Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Rewards and Punishments
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Dawn was breaking.
From the time when the world was still shrouded in blue twilight, Luna was already working in her office.
The leader of a nation could hardly afford to be idle.
Her schedule was brutally demanding.
Territorial reports starting at dawn, meetings from morning, a simple lunch followed by afternoon approvals, and personal training in the evening.
Lately, even some solo nighttime mischief.
In any case, with a workaholic like Luna as their boss, her subordinates had no choice but to rise at dawn and get to work as a matter of course.
-Knock knock.
Luna, flipping through documents at her desk in the office.
Without lifting her eyes from the papers, she spoke in a sweet voice.
"Who is it?"
-It's Charles, Your Grace.
"Come in."
At Luna's permission, the office door opened, and Charles entered.
"Did you sleep well last night, Your Grace?"
Even after her fervent handiwork the night before, Luna's expression remained unchanged as she replied.
"I slept well. So, what did you find out?"
Charles handed her a sheet of paper.
"Your Grace, this is the report on Don Alphao as you requested."
The Grand Duchess's direct knights moved only at her command.
In a way, they were the one guard unit she could truly trust.
She scrutinized the paper intently, her red eyes sharpening as she glared at the words.
Luna slowly finished reading the report.
Her eyes blazed with fury.
"So many people took money from a maggot like this?"
"Yes, that's what we've confirmed so far."
"Arrest all the ones listed here and throw them in jail. Confiscate all the bribes they've taken so far, along with their salaries from the Grand Duchy. Exile them after their sentences are served."
Charles nodded at Luna's flat tone.
"I will carry out the orders."
"And..."
Luna hesitated for a moment.
Aiden, who had taken her innocence.
He had captured Don Alphao.
The one man who had refused bribes while every guard and prosecutor took them.
Lately, instinct drew her thoughts to him every night, but she suppressed it with reason.
Reminding herself that she was the Grand Duchess.
But separately from that, Luna, who had no desire to see Aiden, felt inner conflict.
'Aiden... He earned a merit, so I have to reward him.'
The reason Luna personally didn't want to see Aiden's face.
She wanted to bury the memories of that day and leave them there.
But with her personality, she couldn't ignore a merit and withhold a reward.
'Seeing his face would be awkward. What to do...'
Luna rested her chin on her palm, lost in thought.
She narrowed her eyes in contemplation.
'He earned a merit, so I have no choice but to reward him.'
Luna believed personal feelings shouldn't interfere with official duties.
After much deliberation, she finally called Charles with a reluctant expression.
"Summon Aiden to the palace. I'll commend him myself."
"I'll relay the order to Squad Leader Aiden."
***
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Early morning.
I was forcibly dragged to work by guards pounding on my door, claiming there was an emergency meeting the day after the festival.
The atmosphere in the conference room, gathered with all ten squad leaders and the Guard Commander, was far from ordinary.
Squad leaders eyeing me with clear displeasure.
Especially Guard Commander Bill's gaze—what could it be called?
Unsettling?
It felt like the calm before a storm.
Things might get messy.
I might catch hell for arresting Don Alphao on my own yesterday.
Well... I figured it'd just be a warning at worst.
I'm a nobody compared to them, but they'd be mindful of the solid backing of Luna behind me.
So they wouldn't dare act rashly.
That's what my head told me, but my heart was still a bit scared.
If worst comes to worst, sell the house and bolt.
Having a fat wad of cash sure feels good.
As I spaced out with those thoughts, Guard Commander Bill stood up.
"Recently, our new squad leader Aiden has achieved a great merit."
What?
"Everyone, give a round of applause to Squad Leader Aiden, who captured Don Alphao, the boss of the Alphao Family that's been plaguing our city of Vain!"
-Ooh!
-As expected of the Grand Duchess's benefactor!
What? I hadn't even considered this.
I was sure they'd grill me on why I did such a thing.
The applause and cheers from the squad leaders made no sense.
Or... maybe they're planning to squeeze me for more?
"See, I knew you had it in you, my successor."
Even Rodang stepped up to praise me.
What the hell was going on?
This completely unexpected situation actually scared me more.
"Ahem. I've heard reports lately of bribery within our guard unit. What's past is past, so punishment is difficult now, but if anyone gets caught from here on, expect no mercy—don't even look at dirty money and take Squad Leader Aiden as your example!"
The squad leaders' faces soured at Bill's words, but they clapped reluctantly.
"No one in my squad takes bribes. If there is, I'll beat the bastard half to death myself!"
"Don't worry, Commander! Aren't we the proud guards of Vain? If I see any such scum, I'll personally throw him in jail for bribery!"
As the atmosphere felt so alien compared to yesterday...
-Knock knock.
Someone knocked, and Bill irritably announced,
"We're in a squad leaders' meeting—who is it?"
-It's Charles, the Grand Duchess's direct knight.
"Wha... what did you say?"
At the name Charles, Bill hurriedly rushed to open the door.
"It's been a while. How have you been, Sir Charles?"
The Guard Commander rubbed his hands fawningly.
Charles bowed his head in response.
"I've been well, Commander Bill. I'm here on the Grand Duchess's orders to escort Squad Leader Aiden. Is that alright?"
As I sensed something off about Luna suddenly summoning me,
"Of course it's fine—it's the Grand Duchess's command! Squad Leader Aiden? Hurry to the Grand Palace."
I was practically shoved out of the conference room by Bill.
***
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Bill and the squad leaders' minds were in turmoil.
They had pegged Aiden as an inspector dispatched by the Grand Duchess to investigate the guards.
"Damn it... The good times are over."
The room fell silent at Bill's words.
This situation had started after Luna ascended as Grand Duchess in her childhood.
A young Grand Duchess in her early teens.
And the regency that twisted the Grand Duchy under the pretext of supporting her.
They manipulated the naive Luna for personal gain, and naturally, corruption began to fester in the Grand Duchy.
When Luna later ousted the regent and began checks, thugs and gangsters banded together, leading to the current state.
"Commander, what do we do? Are we all done for?"
"Yeah, she must know about this, that's why she sent Aiden."
The squad leaders dimly sensed it too.
No sane person would think of throwing Alphao in jail.
The Alphao Family had over 1,000 thugs.
Messing with their boss, Don Alphao, meant worrying about getting killed anytime.
Even a guard squad leader could die with a knife in the dark.
Undetectable, unwitnessed murders were Alphao's specialty.
Everyone in Vain knew it—Aiden couldn't be unaware.
'He must have the skills to pull it off.'
Bill and the squad leaders assumed he acted boldly thanks to strong backing and his own prowess.
Then Rodang spoke up.
"Ugh... I'm quitting today and leaving this place."
He feared punishment for his shady deeds and, having saved decent money, decided to cut ties without regret.
But then—
-Clank!
The conference room door burst open as dozens of heavily armed knights stormed in.
"Conveniently all gathered here. Saves us the trouble."
A knight entered with leisurely steps.
Bill gaped in shock at the sight.
"S-Sir Brown?"
"By the Grand Duchess's command. Guard Commander Bill and all squad leaders here are under arrest for bribery, dereliction of duty, and various other charges."
At the knight's words, Bill and the squad leaders bowed their heads in despair.
***
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ My first carriage ride since arriving in this world.
Charles opened the door, revealing two spacious chairs upholstered in red velvet, facing each other.
"Please, get in. The Grand Duchess awaits."
"Ah... sure."
As I boarded, the carriage soon set off.
The ride wasn't as smooth as a modern car, but the chair cushions were quite luxurious.
But why was she summoning me?
It'd only been two days since I became squad leader.
I couldn't make sense of Luna suddenly calling for me.
Weren't we supposed to avoid each other after our last good memory?
Or... did I do something wrong?
I knew from the novel that she was terrifying when angry, so I worriedly asked Charles,
"By any chance... why does the Grand Duchess..."
As I hesitated, Charles cut me off impatiently.
"Want to know why she summoned you?"
"Yes, why?"
"From what I heard, it's to give you a reward."
A reward? That didn't compute.
What had I done in my two days as squad leader to deserve one?
Maybe Luna, with her generous nature, felt the previous reward wasn't enough—but that seemed unlikely.
"What did I do to earn a reward?"
"You captured Don Alphao, didn't you? You dealt with a parasite devouring the people, so it's only right you get rewarded."
Charles's words were a bit—no, very strange.
Luna, the workaholic, unaware of Alphao gnawing at the territory?
Did that even make sense?
"What? Luna... I mean, the Grand Duchess didn't know about Alphao?"
Charles gave a wry smile.
"Ruling a nation makes it hard to keep tabs on individuals, right? And upon closer look, Don Alphao never caused an incident big enough to reach her ears."
Now it started to make sense.
In the original story, the cold Luna cherished her people.
It had seemed odd she'd let the Alphao Family slide.
Probably, the bribe-takers kept reports from reaching her to cover their tracks.
Or a Grand Duchess might not keep close watch on street thugs.
Thanks to that, my tension eased.
At least I knew I wasn't heading for punishment.