CH 4.02

“Even if I have influence, the power of money is great in its own way.”

Agreed. 

I thought that was the case.

“But didn’t you say that their yield isn’t very high right now? Is it profitable to hire coal miners?”

“Saying that it’s not much is a misnomer. In fact, there is, but they’re buried deep. I’ve had geologists check it out, and they all say the same thing.”

“That it’s dangerous, isn’t it?”

“On the surface, it’s fine, but deep underground, it’s quite dangerous. The risk of collapse, toxic fumes, etc. increases. Considering these, it would be better to abandon the mine. There’s no substitute for human life.”

Husband has a good point.

But there’ll always be factions everywhere who don’t want to understand it.

They’re probably the people who’re causing all the commotion now.

“Rockdell is the contact of the person who manages that whole area. Since I’ve fired Rockdell, he’s now the new head…And looks like he’s out of control.”

I don’t know if the miners are on it or not, but if they are, it’s probably only a few of them.

It’s safer to think that the majority of people have been hired and forced to engage in dangerous work all these years without knowing anything.

If you suddenly ask a former coal miner to get another job, it is natural that he will have a hard time adapting. If he could, he would want to go back to a job he’s familiar with.

Moreover, the more they mine, the more money they can earn.

That’s where Rockdell and the person in charge of the area took advantage of them.

“By the way, I’ve always wondered. Are the people from Father-in-law’s time all like Rockdell?”

At any rate, we live in an age where there is such a labor shortage, to the extent where talented people are sourced out by the central government.

Who’s left of the territory ―― Well, it seems that there are a lot of people you can’t count on.

“My grandfather isn’t that stupid. There’s some of them left, but it’s … we have to consider aptitude, for people, you know?”

In other words, they were all people who had very little aptitude to serve as butlers.

I’m really out of luck.

“If only Rockdell hadn’t been so extraordinarily ambitious, my grandfather would have felt comfortable leaving my father in charge…”

Husband, you’ve had it rough.

I don’t feel sorry for him, though.

“Speaking of which, the territory steward is Ragnard’s junior. It seems that he is also his student. That being the case, I’m pretty sure Rockdell is also his junior and student.” 

“…What?”

Huh? Who is Ragnard’s student?

I didn’t understand what my husband was saying, but then he told me dismissively.

“What, you didn’t know? Ragnard is a vassal of a branch of the Count of Verdigo’s family, but before he actually worked for the Count of Verdigo, he was a teacher.”

“I think I heard something like that a long time ago…”

“That was back in the days when his father was still alive. He said that it was part of his job to nurture talented people. I’m not entirely informed, but there are quite a few people whom Ragnard has trained. It’s his way of knowing a lot about other families.”

Whoa, my butler is unparalleled! And here I was wondering, who is he, exactly?

Seriously, it was rather a mystery.

“I heard that the butler paled the moment he heard that Ragnard was chosen as the Chief Butler. It’s interesting to imagine what kind of face he’ll have when he meets Ragnard this time.”

My husband chuckled in delight.

The Territory Steward/Butler is the second-in-command to the Chief Steward, and is basically the person who keeps an eye on the territory in place of the head of the family and the Chief Steward, who tend to stay in the imperial capital and are often absent.

While the Chief Steward works for the head of the household and requires many skills such as socializing, the Territory Steward manages the affairs of the estate and requires many practical things.

There’s also someone of the like in the Count of Verdigo family.

There’s a young man of only thirty years old who said he was going to retire once I got married.

I don’t know who is running the estate now. I might be able to find out if I ask Ragnard, but I think I never will.

A Territory Steward naturally needs to have the foresight of a Lord.

At all events, he or she will be the first to make a decision and move on when something occurs.

Of course, if it’s something important, he needs to inform his Lord immediately, but he must do what he can at his own discretion.

In other words, Territory Stewards tend to be sharp people.

The Chief Steward is expected to have the same abilities, but from the outset, it is impossible for someone who’s always with the head of the family to be ignorant.

“Of course, he’s the worst match for Rockdell, but he knows the estate better than I do. My grandfather got him engaged quickly before the central government could take him. He now took over the branch of the family in the form of a son-in-law. I guess my grandfather thought it would be better to let Rockdell out than to leave him in the territory.” 

Being a son-in-law, he used the excuse of the need to protect his family to avoid entering the central government.

I see, I’m learning.

“When I took over, I made some pretty big personnel changes, but there were a lot of more or less troublesome people in important positions… Recently, the absence of war has made even the most united vassals more ambitious. It’s quite hard to keep them in check.”

A corner of my husband’s mouth curled up. His eyes glinted sharply, with a shade of darkness.

I wonder why…. I can only say sorry for your suffering to whomever this Master has his eyes on.

Or rather, my husband.

It seems like he’s going to take care of everything once and for all on this trip home.

Does this mean that his plans are in order?

“By the way, Risha, it’s better to let them think that we are on good terms so as not to invite unnecessary trouble.”

“…Excuse me, let me ask you something. Where are we exactly?”

My husband looks at me with one eyebrow raised and an arc drawn around his mouth as if he is enjoying himself.

That something in his eyes raised my vigilance.

He quickly reached out and took a tuft of hair that was fluttering over my shoulder and kissed it.

The gesture was so elegant that my cheeks burned red.

After all, he has the kind of good looks that make any girl giddy.

My husband kept his eyes on me while kissing ――

“Can I at least kiss you?”

He asked.

I screamed without hesitation.

“Absolutely not!”

“That’s too bad. Then we’ll have to put that off  until we’re alone.”

That, too, is impossible!

I glared at him with bright red cheeks, but he merely shrugged with an irksome glint in his eyes.

That’s when it finally clicked on me.

He is teasing me!

Tch.