How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom: Volume 1

When we heard what it was he had to say, Halbert’s eyes went wide, Kaede looked down, gripping her fists tightly, Hakuya closed his eyes in silence, while Aisha looked around bewildered by everyone else’s reactions…

Liscia, meanwhile, had gone stiff and expressionless, not saying a word. There were tears streaming down her face.

As for me, it was a complicated feeling. Anger, exasperation, resignation, sadness… All those feelings got jumbled together in my chest, and I worked my hardest to keep them there.

I spoke in as calm and even a voice as I could manage, so as not to betray my feelings. “Now that you’ve told me that… what do you want me to do about it?”

“Nothing. I just wanted you to be aware, sire.”

“…It’s heavy.” I stood up, giving orders to Kaede and Halbert. “Forbidden Army Mage Kaede Foxia. This insight is too valuable, and dangerous, for me to leave you as a mere mage. I order you to serve under Ludwin of the Royal Guard as a staff officer.

“Huh? Y-Yes, sir!” she exclaimed.

“Army Officer Halbert Magna. I order you to transfer to the Forbidden Army.”

“Huh?! Me, join the Forbidden Army?!”

“That’s right. You will be Kaede’s second-in-command and report to her. Her rank effectively makes her Number 2 in the Forbidden Army. Because she is still a young woman, there is the risk that her subordinates won’t take her seriously. In the event that that happens, you are to make sure they do as she says. Understood?”

“…Yes, sir!”

Thus, a new, young officer joined the Forbidden Army.

However, I wasn’t feeling emotionally at ease enough to be happy a new ally had joined us. As I forced down my violent emotions, my true feeling seep out through my gritted teeth just once.

“Honestly, these people…”

Intermission 2: The Sighs of Duchess Excel Walter

Let’s talk about the system of nobility in this country.

Once you set aside royalty and the three dukes, the people can be divided into three groups: the nobles and knights, the commoners, and the slaves. (Refugees, as they are not citizens, do not fall into any of these groups.)

We will go into the institution of slavery on another occasion, but what divides the nobles and knights from the commoners is whether or not they hold land.

Because of that, the class of nobles and knights may also be referred to as lords, and the commoners who live on their lands may be referred to as their subjects. (Slaves are considered to be chattel, and thus are not included in this group.) Lords have a number of rights within their lands, and at the same time, they have military and other responsibilities to the country.

The titles and lands of the nobility and knighthood are generally hereditary, but commoners who distinguish themselves may be bestowed title and land by the country, raising them to knighthood (for those whose accomplishments are military) or nobility (for those whose accomplishments are in administration).

Furthermore, marrying into a noble or knightly family (in which case, the person provides their own land) is also possible. These people are referred to as new nobles or new knights.

This isn’t a distinction that formally exists, but certain hard-headed people who think of them as “upstarts who were not born to be nobles or knights” refer to them this way. New nobles and new knights may pass their titles hereditarily. (Generally, a house becomes accepted after around three generations.)

Conversely, even nobles and knights can, if their crimes are great enough, be dropped to the rank of commoner or slave. In these cases, their lands and title are seized by the country and, in the worst cases, the entire house may lose their status. This is known as “destruction.”

The reason that, as noted earlier, nobles and knights distinguish themselves from new nobles and new knights is that they take pride in having maintained the status of their house and having avoided this “destruction” for three generations.

There is no need for the nobility and knighthood to manage their lands personally. Particularly with knights, who must spend most of the year serving in the military, management of their lands is left to the members of their household. Royal Guard Captain Ludwin Arcs was one example.

Furthermore, among the nobility, there are those who leave management of their lands to the members of their house, residing in Parnam where they serve in important posts such as top positions in the bureaucracy or as speaker in the Congress of the People. These people are called capital nobles, with the former prime minister (and current chamberlain) Marx being one example.

However, at present, the number of capital nobles had fallen to nearly half of what it had been the year before. The ones who had gone missing were those whose wrongdoing had been uncovered in Souma’s government spending audit. Those under investigation had been dismissed from their posts in the capital, and were under house arrest in their own lands.