Chapter 84: Did You Think You Could Fool Me?
—
In the castle of Anel.
Building something up is incredibly difficult, but its collapse can happen in an instant, as they say.
The territories of Brans Army, which Orlando Brans had secured with perfect timing, began to crumble one by one as soon as the border was breached.
“My lord! Serold Castle and Zog Castle have fallen to Serpina’s forces! The acting commander of the northern defense, Inrasion, has surrendered and joined Serpina’s army!”
Hearing the messenger’s report, Parpalle advised Lynn, who sat on the throne with a vacant expression, with great concern.
“My lord. We must gather all our forces at the border and retreat to Anel Castle now. There are movements in the south as well. It’s highly likely that Aeshers Army will mobilize soon. We must make a decision quickly…!”
“…”
“Lord…!”
Despite Parpalle’s repeated pleas, Lynn gave no response.
At that moment, she seemed like an empty shell, a paper doll devoid of life.
She wouldn’t answer when spoken to, merely listening to the reports brought by messengers.
“This is getting dangerously out of hand…!”
Currently, the forces at the border were being decimated without purpose.
Parpalle believed the best course of action was to abandon the territories and minimize the border by holding Anel Castle at all costs. Even if the western lands weren’t the best, they could still be safeguarded, and losing everything would mean the end.
As long as the capital remained, there was still a chance. They could rise again.
Although about half of their talent was dead or had surrendered, the core figures of Brans Army were still defending it.
“Lynn…”
“…”
After a moment of silence, Lynn finally spoke up, staring straight ahead…
“Parpalle.”
“Yes…?”
“What did I do wrong?”
She began to bite her nails harshly.
Blood started trickling from her chewed fingers once again.
“I don’t think I’ve done anything to deserve this… Where did it all go wrong? Why… why are we being pushed back like this? Why…? My brothers… what happened to them?”
“…”
Chel Brans was struggling to hold the eastern border, while Carlince Brans was barely managing to fight in the north, but they were failing to stop Serpina’s forces.
“Why has it come to this…? Why? I’m meant to unify the continent, aren’t I? Not to end here, in this small central region. Brans Army… we… this shouldn’t be happening.”
“My lord. To prevent Brans Army from falling, we need to make a decision now.”
“No!!!!”
Upon hearing Parpalle’s words, Lynn stood up and threw the ceremonial sword beside her.
“This can’t be happening!!! We can’t keep losing like this! We are Brans Army, destined to unify the continent!!!”
In that moment.
“Ah. I see.”
Suddenly, Lynn’s eyes widened, and she began to laugh maniacally.
“You there.”
“Yes, my…!”
Then, she turned to the messenger who had brought the news of the castle’s fall and spoke to him.
“Come here for a moment, would you? Be a dear…♡”
“…”
Despite Lynn’s eerily gentle yet chilling voice, the messenger trembled but approached, knowing well that in Brans Army, Lynn’s word was law.
“Uh, I… that is…”
Hesitantly, the messenger came closer to her.
“Come… a bit closer…”
Finally reaching her, trembling, he asked,
“What is… it?”
“It’s nothing… hehe…♡”
Lynn then swiftly grabbed the ceremonial sword from the floor and unsheathed it.
“My lord…?”
And then.
Slash!
“Argh…!”
In front of Parpalle, Lynn stabbed the messenger in the abdomen.
“Why… lord… why are you…?”
Lynn looked coldly at the bewildered messenger, her eyes devoid of any life or color, utterly dead.
“You’re one of Airen Juliet’s spies, aren’t you? Did you think you could fool me?”
Lynn shouted throughout the throne room, her voice filled with madness.
“How could we possibly be defeated so miserably? What’s this about false news to deceive me? Foolish child. Daring to side with that red-haired traitor and try to fool me?!”
With a thud, the messenger collapsed, unable to utter another word, bleeding profusely.
The throne room, filled with the dying soldier’s agonized sounds, soon fell silent.
“This can’t be happening…”
Parpalle watched the entire scene in shock.
Lynn’s condition was far worse than imagined.
Whether driven mad by revenge against Airen or unable to make sound judgments, the once brilliant and decisive lady no longer existed.
Only a madwoman, killing a messenger over paranoid delusions, remained.
“Parpalle.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Be careful. That damned woman might still have spies in our ranks. Right?”
“…”
Lynn smirked, pulling the sword from the messenger’s body.
With a flick, blood splattered on her pale skin.
“I don’t want to resort to this, so make sure to weed them out, will you? Understood?”
Parpalle felt as if the sky had collapsed.
Perhaps it would have been better not to suggest using Airen.
If he had known Lynn couldn’t accept her, he might have advocated for her expulsion as the right course of action.
But now, those thoughts were irrelevant.
“Aren’t you answering?”
“Ah, yes… I understand.”
“Good. Now go and tell my eldest brother to gather all forces and retake Racline Castle from Aeshers Army. Got it?”
“Yes.”
Leaving the throne room, Parpalle sought out a general.
“Excuse me, but may I know your name?”
“Me? I’m… Silin.”
Silin trembled as he spoke, reflecting the army’s overall anxiety due to the continuous defeats and Lynn’s unstable state.
Parpalle spoke gravely.
“Silin, I hate to ask, but can you do me a favor?”
“What kind of favor, if I may ask?”
“Whether you send a messenger or speak directly, ensure all forces, including General Carlince at the northern border and General Chel in the east, immediately return to Anel Castle.”
“Should I say it’s the lord’s command?”
Parpalle shook his head slowly.
“Tell them it’s a unilateral decision by the national strategist, Parpalle. I’ll take full responsibility.”
“But… that’s…”
“I promise you won’t be harmed for this. Please.”
Taking such an action without the lord’s command was audacious, especially for someone of Parpalle’s stature.
But for Parpalle, ensuring Brans Army’s survival was paramount.
She had chosen Lynn Brans, believing in her judgment, and wanted to prove it wasn’t a mistake.
“There’s nothing more important than keeping Brans Army from vanishing.”
* * *
The day after spending a special evening with Airen.
“I’ll be going then.”
“Alright. See you later.”
After exchanging brief farewells with her, I immediately headed to the Nightart family mansion.
Passing through the now-familiar streets, I arrived at the mansion.
“Lord Swen. We have been expecting you.”
“Me?”
The maid was unusually welcoming.
“Lord Jinor is looking for you.”
“Lord Jinor?”
Why would Jinor be looking for me?
Could there possibly be some problem?
“Could he have noticed that I can’t even feel mana, let alone perform anything like magic?”
With a slightly guilty conscience, I slowly made my way to the drawing room where Jinor was said to be.
Upon entering the drawing room-
“…Huh?”
Reika was sitting on a sofa inside.
And Jinor was sitting in a place resembling the seat of honor, reading a book.
Noticing my arrival, he spoke up.
“Have you arrived, Swen?”
“Yes. I heard you were looking for me.”
“Take a seat first.”
As I sat down, Reika naturally ended up sitting opposite me.
What was strange was Reika’s attitude.
She could not even meet my eyes properly, her face flushed red, and she kept her head down.
“What’s going on?”
Was this about some magical achievement?
Reika’s abilities had been growing day by day.
Then this meeting shouldn’t be so tense… Why was she so shy?
Then,
Jinor’s voice reached my ears.
“Swen. Do you remember what I said?”
“Which part are you referring to?”
“The part where you agreed to grant me a favor.”
A favor.
I nodded and said,
“Yes, I remember. But I also mentioned that I couldn’t fulfill requests that were beyond my capabilities.”
“I remember that too.”
Jinor replied in a very stiff tone.
It always struck me that Jinor seemed like the type who would never make a joke in his life.
If it had been Cain, he would probably have said something like, ‘Is it necessary to be so strict about such things?’
Anyway, since the topic of a favor came up, he must have called me here to ask for something.
“So, what is the favor?”
Thinking to myself that I’d have to refuse if he asked me to perform a miracle just once, the ‘word’ came through very clearly.
“Would you consider becoming my son-in-law?”
“…Excuse me?”
What?
Caught off guard by the unexpected proposition, I was at a loss for words. Seeing my reaction,
Jinor, with not a hint of jest and in a very serious tone, said,
“Swen. If you are agreeable, I would like to offer my daughter Reika and the Nightart name to you. What do you say?”
