North x Northwest

Ed alluded.

“Put the order in Levi’s name.”

‘Does he mean I have to keep my mouth shut for a while?’ 

The dressmaker nodded his head knowingly. 

‘A mistress, indeed.’ 

He cleared his throat, hiding his wavy moustache behind his fist.

“…I’m sure…”

***

With his hat tucked to his side, Captain Long saluted. Ed, who was sitting at his desk flipping through a report, nodded to the chair across from him. 

“Any progress?”

Taking a seat, Captain Long glanced at Ed. He then cleared his throat and responded.

“No matter how hard I look, I can’t find any eyewitnesses. No one knows where the first shot came from.*”

It was rare for Long to come to Ed’s mansion, let alone be called into his cabinet and report directly. Because till some time ago, Sagastar had been the one doing it. 

‘But from the moment the Admiral returned from the Sea of ​​Ingres, he hated seeing Sir Victor’s face. No, now that I think about it, ‘hate’ isn’t even accurate enough. It might be more fitting to say that the Admiral would kill the Commodore if he was caught in his line of sight…

Any officer on the Mondovi fleet knows about Sir Victor’s extreme devotion to Sir Edgar. After all, whenever he drinks, Sir Victor would bombard the officers with the story of how Sir Edgar saved him during one of their naval battles. The only person who would dare to cut off a drunk Vice-Admiral on the Mondovi fleet was the Admiral himself, someone who was rarely present at said drinking parties. Because of this, the officers have no choice but to endure the torture of listening to Sir Victor’s tale of resurrection, which they couldn’t hear without tears. That was his level of devotion… However, from the moment we began our journey back, Sir Victor resided on another ship as if he had lost his spirit and tried to stay out of Sir Edgar’s eyes as much as possible. In addition, Sir Edgar didn’t look for Sir Victor either.’

Everyone was puzzled by the strange atmosphere, but Long knew why.

‘The source of the fallout was an incident onboard a merchant ship belonging to Viscount Noirmont, on which Sir Victor nearly killed a woman. The woman claimed she was merely a hostage, but the Vice-Admiral disregarded her claim and pierced her stomach. However, it turned out that her claims were actually true and she was even acquainted with Sir Edgar. Furthermore, Cesar Lemoine, who appeared out of nowhere, joined in on denouncing Sir Victor.’

Long was also familiar with Cesar. 

‘He was once a promising admiral prospect, and his family, the house of Count Lemoine, is an aristocratic family with a long history. Sir Cesar, the young master of such a family, sided with Sir Edgar in his fit of rage regarding the woman’s circumstances. No matter how ignorant I am of the state of affairs of high-ranking aristocrats, I could sense that the victim was a daughter of a noble family. 

In that case, Sir Victor was truly unfortunate. Who would’ve thought there would be a hostage with a status as high as hers on such a small merchant ship, and on the remote waters of the South no less? Of course, she could simply be a pirate committing fraud, but our admiral isn’t the merciful kind that will care about the injustice done to a single pirate…’

Ed rose from his desk and sat on the couch adjacent to Long. He spoke, tiredly leaning on the couch while tilting his neck.

“And what about the public opinion among the officers?”

“Well, they’re wondering why the execution ceremony hasn’t taken place yet. His Majesty had said that if you catch southern pirates this time around, he’ll set an example at Sesbron first, but they haven’t even been transported yet. They said that the movement is too slow, way too slow. Isn’t it the first time in several years… no, decades that Navy officers have died in a battle in the South? There are a lot of officers who are getting angry.”

Ed didn’t give an answer, but Long had already come up with the possible reason for the sluggish disposal of the southern rogue boat that attacked the navy. 

‘The issue lies with her. Is she from a wealthy family? I guess so. Perhaps he’s waiting for a statement from Sesbron regarding her disposition. There must be ongoing tabletop discussions about the young miss’ honour.

In any case, those wealthy families are all scumbags. A bunch of filthy, haughty, and gluttonous eaters who only care about their own privileges. With the arrival of the Empire, the administration of manors and territories became all managed by governors, local dignitaries or officials dispatched by the Emperor himself. The former nobility, who had held fiefdoms before the monarchy’s days, gradually backed away from local politics and administration. They continued their dissolute life by collecting taxes, but there was no longer any aspect of helping the Empire’s ecology.’

Long was an upcoming aristocrat whose grandparents bought a title.

‘They were the pillars of the current Empire, who served in public service, entered the legal profession, and rose to Sesbron’s offices to participate in politics. Nonetheless, the old nobility mocked the new nobility as they were displeased that the latter imitated their lifestyle. At the same time, their outbursts are baseless as their own responsibilities fade and only their privilege remains.

In that sense, Sir Edgar, who ignores the sentiments of the old nobility and focuses on his own eccentricities, has always been the subject of support of the new nobility. Although the Retiro family has a long history, having been founded during the reign of the empire’s first monarchs, its founder is a foreigner from another continent. As a result, he had been treated as an outsider and was discriminated against while trying to mix with high society. That’s why the new nobles were eager to put the lofty foreign family into their frame for the same reason.’

Long also looked up to Ed because of that. Additionally, of course, neither Long nor Edgar ever identified himself with the old nobility.

“Admiral. No matter where the first shot came from, the fact remains that sons of the Empire lost their lives. What does it matter who is responsible for that? A life must be paid with a life.”

“…”

“And as for Julio, didn’t that young fellow confess that they were from the Southern League of Pirates? So, what else are you not allowed to do? Those gathered below deck claiming to be Julio’s hostage could be investigated, but those who ran amok with guns and knives face immediate execution.”

“…”

Long spoke, being careful not to mention anything about the woman as much as possible. He had no desire to intervene in an incident involving the nobility.

“Admiral, please appease the officers. Julio is the captain, so he should be taken to Sesbron and be executed there, but there isn’t a law saying that you couldn’t hang a few small fish in Gualtiero, right? At the very least, it will help lift the mood.”

“But that means that we’ll be triggering an all-out Ingres Sea annihilation war in earnest.”

“It’s something everyone else has been hoping for.”

“Did you forget our fleet’s power composition?”

“But you can requisition ships for shallow draft while preparing for this expedition, can’t you?”

“It’s not enough. I’ve wandered around the southern islands for two months but haven’t seen a flock of birds or a human feeding a school of fish*. However, if you look at the records of past battles fought on the Ingres Sea, you can see that such bizarre abilities are described in great detail. If we don’t prepare for it, our graves will be off the coast of Amiaeng as well, Captain Long*.”

“Ah! So you went ahead to check out the seascape? Haha. Sir Victor and I didn’t even come up with that…”

At the mention of Sagastar’s name, Ed hardened his face. So, the captain quickly closed his mouth and looked up at the ceiling, avoiding Ed’s eyes.

“Don’t be too hasty. The Ingres Sea is different from Anatole.”

‘I guess he’s going to let that slide for now.’

Relieved, the captain nodded his head.

“Yes… So, if we really want to subjugate the Ingres Sea, we’d better study former southern naval battles. Unless it’s preceded, the southern expedition will only end in a dog’s death*.”

“Indeed. That’s the right way of putting it.”

Long knew that his admiral was a commander who could see several steps ahead. 

‘Although he has an eccentric personality, his skills and insight are undeniable.’

Long was willing to trust and follow Ed’s command, just as he had done in the great war of extinction on the Anatole Sea. And so, he was determined to persuade his successor officers for a more prepared expedition.

***

 – – – – – 

Footnote:

A dog’s death: a miserable end; a dishonourable and shameful death.

References:

“No matter how hard I look, I can’t find any eyewitnesses. No one knows where the first shot came from.” 

= Chapter 173, they’re talking about the first cannon shot fired during the battle between the Bell Rock and the Visha. Courant was actually the first to fire and later aimed his cannon at Ed.

“…but haven’t seen a flock of birds or a human feeding a school of fish. However, if you look at the records of past battles fought on the Ingres Sea, you can see that such bizarre abilities are described in great detail. If we don’t prepare for it, our graves will be off the coast of Amiaeng as well, Captain Long.”

 = Chapter 10, referring to the ‘several unexplainable incidents’ happening in the South when the Empire first tried to seize it. Those incidents include Southerners having the ability to command birds to poke holes in the sails of enemy ships and the sudden appearance of schools of fish that would obstruct the navigation of a ship. Both resulted in the ships drifting aimlessly in the sea leaving the crew to die of starvation. That’s also why the sea off the coast of Amiaeng was jokingly called the cemetery of imperial ships and why Ed predicts it will be their graves.