EP.63
Because I was not born into an aristocratic family, I did not receive a proper liberal arts education, so I had no choice but to take liberal arts courses at the academy just barely avoiding failing.
Even after being appointed as a professor, I wanted to avoid it as much as possible, but the problem that imperial nobles and officers could never avoid was the prom.
Because the prom of this era is on a different level from simply politicians and high-ranking people playing golf in Korea.
I didn’t pay much attention until now because I wasn’t a member of a noble family and I lacked dancing and culture.
Originally, second lieutenants who graduated from the academy were required to attend a dance held near their unit unless they were fighting the enemy on the front lines.
There, it is common to meet a family that supports you or form a close relationship, and the daughter you plan to marry while dancing.
Because of this, even though the situation on the front line was quite urgent, the so-called lieutenants were told that there was even a military law that exempted them from duty on days when proms were held due to marriage issues.
So, unlike when I was fighting in war or on the political stage, I had no choice but to answer timidly.
“I come from a commoner background… so you don’t know that well, right?”
The Count, who understood this well, sighed and said.
“Last time, since you were only a captain, I and His Highness the Crown Prince deliberately pretended to be sick and told you to rest. It’s different now. “You must attend.”
“I know.”
“Still, everyone knows that you come from a commoner background, so even the nobles who are anti-crowned princes won’t ask Peter Yeager to dance or anything like that. All they can do is gossip about it behind their backs. “Normally, people would take their clothes off because of such gossip, but since you have contributed so much, you won’t get any blemishes.”
That’s right, the main characters and noble ladies who appear in novels and comics are people who have learned ballroom dancing at home for at least 5 to 8 years.
It is virtually impossible for someone like me, who studied at the academy and only tumbled on the front lines, to dance as gracefully as those nobles.
If I were to catch up from now on, I would have to study dancing intensively for at least two months, but that doesn’t seem possible.
So, it was a great comfort to hear that there was no need to learn how to dance just to care about what people thought.
“But if you had any intention, you wouldn’t go in dressed in military uniform like the students at the General Staff College, right? Although it is said that there is no problem under the Imperial Army regulations, it is not acceptable for a nobleman and a professor to do that. Because although the prom is said to be a gathering for dancing and socializing, in reality it is a political event.”
“of course. So, I took great care and prepared decent clothes and a temporary servant.”
After hearing that, Count Venner waved his hand and said:
“If you were a quick-witted baron with no connections, that would be best. I can’t do that. I will talk to the head butler of the Benner family and he will lend me a butler. Let’s take that guy with us. At that level, you will be able to prepare clothes and other things you need without any problems. “Let’s talk about something more productive.”
Then the count’s face, which had seemed full of annoyance just a moment ago, turned serious, as if it were during a meeting in Visocia.
“To be honest, before, you were just a lowly orphaned officer who wasn’t worth looking at. It’s great that you overcame your social status problems and entered the academy. “At that rate, he was a bit better than most senior officers.”
Before he proved his worth on the Rhineland front, his inferiority complex soared every time this fact was mentioned, but it was a problem he had long since overcome.
These words have no meaning now that most of the people who laughed at me are now looking at me with jealousy and envy.
Those in the faction that are immediately opposing His Highness the Crown Prince swear at me behind my back because I am an orphan-born lieutenant colonel, but unconsciously they are hostile to me as if they were the head of a noble family.
“You suddenly caught the eyes of His Highness the Crown Prince and me, and now His Majesty the Emperor is also watching you. “Your title and territory prove it.”
Instead of answering that question, I nodded.
“No. His Majesty is actually kind to you. “I guess he thought it was good that he left out of the chase so as not to make unnecessary political enemies, even though he could have gained more merit by killing the second-in-command in the Visochia region.”
Considering that, as recorded in history, the rank at which a commoner officer receives a title is at least brigadier general, this is a fact that one cannot help but know unless one’s head is spinning.
However, when I heard that fact from my superior, I felt completely different.
“What would have happened if I had been more greedy for the little achievements in the chase?”
“He would have given me more territory and not bestowed a title. In addition, instead of being promoted to colonel instead of being a professor at the Staff College, you were assigned to a division like Leitenburg with five deputy division commanders who were soon to reach retirement age, so you would have had to serve for two years.”
“Is that so?”
I answered calmly, but it was a more horrendous troop deployment than I expected.
Of course, considering my age and accomplishments, His Majesty the Emperor probably did not send me to the Central Army to purge me.
The 14th Division near Leitenburg is part of the Central Army, so there are few opportunities to make achievements.
Because it is near the capital, the working conditions are good, so it is a good place to work comfortably.
Due to its characteristics, it is a unit where colonels who have given up on promotion to generals with time surpassing that of most division commanders pass through for a final rest.
But a 21-year-old colonel who will receive a star before the age of 30 goes to that place?
Since class is class, it shouldn’t be directly beaten or do something crazy that could lead to impeachment.
As long as he did not break the rules, he would have been subjected to absurdity and oppression beyond human imagination.
And having this conversation was indirectly asking me how I would conduct myself at the prom.
“In short, do you want me to show the bare minimum of dignity at this ball and block access from other forces on my own? To judge a little more politically, His Majesty the Emperor will soon step down, so voting to choose the next Emperor will begin.”
Just like in the ’empire that is neither sacred nor an empire’ that I read in a book, here the emperor is elected by the votes of the nobles.
At best, only the emperor’s son can run as a candidate, and in most cases, the crown prince is elected.
Unexpectedly, in a situation where there are many nobles who claim to be politically neutral, if they do not get votes from the middle class, it can be taken to mean that they do not have the ‘capacity to maintain the stability of the empire.’
The fact that there are so many opposing votes is evidence that there are so many people trying to keep the emperor, the ruling party and government, in check.
So what Count Benner is worried about is that depending on how many votes he gets, how strong the next emperor’s imperial power will be.
‘If I, who is seen as the future Marshal of the Empire and in charge of the Emperor’s military power, joins the side of another prince, will the Emperor’s power fall to the ground?’
It may lead to this conclusion, but if you talk too much, you will die right away, like Yang Su in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
“Anyway, His Majesty the Crown Prince took you in a bit too hard, so how would we feel if you became friendly with someone else? You know what else? “For someone like a lieutenant colonel, only His Highness the Crown Prince is the one who treats me well, even the powerful person and lieutenant general of the Chiefs of Staff.”
That’s something anyone can agree on, unless you’re an idiot or just brainless.
Who was it that immediately made the orphan Nabulaeng a baron… Isn’t it His Royal Highness who gives generously?
“It goes without saying. So, even if there are people who sometimes approach me, I will cut them off within an appropriate line.”
Count Venner shook his head and said, as if he was satisfied that I gave him exactly the answer he wanted.
“In times like this, having a woman with you will help you in many ways. Didn’t Laura happen to serve as your deputy? Let’s go together.”
“I will do as you command. But… is it really okay for me to go with the lieutenant?”
“It’s your Majesty’s order. “Laura, that girl has a better sense of taste than you, so ask her to pick out a suit for you.”
Even if we take all things into consideration, Laura will look at clothes much better than me.
“All right. “Then I’ll leave…”
As I said that and was about to leave, the Count spoke loudly in a voice mixed with frustration and anger.
“okay. “Go home right now and get some rest!”
**
After Lieutenant Colonel Jaeger left, Count Benner sighed heavily.
Because, as things turn out like this, the daughter he had raised with great care was taken by that thief…
The count’s daughter has never even had her first love, so she doesn’t know how she feels, but she said she wanted to follow the lieutenant colonel even after graduating from the Staff College, so strictly speaking. In other words, I am not a thief.
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“Of all the men of Laura’s age who could marry him, aside from members of the royal family, I think Jaeger is the best. The fact that he was awarded the Silver Knight’s Sword, the title of Baron, and was a professor at the General Staff College of the same age is perfect. Besides, Laura…”
Now that things have come to this, wouldn’t it be her father’s role to set the stage for Laura to have a good relationship with the lieutenant colonel she respects and loves?
He will do well because he has spent more time as a commander and adjutant than most aristocratic fiancés.
See next episode
