Chapter 2: Magical Aptitude
TIME WHIZZED BY, AND NOW I WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD. The tiny prodigy who’d taken on Esparda’s and Dee’s hardcore lessons had morphed into a slothful child. At least, that was how I wanted everyone to think of me.
I was happy that things had gone according to plan, but I’d never anticipated doing so poorly as to be shipped off to a village in the middle of nowhere.
When I returned to my room after the assessment, Till and Khamsin were anxious to hear the results.
“How did it go?” Till asked.
I smiled and nodded.
“That means you’ve got flame magic, right?” My maid looked delighted—until I shook my head.
Next it was Khamsin’s turn. “Erm… Wind magic, then? The same as Murcia?” I shook my head again, and the two went quiet.
“I have production magic.”
Frozen in place, all they could do was blink. And after several seconds of silence, Khamsin spoke up in a whisper. “Um, I’m not familiar with that kind. Is it uncommon?”
It wasn’t uncommon, no. It was just that those who had that aptitude did not make it public.
“Well, I suppose you don’t see it much among the nobility,” I replied with a pained smile while Till finally rebooted.
“Oh, b-but, um, Lord Van… You’re immensely talented, so I’m sure you’ll be given a key position in the family! I wholeheartedly believe that!”
A dry laugh escaped my lips. “I mean, I was given territory, so I suppose I did get a key position.”
“Really?! That’s incredible! That’s huge!”
As soon as I answered, Till leapt up in joy, prompting Khamsin to grin as well. My next words sapped their enthusiasm in an instant. “I’ll be in charge of a nameless border village.”
The fact that my aptitude wasn’t one of the four elements was to be kept secret. Anyone who knew the truth was under strict orders to remain silent. The problem was that one couldn’t just board up a person’s lips. It wasn’t long before rumors of my poor result rippled throughout the house.
Meanwhile, I was busy preparing to leave. Murcia had lent me money, so I had the funds and the manpower I needed. All of my clothes, daily necessities, and weapons were loaded onto three carriages. I wasn’t allowed to bring any of the knights, so Murcia hired ten ruffians—that is, adventurers—as my protection detail.
Originally, I was only going to have a single carriage, with Khamsin as my caretaker and sole companion. It was awful. Fortunately, Till had intervened and managed to get herself on board.
The three of us squeezing into a single carriage might be a tight fit, though.
Then Dee showed up in full armor and wielding a sword. He, too, had strongarmed his way into coming along. Something about being my bodyguard, apparently.
“I plan on drilling all of my warrior know-how into you, Lord Van! Ha ha ha!” Please, no more.
Before I could protest, Dee began chatting up my workers and getting a carriage ready. I suddenly had two large carriages added to the mix, and Dee and two other knights took positions at the rear.
Esparda was the final person to join our little caravan.
“I told Lord Jalpa that I would be retiring effective immediately. Early though it may be, I have already trained a successor, so he willingly accepted. I am fiftyfive years old now, so I’d like to spend the rest of my days relaxing away from the bustle of the city. I assume you’re fine with this?” Though he posed it as a question, he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He’d rolled up with a carriage ready to go.
When did he have time for this? Also, did my father really let a butler who’s served him for so many years go without a fight? Finding someone who can follow in his footsteps had to have been tremendously difficult.
When I cast a doubtful glance at him, he climbed into the carriage and flashed me a fearless smile. “I suppose I can look over your studies as a bit of entertainment, Lord Van.”
With that said, he entered the carriage.
Please, everybody! Stop already!
I had to wonder if they’d all conspired to do this. What was wrong with both Dee and Esparda? Why would they join me in the middle of nowhere? I itched to tell them to quit it, but the reality was that having them with me would be a massive help. Dee was a peerless swordsman, Esparda an exceptional scholar.
I climbed into my carriage, conflicted.
“Hear some good news?” Till asked me, looking chipper.
“What?” I might as well have had a question mark floating over my head.
Till bobbed her head, grinning. “You have a big smile on your face.”
That was when it clicked. Despite my posturing, I’d been pretty worried about being sent away. I was actually happy that everyone was coming with me.
“Honestly, I’m glad you’re all tagging along. Thanks.”
Till’s grin turned impish as she pointed at herself. “Actually, there were a few maids who wanted to go with you. But I told Lord Murcia that I’m your personal maid and protected the spot with my life!” She gave her seat a proud pat.
“Aw, you should have just brought anyone who wanted to come…”
Why does she have to make it like some kind of tournament? Truthfully, I was saddened by the news. My days of being surrounded by cute maids were over.
Till was too lost in her reverie to address it. “I don’t know the details, but Lord Murcia is very busy and seldom speaks to the maids. Lords Jard and Sesto likewise pay us no mind. But you? You’re different. You greet us every day. You’ve even shared your snacks and helped us clean. The maids who trained with you love you, my lord.”
Finding her comments a bit embarrassing, I looked over at Khamsin. “What about you, Khamsin? You could stay behind if you like. I can change our contract or even terminate it, and I’m sure Murcia would look after you if I asked.”
Much to my surprise, Khamsin fixed me with a glare. “Lord Van, I made the decision to serve you as long as I live. No matter what happens, I will spend my life at your side.”
“Um, did you just propose to me? I didn’t realize you loved me so much.”
His words were almost too flattering, so I tried to brush them off with a joke, but Khamsin gave me a strong nod.
“I do. I love you, Lord Van. I adore you.”
My plan had backfired, and I’d prompted him to say something even more embarrassing! Khamsin really had grown. Moved by his words, I dipped my head in thanks. I’d prepared for this journey thinking I would have to endure exile all on my own, but now I had four of my closest companions alongside me. I was truly grateful.
“All right, it’s about time we get going.” With that, the carriages set off.
Father didn’t want word of my exile to spread, so we traveled incognito. I couldn’t open the windows too far, and we had to speak in hushed whispers. Also, none of the carriages bore our family crest.
I opened the window just a crack to get a better view of the passing scenery.
“I came here to play a lot in the last two years… This is kind of sad.”
Right then, a child popped up beside our carriage. “Lord Van!”
“Oh, if it isn’t Viza. Hi there.”
Viza was the daughter of one of the city guards. I’d bumped into her
numerous times on my trips.
“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” she asked, looking upset. “Why?”
“Huh? D-did you hear that from someone?”
Viza pointed at the rear. I poked my head out the window to see that Dee’s carriage was flying a banner that read LORD VAN’S DEPARTURE!
“Aw, c’mon! That’s so embarrassing!”
One of Dee’s underlings, a young knight atop his horse, noticed us staring. “The banner was crafted under the deputy commander’s orders! He was deeply saddened that you had to leave like a thief in the night, so he at least wanted to announce your departure…”
“Didn’t Father tell him to keep this under wraps?”
The young knight grinned mischievously. “Is that so? First I’ve heard of it! My guess is that Deputy Commander Dee did so without knowing. We could lower the banner, but he’s currently asleep in his carriage… My apologies! When he awakens, I’ll explain the situation right away!”
Behind him, Dee poked his head out the window. “The youngest son of the marquis, Van Nei Fertio, is leaving the estate! Be sure to give him a grand sendoff! Those who wish to offer their services can do so thusly…”
Eyes narrowed, I flicked my gaze back to the young knight. “He looks awake to me.”
“Uh, oops! Sorry, my lord—looks like I’m due on patrol! I’ll merely be circling the perimeter around the carriages, so fear not!” With one last smile, the knight nudged his steed in the other direction.
People gathered around us, and I knew many of them quite well.
“Where are you going, Lord Van?!”
“Come back soon!”
“Are you going to the academy in the capital?!”
Once I’d shaken off my initial stupor, I addressed the crowd through the window. “Hi, everyone! I’m heading off for a little while!” I even greeted those I’d only ever spoken to once or twice. “Goodbye for now!”
Seeing my most beloved townspeople crying over my departure had me sniffling. Even though I was the one leaving them behind, tears streamed down my cheeks. I’d thought I was fine with this, but apparently not. When I sat back down, wiping at my eyes, Till offered me a handkerchief. Her outright bawling proved she was just as much of a mess as I was.
“Here, little lord. Meat’s done.”
After passing through two relay towns, it was finally time for my first campout. Back on Earth, I’d slept in all kinds of vehicles, but it was my first time doing this in a world of monsters. When I poked my head out of the carriage, I came face-to-face with a skewer of meat. The man holding it was the leader of our band of adventurers, an intimidating guy with a huge scar running down his cheek.
I had some concerns.
We’d hired two different adventurer parties for protection, and everyone looked quite strong. Half of them were battle mages, and of the ten adventurers in total, two were women. One was a bulky warrior type, the other a slender robed mage. At first glance, the latter looked nothing like an adventurer.
The grizzled guy in front of me was a skilled adventurer named Ortho Sheet. He had a scary mug, but since he’d been in the business for two decades, he was used to dealing with clients. Despite my age, he had no issues with talking to me—but his etiquette needed some work.
“Thanks. Good job watching out for everyone. Make sure you get some rest when it’s your turn,” I said, taking the skewer from him.
Ortho stared at me in disbelief, blinking repeatedly.
“Is something wrong?”
“Nah, not at all. I’ll be reportin’ back to you later.” With a strained smile, he dipped his head and left.
“Wonder what that was all about.”
Till tittered with pride beside me. “Seems to me like that adventurer understands why you’re so great. But he’s nowhere near my level! I can rattle off hundreds of your best character traits, my lord!”
I let out a dry laugh. Till had her head in the clouds as always.
Our journey took about two weeks. We stayed in four different villages—one night each—but after the second, we did a lot more outdoor camping. Due to all the stuff we were carrying, we went at a pretty leisurely pace. I figured we traveled somewhere between fifty and a hundred kilometers a day, so we must’ve covered anywhere from five hundred to a thousand kilometers by the end of it. Quite the distance. That also spoke to how vast our family’s territory was. In terms of Japan’s geography, it was like crossing three to four prefectures. I found myself wondering exactly how far it was.
While I was musing over all this, we finally arrived at the nameless village. The carriage jerked to a halt before we reached the entrance.
“Is something wrong?” Till asked the driver, who was wide-eyed with panic.
“Oh no, this is awful! The village is being attacked!”
I quickly stuck my head out the window. Beyond Dee and his two knights’ guard detail, dozens of people had surrounded the village. They were clad in all sorts of gear…and fully armed. Powerful warriors in armor loomed in front of the main gate, with a group of what looked like mages behind them.
Ortho swooped in close, scowling. “They’ve gotta be bandits or mercs on the run—the kind of scum who’ll go after the weak in a heartbeat. They’re clearly experienced, though.”
I could see that. The assailants were keeping their distance to minimize risks, instead choosing to fire arrows into the village. While the village was wrapped in thick wooden fencing, it provided little protection from projectiles that sailed over the top. I could see the villagers through gaps in the fencing, glaring at their attackers. If any of them tried to flee or fight back, they’d be riddled with arrows and spells. No ordinary person would be able to cut through their ranks, so all they could do was hole up in the village to protect themselves.
“Permission to engage, Lord Van? If we all join the battle, we can handle them!”
As far as I could tell, they had forty or fifty men total. Even with the benefit of a surprise attack, we didn’t know how strong the enemy was, and we already had the disadvantage in terms of numbers. On the flip side, I knew Dee had some serious skills, and the veteran adventurers with us were no slouches either.
Can we actually win?
“Well—”
“Hold your horses, kid. It’s way too dangerous.”
Dee frowned and glared at Ortho for the interruption. “I’m aware of the dangers. There will be casualties, but we can most certainly push them back.” His voice was grave as he gripped his sword.
The adventurer shook his head. “One of my rules is to never take on any jobs that could cost my party members their lives. When you work as an adventurer for as long as I have, you’re forced to run into all kinds of tight spots. If I took the risk every time, I’d be long dead by now.”
Anger blazed in Dee’s eyes. “There comes a time when one must put their life on the line. That time is now! That village is the young lord’s first territory, which makes those people his first subjects. If I do not draw my sword to protect them, who will?!”
He unsheathed his sword, but Ortho refused to back down.
“Your chivalry’s admirable, but unfortunately, that’s got nothing to do with us. Even if you were to pay us extra, money means nothing if we’re dead. During your travels, you come across wrecked towns and villages and folks getting attacked by monsters. Then you pass right on by. Sorry to say, but this place is no exception.”
“Grr…! Th-then at least protect Lord Van! If the situation calls for it, you can even evacuate with him.”
Ortho gave a curt nod. In the worst-case scenario, he and his people could flee.
That was when Esparda cut in. “I’m against this plan. Sir Dee aside, the other two knights will certainly perish. In other words, Sir Dee will be facing a fighting force thirty men strong, including mages. As far as I can tell, he has a 50 percent chance of victory. Should Sir Dee die, there is no future for this village even if Lord Van were to reign over it,” Esparda explained almost callously.
In other words, we could only win with the adventurers’ help.
Ortho furrowed his brow. “Just to be clear, we’re not fighting. And we’re in no position to go into battle while protecting a child and all the luggage.”
Esparda shot him an icy stare. “This might be hard to believe, but I am an elemental mage. And fortunately for us, there is plenty of earth to go around underfoot. You can rely on my combat prowess.”
“What? You can fight? Even then, I…”
At Ortho’s hesitation, Esparda nodded encouragingly. “You won’t need to charge in and put your lives on the line. First, I will create a barrier wall. You and your party will use long-range attacks from behind it. While the enemy is focused on us, Dee and his men will attack from the side. If we overlap sneak attacks, our chances of winning are high.”
“Can that barrier of yours block magic? Also, if the arrows come down on us from above, we’re done for.”
“These carriages have steel plating lining all the important parts. Once you launch the initial attack, you can fall back and shut yourselves in. We are merely going for a diversion, after all.”
Something about it felt off to me. I wasn’t sure how powerful that first attack was supposed to be, but Dee and the others would definitely be in danger. Their chances of losing were still high.
That meant Esparda had something else planned.
“You’re going to stay and fight, aren’t you?”
He offered a casual nod. “But of course. If I don’t continue to serve as a decoy and launch attacks from behind the wall, Dee and his men will be slaughtered.”
“I get it. A pincer attack is most effective—I remember that from my studies. But this plan is no good. You’re going to die.” My tone was sharp, but Esparda’s face lit up with an unusually tender smile.
“Allow me one selfish request. Let these old bones show off for once.”
“In that case, I’ll be the decoy.”
Everyone gaped at me, flabbergasted.
“No! Absolutely not! I won’t allow it!” Till shouted.
I immediately feared the enemy would overhear us, but they were too far away, the din of combat too loud. Relief washed over me.
“If you’re going to be the decoy, then I’d rather confront the enemy myself. You all can attack while I distract them. If you take me out too, you can win!” Till grabbed my hand, tears streaming from her eyes.
Khamsin nodded, humble and determined. “I will accompany you. The two of us can distract the enemy together!”
Why would they volunteer to throw their lives away? I’m having none of this.
“Just to be clear, I’m the one in charge here. This is my territory, therefore it’s my problem. Ortho and his men agreed to guard me, not fight my battles.
There’s no need for them to stick their necks out on my behalf.”
I glanced at Ortho, whose shoulders had leapt to his ears in surprise. That puzzled me, but I turned to Esparda next.
“And you. You have retired. There is no reason someone who has served my family for so long should die here.”
Esparda’s expression hardened. Perhaps I was too cold in my wording. Reflecting on that, I addressed Dee and his men.
“Dee, you and your knights belong to Father’s order. He is the one you serve, not me. You shouldn’t be risking your lives here.”
Dee and his knights wore harsh expressions, but perhaps they always did.
Finally, I faced Till and Khamsin. “Maybe this is selfish of me, but I’ve always thought of you as my big sister, Till. I don’t want to let someone so important to me become a victim in this battle. And Khamsin, even though you’re older than me, you’ve been like a little brother. If I die here, I want you to enjoy life to the fullest for me. You’re free.”
The dam broke, and tears flooded down my cheeks.
Forcing a smile, I explained my plan. “First, I’ll ride the carriage in on them from the front. I want you all to perform a pincer attack from the sides. Use ranged attacks, nothing too extreme. If it looks like the enemy isn’t backing down, please run. You can abandon my corpse. As long as I don’t announce my name, there shouldn’t be any problems for the marquis.”
I smiled self-deprecatingly, but nobody laughed. Whoops.
I drew my decorative sword and was about to march when a loud sigh rose up from the rear.
“Fine. Man, just this once! Our lives are in your hands!” Ortho said, stepping forward.
“Wait, Ortho!”
Flustered, I tried to turn him down, but he flashed me a troubled smile. “I’ve got a kid in front of me putting his life on the line in the name of responsibility. My party’s gonna tear me apart if I keep whining.” With that, he brought out his own blade.
The female mage in his party stepped up to join him. “Frankly, I didn’t think much of nobles and their so-called ‘readiness’ to do what needs to be done. Haven’t met many decent ones, y’know? But all that’s changed in the last two weeks.” She smiled shyly. “It’s thanks to you, Lord Van.”
“Gosh, Pluriel…”
She laughed. “I can’t believe you went and memorized the names of a ragtag group of adventurers like us. You really are a weird one, Lord Van. But that’s why we’re willing to step up for you.” Her voice tapered off to a whisper, and she drew her short sword adorned with magic seals.
I can’t tell her I only remember her name because she’s so cute!
My awkwardness grew as the other adventurers came forward. While I reeled, Dee and his men declared their support as well.
“We are proud knights who serve the marquis and his household. Needless to say, we serve Lord Van, who shoulders the future of that house. Protecting you here means protecting your family’s future.” Dee and his men brought out their blades and held them before their faces in a demonstration of their oath.
Man, he’s good at the whole sophistry thing.
I was weirdly impressed until Esparda stood next to him. “Once we have defeated the enemy, I will teach you the weight of being a successor to the marquis. Fear not—it will take only half a day.” That’s way too long! He’s just being spiteful!
“Let me revise my earlier plan, my lord.” Esparda gave his orders in a low, powerful voice. “First, I will create a wall, then attack at range. Dee and his knights will charge in from the left flank. Ortho, you and yours will attack from the right. Anyone who can provide protection or first aid, be ready.”
“Got it!”
“Understood!”
Everyone moved at once. Esparda started chanting, activating his earth magic. An earthen wall burst forth from the ground about twenty meters ahead. He and the adventurers skilled in long-range attacks immediately headed toward it.
I watched everyone in amazement for a bit until Till and Khamsin latched on to me.
“Thank goodness… Thank goodness, Lord Van!”
“When the time comes, I will die as your shield, my lord!”
Both of them spoke to me through their tears, and I had to do my damnedest not to fall to pieces. They were more of a family to me than my own flesh and blood. I felt that strongly as I stroked their hair.
Much as I wanted to immerse myself in that feeling, we were about to go into battle. If there was something we could do, we had to do it.
“Okay, guys. Let’s take all the medicines and first aid supplies out of the carriages. If anyone looks like they need help, we gotta move. Be ready.” I smiled, and both of them wiped their tears away.
“Got it!” they cried in unison.
The bandits had let their guard down.
When they first found out the territory had changed hands, they knew security would be at its lightest. Had the village been vital in some way, the new noble in charge would have been on top of things, but it wasn’t—just a noname settlement in the middle of nowhere.
Getting a foothold in newly acquired territory took time. Initial tasks included dispatching the lord, determining the amount of taxes to collect, and figuring out the state things were in, not to mention maintaining the peace. It also took a while to put together a detachment of knights for protection, and if they didn’t adequately communicate with the previous guard, unwanted battles could break out.
Since tackling every town at the same time was too difficult, one always had to begin with the most important cities. After that came midsize towns and villages, then small towns and settlements. When nobles handled takeovers poorly, tiny towns on the fringes wouldn’t even know that their lord had changed. It spoke to the lengthy process involved in organizing information and managing personnel.
Thus, this group of bandits had aimed for this tiny village in the sticks knowing this was the time to do so. It would be an easy job. They’d shoot arrows over the walls to scare the villagers, get some coin and supplies, take the women and children, and split.
It was precisely this overconfidence that had lowered their guard. They fired round after round of arrows so the villagers couldn’t come out. Though the townsfolk had denied the bandits entrance, they were bound to surrender to the relentless assault.
“Been a while since we’ve had women.”
“Not since that merchant’s girls, huh?”
“There were only two of ’em too. They broke real quick.”
“Looks like we got at least ten this time.”
“Bwa ha ha ha ha!”
All the bandits were indulging in such idle banter, treating the invasion as though it were a festival. Drinking, singing, the whole deal. They couldn’t bear to quit the bandit life with all its rowdy escapades.
Just a few moments after that raucous laugh, an arrow plunged deep into a bandit’s neck.
As I watched Dee clean the blood off of his sword, a chill skittered down my spine. It had only taken ten minutes. A measly ten minutes that both felt long and short. Things had gone completely in our favor.
Our group had annihilated the bandits. A few had slipped away, but most were dead and the rest were at death’s door. Some time after the battle ended, I sensed the villagers gathering beyond the village entrance.
Men and women holding spears and shields were lined up, watching through the openings in the wooden fence. I counted about fifty people. If that was the combat force of this place, then they were extremely vulnerable. For a village this size, though, that was probably a decent number.
I sighed, taking stock of the village once more. The wooden fence used thick posts, and it looked well taken care of. But at the end of the day, wood was wood. From what I could see, the houses crammed side by side beyond the fence were made of wood too. If the Kingdom of Yelenetta or Lord Ferdinatto sent knights to occupy the village, they could effortlessly set it ablaze with flaming arrows. There were only two reasons this hadn’t happened: a dragon lived in the Wolfsbrook Mountains, and the village wasn’t a particularly convenient base. I doubted this place would ever become a battlefield, but the people here would be crushed like ants if it did.
As I grappled with my apprehension, Till came up next to me. “Well, my lord… things turned out a bit differently than we imagined, but we’ve arrived at the village.”
“Right.” I nodded. “This is my first time meeting these people. We have to introduce ourselves.”
I made my way to the village entrance with a whole entourage: two knights in front of me, Dee and Esparda on either side, and Till and Khamsin behind me. Ortho and the others were keeping an eye on the carriages and a few bandits we’d taken as prisoners.
The villagers stirred at our approach. Once I had their attention, I opened my mouth to speak.
“Hi there. My name is Van Nei Fertio. I come from House Fertio, the nobles who control this territory—your village included. From here on out, I’m gonna be in charge of this place. I don’t intend to make unreasonable demands or heavily tax anyone, so please rest easy.”
At my very un-noble-like greeting, the villagers exchanged glances, whispering to one another in confusion.
Esparda’s brow wrinkled, and he stepped forward. “Your new governor, Lord Van, has arrived. Open the gate.” His voice, though quiet, held far more gravity than mine.
A small elderly man broke off from the crowd. “Open the gates,” he said, and the villagers quickly did so.
Men and women in their twenties and thirties readied their shields and spears. Standing in front of them all was the old man, who held no weapons.
“I am Ronda, the village mayor. You have my gratitude for saving us. Thank you.” He bowed deeply to punctuate his polite introduction.
“I hear that up until now, no lord or security of any kind has ever been dispatched to your village,” I said. “First off, allow me to apologize for that. I plan on protecting this place as its lord, so I ask for both your understanding and your assistance.”
No noble would ever speak this way; I came off less as a lord and more as a customer service employee. The mayor and the rest of the villagers gaped at me in disbelief.
“Gah ha ha ha ha ha!”
Ortho cracked up behind me, but I ignored him and waited for Ronda’s response. After a few seconds of blinking, he spoke up again.
“Well, thank you. Allow me to escort you to my home, then.” He turned around, walking into the village proper.
We followed behind him, and the nervous eyes of the villagers followed us. This was going to be a difficult land to manage in more ways than one.
Ronda’s house wasn’t exactly dilapidated, but it was definitely shabby. It looked like someone had lined up some stones, thrown down a wooden floor, put a post on each corner, then slapped on wooden walls and a ceiling. For someone’s home, it was extremely plain and simple. While it would be fine in the rain and wind, an earthquake would level it. Granted, I’d yet to experience a single earthquake in this world.
Inside the modest home was the village mayor, with a middle-aged man and a woman sitting beside him. Esparda, Dee, and I were opposite them.
“There used to be 150 people in this village. Bandits attacked once six months ago and again last month, so now there are only a hundred left.”
“Today was the third time you’ve been attacked? Were they the same bandits as before?”
“No, not at all. The first group only had ten men, so we were fine, but the second group was composed of former mercenaries and adventurers. Only after a full day of fighting did we manage to chase them off. The ones who appeared this time were different.”
“But why would a village like this be attacked so frequently?”
The question caused Ronda to hesitate for the first time, but he soon recovered. “This place is far away from any other towns and villages, never mind cities. And since the lord has just changed, no knights will be coming here any time soon. Before, Lord Ferdinatto’s border knights would be on patrol because we’re so close to the Kingdom of Yelenetta’s border, but not anymore.”
“In other words, because this land now belongs to House Fertio, it’s in danger of being destroyed.”
I filled in the final bit that Ronda couldn’t bring himself to say, and he went quiet. If he had said something, it would have been considered a criticism of the marquis. He might’ve been able to confide this thought to his fellow villagers, but it wasn’t something he could say to me. Granted, a short-tempered noble would have had his head just for hinting at it.
“You have my apologies. Lord Ferdinatto had local officials across the towns, but all of them were pulled out. My father, Lord Fertio, selected lords and governors for the large city centers, but he still doesn’t have a complete understanding of the situation with smaller locales,” I answered honestly.
Ronda studied me for a moment. “So the marquis left us for last. I suppose all nobles are like this. Compared to the larger villages and cities, smaller communities like ours can’t offer much in terms of tax. Which makes us worth little. However—”
Either Ronda had chosen to trust me, or his emotions were overflowing, as he began to express his anger toward the nobles. But I wouldn’t lend him my ear. Definitely not.
“We’ll save that conversation for another time, sir.”
Ronda balked, and the man and woman beside him glared daggers at me. There wasn’t much I could do about that.
I looked at each of them in turn before continuing. “I cannot blame you if you have issues with this country, resent it, or even hate it. I know this won’t sit well with you, but nothing’s going to change regardless of how you feel.”
The middle-aged man stood up in anger. “Y-you nobles have a lot of nerve!”
He was likely Ronda’s son—the next head of the village. He had a large, sturdy body, and a fire blazed in his eyes. With such a hot-tempered man set to take over, things were looking bleak.
I stared him down and said in a low voice, “Sit, please. I’m talking about the future of this village.”
Ronda narrowed his eyes at his son, who begrudgingly sat down. I then brought a hand to my chest.
“The founders of this nation, the Bellrinet royal family, chose to leave gaping holes in the law. It is for this reason that nobles shoulder a great deal of responsibility.” Ronda, his son, Esparda, and Dee all gaped at me for making such a blunt statement.
A member of the marquis’s house had outwardly criticized the royal family. A normal noble would have never done this. But what did I have to be afraid of at this point? If I was to become the lord of this village on the brink of destruction, I had nothing to fear.
Head held high, I gazed upon my stunned audience.
