A steward was an employee tasked with managing a noble’s territory. They took care of the taxes and the distribution of goods, along with employment and the salaries of servants. As their role often included fulfilling the duties of an accountant, it wasn’t unusual to trust them with huge amounts of paperwork.
“But still, he must have quite the excellent steward. As expected of a margrave, I guess. Is the steward a former administrative officer?”
Military paperwork was uniquely convoluted. It had taken two years of military school for Regis to finally get it down.
While Regis was genuinely impressed, Altina shook her head.
“The reports are full of mistakes. We get angry letters back from the department every month. We’ve even had an inspector sent over.”
“What!? Impossible... Is this really a part of the Belgarian Imperial Army?”
“It was originally Sir Jerome’s personal army, or so I’ve heard.”
“Come to think of it, I might have read about that in a book. I had some time to spare after my demotion, so I did a bit of digging.”
“...You really are strange. Normally, the last thing you’d want to do after a demotion is start looking into your new boss.”
“Is that how you felt?”
“No, I... have a goal...” Altina was at a rare loss for words.
He had sensed it yesterday as well; she seemed to be hiding something. However, the fact that she wouldn’t say what meant she had made the conscious decision to keep it secret. Regis wasn’t one to pursue the matter any further.
“I already knew about the legend of Sir Jerome through books and rumors... but I never heard anything about him chasing out administrative officers. Did something happen?”
“I did ask... but he wouldn’t tell me. Sir Jerome despises me, after all.”
“He despises you?”
Altina nodded weakly.
“If an amateur little girl became your commander as the result of a power struggle that had absolutely nothing to do with you, would you not harbor feelings of resentment toward her?”
“So that’s why...”
It wasn’t rare for a newly appointed commander to be at odds with the one who previously led the unit. Under normal circumstances, the former leader would be transferred elsewhere, but Altina was a novice, and Fort Sierck was a key strategic point on the northern front—her appointment may have been by imperial decree, but no military authority would do anything as stupid as removing Jerome from the base.
“If the regiment was operating normally and protecting the people, I would’ve taken a back seat, but...” Altina’s expression took a dark turn.
“Then it turned out there were no administrative officers.”
“Sir Jerome isn’t performing his role too attentively, either.”
The two shared a sigh.
Clarisse returned with a white porcelain teapot and two tea cups. She placed them on the table before filling one with a transparent red liquid. The tea carried a deep aroma that tickled the nostrils.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Princess. Shall I add sugar?”
Notwithstanding her casual use of it, black tea leaves, sugar, and fine china were luxury goods even in the capital. It was inconceivable that these were military-issued, so they had to have been from the princess’s private stash.
“Thank you, Clarisse.”
“My pleasure. What about you, Mr. Regis?”
“Oh, I would love some. Thank you.”
“Whatever do you mean? I was simply asking what you planned to do next.”
“Gah...”
The maid looked perfectly composed as she twisted her verbal blade.
“Ahaha, that is an important problem,” Altina said as she stirred her tea. What to do next was definitely a difficult problem, and Regis thought over it while holding his forehead.
“Hmm. First, I’ll need Sir Jerome to tell me... why he drove out the administrative officers...”
“That’s a good idea. But, before that, would you care to help me with my job?”
“What can I help with?” He recalled how Altina said she would ‘work him to the bone.’
“It’s a very important job—we need to find those bandits!”
“Come to think of it, you were on patrol.”
“Yep. Not only do they cause trouble for the merchants and citizens, but for the soldiers as well. Could you think of a good way to deal with them? You’re a tactician, are you not?”
“No... I’m not a tactician...”
“So you can’t think of anything?”
“I said I’m not a tactician, not that I don’t have a plan. How much time and how many soldiers are available?”
Altina nervously tapped the ends of her index fingers together. It was surely some sort of sign, not that he could figure out what it was supposed to mean.
“The time frame is as soon as reasonably possible. Bandit activity started increasing half a year ago, but we haven’t been able to do anything about it, so we’ll be glad so long as even some progress is made toward resolving the matter. The problem is the soldiers...”
“Are we low on available troops?”
“Can you make do with just me?”
“...Hah? What are you talking about?”
“I’m pretty confident in my sword arm.”
“I know you’re strong, but there are far too many bandits. In the time it takes you to nab a few, most of them will have run away.”
“Ack... I know.”
“Are you trying to catch them on your own?”
“That’s not it... There just aren’t too many soldiers who would listen to my commands.”
She came out with a bombshell rather difficult to ignore.
“What do you mean?”
“Yeaaah... I told you Sir Jerome despises me, right?” Altina’s face was crossed by agony unbefitting of a fourteen-year-old. According to her, it was proving difficult to move troops by the word of a new commander who had provoked the ire of their former leader.
“That’s a surprise. I met up with Knight Captain Everard and his men, and they seemed to adore you. ‘Truly a goddess,’ they said.”
He thought back to his meeting in the courtyard. Their devotion was so great that he felt any further interactions with the princess would be a danger to his safety.
“The g-goddess part is embarrassing, but... a few do listen, and I’m thankful for that.”
“Only a few? The majority won’t?”
“In times of peace they might listen, but on the battlefield they’ll likely only trust Sir Jerome’s orders.”
“...When lives are on the line, it’s better to trust a veteran general than a goddess.”
“Correct.”
While there were soldiers who adored Altina, they mostly saw her as a princess. She had not earned their trust as a commander. Asking for more was unreasonable, as she had no previous achievements.
“As I recall, the Beilschmidt border regiment consists of about five hundred cavalry, five hundred artillery, and two thousand infantry.”
“You really did your research.”
“Around how many of them will listen to your orders? I think we’ll be able to manage with three hundred infantry.”
“A-Around thirty, maybe...?” Altina responded apologetically.
Regis crossed his arms and leaned into his backrest. His chair creaked ever so slightly.
“...Um, Altina, didn’t you call this your border regiment?”
She faltered, her eyes a little teary.
“T-That’s... For now, it might just be on paper, but... I’ll do something about it eventually.”
“Paper and incentive may be all that’s necessary to gather soldiers, but their obedience can only be gained through ability and achievement.”
“Only through achievement...” Altina repeated, like a student digesting a lecturer’s teachings.
“I may be inexperienced when it comes to swordplay, but I can tell you’re plenty strong. You’re just up against the wrong guy. There’s nothing we can do about that. Martial arts alone are not what makes a commander, but... being stronger than those around you is the simplest way to prove superiority.”
“So you’re saying that Sir Jerome is stronger than me?”
“I wouldn’t put it past him... He isn’t known as the ‘Hero of Erstein’ for nothing.”
“Hero?” Altina tilted her head, perplexed. The real surprise came from Regis.
“You didn’t know? Sir Jerome is an honored general who played a huge role in our battles with the neighboring empires.”
“He is?”
“I didn’t see it personally, but—”
Clarisse placed a teacup in front of him, as if urging him to begin the story. He let the wonderfully scented tea wet his parched throat as he summarized Jerome’s military history.
“Jerome Jean de Beilschmidt was born the eldest son of a viscount.”
He marched in his first campaign at the age of fourteen—not in the imperial army, but in his father’s militia. He’d left countless distinguished deeds in his wake ever since. The most notable engagement, however, took place on the plains of Erstein against the neighboring Germanian Federation.
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