Aililan fell into thought for a moment.
She had already made up her mind.
“Squad Leader Betiliana, you don’t need to worry about manpower. Aside from five hundred knights, the Chastity Knights also have at least fifteen hundred servants. I’ll have Renata select some people and assign them to the Military Police.”
“Servants? Are you sure you’re not joking?” Betiliana asked, almost in disbelief.
“I know what you’re worried about, Squad Leader Betiliana. You can think of those servants as Chaste Knight Reserve members. They’ve all been educated in the Holy Land, so at the very least, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with their literacy or their character.”
“But, are you sure they can really handle the highly specialized work of tracking and apprehending suspects as part of the Military Police?” Betiliana’s skepticism remained.
Aililan replied honestly, “They cannot.”
Betiliana let out a wry laugh. “So, Saintess, aren’t you just joking with me?”
Aililan stood up and walked over to Betiliana. “Forgive me for being blunt, but given the Military Police’s current situation, do you really think those original members could truly fulfill the duties of the Military Police?”
She took a deep breath.
Aililan continued.
“Squad Leader Betiliana.”
“As the saying goes, you must break before you can make anew.”
“What I’m giving you now is a group of people with clean backgrounds. Maybe they don’t know how to chase thieves, but you can teach them. They don’t know how to solve cases, but you can teach that too.”
“If you have faith, then in just a few months, the Military Police will be completely transformed. You’ll have a group of true warriors fighting for the Light Order.”
“And you!”
“Miss Betiliana.”
“You’ll be their Squad Leader.”
Betiliana trembled all over, murmuring, “True warriors fighting for the Light Order in the Military Police!”
Upon further reflection.
She realized Aililan wasn’t wrong.
Given the current state of the Military Police, most of them were just sitting idly, drawing salaries.
Betiliana tried tentatively, “Lady Aililan Saintess, maybe I can give it a try?”
Aililan’s lips curved into a smile as she spoke frankly, “To tell you the truth, even if you weren’t willing, I’d find someone else. The spirit of a new squad depends on the kind of person leading them. Betiliana, place your hand on your heart—do you think you can do this?”
“Honestly, trusting you makes me a little uneasy.”
“I’m afraid you might carry over the bad habits of the previous Military Police. It takes three years to learn virtue, but only three days to learn vice. I’m worried you might lead the new squad astray.”
Suddenly.
‘Pa-da!’
Betiliana straightened up, stood at attention, and cut off Aililan’s words of concern with a vow, “Please, Saintess, trust me. You must give me a chance.”
“But!” Aililan looked hesitant.
“Three months!” Betiliana blurted out.
“What?”
“You only need to give me three months. I will show you results.”
“Your determination is admirable.” Aililan paced back and forth, as if still wavering.
Betiliana’s heart tightened with worry. After thinking for a moment, she gritted her teeth and said, “Two months!”
Aililan slammed the table. “Miss Betiliana, don’t make promises you can’t keep, or I’ll seriously doubt your character!”
“One month! Give me one month, and I guarantee I’ll bring you an entirely new Military Police. If I fail, I’ll bring you my head as an apology.”
“Betiliana! There’s no room for petty tricks in the military!”
“Saintess, please trust me just this once!”
“Fine.” Aililan gritted her teeth and finally agreed. “Then I’ll trust you this once! I’ll assign you another hundred Chastity Knights to assist you for a month.”
Aililan trusted her.
But not completely.
After all, Betiliana’s status as Protagonist would always be there.
If one day she got swept away by that ‘Phoenix Overlord’ blond protagonist and handed the entire Military Police over as a dowry, that would be disastrous.
So for all the key positions—
They had to be Aililan’s own people.
The two discussed several more matters regarding the Military Police, mainly about restricting the power of the Military Police, or rather, separating it.
The Church’s Tribunal, which handled “legal” matters, was essentially responsible for judging nobles and church personnel, as well as handling cases of blasphemy.
As for the authority to judge commoners, that was handed down to local governing bodies.
Petty crimes like theft or vandalism? The Military Police could pass judgment. Even unrelated government officials could, by virtue of their personal prestige, intervene.
In the end, the Church’s judicial system was designed to maintain the purity of church personnel, not to govern commoners in a united regime of church and state.
When there’s no uniform standard for judgment, and everything depends on personal character, you end up with commoners suing the rich and the rich always winning—greatly worsening the plight and resentment of the lower classes.
Aililan separated the Military Police into three departments:
- Investigation Bureau, responsible solely for pursuing suspects and handling all types of criminal cases.
- Tribunal, which handles case hearings and judgments, and in some ways reclaims judicial authority from all those unqualified to wield it.
- Inspectorate, which supervises the first two departments and answers directly to Aililan.
As they continued discussing—
Betiliana asked in confusion.
“Lady Aililan Saintess, will this really work? I’m not doubting your abilities, but implementing such a system will cost a tremendous amount of manpower and resources. Is it really worth it?”
“Miss Betiliana, whether or not this system will work is a matter for later. For now, we just need to establish the framework. But tell me, why do you think it isn’t worth it?”
“Saintess, I think as long as the Military Police—well, your newly named Investigation Bureau—remains upright and honest, as long as everyone is fair and just, there’s no need for the other two departments at all.”
“Then, Miss Betiliana, tell me: how will you ensure they remain upright and fair forever?”
“Saintess, as long as I’m here, I’ll never let anything like that happen.”
“But what if one day you’re not here? The rate at which the Investigation Bureau will become corrupt without oversight will be beyond your imagination.”
“I…” Betiliana was speechless.
“Wake up, Miss Betiliana. It’s all too easy to corrupt a person’s heart. Even the most devout high-ranking church officials are implicated in shocking scandals every few years. How much more so for ordinary people?”
Betiliana fell silent.
Because Aililan was right.
It took immense manpower and resources to ensure fairness and justice, but all it took to corrupt a person was a single gold coin.
It was late into the night before the two finally parted ways. Aililan was escorted home by knights, while Betiliana left the Military Police with a head full of worries.
She glanced one last time at the signboard of the Military Police. “ε=(´ο｀*))) Sigh!” This might be the last time she’d call it the Military Police. Starting tomorrow, it would be renamed: Investigation Bureau.
As she was walking alone—
From behind a large tree, Fina Nisi slowly emerged. Earlier that evening, she’d dressed Pella in the Saintess’s robes, vented her frustrations on poor Pella, but she hadn’t forgotten about this beautiful girl named Betiliana.
Fina Nisi’s eyes sparkled with predatory intent. Smiling, she called out, “Miss Betiliana? What a coincidence!”
If I can’t have Aililan.
Can’t I at least have you?