The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character-Chapter 44: Servant Cedric (10). Image Rehabilitation: Territory Edition

When word spread that Claudia had driven out the acting lord and taken over the manor, the citizens of Eched were united in a single response—sheer terror.

“Claudia? You mean that notorious villainess?”

“I heard she beat her servants for the slightest mistake and hurled insults constantly. No one lasted a full year under her.”

“She never even left her villa before. What’s she doing getting involved with governing?”

“Maybe she’s going to jack up taxes and squeeze every last coin out of us!”

“Or feed unruly citizens to her magical beasts!”

“Hey, hey! Keep your voices down! What if someone hears you?”

Claudia’s name was infamous in Eched.

Though she’d never wreaked havoc throughout the territory herself, the servants who’d fled her mansion in terror had spread horror stories far and wide.

As with all rumors, half were exaggerated or distorted—but the other half were firsthand accounts, making it hard to call them baseless.

So the citizens trembled, wondering what kind of hell Claudia was about to unleash.

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“...Aren’t those supposed to be terrifying magical beasts? That’s just... a red dog with fluff.”

“They’re going to act as guards? Seriously?”

First, the citizens were stunned that the notorious blood beasts under Claudia’s control were cute.

Then, they were shocked again when Claudia officially declared that these creatures would serve as a security force.

And finally, they were floored when the system actually worked.

“I was about to get jumped by some punks, when suddenly dogs started barking, and a few minutes later, the guards showed up. Saved my life.”

“I lost my coin pouch, and one of the doggies found it for me!”

“My son’s a guardsman, and he says his job’s way easier now. They don’t have to patrol all over the place anymore—just wait around until a dog shows them where to go.”

“Those criminals who used to lurk in the alleys? These days they flinch at the sight of any dog.”

People who had once hoped Claudia would just sit quietly and do nothing were now watching, stunned, as she actually governed—and governed well.

Public opinion flipped almost overnight.

There were two key reasons behind this rapid rise in support.

First: Expectations for Claudia had been so low they were practically underground.

Second: Her new policy was incredibly easy to notice and experience.

The truth is, when someone powerful announces a new policy “for the people,” it’s rare for those people to actually feel the benefits themselves.

Sweeping, high-impact policies often cause unforeseen side effects and backlash. Delicately tuned ones might take ages to show results—if they do at all.

But the blood beast patrol system?

It was immediate. Visible. Tangible. And it demanded nothing from the citizens in return.

There was no conscription to support the guard force. No tax hikes.

Just pure benefit, no cost. So the people could praise Claudia wholeheartedly, without hesitation.

Of course, not everyone was pleased.

***

“Shit. This is bad.”

Hamelin, a young official in Eched, was among those not celebrating Claudia’s rise.

Not because he was corrupt or had some shady dealings with criminals—no, in fact, he rated Claudia’s work in public safety quite highly.

To be precise, he respected exactly that part—and nothing else.

“If you’re going to kick people out, you need to have replacements ready! She dumped a bunch of rookies on us and expects everything to run like normal!?”

The officials who quit after the acting lord was dismissed were mostly those close to him, with secure financial backing. In other words: senior administrators.

To fill the gaps, Claudia promoted lower-ranked officials like Hamelin.

But without any handover or proper training, it was no surprise that the system became chaotic.

And they weren’t just doing their own jobs—they also had to train the newly recruited administrative fledglings, most of whom didn’t know the first thing about government work.

Anyone who’s been part of an organization knows: rookies aren’t really “help” at first. They’re more like dead weight.

Just answering their constant stream of questions was enough to drain time and mental energy.

“She’s masking everything with flashy results for now... but it won’t be long before things start to break down.”

And when that happened, guess who would be held responsible?

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Not the new hires personally loyal to Claudia—no, it’d be the existing mid-tier officials like Hamelin.

The lord is the one who assigns responsibility, not the one who bears it. Cutting loyalists would weaken her power base—so naturally, it’d be safer to scapegoat older staff.

With nothing but grim thoughts about the future weighing him down, Hamelin was called into the lord’s office one day.

“Here. Take this.”

Claudia handed him a thick stack of papers. He blinked.

Noticing the question on his face, she added,

“I noticed some inefficiencies in the current system, so I revised it. From now on, follow the sequence written there. Make sure everyone in your department gets a copy.”

“Y-Yes, my lady.”

It took considerable effort for Hamelin to keep from frowning.

This wasn’t uncommon. Higher-ups glancing at a department’s workflow and making clueless “suggestions” was practically tradition.

The problem was, those suggestions were usually garbage.

The previous acting lord, for example, once issued a brilliant directive to “save paper” by limiting the number of sheets each official could use per day. The result? Documents crammed with microscopic handwriting that no one could read. He’d reversed the order almost immediately.

So what was she, a noble lady who’d likely never done paperwork in her life, going to contribute?

Suppressing a sigh, Hamelin flipped to the first page.

‘...Huh. The intro’s surprisingly solid. There’s even a table of contents?’

Flip.

‘Standardized forms? Pre-defined fields based on task type? I already do that, but... yeah, there are plenty of people who just write whatever they want. Making it a rule might actually help.’

Flip.

‘She’s broken down tasks by category. That’ll make training way easier. Faster, too. But if someone’s absent, no one else will know what to do—oh, wait, that’s what the sub-managers are for.’

Flip.

‘A guest reception manual? Wait... she’s listed the full etiquette procedures based on the visitor’s rank?!’

Flip.

Flip.

Flip.

At first, Hamelin had opened the document thinking, What kind of nonsense is this supposed to be?

But the more pages he turned, the more serious his expression became.

By the end, he was so absorbed he forgot he was standing in front of the lord of the territory.

...This can’t be real.

His hands trembled.

As the most competent administrator remaining in Eched, he knew better than anyone.

He knew exactly how invaluable this document was.

Each individual element might not be groundbreaking. There’s no advanced theory or innovative concept. Most of this is stuff experienced officials already do, more or less, without thinking.

But that didn’t make it any less extraordinary.

There is a massive gap between vaguely knowing “this is about right” and clearly stating “when A happens, do B.”

This was manualization taken to an extreme.

Even a total beginner—so long as they could read—could follow this document and become a functional member of the team. A magical guidebook that enabled competency through execution alone.

And it’s not just for beginners. If the existing staff follow this, their efficiency will skyrocket, too.

He couldn’t be sure how much it would help until it was implemented—but by Hamelin’s estimate, even at the lowest projection, it would double productivity.

Not only would it cover the labor shortfall—it could actually reduce the number of staff needed to run Eched effectively.

With awe-filled eyes, Hamelin looked up at Claudia.

Every ounce of resentment he’d held toward her was already gone—without a trace.

In fact, he felt a strange sense of pride at serving under a lord like this.

“It’s... brilliant. Truly brilliant, my lady! With this, not only can the territory be managed, it can be done perfectly!”

For some reason, Claudia flinched at his words.

But only for a moment. She quickly waved a hand as if brushing it off.

“Don’t make a fuss. If you’ve got no complaints, get moving and distribute it already.”

Her manner seemed dismissive, but to Hamelin—now utterly smitten with admiration—it came across as the humility of a wise ruler who didn’t need to boast of her achievements.

He bowed deeply, then left the room with eager, hurried steps—like someone who couldn’t wait to put it all into practice.

Once he was gone, Claudia muttered under her breath.

“...Cedric. Was that really that amazing? Honestly, I couldn’t even tell just by looking at it.”

From his quiet place in the back corner, Cedric responded,

“Well, it’s impressive in some ways—and trivial in others.”

“For something trivial, he sure made a big deal out of it.”

“Hahaha. It reminded me of when you tasted omurice for the first time, my lady.”

“...What.”

Claudia sucked in a sharp breath, then fired back rapidly.

“D-Don’t make things up! There’s no way I reacted that dramatically!”

“Truly? You looked just as focused then—so enthralled you didn’t even notice who was around you.”

“Will you shut up already?!”

“How can a faithful servant deny the truth of his own experience?”

Claudia grabbed the paperweight on her desk and hurled it at him, and Cedric—as always—caught it effortlessly and returned it to its place.

She glared at him, annoyed, then clicked her tongue.

“Still... it’s unexpected.”

“What is, my lady?”

“I figured you’d just handle all the work yourself instead of giving people these documents.”

Claudia knew Cedric was more than capable of administrative tasks.

She was being tutored by him daily—it would be absurd not to know.

She hadn’t even bothered trying to stop the officials from resigning because she’d assumed Cedric alone would be enough to manage things.

But instead of taking over directly, Cedric had chosen to help indirectly by creating the manual.

And Claudia didn’t get it.

Anyone else might assume he was shirking responsibility—but Cedric? He was practically a workaholic.

“That’s simple. If I do the work myself, it might go smoothly now—but in the long run, it would weaken the organization. A system that collapses when one person is removed isn’t worth anything.”

Though, he added, final decision-makers are a different matter.

Claudia frowned at the subtle implication in his words.

“Then what about the fact that you made the manual look like I wrote it?”

“Because it’s more beneficial that way.”

Cedric didn’t hesitate.

“People tend to favor inertia over efficiency. Very few, like Hamelin, are willing to take initiative. If we want this adopted across the board, your authority is the best tool. If the manual is said to come from the lord herself, then even if just for appearances, most will at least pretend to follow it.”

“And if we publish it under your name?”

“Exactly. Who would take it seriously if an inexperienced servant—no better than a glorified errand boy—suddenly pushed for administrative reform?”

He wasn’t wrong.

Still... Claudia felt strangely unsettled.

“...It’s the same with the villa. The servants say they’re happy I’ve changed, but they don’t talk much about you.”

To be fair, it wasn’t like they never mentioned him.

Everyone knew her behavior had shifted ever since Cedric’s arrival, and it didn’t take much to put the dots together.

But at best, it was a guess.

No one ever stated that Cedric was the reason Claudia changed—largely because Cedric never sought credit.

“I only gave advice. You’re the one who accepted it and acted on it. Don’t underestimate your own achievements.”

“That’s not what I was trying to say...”

Claudia started to retort—but stopped.

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Because the vague unease in her chest... she was afraid that saying it out loud might make it real.

“Tch... whatever. Go make some tea. Sweet.”

“As you wish.”

Once Cedric had left—

Claudia murmured under her breath.

“...Why does it feel like he’s always preparing things to work without him?”