The Lord's Duties (1)
Olmati scratched his head, letting out an awkward laugh before snapping his fingers. “Ah, that is not the urgent matter at hand, my lord. We must hurry and recruit the administrative staff. The territory’s operations have been frozen for the past several months.”
He thrust another thick bundle of documents at me. The mere thought of reading through them all made my head throb. Olmati clasped his hands over his protruding belly and offered a bright smile.
“Our territory holds four villages: Rainfall, Woodwin, Mountree, and Greenpond. Should you feel the number of your retainers is insufficient, please choose from the families listed in those papers. They are all distinguished houses celebrated across the four villages. Families long rumored to produce an abundance of talent. Hehe.”
Pretan shrugged and spoke in a low voice. “All the families who served the previous lord were purged and banished by our Storm Shield unit, so you may select without worry.”
“In other words, the houses that remain are the unfortunate ones who never earned the previous lord’s favor. They endured lives of oppression beneath his retainers and have only now been given an opportunity.”
I scanned the paper covered in names. “Agus of the Filscride family, Rodrigo, Cavil of the Iron family…”
After a moment I set the document down. I was exhausted to the point of death, and staring at the letters made my vision swim.
“I’ll look again tomorrow. Choosing right now is too difficult. It would be best if I could meet them in person and speak with them directly.”
“Then I shall arrange a meeting with them shortly.”
“That would be excellent.”
I rose from my seat. As expected, the fatigue from the journey made immediate work impossible. Had they given me a concise summary of a few lines, perhaps I could have managed, but the sight of an entire stack of papers made me desperate to flee the council chamber.
“Forgive me, but I am quite tired today. Let us stop here. I will take the documents detailing the territory’s current state to my room and examine them thoroughly through the night.”
“U-um, please take these as well.”
I was already heading out with the papers clutched to my chest when Olmati hurried after me, carrying yet another heavy bundle. “These list the projects the previous lord initiated before abandoning them. Please review them and inform me if any should be resumed. Hehe. I will carry them to your chambers myself.”
“Very well.”
My voice had grown hoarse. I turned away. As I walked toward the door, a knock sounded from outside. Olmati rushed over and opened it to reveal a Storm Shield officer.
“A large crowd of residents has gathered at the Sky Chamber entrance. They are pleading their grievances and demanding that their problems be resolved.”
My eyes widened. “What do you mean? Why have they suddenly appeared like this?”
“They are people who have waited months, counting the days until your arrival, my lord. They swear they will not leave until their issues are settled.”
“Why were the residents’ problems left untouched for months on end?”
Olmati stepped in. “Trials concerning matters within the territory may only be conducted by the lord himself. I dared not intervene.”
“So they have piled up for months? Then there must be hundreds of cases waiting…?”
“Most likely. Hehe… There is also the fact that the Storm Shield, despite possessing the authority to hold trials, refused to act at all.”
Pretan drew closer. “Lady Priscilla, who holds that authority, governs more than one or two territories. She has no time to concern herself with every trivial dispute among the residents.”
“Has the bandit extermination in this region been completed?”
“Yes. Our main force is currently stationed in another territory. Only a portion of our troops, including myself, remained here. Now that the new lord has arrived, we intend to depart in a couple of days to rejoin the main army and continue the purge.”
A bitter taste filled my mouth. I glanced back at the officer standing by the door.
“How many residents have gathered at the entrance?”
“At least fifty, by the look of it. Their ages and genders vary widely.”
My head pounded. Could I truly resolve everything before the afternoon ended? Deciding to handle as many cases as possible before dinner, I followed Olmati’s guidance and headed straight for the courtroom.
The courtroom was a circular hall. Dozens of torches stood in a ring along the walls, and gruesome paintings of a god punishing sinners covered every surface. The interior lighting was deliberately dim. The lord’s high seat, in particular, lay in deep shadow—an intentional choice to plant fear and dread in those who looked up at their ruler.
The moment I entered and took my seat, I ordered the residents brought in one by one.
The first man to enter dragged a bound youth behind him like a dog destined for the summer slaughter. The man appeared to be a farmer. The young man had clearly been beaten severely; his clothes hung in tatters, bloodstains dotted his body, and a dark bruise swelled around one eye.
The middle-aged farmer bowed deeply, then began his furious accusation, spittle flying. “This wretch sneaked into my parents’ vineyard and stole grapes! It wasn’t once or twice—he did it habitually! Sometimes he even brought his friends and they ripped entire vines out of the ground! My lord! This bastard has no conscience! Please punish him severely so he can never steal again!”
Olmati addressed the youth, who kept his head lowered. “Is everything this man says true? Did you steal not only grapes but the very vines from his parents’ vineyard?”
“J-just… a little…”
“A little? Don’t lie!”
“I-I stole a lot! A great deal!”
When the farmer roared, the youth flinched and promptly confessed.
Yet I wanted to know exactly what “a lot” meant. “Define ‘a lot.’ How much are we talking about?”
“W-well…”
Olmati leaned in and whispered, “Are you not weary, my lord? If you wish to rest soon, it would be best to hear only what is necessary and deliver judgment. Should you listen to every detail, even an all-night session would not suffice.”
I nodded. Since the boy had confessed, it was time to rule. But on what basis? What sentence was appropriate for stealing grapes? A fine? No matter how guilty, a human life hung in the balance, so I agonized far longer than I should have.
While I hesitated, every eye in the hall fixed upon me. They watched my lips with the same anxious intensity children show while awaiting their mother’s decision.
Then, in my exhaustion, my brain turned mischievous and an absurd thought bubbled up. Before I could stop myself, it slipped out.
“Death.”
Olmati repeated it instantly, without drawing breath. “The lord has sentenced this criminal to death! Take him to the execution ground at once and carry out the sentence!”
“Ehh?!”
The youth’s eyes flew wide in shock. Soldiers immediately burst into the hall, seized him by both arms, and began dragging him away.
This can’t be real…
I was stunned. To think they would execute someone merely for stealing grapes… I had only been testing them. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined the retainers and soldiers would accept and enforce such a ridiculous verdict without question. Their easy acceptance left me speechless. The power to decide life and death with a single word—wasn’t a lord’s authority far too absolute?
“Soldiers, halt!”
I stopped the men dragging the youth away and issued a revised sentence. “The death penalty is revoked. In its place, the criminal shall be imprisoned for one week. Should he reoffend after release, the term will extend to one full year. Let the prisoner remember this well and never repeat his crime.”
“Th-thank you, my lord! Sob! I’m so glad to be alive!”
You were never going to die in the first place, kid. Still, the youth who had just been pulled back from the brink wept with profound emotion as the soldiers led him to prison.
Watching his retreating figure, I realized anew that within my territory, my word was law. Whatever I commanded became reality.
One territory is no different from a nation unto itself. Just as laws differ from country to country, each territory has its own laws. Lords respect and acknowledge one another; they do not criticize or evaluate each other’s rule. If a territory falls into ruin, the lord bears the responsibility. Should the family collapse and pay the price for incompetence, that is the end of it. Until then, no one may dare question a lord’s governance. For a lord is a king within his own domain.
Her words had been true. As lord, I held absolute power inside my territory.
The next resident to enter the courtroom brought her unfaithful husband and his mistress with her. I sentenced the husband to thirty lashes and ordered the mistress to pay the wife ten thousand veni—roughly twenty-eight thousand dollars—in compensation. It was a verdict plucked from my own sense of fairness, without any established standard. Deciding it seemed reasonable enough, I moved on to the third case and sentenced the drunkard who had driven a carriage into a pedestrian to one year in prison.
The fourth resident had been arrested red-handed at a tavern only moments earlier and hauled in by soldiers. The guard captain whispered something to Olmati, who relayed the message to me in full.
“He composed a song mocking the lord’s appearance and was singing it in the tavern when citizens reported him, leading to his arrest.”
I let out a short laugh. “I suppose the lyrics were rather insulting.”
“To set an example, it would be wise to punish him harshly regardless of the details. A light sentence would only encourage more of his kind to appear throughout the territory.”
“Let us hear his story first.”