Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: I Got a Hold on the Staff Officers, But
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"You're not telling me... you half-sawed their necks off and then brought in some skilled healing mage to patch them up, right?"
I knew I was talking nonsense.
But I wanted to cling to even a sliver of hope.
"Hahaha! Young master, you sure know how to crack a joke! Why would we waste top-tier talent on scum like that?"
Sir Heinrich stopped laughing and spoke seriously.
"Just like you ordered, it was to make them die in agony."
Collective punishment.
In this world, it was common sense.
Especially in noble society.
Treason, embezzlement, blasphemy.
For grave crimes like those, not just the perpetrator but their entire family paid the price.
"That bastard Valerius crossed the line big time. Embezzling wasn't enough—he even handed out sawdust bread? I heard the soldiers got sick from eating that crap. What reason is there for his family to survive?"
Sir Heinrich spoke in a voice thick with anger.
He was right.
Legally and morally.
Valerius deserved death.
But that wasn't the problem.
'Wet nurse. Milk brother.'
Even in my previous life, royalty and nobles were close to their wet nurses and milk siblings.
They were seen as trusted inner circle.
Louis XIV's wet nurse was revered in the palace, and his milk brothers wielded power as the king's confidants. The British royals were the same. Wet nurses and milk siblings were like 'another family.'
Winston Churchill was said to have grieved deeply when his wet nurse died. Even Oda Nobunaga, the FM meritocrat, rice-guzzler, and family-smasher, heavily favored his milk brother Ikeda Tsuneoki.
It might have been because of ability, but he saw their bonds and loyalty as part of their worth.
And just now, I'd wiped out Ernst's 'other family.'
How would outsiders see it?
Let me sort out the situation.
People who knew about the sandwich assassination attempt.
Father, Sister Celine, Duchess Clara, and a tiny handful of confidants.
From their perspective, it would look like this:
'Adrian personally went to the 7th Legion to dig up dirt on Ernst's inner circle as payback for the assassination attempt and had them executed en masse.'
Self-defense.
Revenge.
A choice to survive.
But the people who didn't know about the sandwich incident.
Most nobles, soldiers, retainers.
From their eyes?
'The ten-year-old bastard son Adrian personally requested assignment to the 7th Legion, and the moment he arrived, he exposed the deputy legion commander's crimes and got the eldest legitimate son Ernst's wet nurse and milk brother executed along with their families.'
First strike.
Provocation.
The start of a power struggle.
By a ten-year-old.
They'd say things like:
'What an extraordinary kid.'
'Turns out the rumor about wiping out 500 orcs without a single casualty wasn't bullshit.'
'No wonder he beat Duke Sylvesta at chess after 300 years.'
'In pure ability, isn't he better than Ernst?'
Of course, hearing that would piss Ernst off even more.
**
I was troubled.
But it wasn't all bad.
After that incident, my treatment had clearly changed.
The chair was swapped for one sized to my height, and the bed was repaired by evening. Among the soldiers, the evaluation "young but gutsy legion commander" spread. Naturally. I'd improved their meals.
The staff officers watched my mood carefully too. The image of Valerius's head half-sawed off, rolling on the floor, was probably still vivid.
I finished my meeting with Sir Heinrich and returned to the office.
"Welcome back, Legion Commander."
"Yeah."
I gave a light nod to the limping janitor.
It was former supply officer Johnson.
By rights, he should've gotten 20 years deep in the coal mines. Basically a death sentence.
But if Johnson died, a huge chunk of intel on the other staff officers' embezzlement would vanish with him.
Lize had argued strongly for it too.
'He's a piece of shit, but it's better to keep him alive~.'
So we went with another approach.
Destroyed his mana core, severed one leg tendon, then called a low-tier healing mage to treat him only with low-tier spells. Making him fully crippled. And stripped his position.
It was merciful.
We spared his life, after all.
And the reason I made him my personal janitor was simple.
If I left him anywhere else, furious soldiers might beat him to death.
In the office, I could protect him from their rage.
Of course, it wasn't pure mercy.
Johnson was living proof.
A tool to control the other staff officers.
A blade I could swing to instantly sever their necks—or their families'—if needed.
"Floor cleaned?"
"Y-yes... Just finished..."
Johnson's voice trembled.
"Then help sort documents. Gotta cross-check the four staff officers' supply ledgers."
"U-understood..."
Johnson limped over to the desk.
His face was still pale. Aftereffects of the mana core destruction. It'd never fully recover.
I looked out the window.
Soldiers were swinging swords on the training grounds.
Far more energetic than before.
Naturally. They were eating proper wheat bread instead of sawdust loaves now.
"Johnson."
"Y-yes!"
The limper jumped in fright and responded.
"Prepare the meeting room. Assemble all staff in one hour."
"U-understood..."
Johnson hurried out. As the door closed, Lize approached.
"Gonna make the staff officers cough up their embezzled goods again today~?"
"Damn right. They siphoned supplies and starved the soldiers. They'll pay back exactly what they stole."
I'd pinned 90% on Valerius, so the remaining five were on the hook for just 1-2% each.
That's why they were stubbornly trying to pay only that much.
One idiot even tried bribing me, so I lined up a new job for him.
The same spot Johnson was headed for.
Deep-shaft coal miner in the hellhole tunnels.
**
One hour later.
I opened the meeting room door.
Five staff officers sat at the table.
And in front of them.
Bags of silver coins.
Bags of gold coins.
Jewelry boxes.
Piled high.
"...What the hell?"
It was an unexpected sight.
Even after executing one as an example, they'd clung to the end refusing to yield.
"Legion Commander, this is our embezzled wealth. We'll return it all."
"All of it?"
"Yes. Not a coin left behind. If anything, we've brought more than we took—never less."
The other staff officers nodded.
Serious faces.
Something was off.
"This what you planned to hand over originally?"
"Yes! Th-that's right!"
One staff officer nodded excessively.
Sweat beaded on his forehead.
Lize whispered softly in my ear.
"Probably 'cause of Sir Heinrich~."
"...Ah."
I got it.
Sir Heinrich.
He must've given these guys some 'friendly' advice.
'Cooperating sincerely with the young master is good for your health.'
Something like that.
I picked up a bag of gold coins.
It was heavy.
"This everything?"
"Yes! We even brought what we hid at home!"
One staff officer answered desperately.
"Sold all my wife's jewelry!"
"Our kids' education savings too!"
"Even our parents' inheritance...!"
They shouted like it was a competition.
Will to live overflowing.
"Um, excuse me..."
One staff officer cautiously raised his hand.
Early fifties. Gray hair, wrinkled face.
"Speak."
"Th-that rumor... is it true?"
"What rumor?"
"That you beat 500 orcs with just dozens of men."
Ah.
So that's how he hyped my brand value.
Coming from a knight on the cusp of Swordmaster, it must've sounded credible.
"You think it's a lie? It happened."
"N-no! I don't think it's a lie!"
The staff officer waved his hands frantically.
"It's just... so incredible... Really... a ten-year-old with that kind of strategy... Wiping out an orc horde with fire... Truly... awe-inspiring..."
He babbled incoherently.
Words failing to connect.
Tense face. Shaking voice.
Pure flattery, but laced with real fear.
I slowly scanned the staff officers.
Five of them.
All terrified faces.
Two were blatantly incompetent.
Couldn't manage supplies properly, botched troop deployments, outdated intel on the Kuman Tribe. They were the top two in bribe amounts too.
Embezzlement was bad enough... but incompetence was a bigger problem.
On the battlefield, incompetent staff kill soldiers.
With good intentions, diligently, earnestly killing them.
These guys... I was seriously worried they'd meet unfortunate 'accidents.'
I set the gold bag down on the table.
"Good. This wealth goes into the legion's coffers. And... I'll watch you for the next month. Those who work diligently can keep their posts... Those who don't? Well. The northern front is a dangerous place. Accidents happen."
The staff officers' faces went pale.
"So, our embezzlement experts, how's the next supply shipment?"
One bowed his head.
"It, uh... might be three days late."
"Reason?"
"F-force majeure! Nothing we could do..."
I sighed deeply.
And placed my hand on my sword hilt.
Slowly, meaningfully fiddling with it.
My escort knights did the same behind me.
Click.
Someone slightly drew and sheathed their sword.
The staff officers' faces turned ashen white.
"N-no! Really... it was force majeure..."
"You didn't siphon it off again, right?"
"Absolutely not!"
At that moment.
A chair creaked in the corner of the meeting room.
Jobe.
The one staff officer who hadn't joined the embezzlement.
The only one among the official staff I'd recognized as competent.
He slowly stood.
The meeting room fell silent.
Even the trembling staff officers held their breath.
Jobe's gaze met mine.
No lie in those eyes.
"This time..."
Jobe spoke.
"It's true, Legion Commander."