Report
Chapter 2: The Duchy
Year 762, April
"Hooh. So this is the capital of the Baltia Duchy. That castle sure is huge."
I was exploring the city with Werner, my childhood friend.
The city's dire state had me worried, but my retainers were just casually sightseeing.
"Indeed. The Baltia Dukedom came to be when the king's younger brother was installed to oversee the Silria region. Hence, the castle was built to be impressive, ready to suppress any rebellion."
This explanation came from Herbert, the elderly knight we called "Gramps".
He'd been my tutor since childhood. Though originally affiliated with the earl's house, he chose to leave when I joined the ducal family, deciding to serve me instead.
According to him, I still had many shortcomings, so there was a lot left to teach me. Though, he admitted that he was already getting old so he wanted to have some fun training me.
"Your Grace! There you are! Please, let us head to the castle!"
Apparently, our greeters had come looking for us since we'd been wandering around instead of heading straight to the castle after arrival.
Well, I can explore the territory another time. Besides, I was about to meet my bride-to-be for the first time.
I had still felt excited about it back then.
"Pleased to meet you. I am Einzig. It's an honor to meet you, Princess Leila of Baltia."
"..."
Eh? Completely ignored?
Ah, right. From her perspective, I'm the son of her family's killer...
Later, thinking we should at least communicate since we were to be married, I tried my best to engage her in conversation, but received no response.
Eventually, unable to bear it anymore, I excused myself, saying we'd talk another day.
I retired to the office that had once belonged to the former Duke of Baltia.
"She's quite unfriendly, isn't she?"
“Don't say that... To her, we’re the people who killed her family…”
Yet while I understood her stubborn attitude, something bothered me—she wasn't just wary of me, but kept her distance from everyone.
Her dislike for me made sense, but she showed no reaction even to the maids serving her.
"Gramps, when we attacked the House of Baltia, did we kill all of the servants too?"
Gramps grinned.
"Ho? Sharp observation, Lord Ein. From what I heard, the servants weren't killed but driven away."
"I see. So she’s distancing herself from everyone because she doesn’t have a single ally left in the castle?"
"Indeed. The Earl wanted to eliminate all traces of the ducal family's influence."
That explains it.
It makes sense—her parents killed, everyone she knew gone, and she was now surrounded by enemies.
No wonder she's closed off her heart. While not uncommon in these war torn times, it's still pretty cruel for a sixteen-year-old girl.
"Gramps, could you find two female servants who were close to Princess Leila?"
"Certainly. But won't the Earl object?"
"If he says anything, I'll just say that as an inexperienced leader, I needed people familiar with the castle's workings."
"And the real reason?"
"She has no one, while I have you, Werner, and the other retainers."
I'm not sure if I'm just trying to feel good about myself by being kind to her.
Maybe it's because of my values from my previous life...
"You are kind, Lord Ein. But in times of war, kindness alone cannot defeat enemies."
"Gramps, this is fine for Lord Ein. We'll cut down his enemies ourselves."
"Thanks, Werner. But don't do anything reckless, okay?"
Werner just scratched his head without responding. This friend of mine had a habit of dodging promises he couldn't keep. He’s a pretty honest guy, so it’s kind of endearing.
Knock knock
A knock echoed at the door.
"It's Erich, Your Grace. I've gathered information about the territory."
"Ah, Erich. Enter."
The man who entered was the picture of refined nobility.
He was one of several orphaned war refugees I'd taken in and raised as retainers years ago.
Was I the only one frustrated that he exuded a more noble aura than me, an actual noble?
Erich laid several reports on the desk. He and some others had entered the territory ahead of me to investigate.
I quickly scanned through the reports...
As expected, the territory was in terrible shape from repeated heavy taxation and conscription.
But this debt amount...
"Your Grace, representatives from the Golden Sheep Trading Company request an audience. Likely about the debts."
I couldn't help but clutch my head and look up at the sky.
Father, wouldn't it have been better to completely destroy the ducal house, debts and all?
