She had been repeatedly having a specific dream for the past few days.
A place that seemed familiar, yet she couldn't pinpoint exactly where it was.
In that place filled with buildings made of blue roofs and white bricks, a man approached her.
That man was an incredibly beautiful male with snow-white hair and gray eyes.
She didn't know who he was.
But in the dream, she knew who that person was.
His name was—
'.....'
Even though she naturally called out his name in the dream, she couldn't remember it at all after waking up.
She slightly furrowed her brow and placed her hand on her forehead.
Perhaps because of her brilliantly striking appearance, even her slight frown with golden eyes was breathtakingly beautiful.
'Who is that man....'
If she had more time, she might have calmly thought about that man—
But the position she stood upon simply wouldn't allow her any personal time.
She knew this well, so as soon as she regained her senses, she got out of the soft bed.
'...Never mind.'
Today too, for the sake of those who needed her, she had no choice but to become the "her" that everyone wanted.
As if submitting to the fate given to her, she gathered her distinctive hairpin from the table, quickly organized her thoughts, and prepared to leave the bedroom.
*
After leaving the bedroom, she passed the guards and walked down a long corridor.
While walking this corridor, she closed her eyes slightly.
This was a kind of ritual she performed.
The "real me" who had just woken up would walk down this corridor with eyes closed, transforming into the "me that everyone demands."
Before long, a thick door appeared.
And when she opened this door—
'.....'
With a creaking sound as the door opened.
A woman with brown hair tied back bowed respectfully to her.
"Have you awakened, my Lord?"
"...Mm."
She nodded, then took her place on the absolute sovereign's throne prepared for her.
The brown-haired woman stuck close to her side, reporting on recent events and matters she needed to hear.
"The forces for the 4th Kelstein Castle expedition have been fully prepared at Chorel Castle and Cherien Castle. And from General Julian, there's a suggestion to first destroy the fortress newly built by the Brands army to the north of Kelstein Castle."
"How many troops?"
"There are approximately 28,000 troops stationed at the fortress."
"If we're to attack the fortress, we'll depart from Chorel Castle, correct?"
"That's right."
She fell into thought for a moment, then asked the woman.
"Jena, I'm curious about your thoughts."
"May I speak frankly?"
"I'd be troubled if you didn't."
At her words, the brown-haired woman—Jena—smiled slightly and answered.
"Regarding the fortress first, I don't understand why they built a fortress there in the first place. It's not in a particularly strategic location. So rather than focusing on this, I think it would be better to lead a large force using the southeastern route from Cherien Castle to directly attack Kelstein Castle. If we do that, the 28,000 troops stationed at the fortress will come down for defense anyway, and then we can divide and conquer them with forces from Chorel Castle. That seems like a better approach than attacking the troops inside the fortress."
"I see."
She tapped the armrest of the throne with her finger.
Her golden eyes naturally sparkled.
"So the key is Cherien Castle... Anything else to report?"
"There are reports of troops gathering near the border between the Aishers army and the Brands army."
"Oh?"
Are they planning to attack the east at this point?
For whatever reason, this was quite favorable for our army.
How should we proceed if our army wants to move beyond the north to another location?
If we continue southeast from Cherien Castle, we'll reach a massive mountain range, and crossing it would lead to where the Aishers army is—but it's not a path suitable for troop movement.
The southwest of Chorel Castle is also a series of rugged mountains and swamps, so advancing to the mid-west of the continent through this route isn't a wise choice either.
The choice is Kelstein Castle, located at the gateway directly into the central region.
If we break through here, we can finally leave the north and advance to the south.
Although three expeditions had failed, the battle ratio was still turning in our favor.
In a war of attrition, we would inevitably win.
In this situation, if the Brands army extended the front line, what could be more welcome?
I don't know what their strategist is thinking, but given this opportunity, we can't help but take advantage of it.
At that moment.
Jena bowed her head to her and asked.
"Serphina. What will you do?"
"....."
At Jena's words, the one sitting on the absolute sovereign's throne, the only person externally carrying on the will of Aingart and the one closest to achieving the goal of continental hegemony—
With her piercingly brilliant golden hair and even more intense golden eyes, Serphina von Aingart answered in a somewhat dry voice.
"The execution date will likely be determined within a week. Until then, make sure to report in detail on the situation at the eastern border of the Brands army."
"Understood. I will order thorough preparations so that we can proceed whenever you command."
"I'm counting on you."
And at that very moment.
BANG!
The main door of the audience chamber opened with a chaotic sound.
"My Lord!!!!"
A soldier rushing frantically towards them.
Serphina asked in a calm tone, not showing any panic.
"What's the matter?"
"Che... Cherien Castle."
The soldier desperately blurted out information that needed to be delivered immediately, without even time to catch his breath.
"The lord of Cherien Castle, Ian Lishfalt... has rebelled...!"
"...!!!"
"....."
Unlike Jena, who turned pale with shock upon hearing those words—
Serphina merely frowned slightly, showing no other reaction.
"Claiming to purge the false witch of Aingart who has nothing left but a name, and declaring that the Lishfalt family is the true legitimate successor to the rightful heir Algot of the Aingart Empire, he has raised an army to restore order!"
'.....'
Serphina's impression upon hearing this was very simple.
—A pathetic man who can only rely on the authority of someone already dead.
Algot von Aingart, her brother—surely wouldn't have wanted something like this.
She thought about her "past" for a moment and gritted her teeth—
But she needed to hide such emotions.
"How many have joined him?"
The soldier quickly answered Jena's question.
"Including Solana Lishfalt, the lord of Mati Castle, about 13 people in total. Most of the rebel forces are people associated with the Lishfalt family."
Mati Castle was a small castle near Cherien Castle.
"I see."
That Ian.
Was he kneeling with his pride cast aside for this moment?
Serphina let out a brief sneer.
She knew it was just the desperate struggle of people who couldn't change history anyway.
"...What will you do, my Lord?"
"Let's postpone the 4th expedition for now."
"But—"
"It's fine. The current forces of the Brands army won't have any impact."
According to the latest intelligence received yesterday, the forces at Kelstein Castle had somehow increased by 10,000 from the last confirmed count.
Unless there were many more gathered, that level of force wasn't a major threat.
In fact, the reason for rushing this 4th expedition was to invade quickly before they could gather more troops.
The sudden increase in troops made her wonder if they had noticed the planned reinvasion, but if so, they would have sent more than 10,000 soldiers.
The Brands army certainly had the capacity to do so.
"...Understood."
After hearing Jena's response, Serphina rose from her seat and extended her hand toward the soldier, saying:
"Go and announce this. Summon all generals on duty immediately! We will prepare to march. Send a messenger to each sacred site's lord to share the situation as quickly as possible, and tell them they can march without my approval!"
"Yes, understood!"
With those final words, the soldier ran off at a rapid pace once again.
'Rebellion....'
Even with a rebellion, nothing would change.
She would just do what she had always done.
That was—to "thoroughly crush" them.
For the sake of re-establishing the imperial flag. For herself, who had "inherited" the will of Aingart.
"....."
She mulled over her brother's name.
Algot von Aingart...
The person she killed—yes, "killed"... right?
If that was the fate she had to accept—
'...Another bloodbath is coming.'
The woman known publicly as a tyrant was having thoughts quite unlike her reputation.
Of course, whether it was like her or not—even she couldn't tell anymore.
* * *
As I expected, it wasn't long before everything blew up.
"A rebellion... you say?"
In response to Irene's words as she knelt, Rashion nodded and said:
"Yes. The lord of Cherien Castle, Ian Lishfalt, has raised an army. According to the most recent information, he has about 40,000 troops, but he may have gathered more by now."
'So it is a rebellion after all.'
I had somewhat anticipated this would happen.
But seeing it actually unfold gave me mixed feelings.
Moreover, the name of the rebel, Ian Lishfalt, was familiar.
However, there was one unfamiliar aspect—he wasn't a general under Serphina's command, but one of the lords of the northern region leading an independent force called the "Ian Army."
Of course, since he respawns in the north, he would very likely become Serphina's food—but this scene of someone starting under Serphina and then declaring independence was something even I hadn't seen before.
Rashion stared at me kneeling beside Irene for a long time.
I thought he might ask something unnecessary, but instead of asking questions, he got straight to the point.
"I received a request from General Kalinz for troop support... but excluding the forces needed to safely defend our castle, it seems only the 10,000 troops that General Irene brought can be moved. Please tell me how much time you need to prepare for departure."
"We can leave right now."
"...What?"
To Rashion's question, Irene answered firmly once more.
"Yes. We can march immediately, my lord."
"....."
Rashion broke into a slight sweat before finally speaking.
"...Did you anticipate this? That this would happen?"
"....."
Irene silently looked up at Rashion.
Rashion must know from our previous discussions.
That the moment to deploy troops had finally arrived.
And—that ultimately, Irene's opinion, and by extension my opinion, had been correct.
Well.
The opportunity has already passed.
Adding 10,000 troops wouldn't be enough to turn the tide, and waiting for additional reinforcements would surely miss the optimal timing.
'Well, it would be nice if we could at least get Valhalart Castle.'
But that's probably not going to happen either.
In this moment, I freshly realized that my abilities could be meaningless without a "lord who believes in me."
Rashion let out a brief sigh, then loudly commanded us:
"General Irene, take 10,000 troops and move to the fortress where General Kalinz is stationed!"
"Yes, understood!"
As we left the royal castle after saluting, Irene finally turned her head and looked at me with an expression of disbelief.
"...Swen. There's something I want to ask."
"Please go ahead."
"Did you anticipate this would happen?"
Ah.
Come to think of it—from Irene's perspective, it must seem like I had completely foreseen this future.
If at that time, I had somehow managed to overturn opinions in the debate with Farfalle without Lynn's interference, we would have stationed more troops for northern defense as Irene suggested.
And naturally, with those many troops, we would have had the opportunity to invade the newly raised Ian Army much faster than Serphina's forces.
What is opportunity? We probably could have successfully attacked Cherien Castle.
So once again, my prediction had been correct.
Although Irene wasn't my lord, she was still a woman who would have to work with me in the long term.
It wouldn't hurt to appear "impressive."
I spoke with the most nonchalant attitude I could muster:
"I did sense something unusual in the north. I have relatives near the north, so I occasionally hear news through letters. I anticipated a rebellion might occur, but I couldn't be certain... If I had known it would come to this, I should have made a stronger case."
"...!"
Irene stared at me with a shocked expression, as if she couldn't believe the current situation.
I drove the point home to her:
"Didn't I tell you clearly? Your opinion wasn't wrong, Irene. No, your opinion was the only correct answer. I think you'll understand what I mean soon enough."
"Ah...."
After hearing my words, Irene remained frozen for a moment, slightly bowed her head—
Then murmured in a pitiful voice that seemed on the verge of tears:
"I see. I... wasn't wrong."
"That's right. It doesn't matter that no one else raised their hand to agree with your opinion. In the end, you were right."
"....."
And then.
She looked up at me cautiously, her face flushed.
"And... you were the only one who believed in me, Swen."
?
Rather than believing in her, I was just taking her side to raise her affection, but since the answer came out "nearly correct," I suppose her words were accurate.
Anyway, recognizing that this was a really good opportunity to raise her affection, I smiled at her.
"Didn't I tell you, Irene? I didn't take your side out of pity. So, you don't need to feel discouraged."
She nodded at my words.
Her purple eyes rippled as if they might spill tears at any moment.
"...Yes. Thank you, Swen."
If the situation had been better, we could have slowly discussed "why Irene's plan was right"—
But right now, we had received orders to go straight to the fortress.
I spoke as if to change the atmosphere:
"Anyway, we can't help that the opportunity has passed. Let's head to the northern fortress since we've been summoned."
"Let's do that."
I immediately set off for the newly built fortress with Irene, Jack, and Silin.
* * *
And when we arrived at the fortress—
The "worst-case scenario" had, surprisingly, become reality.