Chapter 95: Dragged Along With A Star (1)
In front of the office door of the Northern Expeditionary Force Commander.
Before entering to meet the Count who calls me his son-in-law, I sighed and grumbled.
“I understand being busy, but isn’t it too much to summon someone who just returned from the bitterly cold northern front line in the middle of the night...?”
I grumbled, but it was not to the extent that I couldn’t understand.
Having achieved great feats, including subduing the Chieftain Khan, they might ask what rewards I would like in advance.
Or they called me to advise on how to proceed in the future.
And since this was the only time to discuss it with me, they must have asked me to come immediately upon returning.
“I am Colonel Peter Yaeger, commander of the 24th Regiment. May I enter, Commander?”
Count Benner replied with a voice full of fatigue.
“Come in.”
Following his words, I opened the door and entered, seeing a pile of documents on the desk, exaggeratedly about 1 meter high.
I couldn’t even see Count Benner’s face when I entered.
Damn, seeing him so busy working, I couldn’t even complain inwardly.
Then, deciding it was impossible to talk while sitting at his desk, he stood up and headed for the sofa.
He gestured with his hand to the opposite sofa, inviting me to sit.
“Ah... After being promoted to Major, I was glad not to work on weekends or stay late like when I was the Operations Director. But after the Northern Army expedition ended, it feels like I’m waging a war with documents, about to die.”
The Count’s face had such heavy dark circles, as if black paint were applied, showing how much he had suffered from work.
Was that why? I couldn’t laugh or react differently to his usually half-joking, half-serious statement about dying from work.
“You’ve been through a lot, Commander.”
“But now, you and I will only suffer until today. Then we can rest for a while.”
“What do you mean by that?”
At that, the Northern Army Commander smiled broadly, flaunting his four-star rank insignia.
“All the work from now on will be handled by Major General Praubaite, who will soon succeed me. I’m currently handling documents that I can hand over to him.”
“Congratulations.”
Count Benner, perhaps hoping for such an answer, chuckled and said,
“Excellent indeed. Yes, a mere Regiment Commander, a Colonel, may lack political and governance insight, but for a General, a broad perspective is essential. So, I’ll arrange for you to receive the territory of the Töner tribe as you wish.”
“Thank you, Count.”
“A hero who killed Khan deserves at least this much. Now, let’s talk not as the commander of the Northern Expeditionary Force but as Heintz von Benner, the father of Laura von Benner.”
The Count’s eyes seemed to emit beams, conveying considerable anger and irritation.
“Ha! Look here. You’re courting Laura, right? If not, I can only think there’s a serious problem with you as a man... Setting aside my feelings as a parent, my daughter is the best bride material, isn’t she?”
“Count? Of course, I’m fine. However, in my haste to promote quickly, I’ve been overlooking other matters...”
I’d been avoiding women and romance as much as possible for my promotions...
But since she clearly showed romantic interest, I’d been earnestly spending time just with her.
However, being my first relationship in both my past and current life, I was quite clumsy.
And Laura, except when discussing military or strategic matters, was quite cold in her usual demeanor.
For various reasons, we’d only progressed to kissing.
Unable to voice this fact, I remained silent, and Count Benner let out a sigh as if the ground might cave in.
“I’ll overlook what has happened so far. You’ve made significant contributions, and thanks to that, the status of our Benner Count family has also risen.”
“...Thank you.”
“That aside, so far, the Crown Prince and I have somehow prevented it, but now there’s a line of ladies from fallen baronial or knightly families who’d be willing to be your concubine. If you get a star, real collateral imperial families will try to take you as a son-in-law.”
If it were a collateral imperial family, that meant a ducal family, and, honestly, being taken as a son-in-law...
Damn, just the thought of it was terrible.
“I won’t speak further on this. But considering your family situation and strategy, the place you’ll be assigned to before the merit distribution is as good as decided. This was discussed with Duke Otto Moritz, the Minister of Military Affairs, and me, so there’s no changing it. Go now. You’ll find out the rest when the merit distribution is announced.”
At those words, I had a rough idea.
The fact that it would be a central assignment if it could accommodate both operational and family circumstances.
But I couldn’t work somewhere like the Staff College as before...
“Loyalty!”
As I was about to leave and close the door, Count Benner muttered.
“Congratulations on your promotion, Major General Yaeger. You’re the youngest general in the Empire, excluding the direct royal family.”
