272 Episode
The Guardian Medal of the Empire.
The Guardian Medal of the Empire does not symbolize a title or social status.
To achieve an accomplishment worthy of being recorded in the history of the Empire, one must already possess such things.
The Guardian Medal of the Empire merely symbolizes the unparalleled authority that comes with the glorious accomplishments achieved by its recipient.
The custom that everyone except the Emperor must show respect to the medal’s recipient first is upheld because it naturally should be.
Count Osiris was also well aware of this.
Count Osiris also knew very well what the Guardian Medal of the Empire looked like.
Even though he knew, Count Osiris fell silent, at a loss for words.
Ray appeared to be no more than a young man on the verge of adulthood, and publicly, Ray was nothing but a mere squire without any title.
However, the fact that something resembling the Guardian Medal of the Empire came from his possession… Count Osiris could not easily come to terms with how to accept it, as the situation was far beyond comprehension.
Count Osiris eventually furrowed his brow awkwardly.
“Joking… seems a bit too much…”
“Count Osiris.”
Count Philip interrupted Count Osiris’ statement and added in a deep, low voice.
“This child… no, this person is indeed the rightful owner of the Guardian Medal of the Empire.”
“…”
Most people in the reception hall looked at Count Philip with uneasy expressions.
To them, it still sounded like an unpleasant lie.
Count Osiris also couldn’t believe the situation and finally asked Count Philip after much deliberation.
“Can you take responsibility for this?”
If someone were to deceive others by mentioning the existence of the Guardian Medal of the Empire, it would be no different from disgracing the Empire and the Emperor.
If this turned out to be some trivial joke, it needed to stop immediately.
However, Count Philip slowly nodded.
“I will take responsibility.”
“…”
Count Osiris stood up, suppressing his frustration.
Although he still couldn’t understand the situation, Count Osiris bowed his head to Ray nonetheless.
“I greet the Guardian of the Empire.”
Count Osiris, having shown proper respect, bowed even lower and added.
“Please forgive my earlier discourtesy.”
The knights present also quickly followed Count Osiris’ example and paid their respects.
Ray looked at them before pulling the medal embedded in the table.
*
“Hmm…”
Anders frowned while checking the documents.
Anders was responsible for financial administration in the Osiris Countdom, handling fiscal matters, but due to the refugee issue, there had been a lot of work lately.
Anders was feeling quite annoyed about it.
Why should he have to put so much effort into accommodating refugees from another lord’s territory?
Despite Anders’ many complaints, strong pressure from above made him somewhat committed.
Thanks to this, the works related to accommodating refugees proceeded relatively well.
However, the limits were clear.
It was impossible to construct new accommodations for all the refugees since their numbers were significant.
They had to accommodate the refugees in existing buildings with available space, but no one was willing to lend out their properties willingly.
Eventually, after offering hefty bribes and receiving substantial kickbacks, they managed to secure a few buildings for the refugees, but the number was still insufficient.
Still, what more could be done? Anders took pride in doing the best he could.
The Osiris Countdom had done everything it could, so now it was up to the refugees to look after themselves.
“What are they crawling here for anyway…”
Anders muttered and pushed the documents aside.
He had an important schedule today, so he needed to check his attire and head out soon.
Just then, Count Osiris summoned many of the managers responsible for the countdom’s affairs to the reception room.
When Anders arrived at the reception room, suppressing his irritation, he saw a young man sitting in the seat of honor, flipping through documents.
“What is this guy doing here?”
Anders wanted to ask but didn’t dare open his mouth as the atmosphere inside the reception room was icy cold.
Even Count Osiris, who should have been the master of the room, remained silent.
After a short while,
Ray put down the pile of documents.
Ray smoothed his nose bridge and went outside with a few administrators.
Anders finally tried to relax but realized the atmosphere was still frozen, so he closed his mouth again.
The silence stretched on.
Just as Anders couldn’t bear the discomfort anymore and was about to say something, Ray returned to the reception room.
Sitting in the seat of honor, Ray spoke his first words under the watchful eyes of the dignitaries.
“What a mess.”
*
After showing the medal.
Ray began by reviewing the documents and reports prepared by the administrators.
According to the documents, around 60% of the accommodations for the refugees were either prepared or nearing completion.
With the war starting early, it was inevitable that there were some deficiencies.
The problem was whether the accommodations listed in the documents were actually ready.
Ray personally inspected the locations mentioned in the documents with a few administrators.
Ray chuckled after finishing the inspection quickly.
“Oh, you bastards…”
About half of the accommodations listed in the report were properly prepared.
However, the other half had various issues.
There were phantom accommodations, places where only a shabby tent was set up, and even inns that were clearly trying to overcharge and were listed as refugee accommodations in the documents.
Ray wasn’t greatly shocked.
In fact, Ray thought that considering the circumstances, the results were fairly decent.
Without the constant pressure from higher-ups, less than half of what was written in the documents would have been prepared.
In any case, based on the current state of preparation, about 50% of the refugees could possibly be accommodated with difficulty.
“With these accommodations…”
The food supplies and medicinal herbs prepared for the refugees were likely to be in a similar or worse condition.
Ray returned to the reception room with a face full of irritation.
“What a mess.”
While clicking his tongue and brushing his hair back, Ray lined up all the administrators involved in this matter near the wall.
Among the administrators standing in line without knowing why, Ray signaled with his finger.
“If you’re from the Osiris family, step aside.”
This was directed at those of the gentry whose surname or parents’ surname was Osiris.
As Ray waved his hand, a few administrators hesitated and moved aside.
Anders stayed in place since he wasn’t from the Osiris family.
Relaxing his shoulders, Ray asked.
“Is that everyone?”
Having taken care of the Osiris family’s dignity, Ray approached the remaining administrators confidently.
Anders blinked as he watched Ray approach.
The next moment,
Ray slapped Anders across the cheek.
A crackling sound of tearing leather echoed.
“Ugh…!”
Anders coughed and fell to the side.
Onlookers watching the scene jumped in surprise and shivered.
Regardless, Ray forcibly pulled Anders up and slapped him again.
After his vision blurred momentarily, Anders stumbled backward and shouted.
“Mi, you’ve gone mad! How dare you treat a noble this way…!”
Even if it were among nobles, such disrespect in a public setting was unacceptable.
However, upon hearing this, Ray chuckled.
Ray was well aware that most of the Osiris Manor’s administrators were either nobles or part of the gentry.
Nevertheless, Ray grabbed Anders by the hair and twisted his lips.
“You haven’t grasped the situation yet. Shall I cut off your head first on charges of wartime embezzlement? Do you think I can’t?”
“…”
Anders, breathing heavily in pain, looked at Count Osiris.
Count Osiris was still silently holding his position.
At that moment, Anders finally realized he could never defy the young man before him.
Ray slapped Anders several more times.
When Anders was about to faint, spitting blood gathered in his mouth, Ray shoved him aside and signaled with his finger.
“Next.”
There were plenty waiting their turn.
Slap, SLAP, Ray continued slapping the cheeks of the administrators standing in line.
Though it was quite tiring, Ray needed to establish discipline to proceed smoothly with future tasks.
If he didn’t do this now, they’d likely slack off and make mistakes again.
SLAP!
After roughly slapping the last administrator’s cheek, Ray caught his breath.
He felt incredibly refreshed.
Returning to the seat of honor, Ray leaned back in the chair and spoke.
“Now let’s have a productive discussion.”
First, they needed to prepare accommodation for the refugees.
It didn’t matter if they skipped a few meals, but camping outside in this weather for a few days would quickly lead to illness.
*
Trade was active in the Osiris Countdom, which possessed a port.
Due to frequent exchanges with various regions, there were many occasions when esteemed guests visited.
Thus, Count Osiris specially decorated a wing of the manor and provided it to important guests when they arrived.
Currently, this wing was filled with nobles of the Empire.
Most of them had come here following the Emperor’s order to defend the Osiris Countdom.
Under the Emperor’s command, several noble families sent troops, and the formation was now mostly complete.
If the Osiris Countdom were attacked, they would fight valiantly to uphold the honor of their families.
However, regardless of that,
This was not the front line, and the war hadn’t even started yet.
Therefore, everyone was relaxed and enjoying Count Osiris’ hospitality.
A modest party was ongoing in the wing.
The nobles enjoyed the party while waiting for Count Philip.
Once his meeting with Count Osiris was over, Count Philip was supposed to visit the wing.
Many nobles were interested in Count Philip, who had recently been a popular topic.
At that moment, the main door of the wing opened.
“?…”
No introduction was made about who had arrived.
A young man simply walked into the wing, passed through the hall where the party was taking place, and strode confidently.
As gazes started focusing on him, the young man didn’t seem to care at all.
“With this, we can comfortably accommodate 500 people, and if squeezed, maybe 1000.”
Muttering to himself, the young man snatched a glass of wine from a maid who was carrying food.
The nobles observing the scene frowned.
Even if the young man belonged to a high-ranking family, mutual respect among nobles was fundamental.
That was how the value of their noble status was maintained.
However, the young man wasn’t even adhering to basic etiquette.
Some nobles approached him to question his rudeness.
Meanwhile, Dorian, a member of the Eleun Knight Order, was leaning back in his chair sipping wine when he absentmindedly stroked his chin.
The insolent young man’s face seemed strangely familiar, as if seen somewhere before…
“PUHACK!!”
Dorian sprayed out the wine he was drinking, causing the noble sitting opposite him to panic.
Regardless, Dorian quickly moved almost like he was rushing, pushing aside the nobles who were confronting Ray.
The pushed nobles looked bewildered, but Dorian ignored them and whispered to Ray.
“I am Dorian, a member of the Royal Direct Knights, the Eleun Knight Order. I serve under His Majesty the Emperor’s command to protect the Osiris Countdom. It’s an honor to meet you here. However, what brings you here?”
“Oh, it’s nothing major,”
Ray took a sip of wine and continued.
“Just clear out this building.”
Refugees (6)
