Chapter 15 - The Choice of Appointed Scribe Radmir
Appointed Scribe Radmir Hasheck woke up in the bedroom of the house where his mother lived.
The official business he had been instructed to do had been completed without issue, and yesterday he had visited his mother with souvenirs he had bought during his journey.
His mother was surprised by her son's sudden return, told him he should have let her know in advance if he was coming, and grumbled that she had no preparations ready, yet she still gave him the best hospitality she could.
I might have drunk a bit too much, Radmir thought as he got out of bed.
Normally, he never drank in a way that would leave an effect the next day. His guard must have dropped during the meal with his mother, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
That said, he had to leave this place, Manol, today or tomorrow to return to the Royal Capital.
It was only natural, but in the three years they hadn't met, his mother had aged three years.
At this rate, how many more times would he be able to come see her? He imagined this, and his heart felt a bit heavy from the morning.
Well, I've become able to take time off more often than before, Radmir convinced himself.
In fact, he was currently on a homecoming that was half-vacation and half-inspection, all for the sake of some trivial official business.
Come to think of it, Radmir remembered.
—I was handed a package in the Royal Capital. They said to open it after finishing the official business.
Recalling this, he took the package in question out of his luggage.
When he unwrapped it, an envelope and a small box appeared. First, he carefully opened the seal of the envelope and took out the document inside.
"—Huh?"
The moment he saw the opening sentence, a voice escaped Radmir's mouth.
'Having incurred the displeasure of His Highness the Crown Prince, I, Ariarein Hazen, am to be exiled from the kingdom.'
It was a shock that blew away both his sleepiness and the lingering alcohol. It was certainly that young lady's handwriting, and written in a style typical of her, but the content was like a blow to Radmir's head.
That the engagement had been dissolved.
That she had been sentenced to exile on the grounds of being unfit for a noble of the kingdom.
That the sentence had gone into effect yesterday evening.
That she was leaving the Royal Capital and heading for Mares with those who wished to follow her.
Without explaining what circumstances led to this, she dryly recorded what had happened and what she was going to do next. He had to rely on conjecture for why it happened, but if she wrote it, the events themselves were likely facts.
He didn't know what crime led to the exile, but from the phrasing 'incurred the displeasure,' it likely meant there was something that offended the Crown Prince rather than a definitive crime.
An exiled person cannot receive any assistance even from their parents or siblings.
The rule of exile in the kingdom was that anyone who helped them would be guilty of the same crime. Therefore, historically, not many people sentenced to exile actually managed to reach the border.
The majority were pursued by all sorts of people immediately after the proclamation of exile, stripped of everything they had, and met a miserable end.
In the case of the daughter of Marquess Mares, there seemed to have been a grace period until the exile took effect, so she would likely be able to reach Mares using that.
What would happen after that?
Leaving the Royal Capital for Mares meant that, at the very least, she had no intention of settling things with an immediate apology.
It might mean she intended to decide on a response after consulting with Marquess Mares.
As Radmir followed the document with his eyes while thinking, he was surprised once again by a series of sentences that appeared near the end of the short letter.
'I highly value your abilities.
If you are willing to come to the Marquess's territory with me, I promise you treatment better than your current situation.
I have enclosed travel funds, so if you are willing to accept, please take a ship from Manol.
I believe the amount is sufficient, including for your mother.'
He hurriedly opened the small box, and several gemstones were stored inside.
To Radmir, who was not knowledgeable about gems, it wasn't clear exactly how many gold coins they were worth.
However, there was no doubt that if he exchanged them for money at the city's merchant house, it would be a substantial sum.
It would surely cover the ship fare and the immediate living expenses for both him and his mother with plenty to spare.
—The problem is.
Radmir thought.
Whatever the form, it was a clear invitation to rebellion.
If he accepted this invitation, there would be no way back.
He would be 'in the same boat' as Marquess Mares and that Marquess's daughter.
He would have to board a ship without knowing which port it would reach, and if it sank, he would have to sink with it.
It didn't seem like a path a bureaucrat of the kingdom should take.
However, Radmir thought further.
Would this ship—the ship he was invited to board—really sink so easily?
Even though the Mares Knight Corps was renowned for its strength, the Royal Guard would surely be significantly larger in terms of military power.
If they clashed head-on, for example, in a field battle on the plains, the Royal Guard would undoubtedly win a crushing victory. The same would apply to a comparison between the Marquess's army and the Kingdom's army.
Then, what if they didn't clash head-on?
And in the first place, would they even be able to clash immediately?
—If I am here now, and furthermore, if Marquess Mares's retainers have vanished from the Royal Capital.
The arrangements for moving the Knight Corps and the army would surely be delayed.
An army can only move after arrangements for provisions and their transport, and negotiations and contracts with sutlers have been made. If he, who played a central role in those practicalities, was here now.
And if the retainers of Marquess Mares, who had been assisting with duties in various departments of the Administration, had been withdrawn all at once.
Hardly anything would be able to move until they returned.
That young lady had ordered him on this business trip knowing that. To delay the Crown Prince's initial response.
He felt like he wanted to burst out laughing.
The official business and his mother were mere excuses; he had only thought he had found the purpose of inspection on his own.
That young lady had created the official business solely to distance him from his duties, and on top of that, she was inviting him to participate in rebellion like this.
—In the first place, is it just me?
If he wasn't the only one receiving such a letter.
If that young lady was targeting what could be called the nodes of administrative work, which would be most effective for slowing down the movement of the entire Administration.
She must have done the same thing to multiple Appointed Scribes.
For example, if she reached out to ten Appointed Scribes and even half of them responded.
Everyone in the Administration knew the grueling work of an Appointed Scribe.
That was exactly why a former colleague who couldn't take it anymore had collapsed, and Radmir himself, who felt the aftereffects, had been pushed to the brink.
Radmir grimaced.
The Marquess's daughter who saved him then was no longer there. The scribes and handymen she had sent from her retainers had also been withdrawn.
And what was beginning was likely a war.
Whether to throw away his status as a bureaucrat of the kingdom and board a ship that might sink, or to choose loyalty to the kingdom and return to a certain hell.
Radmir no longer knew whether he should be grateful to that Marquess's daughter or direct his resentment toward her.
"Radmir, breakfast is ready. It's time to get up."
At his mother's voice calling him, Radmir made up his mind.
I can't tell her the real situation, he thought, a smile touching only the corners of his mouth as he put away the letter and the small box.
"Yes, Mother, thank you. I'm coming right now."
※ ※ ※ ※ ※
The Appointed Scribe, who visited the magistrate's office following the previous day, met with the magistrate and politely handed over several sealed letters.
To the Scribe who requested that they be sent to the Royal Capital by the next regular government courier, the magistrate asked about the contents.
"They are inspection reports, addressed to the Administration," the Scribe replied, and the magistrate promised to handle them accordingly.
On the evening of the same day, two passengers boarded a fast ship anchored in the harbor.
They were a young man who looked accustomed to travel and an elderly woman who appeared to be his mother.
Before long, the ship raised its sails and glided out of the port of Manol.
It's a bit of a relatable story about whether to return to a workplace that's guaranteed to become a black company, or to accept a headhunting offer from an executive who made the workplace environment a white company.