Chapter 2: Assessing the Situation and Finding a Solution
“Young Master…”
“Don’t cry, Old Man.”
Facing the crudely made office desk, I sharply scolded the black-clad Old Man who was weeping bitterly. My voice was high-pitched, painfully reminding me that this body was still that of a five-year-old child. Honestly, I was the one who felt like bursting into tears. Don’t you go crying before the child does.
I clutched my head, glaring at the parchment placed on the desk. It detailed our domain’s income and expenses. It was splendidly dyed bright red. A depressing reality.
The red ink on the parchment signified our domain’s debt. There were so many digits it was a pain to even count; our domain was saddled with a massive amount of debt.
“If only Father had tried a little harder…”
“It is truly pitiful. He must have been worried about you, Young Master, until his very end…”
I had meant that I wished he had reduced the debt even a little, but it seemed the Old Man heard it as the lament of a young child wishing his father had lived a little longer.
Three months ago, the man who was my father in this current life, Baron Bernhard Baumgarten, died. The cause of death was illness. My father, who had never been very robust, was perhaps relieved by the birth of me, his heir; after I was born, he grew frail as if he had aged all at once.
My mother, Amalia Baumgarten, also died due to a poor recovery after childbirth. All that remained in the Baumgarten baronial house were me and my twin sister, Cornelia.
Therefore, as the older brother, I became the head of the Baumgarten baronial house, but… entrusting the management of a territory to a five-year-old child is surely an insane idea. Normally, there’s no way it could be managed properly.
The reason it came to this is also because the Baumgarten Barony is like a remote island on land at the kingdom’s edge, a territory with no decent special products, drowning in debt with no appeal.
Normally, either from our Guardian, Margrave Huebner, or from the Royal Capital, a regent acting as a guardian should have been sent… but if ordered to manage a territory constantly in the red, any deficit would become the regent’s responsibility, so they probably decided against it.
If they have the leeway to be considerate of a regent, I think they could show some consideration for us children, don’t you?
We did receive some condolence money from the Royal Family and our Guardian, though.
That said, the land is barren, making even self-sufficiency difficult for the territory. There’s no way we can extort taxes from the peasants; on the contrary, the baronial house is in debt feeding the peasants. At this rate, the money will just keep disappearing.
“For Cornelia’s sake too, I have to do something…”
“Young Master…!”
At my murmur, the Old Man looked at me with tear-filled eyes, as if deeply moved. He might have been struck by the sense of responsibility of a five-year-old trying to do something about his sister and the territory.
Cornelia, perhaps having inherited Father’s illness, is frail. The medicine that keeps Cornelia alive also costs money. When the money runs out, so does my sister’s life.
“Damn it!”
I am a reincarnated person. I’m still only five in this current life, but in my previous life, though it was a miserable existence as a corporate slave in a black company, I still have memories of having lived long enough. Why is Cornelia, and not me, being consumed by illness? If I could, I would have taken my sister’s illness upon myself long ago…
And, because I have a certain amount of knowledge as a reincarnated person, I understand just how hopelessly checkmated this Baumgarten Territory is.
At this rate, even if we get a deferral on the debt payments, Cornelia doesn’t have even two years left. That fact weighs heavily on me.
“Aaargh…”
No matter how I thought about it, no good solution came to mind, and I ended up clutching my head.
“Young Master…”
The Old Man’s voice started to get watery again. I wish he’d offer a solution instead of tears, though. But the Old Man probably doesn’t have any ideas either. I know that much.
I already know that conventional methods won’t work anymore. In that case, an unconventional and ruthless decision is necessary, even if it means getting my hands dirty.
“Ah…”
After racking my brains, thinking until my head felt hot, one method surfaced in my mind. It just popped up.
No special products that can make money? There is one, isn’t there? There’s even a fair number of them, and it seems some are even abandoned in the mountains. What a waste.
But, if I take this path, ruin will likely await me. But…
I don’t care what happens to me. What’s important is Cornelia’s life. For that, I’d even sell my soul to a demon.
“Old Man, I’ve decided…!”
“Young Master…?”
Perhaps sensing my dark resolve, the Old Man’s voice was trembling. That’s right. I’m still just a five-year-old brat. The one who will have to act will probably be the Old Man. I have to win him over to my side. And make him resolve to get his hands dirty.
This is the watershed moment.
I will stain black the heart of this kind, loyal retainer who would cry for us siblings.
“We’ll sell people! We’ll sell the peasants!”
“Young Master!?”
As expected, the Old Man’s eyes widened in shock. That’s understandable. Selling off the peasants one should protect disqualifies me as a lord. No matter how I try to excuse it, my sin will not disappear.
But, for Cornelia’s sake, I can abandon everything.
“Young Master! Human trafficking is outrageous! You’ll incur the peasants’ resentment and, at worst, be killed!”
I knew this kind, loyal retainer would oppose it.
“I know. Old Man, this isn’t human trafficking.”
“Huh?”
I will deceive this man, who could be called my only loyal retainer, and make him complicit in this evil deed.
“Our Baumgarten Territory is poor. We’re in a state where we can’t even feed our peasants adequately. Do you know what the peasants are doing? They’re abandoning infants in the mountains. In other words, that many innocent babies are dying.”
“That is…”
The Old Man should know too. He even acted as a proxy for Father in his duties at times. He must know more about the territory’s affairs than I do.
“I want to save the infants. Therefore, I’ll take children from the peasants, aged three to fifteen, into our manor.”
“What do you intend to do? Doing such a thing will increase the household’s expenses…”
“If there’s a poor harvest, we end up buying food and distributing it to the peasants anyway. There’s not much difference.”
“That may be so, but… what do you intend to do after taking in the children? I am firmly opposed to human trafficking!”
“We will provide the children with an education. Then, when the children come of age, we will send them out to serve in other territories.”
“To serve…?”
In this world, education is deplorably underdeveloped. This is because knowledge is hoarded by the upper classes. Most commoners have never received any education. Well, it’s more convenient for rulers if the populace is ignorant.
But because of that, the lowest-level organizations, which could be called the subordinates of minor officials, are currently dysfunctional. We’ll exploit that.
We’ll sell educated commoners to minor officials under the guise of service. Even without that, there are likely many who would want to hire educated individuals. Besides minor officials, we can also sell them to merchant guilds.
“That’s right. We will simply receive their education expenses from their salaries. It’s definitely not human trafficking or slavery.”
For our territory, which has nothing to sell, selling services like this, rather than goods, is the only way.
“This is the only way, Old Man. If we just stand by idly, Cornelia’s life will be lost. Please, Old Man. Understand.”
“Young Master!?”
The Old Man was astonished, almost exaggeratedly so. He was probably surprised because I, a noble and a lord, bowed my head deeply. It’s an unconventional act in this world, but for me, who was Japanese in my previous life, I have no resistance to bowing my head.
Besides, my bowing also carried the meaning of an apology to the Old Man. No matter how I dress it up with fine words, what we’re doing is nothing short of human trafficking. And I’m trying to make him an accomplice. Just bowing my head isn’t nearly enough.
“Please, Old Man. Help us siblings, no, at least help my sister!”
“Please raise your head! It’s unthinkable for you, Young Master, to bow your head to me!”
“Please…”
I kept my head bowed and pressed him hard. I knew this was like a threat. I’m sorry, Old Man. But if I can’t get him to agree here, Cornelia’s life is forfeit.
“…Very… well… Young Master…”
As I continued to keep my head bowed, the Old Man nodded as if he had given in.
“Thank you! Thank you, Old Man!”
Ah, I’m making this kind, loyal retainer dirty his hands…
I will bear a great regret. But I’ve decided that for Cornelia’s sake, I will offer up everything.
This vow alone, no matter what happens, I will not let it be overturned!