Chapter 8: 8

Chapter 8 The Cashew Region (1)

　The journey to Cashew was not at all a pleasant one, and the carriage was filled with complaints.
　Even now, in the carriage, Grandma Cairo was complaining, and her husband, Grandpa Catan, pretended not to hear her, with me following his example.

“What a husband, what a wife!”

　I had already heard this many times before, Grandma seems to be against my going to Cashew.
　Yes, at first glance, it would appear as if they’ve disowned their daughter, whose engagement had been called off, and sent her away to the countryside.
　I explained that I had brought this up myself, but the old woman would not take it. She still says that the attitude of the two was just too much.

“But it’s true. Rome-sama had been on a difficult journey for three years, and yet that prince, abandoned you, who had accompanied him on his first journey, to marry a woman he knew nothing about.”

　It was a bad thing to say about a church-approved saint, but I was too tired to correct her anymore.

“Even though such a heartbroken Romé-sama finally came home, the wife just cries and the master says nothing. It’s not enough. At the very least there should be something to say. “

　Indeed, it was surprising that no words of reprimand flew. I did not expect warm words like the ones Grandma said, but It’s also terrifying that there was nothing.

“And what servants too. When Mademoiselle Romé said she was going to Cashew, no one wanted to go with her. It was absolutely appalling.”

　 Only Grandma Cairo and her husband, Grandfather Catan, accompanied me on my departure to Cashew.

“It’s all right, I’m sure they have their own ideas.”

No one would like to go to the frontier, especially if they did not want to leave the glamorous Royal Capital.

“But you know what?”

　The old woman was still grumbling about it, but I was tired of listening to her.

“Come on, Grandma, It was all my decision.”
“But, Rome-sama, the land of Cashew, is a remote area. I heard that there are monsters there. It’s not right to send you to such a place.”
“I know. And yet, it was my decision. Besides, it’s not that bad of a place. It’s a nice place rich in nature.”

That’s the only way to describe it.

“Have you ever been there, miss?”
“Only once.”

I had been to Cashew once. It was an unplanned stop on my trip, but I learned some interesting things because of it.

“Yes, that’s enough complaining. We have a lot of work to do.”

　The carriage had already entered Cashew. The countryside was tranquil and idyllic, with occasional fields, and I could see the fences of the town along the road were broken down, probably damage from monsters.
　 If the damage is even to the roads, that’s a problem. It must be even worse in the outback villages. I knew this beforehand, but this needs to be examined in person.

“Grandpa, I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask the Coachman to stop the carriage. Let’s take a little detour.”

　 The carriage changed direction and toured further into the frontier.
　Thanks to the detour, I arrived at my designated new home, Carles, five days later than I had originally planned.
　It was a fort surrounded by walls on all sides.
　Carles is the easternmost fort in the kingdom. To the north it is blocked by mountains, and to the south by marshland. To the east, it is connected to the neighboring kingdom beyond the wilderness.
　We have a history of war with the neighboring kingdom in the past, but currently there’s a lull. Fort Carles was built here as a defense against them, but Cashew has no strategic value and there’s little concern that it will be attacked.
　 Although it was supposed to be the front line defending the east, there was a relaxed atmosphere in the fort, and the two gatekeepers who flanked both sides of the gate were yawning, using their spears as canes.
　 This is probably due in part to the fact that the Demon King’s army is deployed to the west of the kingdom, making this place far from the main battlefield.

“Well, so this is what Carles is like.”

The old woman was giddy in front of the armed fortress, but I knew what kind of place this was.
What I wanted was neither a beautiful mansion nor a well-kept garden. I wanted a military facility where soldiers could be stationed.

“Miss, you cannot live in a place like this. Let’s go back to Miletto now. You will have a more decent life there.”
“I have something to do here. If you want to go to Miletto, go alone. No matter where one lives, it’s still home.”

　I told the guards who I was, asked them to open the gate, and went inside.
　The inside of Fort Carles was spacious. According to the records, it was large enough to garrison up to 1,000 people, but from what I saw, there were only about 50 soldiers. Likewise, there should have been a hundred soldiers, but they might have been on patrol or on a training exercise.
　For the time being, I got off the carriage, and asked Grandpa to unload the luggage, and Grandma to clean up the place where we’ll stay. They’ll be a little quieter if I gave them some work to do.
　While they were both busy, I first thanked the people who had escorted me here.

“Thank you for getting us here safely. I have asked Father to give you an additional reward for my selfishness in extending the days. This letter will explain everything, so please give it to him.”

　 I handed over the letter I had written and asked the escorts to go back.
　After bidding them farewell, I had some free time on my hands, so I asked a guard to show me inside the fort.
　A quick look around revealed that the fort was not in very good condition.

Even though the number of men was small, morale was low. There was no sense of tension among the soldiers, and no one called out to me, a stranger moving around.
　Perhaps they were reserved because I was dressed in aristocrat clothes, but even if I was, this is a military facility. If a stranger without a guide was moving around, they would normally tell him or her to halt.
　And they are poorly equipped. Noblemen would have prepared their own weapons, but these are all conscripts from rural villages. They’re supposed to be provided with weapons by the government, but although they have spears and swords, there aren’t enough bows and crossbows, which are necessary for defending the fort. They don’t seem to have a large number of warhorses either.
　 The fort itself is well built, as it is the eastern defense, but it does not seem to be equipped with any contents.
　After taking a look around, I found that Grandpa had finished unloading the luggage, and our belongings were being carried into the reception room. While I was unpacking my bags and looking at the documents I had brought with me, making sure they’re in order, a small fat man with an escort entered the room.
　I could tell at a glance that he was of a higher rank than the other soldiers because of the well-decorated armor he was wearing.

“I am sorry to have kept you waiting,” he said. “And thank you for coming, Romelia-sama. My name is Selbek, and I am in charge of this territory.”

　The small, fat man smiles softly and bows his head. He is the Deputy and the commander-in-chief in charge of this fort. You could say that this fort belongs to him.

“Greetings, Selbek-san. I look forward to working with you. I’ll be counting on you from now on. By the way, sorry to be so quick, but I have a request. It seems that monsters have frequently been appearing in this region. You should organize a team to wipe them out. I will take command, and I ask that you provide me with soldiers, weapons, food, and other necessities.”

Selbek was surprised at my opening words and then laughed.

“As I would expect from someone who has traveled with the prince, this is a brave thing to do, but it is my job to protect this territory. I must ask Romelia-sama to stay in her room.”
“As much as I would like to, that task seems to be stalled, and there are reports of monster attacks coming in from all over the area, no?”
“It’s just a bunch of nonsense that people in the village are saying for money. They come crying to us whenever they have any problem.”

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　Selbek tried to cut me off, but I wasn’t fooled.

“No, it’s not like that. It’s true that there are monsters out there. I was late getting here because I made a detour on my way over to check the damage. There was actual damage.”

　Although the damage has not yet become major, the number of monsters is gradually increasing. If we don’t take them down with a massive strike, it will eventually become a big problem.

“I see, that’s a lifetime of misfortune for this Selbek. Let us organize a subjugation team immediately. But you will stay here, miss.”
“No, I will go with you.”

“What authority do you have to say such a thing, young lady? It’s true that this is Graham-sama’s domain, but you have no authority here.”

　Indeed, as only the counts’ daughter, I have no inherent authority. Unless I have a power of attorney.

“If it’s a power of attorney, I have it. look, here’s the power of attorney, check it.”

　When I showed him the document, Selbek’s face hardened in surprise. There it was, the power of attorney in Father’s handwriting. With this, there’s nothing I can’t do in Cashew.
　Father probably gave it to me with the intention of just giving me living expenses, servants, and other personnel as I wanted, but with this, I can also handle the soldiers in the fort. If I wanted to, I could even replace Selbek.

“This, this is just a piece of paper. No matter how much of a countess you are, the soldiers will not listen to a woman’s orders. And I’m sure Graham-sama didn’t give this to you for that purpose. Just send him a letter asking him to withdraw it, and that will be the end of this.”
　Selbek looked at the soldiers behind him. They looked at him and nodded.
　He was probably a child soldier, and it would be normal to choose a deputy with whom you have known for a long time over a noble you had never seen before today.

“But isn’t your neck on the line, too? Tax revenues have been steadily declining because you neglected to take care of the monsters. What will happen when father finds out about this?”

Although it has not attracted much attention because it is a remote area and the original numbers are not much, if Father finds out, he would have his head replaced immediately.

Threatened, Selbek’s eyes changed color.

“Miss, you mustn’t get the wrong idea. I have been ordered by Graham-sama to protect you. If you won’t listen to me, I am sorry to say, but you will be confined to your room.”

A declaration of house arrest by force. He probably didn’t even intend to give me a chance to send him a letter. But that was to be expected.

“Oh, yes, I forgot to give you one more document. Here’s a copy, and I’ll give you this one as well.”

When I showed him some more documents, Selbek’s face suddenly turned pale.
What was written there was evidence of the Deputy’s many wrongdoings.
Embezzlement of public funds and tax evasion. He did not report when new fields were planted, Conversely, he reported that a disaster destroyed their fields and reduced their tax revenues.

“This is, well, I had no choice but to do this in order to run the territory. Everyone does it.”

I then added, “You are doing it out of consideration for your people, that’s wonderful. But it was a bad idea to divert weapons. Plus, It was a great blunder that they were passed on to bandits for use.”

If it was only a matter of evading taxes, he could have excused it by saying that there was a mistake in the documents or that someone else had embezzled the money, but there was no excuse for diverting weapons.
In some cases, it’s a felony that can even be charged as treason.

When evidence of his wrongdoing is discovered, a blade is drawn in the eyes of the Deputy. At first glance, he appears to be incompetent, but he is quite determined.

Surprisingly, he seems to be quite the eater. This one may be killed even tonight. Besides, according to the record, the former Deputy had a rather interesting death.

“Well, miss, it seems you didn’t understand what I meant. Hey, boys. Take the young lady to the top floor of the tower immediately. Don’t let her see anyone, and don’t let her step outside.”

The soldiers stepped up to obey the order, but I had no intention of resisting.

“Okay, do what you want. I can’t wait to see what excuses you will give to father.”
“What do you mean?”
“I told you it was a copy. If I don’t send a letter, arrangements will be made for the original to be made public.”
“What?”

Selbek’s eyes widened, but it didn’t matter.

“Now, soldier, please show me to my room. I won’t give you any trouble. And I won’t ask to see anyone. I won’t send a single letter.”

“Hey, Just a minute!.”

The Deputy grabbed my arm, but I shook him off.

“It’s not very polite to touch a woman’s body, now is it?”

I forget sometimes myself that I am a lady, even though I look like this.

“Oh, Wait a minute, miss. What do you want?”
“No, that’s all right, I’ll make my request to the new deputy who will be assigned next.”

When I replied with a smirk, Selbek looked as if he was about to cry.

“No, I’ll do it. Please order me to do it.”

Selbek quickly relented.

I looked at the nodding deputy and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
At least it went well the first time, but this was finally the first step. It was a little depressing thinking about how many more steps I had to take. But I quickly regained my composure. There’s still a long way to go.

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