“Your Majesty, I…”
To Roland's surprise, instead of blurting out the answer as usual, the other party seemed rather hesitant, which was quite rare for the Commander of the First Army.
He had only asked casually, but now he became interested—Roland didn't think Iron Axe would have ulterior motives, and besides, being fully responsible included the means of disposal, whether it was burning to death or hanging made no essential difference. What he was curious about was that since it wasn't a violation of the order in terms of reason or sentiment, the other party's hesitation was somewhat intriguing.
However, he didn't choose to continue to pressure him, but simply leaned back in his chair and waited for the Mojin's answer.
After hesitating for a long while, Iron Axe suddenly knelt down, "No, Your Majesty... Completely eliminating the enemy nobles was a plan provided by Edith xiaojie, but I was the one who implemented it, so I should bear all the responsibility."
Edith? Roland was stunned. Was this a plan from the General Staff? No, he didn't see anything related to this in the plan, so... a private chat?
In an instant, he understood the reason for the other party's hesitation.
In this era of prevalent private armies, anything related to the military was considered the lord's forbidden area, and they were most wary of outsiders interfering, even with suggestions and reminders that were beneficial to the battle. If it happened in the territory of other nobles, the person who made the private suggestion would inevitably be punished, and Iron Axe didn't want to implicate Edith, nor did he want to cover it up with lies, which is why there was that entanglement at the beginning.
“I see. You handled the battle on the Eastern Front very well. Afterwards, the City Hall will draft a reward based on the battle results. You can go down now.”
Iron Axe was stunned. "Your Majesty, aren't you... punishing me?"
Roland couldn't help but laugh. "Why? Did you violate any regulations?"
"Uh—"
"My order was to wipe out the resisters in the Eastern Territory and incorporate their cities into my rule. The specific process is up to you to act according to the circumstances." He paused. "If you hear two soldiers discussing the battle situation when you are inspecting the military camp, and you adopt their opinions, should I punish you and these two people? Besides, Edith is a member of the General Staff herself, and it is normal for her to have ideas about the combat strategy."
"So... you think none of us did anything wrong?" Iron Axe couldn't help but look up.
"I didn't say that," Roland shrugged. "Just because you don't have any problems doesn't mean Edith doesn't. But what happens next has nothing to do with you. Go back and get some rest."
Iron Axe opened his mouth, as if wanting to say something, but in the end he chose to obey the order under his gaze, "Yes, Your Majesty."
As soon as the Commander of the First Army left, Roland immediately picked up the City Hall's direct line phone, "Notify Edith to come to the castle."
In less than half an hour, the Pearl of the North appeared at the office door.
"Your Majesty, this matter is my responsibility," Edith said as soon as she opened her mouth. "I am willing to accept any punishment from you."
Roland looked at her with interest, "I haven't said anything yet, how do you know what I'm going to say?"
"The Eastern Front Army has just returned to Neverwinter. The first person you summoned must be Iron Axe. If he didn't report the inside story of burning the nobles to you, I don't think you would have called me over so quickly."
It's easy to talk to smart people, Roland thought, and seeing this frank look, it makes people feel that she is the loyal minister who was wronged for the country.
However, the smarter a person is, the easier it is to fall into the dead end they have built.
"First of all, I took the initiative to ask him about this, after all, it's not like his style to trick the nobles together and then disguise it as a fire scene. Also, since you think you are responsible, what is the problem?"
"I met with the Commander of the First Army in an informal setting, and I didn't apply to you..."
"Wrong," Roland interrupted directly, "Your problem is that you violated the General Staff regulations. According to the regulations, any combat plan needs to be formed into a written record and submitted to me for review."
Edith obviously didn't expect him to say that, and couldn't help but widen her eyes, "Your Majesty?"
"Isn't it?"
"But..." The Pearl of the North looked incomprehensible, "If this is executed in your name, wouldn't it become your doing in the eyes of other officials?"
"You're right," Roland raised the corner of his mouth, "Is there a problem?"
"This..." Like Iron Axe, Edith also showed a rare sense of confusion, "Although they are rebels, they are also nobles. In the eyes of some nobles, your actions might..."
"I know what you want to say," Roland waved his hand, "But if even I can't resist it, do you think you can withstand this backlash?"
"I—"
"Relax, I just want to discuss it with you. Do you really think it's the right thing to do to have your subordinates take the blame when something goes wrong?"
"Take the... blame?"
"Ahem, you can understand it as meaning to shirk responsibility." Roland said bluntly, "Back to this matter, it was clearly for the Kingdom of Graycastle, but in the end not only did I not get any honor, but I had to die because of it, and I felt at ease, and even applauded—if other people knew, would those officials still be wholeheartedly loyal to me?"
Edith fell silent.
"So the monarch is the most suitable person to take responsibility. Only in this way can the people below do things without any burden. That's why I need to review the General Staff's final plan, even if it's something I'm not good at, understand?"
After a long while, the Pearl of the North nodded in response, "I was arrogant."
"The punishment for violating the regulations is that all the credit for this two-line offensive will be cancelled, and you could have been promoted." Roland took a sip of tea, "This matter ends here, you can go back to your work."
"Yes, please allow me to take my leave." Edith bowed with her hand on her chest.
*******************
“So…you worked for nothing this time?” Cole. Kond carefully pushed the honey-glazed mushrooms in front of Edith, and then watched her stab the mushroom slices hard with her fork. “Other colleagues can be promoted, but you can’t?”
"That's right, I didn't." The Pearl of the North chewed on the charred Bird Kiss Mushroom, as if venting her dissatisfaction with dinner. "Listen to what His Majesty said, 'If even I can't resist it, can you withstand this backlash?' You can't withstand it, so you need a vent. Of course, if it was a lord like my father, I would never do this. Knowing that His Majesty would not ignore it, I thought this investment would not be too bad, and the risk was still controllable, but he dismissed everything I did in two or three sentences, and even complained that I was thinking too much. Are idealists so naive!"
"Uh... Sister, are you angry?" Cole wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"What, can't you tell?" Edith glared.
The latter quickly shrank his neck. It was the first time he had seen his elder sister show such an expression in a non-banquet setting—more than ten years of getting along had made Cole clearly aware of how much his sister loved power. If it was really like she said, she lost a chance for promotion because of this matter, it would be normal to be annoyed, complain, or disappointed, but... her expression didn't tell him that. It was more like a strange smile mixed with anger...
And if he didn't misunderstand, similar complaints would usually be called coquettishness.
Oh my God… Cole couldn't help but shudder at the thought. The Pearl of the North, who was either often indifferent or hypocritically calculating her opponents, would actually be coquettish? And unlike the insincere at banquets, she didn't seem to realize her expression at the moment at all. Was this still the Edith. Kond he knew?
"Hmm?" Edith narrowed her eyes dangerously, not getting a response for a long time.
Cole immediately felt the hairs on his back stand on end. No, she was still his old sister, there was no doubt about that, "I just think... His Majesty may have his own considerations?"
"Whatever he wants," the Pearl of the North put the last piece of mushroom in her mouth. "I really want to see how high an idealist can reach. But..."
"But what?" Cole vaguely had a bad feeling.
"But my unhappiness is real," Edith curled her lips, "I'll use you to vent my anger for the next period of time."