Anti-Regime
After the funeral, Sentinel established the Hermann Fund under the lead of Hermann's classmates. The senior knights gladly opened their wallets and donated large sums, and the biggest contributor, as expected, was Maximilian.
He donated a full ten million imperial dollars.
"Therefore, this fund will be used transparently to support knights, soldiers, and their bereaved families who have suffered harm at the hands of anti-state, anti-regime terror groups, including the Revolutionary Faction."
It was a draft statement to be submitted to Sentinel leadership and distributed to the press.
"What do you think?"
The rookie knight Mia asked Hanna Usar, who sat across from her. Hanna smiled and nodded.
"It's good. Clean and well written."
"Then... whew."
Mia lowered her gaze for a moment and murmured with a sigh.
"It still doesn't feel real. If I went to the lounge right now, I feel like he'd still be sitting there."
The death of a comrade was hard to accept.
When she had first heard the news, the shock had wiped her mind blank. Then grief and anger had come rushing in like a tidal wave. But now that a little time had passed, it all just felt dreamlike.
"Deputy Commander Kairon said it too. It's the duty of those left behind to answer their malice with our resolve."
At Hanna's words, Mia bit her lip hard and nodded.
The Revolutionary Faction. They went beyond merely threatening the Empire's order. They were vermin who destroyed civilians with twisted ideas.
Tring.
An alert rang from Mia's terminal. The sender was Yulian.
"Ah. I have a mission, so I should get going."
"Knight Yulian?"
"Yes."
Because it was a case related to Hermann, Yulian had decided to take Mia with him, since she had been close to Hermann.
"Take care. Be careful."
"Yes, ma'am."
Mia gathered the papers and headed down to the parking lot.
In front of the Order's work vehicle, which Maximilian had donated as well, Yulian stood waiting like a ghost.
"Sir Knight. Year Zero knight Mia reporting."
Yulian nodded expressionlessly and climbed into the passenger seat first. Mia got into the driver's seat, tense, and started the engine.
"Do you know where we're going?"
"Yes."
Yulian's voice always sounded parched.
It was nothing like Leon's easygoing, playful tone, and utterly different from Maximilian's presence, which made it hard even to breathe. Yulian carried a dry air all his own.
Vroooom.
The vehicle cut across the city center.
"..."
Mia kept sneaking glances at the passenger seat, bothered by the awkward silence.
"We can punish him... right?"
In the past, Hermann had collapsed because of the illegal mana stone toxin leak case.
Because of that, Hermann's older brother had pushed himself too hard trying to earn money for his treatment, and in the end had died in a Revolutionary Faction bombing.
That was why they were heading out now. Their mission was to investigate Gregory, the central noble behind the illegal synthetic mana stone leak incident.
"Probably."
In Mia's eyes, and in the eyes of nearly all the knights, Yulian was impossible to read.
He denied nothing, but neither did he affirm anything. A knight who kept himself hidden.
While she was thinking that, the vehicle entered von Kleinschmidt Street, the wealthy district in the imperial center.
"Sir Knight. We've arrived."
The two got out of the car. Count Gregory's mansion occupied an enormous plot even in this absurdly expensive area.
"Wow..."
How many years would someone have to work to live in a house like this?
While Mia was thinking that, Yulian handed his identification to the guard at the mansion. The guard nodded and opened the main gate.
Beyond it, as they walked together through a garden vast enough to feel like a lakeside estate, Yulian gave her an instruction.
"You lead this."
"Huh? Me?"
"You should learn how to deal with nobles too."
They entered the mansion. Their footsteps crossed smooth marble until they reached the drawing room.
A man in a luxurious robe was waiting there.
"...You've come."
Gregory Hohenberg. He rose smoothly and welcomed the two of them.
He was already in his mid-fifties, but his frame was lean and sharp, and he looked rather young for his age.
Maybe this was what being coated in money did to a person.
Gregory politely guided the two knights over and sat down on a soft sofa.
"What brings Sentinel here today?"
Yulian and Mia sat across from him. Sweets had been set out on a silver tray in front of them.
"Actually... let me ask you something first."
Mia began carefully.
"Are you aware of this case?"
She took out the prepared documents and clearly laid out the circumstances surrounding the old illegal synthetic mana stone leak incident.
Gregory gave a faint smile.
"Ah, yes, I know of it. It weighs on my heart as well. That incident... no one could have expected it. But wasn't it settled long ago? The appropriate punishment was carried out too."
Mia set the document down and replied.
“As the Empire’s watchers, knights have the authority to reopen any case.”
"...I see."
At the time, Gregory had dumped all the blame on one company executive, and that man had been swiftly executed. It had been a textbook case of cutting off the tail.
"To be honest, it was deeply regrettable for me as well. Because of one man's greed and lack of virtue, so many diligent employees were sacrificed..."
Gregory shook his head with a sorrowful look.
"For someone who says that, you didn't provide the victims with any proper compensation at all."
Mia shot back.
"..."
Gregory fell silent. For an instant, his jaw clenched with an audible grind, but he quickly smoothed his expression over.
"Actually, compensation... I was not the responsible party, Knight Mia. As you know, legally that executed criminal should have paid compensation, but the bastard had no assets, so..."
Gregory calmly strung those words together. Mia was dumbfounded.
He put on airs of nobility and dignity, but in the end he was just a miser.
That sort was even more irritating than the openly arrogant nobles.
"This man."
At that moment, Yulian held out a photograph.
It was Otto's... no, Hermann's photo.
"Do you remember him? One of the victims. Hermann von Berg."
"Ah, yes, I know him. I heard the news. He recovered splendidly from that incident and even became a Sentinel knight, but then those Revolutionary Faction bastards... I can't tell you how sorry I was to hear it."
Gregory looked at Otto's face and still could not distinguish him from the dead Hermann. No matter how alike the brothers were, he would not know, because he had never once gone to see the victims in person.
Mia frowned.
"Hermann wasn't the only victim. Back then, thirty-three people died. Thirty-three. Their bereaved families sent documents to our Order saying they intend to accuse and sue you."
"'You'..."
Gregory seemed bothered by the way she addressed him, but he still said,
"So that is how the bereaved families feel. Dear me. How unexpected."
He widened his eyes again as if genuinely surprised.
A manufactured expression. Underneath it lay superiority and contempt.
Yulian looked steadily at Gregory.
"That is unfortunate. Very unfortunate... But could you tell me their names?"
"Why do you want their names?"
"...Well, that's alright. I'll learn them one by one later."
Gregory looked back and forth between Yulian and Mia, then furrowed his brow slightly and crossed his legs. He let out a hot breath and rubbed hard at his eyebrows.
Then he gave a small, tired laugh and spoke.
"So, what do you plan to do now? Will Knight Mia indict me? Or will Knight Yulian?"
Gregory's gaze landed on Yulian.
“The House Askar head is doing well, I assume? I had dinner with that person just last month, in fact.”
He was throwing his connections and influence in their faces, but Yulian did not even bother to respond. He simply signaled to Mia with his eyes.
Mia spoke again.
"The knight assigned to this case isn't us. The assigned knight is away on business, so..."
"Ha, then?"
Gregory let out a short laugh. This time it was a sneer, his mask finally cast aside.
"Then why did you come here when you're not even the assigned knights? Do you really have that little to do?"
Mia pulled an official summons with a red seal from inside her coat and slid it across the table.
In the blank marked Assigned Knight was the name:
[ Maximilian von Albrecht Ebenholtz ]
"...Ah."
That signature alone drained every trace of ease from Gregory's face.
...
"A letter has arrived."
At the residence of Sebestian Ebenholtz, Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army, Engi respectfully handed over Gregory's expensively sealed letter.
"..."
Sebestian paused his review of the documents for a moment. He picked up the letter and casually ran his eyes over the contents.
It was Gregory's long, desperate plea asking him to stop Maximilian's targeted investigation.
He had written eagerly about old ties, the day they first met in noble society as children, the friendship between the previous heads of their houses, and so on.
"Pathetic."
Yet Sebestian's gaze only sank into deeper contempt. This was the sort of request he despised most.
If the bastard had been prepared to risk political conflict between their houses, Sebestian might at least have spared his life. But this kind of groveling display was simply revolting.
"What shall we do, Commander?"
Sebestian crumpled the letter. Thud. He tossed it into the trash bin and said,
"A father does not interfere in his son's affairs."
A pleased smile quietly passed through the narrow slits of Engi's eyes.
In truth, this was not the first request of its kind.
Every time Maximilian killed someone, referred someone to Knight Court, or summoned them, there were countless people who sent letters to Sebestian in one last frantic struggle.
Sebestian ignored every one of them.
Just as he had said, a father did not interfere in his son's affairs.
"...Yes. Understood."
Engi gave a light bow of the head and turned to leave, then suddenly added,
"Ah. It seems Knight Maximilian went east again today."
Sebestian kept his eyes fixed on the documents and gave no reply at all.
"It seems he is quite busy with diplomatic matters."
Still no answer. He looked uninterested, and in truth he probably was.
To Sebestian, it was only natural that the heir of Ebenholtz would act for the Empire...
* * *
I arrived in the east, in Lobrus. Since this visit was not part of any official diplomatic schedule, there was no grand honor guard review or welcoming crowd.
Even so, Zerof, the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of Lobrus, came out personally to greet me.
"It's been a while."
Zerof was one of the men newly aiming for the number two position after Yelena's house had been purged.
He did become number two in the end, but he too was fated to fail to escape the blade storm of the Great Purge.
They called that disposing of the hounds after the hunt.
...As an aside, I am different.
"It's a pleasure, Commissioner Zerof."
I smiled faintly and took Zerof's hand. He was small in build, and his grip was quite small too.
"Yes, Duke Ebenholtz. What brings you here this time?"
He was treating me not as a knight, but as an Ebenholtz.
"Tourism. I found Lobrus so charming last time that I wanted to come again."
Tourism. Zerof accepted that absurd answer with a smile and gestured toward the official car.
"Please, get in."
"Of course."
We got into the back seat. Zerof tipped the brim of his hat.
"Our first stop is Balshor Theater. Are you familiar with ballet?"
"I am."
"That's fortunate. Let us go watch it. It's quite artistic."
Zerof looked completely at ease. He likely felt certain he would become Lobrus's number two, but there would be no shortage of obstacles before he reached that seat.
It had been the same before my regression.
"Ah. I heard there was a recent incident in the Empire involving the Revolutionary Faction. A fine knight unfortunately lost his life..."
He was referring to Hermann's death. In truth, half of it was probably provocation.
So one of your proud knights was killed by something as trivial as the Revolutionary Faction.
"Yes. It was regrettable."
I wore a faint smile as well and added,
"But do not assume that the Revolutionary Faction exists only in the Empire."
"...?"
Zerof paused. He looked at me with hardened eyes.
"They hold deep dissatisfaction toward the current order. And they are spread across this entire continent. What they dream of is complete equality and a republic."
Vroooom.
The engine rumbled harshly. Sitting in an official car that felt more like a truck, I continued.
"The Eastern Alliance and Lobrus are not republics in truth either, are they?"
One-party dictatorship. A form of oppression the Revolutionary Faction hated in much the same way.
The driving force behind the Revolutionary Faction was clearly Izenheim, but the cause they pursued was equality and freedom.
That was why even the Revolutionary Faction had split into factions of its own.
"They hold a vague fantasy about a republic as a system. The moment they find an opening, they will gladly light a spark here in Lobrus as well."
Zerof nodded with a serious expression, as if he were listening closely.
"It seems this incident affected Duke Ebenholtz very deeply."
I lifted my brows slightly and changed the subject.
"I heard Yelena was purged."
"...Ah, you heard already?"
A strange kind of delight colored Zerof's face.
"Actually."
He lowered his voice and whispered conspiratorially.
"It went beyond a purge... she was shot dead while fleeing."
"Is that so?"
I put on a surprised expression as well.
"Yes. The end of a traitor."
They had failed not only to capture her, but even to kill her. Fearing reprimand, they had simply filed a false report saying she was dead.
A competition in displays of loyalty, and good news for us.
If Yelena had become someone perfectly dead, then it would be far easier to make use of her from here on.
"Hmm..."
I pressed my fingers to my brow and sighed, pretending to be troubled.
"Is there some problem?"
"I had a contract with Representative Yelena for exclusive caviar supply, so this puts me in a difficult position."
"Ah, hahaha! Do not worry, Sir Knight. I will fulfill that contract myself, properly, under my own name."
He laughed heartily and immediately offered to fill the vacancy.
"If it's Commissioner Zerof, then I can rest easy."
I played along. While we were speaking, the car arrived at a grand theater somewhere in Lobrus.
Balshor Theater. A rather famous tourist destination I had wanted to visit at least once.
"Commissioner Zerof?"
"Yes."
Before getting out of the car, though, I decided to tell him the real point first.
This place was being wiretapped anyway. The driver, the theater staff, probably almost everyone around me was one of Lobrus's vaunted secret police, or an Adversary.
"Let me tell you the real purpose of my sightseeing first."
I looked straight at Zerof.
"I heard quite a lot of Imperials have crossed over into Lobrus."
"...You mean the defectors?"
Zerof asked.
Those who had fled the Empire's oppression, or who had been driven out of the Empire and crossed eastward.
Lobrus had taken them in and used them for propaganda and attacks against the Empire.
A strange color spread across Zerof's face.
"Now."
Members of the Revolutionary Faction, or intellectuals and impure elements who had sympathized with them.
People the Empire would execute, Lobrus kept alive and used as state assets.
"It's time for a real deal, Commissioner Zerof."
I looked at him and smiled deeply.
