Turnabout Trial (1)
“Sabe, have you finished preparing to receive the Grand Marshal?”
“Can’t you handle that yourself? As you well know, I have something important tomorrow.”
Sabe was buried in military regulations, combing through every statute he could find. Tomorrow’s court-martial. The one that would see Jett and Ellen punished.
Basel nearly laughed aloud at the sight. He had never once seen Sabe concentrate this hard on anything.
“I’m not sure disposing of them tomorrow is such a wise idea,” Basel said, tossing the remark over his shoulder as he turned to leave. He was certain Sabe would not let it pass.
“What is that supposed to mean? Are you saying holding the court-martial tomorrow is a mistake?”
Basel smiled to himself. This was not the first or second time Sabe had fished for his opinion only to present it to Germil as his own.
“Think about it. Locking them up won’t erase what they’ve accomplished. It will only make the rumors inside the unit burn hotter. If it were me, I’d wait for a more decisive moment.”
“A more decisive moment?”
Basel had always outclassed him, and Sabe found himself listening despite himself.
“The court-martial attended by the Grand Marshal himself. Expose their crimes there. His Excellency will almost certainly withhold any commendation for their achievements — and our own failures will never come to light.”
Basel deliberately chose the words our own failures. Exactly as he expected, Sabe felt a rush of shared interest.
“I see. As thorough as ever. But would the Grand Marshal simply sit still and watch a sham trial of ours play out?”
So they know full well this is a stretch.
Basel pointed at the regulations manual Sabe had been studying.
“Which is precisely why you need more time, isn’t it? What matters is how you use the regulations. For instance — they moved a military unit on their own authority. In wartime, that can be framed as a serious threat to the army itself.”
He watched Sabe stroke his chin and nod. The man was being persuaded.
“You’re right. We’ll build a case so airtight they can’t wriggle free, then put them on trial before the Grand Marshal. And while we’re at it, we may as well claim their achievements for ourselves.”
Sabe bolted straight for Germil. Watching him go, Basel let out a long breath.
How can anyone that dense be trusted with the Fifth Army? Still — I’ve bought them time. Now for the next stage.
“All personnel, attention! Salute the Grand Marshal!”
At the command, the soldiers lined up on either side snapped into a simultaneous salute.
“Excellent. Discipline this sharp is a pleasure to see.”
From inside the carriage, Grand Marshal Akard surveyed them with open satisfaction.
“These are men who have already won a hard-fought battle. You can see the morale in their eyes.”
Akard was still speaking with his aide when a figure came scrambling toward the carriage in a breathless rush.
“Y-Your Excellency! Marshal Germil Zvet of the Fifth Army presents his respects!”
Germil hastily smoothed his disheveled hair and struggled to catch his breath.
The carriage window slid open with a rattle. The moment Germil saw it, he straightened at once. Old memories of Akard scolding him as a boy rose unbidden.
“Well. I saw your father often enough, but it’s been a long time since I last saw you.”
There was little warmth in Akard’s face as he said it.
He knew enough about Germil already. A man of no real ability who clung to his present post only through the Zvet family’s influence — that was Akard’s settled judgment.
If he had even half his father’s mettle, it would never have come to this.
Germil’s father, Alex Zvet, had been Grand Admiral of the Prode Kingdom — a gifted commander who had won battle after battle, a man who kept public duty and private interest strictly apart.
His only true mistake had been Germil himself. Believing the office might make the man, he had handed command to a son who had no business holding it.
And looking at him now, even his father must have come to regret it.
Watching a marshal of the army come scrambling out without the least formality to greet his superior left a bitter taste in Akard’s mouth.
“Your Excellency, please rest from your journey first. We’ve prepared everything so that your stay will be as comfortable as possible.”
Whether Germil sensed any of Akard’s thoughts or not, he only kept bowing and scraping.
“This is wartime. We’ll dispense with that. Begin the operations council for the capture of Roche at once.”
“Yes, sir. Understood.”
Germil turned away, thoroughly cowed — and his eyes met Sabe’s behind him. Sabe gave the papers in his hand a little shake.
Catching the meaning, Germil turned back toward Akard.
“Your Excellency — before we begin the council, may we hold a court-martial for those who have violated military law?”
“Violating military law in wartime is a grave matter that must be dealt with firmly. How unusual of you to say something proper.”
Akard was a man of iron principle. Discipline in an emergency — above all in wartime — mattered more than anything.
“Yes, sir. We will prepare immediately.”
The moment Akard’s permission fell, Germil’s expression twisted into a thin, ugly smile.
“Summon the Fifth Army staff, every unit commander, and Remi.”
He was recalling the plan Sabe had brought him. That same day Sabe had rushed to Germil and laid out everything Basel had told him — carefully stripping Basel’s name from it, of course, and presenting the scheme as his own brilliant idea.
With this, I can prove my worth to the Grand Marshal once and for all.
He was lost in a private fantasy and showed no sign of climbing out of it. Basel, watching, exhaled in quiet relief.
Not long after Germil’s order, the entire staff was assembled in the council chamber. Germil glanced toward Akard in the seat of honor, seeking leave with his eyes.
“Begin.”
“Yes. Before we proceed to the operations council, we will first conduct a court-martial regarding a breach of military discipline.”
The words had barely left his mouth when Sabe stepped forward as if the whole performance had been rehearsed and handed him the papers.
“Jett Kanero and Remi of the Fifth Army Magic Unit, prior to entering Ruaturu Canyon, conducted an independent military operation without any report to their superior officer.”
Germil looked up from the page to study their faces. Jett and Remi sat in their places without a word.
He had expected them to explode. Their silence suited him just as well. He was already certain his plan had succeeded.
“Upon investigation, the action was based on nothing more than unfounded speculation, unsupported by reasonable evidence. Anticipating that their claims would be rejected, they chose to act on their own authority.”
Akard’s expression hardened.
In wartime, the chain of command had to be firmer than ever. An independent military operation founded on mere conjecture could easily bring catastrophic defeat.
“Considering that this is wartime, the act is judged a grave threat to military discipline — one that could even decide the outcome of the war itself. Therefore, I order that they be confined to the military prison. Are there any objections?”
Germil looked again at the two of them. That was when Ellen’s hand shot into the air.
“I will speak in their defense.”
Snorts of contempt ran through the staff around him.
“I’ve always found it distasteful how much a commoner pushes himself forward.”
“Struggle all you like. You still broke military law.”
Ellen ignored every word of it and looked straight at Akard.
Akard nodded.
“What I wish to explain is why we had no choice but to operate independently. The reason is the collapse of discipline and the corruption that has spread through the entire Fifth Army.”
The chamber erupted.
“What in the world is that bastard talking about?”
“There’s a limit to how far you can twist things. What kind of slander is this?”
Germil, however, remained perfectly calm, swelling with the certainty that he would win.
“In that situation, no matter how carefully we explained the operation, no one would listen. Even when a reconnaissance team was sent out beforehand, it was assembled at their own whim rather than with a composition specialized for canyon scouting. That is why the ambush went undetected.”
As he laid bare their failures, Germil’s and Tony’s faces stiffened. These were the last details they had wanted brought into the open.
But they had anticipated this much. A reply was already prepared.
“The infantry is fully capable of conducting reconnaissance. My decision rested on my own tactics — not on anyone’s personal request.”
“That is only one example. Someone else will speak to the fuller picture. May I ask that the prepared materials be presented?”
The moment Ellen finished, Basel — who had been listening in silence until then — rose to his feet.
“Basel? What are you doing?”
Sabe’s eyes went round beside him.
“Do not soil my honor.”
Basel produced the ledger he had found in Sabe’s office. The moment Sabe saw it, his eyes looked ready to split open.
A faint smile touched Ellen’s lips.
Sabe and Germil had been stripped of office once before over corruption. The case had broken open when a servant exposed the ledger Sabe had been keeping. Ellen had known he would keep writing one even during the war — and so, together with Basel, he had slipped into the office and found it.
The last time they were punished, it had not been wartime; they had gotten off with nothing more than dismissal from their posts. The circumstances now were entirely different.
“This is a ledger recording the corruption of Marshal Germil Zvet of the Fifth Army and his aide, Sabe Sennen.”
Basel handed it to Akard.
The chamber fell silent. Only Sabe, who knew exactly what the book was, fidgeted in mounting panic.
Akard began to read.
It held not only records of money changing hands, but notes on precisely which men had been installed in which posts.
Akard’s face twisted into a deep scowl.
“This is a frame-up! That is not mine!”
Sabe’s voice rang through the chamber.
Germil stared at him in growing disbelief.
“Y-You— Sabe, you—!”
“Silence, all of you.”
Akard’s single command crushed every murmur in the room.
“This was written in mana. Have it verified at once through black magic.”
How did they even know a ledger existed — and how did they get their hands on it? There was a lock enchantment on it that needed at least a 5th Circle mage to break…
To keep the contents from being altered, Sabe had recorded everything with mana and always stored the book in a bag sealed with a lock enchantment. No one in the Fifth Army should have been able to open it. How it had ended up in their hands, he could not begin to guess.
“There are additional witnesses as well.”
Ellen’s words only drove the dread deeper into him.