Became a Strategist with a 100 Intelligence and 100\% Accuracy-Chapter 234: A Heart Becoming Aware

"...Ah."

The sunlight striking my ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) eyelids gradually brings me back to my senses.

A bed. I was... lying on a bed.

This scene feels strangely familiar.

"Have you woken up?"

Hearing Serpina’s voice close to my ear, I quickly grasp the situation.

...It seems I fell asleep after taking off my outerwear.

The last thing I remember is drinking continuously with her. So, it’s not difficult to guess how things ended up like this.

After all, this isn’t the first time. Nor the second.

This place is familiar too.

Her bedroom.

As I sit up and glance around, I confirm my suspicions.

Serpina is dressed in an outfit fitting for the intimacy of a bedroom.

For a ruler, she never wore anything extravagant—always in a military uniform befitting an officer. Yet, here, in her private chamber, she wears such a delicate negligee, a stark contrast to her usual self.

"I apologize, my lord. I’ve troubled you again."

"Hehehe..."

"?"

Seeing her laugh at me, as if she finds something amusing, I tilt my head in confusion.

"The first time you ended up here, you panicked and insisted on taking responsibility. Now, you’re completely unfazed. Swen, you’ve certainly become accustomed to this."

"Well, it’s not like I did anything I need to take responsibility for, is it?"

"And if you had?"

"Then it would be a lie."

Even if my memory is hazy, it’s easy to deduce what happened based on my attire, her attire, and the state of the bed.

She chuckles again, seemingly enjoying my reaction. What exactly is so entertaining to her?

"Well, if something had happened that required responsibility, I would, of course, take it."

"You needn’t worry. You simply fell asleep, nothing more."

"You helped me to bed, then?"

"Indeed. Just as I did last time."

"..."

Perhaps I’m weaker to alcohol than I thought.

Or maybe that deceptively sweet drink had a higher alcohol content than expected.

Honestly, I only started drinking after meeting Serpina. Back when I was with Airen, I drank tea far more often than alcohol.

"Swen."

"Yes, my lord?"

"If you struggle with alcohol but only drink to humor me... you don’t have to force yourself."

Her words come out of nowhere, but they make sense.

This is already the second time I’ve blacked out and spent the night in her bedroom.

"It’s fine. Really. If anything, I should be the one apologizing. It feels like I keep stepping into a place I shouldn’t."

"Oh my, while it is true that this space is not meant for just anyone..."

Serpina raises a pale fingertip to her lips.

"But you are not 'just anyone.'"

"..."

The moment she says that, I feel a sudden heat rise to my face.

Avoiding her gaze, I pretend to focus on something else.

"So? What do you think?"

"About what, exactly?"

"The life of a man who wakes up to the sight of a woman’s face first thing in the morning."

"..."

Serpina smiles, clearly enjoying every bit of this situation.

The fact that she can say such things without a single change in her expression—so effortlessly, so naturally—is just so... her.

"I suppose... it must be a great honor. It feels odd to say it myself, but I’ve heard those words more times than I can count since childhood."

"You’ve heard them?"

"Yes. About my appearance. Ridiculous tales of beauty."

Ah.

I understand.

She is beautiful, after all.

Any true aesthete would be incapable of simply passing her by.

Hair as golden as a ripened wheat field, eyes that shine brighter than the sun, a face sculpted to perfection, and a figure that embodies pure femininity—generous curves, well-balanced proportions.

While I was more accustomed to being around Airen, Serpina was by no means lacking.

Her negligee couldn’t fully contain her shape. In fact, if I were to compare...

Perhaps slightly larger than Lady Reika’s?

If someone preferred proportion over sheer size, they’d likely favor Serpina over Airen.

As for me...

Well, I’ve always believed that the bigger, the better.

If I were to describe it in modern terms, it’s like gazing at a perfectly crafted, life-sized, high-end figure of an anime heroine—except real, with all the softness of human flesh.

"At the very least, I can confidently say my face is my greatest asset. Even the maids used to constantly praise my beauty. Only a fool would fail to recognize that I was born with an exceptional appearance."

She smirks and steps closer.

"And so, Swen—don’t you find it regretful? That you didn’t take a step forward? If you had just a little more courage... perhaps you could have claimed this body as your own. Surely, as a man, such thoughts must have crossed your mind. Go ahead, be honest. Haven’t you been tempted?"

With each step she takes, her chest sways slightly.

...Has she not worn a bra?

Such a blasphemous thought flashes through my mind.

If I knew nothing about her, I might have been too mesmerized by her beauty to even respond.

"Well, it is true that you are stunning, Serpina."

Without hesitation, I simply say what comes to mind.

"But if I ever did fall for you, it wouldn’t be because of your beauty."

"...?"

"It would be because I wanted to stand by your side."

"...What?"

She blinks, her composed expression wavering for the first time.

"Serpina, you carry too much on your shoulders. If I ever fell for you... I think it would be because I wanted to share that burden with you."

What struck me the most after joining Serpina’s army was—

That she had no one by her side.

On the surface, she was the sovereign of the northern continent, the successor to the former empire, and the tyrant of Serpina’s forces.

A ruler who could place no one above her, a warlord seemingly born to revel in solitude.

But the Serpina I had come to know...

She wasn’t someone who enjoyed solitude.

She was someone tormented by loneliness.

Perhaps that was why she was able to extend warmth even to outsiders.

Perhaps that was why she had chosen to trust people like Airen and me.

Loyalty and seniority meant nothing to her—because, in the end, she had no one to truly rely on.

Her subordinates were bound to her not by trust, but by the knowledge that, at any moment, they might have to draw their swords against her.

And so...

If I had ever thought about crossing that line with Serpina, it wouldn’t have been out of desire.

It would have been because I wanted to carry some of her burdens with her.

She stares at me in silence, as if trying to process my words—

Then, ever so slightly, she turns her face away.

"You are... like that, huh."

"?"

"A man who shatters another’s heart so effortlessly, with a face that betrays nothing."

Her golden eyes meet mine again.

Was it just my imagination?

Or had her cheeks turned slightly red?

"Did you say things like this to Airen as well?"

"...Excuse me?"

Where did that come from?

"Otherwise, I can’t explain the way she looks at you. You must have whispered sweet nothings to her as well. You really are shameless, Swen."

"...I don’t quite follow the point of this conversation."

"..."

She seems to have something to say but chooses not to.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

I don’t press her.

After all, what kind of retainer rushes their liege?

After a brief silence—

"I should leave. If rumors spread that we were both absent for too long, it could be troublesome."

"Rumors have already spread, haven’t they? The only thing that matters is the truth."

She smiles.

"Yes. ...I suppose you’re right, Swen. But still, I’d rather not trouble Airen too much."

Airen again.

Does she hold more significance to Serpina than I thought?

Regardless—

The sound of birdsong, the lingering scent of citrus in the air, the faintly translucent negligee before me, and this absurd conversation...

I didn’t dislike any of it.

"Go on ahead. I’ll follow shortly."

"Understood."

Gathering my clothes, I step out of her room.

Even as I walk down the corridor, the scent of yuzu follows me.

***

"..."

After Swen left the bedroom, Serpina remained where she was, unmoving.

She had said she would prepare and follow soon, but instead, she simply sat there, her head lowered, staring at the floor.

"Swen..."

Thump, thump.

Her heart pounded so violently it felt like it might burst. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

Serpina brushed her fingers against her forehead. It was hot. Her cheeks were even hotter. She didn’t realize it, but her face was already redder than any carrot.

"Serpina, you carry too much on your shoulders. If I ever fell for you... I think it would be because I wanted to share that burden with you."

"How... How can you say something like that without even flinching?"

She could laugh at herself.

She had always been confident in her appearance, and she had wanted to shake Swen’s composure.

Yet, in the end, it was her own heart that was shaken beyond control.

At first, she had been intrigued because he was a man from her dreams.

Then, she had been captivated by his near-supernatural advice.

When she had gained the ability of Clairvoyant Insight, her desire for him had been at its strongest—not entirely, but mostly, in the sense of a ruler coveting a valuable strategist.

But at some point, she found herself envying Airen.

A woman who was merely her subordinate.

And now, just from a simple conversation with a man—

She felt like she might explode at any moment.

She had been unbearably lonely.

She had chosen to bear a burden no one else could, to be a tyrant by her own will.

Yet, no matter how much she trusted her people, one by one, they had turned on her. Each time she saw another ally aiming their blade at her, she recalled the faces of the dead—Sidmid, Algott.

Even so, she could never say she was lonely.

She had resolved to live not as Serpina, but as Serpina von Eingart.

And yet—

She realized something.

Whenever she was with Swen...

More than anything, she just wanted to be Serpina.

Not a ruler.

Not the heir to Eingart’s empire.

She wanted to be herself—stripped of every title and obligation—just by his side.

This feeling.

A ruler meant to lead a nation should not harbor such inefficient emotions.

"..."

Serpina pulled the pillow where Swen had lain into her arms, hugging it tightly.

She could still smell him on it.

It felt as if he were right beside her, and it made her unbearably happy.

She wished, just a little more, that he would invade her world.

That he would take just one more step toward her.

And at last, she understood—

The reason she desired him so intensely was not because he was a Clairvoyant Strategist.

In fact, that reason might not have mattered at all.

Her entire life had been dedicated to becoming a ruler who would unify the continent.

But now, she was beginning to plant a different kind of dream.

She wanted to stand beside Swen.

No matter what it took, she wanted that.

***

A few days later—

The Aishus Army finally began their full-scale advance.