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Chapter 155: The Nobility’s Dignity
🕑 Added 2025-01-13 02:28:24 +0000 UTCBaron Febollet truly had no grasp of military matters. When he saw Charlot Mecklenburg battling fervently with Lady Nancella’s restorationists, teetering on the edge of defeat, he panicked immediately. He ordered his knight order to retreat dozens of kilometers to avoid being caught in the crossfire and simultaneously commanded Charlot to hold his ground at all costs, forbidding Lady Nancella’s forces from advancing further.
Charlot had initially been contemplating how to manipulate the baron further. After all, the South Seraph restorationists he was fighting were a small contingent of less than a thousand men. If the battle continued, it wouldn’t take much to wipe them out entirely.
Hughes resolved the issue for him by deliberately creating a gap in their encirclement and allowing the opposing forces to escape.
Baron Febollet promptly directed his knight order to charge into Mostar Castle. From his perspective, the thick and sturdy walls of Mostar Castle offered far greater security than the open plains.
For nobles, city walls were synonymous with a sense of safety.
Once Baron Febollet’s knight order entered Mostar Castle, Hughes re-established the encirclement, sealing the city completely.
Though Charlot was astonished at why Baron Febollet would walk into such an obvious trap, he also breathed a sigh of relief. This meant the baron would no longer attempt to pull him into his sphere of influence.
After Baron Febollet entered the city, the messenger from Strasbourg finally announced the Central Government Office’s decision to promote Charlot. His rank had been elevated by three levels. The achievement of “retaking” Silver Dove Castle was indeed dazzling enough to warrant such recognition.
However, to Charlot’s surprise, his promotion didn’t just advance him from a 32nd-class second-level clerk to a 29th-class fifth-level clerk, as he had anticipated. Instead, he was elevated directly to a 29th-class first-level Chief Clerk.
Previously, after being promoted two ranks from a fourth-level documentarian to a fifth-level documentarian, Charlot had thought there was no further advancement available within the documentarian roles. Therefore, he had been promoted to a second-level clerk. Moving from a documentarian to a clerk involved an unspoken “half-step” promotion.
This time, Charlot had assumed he might be promoted to a fourth-level clerk or, at best, a fifth-level clerk. He hadn’t expected to leap an entire “class” and become a first-level Chief Clerk.
In many cities, clerks could serve as deputy governors, and in cities with lords, they could assume the role of chief administrator.
A Chief Clerk, however, was a step higher, and in many small towns, they could act as the principal officer.
Beyond the Chief Clerk was a major leap into the "Unreachable Class" of statesmen, representing the true bureaucratic elite of the empire.
With this promotion came an additional administrative role: Director of the Lukavaro District Administrative Bureau.
The Administrative Bureau was the governing body of a district. In theory, it was equal in status to the district patrol guards, though in practice, its officials enjoyed far superior privileges. However, the two entities operated independently, as the patrol guards were nominally under the direct command of the Crown Prince as a local military force.
Charlot recalled that the Lukavaro District Patrol Guards were located at No. 1 Falcon Street, while the Administrative Bureau was directly across the street at No. 2 Falcon Street.
This would make it convenient for him to manage both offices, as he’d only need to cross the street to switch departments.
In the Fars Empire, it was customary for the Central Government Office to grant promotions, the Emperor to bestow honors, and the Empress to grant wealth.
In addition to his professional advancement and administrative role, Julius VI increased the size of Charlot’s knight order to twenty members. The Empress, in a gesture of generosity, granted him a residence in the Val-de-Vas District.
The Val-de-Vas District housed the Imperial Palace, four imperial universities, the Central Government Office, and the residences of prominent nobles. Owning property in this district was a lifelong aspiration for many mid-level and minor nobles.
Simply having money wasn’t enough to purchase a residence in the Val-de-Vas District. Without sufficiently high status, acquiring a home there was impossible.
Residences in the Val-de-Vas District carried a unique nickname: "The Nobility’s Dignity."
Without a residence in the Val-de-Vas District, one lacked true dignity.
After announcing the rewards and leaving the official documents behind, the Strasbourg messenger quickly departed the war zone. These envoys would have much preferred announcing the Central Government Office’s commendations and delivering the Emperor’s and Empress’s rewards from the safety of a secure location.
Who would have thought Charlot Mecklenburg would be so daring as to reach Mostar Castle?
Charlot was quite satisfied with his rewards. Within the empire’s bureaucratic system, even if everything proceeded smoothly, it was rare for someone to achieve the rank of Chief Clerk before retirement.
Progressing through the ranks from documentarian to documentarian-in-chief, then to clerk and Chief Clerk, required fifteen to twenty years for each level. Even with powerful backing, merely reaching the rank of first-level clerk before retirement would be considered a meteoric rise.
The combination of solid military achievements and influential support had been the key to Charlot’s rapid ascent.
If military achievements alone were enough…
Take Dubin Alger, for instance. He remained a 47th-class third-level soldier.
Charlot’s promotion brought great joy to the entire West Wind Knight Order.
Charlot was known for being a good leader who frequently treated his subordinates to meals.
Since leaving Strasbourg, Charlot had often distributed additional equipment to his troops. Many “veterans of the West Wind Knight Order” had even received two or three rounds of upgraded gear.
Such generosity was virtually unheard of in other armies. Typically, battlefield spoils were appropriated by commanding officers. The most generous leaders might reward a few centimes, but most gave nothing at all.
Charlot hadn’t expected that his promotion would also boost morale among his troops.
After leaving Baron Febollet’s knight order inside Mostar Castle, Hughes left a contingent of restorationists to monitor Charlot while he led the main force to attack the castle directly.
Mostar Castle’s garrison was already sparse. Even with the addition of Baron Febollet’s reinforcements, the defenders were struggling. Without the presence of ten or so Transcendents, including one Saint-rank warrior, the castle might have fallen long ago.
After holding his position for several days, Charlot realized he couldn’t remain idle. His intention in coming to Mostar Castle had been to minimize further bloodshed. If the castle were truly breached, there would be nothing he could do to prevent a massacre.
During these days of inaction, Charlot had been consolidating scattered troops and observing the traditional methods of warfare on the Old Continent. At Silver Dove Castle, he had only experienced defensive battles, not open-field engagements.
Through these days of observation, Charlot had gained some confidence. On a moonless and windy night, he decisively led his troops in a surprise attack on Lady Nancella’s main camp.
Avoiding Hughes’ position, he targeted the three weakest restorationist camps.
The raid turned out to be even easier than Charlot had anticipated. His forces overwhelmed the first target within half an hour.
At that moment, the South Seraph restorationist force assigned to monitor Charlot had yet to react.
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