At That Moment: The Audit Department - 2
A noble must stand above all others in lofty dominion. To guide the foolish and incompetent commoners, to receive the reverence of all, and to lead the world along its proper path—that is what a noble is. Only nobles are fit to lead the world.
And yet, what of the Empire today? Those who ought to bow their heads and accept the guidance of exalted blue blood dare to lift their faces and claim equality. Even beasts know gratitude—so how can those ignorant creatures fail to recognize the grace the nobility has bestowed upon them? How can they presume to stand as equals?
Worse still is the unforgivable notion that base red blood might become blue. Blue blood is chosen by the heavens themselves—how could red blood ever transform into blue?
"What is to become of this Empire?"
It was a constant lament. Whenever he was alone, he would heave a sigh. As a noble whose heart burned with patriotic devotion to the Imperial House and the Empire, how could he not worry?
Nobles ruling as nobles should, commoners obeying as commoners should—that beautiful order was what secured the Empire's peace. Apels had been a nation steeped in corruption, greed, and arrogance, yet even so it had managed to stand as an empire because this order, at least, had held firm.
And Kpelleofen was incomparably greater than the likes of Apels. How mighty would Kpelleofen become if it, too, set that order aright?
"The order inscribed in blood must always remain unshakable."
That was why the conversation with the man who introduced himself as the head of the Riyer Merchant Company had been so pleasing. He knew his place. He knew the truth. For a commoner, he was rather admirable. Even the most foolish and incompetent commoner, so long as he understood his station, was worth a measure of interest.
After that, meetings with the merchant master grew frequent. Thanks to that commoner, some rather satisfactory deals had been arranged.
"A mine was recently discovered, but development has hit a wall, I'm told."
So he handed over an explosion scroll. The profits already gained through the merchant master were considerable, and the gains from parting with a single scroll would be substantial as well. Passing it to an outsider gave him pause, but if it were used simply for mining, there would be no problem. Yes—no problem at all.
"—aron—"
There should have been no problem at all.
"Baron, Your Lordship!"
At the steward's shout from behind, he turned to find the man collapsed on the floor, his face deathly pale. How dare the steward of House Bendel display such an undignified sight? How dare he raise his voice at his master? And it was not only the steward—every servant nearby was the same.
But he could not fault them. He was no different.
As if mocking that spectacle, a company in black uniforms had encircled him and the household staff. Then the manor doors opened, and a massive man strode in.
"This is unexpected. I thought you'd at least put up a fight."
At those words, he bowed his head. Word of House Gorpu and House Dosil had already been delivered by the Audit Department. They had mustered private soldiers to resist the raiding auditors, only to be annihilated in an instant, their entire families beheaded and displayed—before their own burning manors.
Resistance was futile. Better—far better—to prostrate himself flat. Mercy might still be shown. His own death was unavoidable, but his children might be spared. Total extinction of the house might still be averted.
"Bind him."
At the word of the man at the front, two auditors yanked his arms behind his back and forced a gag into his mouth. Then they shoved his head down hard, driving it into the floor. He could no longer even see the face of the one who had come to take his life.
"Hear this, Johan Bendel of Camora, high traitor who has scorned the Imperial House and the Empire."
Something in the man's words rang wrong. Scorn for the Imperial House and the Empire? High traitor? The severity of the language was alarming. This was no ordinary raid over mere corruption.
"The criminal bore the duty of serving the exalted Imperial House above and caring for the people below. He also held the right to revere the Imperial House, guardian of the Mandate of Heaven, and to serve this continent's sole Empire. Yet the criminal dared to unleash a wicked heart and cast aside that glorious duty and right—how can one not lament?"
This was not about corruption. This would not end with the death of the principal offender alone.
Treason!
The Audit Department had come to punish treason. No wonder House Gorpu and House Dosil had brought ruin upon themselves with their pointless resistance.
He tried to open his mouth to protest, but the gag choked off every sound. He tried to lift his head, but the auditor's hand held him pinned. Despite his thrashing, the man's voice continued without pause.
"Therefore, His Majesty the Emperor, the lawful and sole sovereign of the Kpelleofen Empire, has determined to strip the criminal of every right, and to expect from him no further duty of any kind."
No—that was wrong. How could he have ever dared scorn the Imperial House? How could he have raised a hand against the Empire?
"The Barony of Camora shall be reclaimed by His Most August Majesty the Emperor, and House Bendel shall vanish along with its vile ambitions. The criminal Johan has no right of appeal; do not soil the Imperial House and the Empire with crooked words and compound your sins further, but submit to His Majesty's decision. This is His Majesty the Emperor's final mercy."
Something had gone terribly wrong—there had to be some enormous misunderstanding! His loyalty was unwavering. His devotion to His Majesty the Emperor would never—
The Third Division Chief flicked the blood from his axe and passed it to the senior team leader beside him.
Johan, head of House Bendel and Baron of Camora. Now he was nothing more than the high traitor Johan—a headless corpse.
"Clear everything out."
At his order, the entire Third Division waiting behind them began to tear the manor apart. Servants were taken alive and handed over to the First and Second Division Chiefs; every member of House Bendel was beheaded and put on display—just as they had done with House Gorpu and House Dosil.
So it wasn't him either.
At first the man had been relatively quiet, but the moment he realized treason was involved, he had thrashed with desperate intensity. Apparently he hadn't been an active conspirator—just someone who'd dealt with them without knowing they were the Apels Revival Army.
But it didn't matter. His Majesty the Emperor and the Chief had wanted those three houses wiped out. Unfair or not, what of it? The fact that he had traded with traitors plotting the revival of Apels was real enough. He shouldn't have been such an idiot as to leak critical supplies without knowing who he was dealing with.
Watching servants being dragged out one by one, or agents emerging with nothing but severed heads in hand, he stepped outside the manor. All that remained was to hang the heads and burn the place down. Fortunately, they had avoided drawing the Chief's wrath down on themselves.
We made it.
They had kept the Chief from having to move personally.
Once outside, he confirmed that the members of House Bendel—as it had been—were being put on display.
The head of the house—check. The wife—check. The heir—check.
For situations like this, they preferred to leave the faces intact. They needed to verify that the criminals had been properly dealt with. Thankfully, the most important figures had been handled with certainty.
He checked the heads hanging in a row, then stopped at the last one. The final head was so badly damaged that identification was impossible.
"Who brought that one in?"
He asked the senior team leader beside him, and before long an agent was brought forward. The man's bowed head suggested he at least knew he was at fault.
"What happened?"
"The criminal's face struck the ground first during the attempt to flee. The damage was severe. I apologize for failing to process him cleanly."
"Is that so."
He looked back and forth between the last head and the agent, then nodded.
"Come to think of it, I don't recognize you."
"Yes, sir. I was assigned to the Third Division this time."
"So this was your first operation."
"Yes. That's correct."
"Well done. You're dismissed."
The new recruit bowed again and withdrew quickly. Once he was out of earshot, the senior team leader spoke.
"How do you want to handle this?"
"Take care of it."
"Understood."
He watched the senior team leader set off after the new recruit, then drew a communication crystal from his coat.
They should be calling any moment.
Sure enough, the crystal began to glow before long.
"Yeah. Fifth Division Chief. They headed your way?"
"Yeah. Managed to run all the way out here."
"Sorry. They were so small we lost them on our end."
"Watch yourself. Thanks to that, our necks nearly rolled too."
Not long after the call with the Fifth Division Chief ended, the severely damaged head was taken down and a new one hung in its place.
In the Bendel House suppression report the Third Division Chief later submitted to the Deputy Chief, one auditor of the Third Division was listed as killed in action. A regrettable matter.
They had successfully suppressed the three houses that had dared take part in treason. Now all that remained was to submit the evidence gathered during the purge to their superiors, and the operation would be fully complete.
"What am I supposed to do with memory this bad?"
In the Audit Department basement, the First Division Chief tilted his head as if genuinely troubled.
The servants taken alive during the suppression of the three houses had all been sent straight to the First Division—to obtain testimony that the purged houses had cooperated with the Apels Revival Army. Unfortunately, the servant before him could not seem to remember recent events. Being suddenly dropped into unfamiliar surroundings must have left him tense.
"You served a high traitor at the closest possible range. You must have seen him meeting with the rebels, yes?"
"I-I d-don't—I don't know… I've n-never—seen anything…"
The servant stammered, his whole body trembling. Truly regrettable. For a steward to have such a poor memory.
In the end, the First Division Chief sighed and leaned back in his chair. There was no point grilling someone who claimed not to remember.
"Your son was an apprentice steward, wasn't he? I hear he attended the high traitor quite often as well."
"Y-yes?"
"Thinking about it—even as a steward's son, keeping an apprentice so close means he was trusted a great deal, doesn't it? So he must have seen plenty. Right?"
At that, the servant—the steward—eyes went wild.
"Since you can't remember, I've no choice. I'll just ask your son instead. You go rest."
"I-I remember! I remember everything now!"
Yeah. Done. As always, this was the most effective way to jog a memory.
"Th-the high traitor—he always harbored—harbored grievances against H-His Majesty the Emperor… saying Apels must rise again…"
"What a truly dreadful thought."
After collecting a number of such testimonies and finishing the interrogation, the First Division Chief left the room.
"Oh, you done?"
Outside, the Second Division Chief greeted him while chewing on a strip of jerky. With the First Division having taken every last servant, the Second had nothing particular to do—hence the leisurely sight.
"Yes. We've secured all the testimony. Thoroughly vicious traitors, these ones."
"Vicious, no doubt about it."
With the First Division's report as the final piece, the Audit Department's suppression operation was officially complete.
The reports submitted by each division were compiled and finalized by the Deputy Chief. Because the order had been issued directly by the Emperor to the Audit Department Chief, the Deputy Chief's report bypassed the Minister of Finance and went straight to the Emperor.
The Emperor, well pleased by an Audit Department report completed in mere hours, offered his commendation.
"The traitors have been executed without exception. His Majesty the Emperor was most satisfied as well."
"Well done. You never disappoint."
And someone at the Academy was equally satisfied with the Deputy Chief's report.
No one would raise questions about the process, and the results were flawless.
A truly perfect conclusion to the operation.