Military Minister (2)
Yureinia Achilles.
Eldest daughter of the Achilles ducal house and the heir with the strongest position among the candidates, she stood as the overwhelming favorite to succeed—and for that very reason, she had swiftly claimed the pivotal post of Military Minister.
She was by no means incompetent, yet it remained extraordinary for so young a woman to ascend to the office of Military Minister.
The factions that had backed Grand General Gaius—long considered the leading contender for the previous post—viewed her with open distaste. Those who feared or revered the prestige of House Achilles, however, gave her unwavering support.
Still, the Grand General’s faction was an unmistakable thorn in Yureinia’s side. Anyone would find it galling to have subordinates who refused to follow her.
Most galling of all was the presence of the “Hero” assigned under Left General Salisius, a key figure of the Grand General’s line. That single existence obstructed every effort to clear the obstacle, and so Yureinia had steadily kept the Hero in check.
She had not, from the very beginning, opposed the Hero with such ferocity. Even while sensing the need to restrain her, Yureinia understood how vital the Hero’s activities truly were.
Yet there was a reason this same Yureinia refused to overlook Erinn’s unauthorized sortie and instead hauled her before a tribunal, citing “proper procedure” and “principle.”
Darius Achilles—pillar of House Achilles and one of only two dukes in the entire empire—had declared that the succession would be decided by open competition.
To Yureinia, who had always assumed the dukedom was hers by right, the news struck like a bolt from a clear sky. Fail to prove her worth, and the title might never become hers.
If I don’t seize full control of the military soon…
The title was something she had been destined to possess. She had known it since earliest childhood, and it had always been true. For Yureinia, losing it would be no different from someone snatching away what she had owned from the start.
That was why she had been raising a private army in secret—as insurance. Should the title ever be taken, she would reclaim it by force if necessary.
For the same reasons she pressed hard for Erinn’s punishment. Even a modest blow against the Grand General’s faction would serve her; if the Hero were disciplined, her superior the Left General would suffer a heavy blow as well.
The Emperor might look displeased, but that was only a fleeting mood. In the larger view there would be no problem. Once she inherited the dukedom, even the Emperor would no longer dare treat her lightly.
That was how it should have been…
“Yureinia Achilles! You will explain these reports properly and at once!!”
How had it come to this?
Armed with the materials Clara and Ser-Aria had brought, Salisius intended to confront the Military Minister. First, however, he needed to inform Erinn; he therefore carried the documents down to the cold underground dungeon where she was confined, so she could examine them herself.
“Erinn.”
“Oh, it’s you, old man~♡ Coming back again means you must have good news, right~?”
She yawned, shuffled over, and draped herself limply against the iron bars. She already looked thoroughly at home in the cell.
“…You’ve made yourself quite comfortable.”
“What are you talking about~? The floor’s freezing.”
“Just look at these.”
Salisius passed the papers through the bars. Erinn leafed through them slowly, then spoke.
“How do you plan to use this?”
“How? I go straight to the Military Minister and demand the trial be cancelled—”
“No.”
All playfulness vanished from Erinn’s voice.
“The trial has to happen.”
“What? Then you’ll have to prove your innocence. Do you actually believe that’s possible?”
“Why prove innocence? I did sortie without orders. I’ll admit it.”
“You’ll admit it?”
Salisius looked genuinely startled.
“Do you understand what you’re saying? Once the trial begins, you must prove yourself not guilty!”
“If we just show this to the Military Minister, the whole thing gets swept under the rug and ends there.”
“That was the original plan—”
“No. That isn’t what our Left General really wants, is it?”
Salisius paused. He exhaled softly.
“…What I want is certainly a result that goes one step further. But these documents alone aren’t enough. We can’t prove Yureinia Achilles herself is responsible.”
“They’re enough.”
“What?”
Erinn already knew. In two previous lives she had seen exactly what sort of person Yureinia Achilles was.
She also knew this was the period when Yureinia would be scrambling to secure the dukedom. She had not foreseen the illegal private army, yet she knew the woman would be desperate to claim the title.
“Even if we only pressure House Achilles itself, Yureinia will collapse on her own. Exposing everything in front of a large audience will be far more effective.”
“…How can you be so certain?”
Saying she knew the family’s internal affairs would only raise suspicions. Erinn gave a small smirk.
“Call it a woman’s intuition, old man. Not knowing that—classic confirmed bachelor♡”
“……”
The jab landed harder than any baldness joke ever had. Salisius’s mouth snapped shut.
“Old man~ What’s wrong~? Did the shock steal your power of speech♡”
“……”
Still no answer. Even Erinn’s giggling faltered.
“Wait… did that actually hurt…?”
“…I want to date someone too. It’s not like I can help it if nothing works out……”
“Ah…… S-sorry. I didn’t think you’d take it that hard….”
When Erinn apologized in earnest, Salisius finally relaxed his expression.
“So you want the trial held and these submitted? But presenting them in a trial about your own crime is awkward. They aren’t directly related to the charges, so introducing them during the evidence phase would be difficult… same problem with the witnesses.”
“That’s fine.”
Erinn waved the concern away.
“I’ll make the opening myself~♡”
Gnaeus Licinius, Emperor of the Dern Empire, released a long, weary sigh. The Hero had indeed marched without authorization, yet she had returned bearing brilliant achievements—only to face a trial for her “crime.”
Moments like this make weak authority feel truly pitiful.
She was the Hero who protected the nation, humanity, and the world itself. Forcing her onto a defendant’s platform filled the Emperor with quiet guilt.
Unauthorized or not, she had taken a decisive step toward the Hero’s ultimate purpose. Praise would have been more fitting; instead she was to be judged. As a man, he felt a measure of shame.
The Military Minister would press the charges on pure fact, so the trial could not be stopped. Still, he intended to see the matter resolved with the lightest possible sentence. With that resolve he entered the courtroom.
“His Majesty the Emperor enters!”
Yureinia Achilles, the accuser, already stood on the left. The defense bench on the right sat empty. In the center, Hero Erinn waited alone upon the judgment platform.
“Be seated, all of you.”
Once the Emperor took his place, the rest of the court followed. He addressed the solitary figure on the platform.
“Hero Erinn, have you no counsel?”
“Calling my comrades would destroy fairness. Calling a stranger would leave my situation poorly explained.”
“Then you will speak in your own defense.”
“Yes.”
The Emperor turned to Yureinia.
“Begin.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Yureinia snapped open an official document.
“Hero Erinn. Without leave from your superiors and without His Majesty’s permission, you marched to the front of your own accord. In that interval the empire’s safety was left exposed—an extremely dangerous state of affairs….”
She fixed Erinn with a hard stare.
“The defendant is guilty. Even if she claims to have crushed the Oblivion Legion, refusal of orders must be punished according to principle. Achievements aside, what she committed is a direct assault upon order itself.”
“Does anyone wish to speak in opposition?”
Those who disliked the trial still kept silent, wary of House Achilles.
“Then we shall proceed at once to sentencing and punishment. There is no need to waste further—”
“Most exalted Emperor, Your Majesty.”
Erinn cut across her words and addressed the throne.
“I—”
“Absolutely not. Sentence must be passed now.”
“How can you punish me before I’ve even offered a defense? Why the rush, Military Minister?”
“Indeed, Military Minister. Every trial must hear the defendant’s plea.”
Grand General Gaius spoke.
“Hero Erinn, present your defense.”
“Your Majesty’s grace is boundless. I thank you for the permission.”
Erinn stepped a pace forward from the platform and began.
“I did march to the front without superior authorization. That is the crime I committed—I do not deny it.”
“…You admit it?”
“Yes.”
The moment Erinn nodded, Yureinia seized the opening.
“The Hero herself confesses! There is no reason to delay punishment any longer—!”
“Military Minister, the defendant still holds the floor.”
“…Forgive me.”
The Emperor’s rebuke bought Erinn the time she needed.
“Yet I did not return empty-handed. I destroyed the Oblivion Legion—one of the pillars of the Demon King’s army. I submit that such a result more than balances the price of acting without orders.”
“Hmm….”
As Erinn listed her achievements, the Emperor and the watching nobles began to murmur.
“True, the Hero has wrought a tremendous deed….”
“To make such a fuss over one independent action without orders feels excessive….”
Sensing the shift, Yureinia raised her voice in haste.
“The defendant’s achievements are praiseworthy, yet we are presently judging the crime of failing to uphold what must be upheld! She is attempting to bury her guilt beneath digressions. Yes, the Hero crushed the Oblivion Legion, but that does not erase the debt she owes for disrupting order—”
“Plaintiff, how many times must I remind you it is not your turn to speak?”
The Emperor’s sharp rebuke forced Yureinia silent. Even the scion of mighty House Achilles could not defy the throne.
With her silenced, Erinn continued without pause.
“If the Military Minister insists my actions constitute a crime, so be it. But to claim I disrupted order is a distortion. I believe this campaign forged a firmer order than before. I have always fought to preserve the peaceful order of the world, and this time I achieved a great victory. Humanity may now live beneath a safer sky.”
“Why depart without a single report?”
“I naturally wished to inform my superiors and then march. Had I done so, however, the moment would have slipped away. The situation was so urgent there was no time even to wait for a reply.”
Erinn’s gaze never wavered.
“It was an unavoidable accident—nothing more. I cannot accept the charge that I acted to overturn system and order. Rather….”
She turned fully toward Yureinia and allowed a thin smile.
“Weren’t you the ones who sought to disrupt order? House Achilles.”
“…!?”
Yureinia’s face drained of color. The observing nobles stirred in equal shock.
“Did House Achilles do something?”
“The Hero singled them out for a reason, surely….”
As the mood shifted, Yureinia rushed to speak.
“Wait—do not cloud the issue! Your Majesty, this has nothing whatsoever to do with the present trial. And I have no idea what our house is supposed to have done that the Hero dares speak so freely. Can she take responsibility for those words? What exactly did our family—”
“Shall I tell you what you did?”
“…?”
“Bring them.”
“Yes!”
The answering voice was not Erinn’s. A woman rose from the gallery—a High Elf whose jet-black hair gleamed with striking allure—and strode straight into the well of the court. Two men followed at her heels.
The instant they appeared, Yureinia’s expression locked into rigid stone. The Emperor noted it but set the observation aside and addressed Erinn.
“Hero Erinn, what is the meaning of this?”
“I beg Your Majesty’s pardon for the sudden discourtesy. I ask only a moment’s forbearance—so that a startling truth may be revealed.”
“…Your claim that House Achilles sought to disrupt order?”
“It is no claim.”
Erinn’s voice was calm.
“It is fact.”
“…Fact?”
From within her coat she drew a thick sheaf of documents—the ledgers Clara and Ser-Aria had secured.
“And what are those?”
Erinn smiled, bright and sharp, and turned that smile upon Yureinia as she spoke in a light, almost cheerful tone.
“These papers, together with the two men my comrade has just brought forward… are the evidence and the witnesses proving that House Achilles raised an illegal private army in the basement of a building in the city of Obern.”