Supporting Characters Also Need Some Love

CHAPTER 5: HERE, NOW, AND YOU (XXII)

Part 118

 

Remina sentenced quickly without even looking at Galleon.

 

“Galleon Aachen, criminals and the Galleon family are permanently expelled from Midok. No one with the Galleon surname will be able to cross the Midok border for any reason. The duchy and all property will be confiscated, and all taxes will be paid faithfully. Live as a commoner of Lorentine.”

 

As soon as Remina finished speaking, Galleon fell down on her side, crying, and began to beg. The death of the last head of the ducal family that had supported Laurentyne for 400 years was gruesome, but no one in the court felt sorry. Remina could only look down at the stumbling Galleon with her cold eyes.

 

“Princess, no, Your Highness. I was blinded for a moment and had a dream. But, Your Highness, even so, you are too harsh. The Duke of Galleon has worked hard for Laurentine for 400 years. A mistake like this can overturn the family division. Please, please reconsider.”

 

“It was you, not me, who overthrew the duke. It is not that the judgment was harsh, but that your greed was foolish and unruly. You stood behind those who tried to swallow up the royal family established by your ancestors, and you will be punished for it. You must take your life. Consider it fortunate that you are still hanging after committing such a mortal sin.”

 

“But your highness!”

 

“Take it with you!”

 

As Gallion was leaving the court, he desperately called out to Lemina, but she turned her head away. Her mouth was bitter. She would think of her uncle’s cries again and again, but that too was something she had to endure. Next to enter the court was Homer. He was the last criminal in a long trial that lasted a week. Damian, who had been sitting there frowning, lifted himself from the backrest and straightened his posture. As he clenched his fists due to his nervousness, Adrian placed his hand on top of his hand. This time too, Remina sentenced without delay.

 

“Royalty assassination should be unconditionally punishable by death, but I accept Duke Bigor’s opinion expressed in the previous argument. I also acknowledge that, according to the Laurentian tradition, the command system in wartime follows military orders regardless of rank. Tyrellius was a criminal who led the battle to defeat and dragged the enemy into Midoc, and Duke Bigor, who had actual command of the entire army, had the right to execute him. The duke claimed that he was only acting on behalf of the duke. The punishment is reduced accordingly.”

 

Homer exhaled and bowed his head to express his gratitude to Remina for her generosity. But when she heard the sentence that followed the next moment, her face stiffened.

 

“He is deprived of his rank as magistrate of the first class and expelled from Midok for three years from the next season.”

 

Damian tightened his grip and looked up at Adrian. He persuaded him to leave and brought him to Midoc, which would have been tantamount to driving Homer out, who had barely come to his senses. Everything was the fault of the beaks who had colluded with Taln and started the war. Homer was the first to recognize signs of rebellion and worked harder than anyone else to prevent it. As Damian was stamping her foot in frustration, Remina opened her mouth again.

 

“And, I have something more to say to you. Homer, in recognition of the loyalty and merit you have shown over the past 15 years as administrator of the Ministry of Finance and head of the royal inspection agency, I will return to you what the king promised. I am reinstating the title of Count Zeb. However, since it has been a long time since the County of Beelzeb changed to Viscounty of Gorgen, I am giving a new fiefdom. Coincidentally, today, a fiefdom that lost its owner was created. What is it like there, Count?”

 

Seeing Remina looking at him with her smile, Homer could not say anything and just looked up at her for a long time with her blank face. Everyone knew that what Lemina was talking about was the Duchy of Galleon. It was the center of the south, bordering a wide and rich plain. It was unclear how the territory residents who had been demoted from the duchy would view the new official, and there was a high possibility that many of the vassals who served the Galleon family would rebel. However, given the three years he had, it was worth a try. He was frustrated that he had lost his entire family, his heart had lost a place to go, and now he had no place to stay, so his personal fiefdom was given to him. Homer bowed his head deeply towards Remina.

 

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

 

Her voice trembled.

 

* * *

 

Today was her first day at work as the head of the Inspection Department, a new department in the Ministry of Finance. Last week, she met all ten members who had been recommended by Tina, and she kept her housekeeping room tidy all weekend. She was worried about whether it would be okay for the duchy’s butler to go and decorate the couple’s official residence, but when she saw Jenny accompanying me with excitement, she just left it alone. Whatever you put in your small office, okay? She arrived at the couple’s residence in the same carriage as Adrian. She got down with a pounding heart, but Adrian was still empty-handed. No, it’s not exactly what she wanted, but you said you were going to give me flowers, so why are you pretending not to know? The human heart was so deceitful. It was not long ago that I felt burdened by Adrian, who always took excessive care of her. What was that bouquet of flowers?

 

She pouted her lips out of frustration, but Adrian held out his hand with a smile on his face.

 

“I can go alone.”

 

“Today is an important day, so I will escort you to the front door.”

 

He didn’t give her a single flower on that important day, so she pretended not to notice and held his hand because she couldn’t complain. Adrian chuckled and led me to the front of the official residence. As she left the carriage waiting area and walked towards the couple’s official residence in front of the small garden, something strange occurred. The garden definitely didn’t look like this last week, did it? The numbers-crazed wealth administrators clearly showed that they had no interest in landscaping. The simple garden consisted of only a few unidentifiable rocks and a few trees that did not fit in at all. But now, it’s not a garden, but a flower garden? Flower buds standing at the same height, green bushes with cute red flowers, and even colorful flowers blooming together. It finally looks like a garden now. What could she do? The wind was quite chilly now, so how did it bloom so beautifully? Who on earth decorates it so pretty… really?

 

She looked up at Adrian with a shocked face, and a flower-like smile bloomed on Adrian’s face. He laughed and said as she opened her mouth and pointed her finger alternately at the garden and Adrian’s face.

 

“It will become even more vibrant in the spring.”

 

‘Hehe, look at the scale of this man’s bouquet to celebrate his appointment. I said it was too much, but now he has completely turned the garden of a public institution upside down. Oh, wait a minute, why do the corners of my mouth go up arbitrarily?’

 

It’s a big deal. Since she kept receiving things that beat her expectations like this, her senses started to feel strange, and if Adrian just gives her a flower next time, would this flower talk? She tried to convince herself that this was not something she would like, but she failed. Pretty things were pretty, and happy things were happy, she said, hugging Adrian’s side and rubbing his face.

 

“Thank you, Adrian. I can go to work every day feeling like I’m receiving flowers as a gift.”

 

“I’m happy because you’re happy.”

 

Adrian lowered his lips to her forehead, smiled brightly and waved his hand. Unfortunately, she turned around and crossed the entrance to the official residence, where Homer was standing crookedly holding a very large bouquet of flowers.

 

“The duke seems to be forgetting the truth more and more.”

 

She just smiled as she received a bouquet of flowers from his hand that couldn’t even be held in one arm. Although it was not for her to say, she completely agree with Homer.

 

“Thank you, Homer, no, Count Beelzebbe, you have a pretty bouquet.”

 

“I’m even more embarrassed when you praise me. And Damian, I like Homer.”

 

“Hehe, I’m more used to it that way too.”

 

“It’s a new department, so there will be a lot of hard work. I would have helped if I could have stayed, but it’s a shame.”

 

“Count, you need to work hard to manage your estate. I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Are you going to see the princess’s coronation ceremony?”

 

“Yes, because we have been deported since winter.”

 

“Think of it as a vacation.”

 

“Actually, I think so too.”

 

Homer smiled brightly as he spoke. Not a friendly Homeric fake smile, not a masked, blurry smile, but a wonderful smile that made his hair, his eyes, and his whole face sparkle. His smile was so bright that it made her heart race, so naturally she laughed along with him. After sending Homer away, she opened the door with the name ‘Inspection Department’ on it and entered the teacher’s office. Senior Tina and the ten administrators who were sitting in the fairly spacious teacher’s office stood up at once and greeted me.

 

“Congratulations, Manager.”

 

Wow, what should I do in times like this? Hehe, everyone, let’s get to work. What’s going on?

 

She smiled awkwardly and nodded in both directions as she crossed the office and entered her office. She thought she needed to practice receiving greetings as well. She took a deep breath, raised her head, and thought, heh, heh, she was so dumbfounded that she thought it would be a big deal if she brought something into the small housekeeper’s room. Reflect on the person she was a little while ago.

 

Ethan and Jenny brought a ‘small office’.

 

It looks like the person has also been changed, how about it? It looks like they added a new window, but no, they just expanded the window. They say green is the same color, or they are grouped together. No, there’s nothing to criticize Ethan about. The stylish wooden sofa has a rabbit carved into the end of the armrest. A rabbit was also embossed on the tip of the fountain pen that was neatly placed on the luxurious desk. Jenny graduated when she was eleven. As she was holding her head, she heard a knocking sound from behind her.

 

Knock, knock.

 

This was not the time. Since this is your first day on the job, you must show your dignity as a manager. She sat down on a chair with thick cushions and answered solemnly.

 

“Yes, please come in.”

 

She picked up a fountain pen, wondering if she should show herself working, but there was a rabbit in this fountain pen! The minutes opened without any time to put it down. And Tina saw her holding a rabbit tightly in her hand. Senior Tina, who came in carrying documents with a nonchalant expression, placed a bundle of documents in front of me, and I looked at them. She saw the corner of her mouth twitch.

 

“Director of the Inspection Department, shouldn’t our department be responsible for inspecting the collection and use of national treasury in the future? I brought some of the documents that I had gathered because I was suspicious while working in the Executive Department. Please check them and specify the areas to investigate.”

 

“Yes, I will tell you after checking.”

 

After Tina left, she opened the document on top of the ‘some’ pile of documents. It was a data that summarized the budget usage status of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Health and Welfare for several years. As she was flipping through each page, she thought, look at this? The amount of budget spent since the year before last was very strange. She marked the doubtful part and was about to move on to the next chapter when she realized this. This fountain pen has a good grip. Besides, this chair and desk, aside from being ridiculously fancy, the height was just right for her height. Well, then, what did appearance matter? All that matters was practicality. It’s nice that the windows were wide, and she could clearly see the flower garden that Adrian made for her. When she sat down, the sofa was very comfortable. Besides, she could definitely feel Jenny’s touch. This was what happens when someone who completely understood how she moved prepares something for her. She needed paper, so she opened the drawer and there was paper there. She just opened the box on the desk to find the pen, and there it was.

 

She asked if she wanted anything to drink, so I turned to the left and there was a tea pot. For some reason, she opened the drawer and there were cookies. Long live Jenny.

 

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Translator Note: