Chapter 10 (1/2)

‘Huh? What is this sound?’

As I turned around the corner, I suddenly heard somebody screaming and walking quickly. I craned my neck to see what happened, but I couldn’t because my view was obstructed by the wall. I felt uncomfortable, but I thought that it was not a big deal because there was no big disturbance.

***

I visited my father’s office as the captain of the knights. It was not very different from the office in my memories. Documents were stacked on a large desk. There were chairs and simple tea sets for his aides and visitors. It was a typical office.

Although I told him several times that I was okay, my father called the royal doctor as soon as he arrived at the office. When the doctor said I was okay, but I felt dizzy because I was too weak, he was relieved and went back to work.

When I noticed the mounds of documents, one thing flashed my mind.

In the past, I always handled a lot of documents in a dreamy state. If my memory was true, could I understand and deal with my father’s documents, too?

I picked up a document on his aide’s table. My father gave me a look, but didn’t care.

Contrary to my expectation that it was difficult, the thick paper was surprisingly easy to understand.

If so, are things in my memories not a dream?

Or am I dreaming now?

I looked up at my father with trembling eyes. I looked at him very briefly, but he immediately met my gaze, so I lowered my head in a hurry. Pretending to be casual, I was reading the documents. I tilted my head, thought.

Something was not correct.

“Are you sure? Huh? Oh, you’re right.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

Suddenly, the door opened wide and two men came in. One man with blazing red hair and the other man looked intelligent had green hair. I stood up at the appearance of these two familiar men.

They were Duke Lars and Duke Verita. They were the masters who taught me a lot in my dreamy memories.

“How are you, Duke Lars and Duke Verita?”

“Long time no see, lady. Did you learn everything I taught you last time? ”

Did he teach me anything last time? What did he teach me? I knew I hadn’t yet started the empress course. I was puzzled a bit, but nodded because of my faint memories.

Yes, that’s right. My empress classed started after I turned ten, but I was taught before.

When I came home to see my father, he used to tell me lots of things.

When I nodded, Duke Lars approached my father with a faint smile. I looked up instead of focusing on the document because Duke Verita was staring at me intently. He asked me, pointing to the document with interest, “Have you prepared this document?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Why did you come to this conclusion?”

“It’s because…”

What I thought was rather strange was the expenses for the meal kits for the knights. The document stated that next month some of the 2nd Knights Division would leave to inspect the border. If so, the number of knights stationed in the capital would be reduced, and the expenses of their meal kits had to be reduced proportionally, but the document didn’t reflect the necessary decrease in the original expenses. So, I searched for the last budget proposal and compared the cost of the meal kits and their cost after adjusting inflation. I found that the meal kits were being overcharged.

When I explained this in detail, Duke Veritas looked at the document carefully.

“If that’s true, I think I have to find out the man responsible for the overcharge and punish him.”

“No, you shouldn’t.”

“Why?”

“Well, he could have made a mistake. Even if he did it deliberately, I don’t think it’s right for you to punish him without finding out the exact reason.”

He nodded again and asked again, “How about calling the budget guy right now and asking for his explanation?”

“No, that is not good.”

“Why is that?”

“If he made a mistake, you could forgive him with a light warning, but if he did it on purpose, he might lie to avoid punishment. How can you determine if he is telling the truth or not by simply listening to him? If you are not tactful enough, he might feel scared and run away at your question. So you had better investigate whether he had any reason to overcharge the meal kit expenses.”

“I think your explanation makes sense.”

I didn’t know when he overheard our conversation, but Duke Lars cut in.

“So, you discovered the overcharged items to reduce costs, right? But you have to take into the cost of investigation if you follow the lady’s recommendation. Instead, call the guy responsible for the overcharges and punish him. Why should you bother about it?”

“Because we are aristocrats.”

“What does that mean?” Veritas asked back quickly.

“We are nobles serving the Emperor above while ruling 20 million people in the empire.

It is the duty of the nobles to support the empire sincerely, so he can make choices to enhance the people’s lives.”

“So what?”