Chapter 14

Despite the incredibly sudden, abrupt summons, the expressions of the executives and the operational commander candidates gathered in the conference room were not entirely bleak. Accepting their crisp salutes, Aiden took his seat at the head of the table.

“Thank you all for making the time to be here on such short notice.”

Aiden made deliberate eye contact with every single person in the room, offering a professional, reassuring smile. His slow, calculating gaze finally landed on Raymond.

The moment their eyes locked, Aiden’s eyes curved into a perfectly pleasant, devastatingly calm smile. Instantly, Raymond’s rigidly straight posture flinched, and a highly arrogant, profoundly smug expression—the look of a man absolutely certain of his impending victory—spread across his face.

…Oh dear. Despite being his Academy classmate, he truly has absolutely no idea how utterly vicious the Admiral’s personality can be in matters like this.

Witnessing the silent exchange, Logan desperately swallowed the mocking scoff rising in his throat.

“I trust you are all well aware of why I summoned you here today, having been briefed by Logan.”

Gulp. 

The loud, heavy sound of someone nervously swallowing echoed through the dead silent room. Though they were desperately trying to maintain their composure, every single candidate—excluding Raymond—looked as if they were going to lose their minds from the sheer, suffocating tension. Whether he noticed their agonizing anxiety or simply didn’t care, Aiden leisurely opened the proceedings.

“First, I would like to clarify the primary selection criteria for this operation. The absolute most critical factors I considered were: ‘Is this an individual I can place my complete and total trust in?’ and ‘Will this person report the situational reality accurately, without hiding or obscuring a single detail?'”

It was a highly unconventional, exceptionally specific set of criteria. Everyone in the room—except Logan and Jerome—tilted their heads in profound confusion. It wasn’t ‘What objective achievements have they produced in previous deployments?’ or ‘How successfully have they navigated life-threatening crises?’

Easily reading the deep bewilderment swirling in their eyes, Aiden chuckled softly and continued.

“Because every single candidate here is an exceptionally competent officer personally recommended by the executives I trust, I decided to utilize this highly specific standard for this particular operation.”

By deliberately placing heavy emphasis on the phrases ‘executives I trust’ and ‘exceptionally competent,’ he managed to make their cheeks flush with pride. The suffocating, life-draining tension that had completely paralyzed the room noticeably began to dissipate.

“While I would love nothing more than to detail the specific strengths and merits of each candidate, doing so would drag this meeting out and likely cause you all to die of anxiety. Therefore, I will announce the decision immediately.”

At Aiden’s subtle hand gesture, Logan stepped forward and handed him the official operational command appointment decree.

“The operational commander for the Repeto Kingdom deployment is Captain Sophia Cox.”

A brilliant, overwhelming smile of pure joy exploded across Captain Sophia’s face, while undeniable disappointment settled over the remaining candidates. Most notably, Raymond’s face had frozen into a rigid, terrifying mask of absolute, uncomprehending shock, looking as if he violently refused to process the reality of the decision.

“Regardless of the operation, Captain Cox consistently submits meticulously detailed reports, perfectly documenting even the most minor, seemingly insignificant errors. Furthermore, she always includes highly thoroughly researched strategies for exactly how to rectify those errors.”

Taking a brief, centering breath, Aiden continued his explanation.

“She does not stop at mere reporting; she actively demonstrates those corrections in her subsequent deployments. I determined that an operational commander possessing such profound integrity and dedication to improvement is someone who would be universally recognized and respected—by all of you, by His Majesty the Emperor, and by the Repeto Kingdom.”

Initially bewildered by the unconventional choice, the other candidates and the executives slowly nodded their heads in deep agreement upon hearing the flawless, undeniable rationale. Yet, despite the ironclad logic, Raymond continued to bore a lethal, chillingly furious glare directly into Aiden.

“Now then, please give a round of applause for Captain Cox.”

Along with warm words of congratulation, applause filled the room. As the clapping subsided, Aiden gestured for her to step forward.

“I leave the operation in your highly capable hands, Captain Cox.”

“Thank you sincerely for entrusting me with the command of such a critically important operation, Admiral.”

“You earned this entirely through your own honest, unwavering hard work, Captain. Here, please take this.”

Accepting the heavy parchment, Sophia reverently, carefully traced her fingers over the pristine Navy crest and the Admiral’s official wax seal.

“We must schedule a detailed strategic briefing regarding the deployment, so please coordinate your availability with Logan.”

“Yes, understood, sir.”

Delivering a flawless salute, Sophia returned to her seat. A terrifyingly cold, venomous glare actively tracked her every movement, but she was so completely engulfed in overwhelming joy that she remained entirely oblivious to the hostility.

“I strongly urge the candidates who were not selected this time to not feel too disappointed.”

“Of course not, Admiral.”

“Excellent. Thank you all for your hard work today. You are dismissed.”

As Aiden signaled the conclusion of the meeting, the attendees stood, delivered crisp salutes, and filed out of the conference room. The sprawling room, previously packed with people, emptied rapidly, plunging the space back into a heavy, oppressive silence.

Aiden remained seated at the head of the table, his cold gaze locked onto the absolute only person who had explicitly refused to leave: Raymond.

He looked as if a tsunami of pure, unadulterated rage was crashing over him. He was breathing in heavy, ragged gasps, and thick, vibrant blue veins bulged violently against his tightly clenched fists.

“What’s the matter? Are you unable to accept the decision, Captain Harrison?”

Crossing his legs elegantly, Aiden let out a languid, dangerously soft laugh. In response, the horrifying, violent sound of teeth grinding aggressively against each other echoed across the empty table.

“I am vastly more competent than Captain Cox, and my operational success rate is definitively higher. You are perfectly aware that, objectively speaking, I am the superior officer.”

Every single word he spat out was heavily saturated with razor-sharp, barely contained hostility.

“I believe I made it perfectly clear to you just yesterday that you possess absolutely zero authority to interfere in my decisions.”

“Did you not explicitly state, sir, that you would always welcome my advice as a friend?”

“Ah. So you stayed behind to offer me friendly advice that my selection criteria are fundamentally flawed and wrong?”

“That is exactly right.”

A bright, genuinely amused laugh slipped past Aiden’s lips.

“Naturally, I also desperately wanted to select you as the operational commander, Captain Harrison.”

“Then you should have selected me!”

As Raymond snapped, violently losing his temper, the smile vanished from Aiden’s face as if it had been forcefully wiped away.

Staring at Raymond with a chillingly blank, emotionless expression, Aiden reached out and rang the bell on the table. A second later, the door opened, and Logan stepped back inside, holding a thick manila envelope.

“Here you are, Admiral.”

“Good. Thank you for your hard work. Go take a break.”

Despite Raymond aggressively glaring daggers at him, practically screaming ‘What the hell are you doing right now?’ with his eyes, Aiden calmly accepted the envelope from Logan. A massive, official Navy crest was stamped boldly across the front, clearly indicating it was a highly classified, official disciplinary document.

Click. 

The moment the door shut behind Logan, Aiden slid the envelope directly across the mahogany table toward Raymond.

“Captain Raymond Harrison.”

The voice was so utterly arid and completely devoid of any human emotion that Raymond’s eyes finally began to tremble with genuine panic.

“Effective immediately, you are indefinitely suspended from all official duties as Captain. You will be referred directly to the Disciplinary Committee, and I order you to remain on standby at your residence until the final verdict is issued.”

“…What?”

“The specific charges resulting in your suspension are detailed extensively within the decree. Read it.”

Utterly incapable of believing the apocalyptic words striking his ears, Raymond violently snatched the decree Aiden had pushed toward him, his eyes tearing frantically across the text.

Decree of Indefinite Suspension 

Name: Raymond Harrison 
Rank: Captain 

The aforementioned individual has severely disrupted military discipline and order by intentionally falsifying the [Sudden Combat Engagement Report: Sanderson County Merchant Escort Operation]. Therefore, an immediate and indefinite suspension of all duties is hereby ordered.

Grounds for Suspension: 
1. Falsification and Concealment of Casualties 
It has been confirmed that the individual intentionally minimized the official number of casualties sustained during combat and issued direct orders to his subordinates to conceal this reality. 

2. Falsification and Concealment of Resource Expenditure 
It has been confirmed that the individual intentionally minimized the official volume of resources expended during the operation and issued direct orders to his subordinates to conceal this reality. 

3. Falsification and Concealment of Combat Duration 
It has been confirmed that the individual intentionally minimized the official duration of the combat engagement and issued direct orders to his subordinates to conceal this reality.

How the hell did he find out…?!

He had ruthlessly enforced absolute silence among his men, and he had flawlessly, perfectly deceived both the auditor and the high command. How on earth did an incompetent, pathetic bastard like Aiden Rosley—who did nothing but kiss the asses of those in power—uncover the truth?! The hands gripping the decree shook violently, rattling the parchment.

“No matter how incredibly competent an officer might be, I fundamentally cannot place my trust in someone who intentionally minimizes situations and submits falsified reports. That is the exact reason I did not select you.”

The absolute second Aiden finished his sentence, Raymond lunged across the table, violently grabbing Aiden by the collar. A crystal glass resting on the table was brutally shattered, and a sturdy oak chair was sent violently crashing to the floor.

“It was only thirty men! And they only got hurt because those pathetic idiots were too slow! I even made sure every single one of them received proper medical treatment!”

A sharp, stinging sensation sliced across Aiden’s cheek, instantly followed by the feeling of warm liquid trailing down his skin. A glass shard must have cut me. I should have just dodged it instead of letting him grab me for dramatic effect. 

Aiden clicked his tongue briefly.

“I only reduced the resource expenditure report by a measly seventeen percent, and I barely shortened the combat time by an hour and a half! Why the hell is that such a massive problem?!”

As Raymond violently shook him by the collar, a sharp, stinging pain flared across Aiden’s back. Ah, I wonder if I can sneak Nancy and Rose in here to heal me without my family finding out. Exhaling a heavy sigh, Aiden looked up at Raymond, who was glaring down at him with genuine, murderous intent.

“You’re exactly the sa—!”

“Raymond Harrison. If you don’t want a dishonorable discharge permanently burned into your record, take your hands off me.”

The crimson eyes staring dead into Raymond’s soul were chillingly, terrifyingly cold. Raymond knew for a fact that Aiden was physically disadvantaged right now, yet a horrifying, primal wave of pure terror violently washed over him. The strength aggressively gripping Aiden’s collar slowly, involuntarily melted away.

Aiden casually wiped away the blood trailing down his cheek from the glass cut and calmly stood up. His pristine white shirt collar was visibly stained red, but he didn’t care in the slightest.

“You asked why it’s a problem? The fact that you honestly don’t know the answer is the exact problem here.”

Every time he brushed his hands over his ruined clothes and hair, tiny shards of broken glass dug painfully into his palms. Yet, without so much as a single twitch of his facial muscles, Aiden continued.

“Exactly as you said, the scope of your falsification was relatively small, and thanks to the substantial achievements you’ve built up over your career, the disciplinary action will likely be a slap on the wrist.”

“…”

“However, entirely separate from whatever official punishment the committee decides upon, you need to remember one absolute truth: my personal trust in you has been permanently, irreparably shattered.”

Concluding the brutal verdict with a face carved from stone, Aiden swept his heavily ruffled bangs back. Huu. Exhaling a long, slow sigh, he opened his mouth again. Completely unlike the terrifyingly cold tone from a moment ago, a soft, eerily gentle voice flowed out.

“I’ll just write this specific incident off as a minor scuffle between friends.”

“Fuck you, Aiden Rosley. Don’t act like a saint, it’s fucking disgusting.”

Spitting the vicious curse, Raymond aggressively stomped toward the door.

“Have a safe trip home. I won’t see you out.”

Instead of a verbal response, the heavy oak doors were violently slammed shut with an explosive BANG, leaving a suffocating, heavy silence in its wake. But the quiet was fleeting. Having been waiting anxiously right outside, Jerome and Logan immediately threw the doors open and rushed inside. The moment they registered Aiden’s bloody state and the utterly devastated conference room, the color violently drained from both of their faces.

“I had a little fight with a friend.”

Aiden offered the explanation with a playful, casual tone, but his expression was anything but. The aura aggressively surrounding Aiden was overwhelmingly heavy, saturated with a dark, suffocating humidity.

Knowing perfectly well how deeply Aiden valued the comrades he had entrusted his back to on the battlefield, both adjutants desperately swallowed the frantic questions surging up their throats. Instead, after exchanging a nervous glance, Logan silently held out a pristine envelope.

Aiden tilted his head in confusion, prompting Logan to explain.

“This is a letter His Grace the Grand Duke explicitly asked us to deliver to you, sir. He handed it to Marquis Lucen right before departing the estate.”

“His Grace did?”

Did he just forget to hand it to me earlier? Wiping his bloody hand cleanly on his trousers, Aiden accepted the letter.

“Hmm?”

As his eyes rapidly scanned the contents, a highly bizarre, incredulous expression overtook his face. Letting out a hollow, breathless laugh, Aiden began aggressively running his hand through his hair.

“This absolute lunatic… Does he honestly think I can’t do it?”

The suffocating, unbearably heavy atmosphere that had paralyzed the room instantly vanished. Spitting out uncharacteristically harsh words, Aiden looked as if he had completely, entirely forgotten the devastating confrontation that had occurred mere seconds ago.

Instead, he now looked profoundly, aggressively annoyed about something else entirely. Completely bewildered by the sheer velocity of the mood swing, the two adjutants exchanged confused glances and silently mouthed to each other.

‘Jerome. What do you think that’s about?’ 

‘No idea. Did His Grace say he was canceling the warship purchase?’ 

‘What the hell are you talking about?’

Jerome merely offered a helpless shrug in response.

What on earth is in that letter? It was a mystery they desperately wanted to solve, but ultimately, they were just overwhelmingly relieved that Grand Duke Clyde had miraculously managed to salvage the Admiral’s ruined mood.

“Logan.”

“Yes, Admiral.”

Immediately wiping his thoughts blank, Logan snapped to attention.

“Is my face scratched up really badly?”

“Yes, sir. Quite a bit…”

It’s bad enough that if your family finds out, they will literally hunt Captain Harrison down and slaughter him, and anyone harboring a crush on you will probably burst into tears on the spot. Swallowing the brutal, honest truth, Logan simply nodded gravely.

“Is there any way we can patch this up without my family finding out?”

“How about we seek assistance from Butler Thomas, sir?”

Thinking of Thomas—a man whose hypersensitivity regarding Aiden’s physical well-being easily rivaled that of his own parents—a heavy, suffocating weight settled in Aiden’s chest. Still, dealing with Thomas was a hundred times better than enduring one of Marquis Lucen’s legendary, apocalyptic lectures.

“I suppose that’s the absolute best option we have.”

Exhaling a profound sigh of defeat, Aiden rang the bell resting on the ruined table. And exactly five minutes later, absolutely buried under an unrelenting avalanche of frantic nagging, Aiden viciously regretted his choice.

***