Chapter 11
Chapter 11
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Surveillance
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A bright morning.
Locking the door as I stepped out of the house, I gazed outside.
"Ugh... On a day this cold, staying inside the house is the best."
Unlike modern Korea, work started earlier here.
Having to clock in by 8 a.m., with a six-day workweek. No conscience at all.
Coming in an hour early every day meant wasting six hours a week.
The work environment here was truly brutal.
"Eek!"
As I stretched my arms wide, a man stepped down from a carriage in front of my door.
"Huh?"
"Good morning, Captain Aiden."
A familiar boy.
"Sir Charles's squire..."
What was his name again?
As I struggled to recall and made an awkward face, the boy scratched his cheek and spoke up.
"I'm Jin."
Ah, right.
I asked with an embarrassed look.
"Long time no see, Jin. But what brings you here...?"
Jin replied with a sheepish smile.
"I've been ordered to assist you starting today."
"What?"
His sudden words didn't make sense.
"Ordered by whom?"
Who would dispatch a knight's squire to assist someone like me?
"I heard it was by order of the Grand Duchess."
"Ah..."
At Jin's words, I felt a sudden wave of despair.
This... felt similar to that thing.
It reminded me of something from the previous story.
Attaching someone to eliminate any loose ends.
Did that mean Luna suspected me now?
I'd been excited about secretly taking bribes...
But accepting bribes in this situation would spell disaster.
A knight's squire wasn't blind.
I might end up on the guillotine, head rolling off with a thud.
"Let's get going, Captain."
Jin, oblivious to my sinking heart.
He pushed my back and got me into the carriage.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A short while later, we arrived at the Guard Commander's office.
My first impression?
"Whoa? It's so lavish."
The office was spacious enough to run around in, with glossy high-end wood flooring blending perfectly with the dark wall tones.
Expensive-looking masterpieces hung all over the walls.
Later... I probably couldn't steal just one, right?
As I thought that to myself.
"I'll be working over there, so call me anytime if you need anything."
He pointed to a desk and chair in the corner.
Wait... why is there a chair and desk over there?
Normally, an aide would work outside the office, right?
Why are you working in my office?
The words rose to my throat.
But it felt too blatantly like he was here to watch me.
Honestly, it soured my mood a bit, but Jin was a knight's squire—a boy who would become a human weapon in the future.
I had to endure it.
-Knock knock.
A knock at the door puzzled me.
"Who's out there?"
Was the Guard Commander position so busy that someone visited early in the morning?
"I'll get it."
Jin rose from his chair and opened the door, revealing three men in uniforms outside.
"Who might you be?"
At Jin's question, the three spoke up.
"We're the Guard Corps squad leaders."
Ah? The squad leaders?
The Guard Corps consisted of ten team leaders total, with squad leaders above them, then the deputy commander, and the Guard Commander at the top.
So these guys were my subordinates.
"Ah? Nice to meet you. I'm Jin, Captain Aiden's aide. Please, come in."
Jin led the three to the sofa.
He asked me.
"What would you like to drink?"
"Got any coffee?"
Jin nodded at my words.
"Yes, one moment."
I glanced sideways at Jin brewing coffee nearby, then turned to the squad leaders.
"So, what's this about?"
They looked to be in their late thirties.
Helmets hid their hair, but from their eyebrows, one had brown, one red, and one black.
Assuming they didn't dye their eyebrows, that is.
"We've heard a lot of rumors, Captain Aiden. I'm Guillaume."
"Nice to meet you. You look even taller in person. I'm Frederick."
"I'm Moric."
Guillaume with what seemed brown brows, Frederick with striking red ones, and Moric with black hair like mine.
I greeted the three.
"I'm Aiden."
As I spoke casually and they nodded.
"Coffee's ready."
Jin handed out cups of coffee and returned to his seat.
"Ahem, so what's the business? Just here to say hello?"
I figured they came to pay respects to the new Guard Commander.
"Well... the Guard Corps right now, it's not in good shape, is it?"
I nodded at Moric's words.
"True, the previous Guard Commander got hauled off for bribery."
"That's... all the team leaders are getting arrested too. It's chaos. We just finished our investigations yesterday."
Huh? That was news to me.
"Team leaders arrested too? Then who's doing patrols?"
Worried the work might fall on me, I pressed, and Guillaume stepped in.
"That's why we need you to step up, Commander. There are hardly any team leaders left."
At that moment, a faint noise grated in my ears.
-Scribble, scrrribble!
The sound of someone scratching away with a pen.
"See... this is what former Captain Bill gave us... Could you maybe overlook it?"
As Guillaume placed a heavy leather pouch on the desk.
-Scrrrribble! Scribble! Scrrrribble!
The pen scraped the paper at an irritating speed.
It was clearly a quill pen—why the intense noise?
"We heard the new commander is a benefactor of the Grand Duchess. This isn't just for us—it's for the Grand Duchy and Her Highness, right? We're showing our sincerity, so please cut us some slack."
-Scrrrribble! Scribble! Scrrrribble, scrrrribble!
Was it my imagination, or did that pen sound like it was recording our conversation?
Even Frederick seemed bothered by Jin's pen noise and spoke up.
"Hey, Jin, was it? I don't know what you're writing, but tone down the noise. It's too loud."
"Oh? Sorry. I've got a backlog of work."
Jin smiled innocently.
Yeah... taking that would be bad news.
"Ahem! Are you trying to bribe me right now?! Squad leaders of the Guard Corps, who should be the most just and fair, and this is how it ends up?!"
I deliberately shouted as if furious.
-Scrrrribble! Scribble! Scrrrribble!
The pen worked furiously.
"From now on, anyone involved in bribery with the Guard Corps, in any form, will be severely punished by law! Got it?!"
My stern warning left the squad leaders looking sour.
"Well... this isn't exactly a bribe, you know? With the team leaders gone, patrols are tough."
"Shut it! The team leaders got corrupt because you squad leaders failed to manage them! Until their verdicts come down, you'll handle patrols yourselves!"
The squad leaders nodded reluctantly.
"Understood."
Watching them retrieve the heavy leather pouch, my heart ached a little.
It looked pretty hefty...
Probably dozens of gold coins.
I was dying to know how much, but I feigned disinterest. As the squad leaders left with dejected faces, I pondered.
Hold on? But aren't they the ones taking bribes?
I mulled it over.
Would they really stop taking bribes just because I ordered it?
Sure, the squad leaders might hold back, but the underlings running around below?
I can't take bribes? And you're going to stuff yourselves and live cozy?
As those uneasy thoughts crossed my mind, Jin gave a thumbs up.
"Wow... You're so cool, Captain. As expected!"
Showing I was pleased here would be amateurish.
A true pro acts like it's only natural.
"No big deal. It's just what's right. How could a public servant take bribes?"
Jin shook his head at my words.
"Plenty got caught doing exactly that. And Captain Aiden, speak casually to me."
I tilted my head at Jin's words.
"Still... you're a squire. How can a commoner like me talk casually to you?"
"But I'm younger, right? And if you speak formally to your subordinate, people will think it's weird."
He put it that way, so I reluctantly dropped the formalities.
"Ahem... I see. So, Jin, what does a Guard Commander usually do?"
"Hmm... Host meetings, attend Interior Ministry briefings, or carry out their directives, that sort of thing?"
"Sounds kinda laid-back."
Jin furrowed his brow thoughtfully at my comment.
"It's only busy during meetings, and there aren't many documents to approve, so you'll probably have a lot of free time."
"Really? Is that so?"
A great idea popped into my head, and I grinned slyly.
"Jin, we've got somewhere to go."
"Huh? Already? Where to?"
"To the city gate."
I knew from my time in Vain—or rather, this world—that the gates collected the most bribes.
"The gate? Why?"
I couldn't exactly say it bugged me that others were taking bribes when I couldn't, so I put on a confident face.
"To monitor, obviously."
After months here, did they think I didn't know the lay of the land?
And so, we headed to the gate.