Episode 39

It seemed like he had been thinking hard for the past two days.

“Speak, Marquis of Senwood.”

“Since it’s the Royal Guard, wouldn’t it be better to form a special unit with knights rather than just filling numbers with regular soldiers?”

“A special unit…”

“We, the Senwood family, will support 200 knights from our knight order. We can recruit additional personnel to form a Royal Guard of about a thousand knights.”

“Two hundred knights mean you’re offering most of the Senwood knights, aren’t you?”

“Yes. Isn’t Your Majesty’s safety more important than our family’s security? Please understand my sincerity!”

The Marquis of Senwood declared solemnly, bowing his head.

Honestly, I was impressed. He had used his brain quite well.

It wasn’t a force to be mobilized in a numbers-important war, so the Marquis’ suggestion made sense.

Quality over quantity, right? And it would also significantly reduce the needed funds.

Most importantly, his intention was obvious in offering 200 knights from his order.

He wanted to be appointed commander of the Royal Guard.

After giving money and knights, it would be awkward to nominate someone else.

If someone else were appointed, the knights from the Senwood family might rebel within the Royal Guard.

A thousand knights formed a powerful force that could be very useful, but if they couldn’t be controlled, they’d be worse than useless.

I was about to politely decline, saying we didn’t need a Royal Guard, despite his intentions.

At that moment, Lian clapped his hands and stood up.

“Well, well. I’m touched by the Marquis of Senwood’s loyalty.”

All eyes turned to Lian, and the Marquis of Senwood looked up with an uneasy expression.

Lian smiled brightly, looked around, and then turned to me, bowing theatrically.

“How can I remain silent about the Emperor’s safety? The Zernia family will provide 300 knights from our knight order.”

So, the rumor of the Zernia family having 5,000 private soldiers wasn’t baseless?

The 200 knights from the Marquis of Senwood were already a surprising number, but 300 knights from a noble family?

Just combining these two families gave us 500 knights.

There were only two explanations: either there was a flaw in the Belpator Empire’s knight appointment system, or these two families were planning a rebellion.

As someone from a small kingdom, this scale was unimaginable.

A fierce stare-down ensued between the loyal Lian and the Marquis of Senwood, and another noble, observing the situation, slowly stood up.

It was Marquis Wolffs, who had supported the deposed queen’s proposal along with the Marquis of Senwood.

“The Wolffs family will also provide 50 knights.”

Following suit, another noble who had sided with the deposed queen stood up and offered knights from their family.

As five nobles stood up in unison, the atmosphere in the meeting room took an odd turn.

Under the pressure that not offering knights seemed disloyal to the Empire, one by one, the nobles offered their knights, until all the nobles around the round table were standing.

“That makes 820 knights. Duke Zernia, did I count correctly?”

“Precisely, Your Majesty.”

“We will recruit the remaining 180 knights through public announcements. Your loyalty is well noted. With such concern for me and the royal family, Belpator will surely be at peace.”

The nobles, realizing what they had done, exchanged uneasy glances before bowing their heads.

I slowly stood up and declared to the loyal nobles.

“We will appoint a commander for the Royal Guard who is not associated with any noble family. That would be fair.”

The nobles, who had collectively offered their knights, were silent, and I left the meeting room feeling relieved.

Lian followed me out, smiling brightly.

Walking alongside me in the sunlit corridor, he glanced at my face, chuckled, and repeated this several times.

“If you have something to say, just say it, Duke Lian. Don’t laugh like a madman.”

“Congratulations, Your Majesty. You’ve achieved the great task of abolishing private soldiers, which was the late Emperor’s dream.”

I didn’t want to achieve such a grand task. And it wasn’t even my achievement.

I stayed still, and the nobles offered up their knight orders on their own.

Although it seemed that the other nobles didn’t offer their entire knight orders, it was clear that the Senwood Marquisate and the Zernia Dukedom’s knight orders were effectively disbanded.

The Marquis of Senwood, having lost both money and his knights, would be in for a scolding from Bonita today.

Not that it mattered to me.

But, Lian also donated his entire knight order. Why does he look so pleased?

“The scale of private soldiers in noble families does seem excessively large. You yourself offered 300 knights.”

“I grew my knight order to keep other families’ private soldiers in check. With a limit on how much power one can hold, they focus on increasing their wealth and soldiers.”

Lian shrugged.

Apart from the untouchable imperial power, the pinnacle of authority in the Belpator Empire belonged to the three beasts.

Nobles couldn’t encroach on the beasts’ domains, so they expanded their influence in other areas.

From the outside, it appeared as a mighty empire, but from the inside, as the Empress, I saw that the Belpator Empire was functioning on a rather abnormal system.

The existence of the beasts made this possible.

A double-edged sword.

There’s no better term to describe the beasts.

Among the three swords that could protect or destroy Belpator, the most dangerous and beautiful sword smiled at me.

“I’ll draft a budget for the Royal Guard that will make the Marquis of Senwood’s eyes pop out.”

“Duke Lian, do you have a personal grudge against the Marquis of Senwood?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because you seem so happy about making his eyes pop out.”

“How can it not be delightful to pluck the eyes of someone who tried to use Your Majesty’s safety as a bargaining chip?”

I wish he wouldn’t talk about plucking people’s eyes with such a pretty smile.

And why pluck the Marquis’ eyes in the first place?

The snake has a talent for leading conversations in strange directions, so I always have to stay alert.

“Don’t pluck them.”

“Whether they pop out or are plucked, what’s the difference?”

“Don’t touch the Marquis’ eyes and just bring me the budget.”

“As Your Majesty commands.”

“And also shortlist a few candidates for the Royal Guard commander whom all the nobles can agree on.”

“It’s best to let them choose themselves.”

“Choose? Choose what?”

I stopped walking and glared at Lian, who seemed to have developed a taste for selecting things. He looked at me for about three seconds and then laughed.

After a dry snort that sounded like a sneer, his usual bright, fake smile followed, but it was the first time I’d seen him laugh like that.

No matter how he laughed, he always looked dangerous.

Lian, oblivious to my admiration for his remarkable talent, kindly explained.

“If an external commander is appointed, there will inevitably be some resistance. It’s better to choose the strongest among them as the commander.”

“Are you suggesting they fight it out among themselves?”

“For them to establish a hierarchy and solidarity, they need to determine their ranks.”

Lian explained calmly, but I couldn’t quite accept it.

There was no way the knights would determine superiority by rock-paper-scissors.

And being the Royal Guard commander required more than just physical strength. The position needed to be carefully considered.

“But Duke Lian, they’re not animals picking a leader. Isn’t that too…”

“Do you think humans are different?”

With a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, the one called a beast in human form asked.

I didn’t understand the intent of his question.

Was he criticizing humans from a beast’s perspective, or was he mocking the human nature that’s no different from animals?

Just like the dog. I can’t figure out how their sense of identity formed. Anyway, it’s clear they’re not normal.

“We should be different. At least we should try to be, since we’re human.”

Lian didn’t respond and just looked at me with a strange expression. I sighed and continued.

“But you know more about the knights than I do. I’ll follow your opinion on selecting the Royal Guard commander.”

“You truly are an interesting person, Your Majesty.”

I couldn’t tell if he was teasing or complimenting me, but he smiled broadly, and I started walking again.

I had no idea what he found interesting in our conversation, and I wasn’t particularly keen on understanding the humor points of an emotionless but efficient snake.