Became a Strategist with a 100 Intelligence and 100\% Accuracy-Chapter 188: Overwritten Karma (3)

["......!"]

The unexpected nature of her question caught me completely off guard.

It was a direct strike—I had no counter prepared.

["Interesting, Swen."]

["...Excuse me?"]

["I didn’t think that question would trouble you enough to make such an expression."]

["......"]

Serpina’s clear golden eyes locked onto mine, unwavering.

She was right.

This was, in many ways, the most obvious question a ruler would want to ask.

Any monarch who even slightly understood my ability would prioritize this question above all others.

I had already been asked this by Janis, meaning that as long as I remained within Serpina’s forces, there was no need to process it again.

But since this was the first time my lord was testing my ability, I had no choice but to acknowledge it.

"Can Serpina von Eingart become the ruler who unifies the continent?"

The answer rolled in, just as expected.

[She cannot.]

[The problem isn’t the answer.]

It was how I should deliver it.

In a way, the simplest solution was to lie.

I could just say, "That’s something I cannot determine."

Given Serpina’s personality, she likely wouldn’t press the issue further.

It was also a plausible response, considering that there were genuinely questions my ability couldn’t answer.

I didn’t need to explain the mechanics behind it either—I could just throw out something vague like, "The stars are misaligned today," or "My concentration is off."

She would have no choice but to accept it.

After all, the entire premise of this situation relied on her unwavering belief in my ridiculous ability.

[But... is that really fine?]

This question wasn’t about Serpina.

It was about me—the person answering it.

Would I be fine with lying?

If it had been Yuri or Lyn who asked, I wouldn’t have hesitated to lie.

I held no particular resentment toward them, but they weren’t significant to me either.

They had been my lords, but they were just temporary. I never felt any attachment to their nations, and they never showed a desperate desire to keep me.

Serpina, however...

She was different.

She had repeatedly told me that she wanted me by her side.

Not through coercion, not through threats, but by listening to me—by avoiding actions that would make me resent her.

She treated Airen, someone important to me, with respect.

Her way of ruling—how she treated her subordinates—told me everything I needed to know.

If there was one similarity between her and my previous rulers, it was that Serpina’s army was also a place I would eventually leave.

[Then why...]

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Why couldn’t I make a simple decision?

Why did my chest feel so hot?

Moments like these happened sometimes.

Standing at a crossroads—feeling a powerful intuition pulling me in one direction.

And the best way to ensure I had no regrets when I looked back on this moment—

Was to answer honestly.

["My lord..."]

I met Serpina’s gleaming golden gaze and slowly, carefully, spoke.

["You cannot become the ruler who unifies the continent."]

I told her the truth of the fate she had been given.

["......"]

This was my choice.

I knew it wouldn’t lead to anything good.

But I didn’t want to deceive her.

Perhaps, deep down, I wanted her to accept her fate.

Because I believed that was the only way to save her.

The more she reached for an impossible destiny—

The more her ambition would transform into others’ desire to kill her.

["I see."]

["Yes. You cannot become the ruler of a unified empire... That is the outcome."]

Serpina’s expression remained calm.

Yet it was not the calmness of peace.

It was difficult to describe.

And after a few moments of silence, her response was...

Unexpectedly simple.

["I see."]

["...Does that not trouble you?"]

Her indifferent reaction surprised me.

But upon reflection, it wasn’t entirely strange.

From my perspective, I had experienced enough events to inductively conclude that my ability was absolute.

But to Serpina, there was no proof.

She took me seriously, of course.

She even knew about Insight—a term that closely resembled my ability.

But if someone simply told her, "You will never unify the continent,"

Wouldn’t it be unlike her to immediately despair?

If I knew Serpina—if I truly understood her—

Then her response should have been something like:

["If that is my fate, then I will simply change it."]

Followed by a low, confident chuckle.

But—

Her actual response was something I had never expected.

["No. If anything, I feel relieved that the answer was what I predicted."]

["...Excuse me?"]

["I had a feeling."]

A bitter smile spread across her lips.

["I suspected that I would never have the chance to unify the continent."]

Those words—

Shocked me.

More than anything, her expression shocked me.

["You thought that?"]

Serpina’s wry smile deepened.

["Did I not tell you?"]

Serpina’s voice was calm, but her words carried the weight of exhaustion.

["Whether I walk through the streets, sit upon the throne, or even stand here speaking to you now—just breathing is enough for me to feel the malice directed at me."]

Her golden eyes gleamed with a quiet, knowing sadness.

["Whenever I thought the right moment had come, it would vanish like it was never there. And when I finally acted, most of my plans ended in failure."]

["The nation never collapsed outright. The empire’s foundation was too strong for that. As long as there was no pointless battle for the throne, it was unthinkable that everything would fall apart overnight."]

["But those moments—those countless moments—when it felt as if the entire world despised me..."]

Serpina’s lips curled into a bitter smile.

["How could I not have considered the possibility that I was simply not meant to be the ruler of a unified empire?"]

["My lord..."]

["Tell me, Swen. Have you never thought it strange?"]

Her voice was quiet, but her words struck me with force.

["Why is it that, despite conquering the entire northern continent and holding the most powerful military, our nation has never managed to rebuild the old empire?"]

["Why do rebellions keep occurring, over and over again?"]

["And why is it that—no matter how many opportunities come our way—we always find ourselves held back at the crucial moment?"]

I couldn’t answer.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Even if I tried to input why into my ability, the result would simply be:

[Unknown.]

["But now, with your Insight, everything becomes clear."]

Serpina exhaled softly.

["I was never fated to be the one to do it."]

Her voice was steady—too steady.

["My destiny was never to rebuild the unified empire."]

["The only thing that flows through my blood is not the fate of a ruler, but merely the last vestiges of the Eingart lineage."]

Her golden eyes met mine.

["If that lineage, soaked in blood, has been the very thing holding me back all this time—"]

For a moment, she hesitated.

And then, as if saying it aloud confirmed her suspicion—

["—Perhaps the final obstacle for this nation’s future is none other than myself."]

A sharp chill ran down my spine.

Serpina had reached the conclusion entirely on her own.

She had deduced that her own death would be the catalyst for unification—

Simply from the fact that she was not the ruler destined to unify the continent.

Of course, she understood this nation far better than I did.

But even so, for someone to assess themselves so objectively—

It was terrifying.

Because Serpina was not incapable.

She wasn’t weak, nor foolish, nor incompetent.

She had merely been born into a fate where fortune did not favor her.

That was all.

But then—

Why did it feel like that was an injustice?

Why did something inside me burn at the thought?

["However—"]

Serpina’s head tilted slightly in confusion as I spoke.

["That is merely the result at this moment."]

["...What?"]

["Right now, if I ask whether you can unify the continent, the answer is no."]

I met her gaze firmly.

["But my Insight is only valid for the present moment. The future is not fixed."]

My words weren’t a lie.

My ability only provided the current outcome—it wasn’t an immutable prophecy.

Serpina had already defied death twice.

The fact that she was still standing here was proof that fate could be altered.

["So, my lord—"]

I took a slow breath.

["I believe it’s too early for such conclusions. Instead, you should focus on ruling your nation as best as possible and work toward creating the best possible outcome."]

The words felt strange even as I spoke them.

If I had remained only as "Luna’s strategist," I would never have said something like this.

If that were the case, I wouldn’t have felt the need to tell Serpina the truth.

I wouldn’t have worried about whether she was discouraged or not.

I wouldn’t have cared about her at all.

A simple, detached answer like "I cannot determine that" would have been enough.

In fact, giving her too much hope might have disrupted the future where Luna became the ruler of the unified empire.

And yet—

Right now—

I wasn’t speaking out of concern for who would rule the empire.

I was speaking because I didn’t want Serpina to fall apart.

Because I didn’t want her to be swallowed by fate.

Because I didn’t want her to be defeated by something as senseless as a cursed lineage.

It was too emotional. Too irrational.

[Why?]

[Why do I feel like this? What is Serpina to me?]

["Swen..."]

Serpina’s voice wavered for the first time.

She parted her lips, as if she wanted to «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» say something—

But instead—

A soft laugh slipped past them.

["...Ahaha."]

It was the first time I had ever seen her laugh like this.

Not a chuckle of amusement.

Not a smirk of superiority.

But a genuine, joyful laugh.

At that moment—

The golden sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating her soft, flowing hair and fair skin.

The brightness of the scene—

And the brightness of her smile—

Caught me off guard.

["Thank you, Swen."]

["......!!"]

["If I am to grasp my opportunity, I will need your Insight more than ever."]

Serpina stretched out her hand toward me.

It was a familiar sight—

An absolute ruler, extending her hand toward her subordinates as if bestowing them a command.

I had seen it countless times before.

I had felt her authority pressing down upon me, the overwhelming charisma of a sovereign ruling the north.

But now—

The hand she extended toward me—

Did not belong to a ruler standing above me.

But to a companion—

Someone walking alongside me, matching my stride.

["From now on, I’m counting on you, Swen."]

Ba-dump.

Ba-dump.

The pounding of my heartbeat—

Too clear. Too loud.

And against it—

I could do absolutely nothing.