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 city-state 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 selfdeprecating 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.