Cleaning the Kingdom
I left the knights and the Gorani waiting outside the capital, with Seria remaining with them, before boarding a carriage and entering through the main gates of the royal castle.
'Even I have to admit, bringing them into the castle would be a bit much...'
Marching the Gorani through the castle grounds would cause chaos, no question about it.
The first person I spotted when we arrived at the main gate was Roxanna. She must have been waiting ever since she heard we were coming. The moment she saw me step down from the carriage, she rushed over at full speed.
"Ian!"
She grabbed me and started checking my body frantically, turning me this way and that.
"Are you hurt? Any injuries? The pendant broke! Gods!"
I couldn't help but smirk at her words. I reached inside my coat and pulled out the shield-shaped pendant, now split cleanly in half.
"Thanks to you, I'm alive. I owe you one."
Roxanna stared at the broken pendant and let out a sigh of relief.
"You're really not hurt anywhere?"
"Nope. Elisa was watching my back too."
I reached out and patted her head. Her face flushed instantly, and she turned away sharply.
"D-don't pat me! But... who is that person?"
Roxanna's gaze flicked to Seria briefly, and her expression immediately soured into a pout.
'Now that I think about it, she was the same way when I first brought Elisa back.'
My childhood friend had always been the jealous type.
"Come here, meet her. This is Seria. A reliable knight I acquired in Karon Territory."
"It is an honor to make your acquaintance. The Shield of the Espada Kingdom, Commander Roxanna. I am Seria, a knight who has sworn the Oath of Mana to His Highness Ian, my lord."
Seria's impeccable formal greeting caught Roxanna off guard for a moment.
"...You know who I am?"
"Of course, Commander. No knight could possibly be ignorant of your reputation. You are the bastion that keeps even foreign archmages from daring to covet this kingdom."
The compliment softened Roxanna's expression slightly. But only for a moment. Her eyes snapped back to me.
"Well, that's nice and all... but did she just say 'lord'? And the Oath of Mana?"
At the mention of the Oath of Mana — a vow binding one's very life — Roxanna's cheeks puffed out.
'If I poke that cheek, I'm definitely getting hit.'
"Ugh... Why'd you go and accept an oath like that? And from a female knight, of all people...!"
"Hey, it wasn't planned. The situation just went that way. I took in some people who couldn't return to the Empire."
Roxanna's face was still full of discontent as she shot alternating glares at me and Seria. Then she glanced at Elisa, who was standing quietly behind me, and let out a deep, heavy sigh.
"Haaah... Do you even need more guard knights when I'm around? You already have Elisa, isn't that more than enough? Really..."
"Huh? Say that again?"
"N-nothing!"
Roxanna shouted, her face burning red.
It wasn't that I was completely oblivious to her feelings. She'd shown me plenty of affection since we were kids — there was no way I could miss it. But accepting her now, at this stage, came with a mountain of complications.
'For now, the best move is to just play dumb and move on.'
I cleared my throat and steered the conversation elsewhere.
"Ahem. Anyway, I'm back safe and sound. Let's catch up properly later. I need to report to Father and Rowen first. They're both in the office, right?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. His Majesty has started handling state affairs again recently. They're both in the office near the council chamber."
"Got it. See you later. Feel free to chat among yourselves."
I left them behind and made my way toward the state affairs office in the castle.
When I opened the door and stepped inside, I saw Father seated at the head of the table and Rowen buried behind a mountain of documents.
'Father looks a bit better than last time.'
Thankfully, hearing the news of our victory seemed to have done him good — his complexion was much healthier than before.
"Father, Brother. I'm back."
"Welcome back."
"Ian...!"
Both of them greeted me with expressions full of warmth.
"I'm glad you returned safely. I heard you retook Karon with those weapons you created. Splendid. You are truly my son."
"I got lucky. I left Karon Territory to Kael, so you don't need to worry about it."
Kael might have his personality issues, but the guy was incredibly competent when it came down to it.
They both smiled at my answer. But their expressions soon hardened as they pointed to a parchment on the desk. A petition submitted by the Commoners' Council.
"You already know from my letter why you were called back to the capital. The provincial nobles are using the council to push for you to be named Crown Prince."
"Exactly. They're trying to stir up a power struggle to weaken the influence converging on the center."
Rowen sighed and set the parchment down.
"Right. While you were fighting on the front lines, our intelligence division was already tracking the financial flows of the ringleaders."
"Ringleaders?"
"Count Baller and Baron Monte. We've already secured records and evidence showing they funneled massive bribes to the Commoners' Council."
Both Baller and Monte's territories were located in the southwestern part of the kingdom — critical chokepoints through which all logistics from the southern ports had to pass on their way to the capital.
'No wonder they're drowning in money.'
Father, seated at the head, added to Rowen's explanation.
"We've also detected them illegally expanding their private armies under the cover of wartime. We've already completed preparations to tighten the noose under the charge of treason, following proper legal procedure. We were simply waiting for you to return safely to the capital, Ian."
Solid evidence, and a treason charge backed by illegal army expansion — they had enough justification to hold a noble tribunal and crush them legally.
'But that would be too slow.'
"Father. Do we really need to drag this out with tedious procedures?"
"Tedious procedures? What do you mean?"
Rowen asked, puzzled.
"Brother, if we open a noble tribunal, how long until sentencing? Months, at best. Do you really think they'll just sit in their lands quietly waiting for the verdict?"
"Well..."
"You said they're illegally expanding their armies during wartime. If we waste time with a trial, those soldiers will already be fully deployed. Cornered, cut off from funds — who knows what they'll do with those troops? Worst case, they defect to the Empire or march on the capital."
"But if we attack a lord's territory without due process, the other nobles will push back. It could spark a civil war."
"Then we give them a justification. One that looks completely legal on the surface — but one they absolutely cannot accept."
At this, Father, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
"You mean issue a royal decree in my name."
"Yes. Exactly. Order them to come to the capital immediately to explain their corruption in bribing the Commoners' Council. Demand the full dissolution of their private armies. And demand they open their gates to accept royal inspectors."
There was no way the nobles would accept those terms.
Rowen tapped the parchment on the desk.
"There's no way they'd accept that unless they've lost their minds. They'll just stall or refuse with endless excuses... I see. That's your goal."
"Yeah. Got it in one."
I leaned back in my chair and continued.
"If they refuse the decree or delay their response, that's an open act of rebellion. Clean and simple."
"But sending the decree and waiting for their reply will also give them time to fortify defenses or flee."
"Who said we're waiting? The moment the inspectors and the decree leave, I'll be following right behind them with my knights."
"Haaah..."
"Ian..."
Both of them understood what I meant and let out simultaneous sighs.
What? It's the fastest way, isn't it?
After finishing the conversation, I stepped out of the office into the corridor.
There, waiting for me, were the three women.
I'd told them to chat among themselves, but apparently they'd moved here and had been waiting for me to come out.
But...
'Why's the atmosphere like this?'
Roxanna stood with her arms crossed, glaring daggers at Seria. Seria, despite sweating under the intensity, maintained her rigid posture, enduring Roxanna's gaze. And Elisa was watching the whole scene with a strangely amused expression.
The moment they sensed me approaching, all three pairs of eyes snapped toward me.
"You done?"
Roxanna was the first to break the silence. Her fierce expression from moments ago had vanished without a trace.
"Yeah. But you three... what were you talking about?"
"N-nothing important! Just... asking about Imperial knight training methods and what makes a good guard. That sort of thing."
"Oh, really?"
Seria's face looked different from usual for just casual conversation. Her ears were suspiciously red, and she kept glancing at me nervously.
Feeling my gaze on her, Seria hurriedly straightened her posture and spoke.
"Yes, my lord... Commander Roxanna has imparted a great deal... of wisdom regarding the proper mindset for a knight serving at her lord's side."
'...So she put her in her place.'
Among knights, hierarchy mattered, apparently. Not my place to interfere.
"Anyway! So how'd it go?"
I answered Roxanna's question.
"Got permission."
"Permission?"
"Yeah. I'm thinking it's time for a proper kingdom-wide cleanup."
"You just got to the capital, and you're leaving again?"
"Yeah. If we drag our feet, they might catch on and prepare."
I patted Roxanna's head to soothe her disappointment, then turned to Elisa and Seria.
"Seria, Elisa. Prepare immediately. We leave tomorrow."
"Yes, my lord."
"Yes, Master."
Let's do this cleanup right.