"Are you suggesting we invade the north?"
Farfalle couldn't hide her bewildered expression for the first time.
As if she'd heard something completely unexpected.
"That's correct."
At my words, the officials who had been listening silently to our debate began to murmur among themselves.
Irene was also staring at me in shock.
She apparently hadn't expected me to go this far.
That's understandable. I didn't expect myself to say such things either.
"No... Lord Swen. Do you understand what you're suggesting right now?"
I could see cold sweat running down Farfalle's forehead.
There was no trace of the intimidating presence she had shown earlier.
She was simply flustered, caught off guard by the outlandish proposal I had just made.
At that moment.
'Ah, maybe I can use this.'
I carefully chose the most natural words possible and casually asked.
"What do you mean... exactly what are you referring to?"
"I'm asking if you really think sending troops to the north to attack Lady Serphina's territory is the best course of action."
How perfectly she provided such an exemplary answer.
I quickly entered the question Farfalle had given me.
'Is attacking Serphina's territory by sending troops to the north the most efficient method at this point?'
The question was entered.
Now, all that remained was for the conclusion to be output.
[Yes, it is.]
'As expected.'
I had thought as much, given that I had reached this conclusion by eliminating all other possibilities, but since it was still just my personal guess without using prediction, I had been somewhat lacking in confidence.
But now with the certification from my Intelligence 100 brain, there was no more need for hesitation.
The best move for the Brands army this month was to attack Serphina's territory in the north.
Of course, I had no idea why.
Whether she knew what I was thinking or not, Farfalle spoke in a somewhat faster voice than before, almost shooting her words at me.
"With our current national power, we cannot invade any castle in the north. We are clearly outnumbered compared to Serphina's vast territory and army size. Moreover, her soldiers are seasoned veterans who have quickly pacified the north and gained experience suppressing sporadic rebellions there. While our soldiers have also gained experience through many battles... given how aggressively she has conducted her conquests, it's fair to say her troops are more skilled than ours."
And she's probably recruited all the mercenary groups based in the northern continent at a high probability.
Farfalle didn't seem to know that yet.
"Besides, let's say we somehow managed to launch an attack from Kelstein Castle. The closest place we could potentially attack would be Cherien Castle in the northeast. Currently, about 40,000 troops are stationed there, so considering it would be a siege, we'd need to prepare at least 70,000 to 80,000 troops, wouldn't we? If we gather more forces and combine all the troops from the smaller castles near the northern front, it's not an impossible number. But if we do that, the forces at Chorel Castle and the surrounding fortresses in the northwest certainly won't just sit and watch as Kelstein Castle becomes an empty house."
After saying this, she took a deep breath.
My opinion must have been quite shocking to her.
"To prevent that, well, we could pull troops from other borders. We still have armistice agreements with other countries along our borders, but those will all end soon enough. And invading a northern castle cannot be resolved in such a short period, considering both distance and military strength. Serphina's army is no small force."
Having said that much, she looked straight into my eyes and said:
"Therefore, I cannot understand at all why Lord Swen would suggest such a thing. If you have any basis for this, I'd like to hear it. Why did you make such a judgment?"
Basis.
I have no basis.
It's just that my prediction said so.
But—Luna isn't here.
Lynn Brands won't believe me so unconditionally.
No, thinking coldly—except for someone like Luna, it would be right to assume that no one would blindly believe my far-fetched story.
So I need to say something.
If I had time to think slowly about the confirmed prediction and come up with a plausible explanation, that would be one thing—but right now, I had too little information about why this was the case.
So what should I say?
As I was pondering this while still maintaining eye contact with her:
"That's enough."
Lynn's voice came from behind.
When I came to my senses, I realized she had already walked closer to us.
Both Farfalle and I had been so focused on our conversation that we hadn't noticed.
"The conversation is getting too long, so let's stop here for now. Is that okay with both of you?"
She's cutting off the debate here?
I easily read Lynn's intentions.
'She doesn't want to be persuaded by my argument.'
Since the new topic was so radical, the rest of the debate would likely revolve around me.
She seems to somewhat overestimate me, so she probably thought I might present some convincing strategy.
Then the officials would have no choice but to be persuaded.
That would make my argument—or rather, Irene's argument—the monthly policy, which she wanted to prevent.
It was a rather small-minded action for a ruler, but considering Lynn's attitude toward Irene so far, it was quite plausible.
However.
Her assumption that I would present a convincing strategy was her tremendous misunderstanding.
I had only just gained confidence in my prediction, without even thinking about why it would work.
But that misunderstanding—from my position, I couldn't help but take advantage of it.
"I..."
"If it is my lord's wish, I am fine with it."
I answered first, taking the initiative.
Farfalle looked at me hesitantly, but soon nodded and said:
"...I am fine with it as well."
"Good. That's how it should be."
Lynn was a ruler with no small amount of arrogance.
A ruler who generally wouldn't tolerate anything that went against her mood.
It wasn't difficult to notice this from how she treated Irene simply because she didn't like her.
Farfalle, who served her more closely than I did, probably knew this better.
"Now, I'll ask all of you. Those who think Farfalle's opinion is better, raise your hands."
At her words, the crowd unanimously raised their hands.
It wasn't much different from before.
"Next. Those who think we should change to Irene's opinion, raise your hands."
This time, no one raised their hand.
It was an entirely expected result given that the debate had ended at this point.
Well, it didn't matter to me. It's not like my life would change if the Brands army didn't make the best choice.
They would be the ones to regret it, not me.
"...So it's decided, Swen. There wasn't a clear winner in the debate, but I think it's fair to say Farfalle had the upper hand. It seems you failed to persuade people."
I bowed my head deeply with the most humble expression I could manage, and answered in the most respectful voice I could muster:
"How could I possibly win a debate against someone like Lady Farfalle? I'm satisfied just to have learned from the experience."
"..."
The look in Farfalle's eyes as she watched me was unusual...
Anyway, it seemed I had managed to get through this situation somehow.
After all, I only needed to gain Lady Irene's favor.
And so the debate ended.
I slowly returned to my original position behind Irene.
She was looking at me with great concern.
You really don't need to worry about me that much.
Lynn shouted loudly, as if to change the atmosphere:
"Our army's action plan for this month is 'The Conquest of Balhart Castle.' Everyone, do your best in your assigned roles."
"Yes! Understood!"
After the subordinates' responses echoed throughout the royal castle,
Lynn raised her hand and said:
"Next, we'll distribute individual roles. Check the castle walls to see what you need to do. With this, I conclude the monthly meeting. Good work, everyone."
With those words—
My first monthly meeting with the Brands army came to an end.
* * *
After the subordinates who had participated in the meeting left, the royal castle became somewhat empty except for the guards.
There, Farfalle was wandering around with a serious expression.
'Swen... how does that man know everything?'
She had tried her best not to show it during the debate, but everything he had said in the early part of the discussion was correct.
The secret proposal from the Charam army.
The grand plan that an envoy, who had recently brought gold to improve friendly relations, had subtly mentioned to her.
Saying it was difficult to speak in front of the ruler, he had discreetly told only her first.
She had also heard about the Aishers army's plan to invade the Alepel army at that time.
And certainly.
After hearing Swen's words, she felt somewhat persuaded.
Why hadn't the Aishers army conquered such a small country until now?
Rather than "didn't conquer"... "couldn't conquer" seemed more natural.
If that was the case, what was the reason?
Yes.
Up to that point, she had definitely been impressed by this man called Swen.
Until then, she thought she could understand why his lord, Lynn, was so concerned about him.
Until Swen said, "We should attack Serphina's territory."
'It's an absurd opinion.'
In debates, it wasn't uncommon to throw out ridiculous opinions to shake the opponent's resolve.
She had no idea how he had figured out that she had received such a proposal—but his suggestion seemed more like empty bluster than anything else.
At that moment:
"Farfalle."
"Yes?"
Lynn, sitting on the throne, spoke up.
"What do you think about Swen's opinion?"
"You mean his suggestion to attack Serphina's territory in the north?"
"Yes."
Farfalle answered without even thinking:
"It's an extremely unrealistic proposal. Isn't that why you cut off the debate in the middle, my lord?"
"...Well..."
The answer was somewhat unsatisfactory, but she had no intention of changing her opinion.
"We don't need to worry about the northern front right now. I, Farfalle, will definitely deliver Balhart Castle into your hands as a reward for your trust."
"..."
Lynn remained silent, lost in thought.
Then she wondered:
'Why did I cut off the debate in the middle?'
Lynn knew well that Swen was no ordinary man.
From the beginning, he had shown signs of even knowing that Serphina's army from the north would attack the Brands army.
Could he have informants in the north?
She couldn't guess exactly, but perhaps he had some way of learning about the situation and political climate in the north—and was basing his words on that?
After all, without performing some kind of "miracle," that humiliating armistice agreement would never have been reached.
So even if his opinion seemed absurd... maybe it was actually feasible. She had been thinking that deep down.
But.
Swen hadn't come up with his opinion on his own.
Swen's argument was... strictly speaking, Irene's opinion.
If Swen won the debate and convinced everyone, wouldn't the Brands army adopt Irene's proposal as the monthly directive?
She disliked that.
Even she, who always made cold judgments for the sake of the country—her judgment became clouded when it came to Irene Juliet.
Swen's prediction had been correct.
Of course.
Setting aside her dislike for Irene—if Swen's words were trustworthy, she would change her opinion too.
But wasn't "having some way of learning about the situation and political climate" just her own baseless speculation?
Even though she had recommended Swen herself, she couldn't blindly trust him without concrete evidence.
He wasn't her only subordinate, and there were quite a few strategists in the Brands army, including Farfalle, the chief strategist.
Even so, since it was Swen who had spoken—a man who seemed to possess peculiar insight in Lynn's eyes—she couldn't completely ignore his opinion.
'Considering the possibility that something might happen in the north, it would be good to station some troops there.'
Not as many troops as Irene's opinion suggested—
But it seemed reasonable to divert some forces from those intended for invading the Aishers army.
Come to think of it, Swen was living in the same house as Irene.
Given that neither had said anything, were they getting along well enough?
She had thought about accommodating them if Irene came first to apologize, or if Swen said it was uncomfortable living there—
But if they didn't come to her, well, what could she do?
'...Never mind.'
Lynn was an extremely stubborn woman.
The kind of person who wouldn't think of changing things if both parties were satisfied.
This straightforward personality of hers was an element that enhanced her charisma as a leader—but it also had the side effect of making inflexible decisions in strange areas.
And in that respect—her evaluation of Swen, who didn't bother to come to her, was becoming increasingly ambiguous.
'Swen. I need more time to figure out whether you can be mine or not.'
No matter how capable he might be, if he ultimately couldn't be hers, then at that time...
She thought this while twirling her hair.
It was a habit of hers when she had a lot on her mind.