CH 193

The next morning after inspecting the ranch and farm with everyone, I was suddenly summoned by Father, so when I went to his office, I was surprised to be told something outrageous. Discussing the marriage of the third son of House Royce… in other words, it’s about Helmut’s engagement and marriage.

I’ve never heard of such a thing. Even though he served me almost every day, Helmut didn’t explain anything to me. Moreover, even though Christa already fancied him, where did the lady who’s trying to marry him come from!? And just when I thought that I learned his potential wife was Christa. I’m doubly surprised.

I thought that House Royce had brought talks of engagement and marriage on their own, but apparently, it was a consultation about Helmut and Christa’s engagement. I knew that Christa was in love with Helmut, but I didn’t expect it to have progressed this far.

Christa and Helmut didn’t even ask a word of advice from me… as a master and a friend, I feel very lonely… or maybe I’m not trusted…

Isn’t it normal for girls’ best friends to make love discussions? Relationship counseling, marriage advice, etc…

On the contrary? In this world now, I don’t even ask my friends about that kind of thing, and it’s possible that you had a friend who suddenly announced that he was getting married when you didn’t even know he had a girlfriend or something like that…

For me, it’s like this… more of… “Do you like someone, Christa?”, “I do, it’s Helmut-senpai…”, “Kyaaa! And, and? Did you confess already?”, “That’s the thing, I haven’t yet. What do I doooo?” or something of the sort……. am I dreaming too much…? The reality maybe something like this…

Putting that aside, I have no choice but to congratulate Helmut on his happiness. Christa is a very good girl. If I was a normal guy, I couldn’t have kept my hands off her. Well, setting aside whether or not I, who is a man at heart, can say such things to such a magnificently radiant lady like Christiane…

Helmut’s Papa seems to be suspicious that House Reingen is up to something, or rather, he’s trying to get my father’s advice, but there’s no need to worry about that.

Neither House Reingen nor the Bayen Faction can afford to plot any extra schemes in their current dire situation. In the first place, I don’t think Christa’s parents or Christa herself are thinking about such a thing. Even if it’s just a simple difference in status, no, maybe that’s why Christa is trying to cut herself off from her family now and be married off, so she won’t get caught up in the investment fraud case.

I also think about it while supporting Christa’s marriage. How Helmut is currently being employed is extremely confusing. It’s not just Helmut, but everyone who looks like they’re pulling double-duty in House Carruthers then House Caan…

Recently, the number of direct vassals of House Caan has increased. All the soldiers, including Ignatz, are directly hired by House Caan. In the beginning, Ignatz, Armand, and Oliver were transferred or working double loyalties, but now they are direct retainers. The tutors have also been hired by House Caan after their contracts with House Carruthers had ended.

Compared to that, the situation is complicated for those who are vassals and retainers of House Carruthers and serve Lady Flora, such as Helmut and Isabella. It’s like being a Carruthers Vassal serving Lady Flora and a House Caan Vassal when serving Sir Floto. I want to use this incident surrounding Helmut as an opportunity to rectify this situation.

Both Father and Helmut readily agreed, so he was cut off from House Carruthers and became a direct vassal of House Caan… so I thought, but there was a surprise.

“Wait, hold a moment,” Heinrich III said. “Does becoming a direct retainer of the Caan Knighthood mean that his wages will come from just them as well? Do you think that House Caan, not Carruthers, can afford to feed Helmut… and Christiane alongside him?”

We’ll feed them both. At the moment, House Caan is paying him a salary, but in the future, it may be possible to leave him as an administrator or even give him land if the territory develops further. I’m still paying a salary that Helmut and Christa can live on.

“Even now, House Caan is paying Helmut’s allowance,” I said. “Do you think it’s enough to live with Christa?”

“No…, um…, it’s not a matter of having enough money for two people to live on… rather… it’s enough money for the life of a marquis’s daughter…” Heinrich III said.

Ah… is that what he was worried about? In other words, Christa’s standard of living would fall with Helmut’s low monthly salary. Certainly, Helmut’s current income would fall far short of that of the Reingen Marquisate. It is not possible to have the same income, spend money freely, and have the same standard of living. I think Christa should be very aware of that, but…

“Understood,” I said. “Then let us prepare Helmut a house in Caanburg.”

This would be fine. The house will be… there is a large building that was used in the early days of the settlement, near Manor Caan. It’s not currently being lived in and is used as a warehouse, so if you renovate it, it will be perfect for the two’s new home. It is spacious enough. After all, it is a building where dozens or even hundreds of people lived together in the early days of the village.

My apologies that the new house I’m giving away to the newlyweds isn’t a brand new construction, but that’s normal in this world, so I’ll ask them to be patient with it. In this world, second-hand buildings are the center, and even if you move, most of the houses you move into are also second-hand.

In the first place, the land is finite in the aristocratic district. As it’s an estate in the center of town it can’t be expanded, so even if you want to own a house in the aristocratic town later, it’s only possible after someone else leaves. Of course, there are people who rebuild their houses, but even nobles basically live in second-hand houses with only interior renovations. Even though Christa is the daughter of a marquis, it should be enough for a new home for two young people.

Since it will soon stop being used as a warehouse, I have to remove all the materials and luggage and instruct the interior to be renovated. The basic structure is like an aristocratic mansion because I was thinking of making it an aristocratic town for my direct retainers someday, anyway. After that, if the simple partitions used by the settlers were removed, and the simple interior of the common room was made luxurious for nobility, they would be able to live without much modification. It should be ready to live in in a few days or a few weeks at the latest.

“Even if you give them a house…” Heinrich III said. “Let me ask you bluntly: how much is Helmut’s salary?”

I see…… well, I suppose I should have guessed this much. Butlers are basically guaranteed food, clothing, and shelter. Salary, not so much. In modern terms, it’s like living in company housing and eating meals in the company’s cafeteria, which are deducted from your salary. Then you will understand that it can’t be helped even if it’s cheap stuff.

“200,000 ploe under the name of House Caan…” I said.

A monthly salary of 200,000 ploe. Roughly 6 million in Japanese Yen. His annual income is 72 million yen. A good head butler like Helmut is too cheap for this amount of money. Skilled butlers, maids, and tutors are in high demand everywhere. If Helmut were a freelancer, he would be like a million-dollar player.

“200,000… as I thought…” Heinrich III said with a blatant sour face.

Well, that’s expected…… it’s natural for Helmut to have an annual income in the 100 million range. But wait a moment. In truth, it’s not only his salary. I have the money paid to him under a different name.

“However, Helmut also works at the Trading Firm,” I said. “Or rather, the work of House Caan and the work of our firm, Caanza, are inseparable, so it also pays a separate salary for the amount of work he does for it, too.”

“Oh? How much?” Heinrich said.

Uuu……. Heinrich III glares at me… I know it’s not a big amount… if you’re as talented as Helmut, I really wanted to have paid him more. However, Helmut said that this was enough, so I took him at his word. If you’re going to get married, let’s raise your salary as a gift or as an allowance to start a family…

“200,000 ploe also from the firm…” I said.

Together, the monthly salary is 400,000 ploe. A monthly salary of 12 million yen. Annual income is 144 million yen. With this, I managed to somehow hold down Helmut. But considering Helmut’s quality work, it’s obviously too cheap… the head butler of House Carruthers, Marius, would not take any less than double this amount.

“Hmm… 400,000 ploe… then somehow…” Heinrich III muttered.

He seemed placated though he still looked sour. I have no hand in the internal affairs of House Carruthers, so naturally, I don’t know about House Royce’s income and expenditure. However, considering the size of this viscounty, the income would be much higher. There are also fixed expenses and tax payments to House Carruthers and the kingdom, so it’s not equal to the money that can be used freely, but…

The same goes for House Reingen. That would be a considerable income and expenditure if it was a marquisate. It could be billions of yen in a year. I don’t know the specifics, but… Even if only 10% or 20% of that money can be freely used, it is still considerable.

The tax income of the Caan Knighthood is nothing but insignificant. The poll tax, land tax, and tribute of crops: these are the main sources of income that lords and nobles earn from their territories. Market taxes, trade taxes, and customs duties are also levied on those who do not produce, such as merchants.

However, at present, most of the tax revenues of the Kingdom of Ploiss come from poll taxes, land taxes, and tributes, and commercial tax revenues are insignificant compared to these. The reason is simple: the economy is not yet developed. People plow their fields, pay taxes using the crops, and eat the rest. That’s the basics and most of it.

In our house, commerce and transportation are thriving, and the farming population is small, so tax revenue is the main one. Commercial tax revenues are 10’s, 100’s, or 1,000’s of times greater than agricultural tax revenues. Apart from that, House Caan has a lot of money to spend because the sales of Caanza Trading Firm are my personal income.

A normal great noble would give a vassal, for example, a village with 100 inhabitants. From there, the vassal who was given the village will collect taxes for himself and for his master’s House. It is difficult for us. There are few towns and villages, and almost no population. Giving Helmut a village and ending it there is impossible. I have no choice but to make up the difference in cash.

“Next time… let us go see the house I will give to Helmut together, Viscount Heinrich,” I said.

With him still uneasy, I thought of having Heinrich III see it for himself. Certainly, if you are a butler, you can live in the mansion, so you don’t have to worry about food, clothing, and shelter. Apart from the salary, all those were guaranteed. But if you have a wife, you can’t just live in your master’s mansion. Let’s somehow convince them to pay in kind instead of salary. I’ll also think about Helmut’s salary increase… so please, have patience with me…

“Haa… I understand…” Heinrich III muttered.

While we hashed out Heinrich III’s availability, I decided on the date. If I have a little time, I should be able to prepare the mansion to hand over to Helmut. I don’t have a lot of free time either, so we decided on a day that would be convenient for both of us and when the refurbishment was likely to be finished, which would be when we opened the doors and see inside.

There was an unscheduled meeting in the morning, but I will have the interviews as originally scheduled for this day. Originally, today’s schedule was interviews with people hired for House Caan and Caanza Trading Firm, and interviews with prospective settlers in Caan territory.

Recently, there are many people who are trying to find out information about our House, so we can’t let suspicious people in. Others have already done a certain amount of preliminary research and screening, but there are many times when I personally check the final results.

""

Especially craftsmen and technicians, and those who are employed in vital locations. It’s not so strict if it’s just to enter the town and plow the fields and build a house, but even so, it’s not possible for anyone to be granted it unconditionally.

Also, there are merchants who want to do business with Caan territory, so there is also a response for that. This is because if I show up personally, they might mock me for my appearance, so I’m secretly watching the situation in the next room and judging them.

There was an unplanned thing in the morning, so I’m pushing the time a little, but it’s mostly as planned. Think about it as you move forward.

Is Helmut finally getting married…? I’m sure he is the same age as my oldest brother, 7 years my senior, so Helmut would be 22 years old. In this country, it can be said that marriage is rather late if you are 22 years old. It wouldn’t be strange for a normal aristocrat to have a fiancé in his early teens and get married at the same time he is considered an adult.

Is it this marriage of the talented Helmut, who had supported me since childhood, and my cute best friend, Christa…? My feelings are complicated, but let’s honestly convey my blessings to the two of them.

Also, I have to think about Helmut’s salary increase… I have to prepare a salary and treatment that won’t make Heinrich III angry with how his son is being treated…