Became a Strategist with a 100 Intelligence and 100\% Accuracy-Chapter 274: Not Despair, Not Regret

It was not long after Lunarian’s Army, once based in Zeilant Castle, had fallen.

Several weeks had passed since Luna, trusting the advice of the white-haired tactician who had time and again performed miracles to save her, had sought refuge with the Karelia Army in the south.

Now, Luna was working tirelessly alongside the farmers in the fields.

For a former ruler to personally labor in the fields—something typically left to commoners—might have seemed absurd, but Luna paid it no mind and gave it her all.

There were many in this place who remained wary of her.

Though the ruler of Karelia had ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) generously agreed to take her in, if Luna wanted to continue living safely here, she would need the trust not just of the lord, but of others as well.

To that end, the method Luna chose was neither grand nor elaborate—she simply threw herself into hard work with sincerity.

It’s fine. If I endure, the opportunity will come. That’s what he said.

It was with that mindset that she devoted herself to the work, until one day, someone approached and spoke to her.

"Haha, you’re hard at it again today, Lady Luna."

"Ah, my lord."

The one who spoke to Luna was none other than Lord Karelia.

Judging by her outfit, she was likely out on an inspection.

"From the looks of it, you seem to have quite a knack for farming."

"A knack, you say? I wouldn’t dare claim that. I’m simply doing what I can."

"No, I’m not just being polite. If you consider that farming is nearly impossible without a certain amount of physical strength... Lady Luna, despite appearances, you might actually have a rather sturdy build."

Karelia said this and let out a hearty laugh.

By now, Luna was used to her joking like this whenever she ran into subordinates during her inspections, so she didn’t let it rattle her.

"So then, how are things going?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, how are you adjusting to our army?"

Luna gave Karelia a slight bow and replied.

"Thanks to your consideration, I’ve been doing well without issue."

Truthfully, things hadn’t been going quite that smoothly.

She was a figure from outside the southern continent—one who had once held the rank of lord, albeit of a small nation. Apart from Karelia herself and Cecil, who was closest to her, no one had accepted Luna as a companion without reservation.

In Karelia’s army, Luna was clearly on the fringes. If she had been someone with ambition, the alienation alone might have driven her to despair.

"I see. I thought it would be difficult, what with your close companions all being assigned to Tepello Castle."

"Not at all. The territory’s people are full of life, and I feel that my comrades have shown me a great deal of consideration. Once again, thank you for accepting an outsider like myself."

"Think nothing of it. Regardless of what you were in the past, if your goal is to overthrow Serpina and bring peace to the continent, then that makes us allies, does it not?"

With those words, Karelia lifted her gaze toward the sky above.

Her deep green eyes quickly filled with the clear blue of the heavens.

"This castle, Madralan, is a peaceful place. But... the continent is still plagued by endless war. You understand, don’t you? That the Eingart imperial family’s oppressive rule can never bring about an age of peace?"

"Yes, I do."

Luna answered without hesitation, her voice resolute.

It was because she couldn’t allow Serpina to claim sovereignty over the continent that she had chosen to become a lord herself, even with her limited abilities.

Though things hadn’t gone well, and she’d ended up in this position, not once had she abandoned the dream of unifying the continent.

"That’s right. Stopping Serpina is what matters most. The color of the flag that blankets this land comes second. Anyone could lead—Navidos Ohana, Setta Roland, Aski Hesna, even Baranga Yuri Aishus. As for Lyn Brans... well, I can’t say she’s my preferred type of person, but I think even she would govern better than that wretched woman."

Entrusting the continent to Serpina, who slaughtered her own family and massacred innocent subjects, was simply unthinkable.

That belief was not unique to Karelia—it was one shared by every lord who had raised their own banner across the continent.

"That’s how I see it. Even if I die, even if Karelia’s forces are one day destroyed... as long as the boots that trample us don’t belong to the Eingart family, there will still be hope. That’s what I truly believe—that it won’t matter who brings down this country, so long as it’s not them."

"My lord..."

As Karelia spoke solemnly, she suddenly chuckled and adopted a warm, gentle expression.

"If the tactician heard that, she’d probably scold me again. Lady Luna, I trust you’ll keep this a secret."

"Of course."

By “tactician,” she meant Vanessa Trinity, the national strategist of this land.

Among all those stationed here, she was the one most wary of Luna. She had adamantly insisted that Luna never be taken on as a subordinate. Even when her presence had to be tolerated, she demanded the three of them be separated.

As someone who would never be more than a fellow subordinate under the same lord, there was no chance of building any sort of personal connection between them.

"Anyway, as long as we share the same resolve to bring down Serpina, you and I are more than just ruler and retainer—we’re comrades. So don’t worry too much about what others think. They’re all just being cautious. None of them are bad people. I just wanted you to know that they’re simply struggling to accept an outsider like you in these times."

Only then did Luna realize why Karelia had sought her out.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

She was being considerate, no doubt. And with her name still being spoken in the central region, that likely played a part too.

Thinking about how most lords wouldn’t go out of their way to do something like this... it was clear that Karelia truly did possess the kind and compassionate nature the rumors spoke of.

"Thank you for your concern, my lord."

"No need for thanks. I wouldn’t even call it special consideration, so you don’t need to feel burdened."

With that, Karelia smiled once more and looked at Luna with warmth.

"Lady Luna. No matter what anyone says, you are a precious comrade of mine. Don’t ever forget that."

***

And I――

‘...killed her.’

I killed Makana Karelia.

Karelia vanished alongside Vanessa, swallowed by the execution grounds.

To confirm their deaths, Luna had to examine their severed heads.

One belonged to Vanessa, and the other... to Karelia.

Even in death, Karelia wore a smile. It was a fitting end for her.

‘I’m the one who killed her...’

――Whenever Luna closed her eyes, she could see Vanessa, begging for Karelia’s life.

And Karelia, in contrast, calmly telling Luna to strike her down.

At times, they reached out to her. Grabbing at her ankles, trying to drag her into the depths of despair.

As she pushed those “phantoms” away, the words Karelia spoke before her death floated to the surface of her mind.

Karelia had told her not to make the same mistake she had.

So, to avoid that mistake—Luna made the "rational" choice.

The thought that Karelia might one day betray her during the conquest of the southern continent was, undeniably, a logical deduction.

It had nothing to do with Karelia’s character. People who carried dreams, who bore ambitions tinged with their own colors—people who led armies into chaos for the sake of realizing those dreams—such people would never obediently remain under someone else’s command. That belief was not naive.

No, even before that—Luna herself was living proof of that hypothesis.

Even if it had been Vanessa who pushed her into it, Luna had, in fact, started a rebellion.

In the end, Karelia fell because of her own weak heart that couldn’t bring herself to eliminate Luna when she should have.

No—more than that. So many poor decisions had piled up that, ultimately, the responsibility lay with the ruler who made them.

And yet.

The tears wouldn’t stop.

The fact that she had killed the one person who had believed in her—that reality continued to torment Luna.

‘I...’

Do I regret the decision to kill Karelia?

‘...No.’

I don’t regret it.

Luna questioned the depths of her own heart, and the answer came quickly.

There was no way she could regret it. Even if she went back in time, she would make the same choice again.

She would still strike down Karelia, who had taken her in. For her dream? For her ambition?

No... to keep her promise.

When the opportunity comes, never let it slip away!

I won’t let it go, Swen.

I’ll return to your side, no matter what!

For the place Swen is meant to return to—I absolutely won’t let this chance slip by.

So no, I don’t regret it.

‘I...’

After crying for a long while, Luna wiped away her tears and slowly opened her eyes.

‘I... will save Lord Swen from Serpina, no matter what. To do that... I have to become even stronger.’

She erased Karelia’s face from the corner of her heart.

‘You said you’d come back to me... So until then, I’ll never... never miss the chance again by choosing based on emotion.’

Next, she erased the image of herself crying during Karelia’s execution.

‘Lord Swen sacrificed himself to save me. So now it’s my turn. I have to be the one to act for him. Even if I have to sacrifice myself...!! So for Swen’s sake, I...!!’

What remained was Lunarian Iniang, the ideal ruler who prioritized efficient choices.

The rising conqueror of the southern continent, the one who “no matter what happens, will never let a chance slip away.”

What reflected in her ruby-red eyes—now slightly darker—was not despair, nor regret, nor sorrow.

It was―――

‘I won’t hesitate to stain my hands with blood, no matter how many... no matter if it’s tens or hundreds.’

――It was something not noble but shadowy, not bright but dark, not clean but damp and sticky.

The one intensely human emotion reflected in Luna’s eyes—

Obsession.

It was, unmistakably, an obsession with that man.

***

“We’re arriving at Eingart Castle!”

Time passed—

And finally, the carriage carrying Miss Reika and me arrived at the imperial capital, Eingart.