CH 46

I was in the middle of a meeting with Sir Edmund Rustico, the leader of the Knights of the House of Scala.

He is in his early forties, blond-haired and blue-eyed, and has the image of a fearless and virtuous knight.

He must have been quite popular when he was young.

And beside me, for some reason, was Kiara.

“Please let me study next to you to see how you do it so I can learn from you, Brother.”

She insisted and sat next to me.

Since returning home, she has been near me for various reasons.

It’s hard to argue with her when she says, “You were away for six months, after all”.

In the end, I am at her mercy.

Anyway ……

I’ve met Edmund a few times, but this is the first time I’ve had a real conversation with him.

My impression of him is that he’s sincere and dependable.

But what about the other way around?

At best, he’s a harmless weirdo.

Even before my memory came back, I was already regarded as the biggest weirdo in the house.

The presence or absence of memory did not seem to affect my personality.

Edmund looked dubious at my suggestion that he thought I was a freak.

“Young Master Alfredo. What did you say?”

“It’s the selection of knights to accompany me on my new development. Please recommend a knight who is not in the mainstream, but who has the trust of his men.”

Edmund will treat me as his lord’s son even if I’m a freak.

If I say something outrageous, he only raises an eyebrow.

“I was going to send about thirty of my best men to accompany you, Lord Alfred. At least it won’t be as safe as the pilgrimage route. If anything were to happen to the young master, I would not be able to face the Lord. This is a dangerous development in a remote area. And I heard that you are going there yourself. You said you want me to recommend a knight who is not mainstream, which means that it’s a knight who is not given important duties. They are, so to speak, malcontents. When they’re out of my sight, they may even direct their daily frustrations at the young master.”

I don’t know how to persuade him, because it’s just a common sense argument.

I scratched my head.

“I’m sure they will If I act arrogant and conceited and neglect them.”

“The malcontents would be the ones who served the converted lord. Such people will take advantage of you if you are weak. And if you take a strong stand, you’ll be what you just said.”

Edmund is a very capable man with a broad perspective.

He is the elite of the elite, but he is not a narrow-minded person.

But even such a person can fall into some holes without realizing it.

It is the unintentional underestimation of those who are out of the mainstream.

“If they are irredeemable malcontents …… so be it. But what if it is someone who is not just pandering to his subordinates, but someone who is truly respected and under his command?”

“I wonder if there’s someone like that. Once a knight has sworn an oath, he must never stray from the path. Young Master is kind. But that kindness may not always be the right thing to do.”

I guess it’s not that easy.

As I was searching for words, Edmund’s expression changed.

“What is the reason for wanting to be a knight of the side? This is a project led by Alfred-sama. Failure is not allowed. If you fail the first time, you will face difficulties in the rest of your life.”

Instead of confronting me head-on, you’re trying to persuade me to change my mind from another angle.

On the contrary, this might be a breakthrough in persuasion.

It’s lucky that at least he doesn’t deny it outright.

But I guess I can’t just say it outright.

Let’s try a different approach.

“I have no intention of failing. If I fail, I’ll just be labeled as incompetent. It’ll just turn the current freak into an incompetent, it won’t make much difference.”

Edmund raised an eyebrow.

“With all due respect …… As a long-time servant of the Scala family, the young master’s failure is a disgrace to us all.”

I guess he saw my attitude as too light.

Edmund’s face became a little reproachful.

“It is a project recommended by the royal family. And we are told that we will be living in uncharted territory. It’s easy to imagine unforeseen circumstances. So we should take all possible precautions and assign our best men. Then, our security is unassailable.”

You’ve finally given me a clue.

It’s quite a tightrope walk, isn’t it?

I’ve been walking a tightrope since yesterday ……

“Sir Rustico. There will be a change in the order of the Knights. Do you think the thieves lurking in our territory will take kindly to this?”

Edmund’s face turned grim.

It was as if he had been hit with a sore spot.

I’m finally on a level where I can persuade them.

“I regret to say that I cannot deny it. But still, it is my duty as a knight to maintain the peace.”

I’m not going to let you off the hook so easily.

I won’t be able to persuade him if he escapes here.

“The knights are exquisitely placed at the moment. So the thieves can’t get out of their holes. However, with the development of the frontier, the knights were rearranged. This is a case where the peace is disturbed as a result. How do you think the affected people will feel?”

Edmund shook his head with an expression as if to say, ‘What are you worried about?”

“The people always complain. Never mind that, the young master’s success is more important than that. Above all, please consider your own position and weight.”

“That’s the point. The people are not interested in the development of a distant and unknown land.”

“You are right. You can’t do anything if you are concerned about the feelings of your people. Do you really want the people to understand that you are making a political decision to develop the frontier?”

I’ve managed to make him stay in the ring.

We need to draw him in a little more ……

“The damage done, the frustration of the people will be …… greater than usual. They want us to protect them rather than develop strange lands. They will even think that the third son has taken the knight for fun.”

I guess he thought I was too weak-minded to care only about the people.

Edmund looked at me as if he was going to ask me a question.

“If you don’t mind me saying, you seem to be too gentle …… and too weak. How is it that you are so concerned about the minor complaints of the people? Even when they don’t have anything to complain about, they will find something to complain about.”

There was nothing wrong with that opinion, though.

Even before my reincarnation, people wanted news.

In peaceful Japan, the choice of news was so ridiculous.

Kiara’s face goes blank as she senses I’m being accused.

Oh, you’re angry.

Keep it down ……

We can’t move forward if I can’t convince him with this.

He has put his body on the line for years to protect us.

I think we should give him the respect he deserves.

I think It’s time for me to play the only card I’ve got.

“In fact, there will be a major consolidation of the administrative structure.”

Edmund’s face became surprised.

It’s because I had given him some unpublished information.

“Oh! At last …… I’m very happy to hear that. But it hasn’t been announced yet. Are you sure you can tell me about it?”

After all, it seems that everyone is expecting a reform of the administrative structure.

It seems that he’s more concerned about what I had leaked beforehand.

If you leak unpublished information without permission, your reputation will be greatly damaged.

At worst, he would never be trusted again.

But it’s the only card I can play on him.

“Sir Rustico has protected our family for many years. I think I need to show the right attitude to persuade you. However, as I have no achievements …… this is the only way I can show my gratitude and trust.”

I entrusted Edmund with a weapon that could have been fatal to me.

It’s the only way to live in an aristocratic society.

The timing of this card is important.

If I make a mistake, my reputation will be confirmed as just a chatty young master.

It will end up as a simple act of self-destruction.

This time, I’m sure I’ve got the timing right.

It seems that Edmund, who lives only in that world, has understood my gratitude and trust.

Edmund lets out a small gasp.

He straightens his back and looks at me with serious eyes.

The insulting attitude he had just shown me was gone.

Now I can finally proceed with the conversation.

Still, it’s okay, he wouldn’t be so adamant now.

“I think this will cause some confusion in the administration for a while.”

“I’m sure it will.”

I leaned forward slightly.

“At a time like that. What would happen if the Knight Order’s deployment was also changed? Won’t there be a delay in the response much more?”

Contacting the knights will also delayed.

There is a possibility that they won’t know of shortest distance because of the change in deployment.

The response will be delayed even more than usual.

After a moment of silence, Edmund’s face became regretful.

“I’m afraid you’re right.”

“This is bound to happen. We’re going to make some major changes in our administrative structure, so our security needs to stay the same.”

“Hmmm ……. Why do you think so much about your people? I’d like to hear about this.”

It seems to have become a genuine question.

This will help me decide.

“If we’re not careful, a riot could break out. If there are people who are hitting on you, it’s even worse. We are a great aristocrat family. We will inevitably have many hidden enemies. There will be a lot of people who will be happy to drag us down whenever they can.”

He seemed to have noticed.

Edmund’s gaze sharpened.

“I’m sure that not only the royal family will want to pull us down, but other families as well. It’s sad to say. I understand the preservation of the elite. I also understand about not rearranging the main positions. I have one question. You are now simultaneously carrying out administrative reform and frontier development. It seems to me that you are crossing a dangerous bridge.”

“The reason is that there is no time left for administrative reform. My brothers are exhausted. Yet, amazingly, they are doing it without making any mistakes. But I think they are at their limits. When that happens, one blunder will lead to another ……. It will give the royal family a good reason to reduce the size of the family or to change the name of the family. In the case of frontier development, there will be little time to wait out the Royalists’ urging. If we don’t take the initiative and move now, we won’t make it in time.”

If they started to move after receiving the ultimatum, we might be interfered in many ways.

That’s the direction in which it will fail.

That’s why we need to take the initiative.

Edmund sighs and looks up to the sky.

“So we didn’t cross the bridge intentionally, but we had to cross it because the fire was imminent. Was our family in that much danger? I hadn’t realized it until now.”

“I suppose that can’t be helped. That’s how elaborate a trap the royal family had set for us.”

“You noticed that? …… I’m surprised. While I’m surprised, I’d like to ask you one more question. The reason why you want a knight who is not mainstream, but a knight who is respected by his subordinates. I would like to know this. In fact, isn’t there someone you have your heart set on?”

The feeling of being underestimated as a young man completely disappeared, and he began to actively listen to me.

Thank goodness.

I can only use it if I can be sincere.

“I don’t know. What’s important here is that he’s the one that Sir Rustico recommended.”

If you jump over the top of the knight order and nominate a knight who is being treated poorly, you will be selected.

However, one problem arises.

In case that person is successful, they will be criticized for their lack of judgment saying, “What are the people at the top doing? He’s really not a good judge of character”.

Worst of all, there will be those who will drag him down.

There is no good in jumping over the top and stirring up the personnel situation.

The power structure should be respected as much as possible.

Otherwise, unnecessary conflicts will arise when cooperative operations are needed.

If you are an apostle, you can push your way through with absolute justice …… That’s fine, though.

I don’t mind making enemies if I have to.

Making enemies when you don’t need to is just plain stupidity.

Edmund knew what we were trying to do and nodded with a serious look in his eyes.

“I understand. I’m really surprised. You’ve just come of age …… haven’t you, Young Master Alfred? Are you sure you are sixteen?”

Why the question?