“Hmm... I was wondering who I’d find... and it’s just the little lady...”
“Instead of going on patrol, you’re in a corner buying apples from a peddler? Do your work seriously, Sir Jerome!”
Regis was taken aback.
“This bloody drunkard is Sir Jerome!? Margrave Jerome Jean de Beilschmidt!? The famed Hero of Erstein!?” He unintentionally raised his voice in surprise and ended up pointing in disbelief.
The man tilted his bottle, gulping down the amber liquid that poured through its neck. His sharp yet stupored eyes locked onto Regis in a glare.
“Hm... Who are you?”
“My name is Regis Aurick... fifth-grade administrative officer.”
“Get out.”
“Very well, I’ll draft up the transfer papers at once. You just have to sign them.”
“Regis!?”
“Just kidding. Pardon me, sir, but the right to reassign me lies with Her Highness.”
He was in front of Jerome, so he tried to be careful with his words, despite his restraint having slipped right off the bat.
“Y-You shouldn’t joke about that!” Surprisingly enough, Altina seemed genuinely worried.
Having never felt any importance in his own existence, Regis struggled to comprehend. Did she not want to let him go? Come to think of it, he was still in the middle of helping her capture the bandits.
I see. I haven’t yet finished the job she assigned me, Regis readily concluded.
“Well, you heard her... Unfortunately, the princess does not approve of my transfer, so it doesn’t look like I can return to the capital.”
“Hmph... I have no food to spare for a useless admin officer. Eat hay and leave.”
“About that. I have a question... Could you tell me the reason my predecessor was driven out? I wouldn’t want to make the same mistake.”
“Don’t say a word about what I do. Then we’ll be good.”
“Understood. I hear a servant of your house is handling the paperwork... Would you like me to assist? It must be difficult for one person to handle everything from finance to taxation; I’m sure the help would be appreciated...”
“Sod off. I’ll use you however I want, whenever I want.”
At that point in the conversation, Regis felt something off. More so, Jerome’s conduct was practically ordering him to notice...
Altina, meanwhile, looked on blankly and uncomprehendingly.
“Umm... Could it be the reason my predecessor lost his seat is because his opinions on the use of military funds clashed with your own?”
“Kukukuh... Now you’re getting it. ‘Don’t use empire money on booze,’ ‘don’t gamble it away.’ He was getting noisy, so I sent him packing.”
“Dear Lord, this is embezzlement...” Regis looked to the heavens.
This was quite the daring declaration of crime. The man could even be put to death by a military tribunal.
“What’s so wrong about it? The barbarians and those Varden bastards can’t invade as long as this fort stands. The money is sent to ensure that. I should be free to use it as I please.”
He gulped his drink once again, then took a bite of the apple.
“Hey, Regis...” Altina looked at him with a confused look on her face.
“What is it?”
“Is Sir Jerome right? He’s free to do as he pleases so long as he protects the country? Is that right?”
“Naturally, the answer is non—the empire’s ministry of finance allots twenty percent of its revenue to military expenses. The money is collected as a necessity to protect the country; using it on unnecessary entertainment runs contrary to the agreement with the taxpaying citizen.”
“It’s obvious when you think about it—Sir Jerome can’t be right.”
Altina criticized him. However, he simply lifted the corners of his mouth into a cynical, menacing smile.
“Hmph, bothersome admin officer. You put up a stiff front, but in the end, you’re the same as the rest, aren’t you?”
“...What do you mean?”
“Kukukuh... Now that you’ve heard that, you’ll say, ‘Give me a cut and I’ll look the other way.’ You’re all the same, each and every one of you.” Jerome raised an uncanny laugh.
Regis found himself praying again.
“Ooh... Not only extortion, but intimidation and coercion. This is... terrible...”
“He’s lying! You would never say that, would you, Regis?” Altina directed him a worried glance.
It is often said the honest lose out, but at the moment he was glad to be an upfront person. He didn’t have to disappoint her.
“I have no interest in your corruption,” he plainly informed Jerome.
“Oh, really? You don’t want money? Kukukuh... Don’t talk nonsense. I’m sure there’s something you desire. Something money would get you.”
Regis did have his desires. Of course he did. But this and that were completely unrelated. For a moment, the price tag at the bookstore crossed his mind, but that was a weak persuasion in the situation at hand.
“...Yes, but I don’t cheat to get it. Doing so would be the same as throwing my very life away.”
“Hahahah! Scared of the little lady? Don’t worry, there’s nothing she can do.”
“Gnn...”
Altina pouted, but continued to leave things to Regis.
“It looks like you’re misunderstanding something, Sir Jerome.”
“And what would that be?”
“...It doesn’t matter who’s here. You are the watchman of your own life.”
“Hah! What are you, a priest!?”
“No, we’re talking about loss and gain—immoral deeds inevitably cause hardships and place these burdens on others. This is inexcusable, and he who intentionally gains from such misdeeds will never truly escape the guilt. No matter what luxuries are to be gained, his heart shall never see another sunny day. What a miserable life that must be...”
Jerome fell silent. Altina listened in with a serious face as Regis continued.