An Aristocratic Mindset
An Aristocratic Mindset
"Alright, HIMARS. Next."
"Next."
"It's the next training."
Hildea's fingertips were trembling.
Because Piel had borrowed her precious 105mm howitzer barrel to train the Unicorn.
She absolutely could not maintain her composure.
'Piel, please, just don't take my 105mm cannon away from me.'
A silent struggle.
A dry-teared scream.
Even in the midst of this, the Honey Apple was so delicious that it crunched crisply in her mouth as if her hand had never stopped.
How could such a delicious fruit possibly exist?
It was so sweet it was overwhelming, the crunching texture was far too good, and the subtle apple fragrance only further stimulated her appetite.
Kwakwagwang!
Lying nearly horizontally, Hildea's precious 105mm cannon barrel vigorously fired a shell.
Hildea watched, harboring the terrible wretchedness of having something precious stolen.
"Oh my, firing the 105mm cannon unsupported in the air seems difficult."
In an instant, her expression brightened.
It was because the 105mm cannon barrel, pushed far back by the recoil, had slipped right out of the telekinetic range and dropped to the floor with a thud.
"Hmm, is its mana output insufficient to completely block the recoil force of the 105mm howitzer with telekinesis alone?"
The 105mm barrel had been hurled nearly 10 meters away.
The Unicorn snorted, then trotted over to the barrel, picked it up with telekinesis, and returned.
It wagged its tail as if asking for permission to try once more.
"Alright, let's try it one more time."
Hildea watched with a tense face.
Kwakwagwang!
Once again, unable to overcome the firing recoil, the 105mm barrel was pushed back outside the range of its telekinesis.
Piel muttered something she couldn't understand.
"Well, since the 105mm howitzer has a very high muzzle velocity and significantly greater firing pressure, it can't be helped. If we have to go pick up the barrel after every single shot, it'd be more efficient to just operate the 120mm mortar unit instead."
Piel tossed a few Honey Apples to the Unicorn.
The Unicorn fixed the Honey Apples in mid-air with its telekinesis and began munching on them ravenously.
When he entrusted it for 'partial auto-repair' for maintenance, the 105mm barrel vanished.
Piel came to the mat and sat comfortably next to Hildea.
"Training is all done."
"Uh-huh.... Colonel Piel, so then the Unicorn is also...."
"It's HIMARS."
"...Is HIMARS going to be handling the 105mm barrel from now on too?"
It didn't seem likely, but it was a question she asked just in case, to confirm.
Hildea's heart pounded as if it might burst.
"You saw. Since it can't overcome the recoil, it has to go pick it back up after firing one shot. If it's unlucky, it could even get lodged somewhere or fall into the water."
"Uh-huh, that's true. I also found that part a little regrettable. It should be able to lightly absorb the recoil of the 105mm cannon and fire rapid consecutive shots to easily take down things like those Giant Golems."
"That's right."
When Piel agreed, Hildea's complexion brightened.
She kept tossing Honey Apples toward the Unicorn.
As the large pile of Honey Apples steadily dwindled, Hildea's mind grew anxious.
'Come to think of it, these Honey Apples weren't taken out for me to eat....'
The Honey Apples were taken out by Piel as an encouragement reward for the Unicorn, with the promise 'I'll give you plenty if you fly.'
Hildea had just ended up eating them alongside.
Her head suddenly cleared.
'To think you had such a delicious fruit this whole time and never showed it to me. H-Have I been displeasing you lately? Is my massage skill not satisfactory to you?'
The maiden's delusions swirled like a typhoon.
It was simply that Piel had so many types of food supplies that he spontaneously pulled out new items on the spur of the moment.
But there was no way Hildea could know that fact.
She could not imagine that a divine fruit as delicious as the Honey Apple would be 'just left neglected out of laziness.'
"But it might be because HIMARS isn't a full adult yet and its body hasn't fully developed."
"Huh? Wh-what do you mean...?"
"Once it's fully grown and its body is developed, I plan to try large howitzer unsupported air-firing again. Because the possibility is definitely there."
Hildea spoke haltingly.
"What about operating multiple heavy machine guns at once, or throwing incendiary grenades? If you construct a large field of fire by mass-throwing incendiary bombs...."
"The range is far too short. HIMARS's telekinesis can maximize firepower efficiency by operating multiple cannons simultaneously."
Hildea felt as if her heart was being torn apart.
'Then besides me, there will be another entity that uses the 105mm cannon in the future...?'
"If things go according to my plan, Hildea-nim would have to discard the 105mm cannon and switch to the 155mm howitzer."
Hildea's mind snapped to attention.
"155mm howitzer? The one you mentioned before?"
"Yes, it's still under development."
To be precise, the initial procurement cost was a whopping 4 million in budget, so Piel had been holding off on requesting it with the thought, 'Is it really necessary?'
Because it wasn't just the howitzer that came; a reconnaissance drone package for acquiring bombardment coordinates was bundled with it.
Of course, that only applied to the very first request.
After that, a 155mm howitzer could be requested separately for a budget of 1 million.
'With a budget of 4 million, that's 4,000 tons of flour, 600 tons of canned meat stew, or 4 million Mint Choco Cakes.'
Piel also preferred more firepower. Where you come from doesn't just go away.
But even now, the firepower was sufficient enough that the Elves were avoiding engagements.
So he ended up focusing on feeding the territory's residents well to increase the population.
Because the budget was finite.
"When will its development be completed? I can't be satisfied with just the 105mm cannon. I need a bigger and more powerful gun. Huh? Huh?"
"Because the development and manufacturing costs are so high, it's impossible to get right now."
"As I thought, you really need to get promoted to Brigadier General quickly, right? I shall send another letter to His Majesty the King. It's been so long since he promised to create a star rank position for you, just what is the handling of the matter...."
"Hasn't the central administrative processing always been slow as molasses? Let's just wait patiently."
Hildea glared at the Unicorn, which was stealthily snatching up Honey Apples with its telekinesis.
'Now even a beast is stealing Piel's attention from me....'
***
Hildea was concerned that the mortar knights' standing would be threatened because of the Unicorn.
I dismissed it as needless worry.
"Hildea-nim, if Lord Deville were to awaken as a Sword Master, would you discharge knights equal to that level of military strength?"
"Of course not. Ah!"
"The 60mm mortar knights of Ainshvan have their role, the 120mm mortar knights of Anvelrum have theirs, Hildea-nim has hers, and HIMARS has its own tactical necessity. They're all distinct."
"I see. My thinking was short-sighted."
"From now on, supply will focus mainly on the 120mm mortars. But that doesn't mean the 60mm mortars initially issued will be discarded."
"It would be fine to have the mana soldiers handle them instead of the knights."
"Yes, that's right. If Lord Deville ever ascends to Sword Master, I'll give him a 105mm cannon then."
From what I see, Hildea could probably easily shoulder-fire the 155mm howitzer even bare-handed.
As always, the problem is the insufficient budget.
【Remaining Budget: 466,120】
After holding the Triumph Ceremony, handing over 16 million won worth of emergency grain to Rebecca, and doing this and that, it had plummeted from 39.5 million to 460,000.
'It's fine. If I just hold out a little longer, my salary... no, next month's budget will come in.'
From next month onward, I really have to tighten my belt.
***
After the Unicorn's training ended, Piel called Rebecca on the radio.
Then he threw a samgyeopsal party outdoors.
In Piel's unchanging touch as he diligently grilled the meat, Hildea felt relieved that his affection had not cooled.
'Right, Colonel Piel was simply born with a disposition that takes joy in feeding others, whether human or beast....'
Even so, to think he piled up all those Honey Apples for the Unicorn to eat.
Rebecca had also opened her eyes wide in amazement when she first tasted the Honey Apple.
"Piel? I've had apples before too, but this is on a completely different level from the apples I know? The fruit is large and it's so delicious! Most of all, it even looks incredibly tasty right from its appearance!"
"It's a variety improved by gathering countless wisdom to make an even more delicious apple."
"If the Emperor of the Nelssmill Empire tasted this apple, he would definitely invade our kingdom. To demand the apples be offered as tribute."
Hildea spoke as if bragging.
"As if it's just the apple? The Marshall Burger, Marshall Stew, Samgyeopsal, Whiskey, Samhae Gwiju, and much more—there's not just one or two things they'd demand as tribute."
On four grill plates, the meat sizzled endlessly, cooking away.
Hildea, just as Piel had taught her, neatly loaded up food toppings onto lettuce and perilla leaves and wrapped them to eat.
Rebecca stabbed a piece of samgyeopsal with her fork, lightly dabbed it in ssamjang, and put it in her mouth.
Sometimes she would pick up and eat a slice of raw garlic or grilled king oyster mushroom.
And the whiskey, which could not be left out.
After the abundant and satisfying samgyeopsal party ended, Piel lay down on the mat to take a nap.
The two female Masters took the grill plates, the large water bottle, and the detergent and moved to the stream to wash the dishes.
After meticulously washing up in the stream water, they finished by rinsing clean with fresh water and the dishwashing was complete.
"I have something to tell you, Hujak-nim."
"Commander-in-Chief, why are you suddenly so serious? You're scaring me."
"It's something you must know as well, Hujak-nim."
At Hildea's calm expression, Rebecca also listened with a serious manner.
"Elenoa-gyeong has no intention of marrying. She said she would take one of her nephew's—meaning Colonel Piel's—children as an adopted son to inherit the territory."
A concise explanation summarizing the key point.
Rebecca instantly pierced through to the essence.
"She proposed that you give her one of the children you will bear, Commander-in-Chief?"
"N-No, she didn't say it like that. She just said it only needs to be Piel's child...."
Rebecca leisurely folded her arms.
Hildea ground her teeth in vain at this composed figure, so unlike her own shocked self.
'This is a traditional noble with a lineage spanning hundreds of years....'
Hildea was a commoner by origin.
Herself, who had only established her Count family five years ago, was a 'real' noble she could never hope to imitate even in death.
Rebecca's green irises stared intently at Hildea, and then soon she broke into a smile.
"I think I know what you're about to say now, Commander-in-Chief."
"What?"
"You're going to concede to me, aren't you?"
"Yah, 'concede'?"
"Let's share Piel amicably, but I'll concede the Count Anbelrum territory to the child I bear—something like that, right?"
"...."
"Why are you giving up? Count Anbelrum territory is very wealthy. You won't just bear one child, and if you give Count Anbelrum territory to a child who would otherwise lose their right to succession and fall to being a vassal, wouldn't that be a happiness for that child too?"
Hildea couldn't find a reply.
From the standpoint of a noble Family Head, accepting Elenoa's offer over Rebecca's was the right course.
Because it was the path to spreading a powerful bloodline far and wide.
'I hate the idea of my child growing up not knowing who its real mother is, thinking its aunt is its birth mother, until they reach adulthood.'
"I understand how the Commander-in-Chief feels. Family is precious in and of itself, right? Lacking a family of your own, you must feel that way even more strongly."
"...."
"But I might have maternal love too, you know? Count Anbelrum territory? Of course it's tempting. But I wouldn't send my child to a place where they might die."
Hildea's mind flashed with sudden clarity.
"What do you mean by that? They might die? Elenoa has already completely seized control of the territory, so who would kill Hujak-nim's child?"
"If anyone heard that, they'd think I'm already pregnant or something. I'm still a maiden who hasn't even had a peck on the cheek."
"...."
Hildea's face flushed red and she bowed her head deeply.
With her arms folded, Rebecca tilted her head slightly and continued speaking.
"Don't you think Elenoa might kill them?"
"What?"
Hildea's mind snapped back to attention.
It was an utterly unbelievable statement.
"Are you saying Elenoa-gyeong deceived me?"
"No, not at all."
"Then why on earth...?"
"Do you truly believe Elenoa will never marry her entire life? Who can guarantee that one day she won't suddenly fall in love with someone, or be seized by the desire to have a child born from her own womb?"
"...."
"Whether in 10 or 20 years, if Elenoa gets her own bloodline in the distant future, won't the adopted nephew become an eyesore? 'If only this one would vanish, I could pass the territory to my own bloodline?'"
It was a chilling explanation that turned her mind cold.
"I had no intention of sending them from the start."
"Same for me."
Hildea looked at Rebecca with new eyes.
'So this is the Nobles' Way of Thinking.'
"Of course, there is a way for Piel's child to safely inherit Count Anbelrum territory."
"Is that true?"
"Yes, Piel just needs to close his eyes tight and spend one night with Elenoa. Then the child would be Elenoa's own bloodline too, so she'd cherish them to the end."
"...."
"If it's the last resort to prevent the outflow of family assets, it can't be helped, right? Incest might be disgusting, but safeguarding the family is a noble's duty. It's not even marriage, so what's the big deal? We just need to be the only ones who know."
Hildea thought blankly.
'So this is the Nobles' Way of Thinking....'
"But in the end, Piel will make the wise decision. About how to handle the succession of his Main Family."
"Ah, I see."
"Since this is the Count Anbelrum family's internal matter, we just need to stay quiet."
Hildea slightly regretted having agonized over it alone all this time.
***
Returning after finishing the dishes, Rebecca thought to herself.
'Does Elenoa like women? Or does she hate men? If it's neither, then could it be....'
She made the proposal to a woman who might become her brother's wife—that she would live alone her whole life and pass the territory to a nephew.
If there was high-level political calculation involved....
'If she wanted her brother's child from the very beginning but hid that intent, hoping this side would make such a counter-offer? No, that's my thoughts running too far.'
Returning to the mat, Rebecca looked at Piel, sound asleep, and thought.
'But then again, when you look at Piel's face, it makes sense again.'
