I quickly assessed the current situation.
Our army had 8,000 soldiers available for deployment.
If we selected those in decent condition among troops who had just returned from battle, we could probably utilize about 2,000 more.
A total of 10,000 men. Under normal circumstances, this might not have been such a desperate number, but—
The enemy was currently approaching with an army exceeding 30,000 troops.
Moreover, this wasn't a castle but a fortress. Its defenses were weaker than a castle's, meaning it would collapse much faster under siege weapons.
And they want us to hold out here??
Why on earth???
And what did they mean by "position yourself where enemy troops are visible"?
If that was the prediction, there must be a reason behind it. That's how it had always been.
I would have liked to carefully consider all possibilities.
But since everyone else was already discussing potential solutions among themselves, I needed to stop thinking and focus on not missing any part of the conversation.
"I believe we should withdraw from here."
Miguel nodded at Fark's words.
"Hmm... what about approval from our Lord?"
"I've already sent a messenger. Based on timing, we should be receiving the next instructions soon..."
"What did you tell her?"
"I reported our defeat, that General Kalinz has been taken prisoner, and that we have few troops remaining and might soon face invasion."
"...So the question is whether to wait for the messenger's return or act independently."
Not long after Miguel pondered this dilemma,
a soldier entered the meeting room with perfect timing.
He wore a distinct red armband on his forearm.
Exactly who we needed—a messenger.
"Messenger just arrived! I bring word from our Lord, Lynn Brands!"
"Oh! Speak of the devil! Welcome. So, what does our Lord command?"
"...It's right here."
The soldier handed over a paper bearing Lynn's handwriting with a somewhat tense expression.
Miguel's face darkened progressively as he read it.
"Um... General Miguel. What does it say?"
"Hmm... huh."
Miguel made a disgruntled sound without answering Fark, then looked at the messenger and asked:
"Is this certain?"
"...Yes. It matches exactly what I heard directly from our Lord."
Everyone was staring at Miguel's face, wondering what the message could possibly contain.
After a long silence... he finally spoke with careful, heavy words.
"...Our Lord has ordered us to defend the fortress."
"T-that's...! Ah. Perhaps she's sending reinforcements...?"
Miguel slowly nodded at Fark's question.
"They've... departed from Anel Castle, it says."
"What...? Did you say Anel Castle...?"
Even departing from Kelstein Castle would have been cutting it close.
If they were coming from Anel Castle, there was absolutely no way to defend this fortress against Serphina's army.
'What is that woman thinking?'
Unless she wants all of us to be captured or killed fighting, why would she issue such an order?
And then.
Miguel answered my question more quickly than expected.
"...However."
After saying that, he continued in a dejected tone.
"Some officers are to be reassigned for new duties, and upon hearing this message, they are to leave the fortress immediately and proceed to their assigned locations to carry out their missions."
"What?"
'...No way.'
My bad premonition soon became reality before my eyes.
"...Miguel Brown, Fark, Lilia, Jayden. These four are to go to Kelstein Castle. And Jack, Sillin, Swen. These three are to return to Anel Castle to attend to new duties... so she says."
"...!!"
"The remaining officers... are ordered to defend the fortress until reinforcements arrive. She says she expects them to achieve merit."
Everyone finally realized why Miguel had been hesitating, and all eyes turned to the only person in the room whose name hadn't been called.
Irene Juliet.
Lynn was, once again, trying to extinguish her flame of life in this timeline too.
* * *
Rewinding time a bit.
Around when the messenger Fark sent arrived before Lynn.
"Kalinz Brands... has become a prisoner of Ian's army...?"
The messenger could only bow his head without answering as he watched Lynn turn pale with shock.
'No... how could this...?'
Soon enough, she too could understand the truth of the war.
The rebellion at Cherien Castle. Ian's army rising up.
The reckless battle entered with 35,000 men.
Figuring out why such a reckless battle occurred was possible even without her strategist Farfalle.
Did her brother... think "it was worth trying"?
Because I sent him 10,000 additional troops?
'You foolish... little brother...!'
Ever since his defeat by Lunarienne's army, he had seemed desperate to achieve merit.
And now he had caused an incident.
She had granted him full authority to act without her approval because she thought he was a reliable general, and in reality, he had been much more trustworthy than Chel with his impulsive personality. But it seemed he had misjudged after seeing the troop reinforcements.
If she had sent even more soldiers, Kalinz might truly have been able to capture Cherien Castle.
After all, attacking Serphina's castle was quite different from attacking a small nation that had just risen up.
The Brands army could have achieved their dream goal—planting the sky-blue Brands flag in the northern region.
When she thought that far, his face flashed through her mind.
The face of the man who had insisted 'we should send troops'—Swen's face.
"...!!!"
Lynn's eyes widened in shock.
This time too... it was the same as before.
He had been right.
'This can't be...!'
Moreover, that man hadn't advocated for defense.
He had argued they should gather as many troops as possible and then 'attack' the north.
In that moment, a chill ran down Lynn's spine.
This feeling wasn't new to her.
She had felt something similar when she first met Swen who came as an envoy, and when the messenger arrived announcing Serphina's invasion.
He had anticipated Serphina's attack on the Brands army.
And this time he had predicted the rebellion at Cherien Castle?
'Swen... how... how did you know this would happen?'
But.
The opportunity had already passed.
No, her half-hearted choice had actually made things worse.
If she hadn't sent any soldiers at all, Kalinz wouldn't have taken such a risk despite his impatience.
The reason she hadn't fully supported him but provided ambiguous support was quite simple.
She disliked Irene Juliet, who had been the first to argue that 'troops should be sent to the north.'
So, this is my fault...?
'...No. It's not my fault...!'
Irene Juliet.
That name was once again disturbing Lynn's composure.
In Lynn's mind, she was a strangely untrustworthy woman.
Yes. If she had to pinpoint it, she had disliked her since childhood, when her father was still alive.
In this situation, her pride wouldn't allow her to admit her mistake—the pride of someone who had finally been selected as successor over her brothers whom she had felt inferior to, and had risen to the highest position.
Moreover, the very fact that 'she had missed an opportunity by not listening to Irene' was violently shaking her composure.
'...Fine. If you're right, you need to prove it, don't you?'
Her anger-filled mind once again raced toward a somewhat misguided judgment.
Why hadn't she listened to Swen, whom she had personally recruited?
Wasn't it all because of Irene?
If anyone but her had made that suggestion, she wouldn't have cut off the discussion, and the result would have been different.
So—the person who should 'take responsibility' for this wasn't herself but the woman who had raised the issue.
It was an extremely self-serving thought, but those in absolute power sometimes had to be forgiven for being self-serving.
No. Even before that—who would dare to speak of forgiving or not forgiving her?
She would send reinforcements, of course.
But since the only troops available right now were those defending the capital, what choice did she have?
And surprisingly, after shifting the blame like this, she felt more at ease than expected.
At that moment.
Lynn recalled Irene's voice from some forgotten time.
"My Lord. Please trust me just this once. I will surely achieve merit."
Merit, is it?
Since you put it that way, let's see what you can do.
'Go ahead and try to achieve merit, Irene. Prove it's not just empty words?'
Lynn thought with a smirk.
In the Brands army, falling out of favor with her, the ruler, was practically equivalent to a death sentence.
* * *
It was Irene who broke the silence in the meeting room where no one dared to speak.
"I understand. I, Irene Juliet, will obey my Lord's command."
"General Irene..."
"I will devote myself fully to defending this fortress until reinforcements arrive."
A fortress that wasn't particularly strategic from the Brands army's perspective, hastily established by Kalinz in his eagerness to achieve merit.
She pledged her complete loyalty to the Lord who was sending her to her death by ordering her to defend it—just as she had always done.
It must have always been this way.
In every timeline, Irene would have foolishly done everything she was told—
And even if she survived, her head would eventually roll at her Lord's hand.
"Please leave the fortress as soon as possible. It will soon become dangerous."
"..."
Miguel couldn't say anything as he looked at her face.
Irene seemed to understand him and smiled as she spoke.
"Don't worry. I took up my sword for Lynn. I will simply serve my Lord until this body burns away to nothing."
"..."
Miguel probably knew.
At least how Irene was treated in the Brands army.
But there was nothing he could do.
He didn't have the power to twist Lynn's enormous will to push Irene away.
But.
'I can do it.'
I instinctively realized that an opportunity had come to me.
The prediction made by my Intelligence 100 brain—[Position yourself where enemy troops are visible and hold out.]
I had no idea why such a prediction had emerged, but one thing was certain.
If I followed the instructions and held out, we would win this battle.
Without fail.
I was confident I could 'twist' Lynn's persistent and sinister will.
"...Then, I'll leave it to you."
"Understood. If you'll excuse me, I'd like to spend time tending to the wounded now. May I leave first?"
"Go ahead."
"Then."
Irene slowly left the meeting room with those words.
After that, no one dared to speak again.
That's when I finally raised my hand.
"I have something to say."
"...An opinion?"
Miguel, looking somewhat tired, questioned me.
Why was it?
Despite the situation, I wasn't anxious at all.
I wasn't even angry. Rather, I felt as if a burden had been lifted—the burden of having to persuade someone.
Irene will not die here.
Though sent to her death by her ruler, ironically, this place was not a death trap.
Because—the absolute answer had already appeared in my mind.
I slowly opened my mouth.
"I will remain here."
* * *
"What did you say?"
Miguel looked at Swen with an astonished expression, then quickly regained his composure and asked:
"...Excuse me, may I ask your name?"
"I'm Swen."
"Right. Swen. One of the officers who recently arrived with General Irene, I see. Anyway... what do you mean you'll stay here?"
"I'd like to help General Irene fight to defend this place."
"What?"
The previously quiet meeting room began to stir at Swen's words.
Miguel couldn't help but be surprised.
'Stay here and fight?'
Anyone who had served in the Brands army long enough could tell what was really happening.
Their Lord, Lynn Brands, was now... sending Irene to her death.
The fact that she was disliked by Lynn was information known to anyone who had served in the Brands army for a long time.
The problem started with sending reinforcements from Anel Castle rather than Kelstein Castle.
It was a way of showing the other officers that 'we did what we could.'
Not many people would be simple enough to fall for it, but there was a big difference between doing something and not doing it.
But... despite seeing this, he wanted to stay and help her?
"No... well, I understand you might want to fight for our army. But do you... realize?"
Miguel spoke with a serious expression.
"Not responding to our Lord's summons is equivalent to disobeying her orders. This is an issue that goes beyond your patriotism."
"But isn't this fortress one that General Kalinz personally commanded the construction of? As such, I'd rather fight to the end than abandon it."
"Hmm..."
At that moment.
Fark, standing beside Miguel, turned his thoughts over.
'Come to think of it... that man has often praised Kalinz.'
If Fark had been a smarter person, he might have noticed that 'he put Kalinz in the dangerous vanguard position instead of Irene.'
But he wasn't that impressive.
Therefore, he simplified the situation.
'Is he trying to establish a connection with Kalinz?'
Kalinz Brands.
Though taken prisoner, he would likely survive.
While executing this man directly might have its uses, from Ian's army's perspective, they wouldn't do so for fear of future repercussions.
Even if Serphina's army recaptured Cherien Castle and took custody of the prisoner, using him as diplomatic material would be a much wiser course of action—so although captured, he had a high chance of survival.
There was also a good possibility he could escape during the confusion.
If one planned to work in the Brands army for a long time, riding on Kalinz's coattails rather than trying to please the difficult Lord Lynn or the somewhat oppressive Chel seemed quite a wise decision.
If Kalinz returned alive, everything this man Swen did here would move his heart.
'He's throwing his life away to advance his career somehow.'
Though the chances were slim, if this became known, he would climb the ladder of success in the Brands army with Kalinz as his strong backer.
Young new officers like him sometimes showed such spirit for success.
Fark was already too old and more concerned with self-preservation.
Perhaps that's why.
Fark wanted to help this young newcomer do as he wished.
If the result was death, that was something he would have to bear on his own.
Of course, all of this was Fark's misunderstanding.
"General Miguel. I think we should let him do as he wishes."
"What...?"
"Although the reinforcements are departing from Anel Castle, they are coming, and General Irene is very capable. He's saying he wants to fight for our army, not for some other reason. Perhaps a miracle could happen?"
"..."
After hearing Fark's words, Miguel fell into thought briefly, then remembered they didn't have much time left.
Yes.
From his perspective too, he couldn't keep worrying about a moth throwing itself into the flames.
"...Very well. I'll do my best to convey your intentions to our Lord."
* * *
Yes.
That's what I wanted to hear.
I bowed and answered:
"I will certainly bring you good news."
"Hmm. I look forward to it."
He probably doesn't expect much, but he'll be surprised.
This fortress definitely won't fall.
Whatever the case, the die is cast now.
It was time to do what only I could do.
'Let's go.'
Irene Juliet.
To prevent her flame of life from being extinguished.