The Lord's First Command
The people were still dressed in ragged, shabby clothes and painfully thin, but they looked far more energetic and brighter than they had the day before. Both relief and pity welled up inside her at the realization that what had made them so happy was nothing more than a handful of grain and a few cream buns.
“Butler.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
Scrooge’s voice brimmed with energy and his back stood ramrod straight, clearly delighted that the villagers were welcoming their lord.
“How many people live in the village?”
Scrooge slipped the glasses he’d taken from his breast pocket onto the tip of his nose and studied the scroll with meticulous care.
“There are roughly two hundred households, so if everyone gathers, I expect seven or eight hundred people in total.”
“You don’t have an exact count?”
“Far too many have died of starvation lately. If we hadn’t distributed food yesterday, the number would have shrunk even further in a single day.”
His gaze had already drifted toward the people standing outside the carriage. Deep worry etched itself into the wrinkles around his eyes.
“What about the other villages in the territory?”
“The largest has about a thousand households. The remaining three are similar in size to this one.”
Since Chloe had never once asked about the territory before, the butler couldn’t hide the swell of pride he felt while answering these basic questions.
After listening to his reply, Donghee sank into quiet thought.
So there are five villages in the territory.
Judging by the scale of Grace Castle, she had assumed there would be far more.
As if he had read her mind, Scrooge volunteered information she hadn’t even requested.
“Thirty-one villages have already been absorbed into Viscount Patrasche’s domain, so yes, only five remain.”
“Thirty-one?”
Just as Donghee had suspected, the estate had once been quite large.
She didn’t know what sort of man Viscount Patrasche was, but whenever Scrooge spoke of him, his voice carried a peculiar mix of wariness and hostility.
“Indeed. The viscount has been purchasing the land piece by piece—at dirt-cheap prices. He will likely return next week to demand we sell him yet another plot.”
Scrooge’s voice grew heavier than before, especially when he stressed the words at dirt-cheap prices.
“What happened to the people who lived on that land?”
“Most of the territory’s residents are coloni bound to the soil. When the land was sold, they became subjects of Viscount Patrasche’s domain as well.”
“I see…”
Even though she barely knew them, the thought that people had been sold for money filled her with unexpected guilt.
In any case, it was clear that Chloe Grace had deliberately chosen every action that would earn people’s hatred.
A foolish girl who cared nothing for anyone else’s welfare, who only thought of herself, and who had madly collected dresses of the most ridiculous lace-heavy designs.
Many of the colorful gowns that filled the dressing room had almost certainly been bought with the money gained from selling the territory’s own people.
Donghee remained silent for a moment, then spoke with firm resolve.
“Gather the villagers in the square.”
“All of them?”
“Exclude the youngest children, but bring every woman as well.”
“Understood.”
Having rushed into this without thinking, her head was already throbbing. Even a single glance revealed a mountain of tasks waiting to be done.
The moment he received Chloe’s order, Scrooge stepped down from the carriage and instructed the accompanying servants to bring everyone to the square. As soon as the words left his mouth, the nearly ten servants scattered swiftly in every direction.
It’s fine. One step at a time. I can do this.
Donghee had always possessed strong workaholic tendencies; the more tasks piled up, the more fiercely her fighting spirit burned.
She would once again savor the satisfaction of filling her diary with a long to-do list and checking each item off one by one.
And she would do it while spending an absolutely enormous amount of money.
The sudden rush of catharsis sent goosebumps racing across her entire body.
The village square felt as empty and barren as the ragged people who lived there.
The fountain that should have bubbled with water was bone-dry and crumbling. The cracked and broken structure had stopped functioning long ago.
Donghee narrowed her eyes at the strange statue standing in the center of the fountain.
Though one antler was broken off, it clearly depicted a person with deer horns. Aside from the horns on its head and its lower body, it looked human—like a mysterious being straight out of myth.
“What is that?”
“It is a Corus, My Lord.”
“A Corus?”
“Yes. A race that is half human, half deer.”
“Where do the Corus live?”
“I have heard rumors that they were discovered in the snowfields beyond the Black Forest several decades ago. But it was so long ago that hardly anyone has actually seen one.”
“Is that so?”
For some reason, the thought of people who looked like that living in a land covered in pure white snow made her heart beat faster.
“There is a legend that they bring good fortune to villages, so you will likely find one erected in every nearby settlement.”
“Like a guardian general, then.”
“Pardon?”
“There’s such a thing. You know.”
Donghee waved her hand vaguely. Scrooge stared at her, but she turned her head and pretended not to notice.
While the two spoke, the villagers gradually gathered in the square.
Unlike their earlier delight at discovering the carriage, everyone summoned to the square now wore frightened expressions.
It was only natural—they had been called without any explanation.
The tension among them rose even higher because of the armed knights standing by in case of trouble. The villagers stood in small clusters across the wide square, their shoulders hunched inward with worry and fear.
“They’re not going to demand payment for the bread we ate yesterday, are they?”
“Surely not.”
Yet the man who answered didn’t sound entirely convinced.
“But that bread looked far too precious. It wasn’t something people like us should have eaten. We shouldn’t have touched it so carelessly.”
Their voices were thick with regret and anxiety as they belatedly remembered just how selfish and pathetic the Grace lord truly was.
“What if we can’t pay for the bread and they sell us into slavery?”
The woman trembled, thinking of her children waiting alone inside a broken hut that let the wind whistle through its cracks.
Donghee stepped up onto the platform Scrooge had prepared beforehand.
It was nothing more than two old tables pushed together, yet it was more than enough to draw every eye.
She had never spoken in front of so many people before. Her fingertips had gone numb with nerves, but she refused to show it and calmly cleared her throat.
When she thought about the vast amount of money she had never touched in her previous life, unexpected confidence surged through her.
Confidence really does come from money.
Donghee began to speak in the loudest voice she could manage.
There was no loudspeaker, yet for some strange reason her voice rang out clear and powerful enough for everyone to hear.
“Starting today, we begin the village purification project! All residents of the territory must lend their strength to make the village clean!”
The long-neglected village was filthy in many places. The sanitary conditions were so poor that disease would soon follow if left alone; therefore, she had chosen village cleanup as the very first task.
The moment her words ended, the faces of the gathered people darkened.
After starving for days and finally receiving just enough grain yesterday to quiet their hunger, they were now suddenly being forced into hard labor. Complaints were inevitable.
Seeing their faces flush and pale by turns, Donghee quickly continued.
She felt a flicker of fear at how rapidly their eyes had turned hostile, but she kept it hidden.
“I will pay generous daily wages. Adults who participate in the purification work will receive one bronze each, and children will receive three coppers.”
It was the appropriate wage amount Scrooge had suggested.
In her heart she wanted to give a gold coin per day, but that would only create chaos. Donghee had therefore chosen to follow the butler’s advice.
One bronze was probably only worth about ten thousand won for a full day’s work.
Yet Scrooge had repeatedly emphasized that it was still an extremely large sum, so—even while feeling slightly anxious—Donghee announced the wages in a loud, clear voice.
At the mention of daily pay, the crowd began to murmur. Donghee worried the amount might be too small and they were growing angry, but after carefully studying their expressions she realized they weren’t upset and felt relieved.
It was considered a natural duty for territory residents to perform labor when the lord commanded it.
Yet now they were being offered wages for that labor?
Following the events of yesterday, this was yet another unbelievable occurrence. Confusion filled every face.
Donghee watched their murmuring in silence, then raised one hand.
As though it were a signal, the villagers fell quiet at once and stared at Chloe with wide eyes.
Though distrust still dominated their gazes, faint sparks of expectation could be seen here and there. Donghee poured even more strength into her voice.
Don’t get nervous. Don’t get nervous!
Perhaps because she had chanted the words inside her mind, her voice now carried greater power than before.
“Butler Scrooge, who is overseeing this project, will select the required number of people for each task. Once you receive your instructions, begin work in whichever area you prefer. Labor begins tomorrow. Before then, I will distribute food for this evening’s meal.”
The moment Donghee finished speaking, carts heavily loaded with grain rolled into the village.
They had nearly emptied the estate’s warehouse, but she felt no regret whatsoever. After all, she could now buy as much grain as she wanted.
The murmuring of the crowd grew even louder.