Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Fiancée
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Winter took away many things,
But in its place, many things quietly settled back into their proper spots.
The slaves now accept Talant as a matter of course.
The slave dispatch business has also established itself as an official enterprise in the Empire.
Some slaves have learned letters and numbers,
Some slaves have learned scripture and accounting.
Constitutions have changed.
Many things have become indifferent and familiar.
"This month's ledger. The overseers say they're seeing decent results from using their discretion to pay slaves some Talant or impose 'fines'. They even say there's no need to swing the whip so laboriously anymore."
"Swinging the whip is subtly heavy labor in its own right..."
"Slaves accustomed to the whip fear losing what's in their hands more than gaining another scar on their body. Combining moderate whipping with moderate Talant is far more effective at subduing both body and soul, apparently."
"The carrot and the stick, literally."
"Your Excellency's ingenuity is truly impressive."
And so, winter passed—a season of much crumbling and rebuilding—
and spring arrived.
The cold snap retreated,
snow and frost melted and flowed away,
weeds grew tough,
and lazy chill winds that missed their cue to withdraw scattered flower petals.
"…Spring, huh."
"Thanks to how harsh the cold spell was, it'll be an easy spring for the farm slaves."
"Easy?"
"If winter isn't cold enough, the weeds that sprout then root deep into the fields and make a mess of everything. That means turning the soil all the way down deep, but this spring, there'll be less work."
"Ah… So the brutal cold wave isn't all bad."
"That's what winter is like."
Torsso's indifferent words carried a certain poetic charm.
The harsher the winter, the gentler the spring.
A subtle law of nature.
Or rather, the wisdom of farmers who eke out a living by conquering nature and devouring the land.
I felt a strange sentiment as I turned my gaze to the window.
"…Ah. Come to think of it, this is just the beginning."
Upon reflection, it was a spring of considerable significance even for the evil spirit that had seized the villain's body.
This spring was precisely when
the protagonist entered the Academy.
I still had no direct occasion to cross paths with the protagonist.
The protagonist doesn't start actively operating after graduating from the Academy until Part 2.
The villain Karl who appears in Part 2 hasn't yet crossed paths with the protagonist.
Right now, the protagonist is probably diligently gathering companions at the Academy, gobbling up fortuitous encounters, overcoming all sorts of unfair hardships, and growing stronger.
Thank goodness.
Truly, I'd never felt such relief that I still had plenty of days left to live.
"…"
The Academy always begins with the school commute under brilliantly blooming cherry blossoms,
so this world has cherry trees.
Naturally, there are cherry trees in the mansion garden as well.
That fact felt a bit awkward.
That awkwardness made me acutely aware that I was standing in a world where the 'protagonist' existed.
Suddenly, I felt like meeting the protagonist in person.
"…I want to see him once, face to face."
"Shall I prepare the carriage?"
"Huh?"
"Now that spring is here, it's about time to show your face. Even if the marriage contract is delayed, she's still your fiancée."
"Fiancée…?"
"Hm? Weren't you talking about your fiancée?"
Hold on, did this bastard Karl have a fiancée?
.
.
.
I didn't inherit all of Karl's memories.
If they had mingled at the moment of possession,
I wouldn't have been able to fully retain my identity as an Earthling.
The mere thought is horrifying.
Thank goodness it wasn't that kind of possession,
where personalities blend together.
In any case, as the possessor, I read my own memories using Karl's 'Psychometry' ability.
So while I have some of Karl's memories to a certain extent,
I'm not privy to the minute details of every insignificant one.
I removed my glove and gripped my left hand with my right.
Then I closed my eyes for a moment and searched my memories.
"Ah. Sure enough, there is such a thing as a fiancée."
"…You're not even thinking of hiding it?"
"Huh?"
"No. Um. Do you need an explanation about your fiancée?"
"Please. Torsso Wagon."
"What's that nickname?"
Torsso sighed and began explaining about the fiancée.
"Your fiancée, Lady Goldenwood, is the daughter of Count Goldenwood. They have considerable influence in the political world, but as a house without proper revenue sources or estates, they're impoverished."
"A count without territory, huh."
"In exchange, they do hold policing rights over imperial direct territories."
Torsso explained the Goldenwood House's vested interests,
the political influence held personally by 'Count Goldenwood',
and various privileges as central nobles.
While House Riddle, a 'merchant house', bought power and authority with money,
Count Goldenwood had received power and authority directly from the Emperor.
The goal was to expand interests through the union of the two houses, apparently.
"In truth, compared to our House Riddle, they're inferior in many ways. The engagement was just a matter of mutual needs aligning."
"Needs?"
"Yes. There were various reasons… but in the end, they became meaningless."
"Why?"
"We were originally set to proceed with the marriage contract right after the coming-of-age ceremony, but even after the promised deadline, the Goldenwoods failed to prepare the betrothal gifts."
"Betrothal gifts?"
"Yes. So the marriage contract has been indefinitely postponed."
Marriage delayed over something like that?
It's not like we're marrying for the assets anyway,
and receiving fewer betrothal gifts wouldn't diminish the Goldenwoods' authority.
"For other houses, it might just dent their prestige at worst, but Your Excellency is the head of House Riddle, which values gold over honor. If the betrothal gifts don't measure up, the marriage contract is impossible."
"What a fantastic house..."
"In such cases, it's customary for the bride's side to borrow money to prepare the gifts. Their credit is guaranteed as the Riddle fiancée anyway, and they can repay it with the Riddle assets after marriage."
"Repay the… betrothal gifts?"
"Yes, exactly. But the Goldenwoods refused to borrow money for the gifts. They said they couldn't afford the debt."
"Hmm."
They could do the marriage contract if they borrowed debt.
With the marriage contract, they could repay any amount of debt.
Yet,
the Goldenwoods were delaying the marriage contract
on the grounds that they 'lacked the ability to repay debt'.
There was only one conclusion.
"They're deliberately delaying the marriage, right?"
"I have no certainty, but the circumstances suggest as much. Officially, it's the 'Riddle House' side delaying the contract over the gifts, so it's hard to press them."
"Then just switch fiancées."
"Even for a house that prioritizes gold over prestige like the Riddles, casually breaking a noble engagement is difficult."
"Whoa. So that's the kind of house it was…?"
"Well, our main customers are nobles, so no choice."
"Ah. That reason. Makes sense."
Losing customer credit would hurt deeply.
For merchants, credit is money.
They probably didn't want to tarnish it over something so ambiguous.
"Besides, neither Your Excellency nor the house places much weight on the marriage contract. Other houses emphasize continuing the line, but Riddle heads aren't chosen by bloodline. In fact, having a lady of the house means dividing the assets that much more, so there's an atmosphere of turning a blind eye."
"I see."
What kind of money demons are these merchant house folks, anyway?
I suddenly wanted to see the faces of the house's other nobles.
Probably lots of baldies.
Don't they say loving money makes you bald?
"And the most important reason for not breaking the engagement is that the fiancée herself is a resource that's hard to replace."
"A resource that's hard to replace?"
The phrasing oddly sounded like describing a 'product' rather than a person.
"Lady Goldenwood is a blessing bearer. Like the 'Winter's Blessing' you possess, Your Excellency."
"Ah."
Winter's Blessing.
In other words, Psychometry.
Lady Goldenwood possessed such an ability as well.
"Children of two blessing bearers aren't necessarily more likely to receive a blessing… but a union of blessings is a great way to secure prestige in many respects. Even Riddle House, which doesn't care much for prestige, prepared this marriage contract precisely because it offers massive prestige in one go. It's convenient in various ways."
"Hmm."
"So the Goldenwoods are probably confident in delaying the contract, believing Riddle House won't casually break the engagement."
"Complicated. So, what blessing does that fiancée have?"
"Compared to the blessing you possess, Your Excellency, it's nothing special. It doesn't even make money."
Torsso explained the blessing possessed by the fiancée.
And,
the moment I heard the ability of that blessing,
I made up my mind.
"Let's go see her right now."
"Pardon?"
"The fiancée. Let's go see her."
I need to meet the fiancée.