end.
Of course, Airen showed no mercy. She dominated the battle from her horse, having the upper hand both in skill and situation.
Airen looked down at Tifa from her saddle.
“Listen, I’m saying this for your sake. If you don’t want to die, it would be wise to give up now.”
“…Shut up…you damn wench…!”
Despite Tifa’s curses, Airen didn’t seem bothered. She just shook her head slightly and commented.
“Bravery is not recklessness, friend. It’s a shame. If you were on my side, I could have taught you so much more.”
Tifa gasped for breath, spat out blood roughly to the side, and barely managed to stand straight, pointing her axe at Airen.
“What… Why such a long tongue…? Come on, you bastard…!”
Airen looked around. The enemy’s castle walls were still raining arrows, and though one catapult was destroyed, it seemed like the soldiers who had come out with Tifa for interception were almost dealt with.
‘We have the upper hand in the battle.’
Even if she spent time in a duel here, it didn’t seem like Lunarien’s army could turn the situation around. Capturing the enemy commander seemed important to demoralize them.
With that thought, Airen looked at Tifa with a serious tone.
“…I will face you with all I’ve got until the end.”
“Come at me…!”
Just as Tifa was about to charge,
“…?!”
Airen quickly sensed something, turned her horse around, and blocked the incoming attack.
Clang!
‘So strong!’
The mere clashing of swords was enough to understand. This person was strong, stronger than Tifa, who she had just been fighting. Realizing this, Airen quickly checked her new assailant.
Before her eyes stood a person with cream-colored short hair and bright red eyes.
The lord of Jeilant Castle and ruler of the small nation of Lunarien –
Luna, mounted on a horse, was pointing her sword at her.
Airen quickly recognized her as Luna. She had heard rumors, but seeing those ruby-red eyes in person made it real.
“Are you Lord Lunarien Iniange?”
“Lu…na…!”
“…Tifa. Run to the castle. Sorry I’m late. I wanted to come sooner, but the situation didn’t allow it.”
“But, just…”
“It’s an order! Hurry!”
“…!”
After sending Tifa away, Luna slowly turned her head to face Airen.
Airen, looking at Luna, said,
“My name is Airen Juliette. Lord of Lunarien, you must know as a leader, that sometimes to prevent greater damage, one must
lower the flag they raised. You wouldn’t want to be remembered as an incompetent ruler who let Jeilant Castle fall to the flames of war, would you?”
“Jeilant Castle will not fall. You cannot defeat us.”
“Ah, such baseless bravado. I respect that in a leader. But perhaps now is the time to show a different virtue, don’t you think?”
Airen said earnestly,
“Surrender to us. That way, the damage to your people will be minimized. As a leader, please make a decision.”
A surrender offer.
This was Airen’s sincere suggestion, not a taunt. Airen wasn’t the type of commander who enjoyed trampling over a defeated opponent. She disliked tormenting the weak. She hoped for a surrender to avoid further casualties, as the outcome – Jeilant Castle’s fall and Lunarien’s demise – seemed inevitable. She was pushing for a rational decision.
But,
“Lord Airen, thank you for your words, but I cannot give up.”
“May I ask why?”
Luna replied with a grave expression,
“…Because I believe Serphina von Aingart cannot be entrusted with the world.”
“Ah.”
“And.”
Luna looked straight into Airen’s eyes.
“I also believe that Lin Bran cannot be entrusted with the world.”
“…!”
Airen was momentarily taken aback. From this small figure, she sensed an overwhelming presence, something akin to majestic bravery. An aura of a ruler, something Airen recognized in her own leader, Lin Bran, was present in this ruler of a minor country.
* * *
“Like everyone else, I cannot entrust the world to any ruler. I will bring peace to the continent. And that is… something I must do.”
It was strange. The woman standing in front of me, though physically small, possessed immense strength. But she was still a leader of a minor nation, making her last stand in a seemingly hopeless situation. Yet, there was something about her. Her words didn’t carry arrogance. It was as if conquering the continent and obtaining the world were her destiny, spoken with such undeniable confidence.
Airen was momentarily overpowered by her aura but quickly shook it off, drawing her sword and pointing it at Luna.
“…I admire your spirit. However, the world belongs to our lord, Lin Bran. It seems to be none of your concern.”
After a brief silence, Airen charged at her with sword drawn.
“…!!!”
Clang!
Their blades clashed once, and just as their duel was about to intensify,
“Airen, Lady!!!!!!”
From a distance, a soldier on horseback rushed towards Airen.
“This place is dangerous! Retreat!”
Despite Airen’s command, the soldier didn’t stop. A more ruthless commander might have punished him for such disobedience, but instead, she assessed the situation, wondering if something urgent had occurred.
The enemy soldiers had significantly dwindled. While we had also taken hits, we were still clearly in a dominant position.
‘The battle… we are clearly winning. Just a little more time, and Jeilant Castle will be ours.’
Then why?
Why was he rushing to her with such desperation?
“What’s going on?”
As soon as the soldier arrived, he shouted, pale-faced.
“Retreat, General! The entire army must retreat!”
“…What?”
“!!”
Hearing the word ‘retreat’, both Airen and Luna were startled and looked at the soldier. Despite their intimidating gazes, the soldier, who had ridden all the way from Anel Castle, urgently relayed the new orders.
“Orders from our lord! The war with Lunarien’s army is to be completely halted immediately! We must move our forces to Kelshtein Castle in the North as soon as possible!”
“Kelshtein Castle?”
Is Kelshtein Castle in danger?
‘Could it be…!’
Airen deduced the entire situation from that one piece of information. There was only one nation bordering Kelshtein Castle.
‘Serphina’s army has moved?!’
“General! We must order a retreat!”
‘…Damn it!’
Just a few more days.
Even just one more day, and we could have taken the castle!
But she knew if there was trouble in the North, they couldn’t afford to waste more time here.
Airen looked at Luna.
“…You are fortunate, Lady Luna.”
“…!”
Without waiting for a response, Airen turned her horse around. Soon, the relentless assault of Bran’s army ceased.
Luna dismounted and slowly assessed the situation.
“Is it over?”
“Looks like Bran’s forces are retreating.”
Lunarien’s soldiers were buzzing with the sudden change.
‘The war has been suspended…!’
Then,
From the same direction the soldier had come, a man on horseback approached.
A white-haired man in humble attire.
The first to respond to her recruitment offer.
The man who had promised to stop the war, Sven, was coming towards her.
“Sven…!!”
As Sven arrived, he dismounted and approached Luna. He spoke to her earnestly.
“My lord. There’s no need to organize a pursuit force. Allow everyone to retreat as they are. They won’t bother us anymore.”
“Sven… you mean…!”
“Yes.”
Sven nodded and smiled confidently.
“We have successfully negotiated a ceasefire.”
“………!!”
Hearing his words, tears streamed down Luna’s face. She then,
“…!”
Embraced Sven tightly.
“…Thank you… Thank you, Sven… Truly, thank you…”
“…”
Being a leader might not have been suited for her, but she still wished to bring peace to the continent. Despite her resolution to fulfill her duties, Luna needed someone to lean on.
Understanding her plight, or perhaps out of simple compassion, Sven wordlessly looked down at her and then gently placed his hand on her back.
“This is our victory, Lady Luna.”
