I Became a Genius Commander at the Academy - Chapter 171: Hero Of National Salvation (2)

The Emperor thus concluded the meritorious service review and personally offered a word of praise to each officer of our division, from battalion commander upwards.

The seated officers and soldiers of the division, considering it disloyalty to leave even a drop of the wine provided at this gracious banquet hosted by His Majesty, each drank at least two liters of wine.

As the protagonist of the banquet, I was held by my subordinates and had to drink until I lost consciousness.

“These drunkards… Even if it’s the Imperial Palace’s finest wine, which you couldn’t even dream of, isn’t this too much drinking? Damn, it’s my first time going to see my son. If I return as a drunkard, how much will Laura scold me?”

“Madam will understand, my lord.”

“I hope so, sincerely.”

There really was an unavoidable reason for it to have come to this, so I had plenty of excuses.

Such as the banquet being hosted by His Majesty himself, and the soldiers of the 7th Division, who had performed heroically on the hellish battlefield with me, urging me to drink.

Moreover, among other generals, many gathered their subordinates to grope women instead of going straight home after the war.

Since I don’t like that kind of thing, now that he’s become a baron, Baron Werner will have to empty his wallet for it, but…

Anyway, the banquet ended, and I took the prepared carriage to return to my longed-for home.

I was overwhelmed with emotion.

The fact that I’d returned alive and would be able to hold my beloved Laura and our son, who was born in my absence, also filled me with emotion.

After getting out of the carriage, I walked with a bit of support from Charlotte, and at the mansion door, Laura and Duke Benner were standing; she ran to me and hugged me as soon as she saw me.

“I missed you so much. I was so worried I might never see you again. The thought of living without you made it hard to sleep and even to swallow food. I never want to live through such a nightmare again. I’ve realized I can’t live without you. I love you.”

When fighting on Richten Hill, I was always in danger of being completely exhausted to death or being killed by enemy soldiers.

Therefore, in the worst-case scenario, I had even planned to secretly retreat with Charlotte and a few soldiers.

Fortunately, due to the Duke of Switzerland being an idiot and the brave efforts of the 7th Division soldiers, I was able to return alive.

“Thanks to the valiant efforts of all the soldiers of the 7th Division and the blessing of Deus, I was able to return safely. You must have had a hard time giving birth to our baby; how are you feeling?”

“Yes, I’m fine. My father sent a nanny and has been taking great care of me with all his heart.”

“As long as Laura is okay…”

When I was about to thank the Duke for his kindness, my father-in-law shook his head as if to say that wasn’t necessary, and looking at Laura again, despite having given birth, she seemed even thinner than before rather than having gained weight.

She looked a bit thinner than before.

“I’m sorry for worrying you. Have you become this thin because of worrying about me? Seeing Laura so worn makes me feel even more sorry. I was wrong. I’ll do better from now on.”

“As long as you’ve returned safely, it’s okay. And Kerzhit, I mean, Lieutenant Colonel Anya and Charlotte have come with you. I’ll go thank them for taking good care of you.”

“If possible, I’d like to have a meal together with Anya and Charlotte.”

Laura smiled and nodded in agreement with my words.

“Father-in-law, or rather, General Benner. I have returned safely. Thank you for taking good care of my wife in my absence.”

Of course, being a general in the imperial army meant dealing with piles of documents daily, ranging from waist-high to shoulder-high.

So, it must have been a tremendous effort to take care of his own household, let alone Laura, who married into our family.

“Although Laura is your wife, she is my only daughter before that. So, it’s natural for me to take care of her while you were on the battlefield. It feels awkward to be thanked for that.”

“Still, considering your workload, it must have been quite difficult, wasn’t it?”

Hearing that, my father-in-law gave a meaningful look and replied,

“That’s true. Myself and the staff officers couldn’t sleep for a week after hearing that the Crown Prince was at risk of being captured or killed in Switzerland. If they invaded deep into the empire, we had to figure out how much territory we’d have to cede and how to defend ourselves.”

“You must have had a hard time.”

“Compared to the 7th Division, it’s a minor issue. Especially you! And as you may already know, there has been a huge shake-up among the staff officers. No exaggeration, there are ten retirements of generals from the staff headquarters scheduled for next month.”

The total number of generals in the staff headquarters was forty.

So, that meant about 25% of them would be retiring, directly or indirectly taking responsibility.

“Honestly, in this case, aside from the Intelligence Department, no one particularly committed a fault.”

“Well, a general’s position is as precarious as a fly’s life. My contemporary, Major General Palen, was impeached by the faction of the Third Prince after a domestic dispute escalated into a feud, leading to a demotion in his personnel evaluation and retirement.”

“Well, since all the generals are so excellent, even a small flaw requires taking significant responsibility.”

As he said, there were hardly any incompetent individuals among the imperial army generals, and everyone’s abilities were almost equalized at the highest level.

So, promoting anyone wouldn’t cause issues within the organization, making this feasible.

But my father-in-law’s face bore a subtle smile as he spoke.

“And this has not been announced yet, but next year, His Excellency Otto, the Minister of Military Affairs, will retire upon reaching the age limit, and Marshal Adelheit will also step down due to indirect responsibility.”

“The imperial army’s leadership is completely turning over.”

“It’s too early to be surprised. Marshal Adelheit’s successor will be me. Anyway, as a father-in-law, I can’t forgive you for making my daughter cry. So, you’ll be serving on central duty at the staff headquarters for a few years. Make time for Laura. What are you doing? Go see my grandson, Friedrich.”

With those words, my father-in-law smacked me on the back with a slap.

“Your bedroom is just to the left. Go on. Now that you’re a father, you should hold the child and call his name first.”

…I realized now was not the time to be discussing politics or the future of the empire.

So, I handed over my unnecessarily heavy General’s cloak and coat to Charlotte and ran to the room next to my bedroom.

This might be the fastest I’d ever run in my life, and it wouldn’t even take a minute to get there, but even that time felt too long for me.

“Count?”

The nanny caring for the child exclaimed in surprise as I suddenly appeared, but…

“I want to hold him myself. How should I do it?”

“First, wash your hands and face, and even brush your teeth, then you can hold the child.”

“Ah, is that so? I forgot. Thank you for telling me.”

I took a look at the baby’s face in the nanny’s arms and went to wash up.

“Support the bottom with your left hand, the waist with your left arm, and support the head with your right hand. Be careful as you hold him.”

“Understood.”

I took a deep breath and carefully held Friedrich as the nanny instructed.

Red eyes like Laura’s, black hair like mine, a pointed nose, round and large eyes, soft and white skin, and cheeks blushed like a peach.

“Friedrich, thank you for coming into this world.”

Looking at this child, I understood why everyone, from non-commissioned officers to officers, endlessly boasted about their children.

He was so cute and lovely just by looking at him; he recognized me as his dad at first sight and eagerly reached out with his hands.

Objectively speaking, wasn’t this child a genius, not just because he was mine?

I thought that if this child grew up and chose a military path, he would surely become a more excellent commander than me.

“Yes, yes. Just grow up healthy. You seem like you’ll become even more remarkable than your dad. I wonder whom you got your good looks from.”

While constantly receiving the nanny’s worried glances, fearing I might hold the child wrong, I was able to have a happy time.

Soon, Laura brought Duke Benner, Charlotte, and Anya into the room.

“Charlotte, Anya… I mean, Colonel Kerzhit. Would you like to hold Friedrich?”

“Just call me Anya, Countess.”

“Yes, Colonel Anya. Please, go ahead and hold him. Isn’t he adorable?”

“Would that be alright? If you permit… We did wash up a while ago.”

Laura naturally took Friedrich from me and encouraged Anya and Charlotte to hold him once.

The two looked at Laura with a mix of admiration, jealousy, and gratitude, then carefully held the child as if he were a fragile, precious treasure.

Laura’s gesture of letting them hold the child implied her wish to maintain a close, family-like relationship with them in the future.

As long as our Count family existed, we would continue to maintain a close relationship with these two.

It felt good to see the three women who helped me have such a good relationship.

So, I honestly expressed my current feelings to my father-in-law standing beside me.

“In the past, those two seemed to compete and couldn’t comfortably get along with Laura. But now, after they helped save me and my son was born, they’ve become close. You see it that way too, don’t you, father-in-law?”

“Well, if Laura thinks that’s good, then that’s how it should be.”

…Normally, in military or noble families, handing over a newborn child signified alliance, which was not a bad thing.

“By the way, our grandson truly has taken after both you and Laura equally. Isn’t he cute like a black rabbit?”

“Yes, father-in-law. But what’s even more amazing is that he recognized me as his dad at first sight and gestured with his hands. I think he might be a genius. Surely, he will surpass me and become a great commander someday.”

Then, my father-in-law, perhaps already having a headache, pressed his right palm to his forehead and replied,

“Do you really think so?”

“Of course, our child will naturally showcase his abilities splendidly without going through dangerous situations like I did.”

“Huh, well, if you say so, then it shall be. If that happens, not only the Count Yeager family but also our Duke Benner family’s future will be very secure. At this rate, thanks to you and your son, we might even become the Duke Benner family.”