I Became a Civil Servant Who Can Use Magic

The entire southern region of the empire was turned upside down by the birth of the new Southern Corps Commander.

Of course, everyone had expected that there would be an appointment of a new corps commander.

But the problem was that the identity of the successor was Loen Franz.

“The imperial court must have gone mad! To put a noble lady with not even a speck of military experience in the position of corps commander!”
“It’s utterly bewildering.”

As soon as the news was delivered,
The Southern Alliance leadership immediately convened an emergency countermeasure meeting.

The conference room, which would normally have been full of arrogance and composure, was now filled with anxiety and impatience.

“Even if she’s from a ducal family and belongs to the Inspection Department, still.”
“Isn’t this going way too far beyond the line!?”
“This is no time to be dazed. We must come up with some countermeasure…”

Through the series of recent events, they too had now clearly realized.
That the blade of purge was aimed at their necks.

And Loen Franz stood at the forefront of this.

“Quiet.”

At the shout of a young man with sharp features, everyone closed their mouths.

“Is it fitting for us, who hold and shake the south, to make such a fuss over this small matter?”

It wasn’t a small matter at all, but nevertheless, everyone nodded at the young man’s words.
The conference room fell silent again.

Breaking the momentary silence, someone asked the young man.

“Baron Mammon. Do you perhaps have any clever plan?”
“Well.”

The young man called Baron Mammon shrugged at someone’s words.
It was an extremely arrogant attitude for a baron, but no one minded this.

They just looked at him with expectant eyes.

Because even though he acted like that, he was a mysterious person who always brought ingenious solutions to overcome crises.
Somehow, just looking at him made them feel like their anxiety and worries were completely wiped away.

Baron Mammon looked around with a sly smile.

“Confronting her head-on would be truly foolish. Especially now that the entire Southern Corps has been placed in her hands.”

Everyone nodded at his words.

“Let’s push forward in the ‘merchants’ way’. Using pens and tongues, connections and rumors to undermine her authority, sow distrust among the soldiers, and turn public opinion in our favor.”

The merchants’ way Baron Mammon spoke of meant:
Meticulous behind-the-scenes work such as spreading false rumors using all means and manipulating public opinion in noble society to undermine the opponent’s reputation.

For nobles who value honor more than anything else, this kind of petty attack was truly subtle and embarrassing.

“And isn’t she, whether a rising power in the Inspection Corps or whatever, actually just a 21-year-old young noble lady? If we drag her into a mud fight, she surely won’t be able to handle it properly.”
“Hmm.”
“Now that you mention it, that’s right!”

The atmosphere in the conference room changed drastically.
Words belittling Loen burst out from here and there.
As soon as they thought it was feasible, they immediately changed their stance.

Some cautious ones seemed to think whether they could avoid the Inspection Corps’ purge with just this….
But the flow had already passed.

“After all, what would a woman with no experience commanding an army know.”
“She’ll surely just waste time engaging in unnecessary power struggles with her staff.”
“Let’s properly show the true strength of our Southern Alliance on this occasion!”

In a hopeful atmosphere, they strengthened their resolve.
And so the emergency countermeasure meeting came to an end.

Immediately after ascending to the position of Southern Corps Commander, the first thing Loen did was a large-scale personnel reorganization.

No, if you suddenly tell me to be the corps commander.. it’s too bewildering, you know?

Honestly speaking, her only military experience was from her previous life.
And that was experience as a mere soldier.

Therefore, in Loen’s opinion, for the corps to function properly, she needed staff who would understand perfectly and carry out orders even if given rough instructions.

At the same time, they had to be those loyal to the empire.

But because the Southern Corps had been steeped in peace for a long time,
Such talented individuals were usually pushed to minor positions due to internal politics.
This was obvious without even looking.

So the first thing to do was a large-scale personnel reorganization.

‘If I fill it with capable officers, it should run well on its own, right?’

Having reached this conclusion, Loen immediately had a personal interview with the personnel staff.
Among the staff, he was the ‘only imperial loyalist’.

“Personnel staff.”

Loen’s red eyes stared at him for a moment.

“Work closely with the magic-armored knights to thoroughly investigate the tendencies of all officers in the corps. The inspectors will also help with this.”
“….”

A suffocating silence flowed for a moment.
The order to investigate the corps internally in cooperation with the magic-armored knights, an external force, meant inspection in itself.

The personnel officer’s gaze briefly fell on the ‘Golden Lion Emblem’ on Loen’s chest.

Having made his judgment in a flash, he moistened his dry lips and answered.

“Understood, Corps Commander.”

Loen decided to completely overhaul the corps command structure on this occasion.

In the fortress audience hall,
Loen sat on the throne, which had now become hers, with her legs crossed and chin resting on her hand.

Loen’s red eyes slowly scanned the corps officers lined up in the audience hall.

Despite suddenly taking on the position of corps commander, there was not a trace of awkwardness in her appearance.
Her expressionless face was surrounded only by the coolness of a corps commander.

Everyone stiffened at her appearance, from which pressure flowed continuously.

Breaking the long silence, Loen finally called someone.

“Magic-armored knight captain.”
“You called?”

The knight captain walked up to Loen and bowed his head.

“I’m assigning you the position of corps chief of staff.”
“Yes! I will humbly accept the order!”

He returned to his place after answering firmly.

There was no great commotion among the officers.
Although he wasn’t part of the corps, he was a person with rich front-line experience.
Moreover, it was within a sufficiently understandable range for the new corps commander to place her closest aide in the position of chief of staff.

After all, the corps commander and chief of staff were practically one body.

Therefore, the real personnel assignments were from now on.

“Battalion Commander Bern.”

At Loen’s call, an officer with a stern impression stepped forward.

“I’m assigning you the position of operations staff.”
“……Yes!”

For a moment, silence and ripples spread throughout the conference room.
At Loen’s unconventional personnel assignment different from expectations, not only those around but even Bern himself who was named wore an expression of disbelief.

He was a person with no connection whatsoever to Loen.
Although his abilities were excellent and he had thick trust from his subordinates, he often clashed with his superiors due to his unyielding beliefs. He was a person with only excessive loyalty to the empire.

In the eyes of his fellow officers,
He was the very epitome of an inflexible true soldier.

Because of this, previous corps commanders had considered him an uncomfortable and difficult person to handle and repeatedly ignored him.

To suddenly place such a person in the core position of operations staff, which could be called the brain of the corps?

Before the surrounding commotion could subside, another unconventional personnel assignment was made.

“Battalion Commander Robert.”
“Yes!”
“Logistics staff.”

In the continuing personnel assignments, everyone noticed her intention.

‘Even though she could fill about half with officers who would obediently follow orders..’

There was a clear standard in the new corps commander’s large-scale personnel reorganization.

‘All of them.. are those who maintained their loyalty to the empire without yielding to the persistent persuasion and threats of the former corps commander.’
‘Those who were pushed to minor positions or omitted from promotions due to unnecessary stubbornness….’

The atmosphere gradually became unsettling.

And finally.

Seeing the core staff being replaced one after another, a group of some officers collectively expressed their intention to protest.
It was because they sensed that if things continued like this, it would be neither here nor there.

‘A woman with no experience in the military..’
‘Even if she received His Majesty’s appointment, isn’t this really too much?’

A veteran officer who seemed to be their representative opened his mouth.

“Ahem. Corps Commander. Excuse me for asking, but may I inquire about the criteria for the personnel reorganization?”

Another officer picked up his words.

“The Southern Corps has the duty to protect the entire southern region of the empire in case of emergency. A sudden change in the command structure risks harming the morale and stability of the army. I hope you would consider this point.”

While it seemed to be worrying about the stability and tradition of the corps on the surface,

“A clear standard and procedure…”
“That’s enough.”

In Loen’s eyes, it was merely a struggle to protect their own rice bowls.

Even though it was revealed that the former corps commander was a traitor, they’re only concerned about protecting themselves?
Do they not know the seriousness of the situation, or are they deliberately ignoring it despite knowing….

Loen felt absurd anew.

It seemed that the time had come to bring up ‘that’ again.

Loen, who slowly stood up from her seat, hardened her expression and said in a resolute voice.

“A clear standard.. My standard is only one.”

Loen’s gaze pierced the officer who led the protest.

“Loyalty to the empire and His Majesty the Emperor.”

Woong—
As fierce mana began to flow from her unwavering red eyes, the air in the audience hall sank heavily.

At the pressure emitted by a 5-star mage, the faces of the protesting officers began to turn pale.
Some unconsciously stepped back, and swallowed dry saliva while sweating cold.

Meanwhile, Loen’s words continued.

“To reiterate, I stand here as an inspector to fulfill His Majesty the Emperor’s will in his stead. My mission is to eradicate corrupt and traitorous individuals, and to set right the empire’s corps.”

Flick.
At Loen’s gesture, the magic-armored knights lined up beside Loen took a step forward, making a dull sound.
It was a clear show of force.

“Therefore, disobeying my decision is equivalent to opposing the will of the Inspection Corps, and is an act akin to raising a rebellion against His Majesty the Emperor.”
“….”
“….”

The mouths of the officers, who were in danger of being branded as traitors in an instant, shut tightly.
Feeling that the situation was turning serious, they began to look around, rolling their eyes left and right.

“So I ask. Is there anyone who objects to this personnel reorganization?”

No one dared to raise an objection.

The officers who came out to protest silently bowed their heads and retreated to their places.

The partial insubordination of some officers was suppressed in an instant.

After such a long and extensive personnel reorganization.

All core positions in the Southern Corps had been completely replaced with imperial loyalist officers.

On the other hand, those who were even slightly entangled with Duke Donnelly were all pushed to minor positions.

This was a large-scale reshuffle and a purge without blades that had not been seen in the corps for decades.

The day after the storm of personnel reorganization had swept through.

Loen, who called together the new command, ordered them.

“Issue an order for large-scale departure preparations to the entire corps immediately.”

Large-scale departure.
This meant war.

At Loen’s sudden order for departure preparations, the staff glanced at each other.
Isn’t this order too sudden..

Currently, there are no threat forces in the southern empire that would warrant the corps to move.
Even the elves beyond the border have been quiet lately.

Then against whom are we departing?

One staff member cautiously asked.

“What is the target?”

Loen’s following words completely shattered everyone’s expectations.

“The corps’ target is the Southern Alliance.”
“..!”

The eyes of the entire command were filled with shock.

The Southern Merchant Association. Abbreviated as the Southern Alliance.
A huge force dominating the southern economy and a powerful faction with numerous noble families entangled.

Why would an imperial corps target such an alliance?

Traitors spread throughout the Southern Alliance and hidden demons.

To those who didn’t know these detailed circumstances,
This was clearly like a declaration of war against the southern noble faction.

It could potentially become the spark of a civil war that might burn the entire southern empire.

‘Don’t tell me… you’re trying to start a civil war now?’

‘To suddenly strike a noble faction..’

‘Is this truly His Majesty’s will?’

The first strategy meeting ended like that amidst everyone’s shock and silence.

Apart from doubts, the orders of a corps commander appointed by the Emperor were absolute.

From that afternoon onwards, the entire Southern Corps began full-scale preparation work for a large-scale departure.

And, all officers issuing instructions instinctively sensed.
That a huge storm would soon sweep across the entire south.