Became a Strategist with a 100 Intelligence and 100% Accuracy

"Lord… Lord…!"

Beside her, Jinor spoke in a shocked voice, trying to say something.
However, Yuri didn't even turn her head in his direction as she responded coolly.

"What are you doing? Didn’t you hear me? I'll do as you say, so release Anima."

The envoy, upon hearing those words, responded in the same dry tone as when he first spoke upon arriving here—without any change in expression.

"Understood. I am pleased to see that we can communicate. I will make sure to convey Lady Yuri’s will to my lord. Then, I shall take my leave."

With that, Serpina's envoy slowly stepped outside. Jinor, still in shock, along with a few other officers who hadn't fully grasped the situation, turned their heads and scanned their surroundings.

‘What… just happened?’

If it had merely been a matter of surrendering territory… yes, that much he could have understood.@@novelbin@@

Handing over an entire castle, however, was an excessive price—even from a rational perspective.

Anima Ingram was an excellent general, but she was by no means an irreplaceable, once-in-a-generation talent. She was fiercely loyal, a founding contributor to Yuri’s rule, and someone her liege deeply trusted—one of the few in this chaotic era whom she could entrust her back to without a shred of doubt.

The land was certainly valuable, but considering the nation's current state, where maintaining three castles intact was already a struggle, forfeiting one—be it Raklein or Zelstrom—could still serve as a stepping stone for recovery.

That was Jinor's judgment.

However, surrendering an envoy was another matter entirely.

And it wasn’t just because that envoy was Swen—a man known for his sharp intellect and remarkable abilities.

To Jinor, Swen was far more valuable than Anima. No matter how others in this country evaluated him, that was a belief he would not waver from.

But even that wasn't the decisive reason why an envoy should never be handed over.

Even if the man in question were utterly incompetent, with no future potential, so insignificant that entrusting him with any meaningful responsibility would be a risk—he still could not be given away.

No matter how chaotic the world had become, what kind of warlord would hand over a subordinate who had sworn loyalty to them?