91. Shartran’s Humiliation (5)
Barak’s expression, which had lost all vitality, spoke volumes instead of the status window.
This, was the correct answer.
After compiling the reactions I had seen while playing the game in earnest, I was able to fully grasp Barak’s intentions for offering me this milk.
“I see. This was a test for me. You set it up quite cleverly.”
“…!!”
Once again, an earthquake erupted in Barak’s eyes.
I declared once more that I had no intention of backing down from this position.
“It would be best if you brought it before having a meal. Do not give orders while in this place. Have that milk delivered to Delphina immediately.”
I waved my hand, signaling him to scram.
Barak gulped and replied,
“…I will follow your orders.”
Without offering an excuse, he bowed his head, opened the door, and went outside to follow my command.
Barak returned empty-handed shortly after and nodded towards the outside.
Several figures entered Barak’s house.
This scene meant the answer was correct.
“I will gladly accept the punishment for my rudeness. I could not shake off my suspicions after hearing that you had suddenly become the Lord of Rusmayer.”
“Of course. It would have been strange. If someone who claims to be the lord of the Rusmayer territory does not know the customs or practices of the land, or even the diseases known in the neighboring territories.”
“No. There are very few who know about this disease. Where in the world did you learn about it… You have not had anyone from the Vagrant Duke’s family visit, so there was no separate investigation…”
Barak still looked like he could not figure out how I knew about it.
‘He’ll jump out of his skin if I tell him Camilla told me.’
He would be astonished by the mere fact that Camilla, who had been in charge of managing their territory in the Deor family, had become a maid for Vagrant.
Anyway.
This test stemmed from the suspicion towards Carsein, who had suddenly become the lord.
It was certainly not just suspicion, but he must have tried to use the fact that I did not know about this as an excuse to question my qualifications as lord. I had seen a bad ending where I made a different choice, so I could understand the ins and outs of the situation.
“So, is the test over with this?”
“Yes. However, I alone should be punished for…”
“That’s enough. I already know that the nobles in the vicinity have been using you, so I had anticipated some suspicion to a certain extent.”
“…”
Did I go too far?
Barak shut his mouth tightly as I hit his weak spot right off the bat.
It could not be helped. I had no choice but to take the lead in the conversation again.
“Rather than that, who are those people?”
“Ah, yes. These are the young leaders of the villages in charge of the Rusmayer territory.”
The young men bowed in turn. They introduced themselves, saying who they were from which village. They were all villagers belonging to the Rusmayer territory.
The fact that he had brought them in only now.
It was because he had been testing me, just as Barak had said.
“I wondered why the children had given me four Rusmayer Tokens… I did not know you had investigated to that extent. I apologize.”
Barak, who bowed his head last, apologized to me, confessing that he had not given up his suspicions until just now.
-Ting!
Discarding the insane option of ignoring them.
I chose an appropriate option and spoke.
“First, everyone, sit down. I have something to say.”
The young men in charge of each village sat down in their seats.
And then, a familiar scene unfolded.
“Are you really the one who will manage our territory?”
A question directed at Carsein regarding his appointment as the lord of Rusmayer.
That was the first.
“Yes. I have paid the amount directly to the Imperial Family and have been certified as the lord.”
“My goodness.”
“To think Keyan’s words were true…”
“Our Rusmayer…”
A faint sigh escaped their lips.
Was that sigh one of joy? No, it was not.
“I apologize, but please refrain from managing our territory, Lord Carsein.”
“We wanted to belong to another family, but this is too much.”
“We will pay the price for the help you have given us. If you are collecting taxes, we will somehow pay the taxes according to the Imperial Law. So please, refrain from direct involvement.”
Despite the situation they had so desperately wished for, Rusmayer did not want Carsein in another sense.
The reason was simple.
Even I could easily guess.
“We do not want to become like Shatran Territory.”
The story of Shatran, which had been ruined because of Carsein Vagrant, was widely known in other villages.
Who would want to welcome Carsein as their lord after hearing that Shatran, which had been prosperous every year due to its rare specialty, had suddenly collapsed? No matter how difficult, they would choose the lesser of two evils.
-Ting!
[1. Insolent fool, you dare ask me to step down from the position of lord right now?!]
[2. Then ask for the money I spent to buy your land. Then I will step down obediently.]
[3. You don’t even recognize the favor I did for you and you’re saying such things?! I will wait until you repay your debt! Just you wait and see!]
[4. It won’t be like Shatran. I came here to help you!]
[5. There was a misunderstanding about Shatran Territory! Just give me one chance. I will definitely prove myself!]
…
…
Without missing this situation, the options appeared.
From the death flags that would send me straight to the afterlife to the ambiguous options.
Just by looking at the contents, one could see the extent of Rusmayer’s distrust toward Carsein.
It was not distrust, but a level of fear, even terror.
‘The correct answer here is number 8. Not only Count Modric, but other families are eyeing this land, so I will give you that information in exchange for the statue that can be considered the symbol of Rusmayer.’
As you can see from the contents, Carsein cannot avoid receiving compensation from Rusmayer Territory here.
From these poor villages. From this impoverished and miserable territory.
He had to squeeze compensation from them as if he were taking it away in order for this option to disappear.
It could not have been a more malicious option.
However, if I think about it carefully, there is a way. It’s a trick to treat the statue not as something to take, but as something to buy, and to support their funds with the ducal money that Karsein receives every month.
In fact, in the game, I helped the Rusmeyer territory in this way and raised their intimacy. By creating this precedent, I gained Rusmeyer’s trust and proved that I could save that territory, unlike Shatran territory.
The fact that I gradually proceeded through the steps to create the authority to participate in the Eastern Nobles’ Conference was also because it changed the situation of this territory for the better.
However.
‘This was the wrong way to do it.’
I had seen their trembling eyes in person.
I had seen their eyes filled with anticipation, hoping that I would help them.
And so it was now.
‘I know it well because I too have hoped for someone’s help.’
I can vouch for this because I had been rejected even by my family.
They are just hoping that I will help them.
I’m worried about Shatran territory, but I can’t bring myself to ask for help.
Of course, if you judge it from a realistic perspective and consider it just a game setting, it may be an exaggeration.
[ Intimacy Level ]
[ 8%, 3%, 6%, 6% ]
It’s not an exaggeration at all.
Their intimacy had already increased before the episode was over.
With some anticipation all along.
That’s why I don’t choose option 8.
“Don’t you mean that I, as the lord, should protect you unilaterally? What do you think I have to gain from doing that?”
“My lord, it’s too extreme to interpret it that way!”
“And didn’t I say that I would pay taxes!”
“I think you’re very mistaken, so let me correct you. I didn’t buy this territory to receive those taxes.”
[ 7. If you don’t accept me as your lord, I have no intention of protecting this territory either. ] ☑
“You have only two choices. One is to accept me as your lord, and the other is for the owner of this land to disappear again.”
“What, what are you saying?”
“If you don’t find a better solution in this situation and just scatter like this, I have no intention of embracing you either.”
The people of the territory began to panic at my resolute words.
Yes. Appeasing that weak desire to rely on others is never a healthy solution.
What they need is willpower.
In this desperate situation, in this crisis, in this hellish place.
The will to reach out and climb the steep path themselves.
“Come back here at this time tomorrow. You choose for yourself. I will see tomorrow whether you intend to pull this village up again or not.”
I finished speaking and left the village chief’s house.
It didn’t matter much anymore how my intimacy was.
***
After the door closed, there was a brief silence in the hall.
Soon, a sigh escaped.
After the sigh escaped, everyone lowered their heads.
One representative spoke in a heartfelt voice.
“Isn’t this like giving someone a disease and then the cure? We finally got a lord who would protect our territory, and now he’s suddenly giving us these extreme orders?”
“This can’t be happening. Lord Carsein clearly doesn’t realize that we don’t have the power to become self-sufficient. He said that he’d pay the taxes even after considering that…”
“And yet he’s trying to wash his hands of us. Investigating or not, this is too harsh and cruel.”
The representatives of each village began discussing whether they should go and find Carsein right now, and Barrack quietly spoke up.
“…This isn’t the lord’s fault, it’s ours.”
“Village Chief Barrack?”
“Didn’t the Rusmayer unilaterally receive help? The lord can claim his due rights for this.”
“Even so, we remember the fall of the Shatran territory! If the territory completely collapses, then there’ll be no going back!”
The other young men nodded in agreement.
However, Barrack shook his head.
“Think carefully. Did the lord not just tell you why he came to manage this Rusmayer?”
“That’s…”
Everyone fell silent.
They hadn’t even heard why Carsein had come to manage this territory. They hadn’t heard why he was helping them, or what he was expecting.
“What an incredibly arrogant and foolish attitude. And yet you want to receive help under the lord’s protection. If we do that, then how are we any different from those nobles, or the knights who only know how to play at bandits?!”
A series of shouts followed.
From Noble mtl dot com
A heavy silence filled the hall.
-Slap!
Only then did one of the men come to his senses and slap his own cheek.
He hit himself hard enough to leave a bright red handprint.
The others did the same.
They either grabbed their own heads or bit their lips, confronting the misconduct they had committed.
“And yet the lord gave us a chance.”
“A chance…?”
-Come back here at this same time tomorrow. You will choose for yourselves. I will see for myself tomorrow whether you intend to rebuild this village or not.
Carsein’s voice echoed through the men in the hall.
Then, they nodded to each other, opened the door, and began to file out.
‘Yes. We need to answer the lord’s question first.’
After recalling Carsein’s voice once more, they all realized what they needed to do.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, as Carsein was riding in his carriage back to the dukedom, a young girl came running towards him, panting.
“M-m-my lord-! Wait a moment-! G-g-gasp, gasp.”
He didn’t know all of the residents of this village, but the girl’s face looked familiar.
As she drew nearer, he was able to recognize who she was.
‘That’s… Daina?
He didn’t know why she was running towards him in such a hurry.
However, if something had happened in the territory, he might be able to hear about it from her. Carsein stopped his foot that was about to step into the carriage and returned to the ground.
“T-thank goodness…! Oh, I’m out of breath…”
“What’s the matter?” Carsein asked, but seeing Diana catching her breath, he realized it wasn’t too urgent. If something had happened in the territory, there would have been a word even in these urgent times.
Then it must not be a big deal. There was no problem waiting until she caught her breath.
“Are you leaving already? It seems like you haven’t even looked around our village yet… Please stay a little longer!”
Stay a little longer. Carsein felt like doing just that.
If he stayed here, he could learn more about the characteristics of each village and information about Rusmayer. Since the episode had been brought forward, there were some differences from the existing information, and he could grasp it a little more precisely.
He could also prepare for other things more quickly, saving time in many ways and easily eliminating unstable elements.
But now it was time to go. He knew that staying in this territory any longer would be dangerous, as indicated by the danger level.
However.
‘…Huh?’
Carsein’s eyes widened as he checked the window that had just popped up next to him.
▶ You have succeeded in triggering a result beyond the choice! ◀
▶ Your awareness level within the Rusmayer territory has risen to reputation level! ◀
■ Reward
[ Remten Village area has been unlocked. ]
[ Even if you stay in Remten Village while temporarily maintaining the warning risk level, no additional exclusive choices for the risk level will appear. ]