Serphina listened to my words, then fell silent for a moment—
And with a soft chuckle, she laughed heartily before speaking.
“Hmph. I thought you’d say something like that, Swoen.”
“…”
“Wouldn’t you care to explain why you think so, hmm?”
“May I have a moment to think?”
“Ho ho… So you answered without thinking, did you? This makes it all the more intriguing.”
Serphina looked at me, smiling as if thoroughly satisfied. Even though she must’ve already had a rough idea of how I tend to answer from our previous exchanges, her comment about “answering without thinking” was quite fitting of her style. Not trying to provoke me, but rather hinting that she’d picked up on the mechanics of my thought process, she calmly waited without pressing further.
She… At least this Serphina now trusted me far more than she used to. Even if I gave some half-baked reasoning, there was a high chance she’d still listen to me.
But—still, I needed to provide a plausible reason. That way, her decision to choose me would be justified. It was necessary for both her and me. And for the commanders under us to accept it, we’d need a solid reason not to let this golden opportunity slip away.
So then, why exactly would moving against the occupying forces now be disadvantageous?
Though it might seem random, I had to revisit everything we’d done so far. Otherwise, I’d get bogged down by the weight of my own internal compass and drag things out unnecessarily.
I closed my eyes and visualized the map. I knew the continent’s layout well enough to draw it with my eyes shut.
First, let’s gather the necessary information to deduce what I suspected.
“My Lord, before I proceed, may I ask which territories Kalintz and Chel rebelled from?”
“Kalintz rose in Anel, the capital city, while Chel declared rebellion from Haizel Castle nearby.”
“Of course.”
Neither of these rebels bordered our nation directly.
I organized my thoughts and explained.
“Both rebel factions are currently surrounded by Brance territory. As long as the alliance holds, even if we manage to capture their castles, they’d become isolated pockets for our army. Moreover, to even attempt such an invasion, we’d need a military transit treaty with Brance. To my knowledge, no such clause exists in our current alliance documents.”
“That’s correct.”
There couldn’t possibly be such a clause. Allowing free passage through each other’s lands would mean Brance could just as easily invade ours.
Why would we give them that privilege?
Sure, we could try pushing for an unequal treaty…but even powerful nations tread carefully in diplomacy. Bullying too much can lead to uncontrollable consequences. Unless we controlled 4/5 of the continent, where we could simply impose our will unilaterally without moral repercussions, we weren’t strong enough to enforce such terms yet.
“Even without a formal treaty, we could request temporary permission as allies…but whether they’d agree is questionable, and even if everything went perfectly, it wouldn’t benefit us much.”
“True. I concur with you on that point.”
“The remaining issue lies with Aishias’ forces…”
Realistically, we lacked generals capable of overwhelming Aishias’ defensive commanders. Sure, Lady Iren, the ‘siege specialist,’ was on our side…but Aishias also boasted top-tier commanders like Emma, Epinal, and Erhandorf, all renowned in the game.
Regardless of their administrative skills, they were undeniably brilliant tacticians. Aishias was designed as a nation with fewer territories but exceptional generals.
Still, war ultimately comes down to numbers. With the vast manpower from our Northern Continent conquests, we could probably win—but at what cost? Mobilizing every soldier for one siege would be inefficient.
I summarized this roughly for Serphina, who nodded upon hearing my concern about depleting our homeland’s defenses.
No, if we could defeat Aishias…
[We can’t.] That answer wouldn’t come up.
Even if we gathered all our forces for an assault, victory would be impossible—or at best, a Pyrrhic one. Gaining Aishias’ territories wouldn’t benefit us strategically.
“In short, advancing towards Brance isn’t feasible due to the alliance, and while we’re slightly disadvantaged against Aishias, even if we eventually win after a costly campaign, the potential gains don’t justify the effort—is that your conclusion?”
“Yes.”
“…”
After pondering for a moment, Serphina tilted her head curiously.
“Is that all you have to say, Swoen?”
“Yes, that’s all.”
“Then allow me to share my thoughts.”
“Huh?”
Did she have her own opinion?
Curious, I silently nodded, meeting her golden gaze.
“You mentioned earlier that mobilizing all our troops from the mainland would be risky.”
“To be precise, not necessarily risky, but rather inefficient.”
“Hmm… From my perspective, inefficiency isn’t the main issue here—it’s the danger.”
“Well, having no troops in our territories would indeed be dangerous…”
“It’s more than just dangerous.”
With conviction in her voice, she continued.
“Because a rebellion would break out.”
“A rebellion…you say?”
Due to the risk of domestic rebellion, expanding into the continent now would be perilous.
It wasn’t an angle I hadn’t considered. But after suppressing a rebellion just days ago, another uprising seemed unlikely.
Like expecting lightning to strike the same spot three times in a row.
That’s why I hadn’t brought it up. Convincing Serphina or our generals with “a rebellion will occur” felt beyond my reach.
“So, Swoen, let me ask you something.”
“Ask…me?”
“How do you see it? Is there a possibility of rebellion within our ranks?”
“…??”
Though puzzled by her sudden focus on questioning, I decided to entertain it. Naturally, the expected result came up.
[Unknown.]
As anticipated, direct predictions about specific events remained unclear.
While I couldn’t give a definitive answer, saying something was better than nothing.
“There’s not zero possibility…but even with the northern chaos, the bl**d spilled from the last rebellion hasn’t dried yet. It seems unlikely they’d risk exposing themselves again so soon.”
“Hooh?”
“If I were plotting rebellion, I’d wait for a better opportunity rather than acting now. Don’t you agree, my Lord?”
I tried to persuade her, noting her amused expression.
However…
She began discussing something entirely unrelated to my persuasion attempts.
“You say it’s unlikely they’d expose themselves?”
“…”
“You believe they’d wait for a better time?”
“My Lord?”
“Swoen, let me ask again. What do you think about leading our occupying forces south?”
“…???”
Though confused why she repeated the question, my answer remained unchanged.
“I maintain that now is not the right time.”
“And about the possibility of rebellion?”
“…Highly unlikely…”
Ah.
Only then did I realize why she’d asked those questions.
“So, you confidently assert that moving our forces south now is ill-timed, yet when it comes to predicting rebellion, you resort to probabilities without any certainty. In fact…”
“You’ve only been certain about one thing: that moving the occupying forces is inefficient. Every other reason has been based on assumptions and predictions.”
“Not just this time either. You always express results with confidence but explain the processes with mere speculation.”
She stood up and approached me slowly.
This situation…
It wasn’t unfamiliar.
Yes.
The person who’d come closest to understanding my abilities through similar Q&A sessions…
The elderly strategist of Aishias, known as the Sage of the Old Empire—Jinoru Nachtardt.
Even he had given me a fleeting chill like this once.
And now…
The chill I felt from Serphina…
“Swoen, let me ask you one final question. One that resolves all the doubts I’ve had from our discussions. You don’t have to answer if you don’t wish to, but I’d appreciate it if you humored me.”
Before I knew it, she was inches from my face. Despite myself, memories of our brief kiss resurfaced, making my heart race again.
Looking straight into my eyes, her cheeks slightly flushed, she asked with the curiosity of a child…
“Do you perhaps…only perceive the results?”
