Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: The Use of a Treacherous Subject
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As the price for his outburst, Ralt returned to his room, closed the door, and finally entered the long-desired deep sleep he had been yearning for, and in doing so, all the work he had been doing came to a complete halt.
And at that moment, Beonald, who had been taking measurements and carving wood to design Alterio's armor, had no choice but to head to the family head's deputy's office upon being summoned without prior explanation.
"You called for me, Family Head Deputy?"
"Yes, you're here. Whew~ Did you hear any stories on your way?"
"No. I was only told to come."
"That's fortunate. If anyone had been gossiping idly, I would have had to have their head."
"It seems it's something that would tarnish the family's honor."
Nod.
In response to Beonald's insightful answer, the Rengel Family Head Deputy silently nodded in agreement.
As he said, if rumors spread that Ralt, the official heir of the Count's family, had abandoned his duties and run away, it would crack the family's honor, so he had sternly instructed the servant delivering the message to keep it a secret.
If that servant had been careless with his tongue, he would already be a dead man.
"That's right. Anyway, to get straight to the point, Ralt has finally... exploded. He's abandoned his work, gone into his room, and isn't coming out. It's not just one or two matters concerning the territory that the boy was handling."
"Can't you entrust them to the nobles or retainers you keep as close aides?"
"Of course, I've distributed what can be distributed. But there are matters that must be handled by a blood relative of the family."
"I see. I'll take over immediately. Where should I go?"
Well aware of the circumstances, Beonald asked the Rengel Family Head Deputy what needed to be done without further questions. The deputy paused for a moment, then pulled something out from his desk and handed it to Beonald.
What he pulled out was a wig made of blond hair and an ornate, pristine white high-class outfit—something often seen somewhere.
"This is Young Master Ralt's?"
"Yes, it's the same as what the boy usually wears. The wig, as you know, is the same color as his hair..."
"A disguise. Hmm~ You're thinking of something interesting, Family Head Deputy."
"It will be a truly sorry request, but please understand. The matter of the Teal Slum was too far beyond imagination. Your standing must not rise any further."
The difference in standing between Beonald and Ralt was severe from the very beginning, and not only did the Teal Slum incident widen the gap further, but if it became known that Ralt had now fled from his duties, people would naturally think that Beonald is the future master of the Callermain territory.
If that happens, not only would Ralt himself despair at the utterly insurmountable gap, but calculations show that Madam Meira's faction and their allied nobles would not stay quiet. Therefore, the Rengel Family Head Deputy had no choice but to ask Beonald to act as Ralt's proxy.
"That... I clearly stated that I had nothing to do with it. I did nothing at the Teal Slum; I failed."
"What people think is different. Denying it there actually caused a bigger stir. A shadow of doubt... has arisen, you see."
'Hmm, was that a backfire?'
"Anyway, I truly apologize for having to make such a request."
For the family head deputy, considering the family's peace and household stability, this was the best course.
He was also concerned that if Beonald were to inherit the family as things stand now, there would be a major conflict or even civil war due to backlash from lower nobles. So, even if he considered giving Beonald the heir's position, he was opposed to the gap widening too quickly.
Thus, the Rengel Family Head Deputy honestly bowed his head and even apologized.
Beonald understood his intent, but it felt a bit off to just accept obediently, so he decided to receive compensation.
"Putting aside that it's unavoidable... As humans, if you do work, you should receive compensation, shouldn't you?"
"Th-that's right."
"Moreover, if I must hand over the fame and achievements I should have originally gained intact to someone else, then of course an additional compensation equal to that is warranted."
"So, as compensation... what do you want?"
"To put it bluntly, money. Pay me in gold coins. A lot of them. Then this Beonald will splendidly handle the work in Young Master Ralt's name and appearance."
Beonald thought that since he was going to do the work anyway, he might as well gain something practical.
It might seem miserly, but now that he had obtained a base where he could seriously attempt alchemy, he needed a lot of 'money' to procure various materials, so that's what he requested.
And the compensation of 'money' was highly fungible, which also played a part, as it was hard to imagine any other purpose.
'Money... What does he plan to do with it? Could he need funds to run away from the territory if things go wrong? Or maybe...'
Even if Beonald asked for 'money', unless he himself stated what he would do with it, it was impossible to guess. And even if asked, there would be plenty of excuses, so the Rengel Family Head Deputy couldn't clearly discern his purpose.
However, refusing his demand was not an option either, as the pile of work and situations Ralt had accumulated were too urgent. He had no choice but to accept his demand.
"...Fine. However, I will pay generously only for matters you clearly resolve."
"That's fine. Then... I'll change clothes first."
"Don't worry about the size. I already had it tailored. And even though the appearance difference between you and Ralt is too great for the disguise to be meaningful, tell everyone to roughly overlook that part. I'll also inform the butlers."
"Understood, Father."
Thus, Beonald took over Ralt's duties, entrusted Heidi, who was waiting outside, with autonomous training, and began reading through the piles of documents Ralt had left with the waiting butlers.
And sitting in the meeting room Ralt used, he lightly addressed the people who were watching him strangely—himself, not Ralt, but in Ralt's disguise.
"Ah~ Don't think too deeply about it. I am Young Master Ralt at the moment. Even if I don't look like it, treat me as such~ It's a matter agreed upon with the Rengel Family Head Deputy, and the family's affairs are important right now. Anyway, there's a lot of work, so don't mind personal matters."
"Y-yes! Understood."
"Matters requiring going outside will be handled all at once when I go out in the afternoon, so for now, give me the urgent matters first. And butlers, you all will go to the places I assign each of you and return every 3 hours to report the situation to me. Time is gold, so keep it strictly. And summon all people who need meetings with the family to the mansion. Then next..."
The experience of governing the Benofis territory and state affairs on behalf of the Emperor as a high noble didn't go to waste. In one breath, he took command of the people, deployed the manpower assigned to him, prioritized tasks, and proceeded step by step from urgent matters, handling duties without hesitation.
'The stone supply for the castle wall construction is a problem? Hmm, it doesn't seem to be an issue of supply and demand... Originally, this place is the commercial hub of the surrounding territories, so goods should gather here normally. That means someone is playing tricks with the supply, or there's collusion among the merchants handling stone or the territories.'
"Lord Beonald?"
"Tell Sir Maldrov to take some soldiers and go to the quarry operated by the merchant supplying the stone. No need to go out of the way; just slightly detour from the patrol or training route. And tell him not to take any other action, just observe how the produced stones are circulating and return."
"Yes."
"And deliver this letter to Sir Maldrov the moment he returns."
"...Ah, understood. That... Young Master Beon... I mean! Young Master Ralt."
'Whether in the past or now, playing tricks with contracts is the same, and the solution is the same too.'
It might be a method akin to thugs or ruffians, but the power of a lord with military force is ultimately force.
The core of the Callermain Count's family is, of course, Sir Maldrov. Since the castle's outer wall construction is ultimately a military and strategic matter, there was sufficient justification to deploy knights and troops.
Just by sending Sir Maldrov, a senior knight, to check the situation of the quarry operated by that merchant—if nothing is amiss—the merchant would realize his attempt to mess with the stone prices has been discovered and restore the supply to normal.
What if he's bold enough to act defiant even in that situation?
Then bait that merchant with the prospect of raising stone prices, summon him to the territory, join hands with other lower-tier stone merchants under him, kill the guy, attach appropriate charges, seize his quarry and merchant company, and renew the contract to ensure smooth stone supply. That's all.
"It would be good if it's resolved in the first move. If it goes to the second move... there will be more to handle. Send this and this to Baron Zelkerd, and this to Viscount Delmain. And... let's see. Are these all trials? Goodness~ They're all commoners' cases. As the heir, of course, all the difficult trials were taken by Father. Then it's not difficult."
Since commoners' crime levels are all similar, Beonald categorized them by offense and resolved them by writing the punishment on top of each bundle.
Theft: Compensation for damages equivalent to 10 times the loss. If no money, forced labor in the territory to calculate and compensate the labor amount. Assault and injury/death: If unable to pay treatment costs and compensation, bought as family slaves and sales amount compensated to the victim... etc. He distributed punishments according to the era's common sense, but one surprised butler approached and protested.
"Uh, uh, excuse me, Young Master, this includes the son of an influential merchant family... and, the merchant's voice requesting leniency... and an enormous bribe..."
"...Leniency for a guy who took his merchant gang to someone's house and raped the whole family? Only we nobles can harm the territory's people. This is an act infringing upon noble authority and property. Tell them to 'castrate' that merchant's son and his gang, then set them up naked with swords in the marketplace until they die. And return all that bribe."
Ordinary nobles would have accepted the influential merchant family's request for smooth relations, but Beonald was merciless in such matters.
A territory is a noble's garden, and the people are the insects or plants living in that garden.
Caring for them to make the garden beautifully prosperous is a noble's duty, and interfering with that or infringing upon rights is no different from insulting 'nobility', so he thought.
"However, antagonizing a merchant company over a few insignificant peasants is a loss... It would be better to accept the bribe and use it for compensation..."
"'Money' is indeed important. But sometimes there are things that should not be traded for money. That is noble authority and justice. If you're tempted by a few coins of bribe and allow others to trample the flowers and insects in your garden, would that garden be safe? Do it immediately, and announce it throughout the entire city."
"Ah, understood."
He didn't know what the original Callermain Count's family's methods were, but to fulfill his entrusted duty, Beonald quickly handled matters in his own way.
Then, the piled-up work, like indigestion, was resolved as if using a digestive aid, and most major tasks were magically handled.
As the day passed and after breakfast, Beonald stood before the Rengel Family Head Deputy to report on yesterday's progress and receive his compensation.
"A few follow-up checks are needed, but this should be sufficient for now."
"Hmm, I see some radical points. Castrating this merchant family's son seems a bit harsh, no? It would have been good to receive an appropriate amount of compensation..."
"Only nobles can lay hands on territory residents and people. Other nobles might have ended it with appropriate compensation, but a mere merchant wretch challenged noble authority. Moreover, they infringed upon the authority of this Callermain Count's family, so it cannot be left alone."
"Hmm, if that's the meaning... I understand."
The Rengel Family Head Deputy had been ready to refute if Beonald had used righteous indignation from impulsiveness as an excuse, but with 'noble authority' brought up, he had nothing to say.
Ultimately, confirming that all the work Ralt had piled up was neatly finished, the Rengel Family Head Deputy paid Beonald in gold coins as compensation, and it was neatly agreed that all this was resolved by 'Ralt'.
"Then I'll be going... to return to my original work. I'll return this."
"Do so."
As Beonald, having received the box of gold coins, left the room, the Rengel Family Head Deputy, left alone, let out a deep sigh.
Ralt's outburst was one thing, but Beonald being too capable was, in a way, heartbreaking.
As he steeled himself to work again, a knock was heard.
"It's me, son."
"Father? Please come in. What brings you here? You should be lying down..."
The sudden visit of Count Callermain. Surprised, the Rengel Family Head Deputy saw him, who spent most of his time lying down.
Count Callermain looked at the wig and pristine white clothes still in the room, frowned, and spoke to the Rengel Family Head Deputy.
"I heard a very interesting incident occurred. I couldn't possibly lie down any longer."
"Ah, the Ralt issue? That's..."
"Ralt isn't the problem. A young boy can say the work is hard. I'm talking about that. Now you're trying to take even that child's place?"
Hearing the Count's roar, the Rengel Family Head Deputy realized his mistake.
His intention was to prevent the gap between Ralt and Beonald from widening further, but from a different perspective, it could look like he was trying to make Beonald replace Ralt altogether.
Before the angry Count, the Rengel Family Head Deputy began to explain in detail.