I Became the Teacher of the Imperial Family’s Bastard

017. Subjugation (2)

After experiencing the miracle of regression, I made two resolutions.

One, to make the Pharos family the most glorious, even for the sake of my sister’s happiness.

Two, never to go back to the military.

The second resolution came naturally as I recalled the truly dreadful past. Not just the imprisonment, but the training, the battles, and the communal life were all too incompatible with my temperament.

I even thought that if the empire had been even slightly more intact, I might have preferred to be in prison.

I will never go back.

I made that vow, but now the second vow is in conflict with the first.

What am I supposed to do?

What are you asking?

Of course, number one takes precedence over number two.

“Young master, the sun is scorching in the south right now, so you must take a hat. Even if it’s embarrassing, there’s no choice. Fair skin is a very important asset in social circles. Oh, and this is a magical water bottle that holds ice. It can’t create new ice, so you should mix it with water to drink cool water. And…”

Upon hearing the news of my departure, my sister packed my luggage meticulously. Her concern was so intense that it seemed like mothers sending their sons off to the imperial army.

No, it certainly seemed like that situation.

A worried sister, the situation of enlistment, and my rotting expression all perfectly aligned in a trinity.

“…Sister, there’s too much luggage.”

“Still, you must take it. Your body is an asset. The young master’s health is a major concern for our entire family.”

The luggage was enough to fill a carriage. Is this right?

I replied with a bitter smile.

“Let’s at least leave out the bedding.”

“A comfortable bed is necessary for a good night’s sleep…”

“Sister, I sleep in a sleeping bag. I don’t need a blanket.”

“How could you…”

His sister was shocked.

Ah, she really is a noble lady.

‘Would she be shocked if she knew I slept on the bare floor?’

I should probably keep this fact a secret until the end.

* * *

Although there was still quite some time left until the Founding Festival, the capital was already in a festive mood.

It was not for any other reason.

“Then let the departure ceremony begin!”

Toot—

This year’s Founding Festival was special because it marked the coming of age of Callios.

And today was the day of the ‘Rite of Resistance,’ the departure day of the subjugation force, which hadn’t been held in nearly half a century.

The main street was teeming with people.

If one were to be careless, they could easily be swept away by the crowd.

How could so many people gather for just a departure ceremony?

One might ask, but in another sense, it was only natural.

Everyone in the empire grew up hearing the legend of the founding emperor.

Every boy had dreamed of becoming a hero like the founding emperor at some point.

The girls once wished for a beautiful love like the first empress.

As everyone has such a time, this expedition ceremony had an aspect that stimulated the innocence of the imperial people beyond its simple historical significance.

But that was not all.

As it was an expedition to honor history, the procession was splendid.

The Royal First Knights personally appeared.

Sword Master Drenor was appointed as their commander.

The first princess and the prince’s retainers were at the center of the procession, and most importantly, at the forefront.

“Dad! Your Highness!”

“Yes, the person next to him is Lord Pharos!”

“Master!”

“Yes! The two of them will defeat the Orc Lord! Just like the founding emperor and the ancestor Lord Pharos!”

“Wow…!”

Callios, and Yuren following right behind him.

The sight of the two dressed in splendid ceremonial robes heated up the imperial people.

Especially for the boys who dreamed of being heroes, it was even more intense.

“Waaa!!!”

Everyone, old and young, raised their voices.

In the midst of it all, Callios at the forefront kept smiling gracefully and waving his hand.

Thus, the subjugation force set out from the imperial castle.

The cheers of the imperial people and the grand sound of trumpets echoed behind them.

It was only after those sounds had completely faded away.

In an open space, Erilda spoke.

“Then let’s change.”

The show was over, and it was time to return to reality.

Kallios and Yuren dismounted from their horses and began to take off their ceremonial robes.

Yuren grumbled.

“Oh, I thought I was going to die from discomfort.”

“That’s how ceremonial robes are.”

“I know.”

“…Still, is it right for you to speak so disrespectfully to me, your Taezan?”

“Is it right for you to use the word ‘disrespect’ with your teacher?”

“Ah.”

The other knights and retainers were the same. They gathered in small groups, taking off their white ceremonial robes and changing into simpler clothes. After that, they loaded the robes onto the supply wagons and sent them back to the capital.

This subjugation campaign had a strong ceremonial aspect, so they paid a lot of attention to appearances. Hence, this troublesome aftermath.

However, recalling the cheers from just before, it was clearly necessary, so no one except Yuren complained.

Somewhere, Erilda confirmed that the supplies were in order and spoke.

“Good. You all return through the north gate. The south gate is still crowded. And the procession will eat here before departing, so prepare for that.”

Erilda was the strategist for this operation. Despite having many others to carry out the tasks, she had come herself for several reasons, the most significant being this:

Erilda’s gaze turned to Yuren.

‘That man, he’s unreliable.’

Yuren was sitting on the floor, rummaging through his belongings.

There was not a shred of nobility in his appearance.

The greatest scoundrel in the capital, and the mentor of Kallios.

A man who somehow managed to embody two irreconcilable elements.

While Kallios seemed to trust him completely, Erilda had several reasons not to.

First, Yuren’s past actions.

This needs no further explanation as it is well-known.

The reason Erilda found him unreliable lay elsewhere.

‘That man, he smiles every time he hits Kallios.’

Kallios’s swordsmanship lessons were mostly conducted in the form of sparring.

For Erilda, who doubted Yuren, observing these sessions was essential.

There was something she felt every time.

Though others seemed not to notice, Yuren was relieving his stress by hitting Kallios.

Whether it was lingering resentment from the kidnapping, or simply his nature, it was too much for someone who was supposed to be serving.

Secondly, his overly capricious nature.

Hadn’t he caused trouble during the last appointment ceremony as well?

Despite being asked to behave, he ignored it and caused a scene.

It was only natural to worry that having such a man by Kallios’s side would damage his public image.

Thus, Erilda participated in this subjugation campaign.

To personally intervene if Yuren tried to cause trouble.

To somehow turn that man into a person who could contribute to the prince.

It was in the midst of such a moment.

Erylda tilted her head.

“?”

Yuren began to pull out some cooking utensils from the luggage.

* * *

The cheeseburger must continue to be researched.

It may not be as good as Hanna’s, but I need to match it to a certain level to stabilize my diet.

Moreover, I promised Aria that I would master the cheeseburger before leaving, so I must keep that promise.

Thus, I received ingredients from the family’s servants and planned to try it little by little during meal times.

‘The meat was too dry before.’

This time, let’s go in the direction of preserving the juices.

I took out the minced meat.

But as it is, it doesn’t bind well.

I pulled out the family heirloom (a switch) from my waist.

I struck the meat with it.

Pak!

As expected, the feel is good.

‘It’s fascinating.’

I don’t know what kind of item it is, but this heirloom has such good durability that it can be used in quite a variety of ways.

Even if it gets hit by a knife, it doesn’t get a scratch, and if something like a stain gets on it, it gets cleaned off at some point when I check it.

It was also good to use as a meat hammer.

After mincing, it was also good to use as a rolling pin to flatten the meat.

‘Now…’

I need to bake the bread and melt the cheese.

I was sitting in front of the fire, engrossed in the task for quite some time.

“Lady Soga.”

A voice that somehow made me feel tired.

When I looked up, Erilda was standing with her arms crossed, looking down at me.

“…Yes, Your Highness.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m cooking.”

Erilda’s gaze turned to the ingredients, her expression oddly reluctant, as if to say, ‘This?’

I wondered if she was going to interfere with what I was eating, but then I thought, this is mild compared to before.

When I think of this woman before the regression.

– I was clearly commanding the interception of the detachment. So why did we go to the enemy’s main camp?

– What can you do if your brother goes? If you’re an adjutant, you should shut up and follow.

– …Didn’t you think to stop him?

– Can you stop that man? No, and how do you achieve your goal and get out of a battlefield that’s full of variables in the first place?

– …I thought you were at least rational.

– If I were rational, I wouldn’t have gone to prison.

What can I say, she’s capable but really rigid.

It was even worse during the war.

‘He would get so furious if even one plan went awry.’

The Crown Prince was a battle maniac who couldn’t be satisfied unless he killed every visible enemy on the battlefield.

For that reason, he often engaged in battles outside of the planned operations, which always caused friction with Erilda, who pursued extremely strategic combat.

As a strategist, I understood Erilda’s position.

A solid command structure was necessary for smooth operation execution, and beyond that, she was in a position where hundreds could die easily based on her choices.

However, what I resented was that the two who clashed never fought directly.

The Crown Prince was the problem.

He always left the reporting to me.

He ran away because he didn’t want to hear the nagging.

In the end, it was my job to fight, and thus, I really didn’t get along with this woman.

‘Thinking about it, it’s unfair again.’

In the end, wasn’t I the victim caught in between?

I had more reasons to train harder.

I was thinking about that.

“The cooks are making it. At least a meal.”

“I’m picky about my taste.”

“Do you not trust the Imperial Army?”

Abruptly, my hand stopped.

For some reason, those words made me feel a sense of déjà vu.

– Do you not trust the Imperial Army? Yeah, you wouldn’t. You couldn’t even defeat a single barbarian tribe, so you dragged us out of prison. We know it too. The Imperial Army has weakened. Without you, it would collapse. That’s why I’m saying this.

That day was annoyingly vivid.

-Especially Yuren, it can’t be done without you. You’re the only one who can control that damn brother.

A face that smiled inappropriately.

-Live. Not me, you live.

For no reason, my mouth tasted bitter.

I erased it and spoke.

“…I say my hobby is cooking. Please feel free to choose the menu.”

When I spoke with some courtesy, I heard Erylda’s sigh.

Fortunately, she wasn’t as strict as during the war.

“Do as you please. Just avoid dishes that take so long they interfere with the march.”

A glance showed a face full of irritation.

Though she said it was fine, I would continue cooking with gratitude, but the thought that had just come to mind made me feel uneasy.

To be precise, it reminded me of other past events.

“Would Your Highness like to try it?”

“What?”

“This, I mean. The dish I’m making.”

Erylda frowned.

It seemed like she was looking down on me, but it was the expected reaction.

Did I mention, several combat rations, including cheeseburgers, were dishes devised by the prisoner soldier, Hannah.

This woman, a paragon of royalty, had never once tasted Hanna’s cooking, perhaps due to her obsession with maintaining her dignity.

Thus, curiosity arose.

‘Her taste shouldn’t be any different from the Crown Prince’s.’

Through Aria, a hypothesis had already been established: ‘The royal family might be crazy about cheeseburgers.’

So, wouldn’t it be worth verifying?

To see her, who had ignored the dish, get completely absorbed in it.

I must admit, I wanted to see that.

Just in time, the meat and bread were done. I made a cheeseburger with vegetables and melted cheese.

“Please, have a taste. It’s delicious.”

Erilda’s eyes twitched.

Eventually, her mouth opened,

“Later…”

“The Third Princess loves this snack.”

“……”

Well, at least she doesn’t badmouth her sister.

Still, she’s a hundred times better than the Crown Prince.

“Just one bite…”

What could she have been thinking?

Following this woman’s line of thought, I am still Pharos.

Even if she personally dislikes it, she would still show proper manners.

Erylda stared at the cheeseburger with a face full of hesitation.

Then, she squeezed her eyes shut and took a bite of the cheeseburger with a ‘chomp…!’.

It was right after that.

Gulp!

The burger went down Erylda’s throat.

She lowered her head.

Her expression was hidden by her bangs, but… I could roughly tell.

‘She likes it.’

A moment of flinching.

The way she chewed and smacked her lips didn’t seem to indicate she disliked it.

‘The royalty likes cheeseburgers.’

The hypothesis was almost half-proven.

Now, it only remained to prove it with the second prince, the third prince, and the second princess, and the emperor.

Regardless, there was something to be done first.

“Hmm, it seems you don’t like it that much. Since you said just one bite, you don’t need to eat more. Please give it to me.”

When I reached out my hand, a startled Erylda asked back.

“…Isn’t this the food I took a bite of? It doesn’t taste that great. But it feels wasteful to throw it away like this, so I’ll finish it. You should know the value of food during a march.”

“Huh.”

“Enjoy your meal.”

Erylda turned her back and walked away from me.

In the meantime, shoulders rise and the head drops.

Is he still eating the burger?

‘The body is honest.’

For no reason, I felt pleased.

* * *

The subjugation squad marched quickly southward.

As it was a procession made up of horses and carriages, the distance traveled increased rapidly.

Thus, a week passed.

They arrived at the southern plateau.

“Let’s set up the camp here. It’s easy to fall back and easy to enter. The perimeter defense is good too.”

It was a high ground near the entrance.

Erilda skillfully commanded the troops to set up the camp.

Afterwards, she gathered the staff at the headquarters to share the subjugation schedule.

I also attended the meeting.

For now, under the pretext of being the prince’s mentor, I sat at the head seat.

“The subjugation schedule is a total of one week. The target is ten villages found near the imperial border. This is the information obtained from the nearby village…”

It’s not a difficult task.

Why did the Orc tribe degenerate into monsters?

It’s because their combat instincts make it difficult to form groups.

The larger the group, the faster it disintegrates due to internal conflicts.

In the orc village, there were barely twenty or thirty orcs.

The total number of exterminations was at most three hundred.

Even if it was considered a piecemeal defeat, it was a mission that could be carried out even while dozing off with the forces included up to the Drenor territory.

“We’ll first send out scouts to investigate the details. The village assigned to His Highness the Crown Prince will be chosen later. Next…”

Thus, the plan was established.

That evening, I was still researching cheeseburgers.

I could feel Erilda staring at me intensely, and when the Crown Prince came and asked for a bite, I refused.

It was so peaceful that I felt languid.

Especially since it was hotter and drier than the capital in the southern highlands, I felt reluctant to move.

Just for that one day.

“…The scout unit was attacked. The enemy used a decoy. They managed to return alive, but their injuries are severe, making further mission deployment difficult.”

Enemy soldiers and decoys.

In other words, orcs and strategy.

“Does that mean…?”

“An orc army has emerged. A commander-level entity has appeared…”

An accident that should not have happened occurred.

End

ⓒ papapa.

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