Alexei

"Connor, there's no need to worry. I'm fine, so don't fret."

Theus reassured his anxious old butler as he changed his clothes.

Although the trip to the Abyssal Trench with the Banshees had been full of twists and turns, the journey back had gone smoothly. The Fishmen had vanished for some inexplicable reason—perhaps they'd been frightened off by the huge explosion earlier.

He needed to change quickly.

The Symbiotic Pact had made him immune to the pressure of the Deep Sea, but it couldn't stop the seawater from soaking his clothes.

Theus wasn't too concerned with a nobleman's dignity, but having seaweed and little fish hanging all over him was a bit too discourteous.

After all, he still had to meet with those pirates later.

After receiving the Banshees' allegiance in the Abyssal Trench, he hadn't wasted any time. He'd immediately set off for his territory, determined to make it back in time to negotiate with the pirates.

When he'd first arrived in this world, the pirates had been powerful enemies he couldn't hope to resist. Now, though, there was no need to worry so much.

With the Banshees' help at sea, the pirates posed far less of a threat. Even if they really did come to blows, he might still be able to put up a fight. At the very least, protecting himself wouldn't be much of a problem.

Setting aside the Banshees' overwhelming combat prowess against ordinary people, their ability to scout underwater alone would give him an enormous advantage over the pirates. He even suspected that Ash could sink an entire pirate ship all by herself.

However, he had no intention of dragging the Banshees into a war. They had only just broken free from enslavement; now was the time for them to rest and recover.

He had other plans for the pirates.

With the Banshees' support, things were finally looking up.

And it wasn't just the pirates. He also planned to rethink how he developed his territory.

"Let's talk about the negotiations first."

"Lord Theus, two sea merchants have arrived this time..."

"Pirates."

Connor faltered. He studied Theus, feeling that the master he served seemed somewhat different.

If this had been before, young Lord Theus would never have spoken in such a calm yet firm tone. Like any illegitimate son, he'd been sensitive and suspicious, yet timid and hesitant.

Under Theus's gaze, Connor lowered his head. "...Two pirates have arrived. Since you weren't here, Chief Steward Alexei went to negotiate with them."

"Wasn't it agreed that I'd handle the negotiations?"

"I told him that, sir, but this morning he rejected my suggestion in his capacity as chief secretary. He said that without an official document, he would only accept a direct order from you."

Theus raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Did I hear that right?"

Wasn't he the lord of a feudal empire? Weren't these people under him his vassals?

What was this, a rebellion?

Connor hesitated, then spoke softly. "Lord Theus, your chief secretary, Alexei, is a seventh-rank civil official, assigned by the royal family to assist you in governing your territory."

In the third year after the Empress ascended the throne, she dissolved the cabinet and introduced a thirteen-rank civil service system. From then on, imperial officials answered only to the Empress and were no longer subject to local lords.

Theus searched his memories and quickly realized that his chief secretary's background was anything but simple.

His name was Alexei. He'd grown up in an orphanage established by the royal family in the Northern Territory. After distinguishing himself, he'd been given the chance to study, eventually graduating from the Royal Army Academy and being assigned to serve as Theus's chief secretary.

What did it mean to rise from an orphan to a seventh-rank civil official?

The title of Border Count had been secured for Theus through Duke Cohen's influence. In theory, his official rank was only one level higher than Alexei's.

Though a Border Count was a landed noble and belonged to a different system from civil officials, the difficulty of Alexei's rise was clear enough.

And when Theus thought back to the chief secretary's background— the Royal Army Academy...

The Empire's navy was a joke, but no one dared mock its army.

When the Empress had just ascended the throne, the royal family had been in decline, and several grand dukes had thrown their weight around. Eleven years later, there was only one voice left in the Empire. The whole Empire advanced according to the Empress's will.

The lords stayed obediently in their territories, watching the royal army expand the Empire's borders every so often and seeing the Empress's cabinet fill with certificates appointing new Border Counts.

The Royal Army Academy was the foundation of it all, and Alexei had been the top student of his graduating class. If he'd joined the army, he would have started out as a mid-ranking officer.

But why had he become Theus's chief secretary, and why did he dare defy him like this?

The answer was simple. The royal family always assigned Royal Army Academy graduates as chief secretaries to Border Counts.

On the one hand, they were there to monitor and infiltrate; most of those graduates were loyal to the royal family. On the other hand, there was a genuine need for them.

The lands of Border Counts were always beset by war. Every inch had to be won with blood and steel, and a chief steward with connections to the Royal Army Academy could raise a force with ease.

Of course, that also meant Border Counts were firmly hitched to the royal family's war chariot.

As for why Alexei had defied him...

Theus gave a self-mocking smile.

"I can't really blame him. I've been giving money to the pirates all this time. He hasn't had a war to fight, so he must be getting anxious."

"Exactly, sir. If you send him back over this, you'll be giving him what he wants. He's probably been eager to enlist on the western front for a long time. You should go over as soon as possible."

"Then I doubt he'll negotiate with the pirates in good faith, either. Let's hurry, before he tries anything."

Theus stood and headed for the door, with Connor following close behind.

Theus had guessed correctly. At that very moment, Alexei was considering how to stir up trouble.

He had come to help the Border Count conquer the Storm Ocean, not to act as some chief secretary managing piles of paperwork.

The last time Theus had sent him to hand money to the pirates, he'd been unhappy. And now, when the time had come, Theus had disappeared again? Was he planning to make Alexei pay them off once more?

The old butler had said the lord had gone missing, but Alexei hadn't believed him.

Come on. A lord had supposedly vanished from his own estate at night, despite being unconscious and surrounded by layers of security?

Why not say he'd fallen into the sea?

Alexei gave a cold snort.

When he'd first arrived here, he'd wanted nothing more than to help the lord expand his territory and earn himself a distinguished record.

But Theus's cowardly ways had been impossible to accept.

He spent money to buy peace from the pirates. At home, he conscripted the people to build his estate, and it had only just been completed now.

He ignored everything in his territory, dumping it all on Alexei and the old butler, while he spent his days reading and drinking tea at the estate.

Hah. A Border Count?

Alexei's gaze gradually turned cold.

He had worked his way up, and seen countless people struggle with all their might only to spend their lives languishing for lack of opportunity. Theus, meanwhile, had been handed such a good chance, with Duke Cohen's connections and the royal family's covert support, yet all he did was give money to pirates.

Alexei had no intention of complaining about fate's unfairness, but bowing to these decaying nobles would betray all the effort he'd put in along the way.

He couldn't do it.

And so, little by little, something changed in Alexei's heart. He had continued to hope that Theus would fulfill his duties as a lord.

But his lord still hadn't shown up, and that became the final straw. Perhaps it was time to consider what he would do next.

Alexei pushed open the meeting room door, his expression cold.