Before heading to the Judicial offices, I first stopped by the duchy hospital.

There was business I needed to wrap up.

"How is Simon?"

"Thankfully, he seems to have made it through the worst."

The treatment Simon had received from the stuttering executioner couple in Hünrich must have been effective. But not a single person mentioned anything about that village. That’s how powerful a taboo it was.

Personally, it felt like such a waste of Stock’s talent. Hmm. Should I clean up his identity and have him settle in my fief? But his clan wouldn’t just let him go. It was a tough call.

"I’m planning to take down Berten’s hideout. Are you willing to join the order?"

"After all the kindness you have shown me, how could I refuse?"

"I’m delighted to have a veteran of the Great War as a commander."

Thankfully, Viktor accepted my offer. I’d never imagined I’d be making my father’s friend my subordinate, but I held his skill in high regard—this was a man who had survived the Great War, after all.

The Gale Knights had grown to 70 members. I had promoted two Steinhof knights brought in by Vice Commander Fiel to commanders, and I had also appointed three knights recommended by Viscount Loewenbert as lieutenants.

That brought the total number of lieutenants to five.

I still needed to fill more positions, and the road ahead was long.

Capable men with positive dispositions didn’t just fall from the sky.

"A new Vice Commander? Truly?"

When I introduced Viktor, the most enthusiastic reaction came from Fiel. And no wonder. This wasn’t a rival threatening his position—it was a precious colleague who would lighten his crushing workload.

I had been focused only on external matters, leaving Fiel to handle all the internal work. But for someone for whom everything was new, it must have been overwhelming. I felt bad for dumping it all on him.

Viktor had plenty of experience running troops under the Lord of Rosenheim. He’d be a tremendous help to Fiel. Having a veteran commander to anchor things was also very important.

"I had no idea the heir of the famous swordsmanship house Steinhof was serving as Vice Commander."

"Fiel has been a good friend who’s been with me as a lieutenant since I first led a cavalry unit."

"He’s truly different from what I’d heard. I was told the heir of a swordsmanship house was supposed to be quite arrogant."

"Arrogant? Fiel?"

Steinhof’s reputation as a swordsmanship house was so towering that strange rumors had attached themselves to Fiel. I’d met many knights, but I’d never encountered one with Fiel’s combination of skill and pedigree who was also kind and well-mannered.

On top of that, he was a reliable, brave vanguard commander and an excellent leader.

Hmm. Looking at it that way, he was the picture of the perfect knight.

Leaving Fiel to show Viktor around, I headed for the Judicial offices.

I didn’t know why I had so many places to visit today.

"You’re harder to get a meeting with than His Grace himself, Lord of Feuzen. You may be the first noble to make me wait this long."

"Haha, my apologies. I’ve been swamped."

The Judicial Minister was hinting at his hurt feelings. "You were made a lord and a commander with my support!" That seemed to be the gist of his complaint. I was genuinely thrown by the unexpected jab.

"I know how busy you’ve been. I was only being a bit petty."

"I came to see you, Minister, and also because there’s a matter I’d like to coordinate with the Judicial Department."

"A matter to coordinate with us? What is it?"

I gave Judicial Minister Count Luke information on Berten. I’m going to take these thugs down, and I’ll cut you in. We’ll share the credit. That sort of pitch. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"You’re proposing the Judicial Department join you because there’s something in it for you, aren’t you?"

"I won’t deny it. But if it benefits both sides, isn’t that a fair deal?"

"Upholding the law and justice is our duty, but since you’re not asking for anything unlawful, the proposal is acceptable. However, I never received my reward for pledging my support to you."

He talked of upholding law and justice, but the Judicial Department was the most profit-driven bunch of all. The way they had leveraged the War Minister’s family to start a feud with Finance was proof enough.

"Tell me. What is it this time?"

"Our duchy still has many violent criminals at large. If you look at the bulletin in the plaza, the wanted criminals listed there are still roaming free, committing crimes somewhere within the duchy. I will give you the list. As an expert tracker, please apprehend them."

Was coming to see the Judicial Minister a mistake? I had walked right into a tedious assignment. It looked like I was about to play bounty hunter. But the Judicial Department’s support had genuinely helped me, and refusing wasn’t an option. In noble society, give and take had to be clear-cut.

But the authority he was offering in return was striking enough to give me pause.

"In return, I shall grant you judicial authority for one month. Within royal demesnes, you will have the power to single-handedly try criminals, and as needed, you may requisition supplies from the demesne and bill the Finance Department."

One of the privileges granted to lords was judicial authority—the principle being that all trials within their fief were handled by them. So all judicial proceedings in Feuzen were decided by me.

Thankfully, no crimes had occurred yet, so August hadn’t sent me any trial reports. Judicial authority over Breisburg naturally belonged to the Grand Duke, but in practice it had been delegated to the Judicial Department. The Grand Duke only ruled on serious cases like treason.

The authority I was being granted was derived from the Grand Duke’s delegation. Hmm. Looking at it that way, this was quite a heavy responsibility. But at the same time, it was a powerful tool that made everything go smoother.

And this authority would also apply to bandit suppression.

The Judicial Minister was killing two birds with one stone.

"Granting me judicial authority seems quite risky."

"His Grace has approved. It will help you apprehend criminals smoothly. With this much authority at your disposal, your abilities should be more than sufficient, no?"

The Grand Duke had approved? I really couldn’t make heads or tails of that man.

I had just been discussing the royal conspiracy theory with old Marquis Bertheim.

The Grand Duke’s goodwill toward me felt unsettling on multiple fronts.

"What if these criminals have crossed into another lord’s fief?"

"In that case, let me know. I can negotiate with the lord of that fief."

I wasn’t sure how smooth those negotiations would be, but that wasn’t my problem. Still, something didn’t sit right. Customarily, judicial authority within each royal demesne should have been handled by an estate manager delegated by the Judicial Department. Why was it being given to me?

"What did you make of the estate managers’ conduct?"

"I cannot speak for other royal demesnes, but the estate manager of Rosenheim was extremely greedy."

Word had it that this was why the Crown Prince, furious, had publicly dressed down the Administrative Minister at the Grand Council after the war. That had forced an apology from the Administrative Minister and cost the Rosenheim estate manager his head.

"Pathetically, most estate managers in the royal demesnes are cut from the same cloth. The Judicial Department’s manpower is barely enough to cover Breisburg, so we have an arrangement with the Administrative Department, but in reality the managers are so consumed with lining their own pockets that they all but ignore the criminals. How is law and justice to be upheld this way?"

This was why arrest rates outside Breisburg were so low. So the Judicial Minister’s intent was to grant authority to me—backed by my order and the War Minister’s family—and have me carry out the arrests directly.

"The authority is welcome, but isn’t a month too short?"

"As long as you produce results, the term can be renewed. Don’t worry about that. Since His Grace is the one delegating the authority, the decision is his. You just bring me results."

So as long as I delivered results, the term could be extended.

So this was what the Judicial Minister had been planning to use me for when he’d thrown his support behind me.

It was for reasons like this that the two departments didn’t get along.

After my meeting with the Judicial Minister concluded, a bureaucrat showed me out and handed me a list with detailed accounts of the criminals and descriptions of their appearances. Hold on—no portrait sketches?

There were 15 violent criminals I had to capture.

If I’d had to chase them all down alone, it would have been hell, but thankfully I had the order. Alright, since I’d been granted temporary judicial authority on top of everything, I might as well play sheriff to the hilt.

[Sheriff of Beren Quest I]

[Capture all 15 criminals]

[Criminals 0/15]

[Reward - 5,000 points, 50 silver coins (hazard pay)]

[Family Prestige 50 points]

[Danger Rating ★★★☆☆]

A quest popped up. The most striking thing was, of course, the reward.

It was on par with a war quest reward, so it wouldn’t be a waste of time—but the danger rating seemed higher than I’d expected.

This wasn’t going to turn into a life-or-death affair, was it?