episode_0054

Unexpected meeting (3)

next day. Yuno heard Mayer’s call, got into the carriage with his family, and headed to his official residence.

There were two guards under Gerard, but Cordelia ran quickly and overpowered them, so Yuno and his party were able to enter the residence without any resistance.

“Welcome, Yuno. All preparations have been completed”

Mayer was already waiting at the entrance of the official residence, holding the seal symbolizing the count and the appointment letter for acting lord.

“Cordelia! Protect Mayer with the escort knights! Eliza. Please take your mom and older sister Marie up to the second floor”

“Yes! All right. Your Majesty”

“Yes, be careful~”

As Eliza and her family went up to the second floor, Mayer asked Yuno and the guards to hide for a while.

“If you witness His Highness, wouldn’t you be able to destroy the evidence you brought with you? Just in case, he didn’t bring it here and hid it somewhere else”

“Hmm~ I understand. I’ve entrusted this matter to you, so I’ll leave it to the end”

Not long after Yuno hid, a commotion was heard outside, and a large man appeared.

“Hey~ Mayer~ Here is a copy of the secret ledger where Boras embezzled public funds! It’s not the original, but this should be enough to blow off that guy’s head!”

Mayer took a quick look at the ledger he had turned over.

“Sure… I think this is enough. But is there any way to get the original?”

If it wasn’t the original, there was a possibility that they could claim that the evidence had been fabricated, so Meyer wanted to obtain the original somehow. But Gerrard shook his head, and Meyer’s disappointment grew slightly.

“I couldn’t find the original. He must be taking care of it thoroughly, as he is probably on the edge of his seat. This copy was also stolen by one of his subordinates to save his own life. I managed to find it”

“Then wouldn’t Boras be able to claim that the evidence was fabricated?”

“Hehehe, what are you worried about? Wouldn’t it be better to just blow off Boras’ head as soon as he comes in? The dead don’t speak. Isn’t that right hahahaha”

Mayer, who thought there was no more information to get from him, raised his hand.

“Come out!”

“Hmm? Who are you talking to? Huh!”

Cordelia’s sword was hanging around Gerard’s neck, and the guards Gerard had brought were all suppressed by the other guard knights.

“Why…why are you doing this? I don’t know who it is, but it’s Boras who should be beheaded, not me”

“No! Whether it’s him or you, it’s the same that you have to cut off the head”

In Gerard’s trembling gaze, Yuno appeared dressed in the prince’s uniform.

Although it was Gerard’s first time seeing the prince, and he had no idea what Yuno’s attire meant, he knew that it was a luxurious thing that commoners like themselves could not even dare to wear.

“Hwa…Your Royal Highness?”

“Hoo~ You’re quick-witted. okay. I heard that you and a guy named Boras are making a huge mess of the territory. I heard you’re creating imperial laws as you please?”

“Hahaha… Your Royal Highness… In the countryside… there is a custom. It’s been like this for a long time! ”

Before he could make a proper excuse, Gerard was kneed on the waist by Cordelia and had to close his mouth.

Gerard tried to resist for a moment, but no matter how big he was, in the end, the level of the Viscounty’s guard captain was at best a low-level knight.

He was unable to move due to the suppression of Cordelia, the leader of the knights of the County of Le Delmo and who was honing his martial arts at the front line of the Balkan-Tessito front and was looking at a high-ranking knight, and had no choice but to entrust his life to Yuno’s disposal.

“How about it? Meyer. Does that prove Administrator Boras’s guilt?”

“It’s a bit lacking. Since it is a copy and not the original…”

“Hmm… I guess I’ll just have to wait and see what Boras brings”

After a while, Boras, like Gerard, was caught by Yuno, and a document proving Gerard’s corruption was found in his arms.

“Your Majesty. The document regarding the security captain’s corruption is authentic. I believe execution is warranted”

“I…Your Highness!! I am without sin!! Those are all documents fabricated by Guard Captain Gerard!! If you release me, I will bring documents proving that I managed the estate’s property properly!”

As expected, Boras pleaded not guilty, insisting that the evidence was fabricated.

“Hwang…Your Royal Highness! Please save me!! I will do anything as long as it saves my life!!”

On the other hand, Gerard, who thought he would be executed without making a move, fell to the floor and began to pray.

“Good. If so, there are conditions. Bring witnesses to prove Administrator Boras’ corruption. In that case, I will spare your life”

“Are you…really?”

“Yes. I bet on my honor. Cordelia! Thoroughly monitor him to prevent him from doing anything else. If you try to run away or rebel, you can do it right away”

“I will follow your orders. Your Majesty”

Cordelia tied Gerard up with a rope and dragged him outside, and soon several members of the security guard, civil servants working under the administrator, and several residents came in. Then Boras’ expression began to distort.

“Administrator Boras ordered us to assault residents who did not pay special taxes. In addition, he forcibly took away the rice fields of residents who could not pay rent and made them his own”

“In addition, he manipulated and reported the amount of taxes collected from us as a small amount, and also reported the amount sent by the Ministry of Defense to support the Rangers of the Monster Mountains for his own personal use and then falsified the documents”

“We lost our house and field to that guy! Even though it was a season when there was not much game, they kept forcing them to produce game, which led to a situation where some hunters forced themselves to the center of the mountain range and then went missing”

“Yes, these guys!! I didn’t treat you carelessly, but you hit me in the back like this!!”

Despite his shouting, the charges against Boras continued to flow. Juno, who was listening to his crime, was so annoyed that he told him to stop, and Juno, along with Mayer and Cordelia, dragged Boras and Gerard to the square of Chiese Castle and rang the bell to gather the residents.

“Nicana Territory residents, listen! My name is Juno Alexander Windrage von Balkan, the Third Prince of the Balkan Empire and Count of the United Territories of Nikana and Tesida”

The residents gathered at the square were buzzing at the sight of the royal family for the first time in their lives, but immediately bowed down and showed their respect.

“Lift your heads up! I came to Nikana Territory yesterday and discovered that there are many evil practices in the territory! And it turns out that it was mostly the work of Administrator Boras and Guard Captain Gerard!”

Then the residents stood up and started swearing at the two people, and some even tried to throw stones.

“Stop!! If something similar happens in the future, I will execute it in the same way as the lord who rules over the territory of Tessidanikana! Administrator Lucas Boras is sentenced to death. Then, half of Stara Gerard’s security captain’s assets are confiscated, and he is demoted to a regular soldier and transferred to the ranger unit in the Monster Mountains”

“It’s unfair, Your Highness!!”

“…Thank you, Your Highness!!”

Juno, who personally executed Magistrate Boras in front of the residents of Nikana Castle, agreed to spare Gerard’s life as promised.

Compared to Administrator Boras’s crimes, he had amassed his wealth relatively expediently, except for extorting money from the castle gate. Since he thought that his size and martial arts skills would be useful, it was decided to have him join the Ranger unit, the most dangerous unit.

Yuno completed his first mission as a lord by restoring the falsified ledger to its original state and reporting it to the imperial treasury.

“Aaaah~ Whew~ You both did a good job. Let’s go home today”

The guards and civil servants of the Viscounty of Nicana were all temporarily suspended because they were suspected of having participated in corruption, and this meant that Baron Kimberley, Maier, Isabella, and Marie, including Juno, all had to rush in to fill in. I spent the night at Ilil’s official residence.

“Your Majesty, isn’t this too much? I came here to be Her Highness Marie’s teacher, not to do office work like this”

“Hahaha, isn’t Baron Kimberly also my teacher? If a teacher like that doesn’t help his disciple when he’s in trouble, who will help me? When I return to the capital later, I will make sure to take these things into consideration and compensate”

“Hmm…if you say so… I understand. I will trust you and wait. Your Majesty”

Baroness Kimberly, whose mouth was wide open to her ears at the sound of the noble third prince calling her teacher, bowed and returned to the residence provided by Juno, her face with dark circles extending down to her cheeks.

“Hahaha, Your Royal Highness? Now that the work is finished, the reward I promised…?”

“Ah~ That’s right. I forgot for a moment the reward I was supposed to give you”

‘Hehehe, you are the crown prince. How big of a reward will you give me? I received 20 gold coins when I acted as an acting corps commander and made a great contribution… Wouldn’t you give me about 10 gold coins this time too?’

The cost of living for a middle-class family of four among the empire’s commoners was about half a gold coin, so he had received a fairly large reward in the last war, and was expecting to receive a similar reward this time as well.

“Yes! Vladimir Mayer! As a reward, I will give you the position of commander of the garrison of the County of Tessidanicana”

“Thank you! majesty! Such a big reward… eh?”

Mayer bowed down in front of Yuno and looked at Yuno with a blank expression.

“Huh? What’s wrong? I’m talking about the position of garrison commander. Isn’t this a pretty big position? I can command all the defenders of Monster Mountain, and I can command all the rangers as well. And when I’m away, I’ll even let you command the newly created knight corps! If you have the skills I saw in Streve, you can do it”

Of course, Mayer’s face, who was not hoping for something like that, turned red.

‘What kind of bullshit is this! Just give me money! How long has it been since you were discharged that you sound like a guard captain?

“Well…Your Highness! I have no regrets about being in the military anymore…”

“20 gold coins!”

“Yes?”

“I will give you 20 gold coins as your annual salary. What is it like? Do you hate it?”

Mayer’s face, which had been distorted into a grotesque shape due to his dissatisfaction with the reward given by Yuno, returned to normal in an instant thanks to Yuno’s prompt financial treatment.

“I will do my best to live up to His Highness the Third Prince’s expectations!!”

That’s how Mayer became Yuno’s subject, but at that time he never thought that he would regret this decision for the rest of his life.