After Luna bid farewell to Karelia and left, only the two of them remained in the audience chamber. Finally, Vanessa spoke.
"My Lord."
"I know. I know what you're going to tell me. You don't need to say it."
Karelia spoke in a playful tone, but Vanessa responded with complete seriousness, without a hint of a smile.
"I must speak because it cannot go unsaid. Please do not trust Lunarienne Iniang too much. She was once a lord herself. She is not someone who will be content serving under another."
"..."
When Lunarienne first came with Kein and Tifa, begging them to take her in.
While some people, including Karelia and Cecile, were in favor of accepting them, there were also those who opposed it.
Vanessa was the leading figure among the opposition, arguing most strongly that taking in someone like Lunarienne would be like adopting a tiger cub, and they should absolutely refuse.
Of course, she personally thought it might be better to kill Lunarienne who had crawled in on her own.
But knowing that Karelia would never accept such a proposal, she didn't go that far.
In reality, Vanessa still didn't trust Luna at all.
Karelia heard her words, let out a short sigh, and then looked at Vanessa with a somewhat calmer expression.
"Vanessa. Have you heard the rumors coming from where Luna has been working?"
"I have. The territory's residents who worked with her unanimously sing her praises, don't they?"
"Yes. She has the capacity to capture people's hearts just by working with them for a short time. Not only that, but she's shown remarkable results in agriculture, commerce, wall repairs, and even training soldiers."
Just now, Luna had said she "might not be able to achieve results."
But that was truly just because of the weather; her abilities themselves were excellent at whatever task she was given.
It wasn't just her abilities that were outstanding. Wherever she went to work, she naturally captured people's hearts.
"Tepelo Castle is at the frontline of our forces, and its importance for our future is extremely high. With Luna's abilities, she will certainly manage Tepelo Castle wisely. Wouldn't it be a great loss to our forces if we didn't properly utilize someone with such talents?"
"It could also be a great threat. The hearts of the territory's residents and the people in our Karelia forces only need to have a place for you, Lady Karelia. I believe there should not exist in this country someone who could become a second-in-command under an absolute ruler."
"Won't that become difficult as the country grows larger?"
"It doesn't matter. I intend to make it so."
"...Well then."
In most countries, the de facto second-in-command role was filled by the national strategists.
They were the ones closest to the ruler, helping with their most intimate decision-making.
But Karelia's forces were different.
Her strategist, Vanessa, wanted to remain strictly in Karelia's shadow without seeking power, and worked to ensure that all achievements would be attributed to Karelia.
In running a country, not everything can be resolved through virtue. Getting blood on one's hands was also Vanessa's job.
Naturally, Karelia's forces were firmly operating under Karelia's sole leadership, known for her virtue.
And throughout this process, not a single blemish had touched Karelia's reputation—all thanks to Vanessa.
From Vanessa's perspective, Lunarienne had several traits that overlapped with her lord Karelia.
That's why she thought they shouldn't give her any opportunity to grow, but...
Karelia awkwardly nodded her head and then spoke in a calm tone.
"It's fine. If someone like Luna were to rise up seeking to claim the world, and if she were to become an even greater lord than me, I don't think it would be so bad if she were the one to shape the world instead of me. As long as this world can become peaceful, what does it matter who rules over it?"
"...The only sky I wish to serve is you, my Lord. Such words only give me more reason why I must remain by your side. Nothing more, nothing less."
"...Is that so?"
Karelia let out a few good-natured chuckles.
She certainly had a somewhat soft temperament.
She acknowledged that Vanessa's contributions were significant in expanding and consolidating their power in the south.
"Let's change the subject. Have you heard about it?"
"About what, my Lord?"
"They say a miracle-working man has appeared in the Brands forces."
"That story... Do you mean the one about a huge rock falling from the sky onto Serphina's forces?"
"So you already knew. It seems the rumors have already spread."
"Well, it was quite an incident."
A stone suddenly fell from the sky.
That alone would be one thing, but what made it a hot topic was that during the process, a white-haired man was reportedly performing some strange ritual.
Since the news had reached Karelia's forces at the southernmost point, probably none of the continent's lords had missed hearing about it.
"A man with the ability to make stones fall from the sky—what kind of person do you think he is? I wonder if a magician, who previously existed only in legends, has finally appeared."
"Well... It's hard to believe without seeing it with my own eyes, but my thoughts are a bit different."
"Different?"
"For instance, what if the man didn't directly use magic-like powers to drop the stone, but rather knew the stone would fall and simply performed a ritual to make it look like his doing... That's what I'm thinking."
At those words, Karelia's emerald eyes gleamed.
"Oh? That's quite a different perspective. Why do you think so?"
"It's simple. How could magic that makes stones fall from the sky possibly exist? Magicians are just legendary beings. If we exclude the impossible, it seems more plausible that he somehow read when the stone would fall and acted accordingly."
Karelia questioned Vanessa's reasoning again.
"Then, conversely, what about 'reading the timing'? I think that alone is already quite remarkable, even if it's not magic."
"..."
Indeed.
At this point, even Vanessa was at a loss for words.
Whether he summoned a stone from the sky or accurately predicted when and where it would fall—both abilities were extraordinary, bordering on the divine.
She had referred to it as "some method," but honestly, she couldn't even imagine what that might be.
"I'd like to meet him. I hear he's a young man with white hair."
"If someone with such abilities were in the Brands forces, given Lynn Brands' showy personality, I would think she'd have put him at the forefront long ago..."
"Well, perhaps she discovered a talent hidden in obscurity, just as I found you. If we speak with him properly, perhaps he might share our vision?"
"..."
Vanessa thought to herself.
Whether it was magic or reading the timing, if she could meet someone who could cause such an unbelievable "miracle"—
Rather than trying to tame and control him, killing him would be safer.
Someone with that level of ability wouldn't be satisfied serving under someone else.
'When we eventually confront the Brands forces, we should be careful.'
She and her country had a priority task.
The southern conquest.
Matters with the Brands forces could be considered later.
'I will definitely make our lord the unifying monarch.'
Though she had some soft aspects, she was the only lord who genuinely cared for her territory's residents and the continent's peace.
From Vanessa's perspective, a world not unified under Karelia would be a flawed world regardless of how it turned out.
*
'Now I can depart, right?'
Just as she finished preparing to leave and was about to mount her horse,
Lunarienne overheard soldiers chatting.
"Did you hear the news? A magician has appeared in the Brands forces."
"They say he summoned a stone from the sky and made it fall?"
A magician?
Come to think of it, though she hadn't listened carefully because she was focused on her work... there had been rumors about a "magician" appearing in the Brands forces.
She remembered hearing that what he did didn't match any magic from legends, making it questionable to call him a magician.
For Luna, when it came to the Brands forces, something different came to mind rather than rumors about magicians.
'Swen... are you doing well?'
Swen, who was essentially sold to the Brands forces.
She was very worried about how he was doing under Lynn Brands.
At that moment,
A word she couldn't ignore reached her ears.
"They say he's a young man with white hair. Apparently, he performed a ritual toward the sky."
"...!!"
Among young men, those with white hair were not common on the continent.
At least among the people Luna had encountered, there was only one young man with white hair.
"Ex-excuse me! Pardon me!"
"Whoa! L-Lady Lunarienne...?"
The soldiers who recognized Luna bowed nervously.
"W-what can we do for you?! Did we do something wrong...?"
"Are you certain about the white-haired man?"
Though they were momentarily tense, as soon as the keyword "white-haired man" came up, they relaxed and answered.
"Ah, you're asking about that rumor. Yes, from what I heard, he is indeed a white-haired man. They say he performed a ritual toward the sky."
"After he performed the ritual, the sky suddenly churned, and a massive rock, like divine punishment, fell directly onto Serphina's forces."
"Is that so...?"
A young white-haired man from the Brands forces who performed an incredible miracle.
For some reason, she was certain it was the person she knew.
'Lord Swen... you're alive...!'
He caused a miracle?
That wasn't so surprising.
Swen had always been like that. Even when he was with her, hadn't he performed things that could only be called "miracles" multiple times?
So if someone had accomplished something this unbelievable—it couldn't be anyone but Swen.
"Um... Lady Lunarienne, we have somewhere to go, so may we excuse ourselves?"
"..."
"...We'll take our leave then. Please forgive our rudeness."
As the soldiers left Luna behind without getting a response,
Luna, not even noticing they had gone, slowly sank to the ground where she stood.
'Lord Swen...! I'm so, so glad you're safe... Lord Swen...!'
How long had it been since she'd heard news of Swen?
Because she believed his promise that "I will definitely return to my lord's side," she hadn't worried too much... but she had still been anxious.
Thinking about it, Swen tended to speak with strong conviction when asserting himself. She knew well that this could come across poorly to others.
Especially in front of Lynn Brands, known for her arrogant personality, showing such behavior could be dangerous in many ways.
But somehow he was alive. Alive and apparently performing incredible miracles again—just as he had done when he was under her.
He summoned a massive rock from the sky.
It was an absurd story, but knowing it was Swen who did it, she didn't doubt it for a moment.
She firmly believed that Swen had summoned it.
He had always been that kind of person.
Swen was the one who would say impossible things like "I will do this" or "This will happen," and then actually accomplish them.
Luna slowly rose from her spot.
Her ruby-colored eyes were burning fiercely.
Now that she knew Swen was alive—
For her, hesitation would only be a sin.
'...I need to prepare so that when I meet Lord Swen again, I can face him with dignity.'
When the time comes.
When the moment arrives that no one can deny.
She would surely seize that moment.
For Swen, who had survived until today.
'...'
With that great resolve in her heart, Luna mounted her horse and set off for her new destination, Tepelo Castle.
She needed to tell Tifa and Kein about Swen's news too.
For the first time since losing her country, her heart was beating strongly.
* * *
And.
Luna in the southern part of the continent wasn't the only one who lost her composure upon hearing about the "white-haired man."
"Is that true? A young man with white hair and gray eyes?!"
"Guh... guk."
Serphina grabbed the defeated commander Julian by the collar and demanded answers.
She was uncharacteristically flustered.
In a battle where she had taken 33,000 soldiers, incredibly, over 30,000 died when struck by a falling rock.
Commander Julian, who barely survived and returned, brought back only about 3,000 soldiers.
Moreover, she heard that before this massive rock fell, a man was performing a ritual toward the sky from atop the fortress.
This alone was full of incomprehensible events, but surprisingly, what mattered most to her now wasn't that.
'White hair and gray eyes... that person...!'
Serphina had rarely seen a young man with white hair.
If she had seen one—it was only once.
In her dream.