Chapter 36 - 36 Dragon Wing Medal
Cyril, having witnessed the marriage of Matilda and Jasper, declared that he too would marry Aila. Since this was exactly as Brian had planned, House Archibalt had no reason to oppose it.
However, they didn't know how Cyril's family, House Earhart, would react to their son marrying a commoner.
Since Steve was going to teleport the members of House Archibalt, Christina, and the retainers Cody and Bella to the Royal Capital to participate in the victory ceremony, it was decided that Cyril and Aila would also go to the Royal Capital to seek marriage permission from Cyril's parents, who were staying there for the ceremony.
Incidentally, their place of stay in the Royal Capital was Baron Benson's townhouse. Aurora had handed over the townhouse, which no longer had a master, to Brian, noting that his stays in the Royal Capital would likely increase with his promotion in rank.
Aila was taken by Abigail to a clothing store exclusive to nobles to buy an outfit and was drilled in the minimum required etiquette. However, she herself was stiff with tension, wondering what the Marquess and his wife would say to her.
「W-Will it be alright, Madam? What if they say my status is too low?」
「It will be fine. We can have you become our adopted daughter before the marriage to give you the title of a member of a noble house.」
「Yes...」
Even though Abigail told her it would be fine, Aila's tension didn't melt away. Cyril also called out to her, saying it would be okay. Sherry, watching the scene, gave Aila some lighthearted advice.
「Cyril-sama is a technician, so he's an independent noble. Even if his parents oppose, as the head of a noble household, he has the right to decide his own marriage partner, so he can get married no matter the outcome, right?」
The authority over a family member's marriage lies with the head of the house. Although Cyril was the third son of House Earhart, he was treated as a noble because he was a technician. Therefore, he held the right to decide his own marriage partner.
Hearing this, Aila looked at Cyril.
「Will you marry me even if your parents oppose?」
「Of course.」
Everyone cast warm gazes at the two as they created a syrupy-sweet atmosphere.
It had been decided that they would ask for marriage permission after the victory ceremony; until then, the two were to sightsee in the Royal Capital. This trip also served as a pre-marital honeymoon.
Into the sugary-sweet House Archibalt townhouse, a messenger from the Royal Palace suddenly arrived. What Brian received from the messenger was a notice that a medal would be bestowed upon Steve.
After the messenger left, he informed the family.
「Steve really is amazing!」
Bella was the only one who rejoiced; the others were worried about what to do for outfits to appear before His Majesty the King. Since this wasn't an unofficial occasion like when they brought the Soba, they had to wear formal attire this time. If it were for adults, they might have been able to borrow from other nobles, but with Steve's stature, that was difficult. After all, few nobles brought children to the Royal Capital, and if they did, they would have their own children wear the outfits.
Just as they were at a loss, a messenger from Margrave Sowell arrived.
When Brian handled this one as well, it turned out they were offering to lend a child's outfit. It was something Aurora's child had worn, but they said it should fit Steve's body.
「The timing is awfully convenient.」
Steve looked at Brian.
「It likely means Her Ladyship is involved in the bestowing of the medal.」
「That's actually better. If she had an information network reaching deep into the Royal Palace, it would eventually lead to a war with His Majesty. I'd like to be spared from a situation where I have to worry about which side to take.」
「Indeed.」
If Aurora had an information network in the Royal Palace and the King found out, punishment would be unavoidable. However, Aurora wasn't the type to accept that quietly, so it would definitely turn into a war.
Geographically, if they turned against Aurora, they would be invaded in an instant, so they would likely side with her, but doing so would make the Kingdom of Cascade their enemy.
Naturally, they would also end up fighting the families of Cyril and Christina, so they could only pray that such a future would never come.
And then, finally, the day of the victory ceremony arrived. Leaving Sherry, Christina, and Aila behind, they went to the castle. At the venue, they immediately greeted Aurora and Leo, followed by the House of Earl Macintosh. Since they didn't have any particular associations beyond that, they were about to move to the edge of the hall when Marquess Earhart and Viscount Wilkinson approached. Each was accompanied by their sons, Cyril and George.
Marquess Earhart spoke to Brian.
「Lord Archibalt, my son is in your debt. I am glad to see that thanks to you, my son has established a position at the Royal Research Institute. I thought he had merely managed to crawl into the institute somehow, but children truly grow in ways their parents do not realize.」
「Is it not the result of Your Lordship's bloodline and the education he received from a young age? My territory is a frontier land, so I apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused him.」
Marquess Earhart was satisfied that his third son, Cyril, whom he had no expectations for, had now risen to a position where he was about to become a top-tier technician within the Royal Research Institute. Cyril's name was on all the latest research, and the rumors that the family was excellent even outside of military matters were pleasant to his ears.
And another person, Viscount Wilkinson, also offered words of gratitude regarding his son's employment.
「My son was also hired by Lord Archibalt, and having his achievements recognized there, he was able to join the Royal Research Institute.」
Joining the Royal Research Institute meant he had secured status as a noble. George's education was also a significant research item. Commoners, who were previously thought to be ignorant, could learn to read and calculate depending on their education. This meant a shortcut to securing human resources for national development had come into view.
Not just for the state, but for nobles as well—previously, officials for territorial management were hired through nepotism and were inferior in ability, hired only because they could do some basic calculation. Now, the possibility of hiring capable commoners as officials had emerged.
The educational methods for how to make even commoners capable of calculation were being developed based on George's classes.
George was at the forefront of educational research in the Kingdom of Cascade.
「I have heard from my son that Lord Archibalt's son is truly exceptional. I hear he is in a position to guide everything from technology and education to military and economics. Furthermore, I hear he is to be bestowed a medal by His Majesty today. I am truly envious of Earl Macintosh, whose daughter is his fiancée. If I had a daughter, I would have wished to form a connection.」
「He is so far out of the norm that the difficulty lies in him being more than his parents can handle.」
Both Marquess Earhart and Viscount Wilkinson understood that Steve's influence played a part in their sons' success. And if possible, they wanted to have a strong bond with House Archibalt.
On the other hand, the nobles who undervalued Steve watched Marquess Earhart and the others from a distance, whispering backbiting remarks about how they shouldn't flock to a parvenu noble house.
In the meantime, time passed, and finally, it was time for the victory ceremony to begin.
There were words from the King, followed by the announcement of rank promotions and changes in territory. Most of them were nobles from the Western region, and even the nobles moving to newly ceded territories from other regions would become part of the Western faction. In contrast to Aurora, who wore a relaxed smile throughout, the faces of the leaders from other regions were grim.
Then came the bestowing of the medals.
「Steve Archibalt, in recognition of your achievements this time, we bestow upon you the Dragon Wing Medal.」
When that announcement was made, the venue stirred.
They had been informed that a medal would be bestowed, but it was thought that the type would be much lower.
There are five grades of medals in the Kingdom of Cascade. From the top, they are the Dragon Head Medal, Dragon Wing Medal, Gold Lion Medal, Silver Lion Medal, and Bronze Lion Medal.
The Dragon is the crest of the Royal Family, and the Lion is a symbol of power.
By custom, the highest-ranking Dragon Head Medal is only bestowed upon royalty, so it was announced that the highest medal a noble could practically receive was being bestowed upon Steve.
There was someone who voiced an objection. It was Margrave Dominic Miss Cleiman, the leader of the Eastern faction.
「Your Majesty, is the Dragon Wing Medal not too much for such a child?」
「Cleiman, We do not think so. Without evaluating the achievement of invading the enemy's capital and capturing key figures including their King, how could We grant territory or titles to others?」
「However, that was only possible because of Margrave Sowell. It is not an achievement a child could have accomplished alone.」
「That very Margrave Sowell is the recommender. When she went so far as to say that if this achievement does not merit a Dragon Wing Medal, then no rewards can be given to others, it is only natural for Us to respect those feelings. Moreover, even without that, it is only natural when evaluated objectively.」
Being told this by the King, Margrave Cleiman had no choice but to back down. However, other nobles who did not know of the battles in the West felt the same as Margrave Cleiman and praised him in their hearts for speaking up.
In truth, both the King and the Chancellor had anticipated that such dissatisfaction would arise from other nobles if the Dragon Wing Medal were bestowed upon Steve. They had considered whether a monetary reward would be better, but House Archibalt already possessed a large amount of cash, and since they had heard that a monetary reward would also be coming from Margrave Sowell, they decided against it, considering the possibility that the Royal House's expression of gratitude would be diminished.
Then, they considered territory, but even his father Brian was struggling with territorial management due to a lack of personnel, so they decided against it, considering there would be no room to spare personnel for Steve. In fact, the King also understood that the reason Steve borrowed Margrave Sowell's army for this counter-invasion was that even if he occupied territory, he lacked the military force and personnel to maintain it.
Thus, what remained by process of elimination was a medal.
As for the grade of that medal, given the track record of capturing an enemy king, if this were made a Gold Lion Medal or lower, the Dragon Wing Medal could never be bestowed again in the future. Therefore, for Steve, there was only the Dragon Wing Medal.
Even so, they thought there would be backlash due to Steve's age being a bottleneck.
If this were an adult mage, no voices of opposition would have been raised. The boy who was out of the norm was giving not only his parents but also the King a headache. The King, who had never worried this much even about the education of the princes, was now poignantly realizing the difficulty of child-rearing.
And the recommender, Aurora, also had her own motives. Having lost a significant amount of military force in the large-scale battle, it had become difficult to maintain a watchful eye over the entire Western region, which had expanded due to the cessions. She wanted Steve to shoulder the responsibility of defense until her forces recovered. Furthermore, a medal is for one generation only and is not inherited by children. Her calculation was that after Steve's retirement, Margrave Sowell's position as the sole leader of the Western region would return.
On the other hand, Steve, the recipient, thought of the Dragon Wing Medal as something like a Governor's Award for processing technology. He thought it was something quite a few people received, like the 'One Company, One Technology' awards given by local governments. Those things displayed in the offices of small and medium-sized enterprises.
In reality, that was not the case; receiving the Dragon Wing Medal meant being treated as an equal to a Marquess or a Margrave, and there was special treatment where a Gold Lion Medal corresponded to an Earl, a Silver Lion Medal to a Viscount, and a Bronze Lion Medal to a Baron. The value of the medal was that heavy. Therefore, it was far more valuable than a Minister's Award, let alone a Governor's Award.
With the bestowing of the medal, the ceremony concluded, followed by a banquet hosted by the King. The nobles enjoyed themselves with dancing and food, but everything was prepared for adults, and Steve, being a child, had nothing to do.
Having been bestowed the Dragon Wing Medal and now being treated as a Margrave, lower-ranking nobles could no longer casually call out to him, so he was waiting for the end time all alone in a corner of the venue.
Aurora approached him there.
「Oh my, the Hero-dono looks quite bored.」
「Yes. Both the food and the dancing are for adults, so there's nothing a child like me can enjoy.」
「You should have brought your fiancée.」
「Those invited are nobles and their spouses. I can't bring Chris.」
「And you can't use the excuse of being a proxy for your father like I do.」
Since Brian was healthy and it was his own rank promotion, it was only natural for him to participate, so Steve and Christina couldn't go as his proxies.
However, from next time, since he would be equivalent to a Margrave, it would be possible to be accompanied by his fiancée.
「More importantly, is it alright for Your Ladyship, who is currently the most influential person everyone wants to greet, to be here talking to me?」
「Don't worry about that. Leo should be handling things properly. Besides, I have no desire to see people who want to get their hands on vested interests without risking their lives.」
「I thought Your Ladyship was the type to handle such things skillfully. While the Commander-dono is an excellent general, he seems to have a strong sense of inadequacy when it comes to political maneuvering.」
「Oh, you're quite blunt, aren't you? Though you're right.」
「It's because I have the Dragon Wing Medal from today. I wondered how much value a medal could have, but after receiving an explanation earlier and hearing it's Margrave-level treatment, I've now become equal in standing to Your Ladyship. I can now state the facts without having to worry about my position.」
「I am the one who recommended you to His Majesty. In a sense, I'm like your godmother, so I'd like you to treat me with some discretion if possible.」
「I will do my best. So, I don't think Your Ladyship came here just for small talk.」
Steve asked for Aurora's true intention. He knew all too well that she was not the kind of woman who would spend her time just making small talk.
「You know Daphne Shields, don't you?」
「Yes. She's the daughter of the Royal Guard Captain, and she herself was supposed to be in the Knights Order.」
「It seems her marriage is about to be decided. Her partner is the heir to House Stuart.」
「Heh, her? Then does that son of the Duke's house happen to be stronger than her?」
「That's not the case. He's younger, too. But apparently, that son fell in love with her at first sight and declared he would marry her even if it meant breaking his current engagement.」
「That sounds like it'll cause trouble.」
「It's a huge mess. Because the fiancée whose engagement is about to be broken is the daughter of Margrave Cleiman.」
「Well, well. But that has nothing to do with me, right?」
Steve couldn't understand why she was bringing this story to him. He understood that such rumors would be popular in social circles, but Steve had no interest. He wouldn't feel indebted to Aurora just because she told him.
「It has everything to do with you. Apparently, Daphne Shields says she doesn't want to marry anyone but you.」
Hearing that, Steve spat out his drink spectacularly.