The leader of the Workers' Council, Remi Ulyakov, has succumbed to illness.
Her death was reported just two years after the end of the war.
"It's been a while, Verdi. It's Touri Lowe."
"Long time no see, Touri. I guess I'm not supposed to call you Iris anymore?"
"Yes, I go by Touri now."
The disease that took Remi's life is the Chaim flu.
This flu began to spread near the end of the World War and had been mutating over the years.
And it seems that Remi, too, became one of those victims.
"Touri, there's been a request for you to attend Remi Ulyakov's state funeral."
"For me?"
At that time, two years after the war, I had already stepped down from my position as Chief of Staff.
I was busy dealing with suppressing bandits around Winn as just a regular soldier.
"The Austin government would also like you to attend as a gesture of goodwill. Especially since I've heard you had a close relationship with Remi Ulyakov."
"…But I'm currently assigned to bandit suppression."
"Let's leave that to Lieutenant Gavel. He's fully capable now and is more than capable of handling that mission."
"That's true…"
I received a formal request to attend Remi's state funeral around that time.
Austin found it difficult to refuse for the sake of appearances.
"Okay, I'll head to the Sabbath."
"Thank you, Touri."
Attending Remi's funeral became the catalyst for my transfer to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
In a way, it was a mission that changed the course of my life.
"Am I going alone?"
"Of course not. A veteran diplomat will accompany you."
"Thank you for the consideration."
That veteran diplomat was the same person who had once joined me in negotiating the ceasefire with the Allied forces.
He was a plump, broad-shouldered man with nerves of steel.
"While you're at it, why not study a bit of diplomacy too?"
"Yes, I'll do that."
Although we have survived a world war, there's no guarantee that war won't break out again.
Diplomacy is essential to prevent war before it begins.
With that in mind, I eventually chose to transfer to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Well, that's a story for another time.
***
"It is an honor to meet you, Iris-sama."
"The honor is mine."
My attendance in the Sabbath was to be done under the name Iris Valou.
This was because the name of my older brother, Bern Valou, was well known in Sabbath.
"As I had heard, you are both graceful and beautiful."
"Thank you."
"Bern-sama was very helpful to us."
Bern committed inhumane acts such as burning rural villages during the East-West War.
However, Bern Valou also greatly contributed to the stability of Sabbath after the alliance was formed.
Though he is now disliked in the Sabbath, he was once popular enough to have devoted followers.
"Oh! Iris-sama?! Are you really her?"
"Hmm? And who might you be?"
"Please, may I have a moment of your time!"
Many people approached me because I'm Bern's actual younger sister.
I was treated as many things: a symbol of peace, the sister of the demon Bern, one of Austin's aces.
"It's nice to meet you. I am Major Gilstaff of the Sabbatian Army."
"Likewise. I'm Iris Valou."
"Thank you for coming all this way."
To be honest, I was already feeling tired from being approached so much.
However, I couldn't afford to let my guard down because the diplomat had firmly instructed me, "If someone speaks to you, respond with a smile."
"I offer my prayers for the repose of the great leader, Remi Ulyakov."
"She was still so young… It's a real tragedy."
I continued to offer the usual condolences regarding Remi.
Everyone I met, everyone I spoke to, mourned for her.
"May she rest in peace after death."
…Truthfully, I didn't have many chances to speak with Remi.
Only twice: once in a tent before the Battle of the North, and once after the Sabbatian Revolution.
Still, I believed I was mourning her death in my own way.
"Actually, my main reason for approaching you isn't about Remi-sama, Iris Valou-sama."
"…Then what business do you have with me?"
"Actually, there is something I would like to ask you."
Naturally, I assumed he had come to speak of Remi.
But instead…
"I want to ask about Sylph Nova."
"…About Sylph?"
"Yes."
The man named Gilstaff had brought up Sylph's name. I stared at him in surprise at the unexpected topic.
"I was her… Sylph Nova's fiancé."
"Wha?!"
He glared at me with eyes full of hostility.
"I was a classmate of Sylph's. We graduated from the same military academy."
"I never heard anything about her having a fiancé."
"It was an arrangement made by our parents. I don't think she ever gave it much thought."
Sylph's fiancé. That title wouldn't be looked upon kindly in the Sabbath of today.
A witch who betrayed her country and sided with the Allied forces. An incompetent commander who proposed a poor strategy and suffered a humiliating defeat.
Such a person might even be harassed if they're not careful.
"But I was happy to be engaged to Sylph. That feeling hasn't changed even now. I was drawn to her brilliance."
"I understand. Sylph was fierce, dazzling, and unforgettable."
"She betrayed us to the Allied forces and fell so fleetingly without even consulting me, her fiancé."
It seemed that Gilstaff still hadn't let go of his feelings for Sylph.
His eyes were those of someone unable to forget the dead.
"In the end, it was a one-sided love. She never gave me a second thought."
"I see."
"That's only natural. Sylph was a girl who shone like a sunflower. Her brilliance and intellect astonished everyone. They envied her and resented her."
Gilstaff truly had been in love with Sylph.
In today's Sabbath, there likely isn't another person who would speak so highly of her.
"Someone like me could never have caught her attention."
"…"
As I listened to him speak, I inexplicably found myself smiling.
Whenever people spoke about Sylph, it was usually with scorn or bitter jokes that left a sour taste in my mouth.
"You're not someone who would mock Sylph, are you?"
"Of course not."
Meeting someone who still respected Sylph filled me with warmth.
Anyone who truly knew her would never have called her the most foolish commander in history.
Sylph's intellect had shone brilliantly in the hellish trenches of war.
"Alright then, what do you want to ask me about Sylph?"
"I want to know about her final battle."
As I nodded in response to Gilstaff's words, he looked at me with a sharp gaze and said:
"Why would Sylph choose such a tactic? There's no way someone like her could have been that foolish."
"Hmm…"
He stated it with absolute conviction.
"I thought maybe she had been driven into a corner and went insane."
"Even the best strategists can make mistakes."
"Just the other day, I was able to speak with one of Sylph's surviving subordinates."
He said he had investigated the truth behind Sylph's final strategy, the one that earned her the title of "The Most Foolish Commander in History."
Surely there must have been some kind of mistake. Something must have gone wrong.
If the operation had gone exactly as Sylph intended, there was no way Sylph Nova would have lost.
"She fought not for herself, but always for her homeland, the Sabbath."
"Hmm."
"And the night before the operation… They say she cried tears of frustration and kept calling your name, Iris."
Gilstaff had finally reached the truth.
That Sylph was forced to choose defeat for the sake of her country.
"It was your strategy that forced her to accept defeat. The Workers' Council sending in troops. By dragging the Sabbath into a decisive battle, Sylph had no choice but to lose."
"…"
"In the end, Sylph Nova chose death for the sake of her homeland."
He had uncovered the truth behind that battle.
Though I tried to maintain my composure, I felt a cold sweat break out.
"Is my theory wrong, Iris Valou?"
"…I'm surprised."
Gilstaff's eyes were filled with unmistakable hatred and bitterness.
It was a truth I had intended to take to my grave.
"Yes. It may be presumptuous of me, but I will say you're correct."
I gave him a clear confirmation out of respect for his tenacity and intelligence.
"…So I was right."
"However, I am also a pawn being manipulated. A mere cog forced to bear part of the burden of malice."
I found myself feeling a sense of sympathy towards Gilstaff, who was glaring at me with hatred.
There were still people who supported Sylph left in the Sabbath. That fact made my heart feel a little lighter.
"I didn't defeat Sylph. I just carried out the devil's plan."
"Is that not just shifting responsibility?"
"No, it's a correction. Sylph Nova was not a fool who could be defeated by me alone."
Nowadays, there aren't many who truly understand Sylph's brilliance.
There are hardly any people left who can talk about just how much we Austinites suffered at her hands during the war.
"If you don't mind, would you like to talk about her? It looks like we'll be able to drink some good vok for the first time in a while."
"…Of course. That's why I approached you."
"In that case, please stop reaching for the gun hidden under your coat."
Gilstaff flinched and shrank his shoulders.
His feelings for Sylph must be genuine enough that he actually considered assassinating me.
"If you plan on a shooting, I will resist. I can't afford to be killed."
"…You noticed?"
"I am a veteran of the battlefield, after all. I wouldn't have survived the front lines if I couldn't sense the presence of a concealed handgun."
"I see. Just as I heard, you're a hero as well."
I then placed my hand on the hidden gun beneath his clothes from the outside.
Gilstaff didn't react to that movement.
"I know, Iris-sama, that this hatred is nothing more than childish self-satisfaction."
Judging by his demeanor, he hadn't truly resolved to shoot me.
Perhaps he let a moment of passion get the better of him.
"Still… isn't it too much?"
"Yes, it is."
"Sylph was thinking of the Sabbath's future until the very end, wasn't she? She threw away her honor, even her life, all for the sake of the nation, didn't she?"
When a loved one is killed, people become consumed with hatred and act irrationally.
That's not something based by reason. There's no room for rationality to intervene when emotions run wild.
"I was the one who took Sylph's life. That's also why I can't allow myself to be killed."
"That's why?"
"Sylph had the chance to shoot me in her final moments."
This outburst from Gilstaff must also stem from his love for Sylph.
Just as I had lost myself when Rodri and Lenalee were killed.
"But Sylph didn't shoot me. Instead, she chose to take her own life with a sneer on her face. She knew that if she had killed me, the war would have continued."
"…"
"She could have done it. She could've killed me and satisfied her grudge. Despite that, Sylph acted for the Sabbath's sake until the very end."
And if he truly cares for Sylph…
Then he must not defile the noble way in which she chose to die.
"…If you kill me, what do you think will happen to this peace? Would you really sow the seeds of another war just to carry out your revenge?"
"You don't have to tell me that… I already know."
Gilstaff rationally understood what would happen if he shot me here.
Eventually, he let go of the gun beneath his coat and bowed his head.
"…I sincerely apologize, Iris Valou-sama. Even if I killed you, Sylph would not be pleased. No, she'd more likely be furious."
"Oh, she'd be absolutely livid. Calming Sylph down when she threw a tantrum was never easy."
"I know very well. Her tantrums were already terrible even back when we were students."
Now that his murderous intent had faded, I smiled warmly at him.
More than anything, Sylph hated people who acted rashly without understanding her intent and made the situation worse.
If Gilstaff had actually shot me, Sylph would be screaming at him in the afterlife right now.
"I won't resist. I'm a fool who tried to shoot you out of personal resentment. Please turn me over to the guards."
"No, you simply… forgot to put away your handgun. Isn't that right?"
"…I'm no match for you."
And so, I chose not to blame Gilstaff for what he had done.
After all, I had no right to judge him, not when I let emotion take over and shot Mr. Gorski the day Lenalee was killed.
"That's rather reckless of you, Iris-sama. What if I lose control again?"
"No need to worry. I'm quite cautious."
After raising his hands in surrender, Gilstaff asked as if trying to provoke me.
"I'm not so rusty that I could be taken down by just a handgun."
"Huh?"
I let out a soft chuckle and formed a small [Shield] in the palm of my hand to show him.