Chapter 23
Chapter 023
"Do you think it's too late to take up a sword? Nonsense. If I personally teach you, I can blast a highway straight through to knighthood. Probation? No such thing is needed. With just one letter of recommendation from me, you’ll be a second lieutenant starting tomorrow!"
Why the hell does this fucking world use "second lieutenant" for army ranks too?
If a proper knight is a minnow, what, are Swordmasters one-stars? Are Grand Swordmasters four-stars?
...This might actually be real.
"What do you think?"
…….
How do you think?
It makes my insides burn.
What a load of bullshit.
Was I crazy?
In my past life, even a year and a half was hell, and all I did was stare at the Ministry of National Defense clock day after day. You want me to live my whole life as a soldier?
I'd rather bite my tongue off and die.
But I can't let that show here.
Just look at the little back-and-forth we had.
If I say something weak like, "It's hard, I don't think it's for me," or "I don't want to," this old fossil would.
"You need mental reconditioning! The army is still the answer!"
...and then he'd come at me even harder.
If I wanted my father never to bring it up again, I had to drive the nail in perfectly here.
It wasn't that I wouldn't enlist; it had to be that I couldn't.
I had to crush it with logic.
With an argument that couldn't be refuted.
I hardened my expression.
I dropped the playfulness and put on the mask of a young man more serious and troubled than anyone in the empire.
"Professor."
"Go on! I'm waiting for a positive answer."
As for other places, though...
I looked Wilhelm straight in the eye and spoke clearly.
"If you consider my position and my family's position, I will absolutely never go serve in the military."
...What?
Wilhelm's brow furrowed.
"My family's position? What do you mean by that? It's not as if the Farne family doesn't have a tradition of honoring martial prowess."
Right. My father and my brother can both swing a sword like pros.
"That still shouldn't be enough to refuse the empire's summons, though?"
Now.
Grease up my tongue properly.
...Let's go.
"I earned a reputation for crawling along the ground within days of enrolling. You know that, right?"
"I know. They said you were a troublemaker."
"No matter how much of a troublemaker I was, what do you think made that possible?"
I toyed with my teacup and gave a bitter smile.
"Because the name Farne carries a weight so enormous that some lowlife like me couldn't possibly tarnish it."
"Hmm."
Wilhelm stroked his chin.
"So... you're saying the Farne family's dignity was so immense that even your antics were classified as 'a personal lapse separate from the family'?"
"That's right. But, Professor."
I lowered my voice.
As if I were bad-mouthing Lily in front of the crown prince.
"The Farne name has dignity. But that isn't just because it's old and rich, is it?"
"......!"
"It's weight born of fear. We are the emperor's shadow, the eyes and ears that hold intelligence and oversight in our hands."
Wilhelm's expression gradually hardened.
He's old, but not stupid.
Being old means having survived.
Wilhelm von Kreutz is a man who has mastered battlefield politics.
He would have sensed instinctively what my words meant.
"My brother is perfect. There are no flaws to pick at. My father won't resign in disgrace, either. My brother will become the next head of the family, and the Intelligence Bureau will fall into his hands."
"I suppose so."
"And then I, the second son, become Professor Wilhelm's disciple—the living legend at the core of the imperial military—and enter the military establishment?"
I let out a self-deprecating snort.
"What would that look like to everyone else?"
"......A family that already holds the Intelligence Bureau's power would be seen as greedy for the military too?"
"Exactly."
Wilhelm's pupils wavered.
Intelligence + military power.
There is only one answer to that formula.
Perfect for a coup.
No matter how much the emperor favored the Farne family, a subject who held both the sword hilt and the eyes and ears was the first priority for elimination.
The moment the balance of power collapses, a bloodbath follows—that's a historical fact.
It seemed like my pitch was starting to work, but Wilhelm wouldn't back down easily.
"That's too hasty a conclusion. I understand your loyalty, but His Majesty is not the kind of man who turns loyalty into suspicion. And even if you became a general, if your family harbors no treasonous intentions, what's the problem?"
"It is hasty."
I nodded.
"But if I break my back becoming a general, only to sharpen the blade that will cut down my family's neck, I don't want to bear that risk."
"Hmm... your thinking is too pessimistic. It lacks romance."
"I think the professor's thinking is far too naive."
"What did you say?"
I started hammering the stubborn old man with nonsense that claimed to be principle but was really sophistry.
"Haven't you heard the saying, 'Absolute power corrupts absolutely'?"
"That doesn't sound like something one should say so casually."
Wilhelm's aura turned ferocious, but I didn't back down.
I actually pressed harder.
"You were the one who made the dangerous proposal first, right? Do you really think I'd say this if I didn't have to, Professor?"
A scene from modern Korean history flashed through my mind.
The tank-driving old soldiers who marched into Seoul, the kind of macho that not even the word 'teto' can really describe.
I know all too well from modern history what happens when the Intelligence Bureau and the army become one body.
"I don't want to leave a record in history saying our family entered the military and 'broke the balance.' For the sake of the empire's peace, it makes more sense for me to pick up a pen... or a hoe."
"......"
Wilhelm closed his mouth.
He let out a low hum and stared at me.
Did the old man get pissed?
Did I go too far?
After a while, he let out a deep sigh.
"......Hah."
Professor Wilhelm's gaze changed.
An emotion far removed from anger at daring to question the emperor's judgment.
This is... respect?
Keep going, please.
...Please!
"I understand. I'll give up on you."
Okay!
Nice!
"What a pity, what a pity. With insight like that, you should be in a position to lead many more people..."
Wilhelm reached out to me with an emotional expression.
It was a rough, callused hand.
So this was my future, huh.
Utterly fucking disgusting.
"An attitude that puts the family's and the empire's stability before personal success. In an age like this, when people are so soaked in peace that they easily lose sight of the essence, you're a rare young man."
"You're too kind."
A sage, my ass.
I just worked my tongue a little because I didn't want to join the army.
But Wilhelm had already completely mistaken me for a true nobleman with genuine patriotism.
"I'm glad I got to meet a truly patriotic noble youth after such a long time. Even if you walk the path of a mage, I believe you'll become a talent for the nation."
"Yes. I'll keep that in mind."
I have no intention of doing that, as long as I don't have to go to the army.
I took his hand with a solemn expression.
Dramatic negotiation, success.
'Cut! Cut! Military exemption confirmed!'
Professor Wilhelm patted my shoulder a couple of times in regret, then got to his feet.
"Then be sure to talk things over with the other professors too. I'll put in a good word with the Court Count."
"Thank you, Professor."
I got up after him and kept bowing to his back over and over.
As soon as Professor Wilhelm opened the door and left, I slumped back down onto the sofa.
"Huuuu..."
I was really drenched in cold sweat.
I got past the biggest mountain.
Now there were only two left.
Viscountess Müller the farmer, and Professor Iris the vampire.
* * *
After getting past the biggest mountain, Professor Wilhelm.
I was alone, furiously racking my brains.
'All right, let's run the numbers.'
The answer had already been decided.
But that didn't mean I could just meekly go, "Yes, understood," and comply.
'The situation has changed. I'm the one with the leverage now.'
Three professors want me.
That means I'm currently a premium item up for auction.
Could I give up this delicious moment of being on the winning side? No way.
The Korean in me, deep in my DNA, started twitching with that uniquely Korean mindset: when you're the one with leverage, you have to squeeze every last drop out of it.
'A private laboratory alone isn't enough now.'
I needed something beyond that.
Actually, I didn't really need anything.
What is bossing people around, anyway?
You don't do it because you need to. You do it because you're the one on top and feel like throwing your weight around.
It was then.
Knock, knock.
The rough knock sounded, and the door opened.
The leather-aproned hipster, Viscountess Müller, strode in.
She sat on the sofa opposite me with her legs crossed, took off her wide-brimmed hat, and set it on the table.
"Let's cut to the chase and talk business, student Cassian."
As expected of a businesswoman. I like how direct she is.
"You look pretty satisfied from Professor Wilhelm's expression, so have you decided to go to the army?"
"No. I turned down Professor Wilhelm's offer."
"Wise choice."
Viscountess Müller grinned.
"Then there are two options left: me, or Professor Iris."
"That's right."
"From your tendencies, it seems like you'd fit me better, so I'll be frank. I don't really like beating around the bush."
She leaned forward and looked me straight in the eye.
A confident gaze.
And I could tell the source of that confidence from what she said next.
"Tell me what conditions you want. I'll match anything."
So that's where a person's aura comes from—money.
Honestly, the saying I related to least in my past life was the famous line, "We don't have money, but we do have swagger."
I actually preferred living by the opposite slogan.
We don't have swagger, but we do have money.
Nice.
How cool is that, seriously?
But the married noona in front of me even had both swagger and money.
"...Anything?"
"Yes. Anything."
I snorted inwardly.
This woman, what does she think I'm going to ask for, tossing out a line like that?
But at the same time, I can feel it.
That woman might even say, "Sure, whatever," no matter what outrageous thing I asked for.
Viscountess Müller's easy smile never wavered.
It felt like being an immature nephew in front of an aunt trying to hand me pocket money.
My posture keeps trying to get more polite.
"People who haven't run a business usually don't understand this. There's nothing in the world that can't be done."
Seriously?
That famous line I know?
"It's just a lack of money. With money, everything is possible. If something can't be done, that means the budget was drawn up wrong."
"......"
Wow... holy shit, that's insanely exciting.
The DNA of a hellhole-born dirt-poor bastard was reacting like crazy.
This is a maxim. It should be in textbooks.
Noticing my expression waver, Viscountess Müller began piling on specific offers like a finishing blow.
"I heard you asked for a private laboratory. You probably want a place where you can be comfortable without worrying about other people's eyes, right? Then I'll build you a brand-new private greenhouse just for you, student Cassian. At a location of your choice, wherever you want."
Fuck?
"A private greenhouse?"
"Of course. And I'm not going to brush it off with some lazy excuse that a laboratory and a greenhouse are both just private spaces anyway."
Seriously?
"I'll even set up a farm hut in the private greenhouse that can serve as a laboratory, and I'll also arrange a separate private laboratory for you in the Academy's College of Liberal Arts. Of course, it'll all be fully equipped with top-of-the-line gear."
Wow.
Wow.
Holy shit, wow!
"Research funds? Unlimited. You won't even need to submit receipts. I'll authorize you to charge expenses to a ledger with an unlimited budget ceiling, so swipe away to your heart's content."
She's saying she'd give me an unlimited corporate card.
Is there any word sexier than that?
"Rare old books on agriculture? Hard to get, right? But through my trading company's information network, I can get books that aren't even in the imperial national library within a few days."
"Gasp."
"And now for the most important part."
Viscountess Müller winked.
"You can't do farming by theory from books alone. I'll keep veteran farmhands on standby to lend you their hands and feet. If there's something you don't know, they'll teach you. And on days when you don't want to get your hands dirty, you just give the orders: 'Plant that,' 'Pull that up.' They'll handle everything."
"......"
She's insane.
This is just a crazy proposal.
The super-luxurious farming life beyond the insane noble life I'd dreamed of was unfolding right in front of me.
She smiled with total confidence and delivered the final blow.
"Just say the word. I have everything, and all of it is possible. If you become my disciple, I'm even willing to give you a stake in my trading company after graduation."
In that moment, I genuinely hesitated.
Should I dump Iris and the others and side with this one?
The married professor in front of me suddenly started looking like the most beautiful goddess in the world.
'...Should I ask if I can suck your toes?'
Saliva pooled at the corners of my mouth.
My lips started to move without me realizing.
'Noona... can I call you that?'
The words in my heart kept trying to burst out in my own voice.
Stop.
She's a married woman!
...Maybe that makes it even better?
I'm going to be the capital's number-one piece of trash anyway, aren't I?
No, wait, isn't this noona the one making the first move on me?
......Fuck.
'I don't even know what the hell I'm saying anymore.'