I Became a Genius Commander at the Academy - Chapter 174: In War, It Is Important To Deceive The Enemy (3)

One difference between adults and children, I believe, was their attitude towards things they must do but dislike.

Children would sulk and make it very obvious that they didn’t want to do something, resisting until they had no choice but to do it.

As adults, even if we dislike something, we understand why it must be done and thus commit ourselves to doing it to the best of our ability.

And as a 26-year-old head of the family and a general in the Empire’s military, I would steadfastly do what must be done, however unpleasant, like an adult.

“Master, Lieutenant Matthias, and the other four who were scheduled to come today have arrived. What should we do?”

Facing those who contributed to the near annihilation of the Crown Prince’s expeditionary force to Switzerland irked me immensely.

After all, even if the Crown Prince was unaware, those fools should have stayed at Richten Hill, taking responsibility and fighting to the death alongside me.

Told to flee, they ran away like defeated dogs, not considering their duty to fight to the end as soldiers who had erred.

But as a general who knew that getting ahead in the military, not to mention in society, required playing by certain rules, I must give them a chance for the sake of the Crown Prince’s position.

A few days ago, the Crown Prince said that, although it would be too much to restore their rights of succession, we should give them a chance to return as officers, and we’ve reached an agreement on this.

So, what could I do?

As discussed with His Highness, if we were to give them a chance, we must first make them fully aware of their situation.

I needed to vent my frustration by giving them a thorough dressing-down.

If they were worthy of redemption, they’d risk their lives to escape their miserable fate, by hook or by crook.

“Tell them to wait for an hour. And don’t serve tea and snacks in the parlor just because they’re nobles; have them stand outside the door.”

“Master, don’t you think that’s a bit too harsh?”

“They’ve lost all honor and power anyway. They’re nothing but disgraced individuals treated like outcasts, even in their own homes. Fine, place a wooden chair outside the door if you must.”

After I said this and gestured for her to go, Charlotte promptly left.

Then, for an hour, I reclassified the military secrets and various information to be handed over to deceive the Grand Duchy of Ostarica.

The criterion for classification was that the leak would not be fatal to the Imperial Army, but since it involved secrets of level 2 or higher, it would still be somewhat damaging if leaked.

Even though it was for the operation, the thought of giving such valuable information to the Ostaricans made my stomach ache.

“Master, Lieutenant Matthias and the other four who were scheduled to come today have arrived. May they come in?”

Since I’ve finished sorting the information, I suppose it’s time to let them in.

“Let them in.”

As the door opened, the five former lieutenants who had planned the last expedition to Switzerland entered with expressions full of tension.

Despite having been dishonorably discharged, perhaps because they still considered themselves soldiers, all five saluted because they were called in for military-related duties.

“Five of us, including Lieutenant Matthias von Griffin, have come to the office in accordance with General Yaeger’s orders.”

They saluted sharply, but I completely ignored it.

Pretending not to see, I only looked directly at Charlotte’s face, who let them in with an indifferent expression.

“Lieutenant Matthias von Griffin has come to receive orders and assignments from General Yaeger.”

Without returning their salute, I turned my gaze towards them, expressing disdain with my expression and said,

“Look, are you in your right minds? This is unbelievable. Do you think the Imperial Army is so lenient? Just because His Highness the Crown Prince has given you a chance, do you think the world revolves around you? Not Griffin, but Matthias.”

Then, signaling Charlotte to leave with my hand, I called the five into the office and closed the door.

Now, the office seemed to be enveloped in a chill as if it were minus 20 degrees, and the expressions of the five lieutenants were filled with tension.

However, thinking of His Highness, I intended to personally rehabilitate these men, so more needed to be done.

“Lieutenant Matthias von Griffin! No, that’s not right!”

“Who gave you permission to call yourself a lieutenant? You’re not even worthy of being a private now. Then why are you stating your rank and name like a soldier?”

“Ah, ah… I’m sorry! Please forgive us.”

Even under severe scolding, the fact that they acknowledged their fault made me slightly raise my estimation of Matthias and the other lieutenants.

Because there were many in this world who committed wrongs yet couldn’t honestly admit and resolve to change.

“Also, why are you still using ‘von,’ which signifies nobility, in your name? As far as I know, including you, all five of you have been stripped of your rights of succession, and even using your family name is not allowed. Do you take the Imperial law and nobility as a joke?”

Hearing this, Matthias and the other lieutenants clenched their teeth and looked at me.

Certainly, they felt immensely insulted by being treated as mere commoners despite having been dishonorably discharged and stripped of their rights of succession.

I understood them, but to avoid such unjust treatment, they should have stayed at Richten Hill and fought to the death with me for a month.

“I’d like to have you kneel and bow your heads before me, as serfs do to nobility. But for the sake of the Crown Prince, I’ll spare you that. His Highness wishes to give you, fools, or rather, those without honor, another chance.”

Upon hearing this, the lieutenants, whether out of pity for their situation or gratitude to the Crown Prince for providing a lifeline out of this hellish situation due to their own faults…

Tears began to stream down the faces of these grown men.

“Take a seat for now. This isn’t a conversation to be had while standing.”

The lieutenants sat down in the chairs, their posture rigid and at a perfect 90-degree angle, not relaxing their tension.

“Let’s review your current situation once more. Matthias, Bolton, Ludwig, Billy, and Joseph. Due to your actions that nearly led to a disastrous defeat in this war, you’ve been dishonorably discharged, and effectively stripped of your rights of succession and your status as nobles, haven’t you?”

“Yes, that’s correct…”

“At the same time, your lawful wives’ families, whom you married for political reasons, naturally filed for divorce, which the Imperial Royal Family promptly approved. In the process, all rights to your children, including custody, were transferred to the wives’ families, leaving you unable to even see your children now.”

Even though they’d been dishonorably discharged and essentially stripped of their noble status, the thought of divorce and losing their children… might seem too harsh to their wives and their families.

However, cases like Laura and me, where a noble couple was in love and had a good relationship, were quite rare.

Most marry for strategic reasons, having children to preserve and prosper their noble lineage.

Hence, there was a common joke among noble judges that the Empire allowed polygamy out of pity for men married to women they didn’t love.

In reality, many nobles strictly maintained a boundary with their lawful wives, having better relationships with concubines chosen for their looks or personalities.

Thus, the wives’ families quickly divorced to prevent any harm to their lineage due to these disgraced men, and the wives acted to protect their and their children’s socio-economic status.

“Thanks to that, all you can do now is hole up in a corner of the mansion, drinking and consorting with cheap prostitutes on the allowance your fathers give you. That’s your fate now—to live miserably and die miserably. Honestly, you had no chance of being reinstated.”

The lieutenants could not rebut my words and once again let tears stream down their faces.

“However, the Crown Prince is truly compassionate, claiming responsibility for your current state and petitioning me and His Majesty the Emperor for a chance for you.”

In truth, His Highness must have wanted to give them a chance, but he couldn’t even bring it up to me due to the disgrace shown during the expedition.

So, I petitioned His Majesty to give them five a chance, and when he heard it was approved, he was so pleased that he even hugged me tightly.

But to make them truly loyal to His Highness, it was only right that all credit go to him.

“So, inevitably, I’ve been tasked with giving you, who put me and the 7th Guard Division in jeopardy, one last chance. Are you willing to risk your lives for whatever task is given?”

Hearing this, the five of them got off their chairs, kneeled on both knees, and bowed their heads, begging as if truly willing to do anything to survive.

“Please, give us a chance. We cannot live in disgrace like this.”

“Even if you make us lick your soles or bark like dogs in the square, we’ll do it.”

“Anything is fine. Please just command us.”

Pushing them further might backfire, so this was where I’d stop.

“Very well. I’ll give you a chance. Like Count Bern of Switzerland, you’ll have to become double agents.”