Upon the Emperor’s arrival, Posher shot up from his seat as if he had been launched. The Emperor frowned.

“You mean to tell me an investigator was seated while a prince stood?”

The Emperor’s gaze toward Posher was far from favorable. Only after both the Emperor and Posher were seated did Robert take his seat. The Emperor’s frown remained fixed.

Posher had only become a mid-level administrator in his late middle age. Having worked outside as an investigator for so long, he wasn’t familiar with the etiquette of the royal court.

His repeated, unintentional acts of rudeness appeared nothing but arrogance in the Emperor’s eyes. It even crossed the Emperor’s mind that Robert might have been disrespected to this degree all along. The thought also arose that this insolent investigator might be under the special care of someone powerful.

Robert understood why the Emperor’s mood had soured. Though unintended, Robert did nothing to defend Posher. Why should he? It was better to take advantage of the situation as much as possible.

The Emperor looked at Robert and spoke.

“Is this the investigator from Umbriel?”

After glancing briefly at Posher, Robert responded to the Emperor.

“It’s my first time meeting him face-to-face as well. I was at a loss for words the moment I saw his report. How could an imperial investigator commit such actions? I was deeply disappointed. Still, I thought it best to verify with him directly.”

“And?”

“I haven’t begun the questioning yet. Since Your Majesty was set to arrive, I couldn’t proceed on my own.”

“Not because you couldn’t handle the investigator alone?”

The Emperor’s words made Robert give a bitter smile. The Emperor took the report and, after a long look, sighed.

“Even though it’s an unwritten rule that lords handle the matters of their own lands, we should’ve intervened from the central government before it reached this point. The border defenses are completely useless, and yet, despite that… should we simply demolish everything?”

“I was just as shocked when I saw the report. It made me wonder if the investigator even recognized it as a border. Surely, he hasn’t been bought off by Saturn.”

“Who knows? From what I see, it looks like someone’s been bought.”

Posher was flustered as the conversation surrounding the report began to implicate him in corruption and betrayal. All he had done was try to curry favor with Cressida.

The idea that he was a traitor was absurd, and Posher hurried to speak up.

“There must be some misunderstanding. The terrain near the border, surrounded by the Titania mountain range, offers a natural advantage. Even if we invest in Umbriel, it’s uncertain if we can actually use those facilities.”

Noticing the Emperor’s continued cold expression, Posher quickly added.

“Instead of pouring resources into border defenses, we could invest in the land itself. That way, we could restore Umbriel more quickly. Once the income of the land increases, they could fund the defenses themselves, rather than relying on the central government.”

Prince Robert responded icily to Posher’s words.

“Increasing the income of the land, you say? The central government wouldn’t allocate such a budget if it’s not for border defenses. Are you suggesting we entirely repurpose the military budget? Hmm… the lack of wars with Saturn may have led to some complacency in guarding the borders, but if we continue to neglect them, we’re inviting danger upon ourselves. Consider this, investigator: if someone left their door wide open, wouldn’t you be tempted to peek inside?”

Posher, confident once again, believed now was the time to showcase his experience as an investigator.

Looking not at Robert but at the Emperor, Posher said,

“Do you think the most chronic issue facing Umbriel is the aging of its border defenses? No, the biggest problem is the instability caused by its frequent changes in leadership. The people are fleeing the land, there’s no proper industry established, and on top of that, there’s the unrest stirred by individuals like the prince.”

Posher gave Prince Robert a conciliatory smile as he finished speaking, as if seeking his understanding. However, to the Emperor, it appeared that Posher was mocking the prince. Posher continued.

“If we stabilize the economy first, the people will settle back into place. Then, based on them, we can begin to gradually fortify the borders. Pouring money from the central government into border fortifications won’t improve the state of the territories, will it?”

“It will improve things,” Robert declared firmly.

“And where will you get the workforce for the construction? From the territory, I presume. You can provide them with jobs, and, as the investigator said, I can also calm the unnecessary anxiety that I supposedly stirred up. If money flows and stability is achieved, the people will naturally remain in the territory. People from other territories might even come for the construction. Isn’t that right?”

At Robert’s response, the investigator smiled and shook his head, as if he had expected this.

“What you are saying is the most ideal scenario, Your Highness. But didn’t I mention this already? In a situation where there’s no administrative power, how will you properly execute the budget and carry out the construction? Most of the funds will be siphoned off elsewhere, and the project will drag on indefinitely.”

Prince Robert thought Posher’s words were valid. But the same was true for Posher’s business plan.

‘If there’s no administrative power, whether it’s construction or business, the money will leak.’

Seeing Prince Robert nod, Posher continued.

“Many will likely hope that the construction never ends. There will be plenty of people trying to profit from the situation. In that case, the effects you mentioned would be non-existent, and instead, the money would be lost, and the anxiety would only grow. Running a territory is far more difficult than reading reports and giving orders.”

When Robert gestured, Vian placed a document in front of the investigator and the Emperor.

“This document shows the exact situation that you are concerned about, Investigator.”

“What is this?”

“These are the people currently in control of the Umbriel territory. They’re not knights or administrators, but clerks who once handled miscellaneous tasks within Umbriel Castle. They’ve now taken over Umbriel, and their argument is to use the budget for industrial development rather than for repairing the fortifications. The report you submitted aligns perfectly with their proposal. So, Investigator, you are essentially advocating for pouring funds into the private businesses of these clerks.”

“I was unaware of this. I received recommendations. I merely selected projects with the highest likelihood of success in Umbriel and those that would positively impact the residents.”

“There’s nothing you actually selected. To make selections, there must be candidates. The clerks’ reports were simply sent straight up to the central government. If we had drawn up the budget based solely on your report, the nation’s money would have ended up in the pockets of the parasites sucking the life out of the territory’s residents. Meanwhile, Umbriel’s financial situation would have remained unchanged. Whether this was done intentionally or through negligence is something we intend to investigate from now on.”

The Emperor, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

“How?”

“We tried to determine where the investigator had gone and whom he had met in Umbriel. But…”

“Was it those vermin-like clerks?”

“No. The investigator never actually went to Umbriel. He only went as far as the vicinity and sent his subordinates to gather information. Thanks to the investigator’s cunning, his subordinates profited. The clerks treated them well and handed over the prepared reports. Posher and the clerks have a clean relationship. However…”

In a crawling voice, Posher muttered,

“It’s because my subordinates have always handled these matters so well…”

“Well! Handled well, you say?”

At the Emperor’s shout, the investigator raised his hands in a gesture of apology, but quickly lowered them. The Emperor, looking at the report, sneered.

“Handled well? We’ll have to review all the reports Posher has ever submitted. Call the auditors from the administrative building. Take Posher with you.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Posher was immediately dragged away by the Emperor’s knights. The relationship between investigators and auditors was not good. When a large-scale audit was conducted on the actions of a single investigator, the conclusion was always one of two things: suicide or imprisonment.

The deployment of numerous auditors was a method reserved for cases where guilt was certain, to investigate additional offenses.

Posher was already considered a lost cause. A clever investigator’s fate was either meteoric success or a steep fall. Posher was headed for the latter.

After Posher was dragged out, Prince Robert waited for the Emperor to speak. The Emperor, having calmed his anger, said,

“You must have expected this outcome. What’s next?”

“I will go to Umbriel myself. We can gradually release the frozen budget later. For now, the most important thing is to go down and see things with my own eyes. A little hardship is in order.”

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