I Became an Imperial Inspector (1)
I vowed to restore the rotting empire to what it once was.
Now it was time to decide on the means. There would surely be many. Becoming a rebel as Lidia had in my past life was one of them. Of course, I had no intention of walking her path. I knew better than anyone how that road ended. Even if I added myself to the ranks of the rebels, the outcome would never change.
There were two things I had to consider. First, that I be able to deal with the corrupt nobles. Second, that doing so would bring no trouble upon me.
The First Prince who had sold the country to a foreign woman would need handling someday as well, but it was still far too early to think that far. I could turn my mind to him after stabilizing the empire to some degree.
As expected, there's only one real answer…
Fortunately the thought did not last long. I had wrestled with the same dilemma any number of times in my previous life.
The Inspectorate. The institution charged with watching over the corruption of the nobles. As a direct organ of the imperial house, it need bow to no one's opinion, which made it a perfect match for my goal. Getting in was difficult, of course. In pure difficulty it rivaled the Imperial Knights.
What that meant was simple—for someone who had joined the Imperial Knights in a past life, it would not be that hard. Whatever else one might say, I was of the blood of House Lichtenhaus, whose head sat as Chancellor.
I did not particularly welcome relying on my father's help. But this was no time to be choosy. I had to restore the empire by any means necessary. The first step toward that was—enrolling in the Academy, just as I had in my past life.
One year after I returned to this world, in the year I turned fifteen, I became a student of the Academy. There had been an entrance examination, but it was not especially difficult.
Recalling my past life's memories one by one, I scored perfectly on the written portion; with the skill that had once carried me as far as vice-commander of the Imperial Knights, I scored perfectly on the practical as well. As a natural result I became the top entrant.
When the head of the house—my father—heard the news, he said:
"Now you're finally living up to your blood. A son of mine should be exactly like this."
"I will work even harder."
"Good. Do not fall behind. The Lichtenhaus always stand atop the heads of others."
Words whose nature as praise remained ambiguous at best. That was everything I heard from my father. I had never been a parent myself, yet I was certain he was not a good one. I was so thoroughly accustomed to that manner that not even disappointment stirred in me.
Meanwhile Lidia, who had been the top entrant in my past life, widened her eyes the moment she spotted me at the entrance ceremony. She strode over and thrust her face right up to mine—close enough that we nearly touched.
"Cain, I hear you were the top entrant?"
"Well, it turned out that way."
"You must have worked crazy hard. Good job."
Lidia's hand roughly ruffled my hair. As a man, as an adult, my pride ought to have been wounded; yet I felt nothing of the sort. If anything, it was strangely pleasant. The reaction itself was unexpected. I had been certain she would sneer that I must have cheated, or ask how an idiot like me could possibly have managed it.
"The ceremony's about to start. Let's go—!"
"Yeah."
"Huh…?"
Lidia seized my hand intending to drag me toward the hall, but I took the lead instead and pulled her along. Looking back, I had always been the one being led around by her in my previous life. This life would be a little different.
"By the way, did you prepare the representative speech for the new students?"
"…I'll just spit out whatever comes to mind."
"That's so like you."
Lidia burst out laughing. And so our second Academy life began.
Life at the Academy proved far more tedious than I had expected. I had never been especially fond of studying to begin with, and now I was forced to relearn everything I had already mastered once. It was fortunate I spent the time tempering my still-inadequate body; otherwise I might have fled long ago.
Then one day, as we sat across from each other leisurely enjoying tea, Lidia suddenly spoke.
"What are you going to do after you graduate? With you, it feels like you could go anywhere."
"I'm joining the Inspectorate."
"That's unexpected. When we were little you used to say you wanted to be a knight. That fairy-tale book is still on the shelf in your room, isn't it?"
Yes—I had admired knights. That was why I had chosen the Imperial Knights in my past life. But I could not walk that road again. I knew better than anyone what lay at its end. An individual's dream is endlessly small before a greater cause. All the more so when that cause was the defense of the empire.
"All right then. Suppose you've joined the Inspectorate, and someone very close to you commits a crime—what would you do?"
"Public and private must be kept separate. No matter how close they are to me, wrong is wrong."
"Good. You're the perfect talent for the Inspectorate. You pass."
"Getting a pass from you doesn't really mean anything."
"But it feels good, doesn't it?"
Well… she wasn't exactly wrong. I smiled and sipped my tea.
Time flowed on, and before I knew it graduation from the Academy was near. On a rare occasion I found myself facing my father at the main house. He gazed out the window as he sipped his tea, then slowly shifted his eyes to me. Those blue irises held not a trace of emotion—exactly the look one gives an ant crawling across the floor.
"Caenderic. What do you intend to do after graduation?"
"I plan to enter the Inspectorate."
"Oh? I was certain you'd say you wanted to become some knight or other."
"That is also a fine path, yet I believe the Inspectorate suits me better."
A body that enforced the law free of anyone's influence. It shared a certain kinship with the maxim Father always had on his lips: stand above the heads of others. The faint curl of his lips was surely because the choice pleased him. I disliked that expression, but I could not let it show. I still needed the power he held.
"I will speak to the Chief of the Inspectorate."
"Thank you."
"Very well. You may go."
I rose and left his office. The teacup on the table remained full. Once again the thought crossed my mind: what exactly was I to my father? Nothing more than a tool for the family? Such pointless speculation vanished almost as soon as it formed. I could find no answer, and even if I did, it would only create new problems.
Not long afterward an important event took place at the Academy. Public institutions from across the empire—including the Inspectorate and the Imperial Knights—arrived to recruit new blood.
The Academy was the largest educational institution in the empire, bar none; it was where the brightest gathered, so of course they would prioritize recruitment here.
Graduating students went one by one to interview at the bodies they hoped to join. Of course a fair number did not—those who had yet to decide what they wanted, or who intended to succeed their houses. Lidia was among them.
Knock, knock.
I rapped on the door without hesitation. Naturally it was the room for Inspectorate interviews. Permission came from beyond the door before long. I opened it at once and stepped inside to find a man in immaculate attire seated at a desk, hands resting upon it.
"A pleasure to meet you."
"Yes, a pleasure."
With a light greeting I handed him the yellowed sheet I carried. It listed every particular about me—name, age, house, even my Academy record. I took the seat opposite him, and the interview began in earnest.
"I have already heard from His Excellency the Chancellor. That you hope to join the Inspectorate."
"Yes, just as you have heard."
"I will give you a pass for now. Both because of what His Excellency said, and because there is nothing to fault in your grades."
If my grades had been poor, would he have failed me? No. This world did not turn so honestly. I resented that world even as I leaned upon it.
"Then I'll drop the formalities and speak as though you were already my subordinate."
"Yes, please make yourself comfortable."
"Why the Inspectorate? With these marks you could go anywhere."
"Living under the grace of His Majesty the Emperor, if there are those who refuse to live cleanly, is that not treason itself? I believe such people have no place in this world."
"A fine thought."
He rolled the paper containing my particulars into a tube and tucked it into his breast. Then he extended his hand.
"Albert de Damon, Chief of the 1st Division of the Inspectorate."
"Caenderic de Lichtenhaus."
I took his hand. Perhaps it was he who had taken the hand of House Lichtenhaus.