Became a Strategist with a 100 Intelligence and 100\% Accuracy-Chapter 198: Fate’s Night (3)

Is this... a dream?

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

As Serpina stood before a vast field of blooming flowers, that was the only thought running through her mind.

Because a scene like this—so peaceful, so idyllic—was something that she was never meant to have.

She turned her head slightly—

And there he was.

A man with white hair, smiling at her.

A familiar face. Swen.

This was a dream she hadn’t had since meeting him. And yet... he appeared once more.

Strangely enough, she could observe herself from an outside perspective.

Wearing a sunhat that cast a shadow over her face, dressed in a pure white dress...

And she smiled.

A bright, radiant smile, as though she were the happiest woman in the world, as though she were a woman deeply loved.

It had been so long since she had smiled like that—so long that she couldn't even remember when.

At that moment, when it felt like this happiness would last forever—

Swen slowly rose from his seat.

Then, he began to walk away.

'...Huh?'

She reached out—but couldn’t touch him.

She tried to speak—but no voice came out.

There were so many things she wanted to say, yet her lips wouldn’t move.

Don’t go.

Don’t leave me, Swen.

If you leave me too, then... then...

I will be left with no one to love me, hated by all, abandoned by everyone.

I don’t want that.

I can’t accept that.

Please, please, please...

Don’t leave me behind.

***

'...Ah.'

She gasped as her mind snapped back to reality.

"What the hell happened to you, Serpina...?"

'...Swen?'

It was Swen’s voice.

The same man from her dream.

Slowly, Serpina moved her hand.

As sensation returned, so did her memory.

That’s right.

She had been given a pain-relieving herbal remedy, entrusted her body to her attendants, and then... she had fallen asleep.

As her senses fully returned, so did the pain in her waist—slowly creeping back.

'Swen... don’t go...!'

With all her remaining strength, she reached out and grabbed his wrist.

He turned toward her, concern in his eyes.

"You’re awake, my lord? You should rest—"

'I can’t let go... not now...!'

There was only one thought filling Serpina’s mind.

I can’t lose this man.

If I do, I will regret it for the rest of my life.

"...Swen."

"My lord."

So—

The truth buried deep within her heart, the words she had always feared would drive him away, she would say them.

She knew.

She knew that she was not in his heart.

She knew that the lord he truly served was not her.

And yet.

Even knowing that—if she didn’t say these words, she would regret it forever.

And so.

"...Don’t leave me, Swen..."

She said it.

***

"My lord...?"

As Serpina turned slightly, still gripping my hand, the blanket slowly slid down.

Her bare, pale shoulder was revealed.

I didn’t even have time to avert my gaze before she—

Once again—

Repeated the same plea.

"Please... don’t leave me, Swen..."

"..."

What exactly did she mean?

Was she simply asking me to stay by her side for now?

Thinking that might be the case, I settled into the nearby chair.

"I’m not going anywhere, my lord. I’ll stay here for tonight."

But—

As if afraid I might disappear, she tightened her grip on my arm.

"That’s not what I mean..."

"..."

"Swen... Stay with me. Please..."

Don’t leave me.

Stay by my side.

I understood what she truly meant.

Had she known all along?

That I would one day leave her?

She had always said it.

That she didn’t mind being second.

That she wanted my heart, no matter what it took.

That she would do anything if it meant keeping me close.

Maybe, hidden beneath those words, what she really meant was—

‘Please, never leave my side.’

She didn’t press me for an answer.

Perhaps, deep down, she didn’t expect one.

After a long silence, I cautiously changed the subject.

"...How is your wound?"

"I won’t die, so it’s fine. My life is... surprisingly persistent."

The physician had said there was nothing more they could do.

All that remained was to let the wound heal over time.

That meant she would need at least several weeks—if not months—to fully recover.

She had survived, but even I, someone with no medical expertise, could tell her injury was anything but minor.

The longer timeline seemed more likely.

At this rate, she wouldn’t be able to govern properly for quite some time.

That thought led me to the question that had been lingering in my mind.

"My lord... why did you do it?"

"..."

"Why... did you throw yourself in front of Airen?"

Serpina was an intelligent woman.

She knew exactly how much her own life was worth.

To me, Airen was important, but to the nation, the ruler was far more vital than a single knight.

Her decision must have frustrated Airen as well.

No matter how much one tried to justify it, a bodyguard being protected by their ruler could only mean one thing—

They had failed.

Serpina was not someone who would act recklessly.

She knew that her choice hadn’t helped herself or Airen.

So why?

Closing her golden eyes for a moment, Serpina slowly exhaled.

Then—

She held onto my hand, her grip tightening.

"...I didn’t want to see you hurt."

"...What?"

"I... Swen... I didn’t want to cause you pain."

Her voice trembled.

A confession from the depths of her heart.

"General Airen... she is important to you, isn’t she? If she had been hurt because of me... then you would have suffered."

"..."

"If that had happened, Swen... I might have left a wound on your heart that could never heal... and the thought of that scared me. So... without even thinking... I moved."

"..."

"I know... that the whole world hates me. I thought I had gotten used to it.

But... if I were to hurt you, and in the end... if you, too, came to hate me...

Then I think... I would break."

"So... I threw myself in the way. I didn’t want you to feel pain.

I didn’t want you... to hate me.

I was――"

――afraid of you hating me.

Her voice trembled as she spoke.

I held her hands tightly.

"My lord... there is nothing you could do that would ever make me hate you."

"Swen..."

"So please..."

But I couldn’t find the words.

I didn’t know what to say in moments like this.

In a similar situation, I had been able to speak to Airen without hesitation.

I could always tell her everything in my heart, just as I could now.

But...

Serpina was different.

Because one day, I would leave.

And for someone who would eventually leave... to say anything comforting now would be nothing but a cruel deception.

So I couldn’t bring myself to speak carelessly.

You can relax. I’ll always be on your side.

Thank you. Thank you for saving Airen. I will never forget it.

Words to comfort her floated through my mind—but I couldn’t say them.

Because I knew I had no right to say them.

At that moment—

Serpina’s delicate hand slowly moved upward.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

By the time I realized it, she was gently brushing the back of her hand against my cheek.

"Don’t cry."

"...What?"

Ah.

Only then did I realize—

I was crying.

"Swen... I did this so you wouldn’t feel pain.

And yet... why are you hurting?"

"My lord..."

"I am glad I saved Airen.

If I hadn’t... I don’t think I would have had the face to look at you again."

I said nothing.

I just held her hand tighter.

Even as tears dripped onto my knees, I didn’t dare open my mouth.

Minutes passed in silence.

Serpina kept wiping away my tears—

Then, slowly.

Carefully.

She spoke her truth.

"...Swen."

"Yes."

And the words she spoke—

"I... didn’t kill them."

It was something that might have sounded meaningless from the mouth of a ruler.

But as a confession from a single human being,

It was unbearably heavy.

"I... didn’t kill anyone, Swen."

"My lord..."

"Algott, my brother... Sidmid, my brother..."

The moment those names left her lips,

I recalled something she had once told me.

"Of course, it was me. The strongest successor, Algott, and his greatest rival, Sidmid—I eliminated them both with my own hands."

She had looked into my eyes—

And told me, without hesitation, that she had killed them all.

**"As the youngest with no claim to the throne, the only way I could take it was through purges. If no one followed me, then I simply had to kill everyone who wouldn’t and leave only those who would. It was a ridiculously simple solution.

So I cleaned up.

Because I was the one who had to wear the crown."**

And at the end of it all, she had asked me in an almost indifferent tone—

"Do you not despise me?"

But now—

She was telling me, with a trembling voice—

That she hadn’t killed them.

I looked at her face.

Just like I had cried—

She, too, was crying.

Her golden eyes shimmered like a lake on the verge of overflowing.

"I didn’t... kill anyone.

I... never... killed anyone...!"

――Hic.

The woman who had seemed strong beyond reason.

The woman who had never allowed anyone to look down on her.

Her beautiful face was ruined with tears as she cried uncontrollably.

"Please believe me, Swen...

I never... killed anyone..."

"..."

Her voice, so fragile it sounded like it might break, pleaded with me over and over again.

She hadn’t done it.

She hadn’t killed anyone.

She had buried her truth in the deepest parts of her soul—

And now, she was finally letting it out.

"It’s true..."

Listening to her barely audible voice, I composed /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ myself and thought.

How unlike her.

The Serpina I knew would always present clear, logical, and undeniable reasoning when making a case.

But now, she was doing none of that.

She simply kept repeating that she hadn’t done it.

No evidence.

No explanations.

No rhetoric.

And yet—

Her words held a power no eloquent speech ever could.

If Serpina truly had never killed anyone—

Then whose sins had she taken upon herself?

Had she been carrying the burden of someone else’s crimes this entire time?

And more importantly—

Why was she telling me this?

I had so many questions.

But that wasn’t what mattered right now.

Right now, what she needed most was not interrogation.

It was words she could hold onto.

It was someone to acknowledge her pain.

"I believe you."

I looked into her eyes and spoke.

"I told you before, didn’t I? That I trust you, my lord.

That hasn’t changed.

I believe you.

I believe your words."

She didn’t answer.

She just kept crying.

And I didn’t press her for more.

Silently, I lifted my hand and wiped away her tears.

Even though I was touching the face of an emperor—

She didn’t reject my touch.

I gently brushed away the tears from her cheeks, then held her hand tightly once more.

It was warm.

The hand of a tyrant, a ruler without mercy—

And yet, her blood ran warm like anyone else’s.

Or perhaps—

She wasn’t a tyrant at all.

Perhaps she had been made into one.

Because she had never killed anyone.

Because I believed her.

Because I couldn’t help but believe her.

I let myself lean into the warmth of her hand.

The faint scent of yuzu filled the air, wrapping around me like a comforting embrace.

And as I inhaled, I realized—

The scent wasn’t coming from her.

It was rising from within my own heart.

What are you doing?

Why are you giving so much of yourself to her?

For now, I buried those rational thoughts deep inside my chest.

For now—

I let my instincts take over, and rested my face in her hands.

And then—

In the most reckless act of all—

I made a vow.

A vow to protect Serpina for the rest of my life.

And, tragically—

There was not a single lie in that vow.