It has been about half a year since Lucy fought off the horde of undead
monsters.
Since she became a viscount, the number of her troops has increased to
three hundred, and through repeated training and actual battles, she was
able to manipulate them like hands and feet.
As her adjutant, I was also busy with the daily paperwork and coordination
with the various departments.
"Well, that's all done for now."
I signed the last document in my hand, and my work for the day was done.
After dismissing the soldiers who helped me, I returned to my barracks.
But on the way there, I heard what sounded like yelling and involuntarily
turned my head in that direction.
It seems that someone is arguing behind the warehouse.
I peeked out from behind the warehouse and saw two men and a woman
arguing, and the woman, to my surprise, was Viscountess Krone Karl.
"She's still in the army?"
I remember well that Krone had antagonized Lucy and tried all kinds of
nasty tricks on her.
At first, I thought she might have used her connections to get a position in
the rear or a civilian position, but…
"The insignia on Krone's clothing suggests that she is still in command of a
military unit."
The guy she's arguing with, isn't he one of her subordinates? Though it
seems like they're at loggerheads with each other.
Curious, I moved a little closer and listened in.
"The equipment and supplies of the troops are at their limits. We can't fight
properly as it is."
The man under her command pulls out his own sword and shows it to
Krone.
Even from my position, I could see that the light reflected from the blade
was dull, and the sharpness of the blade had deteriorated.
With a sword like that, you would have difficulty slaying monsters unless
you put more force into it than normal.
In response, Krone crossed her arms and replied.
"Sigh. So annoying. Can't you guys just do something about it?"
"That's why we're telling you this in the first place, milady. We can no
longer do it. That's why we need your help!"
Unusually, the voice of the subordinate is also filled with anger.
"Not only has your accounting become sloppy, but so is your command of
the troops."
"Thanks to you, we're the ones who have to scramble to clean up the
mess."
In the end, the subordinates spewed out everything they were holding in.
A sign of internal rift, perhaps?
"Also, the reserve fund set aside for times like this is gone before we know
it. You spent it all, didn't you?"
"What, are you accusing me, the commander?"
"And who else could it be? After all, the only person authorized to
withdraw the money freely is the commander!"
The atmosphere is becoming swarthy.
If this situation is allowed to continue, there is a possibility that the
subordinates will do something out of hand. If you ar e ab le to rea d this
me ss age, yo u are re ad ing from an unau thori zed ag gre gate si te. Re ad
at my Wor dPre ss at stabb ing wi th a syr ing e. hom e. b og to sup port me
and my tr ansl ati ons.
Krone seems to think she's still untouchable.
But at this point where the push comes to a shove, you'll never know what
will happen.
"C'mon, you know how badly we are suffering…"
"Hmph, you guys just have to fight as I tell you to."
That was Krone's answer to her men, who were clearly fuming.
As a result, the anger that the men had been holding back exploded all at
once.
"You… In that case, we don't have a choice!!"
His subordinate drew his sword in anger.
Then he thrust it at Krone, at their very own commander.
"What the… what are you doing, pointing your sword at me!"
At this rate, a murder is going to happen right in front of my eyes.
"Sigh. It would be a pain if they don't stop here. Especially if the military
police were to hear what's happening."
I sighed, then took a step forward to stop them from fighting.
"Oi, what are you doing over there?"
I approached, shouting to stop the three from fighting, or rather, the two of
Krone's men.
The men turned in my direction.
"Damn, are those military police?"
"I don't know, but just to be sure, let's get out of here!"
It was already dark, and there were no streetlights near me, so they weren't
able to tell whether they were just a passersby or someone from the military
police.
The two men put their weapons away and quickly fled the scene.
Krone, on the other hand, took a breather. Then, she quickly sought at my
direction.
"Phew… hey, you officer! Why are you so slow! Those two almost cut me
down!"
Apparently, Krone was also thinking I'm from the military police.
Nevertheless, her arrogance showed no sign of abating even when dealing
with the military police, who were also feared by the soldiers as the
ultimate graduates of hell.
The higher ranks of the military police are given the right to arrest nobles.
And yet, her attitude suggested that she had no awareness that she is doing
something wrong.
Her negligence in maintaining the equipment of the troops alone could put
her in a severe reprimand. All the more that she had spent the budget on her
own. If the soldiers are speaking the truth, even if she's the viscount's
daughter, she would not escape arrest.
"You must be Viscountess Krone Karl."
"… who? You're not from the military police, aren't you!"
"Oh, come on, you can't be serious."
It seems that she doesn't even remember my face, even though I am the
adjutant of the person she attempted to assassinate.
I was beyond angry. I was disgusted.
"Well, whatever. I'm going to take you to your father's place, anyway."
"Huh, what are you talking about? And by "father", you mean… Kyaaa!!"
I grabbed Krone by the neck and pulled her straight to the carriage station at
the base.
As for the carriage station, it's like a free cab if you're an aristocratic
soldier. With that, we headed for the residence of Viscount Karl.
After a while, the carriage stopped, and we arrived at the residence of the
Viscount. Exiting the carriage with Krone, they opened the front gate, and
we proceeded to its grounds.
"Ow! Hey, let go! And stop pulling me!"
Ignoring Krone, who was screaming at me, I went straight into the mansion
with a bang.
The servants I met shuffled out of the way as if they remembered I had been
here before.
And when I found a room with a light, I opened it from one side to the other
to look for the Viscount, Krone's father.
After opening the seventh door, I finally found the right place.
In a room that appeared to be a study, there was the Viscount, sitting in an
easy chair, looking at me with a surprised expression on his face.
"Viscount Karl, there you are."
"Why are you here, Yuushin Sanada!!"
The Viscount's words were clearly laced with trepidation.
Well, it wasn't an unreasonable response. After all, I was the one who had
torn his position to shreds.
He was forced to buy a lot of equipment as compensation for what
happened to Lucy, and when he tried to fight back, he fell into my trap, and
his unit suffered heavy casualties. I definitely imprinted him with a
traumatic experience for sure.
After that, I have heard through the wind that the Viscount has now been
reassigned to a… more leisurely position from his flowery position as chief
of staff at the headquarters.
Along with Lucy's promotion, we are now unreachable to him.
But we also know this isn't over yet.
"About your daughter, Your Excellency. She still has no remorse for what
she did to my master, Lady Finlay."
With that said, I toss Krone out toward the Viscount. Like a third-rate
villain.
Naturally, the Viscount, who managed to catch his daughter, rushes to her
defense.
"W-wait. I urged her to reflect on what she had done! Really!"
"That won't help if it's not accompanied by results. But there is a bigger
problem you should hear. it seems that Lady Krone here is spending her
unit's expenses."
In conjunction with this, I expose the story of the subordinate with whom
she had an argument. This cha pter tran slat ion is m ade possi ble by stab
bin g w ith a sy ri nge tra nslatio ns. ch ck onl y up-to-date t ransla ti ons on
my Word pre ss si te.
In the military, embezzlement is a felony, as well as misappropriation of
supplies.
If there is proof, they will be deprived of their military rank immediately
after a court-martial.
This is also why I am acting confidently like this, as I now gained another
card against the old man.
Pity? I had none for them now. The last straw was when they tried to
assassinate Lucy.
"Krone, are you really…"
"I'm sorry, but father has stopped giving me my allowance! It's not my
fault that I acted like this!"
"I don't want to hear any excuses. How dare you touch the army's money!"
"Gii… it hurts… uu…"
Krone was hit on the head as hard as possible, leaving her teary-eyed. It
serves her right, so I felt a little better.
"If you leave her like this, who knows what she will do again. So, I have an
idea. Why don't you transfer your daughter to our unit?"
"…what the fuck!?"
"If you can't educate them properly, leave it to others to educate them.
That's the surest way."
At least it's much better than leaving her as it is and making her create a
bigger fire.
"Why do I have to be educated, and by you of all people!?"
"You have no say in this matter, so shut up."
I glared at Krone to silence her and continued my conversation with the
Viscount.
"I'll make sure Lady Krone here will behave and won't get any trouble, but
in exchange, I'll have to ask for remuneration."
Infighting between friendlies is no joke.
Then again, if we don't give them at least the minimum usable skills, they
would just be a burden on the battlefield.
"R-remuneration? But as you can see, we are scarce on money…"
The Viscount looked at me suspiciously.
"Don't worry, all I need is a position. To be more specific, in exchange for
your daughter being entrusted to us, I will entrust myself to you."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'm gonna ask you to adopt me to your house."
The Viscount's expression twisted in astonishment at these words.
"You… want me to adopt you? I see. You want to step into the aristocracy."
"Yes, the nobility and the military hold power in this city. A commoner can
only do so much."
To maintain my current position, it would be easier for me to have more
power than I have now.
All the more now that I have a souring relationship with Marquis Krall.
If given a choice, I prefer to avoid stepping into the light as much as
possible, but the position of nobility is just too good to pass in case we
come into an all-out confrontation with the Marquis.
"You don't have to worry about me entering the power struggles in your
house. Or rather, I'll let Krone take over the Viscount's position smoothly,
provided that she can be rehabilitated properly. After that, our relationship
would be settled then and there."
"…Do as you please. I have no more energy to deal with you."
The Viscount let out a weary breath.
"Father…"
Concerned about her father's condition, Krone called out to him, but he did
not respond.
Watching the two of them, I thought about how to educate Krone from here
on.
Then, I let out a breath of air as well.