***
"Is that... really true?"
"Yes. Our forces have suffered unspeakably devastating losses... and General Chel is also severely wounded."
A historic defeat due to Chel Brands' misjudgment.
After discovering Irene Juliet and recklessly continuing the battle with her... time dragged on, and before they could retreat, the entire force that had launched the surprise attack suffered near-annihilation.
After hearing all the facts from the battlefield from the messenger who had rushed over, Farfalle collapsed on the spot, her legs giving out as if struck by lightning.
'Why... did this happen...?'
The operation had been perfect.
Considering the enemy commander Epinel's "determination to advance into the Central Continent," she thought the surprise attack would definitely succeed... so why did it fail?
Moreover, the scout had reported that he had clearly seen preparations for a ritual ceremony at the fortress.
The enemy was clearly trying to defend the fortress. If they weren't confident that many troops would arrive there, why would they be preparing for a ceremony?
'Why on earth...!'
At that moment.
For some reason, the image of a young man with white hair flashed through Farfalle's mind.
"Specifically... I'm asking if you're thinking of making a pact with the Charam forces to launch a simultaneous attack."
"We need to gather our forces in the north and invade Serphina's territory."
However he had figured it out, thinking back now, the man named Swen had seen through everything as if he had seen the future.
The fact that this man was with the Aishers forces... suddenly gave her chills.
'Could it be...'
No. It couldn't be.
It didn't make sense. Common sense dictated that humans couldn't reach a state of foreseeing everything.
Certainly he had extraordinary abilities... but knowing everything... that couldn't be right...?
'...I need to calm down.'
Farfalle stopped thinking about Swen.
Even if it were true that he had figured everything out and used them in reverse, she wasn't sitting in the position of national strategist to marvel at that man.
What happened had happened, and she needed to deal with it right now.
'At this rate, the southern front will be completely empty...'
If she redirected the western forces that had finished reorganizing to the south, then the eastern front would be empty.
And bringing troops from the north was out of the question. That was an area that absolutely could not be left undefended.
Right now, they had armistice agreements with the southern countries that shared borders... but it was just a fleeting moment, far too brief to fill with new soldiers.
'First... I need to calm down. I must inform my lord of the facts as soon as possible.'
After organizing the current situation, Farfalle ordered the messenger before her to report immediately to Anel Castle.
It was important for her lord, Lynn, to understand the current situation first.
"Understood! I will make sure to deliver the message!"
After sending the messenger.
Farfalle fell back into contemplation.
'What should I do? How... how can we overcome this crisis?'
Honestly.
She was the one who had devised this operation.
This meant that the blame for this catastrophic failure didn't rest solely on Chel Brands for falling for the provocation.
Of course, it was because Chel didn't act according to her plan and dragged things out that they ended up in this situation... but at this point, assigning blame wouldn't solve anything.
'What should I do... what should I do...!'
No matter how many times she thought about it—
In the end, all possibilities led to an extremely desperate reality.
Farfalle looked up at the darkening sky and thought.
'...Has heaven abandoned Lady Lynn?'
Although she was someone who had always been wary of blindly invoking heaven's will.
At this moment, she couldn't help but think that way.
***
A few days later, the messenger sent by Farfalle arrived at Anel Castle.
The failure of the surprise attack and Chel Brands' defeat.
Regarding the Aishers forces, they had already lost well over 80,000 soldiers.
The betrayal of 38,000 and the annihilation of 45,000.
And they hadn't even managed to inflict any meaningful damage on the Aishers forces.
Literally, they had just lost soldiers and died in vain.
Crunch, crunch.
Lynn bit her fingernails roughly.
Red blood was dripping from the tips of her nails.
'This can't be happening, this can't be happening, this can't be happening...'
The defeat and injury of Chel, the First Sword of Brands.
The decisive cause of defeat was that Chel had fallen for a provocation.
And of all people... from that woman she didn't even want to think about.
'Irene Juliet...!!!'
Bang!
Lynn slammed her fist hard against the armrest of the throne.
Of all people.
Here again, of all people, she had been defeated by Irene.
Not by anyone else, but by that red-haired filthy traitor she couldn't stand the sight of!
'Damn it, damn it, damn it damn it damn it...!!!!!'
Bang! Bang! Bang!
She kept hitting the armrest until her fist turned red, but of course, nothing was solved.
And now, finally, her reason as a ruler returned to her.
'What about the soldiers... what should I do? There are only a few thousand soldiers on the southern border...'
Lynn urgently sent messengers to order her ministers to think of solutions to the current situation.
A few hours later, an old man came to see her.
"My lord. It's been a while since I've seen you."
This old man was Byron, a senior minister who had served the Brands forces for two generations and was the former lord of Laclaine Castle.
After stepping down from his position as castle lord, he had retired from the front lines and was barely making a living with odd jobs, but he had come to Anel Castle to advise Lynn on the current situation.
"Byron. You've heard what happened?"
"Yes. In my judgment, it's an extremely dangerous situation. You need to make a decision quickly."
"A decision?"
"Even now, agree to a ceasefire of at least three years with the Aishers forces in exchange for ceding Laclaine Castle. If the north or south is breached, it's over. If we only need to guard against the Aishers forces in the east, we can somehow find a way through."
"..."
Lynn could only stare into space, at a loss for words.
Objectively speaking, ceding Laclaine Castle and agreeing to a ceasefire of at least three years was likely the option that would minimize damage.
That way, they could somehow patch up the south with forces from the west.
But.
Bowing to the Aishers forces—
To her, it was the same as bowing to that insufferable Irene Juliet who had joined them.
Of all people, she absolutely could not lose to her.
She couldn't show any weakness to her, could she?
"Any other options?"
"...We could try to sow discord among the southern countries and incite war, but... honestly, I'm not sure if it would work. I'm not even sure if we have enough time."
"I absolutely cannot give the Aishers forces what they want. ...Think of another way."
"..."
After that, Byron left the castle without saying anything more.
The few ministers who came after him were similar.
They all brought plausible opinions, but none of them felt clearly decisive.
Yes.
All these people who had served our forces for a long time.
They had less confidence in their words than Swen, who had been just a newcomer.
Thinking about it now, Swen always spoke with confidence.
When he said we should send troops to the north, when he said the Aishers forces were conspiring with the Alrepel and Charam forces to deceive us.
The only time his words weren't right was once. Only at the end when he said we should build a fortress and attack the Aishers forces.
Even that, thinking about it now, probably wasn't his opinion.
It was obviously Irene's opinion, wasn't it?
After all, they both betrayed us together.
In the end, it all comes back to Irene.
The thought that Irene Juliet was laughing at her and humiliating her made her angry again.
"...Aaaaaahhh!!!"
She screamed with all her might, but of course, nothing was solved.
Now, never.
She would never be dragged around by that red-haired bitch again.
"Miss Lynn. I am Irene Juliet. I will do my best to be a shield protecting the young masters of the Brands family, including Miss Lynn."
From the moment they first met.
Lynn disliked everything about her.
No matter what she did, she was better than me despite my much nobler bloodline.
No matter what she did, she achieved better results than me despite my much nobler bloodline.
No matter what she did, that woman received more admiration from people than me despite my much nobler bloodline.
Still, it didn't matter.
If things continued this way, I would eventually be the one ruling above her.
But even after finally ascending to the throne and establishing a master-servant relationship—
The thirst of her childhood remained unquenched, continuing to sink deep into her heart.
'It was going to end up like this anyway...!'
Thinking about it now, she must have instinctively sensed that Irene was destined to become a traitor and felt aversion.
She quickly convinced herself and began to rationalize.
If she hadn't been in the position of ruler, everyone would have eventually realized that all of this was a calamity brought by Irene—
But tragically for her, she was the ruler.
And in the Brands forces, there was not a single person who could challenge Lynn Brands' authority.
"...Hey."
"Y-Yes, ma'am!"
Lynn spoke to the soldier standing guard.
"Call for Kalinz Brands, who is under house arrest."
"Y-You mean Lord Kalinz?"
"...What are you waiting for?! Hurry up and call him!"
Lynn shouted irritably, drawing the sword placed beside her.
The soldier, thoroughly frightened, barely managed to answer.
"Y-Y-Yes, ma'am!"
'...Haa, haa.'
Kalinz Brands.
Although he had committed a grave mistake, with Chel injured, he was the only general she could trust right now.
If she ordered him to defend Laclaine Castle, he could at least hold off the Aishers forces.
As for the southern countries... Yes. Rather than giving a castle in exchange for peace, it would be better to do so with one of the southern countries.
Given that territory was at stake, they might even agree to wage war among themselves.
That would make the Brands forces' borders a bit more complicated, but she absolutely did not want to concede anything to the Aishers forces where Irene existed.
'It's okay. I just need to take it one step at a time. I am Lynn Brands. The chosen one destined to unify this continent...! In the end, I can only win...!'
Thinking this way, surprisingly, her angry heart began to calm a little.
Yes. She just needed to start over step by step.
Even if she lost a little, even if she lost a few castles, she had already conquered the central region once.
A little while later.
Kalinz approached, knelt, and said:
"My lord. Kalinz Brands has come as ordered."
"...Ah, welcome. Brother Kalinz."
Lynn calmly explained her plan to Kalinz.
The gist was this: She would entrust him with all the forces from the west that had finished reorganizing to defend Laclaine Castle.
Although the forces themselves were somewhat lacking, Laclaine Castle was known as a natural fortress with extremely high defensive capabilities.
A general of Kalinz's caliber would surely be able to hold off the Aishers forces' offensive.
In the meantime, they needed to gather forces as quickly as possible.
They needed to conscript territorial residents indiscriminately and hire mercenary groups at any cost if possible.
Public sentiment might deteriorate a bit in the process, but if everything collapsed anyway, it would be meaningless.
"If you complete this mission properly, I'll restore your honor. I'll act as if you never made any mistakes."
Kalinz spoke in a very solemn tone.
"I, Kalinz Brands, have been waiting for this moment. This time, I will make sure not to disappoint you, my lord."
Today, Kalinz's words felt especially reassuring.
Lynn thought that the Brands family would overcome this crisis.
She thought she could inflict pain on Irene, who dared to betray the Brands family, to the point where she would find living painful—
That's what she thought.
"Good. I like it. I'll be expecting great things."
After giving Kalinz these general orders and sending him away, she sat on the throne and bit her nails again.
'It's okay... nothing bad will happen, we can overcome this...!'
And at that moment.
"M-My lord...!"
A soldier rushed into the audience chamber.
Lynn, cornered and on edge, almost lost her temper... but seeing the red armband clearly tied around the soldier's arm, she froze, unable to speak.
'N-No way...'
"My lord. The Serphina forces...!"
Fate, already gone awry, would not wait for a leader who had made several consecutive misjudgments.
"Information indicates they are marching toward Kelstein Castle with 98,000 troops...!"
Lynn might not want to admit it.
From the moment she truly tried to kill Irene Juliet—
The Brands forces, once the hegemon of the central region, began to collapse with frightening speed.