Became a Strategist with a 100 Intelligence and 100\% Accuracy-Chapter 182: The Tyrant Serpina (4)

‘What in the world is happening...?!’

Serpina froze for a moment, stunned by the unbelievable scene before her. But she quickly regained her senses and threw herself into the burning mansion.

Inside, she saw nothing but countless corpses.

Corpses.

Most of them belonged to prominent noble families—many of whom she had known personally.

And before long, her eyes fell upon two bodies that she knew far too well.

"Lilirose...? Brother Stadel...???"

She stared blankly, unable to believe what she was seeing.

Then, a familiar voice rang in her ears.

"Serpina...!!!"

She turned toward the voice, filled with venomous hatred—

Sidmid, blood pouring from his stomach, glared at her with dark, burning eyes.

"Serpina... You... You did this to me...!"

No.

No, brother. I—

She wanted to speak, but the words wouldn’t come out.

"You killed me!!!"

That’s not true, brother! I... I only followed Brother Algott’s orders—!!

"You—!!! You killed me! You killed our siblings...! Don’t tell me... from the very beginning, this was your plan...!!"

Crash!

A massive chunk of stone collapsed from the ceiling, crushing Sidmid beneath it. His dying screams were cut off.

"Hiiik...!!!"

Serpina barely managed to avoid being hit.

Then, another voice—this time, a woman’s—called out to her.

"Princess! Princess...!!"

"...Аria?!"

Serpina rushed toward the source of the voice—

There, covered in blood, surrounded by corpses, sat Algott, his hand clasped tightly around Аria’s.

"Serpi...na..."

"Brother Algott! You’re alive?! Why... Why did this happen...? What on earth... what happened here?!"

"I... called my siblings here... using my private soldiers... and killed them... with my own hands..."

"...!!!"

"He... brought his own soldiers... so this is what... became of me... Hah."

"Sidmid... would have become a tyrant... and destroyed the empire... So I had to... end it myself... for the sake of the empire..."

"Brother!!"

"Our siblings... were the same... Chasing after their own ambitions... they would have... ruined the empire eventually... Cough!"

Algott struggled to lift his head and looked at Serpina.

The golden eyes that always shone with intelligence... were losing their light.

"Serpina... You... were different from the others... You never coveted the throne... You truly... cared for the empire... I... always knew..."

"I’ll go get soldiers right now, Brother! We need to get you treated—!!"

"It’s... too late... I won’t... survive this... I already know..."

Serpina knew.

Algott knew.

Even Аria, beside him, knew.

This was his final moment.

"You are the only one left, Serpina... Among those who bear the blood of Eingart... you alone have remained unstained by its filth... That’s why... this foolish brother... is entrusting everything... to you..."

"So... I ask of you... Keep the empire together... Reunite this fractured empire... Bring peace to this world once more..."

And then, he said nothing more.

"...Brother...? Brother Algott...?!"

He was gone.

With his final breath, Algott left her the name of Eingart and perished alongside his siblings.

"...Princess."

"Аria...?"

"Please... fulfill his last wish."

Even as Аria said those words, Serpina was left completely dumbfounded.

This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.

The idea of her becoming emperor had never even crossed her mind.

But still, she had to think quickly.

She had to save whoever could still be saved.

"No, Аria, we need to get out of here! Come with me, we have to—"

Of course, Algott would have wanted Аria to live.

Of course, Serpina intended to take her with her.

But then—

Serpina froze, eyes widening in horror.

Аria’s legs... were gone.

"I won’t make it, Princess..."

Only now did Serpina see it.

The life was already fading from Аria’s ruby-red eyes.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

She had stayed alive, enduring through sheer force of will, until Algott had spoken his last words.

"Princess... Please... Bring peace to this continent once more... So that my little brother can live in a world without fear... Rebuild the empire... That is my final request."

Crash!!

The mansion was crumbling further.

If she stayed here any longer, she would die as well.

"Аria..."

"If only... I could have had someone like you... as my sister-in-law... But I was too unworthy... I’m sorry..."

"Аria...!! Аria!!!"

Serpina’s world darkened—

And when she regained her senses, what lay before her... was the will of the Eingart family.

The unwanted crown of the final victor in the war of succession.

***

Yes.

She had taken a crown she never wanted.

She had put down one uprising after another, unable to even accept the outcome.

All to rebuild the empire.

To carry on the will of Eingart.

"You asked me, didn’t you? If the likelihood of consecutive rebellions was low. But I can tell you—

I can always sense the malice in the air around me.

For someone who lives knowing that hatred surrounds them, continuous uprisings aren’t strange at all."

She had hardened herself further, now embracing the title of a tyrant as if it were fate.

In exchange for atoning for the original sin of the Eingart family, she had reached out for unchecked power.

Whether she liked it or not—

The moment she took up that will, everything became hers to bear.

A puppet ruler, granted power simply by chance, would never be able to hold the throne.

A tyrant who orchestrated everything, who succeeded in wiping out every threat, was the only ruler fit to reign.

The last survivor of the Eingart family—

The golden-eyed witch who had bathed in the blood of her siblings.

And so—Serpina smiled coldly, looking directly at Swen as she shamelessly lied.

"Of course.

The most legitimate successor, Algott, is dead by my hand.

And the one who opposed him most fiercely, Sidmid, was also eliminated by me.

Of course, I would be hated for it.

But with the former emperor gone without naming an heir,

leaving more than one person with Eingart blood alive would have been far too dangerous.

In the end, chaos erupted anyway,

but had I hesitated, the empire would have vanished from history altogether."

Serpina continued, her voice composed and unwavering.

"As the ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) youngest sibling, with no claim to the throne,

the only way I could ascend as emperor was through purging.

If no one followed me, then I only had to kill them until the only ones left were those who would.

It was an absurdly simple task.

So, I did it.

Because I had to wear the crown."

That was all there was to it.

And yet.

For some reason—

She wanted to ask Swen something.

"Swen."

"Yes."

"Do you not despise me?"

Swen responded cautiously.

"...That’s an unexpected question."

"I am a woman who killed my own blood.

For nothing but the throne.

Because I had no support, I destroyed every foundation that existed.

To take hold of the empire,

I shattered the empire.

I have no right to complain about all the rebellions that have risen against me."

She let out a self-mocking smile, drawing a brazen smirk on her lips.

"I have taken countless lives.

Naturally, I am the target of endless hatred.

There may even be someone around you right now who bears a grudge against me.

Because that is the life I had to lead.

Is it not strange that you do not despise me?"

Yes.

She was used to being hated.

The moment she took on the will of Eingart, she had accepted that she would never be understood.

But then why...

Why was she pressing Swen for an answer?

What answer was she hoping for?

Swen lowered his head slightly, lost in thought.

And then, after a moment, he finally opened his lips to speak.

"I..."

***

"I do not despise you."

Serpina gave an unexpected smile at my answer.

"You sure know how to say the right things, Swen. If this is you fulfilling your duty as a vassal, I almost want to praise you for it."

She was putting on a strong front as she said that, but something about her demeanor felt... off.

First of all, why was she bringing this up to me?

Was she trying to say, I am this wicked of a person?

That she had committed every atrocity possible?

That I should despise her?

‘No.’

On the surface, it might have seemed like a loyalty test—a way of asking, Will you still serve me even after hearing this?

But something told me there was a deeper, unspoken reason even Serpina herself wasn’t aware of.

Logically speaking, there was no need to bring up such a heavy topic at this moment.

That meant her current state of mind was unusually emotional.

And naturally, that led to a question—Why had she become so emotional?

The answer was obvious—because as she spoke those words, Serpina’s expression looked unbearably sorrowful.

No matter what words left her lips, the emotions in her eyes could never lie.

Until now, all of my decisions had been based on my 100 Intelligence.

As long as the scope of a problem was defined, I could ask a question and always receive the correct answer. I only needed to follow that answer.

No matter how messy the process, no matter how tangled the logic, I would always come out victorious in the end.

But.

Right now, I wasn’t making my judgment based on an infallible prediction.

This time, my judgment was my own.

It was my intuition.

What I thought to be true.

I responded purely of my own will.

"No. Even if I had not sworn fealty to you, if I had simply met you and heard your story, I do not believe I would have despised you."

"...Why?"

I lowered my head and answered slowly.

"Because I trust my lord. I trust you, Serpina."

"...!!!!"

She widened her eyes in shock.

Looking at her, I continued.

"I know this may sound strange, and I apologize, but this isn’t the first time I’ve done something like this, is it? I hope you will accept my words with an open mind."

"Swen..."

Serpina didn’t say anything for a while.

She simply stared at me in silence.

Then, without another word, she turned away and started walking again.

"I hope you won’t regret this, Swen."

"I won’t. It was my decision."

Honestly.

I couldn’t shake the thought—perhaps she had simply been forced to bear everything.

I had no concrete proof, only my instincts.

But the signs were all there.

The words she had spoken when we drank together that night.

The way she now listed her own crimes as if pleading for condemnation.

To me, it sounded like she was desperately trying to say, I didn’t actually do it.

And so, my response had been—

"I believe in you."

"I know what solitude feels like," she murmured. "The weight of carrying an unspeakable truth alone... is an unbearably lonely thing."

What was the truth she was hiding?

What had happened to her?

How had she become the empire’s successor?

And... what cruel twist of fate had made it impossible for her to be a ruler of peace?

As my mind spun with countless thoughts—

"This is the place."

Serpina came to a halt.

Before her stood... four nameless graves.

"This place...?"

"As you can see, it’s a graveyard. And the ones buried here... are my siblings."

"...!!!"

"Algott, Sidmid, Stadel, and Lilirose... My brothers and sister rest here."

"I... see."

"A rather pitiful burial for members of the royal family, don’t you think?" She let out a quiet chuckle. "But it couldn’t be helped. The graves of revered figures become sacred sites, after all. And besides... there isn’t a single person left alive who knows these graves exist.

Well—"

Serpina turned to me with a faint smile.

"Now, there are two of us, Swen."

"..."

"You sure are good at taking my firsts, aren’t you? First my bedroom, now this."

She laughed softly, before speaking in a more serious tone.

"I visit this place every time I purge the rebels.

It’s a reminder.

That those who gave their lives for my cause have now joined my siblings.

That I must never forget their loyalty.

That I must carry their will forward."

She let out a breath, then added, "Though in truth, maybe I only come here to escape the weight of my responsibilities."

Serpina turned back toward the graves.

Then, lowering her head, she silently paid her respects.

Her golden hair fell gently, pulled down by gravity.

It was a contradiction in every way.

She had killed her siblings for the throne—

And yet she had secretly buried them in a peaceful place, mourning them in solitude.

If she truly saw them as obstacles, it would have been far more logical to erase their very existence.

No graves. No remembrance. No trace of them left behind.

But instead, she had honored them.

And now—she was showing it to me alone.

What could that possibly mean?

Perhaps... she simply hadn’t yet mustered the courage to say what she truly wanted to say.

And if so—what could that truth be?

‘No.’

I brushed aside the thought before I could dwell on it.

What mattered was this—

She had brought me here.

And she had revealed something to me that she had never told anyone else.

I vividly remembered the night we spent drinking together.

Though I couldn’t recall every drunken word I had spoken,

I still remembered how I had felt at the time.

I had wanted to stay by her side.

And even now, that hadn’t changed.

I still wanted to stand beside her.

To support her, no matter how much she tried to carry alone.

That was all that mattered.

Not the empire’s unification.

Not the reason she had brought me here.

Not the meaning behind her words.

For now, I would think only of this.

As soon as I made that decision, my mind became clear.

I closed my eyes beside her, bowing my head in respect.

And in the silence, I thought of a question that could never be answered.

What truly happened to Serpina?

Of course—no reply came.

Only the sound of the quiet wind brushed past my ears.