Chapter 19

“What?”

Wait to give punishment until after reading the curses and getting thoroughly pissed off?

Latine’s mouth twitched as he read on.

“…?”

But then, little by little, his expression shifted from furious to… oddly reluctant.

What could possibly be written in there?

Rodella and Aivert exchanged glances.

Was there anything besides the cursing?

By the time Latine neared the end of the letter—shockingly—there was even a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Now everyone wanted to know what it said.

Latine began reading aloud.

“They did, in fact, overturn the beruba fields while drunk. However… thanks to that, a mana spring was discovered underneath.”

“…Excuse me?”

A mana spring?

A rare phenomenon where the flow of earth’s mana meets a natural water source underground—this water is used as the base for nearly all high-grade potions.

It’s exponentially more valuable than beruba and notoriously difficult to find because of how deep underground it typically is.

Now they just found one?

“No wonder the beruba was growing so well. There was a reason. The knights clearly foresaw this in advance…”

Latine read this part aloud with an incredulous chuckle.

Then he looked up and asked, “Did anyone here actually know there was a mana spring under there?”

He looked over the knights as if daring someone to raise their hand—but everyone averted their eyes.

Of course no one knew.

“They worked so hard under the blazing sun, and to think they even received punishment on top of it… I hope the knights aren’t reprimanded further.”

Latine continued reading.

‘I will spread the word that the Azure Knights have changed. I was truly satisfied this time! The Azure Knights are the best! Glory to them!’

At that, Latine carefully folded the letter.

—Whoosh.

A cool breeze passed by the Azure Knights’ headquarters.

“…You gave them punishment too?”

Rodella answered without hesitation.

“Once we realized they’d been drinking, we figured it was better to show we already dealt with it. That way it wouldn’t come back to bite us later.”

So basically: punish them before anyone else complains?

Latine let out a bark of laughter.

“I see how it is.”

Azure Knights civic duty support? Glory to the order?

He removed his beret with a smooth motion and ran a hand through his hair.

“Hoo…”

Everyone held their breath under the sharp gaze of their Commander.

Rodella braced herself to take the full brunt of his wrath.

—Boom!

Latine stomped his foot.

“Good work, everyone!”

Huh? Rodella didn’t even have time to react before he beamed.

“Drink up! Tonight, the Commander’s buying!”

“YAAAAAAAAAY!!”

Wait, what? Is this normal? Does the outcome being good mean the process doesn’t matter?

Wasn’t drinking the problem in the first place?

Still baffled by the Azure Knights’ chaotic energy, Rodella stood there frozen—until Aivert patted her gently on the shoulder.

“We’ll just do better on the next one.”

In that moment, Rodella realized something crucial.

‘The Commander…didn’t actually expect much to begin with… He’s just relieved we didn’t destroy anything…’

In the middle of the celebratory chaos, Latine raised his voice again.

“But!”

The cheering stopped instantly.

His next words sliced through the silence.

“If anyone gets drunk again, I’ll break you in half.”

“YESSIRRRRRR!”

No one would be that stupid again!

The knights roared with joy and hugged each other in triumph.

* * *

Aside from those on duty or scheduled for deployment, nearly all the knights at headquarters had joined this not-quite-a-party.

The mood was high-spirited, but no one was actually getting drunk.

They all knew very well—Latine might not be an authoritarian superior, but when he did get angry, he had no mercy.

“To our new Quartermaster!”

“Tooooooo her!”

The atmosphere burned hotter with every passing second.

As the newly appointed logistics officer, Rodella was practically one of the stars of the gathering.

“Would you like a drink?”

One of the knights approached and asked politely.

Rodella shook her head lightly.

“I’ll pass.”

That response made Aivert tilt his head slightly.

Odd. Rodella wasn’t the type to avoid alcohol.

“Understood!”

The knight who had offered the drink gave a brisk nod and turned to Aivert instead.

“How about you, Vice-Commander?”

Aivert also declined with a shake of his head.

If Rodella wasn’t drinking, he didn’t feel like drinking either.

While that exchange was happening, a loud commotion broke out among the other knights.

“One drink? Just one?!”

“You clueless fool! Get over here and have a boiled egg instead!”

The embarrassed knight gave a sheepish wave and quickly ran off to join his peers.

“Alright, this is the last crate!”

“Ration it!”

Right on cue, the youngest knight arrived carrying a full liquor crate.

Rodella stared at its size and blinked in disbelief.

Wait a minute—how many crates are here right now?

“Hold on. Where exactly is your alcohol storage?”

“Oh, would you like to choose something yourself? I think only the Commander’s premium wine is left at this point.”

The youngest knight answered cheerfully.

Just then, Latine—who was in the middle of receiving toast after toast from the knights (who kept saying heroes don’t get drunk)—called out.

“Make sure she gets a drink! If our Quartermaster doesn’t get one, the Vice-Commander will get mad!”

“Ooooh!!”

Amidst the cheers and teasing, Rodella and Aivert’s eyes met.

‘Are you going to get mad?’

‘…No.’

Even that exchanged glance, full of mild exasperation, just looked like affectionate eye contact to the others.

“The storage is over there! Should I show you the way?”  The youngest knight offered.

But Aivert shook his head.

“No. I’ll take her.”

“Ah, yes, sir.”

The poor knight, who had become Oblivious Third Wheel No. 2, quickly backed off.

“Let’s go.”

Rodella followed Aivert toward the liquor storage.

“So why the interest in the storage?”

Aivert glanced at her as they walked.

Others might not notice, but he could tell something was bothering her.

Rodella’s face clearly said she felt uneasy.

“Here we are.”

The storage wasn’t far. They soon reached a large wine cellar that extended underground.

Rodella studied it and asked, “How full is this place… normally?”

“Usually? Completely full.”

They buy in bulk.

Aivert answered without hesitation.

Rodella shot back immediately.

“The Azure Knights had enough budget to fill this entire cellar?”

That got reported to the Ministry of Finance… and never triggered an audit?

She raised her brows.

Oh.  Aivert thought.

At moments like this, she was terrifyingly attractive.

* * *

Each knighthood was allotted a set amount of funds to maintain operations.  

These funds were distributed directly from the royal household and managed by the Administration Bureau.  

Since this was military money, it was strictly monitored to ensure it wasn’t misused—especially by the logistics officers.  

Most of the budget even came with fixed categories for how it could be used.  

Of course, Rodella had heard that places like the Azure Knights, where compensation for property damage made up the bulk of expenses, often reallocated funds out of necessity…  

…but even so—obviously: “There’s no way you’re supposed to have money for alcohol.”

Rodella narrowed her eyes.

And that’s when it happened.

—shk.

Her view was suddenly blocked by Aivert’s hand.

“Let’s not dig too deep.”

This so-called friend was blatantly telling her to look the other way on corruption.

Rodella’s lips curved into a cold smile.

“Excuse me?”

This was suspicious no matter how you looked at it.

But still…

“How did none of the previous logistics officers notice this?”

There was no way they hadn’t seen this massive wine cellar.  

It wasn’t exactly subtle.

With her voice now calm and sharp, Rodella stared at Aivert.  

Only then did he lower his hand.

He met her narrowed gaze with an utterly unrepentant tone.

“Strangely enough, everyone who came near this place passed out.”

‘…You knocked them out, didn’t you!?’

Rodella gaped at him.

“…Then why’d you even show me this?”

‘You’re planning to knock me out now too!?’

She stared suspiciously at his hand.  

Aivert chuckled dryly and raised both hands as if in surrender.

Then he answered, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Because it’s you.”

Rodella’s eyebrow twitched upward.

“You DO know I’m with the Administration Bureau, right?”

She wasn’t an Azure Knight. She worked with the bureau.  

If the knights mishandled funds, it was her duty to report it.

Yet, Aivert remained unbothered.

“I believe in the fact that Rodella Syveric is also my beloved fiancée.”

In other words…

“…You’re trying to make me an accomplice?”

Rodella felt like her vision blurred from stress.

Fine.  

It’s not like revealing this mess would do any good when she was supposed to be improving the Azure Knights’ reputation.  

Even if this started before her time, people would find a way to pin it on her.

Simmering with frustration, Rodella snapped and started to vent.

“Even if I am your fiancée—”

It’s a contractual engagement! Less than a year left!

“If there’s ever an audit—wait, hey—?”

Her rant was cut off mid-sentence.

Aivert had gently turned her away from the wine cellar, one hand on her shoulder.

“Come on. Let’s drink this instead.”

In his other hand was a small bottle of liquor, pulled out from who-knows-where.