Timid and Shy - Chapter 15

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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15.

Robert’s request was granted. No one stepped forward to dissuade a man willing to take on a troublesome fiefdom. The Administrative Bureau welcomed it, and the Emperor saw no reason to object.
Maeve had pinned her last hopes on House of Cressida. But those hopes crumbled. There was no plausible interference to be found.
Maeve spoke in a hollow voice.
“I thought the Cressida people would stop him. I really believed they could. What a disappointment. Aren’t they supposed to be incredibly capable and resourceful?”
Robert let out a dry laugh.
“Who do you think would be most pleased to see me go to Umbrial? They’ll make certain I fail spectacularly there. You’ll get to taste House of Cressida’s true methods soon enough, Maeve. No need to feel slighted.”
Maeve sighed at Robert’s curse-like words.
“But you accepted knowing this already. Your Highness… do you truly have to go this far?”
“I’m tired of staying in the Capital for now. I want some fresh air. Think of it as a brief exchange program. Didn’t you always sing the praises of studying abroad in Netunia whenever there was no conflict?”
“Netunia is a warm country. The sea is beautiful there. Umbrial is a mountainous region in the north. Completely the opposite, isn’t it? Besides, I won’t be able to leave my post now, so when would I have time to learn anything? How is this an exchange program?”
Robert laughed. He offered no rebuttal to Maeve.
‘A terrible man.’
Maeve cursed Robert in her heart more than once, and found herself resenting Bian as well—her absent superior.
‘Bian must have known exactly what was coming. That’s why he fled to Netunia for a vacation. I’m green with envy.’
After Robert’s request was approved, investigations and budget hearings were conducted. Even before the request for the fiefdom, preliminary consultations had already taken place between the Administrative Bureau and its staff.
Given Robert’s status and the gravity of Umbrial’s situation, the Territory Management Division of the Administrative Bureau had readily accommodated his demands.
Just as Robert anticipated, obstruction began at the budgeting stage. The previously promised funds were suspended. A new directive came down stating they would conduct a thorough investigation first and then restructure the budget.
When Robert requested a meeting with the investigator assigned to Umbrial, he was told the man had already been dispatched to the field.
Though Robert had expected as much, a hollow laugh escaped him. The investigator had surely already prepared his excuse for rejecting the budget.
‘He’ll nitpick whether Umbrial’s defense facilities actually have any practical value for border security.’
Yet Robert believed Umbrial was too important to simply tolerate such schemes in silence.
The more he studied the reports, the more irregularities surfaced. Despite the absence of a lord, the expenditures remained exactly the same. It was as though someone were doctoring the ledgers.
Robert did not sit idle. Two of his subordinates were already investigating Umbrial. Even Bian, ostensibly on vacation, had already gone to Umbrial. Robert had given them three things to look into.
Who was controlling Umbrial now that the lord was absent? And was the fiefdom truly on the brink of bankruptcy due to the burden of infrastructure investment? Finally, was there truly nothing amiss at the border?
Robert was suspicious of Saturn.
‘Saturn must already know about Umbrial’s situation. If Saturn knows about the conflict with Netunia, he can’t rely on the Titania Mountain Range alone. The border at Saturn needs stronger defenses.’
The lord governing the southern fiefdom bordering Netunia was none other than Cressida. The Uranos Empire was hemmed in by danger on both fronts.
Robert worried whether two subordinates, operating in disguise, could possibly uncover so much. But they had to discover whatever they could first. After that, Robert himself would have no choice but to go to Umbrial.
‘If I’m to be a true lord, I cannot shirk responsibility.’
Robert wanted to fail properly, even if he failed. Part of it was to evade the Empress’s interference, but more than that, he needed to eliminate the threat at the border.

***

Robert’s subordinates returned to the Capital before the investigator’s report from Umbrial arrived at the Administrative Bureau.
After hearing the report from Bian, his chief secretary, Robert was more angry than relieved.
He gave them, exhausted as they looked, several days of rest and scheduled a supplemental report for after their leave.
Once Robert dismissed his subordinates, he pressed his head into his palms. The situation was far worse than he had anticipated. Watching Robert clutch his head, Maeve pursed her lips.
‘I told you so.’
Robert carefully reviewed the report his subordinates had submitted. He could anticipate how they might try to manipulate things—and if it went as badly as he feared, House of Cressida wouldn’t be dealing with Robert alone, but with the Emperor himself.
Robert hoped that even House of Cressida wouldn’t overstep because of him. Even if Frederick becoming Emperor was inevitable, Robert had to prevent the ruin of Uranos.
The investigator’s official report arrived at the Administrative Bureau. Predictably, he submitted a report claiming the defense facilities were useless thanks to the advantages of the Titania Mountain Range.
Robert’s lip curled in a bitter smile as he read it.
‘He says there are local opinions worth considering—that investment in the fiefdom’s industry would be more prudent than repairing defense facilities? Is this investigator trying to destroy Uranos, or is he simply incompetent?’
Robert wanted to see the investigator’s face with his own eyes. He contacted the Administrative Bureau and requested a meeting with the man. And at that meeting, Robert planned to invite another guest as well.
‘Will he be able to present the same report to that person that he handed to me?’

***

Posher was in excellent spirits. If this matter was resolved well, the Cressida Count had promised to personally advance his career. A count himself had stepped forward to vouch for him.
What was House of Cressida? Not only did they have the Empress, but they also had Frederick, the strongest candidate for the next Emperor.
The terms House of Cressida had set for his cooperation remained vague, but meeting with Count Cressida and hearing his promise firsthand put Posher at ease. If the Count himself came forward for him, his advancement was assured.
‘The Count Cressida smiled and said he was looking forward to my future…… Once Frederick becomes Emperor, I’ll surely stop drifting from post to post as an investigator. Now I too will work at the Emperor’s side.’
Posher wholly agreed with Count Cressida’s assessment that Robert understood reality far less than he thought. A prince who had barely graduated from the academy—it was only natural he should be ignorant.
Everyone at the Administrative Bureau knew of Umbrial’s dire circumstances. Posher empathized with Count Cressida’s opinion that Robert, harboring inferiority toward his more talented brother, was undertaking this task to solve a problem no one else could and win the Emperor’s praise. It was a childish gambit on the prince’s part.
‘Just like the newspaper accounts say—Robert is flailing about trying to outdo Frederick.’
How could a prince harboring such delusions possibly manage a fiefdom properly? Wasn’t it House of Cressida’s intention that he learn a proper lesson this time?
Posher believed his report was perfect. Before meeting the Count directly, Cressida had helped him revise it to the Count’s satisfaction. Grateful, Posher swore to himself that he would never forget Cressida’s kindness.
Posher felt confident about today’s meeting as well.
‘The Count was satisfied with my report and explanation. Dealing with a prince who’s half the Count’s age should be simple enough.’
Watching Robert’s attendants and secretaries greet him with such deference, Posher’s shoulders straightened further. The gazes searching for his mood and disposition only fed his confidence higher.
But that confidence began to crumble the moment he stepped into the study. Robert was glaring at him.
‘Good heavens!’
Robert stood beside his chair. Even after Posher had introduced himself and taken his seat, the prince remained standing, his eyes fixed on the investigator with unmistakable hostility.
Posher had anticipated that Robert might object to his report, but he had not expected such open antagonism. It seemed excessive to him that the prince would be so offended merely by failing to spend the budget according to plan.
From the arrangement of the room, it appeared Robert had summoned reinforcements.
‘I see. This is nothing but the petulant rage of a child who didn’t get his way.’
Posher’s confidence revived. Though Robert’s glare made the wait feel longer, his assurance returned in full.
Had Posher been only slightly less dismissive of the prince, or possessed even a fraction less confidence, he would have recognized his own rudeness.
No matter how respectfully the Administrative Bureau’s officials treated him according to rank, an investigator could hardly remain seated while a prince stood.
But Posher, buoyed by his meeting with the Count, had arrived today with unusually abundant confidence. And that confidence would bring him misfortune.
After some time had passed, Robert’s reinforcement arrived.
None other than Emperor Francisco Uranos.
The moment the Emperor appeared, Posher sprang from his seat. The Emperor’s face darkened.
‘An investigator was sitting while the prince stood?’
The Emperor’s gaze toward Posher was withering. Only after both Robert and Posher were seated did the prince take his chair. The Emperor’s frown did not ease.
Posher had only recently achieved his position as a mid-level administrator in his middle years. Having spent so long abroad as an investigator, he was not well versed in Court Etiquette.
His repeated unintentional breaches of protocol appeared to the Emperor as nothing but arrogance. The Emperor began to wonder whether Robert had been subjected to such disrespect all along. And it occurred to him too that this presumptuous investigator might be receiving special protection from someone.
Prince Robert understood why the Emperor was displeased. Though unintentional, Robert made no move to defend Posher. Why should he? It was better to exploit the situation to his advantage.
The Emperor spoke, looking at Robert.
“An investigator from Umbrial, you say?”
Robert glanced briefly at Investigator Posher before answering the Emperor. “This is my first time meeting an investigator from Umbrial. Upon reading the report, I was at a loss for words. How could an investigator of the Empire conduct himself in such a manner? I, too, am quite disappointed. Still, I thought it necessary to confirm the matter directly with him.”

“And?”
“I have not yet begun questioning him. Since Your Majesty has deigned to come, I cannot proceed independently with the matter.”
“Or is it that you cannot handle an investigator alone?”
At the Emperor’s words, Robert smiled bitterly. The Emperor took the report. After studying it for some time, he sighed and spoke.
“It is an unwritten law that the affairs of each territory remain the domain of their lords, yes—but intervention should have come from the center before things deteriorated to this extent. Despite being on the border, all the defense facilities have been rendered unusable…. Perhaps we should simply demolish them all?”
“I too was taken aback upon reading the investigator’s report. I found myself wondering whether he had completely lost sight of the fact that this is a border region. Surely he has not been bribed by Saturn?”
“One can never be certain. Looking at the current state of affairs, it does seem as though someone has been compromised.”
Posher grew flustered as the conversation woven through the report turned toward accusations of his corruption and betrayal. All he had done was try to make a good impression on Cressida.
Thinking it absurd to be called a traitor, Posher opened his mouth to speak.
“I believe there may be some misunderstanding. The border region enclosed by the Titania Mountain Range enjoys significant geographic advantages. Even if we were to invest the budget in Umbrial, we cannot be certain the facilities would remain operational.”
Posher, uneasy at the Emperor’s continued coldness, hastened to continue.
“If we invest not in border defense facilities, but in the territory itself, we can restore Umbrial to its former prosperity far more quickly. That would resolve the difficulties the territory is facing. Once the territory’s revenues increase, facility investments can be procured from the territory’s own coffers rather than depending on the center.”
At Posher’s words, Robert spoke coldly.
“Increase the territory’s revenue, you say? For one, if it is not a border facility, the center would never allocate such a budget to Umbrial, would it? Are you suggesting the investigator wishes to repurpose military budget allocations entirely? Hmm…. It is natural that without a war with Saturn, our vigilance grows slack. Yet if we continue to manage the border carelessly indefinitely, we invite danger upon ourselves. Think on it, Investigator. If someone leaves a door wide open, would you not be tempted to peer inside?”
At Robert’s words, Posher smiled with ease. He believed this was precisely the moment to demonstrate his experience as an investigator.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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