Page 169

Up until now, my routine at the academy had been straightforward. My mornings began with an early rise and breakfast, then off to the club room to ease into the day before casually heading to the Vice President’s office to spend time with Marghetta.

After that, the rest of my day was spent leisurely waiting for club activities. It was a rather peaceful and relaxed routine unless an unexpected event popped up.

“The Adume clan and the Gariltio clan were rivals, constantly clashing over the leadership of the Ranka tribe. They might have restrained themselves in front of Kagan, but they were quite chaotic behind the scenes.”

“Oh, I see!”

A new addition to that simple routine was the exciting and heart-pounding discussion sessions with Gerhardt.

Technically, it was more of a one-sided information sharing, but the positive reaction from the listener made it exciting for me as well. It would be disappointing to receive an indifferent response after all that effort, but such a situation was unlikely since the one who initiated it was Gerhardt.

“Please have some food while you talk.”

“Thank you, I will.”

“Thank you, Christina.”

While we were deep in discussion, Christina laid out some snacks on the desk.

Although being a master’s student meant that she had a gloomy expression as her default, her voice sounded oddly cheerful.

‘I’m glad she’s happy.’

My minimal sense of human conscience kicked in. If I hadn’t managed to exchange the thesis for something better, that master’s student might have been devastated. It felt like I had saved a life.

Honestly, if I had given up on this life, I wouldn’t have to worry about such threats. But I couldn’t really say much since it was their chosen path.

“How’s your thesis coming along?”

“It’s doing great! It’s all thanks to you, Prosecutor!”

“I didn’t write it, so there’s no need to thank me.”

Her enthusiastic response made me chuckle. Christina was the one rewriting the perfectly good thesis I trashed, so it felt awkward to receive her gratitude. I did extend the deadline for it, but that was just turning a minus into zero.

I knew the frustration and anger that came with having to rewrite a thesis. I wrote my undergraduate thesis, after all. The anger when something went wrong with a thesis that everyone else seemed to pass was uncontrollable, let alone a master’s thesis.

“Feel free to ask me anything if you run into problems. I’m here every day, so it’s the least I can do.”

“Haha. Having you here is more than enough, Prosecutor.”

Gerhardt laughed in response to my words, but he didn’t discourage me. More knowledge spilled the more Christina asked, so he probably wouldn’t want to stop her.

‘Is this common among scholars?’

I wonder if all scholars were this passionate, or if Gerhardt was just exceptionally outstanding.

Considering his determination to delve into the severely resource-lacking study of the North, it seemed like the latter. To exert one’s talent in such a niche area surely required abilities surpassing the average.

‘Why isn’t someone like this in the administration?’

Suddenly, I was overwhelmed with a deep sense of regret. While academy instructors were technically civil servants, they weren’t civil servants who were involved in the administration.

Such ability, such passion. It should only be right for them to serve in the administration for the empire. What a pity.

***

That night, I received a call from the Minister.

“What?”

I flinched for a moment. I’ve often heard phrases like ‘What the hell are you doing right now?’ when big trouble arose, so I instinctively tensed up.

But after calming down, I realized that it was a genuine inquiry. Even his expression seemed gentle. He was definitely not angry.

“I’m doing well, as always. I wish every day could be like this.”

“Not at all. From today, my dream is to be the king of thieves.”

And damn, I should at least be entitled to a pension from the empire even if I stopped working now, if only for all the rolling around I’ve done.

The Minister chuckled, perhaps not intending to tease. If he could have become a salary thief, he would have done it long ago.

After laughing for a while, the minister broached the main subject.

“Ah, are you talking about that?”

I wondered why he was suddenly contacting me, but then I realized that it was because he had heard something.

The circles within the civil service grew tighter the higher up one went. The head of the Compilation Department would have spoken to the Minister of Education, and the Minister of Education would have passed it on to the Minister.

They probably didn’t do it with any particular intention; perhaps it was just something that came up as a topic of conversation amidst the routine bustle of work. After all, I’ve been in that situation myself.

“There’s an assistant teacher at the academy. I just asked for a delay in receiving that person’s thesis.”

The Minister was in a hurry to get an answer as usual. He’d probably hurry off elsewhere just as quickly.

Though I occasionally wished for his sudden departure, it would actually be problematic if it happened. That bastard of a Crown Prince was just waiting for his chance to step in and place me in the Minister position once it became vacant.

“That’s because…”

Anyway, I went on to explain the snowball effect in detail. How it started when I casually dropped a hint while the kids were studying, leading to the teacher visiting me. Since I had nothing much to do and thought that spreading information about the North would be beneficial, I decided to offer them advice.

And how I ended up pushing a fragile master’s student into the abyss with just a few words, therefore creating another academy legend.

“How could I overlook that as a human being?”

Only those who felt no guilt about it should cast stones at me.

See? Even the Minister couldn’t bring himself to cast a stone and simply sighed softly.

But after a moment of silence, the minister seemed to recall something and asked.

“Christina.”

I hadn’t asked about that.

When nobles introduced themselves, sharing their last name was normally standard protocol to at least acknowledge which family they belonged to.

However, my first meeting with Christina was far from normal, so I still didn’t know her last name.

“I don’t know.”

After a natural pause, the minister continued while stroking his chin.

“…Excuse me?”

The unexpected revelation took me by surprise.

***

The shock from yesterday had me reeling. I can’t believe that the master’s student I had unwittingly doomed turned out to be the niece of my direct superior.

“There’s a saying about the Rebel (Kagan) having eight war horses. It’s a rare record from the Gar tribe, but I couldn’t figure out what those war horses referred to.”

Gerhardt thankfully kept the conversation going, which helped me stay grounded.

“It’s not a reference to actual horses. It refers to the eight most powerful individuals under the Rebel’s command.”

I started writing down names on paper. The eight war horses under Kagan’s command, roughly referred to as the Eight War Machines, were known for their formidable prowess.

There were instances where they were defeated one by one, barely managed to be subdued by grouped subjugations, and even some that managed to escape alive.

“The Eight War Machines are Chauzid Solr Ure, Sarei Dobra Tala, Udesr Zairug, Ranka Adume Kirytai, Zalyr Mog Karial, Mog Timuen, Ordo Kuman Ilay…”

Without Kagan, these monsters would likely have been known as Khans in their own right, ruling over their territories. It was a challenge to keep these formidable beings in check even when all our efforts and resources were focused on Kagan.

“…And Udesur Dorgon. That makes eight of them.”

He was the only one of the Eight War Machines to have survived. And he wasn’t just any survivor; he was Kagan’s own son.

His lineage and abilities were the ultimate, to the extent that Kagan entrusted him with the leadership of Kesik.

‘It’s infuriating to think about.’

This was the reason why the empire still couldn’t look away from the North. After all, the most troublesome of them was still alive.

I managed to suppress a sigh, turning my attention from the paper to Gerhardt. His eager eyes somehow made me feel a bit more at ease.

It was strange. In the North, it was a name one would curse in their dreams. But now that they were dead, it had become a name that he could listen to fondly. Was this what they meant when they said people left their names behind after death?

‘So these are things that find their worth in death.’

May it serve as fertilizer for the growth of the empire’s scholars.

“Thank you so much. It would have taken me years to figure this out on my own…”

I smiled awkwardly at Gerhardt’s bowing figure.

Give him one piece of advice, and he thanks you right away; share two, and he thanks you four times. While it was polite, it was also worryingly excessive.

‘Better than having none, I guess.’

Trying to think positively, I then turned my attention to Christina.

Those were the words the Minister said yesterday. The name Christina, the job as an assistant teacher, and a field of study with little practical use.

With all these details matching, there was no need for further investigation. Even if I didn’t know her last name, it was obviously her if all the facts fitted.

“Miss Christina?”

“Oh, yes!”

Christina, who had been busily writing something, hurriedly looked up.

“It’s embarrassing, but we haven’t properly introduced ourselves.”

“Oh, ah…!”

Realization seemed to dawn on Christina that this was our first proper greeting as she nodded repeatedly.

“I’m Christina Iris!”

‘That’s right.’

I was correct. That was the last name used by the minister’s wife before their marriage.

I had inadvertently insulted the minister’s niece… I see…

‘This is driving me insane.’

And from that day onwards, I began to offer more enthusiastic advice to Gerhardt and Christina.

Honestly, I might not have paid much attention if it were just some distant relative of the Minister. But the fact that it was his wife’s niece changed everything.

Considering how different the minister and his wife were, it was almost puzzling how they ended up together. However, she was such a good person.

Damn. How did I get so entangled in this situation?