My Homecoming - 2
Morning broke. The night before had been a little awkward after my slip of the tongue, yet the misunderstanding never became reality. Penelia, who had fallen into full panic, recovered her reason soon enough.
Instead, every servant and member of the Dark Light Squad I passed while walking the manor greeted me with those knowing, satisfied looks. They knew full well it was a misunderstanding and were doing it on purpose. The moment they found a chance to tease their master, this was the face they wore—truly lamentable.
And Penelia, simply by standing at my side, had to take every one of those stares head-on.
"I-I will make certain the squad members understand properly."
"It's fine. Don't worry about it."
Even while stammering she declared her bold resolve, which was adorable in its own way, yet this was a problem no one could solve. Only time would put it to rest.
Besides, if Penelia scolded the Dark Light Squad by herself, the future in which they turned the tables on her was painfully obvious. She led them well as captain, but honestly her tongue was not her strongest weapon.
"It was bound to happen someday. Just let it go."
So I slipped an arm around her waist and whispered it low. The order among wives mattered, so for now it might be impossible—yet someday the misunderstanding would become truth.
"Still, I'm sorry. I got your hopes up for nothing."
"Not at all! I held no such expectations!"
When I added the half-joking apology, Penelia frantically shook her head, looking utterly lost, as though receiving my apology itself was too great an honor.
Hmm.
"Is that so? So Penelia has no real interest in that sort of thing."
"Th-th-that is…"
At the sudden feint the vibration traveled up the arm still wrapped around her waist.
I felt a little sorry for her, yet Penelia's reactions were simply too good. Even the lightest poke produced an enormous response—enough to make the teasing worthwhile.
But if I pushed any further she might burst into tears and flee. That would be inconvenient.
"I'm joking."
The moment the words left my mouth I pressed a kiss to her forehead, and the trembling stopped as if by magic. Regrettably, it seemed we still had a long road ahead before everyday skinship with Penelia would feel natural.
…Actually it was not only Penelia who had a long road ahead, but anyway.
For my final schedule in the Imperial Capital before returning to the Academy, I chose a visit to the Audit Department. Having returned safely from the North, I at least needed to greet the deputy director and the section heads. Yesterday the Emperor's summons had kept me from stopping by.
The moment I arrived at the Audit Department, the only person already at work—the deputy director—handed me a thick volume.
"The Six Swords have received the title of Ribnoman Count, so the roster has been updated."
Ah.
I flipped quickly through the book he offered—the Audit Department's roster of officials—and found their names under the nobility category.
It was the list of every civil servant who had ever served in the Audit Department since its founding. Because our stations had differed, their names and mine had always been written on separate pages; now all seven of us occupied the same one. They were no longer commoners but nobles, so of course it was possible.
I had never even considered it. I had been so focused on the fact that they had received titles that I had completely neglected the Audit Department itself.
"…Thank you. That should have been my job."
"Roster updates only take effect after final approval from the Department Head."
The way he handed the credit straight back to me made the corner of my mouth twitch upward. As if the deputy director currently acting in my place lacked the authority to approve a mere roster. He had clearly left it unsigned on purpose while waiting for me to arrive.
As expected, the deputy director was the pillar of the Audit Department. Without him I would have died of high blood pressure long ago, or caused some enormous incident and been sitting in long-term detention.
"Right. I'll handle it."
I held out my hand and he promptly passed me a single sheet of paper.
Amendment proposal for the bureaucratic roster of Year 78, third revision.
The title alone nearly made me laugh. I had no memory of approving the first or second revisions, yet the third was waiting for my signature.
Actually, when I thought about it, I wondered whether my approval was even necessary. The thick book had already been properly corrected. The work was finished; only a meaningless signature remained.
In the end I could not hold it in and let out a short snort of laughter. The deputy director, looking a little embarrassed, lowered his gaze.
Am I lucky with subordinates, or unlucky?
Looking at the deputy director, Penelia, and the Fifth Section Head, it was clearly good fortune. Looking at Erzebet and the Second and Third Section Heads, I could not bring myself to say the same.
It was a truly exquisite balance. A balance I had no need for whatsoever.
"Ah—and His Excellency the Minister?"
"He is in the minister's office."
I returned the signed document and asked; the answer I wanted came back. If I spent a little time sparring with the minister, the section heads would all arrive in the meantime.
And if any of them still failed to show, they would get to experience the special service of their superior personally visiting their homes to fetch them to work.
I had barely begun work when a knock sounded at the door.
"Your Excellency. It's me."
At the familiar voice I lifted my eyes from the documents and looked toward the door. That insolent bastard. The war was over and he had finally returned, yet instead of coming to greet me that very day he only showed up now.
Still, perhaps it was better that he came today rather than yesterday. If I had seen him yesterday I would only have watched him whining.
"Come in."
"Yes, sir."
The door opened and a bright face entered my vision—utterly different from his usual gloomy complexion. That bastard was in an extremely good mood.
"So you finally show up?"
"My apologies. Yesterday was simply too busy."
Even though I spoke with open curtness he answered with a smile, so there was no doubt.
He finally let it all out.
At last the knot in his chest had completely dissolved.
Yes, it was only natural. He had personally slain Dorgon, the North had become Imperial territory, and those comrades of his had received the title of Ribnoman Count. No matter how rotten his insides had become, that was more than enough for a full recovery. If he were still moaning after all that, it would mean he had developed a mental illness.
"Busy, I'm sure. On top of that your classmates suddenly outrank you—I bet you couldn't even sleep properly."
"Still better than having a subordinate stand above me, isn't it?"
"You damn bastard."
At my words he snickered right back. The Ribnoman Countship was a single-generation title that came with no fief, yet it was an honorary rank that outranked every ordinary count. In other words, even I—an ordinary count—and even he who would one day become an Imperial Count would have to bow our heads before a Ribnoman Count.
The sheer absurdity of the situation made laughter bubble up on its own. Those former commoners now stood above me. From now on, when I visited their graves, would I have to prostrate myself in greeting? One simply could not stand on two legs before a Ribnoman Count.
"Ah—I updated the roster as well."
"Already?"
I was a little surprised when he proudly held out the Audit Department roster. They had only received the titles yesterday, yet the update was finished today? That bastard was not exactly the meticulous type—
"I had forgotten about it myself. The deputy director handled it for me."
Of course. There was no way that bastard would be that thorough.
"You've got a good subordinate. Meanwhile I'm stuck with a bastard like you and going insane."
"Come on—at least Your Excellency has other department heads who are normal. I have three who aren't."
"That's your blessing too. If you hate it so much, resign."
As usual the conversation drifted toward hoping for my resignation, yet strangely his reaction this time was a little different.
"I can't do that. A young man talking about resigning just gets cursed out by people."
"What?"
For a moment I doubted my ears. If people really cursed him for it, he should already have received a hundred years' worth of abuse—yet he was only saying this now?
"Even His Majesty personally handles some of the work, doesn't he? So I intend to work hard as well."
Instinctively my eyes went to the desk drawer. That very drawer was stuffed full of the resignation letters he had submitted—what nonsense was this?
Had he taken a blow to the head in the North? No—if he had injured his head he would be recovering at the Magic Tower or a church, not standing here.
"Fine. Work hard, then."
Still, the fact that he intended to work hard was encouraging. It meant I no longer had to suffer the resignation letters that arrived whenever I managed to forget about them.
In truth I had forgotten because of how bizarrely he usually behaved, yet the blood of an Imperial Count did run through that bastard's veins. Loyalty to the Imperial House was only natural. If anything, all the previous resignation talk had been the strange part.
…Hmm.
"Hey."
"Yes?"
"If you're not planning to resign, take these back."
I showed the resignation letters that completely filled the drawer to the man tilting his head in confusion.
Then, right in front of my eyes, he began tearing the resignation letters up one by one as though he had seen something grotesque.
He's gotten even crazier.
A man who had never been normal to begin with had become even stranger.
He had not simply returned after releasing the knot in his heart—he had brought a fresh helping of madness back with him as well.
When I finished speaking with the minister and returned, all the section heads had already gathered. Fortunately, it seemed I could scrap the superior's home-visit wake-up service.
I had finished greeting everyone I needed to greet, and the roster I had never even thought of had been updated—so overall it was a satisfying visit.
The only blemish was that the minister had shown me the ugly remnants of my past. Yet by tearing those remnants of past humiliation with my own hands, I had defeated my former self. The weak civil servant Karl who had longed only for resignation was gone; only the Karl who was loyal to the Emperor remained.
Is this how one's head gets broken?
I suddenly felt an odd sensation, as though I were walking the same path as my father—an ardent Imperial loyalist.
But what choice did I have? After receiving such grace, wiping one's mouth and walking away would make one not a human being but a beast. From that day forward one would become a black-haired animal.
I'll work hard until sixty.
And I would not write another resignation letter until sixty either.
In any case the Crown Prince would never release me before then. High-ranking officials who retired in their mere forties or fifties were so rare one had to dig through Imperial history books to find them.
Thirty-eight years left until sixty, is it?
Terrifying. Having to work another thirty-eight years just to even aim for resignation—what kind of hell was this? And on the day my lifespan matched Beatrix's—
Shit.
I hastily shook my head and drove the dreadful imagination away.
If my lifespan ever lengthened, I would share the fact only with family. Around eighty I would simply hide in the basement of Duke Servette's estate or something.
…The basement.
My gaze drifted unbidden to my right arm. At this rate I might see the basement of the ducal estate not at eighty, but in eight hours.
My business in the Imperial Capital was finished; now I had to return to the Academy. If I misspoke there, the future in which an enraged Beatrix locked me away was all too clear. Discovering that I had participated in the battle could still be smoothed over somehow, but if she learned that my arm had been severed there would be no solution.
So I had to hide it. For the sake of my own treatment and for the mental health of my lovers—absolutely.