Chapter 12: 12

Hisch was the man in charge of the garden of Catlan’s mansion.

He was a nobleman, but the fall of his family forced him to work.

Of course, his identity as the third son of a viscount worked to his advantage, so he could get a job at the Duke’s House, and that’s why he was able to meet me.

Me, who was looking for a groom, and Hisch’s confession that he fell in love with me at first sight created synergy, and we got married very quickly.

So, well, I couldn’t say that Hisch and I had a long enough dating period.

Maybe that’s because of that, but in fact, it was difficult for me to convince myself that I knew so much about Hish.

For example, why no one of Hisch’s family showed up at the wedding.

They could have contacted me as an excuse to congratulate me, even to take advantage of the fact that I had a relationship with a family that is said to be the best in the country, but why did they not do so……

Viscount Riot had only barely sent a letter stating that he consented to the marriage only when the wedding preparations were finished.

Along with the contents, ‘It’s shameful, but we are a family that barely maintains the face of the aristocracy enough to hurt even if we participate in this marriage’, and ‘So I want to entrust everything about marriage to Catlan.’

At the time, I thought I was lucky. It was because all kinds of crazy dramas passed by in my head throughout the time they didn’t answer.

Why, it often comes from novels or dramas. They show the appearances of in-laws who use their son as an excuse to cheat or make excessive demands.

I even thought about what to give them as compensation for marriage. But I was happy to hear that the other person was going to give up everything, overshadowing my worries.

Hearing this, Hisch just laughed. Without any sign of sadness.

So I thought maybe the relationship with the family wasn’t that good, and after that, I was careful not to talk about the family in front of him.

But when I think about what happened yesterday, it may be a lot more serious than I thought.

So…… My husband has low self-esteem……It seems to be commonly known as ‘bottom’[1]……

“What else are you thinking so seriously about?”

Sein asked with a look that said, ‘I guess it has absolutely nothing to do with what you are doing now’. If you know, don’t ask.

Could it be that Hisch was abused by his family? Why, it’s a common story…….

It would turn out that he was an illegitimate child, or that his mother died at the time of childbirth.

Or Viscount Riot remarried, and his stepmother regarded Hisch as a thorn in her eyes. That’s why the family tormented Hisch.

Of course, I had already done all the preliminary investigation on the Riot family, and I knew that the Viscounts were a good couple, so much so that they had three children, far from dying or remarrying, but anyway.

I will never forgive them for whatever reason. When I used my anger to grind my teeth and sign the paperwork, Sein just turned away as if he had given up on the conversation.

“Lord. While sorting out the ledger, I found something a little strange.”

I raised my head and looked at him. It seemed that the general information of the territory, which had been delayed due to my unreasonable request for expedition, had finally been sorted out.

“What is it?”

“There is a debt in the territory.”

“Debt?”

It was before I came here, so maybe Albert did it. I asked nervously.

“How much is it?”

“In terms of the financial situation of Ensis, it is a difficult amount to pay back due to high interest rates. It’s like borrowing money thinking that it could be easily repaid, and then things went wrong in the middle.”

“Is there anything the creditor wants from our territory?”

“I have checked the correspondence from the time the debt was made, and it seems that they have been constantly demanding interest.”

“Aha. Do they want to put a straw[2] in?”

“What’s a straw?”

“There is such a thing.”

Ensis was not a popular territory. There was no big profit, so there was a high possibility that the management would cause headaches or rot.

Therefore, it can be interpreted to mean that they want Albert to manage the territory, and they only want to suck the profits from it.

“You said that it was an amount that was difficult to repay in view of the financial situation of Ensis. Is it possible to liquidate it with my personal wealth?”

Sein snorted at my words and said.

“If the magic stone transaction is successfully completed, even without going to the lord’s private property, it is a small amount.”

Oh right. I’ve struck it rich.

I looked through the ledgers of that period which were submitted to Sein.

“……I knew there was a period of severe famine. It overlaps with that time.”

“That’s right.”

For a moment I thought of the sly butler of my mansion.

I said with my chin resting on my hands.

“I don’t think Albert owes them a debt for his self-interest. If he really  had a bad heart, he could have thrown away this territory. The amount of debt is not that big.”

“I agree with that, but…… wouldn’t it be necessary to reprimand the person acting on behalf of the lord for taking on debts?”

Come to think of it, when I first came here, Albert said he would manage the territory on his own. Lately, he’s been somewhat worried about something, but maybe it’s because of this debt?

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Sein continued to speak as if driving a wedge in my sudden question.

“Besides, there has been no report on this yet. Or maybe there was a willingness to hide it.”

I thought differently. So, well, if I had to use the word ‘cover up’, it would have been the right situation.

But this is probably… … He doesn’t want to report to his superiors the mistakes he’s made while working. Wouldn’t it have been similar to that kind of mentality?

Maybe he thought he could solve it quietly. I clicked my tongue at the interest rate, which was significantly higher than the norm.

Admitting a mistake is embarrassing and difficult for anyone, but just avoiding it this way will actually miss the timing for the superiors to fix it.

“…… No.  Don’t bother to reprimand him. Let’s just pay off the debt.”

Sein frowned a little at my words, but then spoke politely.

“……I see. Then….”

“Let Albert pay them back.”

Sein narrowed his eyes.

I shrugged.

“How long must the old man have suffered? Do it so that he can release what he has been holding on to.”

“…… Why would you do that?”

“Sein, you said it. I don’t have anyone in the mansion right now. But do you know what one of the best ways to win someone’s favor is?”

I grinned when Sein asked silently with his eyes.

“I’m saving his face.”

Of course, this problem could easily be handled by me or Sein.

But more than that, Albert wouldn’t help but feel grateful if he was given the opportunity to reflect on himself and get things right.

Well, this is a useful way to use for team members who don’t listen in the modern world of Earth.

Even if I tell this story straight, that loyal vassal would quickly frown and say something like “Soft-hearted”.

So I opened my mouth, thinking of reasons to convince him otherwise.

“And Albert is capable. It is also true that he has protected this territory without a lord. He’s a little fussy, but it’s not like that person is evil…….”

“…….”

“More than anything else, he is the person who knows the inside situation of the territory the most at this point, and he is useful enough to keep him by our side without letting him go.”

“……That’s true.”

“And it might help Hisch, too. I think I need someone to assist my husband who has to come to a strange place overnight and help deal with things that he’s not even familiar with.”

Sein, who seemed to be convinced by my long persuasion, bowed his head.

“Then I will deal with it as the Lord wishes.”

Then I stretched out once and looked out of the wide window.

The sun was already high in the sky. I wonder what Hisch is doing.

A shout was heard in the distance. Sir Roelich shouted first, followed by a dying voice. It belonged to Gran, the only knight on the territory that was about to be kicked out just before.

I’ve heard that Sir Roelich is training his mind to rebuild the Knights of Ensis, which are almost in ruins, these days.

Sometimes I wondered if it was okay when I heard a sound that was close to screaming.

I listened to the scream like a background sound and tried to estimate the slope of the sun shining through the window.

There was a reason why I cared about the time.

It was because today was the day that the top boss was going to visit.

While I was contemplating when he would arrive, I opened my mouth with a sudden thought.

“Why don’t we bet on how spectacular Miller Firenze will be today?”

Sein shrugged when I joked about the man who acted like he would die if he didn’t stand out.

“I don’t know. For now, five carriages will be the standard.”

“I think they’ll be carrying lots of expensive jewelry and famous trinkets to congratulate me on my wedding.”

“On top of that, they will come with bags of improved seed varieties by type to ridicule the fact that Ensis is in poor financial condition.”

“Make money by farming?”

When I giggled, Sein added a mountain of papers again, as if to tell me to stop playing and work.

Come to think of it, this was not the time to laugh. I returned to my somber expression and began to get the documents done, igniting my wrath against the Riot family.

TL Notes:

[1] I don’t know how to translate this in English but 자낮 means a person (the bottom or shou) with low-self esteem in a BL novel. If you have any suggested translation, feel free to comment down below.

[2] Putting a straw on something is a slang which means ‘to exploit’ or ‘to abuse’ someone or something.

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