Became a Strategist with a 100 Intelligence and 100\% Accuracy-Chapter 282: The East and the West

Madralan Castle.

Here, instead of the dark green flag, a bright lime green one flutters in the wind. This place, which had previously been the temporary capital of the newly formed Lunarian Army, has now been appointed as the new capital, succeeding Tepello.

After a long period of peace without any major battles, contrary to everyone’s expectations that even a small battle would leave great scars, it was recovering its vitality faster than anticipated. There were various reasons to explain why the battle had progressed more one-sidedly than expected, but the decisive reason was simple: the new ruler was Luna.

Originally, Luna had spent her time at Madralan Castle, and she had surprisingly managed to regain the lost public trust that Karelia had lost at an astonishing speed. The people, soldiers, and warriors alike all spoke Luna’s name with pride. "Our rightful new lord," Luna had absorbed the former Karelia army almost at the speed of light.

Not long after, Luna’s army, led by Charlotte, succeeded in capturing the last remaining stronghold, Yukaya Castle. This marked the complete eradication of the remnants of the Karelia army from the map.

The meaning of this was clear— the fall of the Karelia army.

What was once a country that gathered countless people under a ruler known as the symbol of virtue had met its shameful end.

After the country’s fall, it seemed that one of the generals had inherited the title of lord and national strategist, but it was all in vain.

The key figures who had once served as the pillars of the army, except for Cecil, were all shattered by the scars of war, and the remaining forces were composed of relatively obscure officers who hadn’t risen to prominence. Naturally, the end was inevitable.

Even so, the lord who inherited the throne did not surrender until the very end, maintaining a sense of pride before disappearing into the executioner's hands. The national strategist position was passed to someone who was eventually recruited by Luna and became part of her new leadership.

It was clear— once they lost their central pillar, Karelia’s flag was nothing more than a tattered symbol.

As the name "Karelia Army" was erased from the continent, and the winds of the new Lunarian Army began to spread, everyone became somewhat accustomed to the new order.

"Is that true?"

"Yes."

Upon hearing the news that Swen had been appointed as the national strategist of Serpina’s army, Violet fell into deep thought with a very serious expression.

'This... seems like a bad situation...'

Violet recalled her recent conversation with Luna. The usually kind and gentle Luna had lost her composure and scolded her.

It had been when the topic of Swen came up.

Though Luna had always been a reassuring presence, when she spoke about Swen, her demeanor had changed entirely.

“She is serving Serpina because she’s being threatened,” she had said.

To be honest, Violet found that reasoning a bit illogical, but given that she didn’t know what had transpired between Luna and Swen, it wasn’t a topic she could discuss freely.

Afterward, she had tried to gather information about Swen, even consulting with Tifa, but no solutions had emerged, and time continued to pass while they were busy with the conquest of Karelia.

Then, came the news of Swen’s appointment as the national strategist.

The national strategist position could have been refused, but it was an impossible one for a ruler to force someone into. Thus, it made sense that Swen had accepted the offer. This was precisely why it felt like 'a bad situation'. Luna’s original claim that Swen was serving Serpina only under duress now seemed completely contradicted.

'Luna... will she be okay?'

Violet had to report the outcome of the meeting regarding Yukaya Castle's policies to Luna, but now she had to face her with this troubling news.

Violet asked the soldier who had delivered the message,

"Does my lord know of this news?"

"Various reports are usually delivered to my lord first. I believe she must already know."

'...'

Violet felt a pang of unease but knew there was nothing more to be done. She couldn't avoid it now. The only option left was to face Luna directly.

'...Stay calm. It’s possible that my lord has already come to terms with the fact that Swen is under Serpina’s command. She may be busy with other matters.'

Though Violet tried to reassure herself, the anxiety didn’t disappear.

She had never felt fear from Luna before, but now, for the first time, Violet was unsure.

If Jinor had been here, she would have consulted with him, but he had been sent to Yukaya Castle under the pretext of cleaning up the remnants of the Karelia army.

This report had originally been Jinor’s responsibility, and now she was filling in for him in his absence.

As the soldier had said, the reason for hearing this troubling news was because she was acting as a substitute for Jinor.

Yeah. All this unease would surely disappear once she faced Luna herself.

Violet steeled herself, took a deep breath, and proceeded to the royal meeting room to make her report. freēwēbnovel.com

"Violet, you’re here."

"I’ve come to see my lord."

"My lord is in the meeting room, not here. I’ll guide you there."

Following the soldier, Violet finally arrived at the meeting room. She opened the door and entered.

As soon as the door opened, Violet was greeted by a sound—

Scritch, scritch.

The sound of a quill pen busily scribbling on paper filled the air, ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ and before Violet stood Luna, completely absorbed in her paperwork.

At first glance... it didn’t seem like there was anything wrong.

Violet let out a quiet sigh and then carefully spoke up.

"...My lord. It’s Violet."

Scritch, scritch.

"You’ve come, Violet. Is it a report?"

Luna asked in a calm and gentle tone, her gaze fixed on the papers.

Violet observed her lord’s state carefully.

On her desk, which was piled with nothing but documents, Luna held the quill and continued to write, her focus entirely on the task.

Her tone and demeanor were still as kind and calm as usual.

Although it was a bit unsettling that she wasn’t looking at Violet, she seemed to be in a relatively peaceful state, considering how much work she had.

Violet didn’t let her guard down and carefully spoke.

"Yes. I’d like to report the results of the meeting regarding Yukaya Castle and the surrounding territories."

After that, the conversation proceeded just as it always had.

Luna continued to write with her quill, signing documents as she listened to Violet’s report, speaking kindly as usual.

According to the soldier, Luna must have already heard about Swen’s appointment as Serpina’s national strategist.

The fact that she remained calm and composed despite hearing that news... did it mean that Luna had come to terms with it?

Or maybe she was simply too overwhelmed with her duties to worry about it?

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Being the ruler of a whole nation, especially after absorbing Karelia’s forces and becoming a major power in the southern continent, must have kept her exceptionally busy.

Whatever the reason, as long as Luna was able to maintain her calm, Violet was willing to accept it.

"...That’s all. I’ll act on your opinions and make adjustments accordingly."

"I understand."

Scritch, scritch.

"...Um..."

"What's the matter?"

"Do you not have any opinions on this?"

"I'll tell you when it's all settled."

She said she would tell me later once things were settled?

The opinions had already been settled and brought up, so I thought it would just be a matter of responding with something like "Please proceed" or "Don’t do that," but... was she thinking about it more, or was there something else...?

'...No.'

Was I overthinking because of the talk about Swen?

Luna appeared perfectly fine from the outside.

Given what the soldier had told me, she must have heard the news by now, and it was unlikely that the ruler didn't know by the time the news reached my ears.

So, had Luna already overcome it? Or... was it something else?

"...I understand. Then, I’ll take my leave. Please feel free to call me whenever you need something."

"Alright."

Scritch, scritch.

Luna finished speaking and, without looking at me, continued to focus on her paperwork.

I wanted to say something more, but I decided it would be best to leave for now. Slowly, I walked out of the meeting room.

'Phew...'

Only after closing the door did I let out a relieved sigh.

The overwhelming tension I usually felt when with Luna had lifted, and my mind started working more clearly.

'She’s probably just trying not to show it, but this isn’t good news... Still, she seems to be handling it well.'

As I thought this, my gaze fell on something.

Among the various writing tools on the desk by the meeting room door, there it was—next to the quill, the thing that should naturally accompany it.

'This is...'

An ink bottle.

Without it, a quill could not function properly. It was always nearby, like a shadow to the pen.

That alone was nothing out of the ordinary, but what struck me immediately was the overwhelming sense of unease it gave me.

It was just a simple ink bottle, but... why was it bothering me so much?

'...!!!!'

Then, it hit me.

The source of the strange unease I felt from the ink bottle.

'Wait, wasn't there supposed to be... none of these on Luna's desk?'

I clearly remembered the odd sight of Luna's desk. It had only papers, nothing else.

Moreover, during our conversation, Luna had never stopped writing for even a second.

To write properly, one needed to keep dipping the quill in the ink.

So, naturally, the ink bottle should have been behind her desk, but... why wasn’t it there?

If it wasn’t there, she wouldn’t have been able to write. When I thought about it, I realized—while using the quill, Luna hadn’t made any motions that suggested she was dipping it into ink.

So...

What is Luna doing... right now?

***

Scritch, scritch.

The sound of Luna’s pen moving fills the quiet meeting room.

Scritch, scritch.

The sharp sound of the pen scraping against the paper.

A sound like something scratching against a wooden table. Scritching, that sound.

The tip of the pen in Luna’s hand... was pure white.

Scritch, scritch.

Scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch...

The scratching sound continued, echoing around the room.

Then,

Thud.

"...Ah."

The feather broke.

Luna stared blankly at what she held in her hand.

It was broken.

It was broken.

It was all broken.

The sensation of everything breaking, that feeling, lingered like a ghost around Luna, consuming her surroundings.