The next day.
Rumors spread like wildfire that—Redem and his private soldiers had all been arrested and were undergoing interrogation.
Given the scale of the incident, it would’ve been stranger if word hadn’t gotten out.
And with so many witnesses from the night before, the news travelled even faster.
Even those who hadn’t seen the events at Redem’s mansion firsthand had watched as his soldiers were dragged away in chains.
Through the ledgers seized during the raid, Ian uncovered the full extent of the corruption.
The records detailed not just embezzlement, but also lists of bribes and collaborators.
With this evidence, rooting out the corrupt officials was laughably easy. Arrest warrants were issued immediately.
“I swear this will never happen again!”
“Please, show mercy!”
The arrested officials begged for mercy, but Ian remained indifferent, focused solely on his duty.
“That goes without saying. If you ensure this doesn’t recur and work to regain the people’s trust, your past crimes will be forgiven.”
“Thank you! Thank you, Young Master! We are eternally grateful for your mercy! We will reform and serve diligently!”
“Good. You will also return every coin you embezzled and extorted from the people. If the recovered amount falls short, the difference will be taken from your personal assets.”
“Y-yes. Understood.”
Those who tearfully complied were allowed to return home—though under discreet surveillance, of course.
But for every repentant soul, there were others who refused to yield.
“What?! Then what about me and my family?!”
“And what of the families who starved while you grew fat? The ones forced to sell their children into slavery? Hypocrite. Lock him up!”
“Aaaagh! I was a fool! Spare me!”
Ian showed no mercy to those who hesitated or outright rejected his offer.
And then—
“Damn it all! If I’d known, I’d have held you hostage and ransomed you to the lord before fleeing!”
Some, like Redem, chose resistance.
The only difference? This one wasn’t a soldier—just a bureaucrat who thought grabbing a sword made him a threat.
“Tsk tsk. Charging in without thinking of the consequences… Has the blood of the North finally stirred in you after all this time?”
Not that it mattered.
A desk-bound official swinging a sword was about as dangerous as a toddler with a butter knife.
Dwayne intercepted him before Ian even needed to move.
“Spare me! I-I must’ve lost my mind! Give me another chance—!”
“Another chance? Oh, you’re getting one—in the rehabilitation program! Take him away and investigate everything!”
How merciful of Ian, even to those who raised blades against him!
Soon, these men would weep tears of repentance in the famed Schrantz rehabilitation program.
The thought of this place finally being set right brought a faint smile to Ian’s lips.
“……”
Meanwhile, Klins and Luther trembled like leaves.
‘Thank the gods we were caught before the wilderness expedition…’
‘Even if we’d cooperated, one wrong move and we’d have ended up in that program too, huh?’
They considered themselves lucky to have gotten off with just a pay cut.
A hair’s breadth from experiencing Schlantz’s infamous rehabilitation firsthand.
Yet, a new worry gnawed at them.
“Young Master… isn’t this too many arrests?”
“Why? Is there a problem?”
“It’s just—everyone detained held critical positions.”
Perhaps it was his experience as a low-ranking official, but Klins immediately saw the issue.
With the entire administrative backbone of the region gutted, who would handle the day-to-day operations?
“No choice. Weed out the rotten ones and fill the gaps with new appointments. Until then, we’ll manage with who we have.”
Too many were guilty of unforgivable crimes.
Letting them off lightly for the sake of administrative continuity would shatter the people’s trust.
‘If they’d just skimmed a bit, I could’ve made them vomit it all up, given a slap on the wrist, and put them back to work. But these bastards went too far.’
Embezzlement was the least of their sins.
Some officials had dabbled in narcotics, murder-for-hire, even human trafficking—either as investors or direct operators.
A little later, and this city would’ve become a place where gangs roamed freely.
‘Deviating from the standard path really does create unforeseen problems everywhere.’
Ian sighed internally, shaking his head.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have been this swamped—none of this would’ve happened.
‘The expedition pulled too many administrators away, leaving this place understaffed.’
Originally, the wilderness survey should’ve been completed by now, transitioning into full-scale development.
‘By the time the new settlement was properly established, this place would’ve stabilized enough to shift resources there.’
But with Ansen draining administrative manpower, problems festered here.
‘People were in the wrong places. Even after annexing territories, we lacked the hands to fully control them.’
Ian hadn’t anticipated this twist.
Being the first to suppress monster outbreaks and push the frontier expansion two years ahead of schedule came with unforeseen complications.
Even he couldn’t predict everything.
“Well, whatever. Father will handle the administrative mess.”
Ian casually dumped the workload on Hugo back in Rosen.
What a filial son.
Besides, this was beyond his authority anyway.
‘Father must’ve considered this when sending me… or not. Whatever.’
With a mental shrug, Ian stretched.
Only minor offenders remained—a slap on the wrist would suffice.
“With this wrapped up, it’s time to schedule our return.”
The relief in the room was noticeable.
Fewer field assignments meant more desk work—a welcome change for these paper-pushers.
Their stamina wasn’t cut out for all this running around.
“Young Master.”
Nea approached, her expression uncharacteristically grim.
“What is it?”
“A moment of your time?”
Ian understood immediately—this wasn’t for public ears.
“Everyone, back to work. I’ll give further instructions later. Dwayne, take a break.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Ian dismissed those around him.
Even Dwayne was no exception, retreating to a distance where he wouldn’t be able to overhear.
Of course, if Dwayne really wanted to, he could have used the wind spirit to eavesdrop from afar.
But Ian knew Dwayne was too straightforward for that—he wasn’t particularly worried.
“What’s wrong? You look troubled.”
Once everyone had withdrawn, Nea glanced around once more before speaking.
“The uncles brought word—rumors are spreading that the Fourth Prince has gone missing.”
This wasn’t just idle gossip. It was shocking, almost blasphemous news.
The sudden disappearance of the Fourth Prince—who had been famously disinterested in the throne—would send shockwaves through the empire.
And for those aware of the current state of the imperial family, the gravity of the situation was immediately clear.
The already chaotic imperial court was about to become even more turbulent.
“Oh?”
But Ian remained surprisingly calm.
His indifferent reaction even took Nea aback.
It wasn’t that he was forcing composure—it was as if he had expected this.
‘What? Did he already anticipate this happening?’
At first, she thought he simply didn’t care, dismissing it as irrelevant to him.
Or perhaps he considered the rumor baseless.
But she couldn’t bring herself to believe he had genuinely foreseen this.
“It’s only the beginning.”
Crossing his arms, Ian fell into brief contemplation.
If the rumors were true, the Fourth Prince’s disappearance was undoubtedly Duke Endran’s doing—a pre-emptive strike to eliminate a potential threat.
‘Now it’s a battle between the Second and Third Princes.’
This wasn’t a scenario where a third party would swoop in to claim victory.
Only a direct clash between the two major factions remained.
The fragile, false peace had shattered.
Imperial authority had crumbled, and during this illusory stability, the lords had lost their grip on control.
‘Large-scale conflicts will erupt soon, plunging the entire empire into civil war.’
The empire’s darkest hour was approaching.
Within a month at most, the clash between Duke Endran and Duke Eaton would ignite the flames of war.
‘Now Duke Endran will handle the rest.’
Schrantz’s only concern now was how to secure its own interests amid the chaos.
Ironically, the biggest relief for Ian was—
‘Thank the gods I’m not the lord or the heir!’
All those complicated matters were Hugo and Hubert’s problem, not his.
Ian only needed to focus on his own tasks.
“Sending Ian to Dariel Village was the right move.”
Hugo muttered in approval as he reviewed the reports from Dariel.
But beside him, Hubert let out a heavy sigh.
“Brother, your enthusiasm is commendable, but…”
“Is this really sustainable? At this rate, Rigasfil’s administration will grind to a halt.”
He had always known Ian’s efficiency was extraordinary, but arresting so many officials at once had unintended consequences.
“At least thirty are directly implicated in corruption, and if we include minor offenders, the number easily surpasses a hundred…”
They were pushing administrative capabilities to the limit, handling each case one by one—yet according to reports, Ian showed no signs of stopping.
“Can we even manage this?”
“We’ll have to try. At least Schrantz’s influence is now firmly entrenched.”
Thanks to Ian’s relentless actions, the ringleaders of corruption had been captured, allowing Schrantz’s reach to extend into every corner.
The only problem was that Ian was moving faster than they could keep up.
“We can’t match this pace. Shouldn’t we tell him to slow down?”
“Yes, you’re right. It’s time to rest a bit.”
Hugo readily accepted Hubert’s suggestion.
Hubert exhaled in relief.
He had worried Hugo might insist on letting Ian continue unchecked.
But even Hugo recognized this was unsustainable.
‘Brother has always been weak when it comes to administrative matters.’
Though as the eldest son, Ian should have mastered statecraft, he had neglected it—and even after reforming, his administrative skills remained lacking.
Back in Rosen, he had always relied on others for cleanup and advice.
No doubt he was counting on his father and brother to handle the aftermath now.
‘Not that what he’s doing is unreasonable.’
If Ian were acting recklessly, they would have stopped him.
But his actions were necessary—the real issue was that other problems had been neglected for too long.
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