“Who are you? How do you know who I am?”
I put my revolver in and questioned the follower. The elderly follower raised his head, which had been lowered. It was a gentle and dignified move.
“excuse me. I am butler to Sir Igor, lord of Saratov.”
“Is it the lord? Answer the second question as well.”
“I confirmed it by telegram when I went to quarantine. I never thought you would come to such a humble place.”
“… … Was it that one?”
I didn’t ask any other questions, so I thought it was okay. I underestimated the boundaries of this side too much.
“As I followed him while thinking about how to talk to him, I ended up following him. Please forgive me.”
“I don’t know if he was timid or bold. So, what’s the matter?”
“The lord wants to treat you to a meal. If it’s okay with you, please.”
The butler bowed his head again and spoke politely. I looked at Katyusha and Mustafa’s reaction. Both of them were waiting for my judgment. Sometimes I wish I could give you an opinion first.
‘Everyone is annoying. If I had known it would be like this, I would not have come.’
A development that is not in the original is annoying, but it is ambiguous to refuse in this situation. I finally sighed deeply, replied that I knew, and followed the butler’s instructions.
‘I don’t know what kind of person the lord of Saratov is.’
In the first place, Saratov is a place that does not appear after the prologue is over.
So, I planned to come back quickly after watching Whiririk and understanding the situation, but it seems that reality is not as easy as a novel.
Following the butler’s guidance, we arrived at the lord’s mansion, and the lord was waiting for us at the entrance.
“… … Tue, welcome. The Crown Prince and the attendants.”
He was a skinny man with a rather weak impression, which did not fit well with the image of a vicious lord commonly thought of. There were dark shadows under the eyes, probably from a lot of fatigue.
“Bo, I deeply apologize for not being a city worth showing.”
The lord lowered his head with a low attitude that made the opponent embarrassed. It was like a criminal standing before a judge.
“… … Let’s hear the details at the table.”
I couldn’t bear to bring out the sarcastic words that I had prepared, thinking that only then would I try to flatter myself with useless praises or be very shameless.
The meal served by the lord was certainly good compared to the restaurant, but even so, it was not so outstanding. According to Mustafa, it was more like a ‘weekend meal for the Knights’. It was to the point where Katyusha blamed herself for not bringing food again.
‘I thought he might be filling his stomach with plundered food.’
I let out a small sigh as I twirled the pasta on the plate with my fork at the unexpected meal.
I tried to take my anger out and sarcastically and embarrass myself, but at this point I can’t say anything.
“Sorry for the shabby meal. Because this year of famine was so severe… … .”
“… … I understand. You have nothing to be sorry for.”
Rather, it was a board that I had to comfort on my side.
‘Maybe he’s pretending to be poor on purpose, but the condition of the mansion is too bad to see that’s the case.’
Was it difficult to maintain servants? The cleaning was not very clean, and no one saw it except the butler and the person who brought the meal. It’s like being invited to a haunted house.
“I came here for a field trip because the famine is severe, but the situation is much worse than I thought.”
“It is safe to say that there is virtually no harvest. It tastes like death.”
The lord sighed deeply and agreed with me.
Mustafa was eating well, probably feeling nostalgic for the taste of the Knights’ lunch, and Katyusha pushed the plate she had only eaten to Mustafa. It’s a strangely comfortable look.
“… … Aren’t we going to release things like relief food?”
I asked the lord politely. Youngju shook his head.
“I can’t solve it because it doesn’t exist.”
“Is there not enough food? Have you stored anything?”
“doesn’t exist. The food I stockpile is also rising, and I am using my own property as it is not enough to pay the increased taxes. So I sent most of the servants away.”
Lowering his head, the lord let out a deep sigh that had already been repeated several times. It didn’t sound nice to hear, but the situation was the situation, so I didn’t even blame it.
“Five years ago, after a prosperous year that was thought to be abnormal, we cannot afford the tax rate that has soared.”
When the harvest is good, the tax rate rises. But the tax rate that has risen never goes down. It was a story that commoners grumbled about during the work, so it was a fact that was stuck in their minds.
“I understand that it takes a lot of food to maintain Sangvis military power. but… … The current tax rate is too high. Even though there was a deficit until last year, we were able to make up for it somehow, but now it is impossible. Frankly, I am on the verge of bankruptcy.”
The lord held his head and groaned. It is a sad sight to see.
“Is there any way to prepare for the famine?”
“… … I requested the dispatch of a geomancer. from several years ago. However, it is still under review. Even though I asked 4 times, everything.”
“… … That is, sorry.”
“There is no such thing as the Crown Prince.”
Youngjoo forced a smile and shook his head. But I could never laugh.
What went wrong was the Sangvis system. I wasn’t in a position to bruise the lord.
‘As is often the case, I assumed that the lord’s tyranny would be the cause, but the reality turned out to be completely different.’
It wasn’t at the level of barley heads. This was something of a disaster.
“Princess. It’s very rude, but… … .”
The lord looked at me with a hesitant voice. I nodded slightly as if to say something.
“Can you ask for relief food?”
It was obviously a very humiliating request for the lord of Saratov.
“Even if my opinion is ignored, I won’t easily ignore it if the Crown Prince requests it. At this rate, all the people who will be farming next year will starve to death.”
The lord endured the humiliation and made the request, ready to face any insult.
“… … hmm.”
I swallowed my words as I tried to reply that I would inadvertently say yes.
It was because I thought that if I did the lord’s request and food relief was released in Saratov, the rebellion itself might not happen.
If there is no rebellion, there is no way that Johannes, Eugene’s father, will die. Not only that, but the suffering citizens of the streets will be able to maintain their lives.
However, if that happens, the flow of the original work will be twisted starting with the prologue. There was a possibility that it would become a completely different flow from the Iron Blood Revolution I knew and get out of control.
It was clear that it was a good thing, but I didn’t know if it was a good thing for me.
“… … give it some time It is not an easy decision.”
After thinking about it, I asked for time.
“All right. I will wait for you to make a good decision.”
“I will prepare the answer by tomorrow. The meal was good.”
I got up from my seat. The half-remaining pasta was pushed to Mustafa. I was dissatisfied with what kind of leftovers I am, but Mustafa finally accepted my plate without a word.
Guided by the butler, we settled into an empty room in the mansion. The heating was not cool compared to boiling, but it felt just right. For reference, Mustafa and Katyusha decided to use the servant’s room next door.
“What do you think of the lord’s proposal, Katyusha?”
“I thought it was unexpected.”
When I asked Katyusha, who was organizing my luggage, an ambiguous answer came back.
“What is surprising? A request for relief food?”
“There is that too… … . The young master’s answer to ask for time was also a bit surprising.”
“My prudence was surprising, was it?”
“I am sorry if you felt offended. It’s just my judgment, but I thought the young master would say that right away.”
He is too. Less than half a day had passed since he uttered the same voice in the wasteland-like fields of Saratov, saying that a country exists only when there are people. It is not surprising to think that they will listen to the request for help.
“As the lord said, if I ask for it, he might reluctantly give me relief food. However, it is certain that there will be antipathy here and there.”
“From whom?”
“Starting with other aristocrats with vested interests, and ending with the emperor? That human being ‘it’s just that the weak didn’t survive.’ You would say the same thing and try to grab me by the collar, asking what did you do?”
“… … It cannot be denied.”
I explained a realistic reason that Katyusha could understand.
“I can only live with the trust of the people, but the place I will fight is the palace after all.”
“okay. I was short-tempered.”
Katyusha nodded his head in agreement. And an awkward silence lingered.
“Still, it might not be bad to gain the trust of the citizens of Karatov.”
I broke the silence and said what came to mind.
Karatov has Johannes and Eugene. Johannes would have noticed that I was the guest who had come right away when he heard that relief food had arrived at the request of the crown prince. That fact will probably be conveyed to Eugene, and Eugene will have a completely different good impression of me than the original.
Even if the flow is different from the original, if you can quickly recruit Eugene, the main character of the original and the official munchkin, as an ally, you can offset the disadvantages sufficiently. No, on the contrary, there is a possibility that this way is more convenient.
“… … I think so too.”
And Katyusha, who has a delicately expectant face, will be satisfied.
“I guess I’ll have to ask for relief food. I’ll send a telegram after talking to the lord tomorrow morning. I don’t know if I’m being swayed by too much personal affection.”
“I think it’s a good choice, young master.”
From noble mtl dot com
Katyusha agreed with my judgment. I wasn’t sure if this was a good thing for me, but it wasn’t bad considering that I wouldn’t have to feel uncomfortable at least.
But I never sent a telegram. Because the rebellion happened faster.
That night, the Saratov rebellion began.