Ch.288Side Story) The Rag-like Territory (2)

“Urgh…”

This is maddening, absolutely infuriating.

What is this impossible workload supposed to be?

The Emperor I observed from the sidelines is completely different from my current situation.

[Mom, why doesn’t His Majesty work?]

[Eric, don’t say such things. You can’t say His Majesty doesn’t work.]

[But he never sits at a desk like you do.]

[Well… people in high positions don’t work at desks. They simply give orders to their subordinates.]

His Majesty truly governed the nation through commands alone.

He would order this and that, and the administrators, soldiers, and clergy would carry out those orders. His Majesty simply maintained his dignity and composure as a monarch.

Of course, they say that in the past, even His Majesty sat at a desk and did everything manually, but I can hardly imagine that.

No, actually I can imagine it.

“Your Highness, I’ve brought your drink.”

“Yes… come in…”

I just need to compare it to my current state.

If I replaced my face with His Majesty’s younger face, it would be easy to imagine what His Majesty was like in the past.

The former Burgundy Duchy, which preceded Lotaring, was in shambles like my current territory of Bruns, with all sorts of problems, so he had no choice but to work directly. I suppose His Majesty back then and I now are roughly in similar situations.

…I should be happy if I resemble His Majesty, but strangely, I don’t feel that way at all.

I need administrators to come help soon. How much longer do I have to deal with this crap?

……….

“…Say that again?”

“Um… the request for administrative support from Lotaring was denied. According to the treaty with the Holy Empire, direct administrative projection by Lotaring could be grounds for territory reclamation, and this administrative support might fall under that treaty…”

Why are you doing this to me?

It’s not that I don’t understand. If there’s even the slightest risk, it’s better to avoid it, and this case doesn’t just risk it—it hits the mark directly.

What else would sending one’s own administrators to a foreign country be if not administrative projection?

From His Majesty’s perspective, he probably didn’t want to cause me trouble by doing something that could become problematic.

But… I’m still suffering in real-time.

Even if it might be problematic, couldn’t they find a workaround or fake their origins to turn a blind eye?

“Instead, we’ve received substantial financial support under the Emperor’s orders.”

“Money, money. That’s nice, but where am I supposed to find administrators? From within the Empire?”

Of course, the more money the better, and I’m extremely grateful for His Majesty’s generosity, but that doesn’t solve the immediate problem.

His Majesty practically drove his princes to foreign territories to maintain the authority of his successor and stabilize domestic politics. Though it was for the greater good, he must have felt personally sorry and regretful about it, as he provided substantial financial support to many princes including myself. Thanks to that, there’s no problem with initial funding.

Given the overwhelming deficit in the territory day by day, I’ll be penniless if the situation doesn’t improve over time, but for now, there’s no problem.

Anyway, the conclusion is that receiving financial support now doesn’t help much since I’ve already allocated the necessary budget where it’s needed.

Of course, it would be great if I could use the extra funds to hire talented people to solve the administrator shortage, but unfortunately, the Holy Empire is in such a fantastically absurd situation that it’s impossible.

[Administrators… you say? There are plenty of those…]

[Really?! That’s wonderful news. I’ll pay the price, so I’d like to purchase some administrators. Would that be possible?]

[What? Buy administrators? Would they accept such an offer?]

[What do you mean ‘they’? You’re the lord of this territory, so what are you… Oh.]

Surprisingly, in the Holy Empire, social status equals official position.

The higher your status, the higher your position—that’s considered natural. The lower your status, the lower your position—that’s also natural. If you’re a commoner with no status? Then it’s extremely difficult to be appointed to an official position unless you’re exceptionally capable.

What does this mean?

It means that the administrators in neighboring territories are all incompetent non-professionals.

Of course, nobles receive quality education, so they’re probably smarter than uneducated commoners, but to me, who was born and raised in Dijon, they seem hopelessly inadequate.

Above all, even if positions are filled based on status alone, the people who actually handle practical matters are usually specialized commoners, so they’re not completely useless. I could try to buy their services, but there’s another problem.

[What is this? Is this supposed to be a ledger? Even a household account book isn’t this bad, let alone territorial accounting…]

[Do you have any special tests for hiring field personnel? None? Then how do you… Oh, the administrators hired based on status conduct interviews themselves… I see.]

[You don’t use paper? Ah, because it’s expensive… Yes, paper is expensive. No wonder everyone only gives face-to-face reports. I understand now.]

These people have such a haphazard administrative system.

There’s no unified management method, and everyone works however they please. It’s amazing that the territory functions at all.

Still, the fact that the territory runs somewhat properly is evidence that the field personnel are doing their jobs in their own way. If I hire them and teach them proper administration, they could become useful talents.

But there’s another problem: it would take at least two years for them to develop into competent personnel, and during those two years, my territory of Bruns would be in chaos due to the talent shortage.

…But there’s no choice. That’s the only way to have a future.

“Send letters to neighboring lords expressing my intention to purchase the field administrators I previously marked, and establish an administrative training school in Bruns. And I need to send another letter to His Majesty in Lotaring for help with establishing the school.”

“Yes, Your Highness. I’ll bring practice paper for drafting and letter paper for the final version.”

Direct administrative projection may be grounds for territory reclamation, but receiving help to develop administrative capabilities wasn’t specifically mentioned, so it should be fine.

And while these random administrators grow into proper ones, I’ll have to work the existing officials, including myself, to death to govern Bruns.

…Damn, come to think of it, why did I accept this territory and all this hardship? I could have just stayed in Dijon and lived comfortably.

Ugh… but what’s done is done. No use thinking about useless things. Let’s just get to work.

……….

“Mar…riage…?”

Oh no.

I’ve been so busy with my current life that I forgot the most important thing.

To forget about marriage—something that’s fundamental for anyone born human and the most sacred duty as a monarch… ugh…

[Eric, when are you planning to get married? If you have someone in mind, please let your mother know.]

“…”

Mother’s handwriting in the letter is so emotionally charged. I can clearly tell what she’s thinking even without seeing or hearing her directly.

Marriage, marriage…

Hmm… I haven’t seriously thought about marriage until now, but now that I’m trying to consider it forcefully, it’s surprisingly difficult.

[If you don’t know whom to choose or haven’t thought about it yet, please check the attached list.]

“…Huh?”

What’s this?

I thought it was just a letter from Mother, but it wasn’t. When I took out another paper enclosed with the letter, it contained information about various marriage candidates that Mother had investigated, along with brief portraits.

Even at a glance, it must have taken tremendous effort.

The thickness of the paper is no joke, and the lack of margins on each page creates an overwhelming impression. Mother seems eager for me to get married and have children quickly.

Yes, that makes sense… It’s natural for people to want to see their grandchildren…

“Let’s see… wow, these are all impressive candidates…”

There are daughters from various ducal families, including the House of Laurel, and even princesses from Albion, Przemysl, Andalusia, and Scandia.

They’re all too good for an illegitimate son like me, but Mother doesn’t seem to think so. If she did, she wouldn’t have investigated so confidently.

…But it seems Mother only investigated women of marriageable age. What if they refuse even if I agree?

No, since marriages are determined by strategic situations anyway, they probably couldn’t refuse a proposal from me, who carries the radiance of Lotaring Emperor, my father.

Thinking about it this way makes me feel guilty, as if I’m using authority to force an unwilling woman into marriage.

“…Well, I guess I’ll meet the princess of Albion first.”

Anyway, since I’m getting married, a royal princess would be a more prestigious spouse than a ducal daughter. And unlike Przemysl, Andalusia, or Scandia, Albion is strongly influenced by Lotaring, so I should choose the Albion princess.

And… though I’m reluctant to say it openly, she’s quite good-looking too.

Ahem, no. I’m not marrying based on appearance, but based on strategic considerations. That’s right.