Published: January 4, 2026
We all turned simultaneously toward the direction of the raging fire and stared.
Except for Jerry, every man present was speechless.
Even I was genuinely surprised.
“Your Majesty!”
“Hmm.”
I nodded, and Henry immediately turned on his heel, shouting, “Someone!” as he strode away with long strides.
“You can’t just take me lightly. I mean, with a fire that grand, it’s obvious what’s going on.”
“Don’t say that. That’s part of Henry’s job, too.”
“Is that so?”
“You wouldn’t just take reports from your subordinates at face value, would you?”
“Well, that’s true.”
Jerry nodded, convinced by my words.
“But how did you manage to uncover that? An independent provisions storehouse — no, that scale is more like a logistics hub. Such information is top secret for the enemy.”
“That’s easy.”
Jerry smirked proudly, the corners of his mouth curling into a grin.
“Oh?”
“For example, these girls here — they’re not joking or anything. Their families willingly sent them to me.”
“Hmm, I see?”
I nodded along, encouraging him to explain how that connected to what he was saying.
“No matter how much you try to hide things, the locals always find out. Unlike those bastards, I’ve always made friends among the locals.”
I understood.
“So they told you?”
“Exactly. Without me even needing to investigate, the locals bring me information. Those bastards just lounge around. What was his name again... E-Eiler?”
“Eiler Noof?”
“That’s the one!”
Jerry pointed sharply at me.
Then, suddenly realizing what he’d done, he quickly withdrew his finger and laughed it off.
“I believe he’s the granduncle of your father, my lord?”
“Hmm. He is a distant branch of the Prince of Honor’s family — a legitimate member of the royal family. By the way, though he’s the late emperor’s granduncle, his actual age is nearly the same as mine.”
Among nobles, with large families and political marriages in all sorts of combinations, distant relationships often mean titles and ages don’t line up as you’d expect.
“Sorry to say, but having a man like that among the common folk in the borderlands only tarnishes the royal family’s reputation.”
“Is it really that bad? Having defeated the Empire’s army, wouldn’t he be considered somewhat of a hero?”
“You highly overestimate that bastard, my lord. His incompetence is such that the locals willingly leak secrets to us.”
“Hmm… I see.”
I nodded and looked at the girls Jerry had brought.
I recalled Jerry’s earlier words.
Even if I didn’t take a liking to these girls, Jerry promised to favor their families as payment for bringing them this far.
If that’s true, and if his usual attitude toward the locals is like that — contrasting sharply with Eiler Noof’s — then it makes sense that he would be well-regarded and receive information without asking.
“But wouldn’t that cost a lot? Being ‘friendly’ all the time?”
“That’s because of your teaching, my lord.”
“My teaching?”
“Yes, sir! Although I was unlucky and didn’t hear it directly — just secondhand.”
“Hm?”
I tilted my head, wondering what he meant.
Jerry closed his eyes and recited solemnly as if reading from a scripture.
“The third-rate noble hates to share. The second-rate noble begrudgingly fulfills his obligations. The first-rate noble does so without even thinking about it — as if it’s natural.”
After finishing, he opened his eyes and looked me in the face again.
“That’s what I heard.”
“I see. I have said something like that before.”
Those words are a guiding principle I hold sacred.
Strictly speaking, they aren’t my words, but I didn’t point that out and instead looked at Jerry expectantly.
“And when I put that into practice, things just worked out.”
“Hmm, then while we’re at it, here’s another piece of advice.”
“—! Yes! I will listen carefully.”
Jerry changed expression, dropped to his knees on the spot, and bowed deeply.
“Few feel rewarded when they do what comes naturally. But…”