Puerperal Fever (2): The Knight Order's Hidden Rot
While investigating various issues with Elisa, we discovered that the knight order had quite a few problems. Not only were they deliberately underreporting the number of monsters hunted to reduce the amount of magic stones and byproducts obtained, but there were also numerous cases where the swords and armor that should have been in the warehouse according to the numbers were missing.
'As expected.'
Knights are usually nobles. However, those who become knights are mostly poor. If their family is wealthy, that's one thing, but most nobles don't even have territories. How much wealth could such nobles possibly have? Naturally, they don't have enough to let their children live in luxury. Ultimately, aside from the eldest son who will inherit the family, the other children must either marry off or become government officials or knights to make a living. But can nobles truly be satisfied with such a life? Just going to a social gathering reveals plenty of nobles dressed in splendid attire. It's only natural that they would embezzle funds to dress themselves just as lavishly.
From a commoner's perspective, the salary might seem high, but from a noble's standpoint, a knight's pay is meager. Of course, it varies by territory, but at least in Bicken Territory, the compensation wasn't particularly generous.
"The knights are this rotten, yet the lord hasn't done anything to fix it. As a fellow noble, it's a bit embarrassing."
After growing closer to Elisa, she began openly badmouthing Wellington whenever the mood struck. It was probably because she had heard from Ertia that our relationship wasn't good.
"I'll make sure to address this issue properly at the upcoming meeting."
"Thank you."
Elisa bowed her head slightly, and my gaze was drawn to the line of her exposed collarbone. Her expression was so transparent that even Beta Males, not just an Alpha Male like me, would have noticed the look in her eyes.
"Ahem… This much is only natural for a noble! If you're truly grateful, I'll treat you to a meal later…"
"I'm sorry."
I rejected Elisa's invitation to dine, which she offered at the slightest opportunity. There were far too many eyes watching her meal invitations. For now, it was better to maintain the appearance of simply being colleagues in the same department, so I couldn't let anyone see us socializing privately. Of course, her secretly visiting the Breeding Chamber was fine—after all, she would eliminate any prying eyes herself to get inside.
Time passed, and finally, the regular meeting time arrived. Normally, a mere staff member from the Black Death and Pregnancy Countermeasures Headquarters wouldn't be allowed to attend, but she was essentially a supervisor sent by the Soryu Count family. She had more than enough qualifications to participate.
"Then, the first agenda item is how to utilize the magic stones and byproducts obtained from the knight order's monster subjugation this time."
The meeting was naturally chaired by the lord, Wellington. He brought up the most sensitive topic first—money. Due to the Black Death's impact, tax revenue was steadily declining. In such times, the fixed income naturally came from selling the magic stones and byproducts obtained by the knight order and soldiers hunting monsters.
"Each department, state what you believe is most important."
"Our Finance Department believes we should invest in the merchant guild operated by the territory…"
"The knight order seems to need new spare sets of armor."
"The Agriculture Department needs to order plows…"
And naturally, the knight order couldn't claim all that money for themselves. As always, the budget would be allocated to the agendas deemed most important after discussion. That was only natural. There were cases where something that could be done with 1 gold might require 100 gold, and investments of 1 gold could yield 100 gold. So each department was spouting persuasive arguments to convince Wellington about the suddenly available budget.
Melania, seated at the back, merely watched. From attending several meetings, I had learned that while the dragon Melania was the true owner of the territory, it was Wellington who managed it. Like a company hiring a professional manager. Unless there was a major issue, Melania generally remained silent in most meetings. Wellington knew this well and skillfully directed the majority of the proceedings himself. As a result, our department could only receive a pitifully small budget. But today was different. Today, all that hard work investigating embezzlement and tax evasion wouldn't go to waste. Based on our findings, our department intended to secure budget allocation.
Wellington might ignore the embezzlement and tax evasion issues. That was understandable. Embezzlement and tax evasion were fundamentally impossible without connections to those in power. Wellington had likely received his share of the spoils in some way, so even if a mere Breeder like me reported it, he wouldn't listen. But with Melania attending the meeting, that was impossible.
Then why hadn't I acted until now? Because… to Wellington and the other department heads, I was nothing more than a Breeder. Something between a slave and a commoner. Naturally, anything I said would only earn me hatred from all departments without receiving proper support. Of course, even now they were subtly ignoring me while cooperating to some extent, but outright refusal was a different matter. That's why I needed someone to act as my spokesperson. And Elisa was the perfect spokesperson.
"We in the Black Death Department believe the budget allocation needs to be made more accurately."
Black Death Department. A shortened name for our Black Death and Pregnancy Countermeasures Department.
"First, I'll ask Knight Commander Leona."
"Yes. If it's Lady Elisa's question, anything is fine."
"According to the report submitted, 100 goblins and 359 orcs were subjugated. Is that correct?"
"No. We subjugated over 150 goblins. More than 400 orcs as well."
The knight commander spoke proudly, unaware that he had fallen into a trap.
"But this is strange. The amount offered by the merchant who specializes in purchasing monster byproducts from the knight order is 4,000 low-grade magic stones, 70 goblin hides, and 301 orc fangs. We demand an explanation for why there's such a large discrepancy between the knight order's subjugation numbers and the sales figures."
"…That, that's…"
At Elisa's words, it was the Finance Minister, not the knight commander, whose lips twitched. This… It seemed the Finance Department, which operated the merchant guild, had underreported rather than the knight order embezzling.
'Those crazy bastards.'
The territory was crying out for lack of money everywhere, yet they were trying to skim off the top. This was why Beta Males were useless. With their narrow vision, they only pursued immediate gains and no one thought about the bigger picture.
'I'll change this!'
There was no choice. This too was a burden an Alpha Male had to bear. I resolved once again to solve this territory's problems and make Melania my female.
"The knight order's report should match the one submitted by our Finance Department."
That was true. They wouldn't have committed embezzlement without falsifying documents. Naturally, both sides had colluded in the falsification.
"The knight commander just confirmed how significant this monster subjugation achievement was. The report… Was it falsified?"
The polite tone in Elisa's voice was gradually giving way to the natural confidence expected of a count family's daughter. She was more capable than I had thought. We had already heard from the soldiers who participated in the monster subjugation together and from Erika exactly how many achievements there were, so we knew the submitted report was falsified the moment we saw it. That's why we had asked the knight commander about the subjugation results first, leaving no room for escape. The knight commander might also be involved in the embezzlement. But as seen with Erika and Ertia, knights weren't accustomed to writing reports and were clumsy at it. Even though she was a noble granted the surname Montmartre, Leona Montmartre, who barely obtained the quasi-baronet title upon reaching Sword Master, wouldn't be familiar with document preparation. Someone like that naturally wouldn't handle the falsification herself even if she wanted to. The Finance Department, experts in administration, would have taken care of it. That's why she had fallen into the trap of Elisa deliberately understating the subjugation results. If she had falsified it herself, she wouldn't have been caught in such a trap.
"My lady… There is a custom in this territory, and if you proceed like this…"
There it was. Custom. The Finance Minister began bringing up customs that were of no help whatsoever. If I made Ertia the lord and gained control over the territory, he would be the first target I needed to eliminate.
"Custom? When the territory is in a crisis, is lining your own pockets a custom?"
"T-That's…"
"Lady Elisa. That's enough. I'll impose strict punishment on this matter. Then, the remaining funds due to the 'incorrectly' written reports from the Finance Department and the knight order will be allocated to the Black Death Department's budget."
"Then let's leave this matter at that."
"Is there anything else…?"
"Yes. The recent inventory of armor and swords submitted by the knight order is enough to equip every knight with two sets and still have leftovers. Yet why are there additional requests for armor and swords, and another purchase request today? Moreover, when I visited the knight order's warehouse with Lady Ertia recently, less than half the inventory listed in the documents remained. Where did the remaining armor and swords go?"
At Elisa's scathing criticism, the knight commander's eyes grew increasingly menacing.
"Is that Lady Elisa's intention? Or that Breeder over there?"
"…This is the will of our family, which has close ties with Bicken Territory. Discovering and resolving Bicken Territory's problems—that is our family's will."
"Don't lie!! I know this much is a custom among nobles! Are you looking down on me just because I'm a beastkin who luckily reached Master rank and received a quasi-baronet title? Do you think I wouldn't know that damned Breeder put you up to this? My lady, you reek of that man's scent!!"
"…We're in the same department, so it's inevitable that our scents would mix…"
"No! It's a much more intense scent than that. You haven't mixed bodies, but… anyway, it's a closer scent than mere colleagues!! Damn it. Hey, you. How dare you treat us like thieves?"
Leona lashed out defensively. From her perspective, this was the best way to cover up the large-scale embezzlement in the knight order.
"Come outside. It's a duel!!"
"Stop. I won't permit a duel. With Alex already dead, if you die too, what happens to the territory?"
Melania, who had been silently watching our farce, finally spoke.
"But… Lady Melania! Our honor…"
"I understand. It must be unpleasant to have your dirty laundry aired by a mere Breeder. I'll permit the duel itself. However, I'll cast protective magic so you can't kill your opponent. Any objections?"
"None."
"Good. Then leave immediately."
Another duel. This really was the medieval era. When words fail, they draw swords first. This was the reason I ended up dueling the knight commander.