Let's talk about the system of nobility in this country.
Once you set aside royalty and the three dukes, the people can be
divided into three groups: the nobles and knights, the commoners, and the
slaves. (Refugees, as they are not citizens, do not fall into any of these
groups.)
We will go into the institution of slavery on another occasion, but what
divides the nobles and knights from the commoners is whether or not they
hold land.
Because of that, the class of nobles and knights may also be referred to
as lords, and the commoners who live on their lands may be referred to as
their subjects. (Slaves are considered to be chattel, and thus are not included
in this group.) Lords have a number of rights within their lands, and at the
same time, they have military and other responsibilities to the country.
The titles and lands of the nobility and knighthood are generally
hereditary, but commoners who distinguish themselves may be bestowed
title and land by the country, raising them to knighthood (for those whose
accomplishments are military) or nobility (for those whose
accomplishments are in administration).
Furthermore, marrying into a noble or knightly family (in which case,
the person provides their own land) is also possible. These people are
referred to as new nobles or new knights.
This isn't a distinction that formally exists, but certain hard-headed
people who think of them as "upstarts who were not born to be nobles or
knights" refer to them this way. New nobles and new knights may pass their
titles hereditarily. (Generally, a house becomes accepted after around three
generations.)
Conversely, even nobles and knights can, if their crimes are great
enough, be dropped to the rank of commoner or slave. In these cases, their
lands and title are seized by the country and, in the worst cases, the entire
house may lose their status. This is known as "destruction."
The reason that, as noted earlier, nobles and knights distinguish
themselves from new nobles and new knights is that they take pride in
having maintained the status of their house and having avoided this
"destruction" for three generations.
There is no need for the nobility and knighthood to manage their lands
personally. Particularly with knights, who must spend most of the year
serving in the military, management of their lands is left to the members of
their household. Royal Guard Captain Ludwin Arcs was one example.
Furthermore, among the nobility, there are those who leave management
of their lands to the members of their house, residing in Parnam where they
serve in important posts such as top positions in the bureaucracy or as
speaker in the Congress of the People. These people are called capital
nobles, with the former prime minister (and current chamberlain) Marx
being one example.
However, at present, the number of capital nobles had fallen to nearly
half of what it had been the year before. The ones who had gone missing
were those whose wrongdoing had been uncovered in Souma's government
spending audit. Those under investigation had been dismissed from their
posts in the capital, and were under house arrest in their own lands.
For those whose crimes were minor, if they repaid the money they
embezzled, and relinquished the family headship to another member of the
family, their house would be allowed to continue, but for those whose
crimes were great, all of their assets were seized and their house would be
destroyed.
Of course, the sort of people who would engage in such corruption could
not be expected to quietly acquiesce to the destruction of their houses. They
took their personal forces and assets and attempted to flee.
However, because Souma and Hakuya could easily see their intentions,
the borders were sealed, and they could not carry their assets out into other
countries.
Unable to remain in their lands or flee to another country, ultimately,
they headed for the duchy of Duke Carmine. They went to Georg Carmine,
who was hostile to the king, and waited for an opportunity to rebel.
The central city of that Carmine Duchy was Randel.
While not as great in scale as the royal capital Parnam, it was still large
compared to other cities, with a large enough population to become a citystate on its own.
General of the Army Georg Carmine's castle was here, and a castle town
had grown up around it. However, past generals had been indifferent to the
city's management and so, unlike Parnam which could change greatly with
the direction the king chose to take it, the town had a nostalgic feel to it,
probably the same now as it had been 100 years ago.
On a street corner in that city of Randel, a single carriage was parked.
Inside the carriage was a beauty in her mid-twenties. Any man who saw her
would, almost certainly, have let out a sigh of admiration.
Even wrapped as it was in a kimono that was similar in style to the ones
worn in Japan, her voluptuous figure was still apparent. However, the
reptilian tail which stuck out from the buttocks of her kimono and the tiny
antlers that sprouted out from beneath her blue hair made it clear that she
wasn't just an ordinary human.
From inside her carriage she was listening to the hustle and bustle of the
town around her. There must have been a tavern nearby, because she could
hear a group of drunkards grumbling quite clearly.
"Seriously, that new king... Just who does he think we are...? Hic!"
"Indeed. It is we who have supported this kingdom for so many long
years."
"But the king goes and ignores us, pushing forward policies on his
own!"
"Why did King Albert leave the country to that whelp...?"
"His retainers are no better! They're a bunch of inexperienced novices,
too! What's with that gloomy black-robed jerk?! What's with that human
pig?!"
"Heh heh heh, I'm sure he only values those're good at flattering him."
"The young are prone to such things! He throws out experienced people
like us, only listening to people who'll flatter him. A king like that won't
last long."
"That's right! Let's take this country back with our own hands!"
"Yeah! For the kingdom we love!"
"""For the kingdom we love!"""
For the kingdom, is it...? My, how they do like to run their mouths. The
woman in the carriage sighed. Even that sigh was alluring.
You people are the ones who betrayed the country with your illegal acts.
When it came time for you to face the law, you fled, so it certainly takes
some gall for you to say the king threw you out. And the king only values
those who flatter him? Were you not watching when he gathered personnel?
That king would use even those who were dissatisfied with him so long as
they were worth it. He uses Sir Hakuya and Sir Poncho because they are
capable. The reason he doesn't use you is because you are not.
Since they didn't even understand that much, she couldn't bring herself
to even bother ridiculing them.
It's been a few months since the crown was transferred to His Majesty,
Souma, yet he hasn't made any major policy blunders or lost the support of
the people. To the contrary, he's shown extraordinary ability in the way he's
steadily resolving the food crisis we feared. No matter how much they
respected King Albert for his sagacity, it's nonsense to ask, "Why did he
choose that whelp?"
The woman rested her elbows on the windowsill, her chin in her hands.
To think the nobility has fallen so far from the proud and high-minded
people who founded the country... Their ancestors must be turning in their
graves.
Though she appeared to be in her mid-twenties, this woman recalled the
dawning age of this kingdom more than 500 years ago. She thought back to
her comrades, smiling sadly.
As a descendent of sea serpents, it would be more than another 500
years before she would be taken to their side.
"It's times like this when belonging to a long-lived race is the hardest.
I've gotten used to bidding farewell to the short-lived, but then I'm forced
to see unpleasant things like this. I envy you people who have been able to
die without a care for what would come after."
With those words, Navy Admiral Excel Walter, one of the three dukes,
gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"Sea Princess!"
When a voice addressed her from outside the carriage, Excel sat up
straight. "...Yes?"
"Ma'am, a report has arrived from Canaria," the voice said.
"Show it to me," she commanded.
"Yes, ma'am. It is here." The speaker pushed the documents through a
gap in the carriage door.
Excel took the documents, opening them and perusing their contents. As
she was reading through them, finally her face broke into a smile.
I see... So that's how you've judged him. Yet still, you wish to be at his
side, you say. Hmm... That's all well and good, but I do think the loving
praise dripping from your writing is going to give me heartburn. Really,
now... I have to envy your youth.
Excel froze the documents with a sigh, then let them go. The documents
fell, shattering into pieces when they struck the carriage floor.
Allow me to correct myself. When you live so long, there are times when
you'll find new light in the most unexpected of ways. This feeling is
something you people who have died can never taste, isn't it?
Serves you right.
Excel wore the smile of a young girl, not showing so much as a hint of
her true age.