Chapter 12 – Empty Promise
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Imperial Calendar, Year 260 – Moon of the Lapis Lazuli
Because of Malida’s pregnancy, the official duties of the family head kept getting delayed further and further, plunging me into a vortex of busyness after I became her proxy.
Milevis-kun, the target of my outsourcing, had to pull continuous all-nighters, leading to his hair becoming dull. Irena’s face also began to be marked by deep wrinkles around her forehead. All of the civil officials were basically reeling.
Malida was visiting His Majesty in the capital since the beginning of the moon to report on the inspection of the Floyger family, coupled with the suppression of the Bavst fief, and to officially apply for me to become her official representative during her pregnancy.
There was no reason to worry about her health, but since it’d be silly not to be prepared for the worst-case, Lichere and Lumias accompanied her.
After Malida safely concluded her audience with the demon king, she returned to Castle Ashley.
Liese, on the other hand, calmed the residents of the Bavst fief, who were shaken after the destruction of the Floyger family. Currently, she was splendidly ruling the fief, and as the dispatched governor praised her highly for having made the governing easy for him, she was apparently permitted to return to the Chegemorie faction.
I’d like to believe that the permission of her reinstatement into his personal faction can be regarded as a vote of confidence towards Liese’s Alkor family. Someday, our child will succeed that family, and since it should become one of the important families supporting the Erwin family, the Alkor family must still strive hard to gather as many points with His Majesty as possible.
I’m happy about Liese and her success, but something even more important has happened.
You’re wondering what? Well, our family head was given new land as a reward for having repelled Alexa’s royal army, alongside the traitorous Floyger family, when they tried to invade the Empire. Hearing her report on that, I unconsciously did a triumphant pose. After all, I had expected that we might receive the Bavst territory after doing our best.
I’m super happy because an increase in land is directly related to higher tax revenue and more manpower! Yep, this is really awesome. I mean, if our territory grows, the Erwin family will prosper, allowing me to buy nice clothes and jewelry for my wife and her lovers while also having plenty of children with them.
The night I heard from Malida that we’d receive new land, I gave it my best shot at massaging my wife. I mean the sweaty, diligent type of effort.
But you see, when we got the letter of appointment on the next day, and I saw the name of the place we were assigned by His Majesty, I froze. Solid.
I thought that the new territory would be Bavst, but the letter mentioned the Alkana territory. But I guess it’s my fault for not having listened, as I was too delighted over being granted new land.
Curious about the new territory, I looked up its location on the detailed map of the oni.
Shit, we were done in. Totally, at that. That sis-con of a demon king is taking us for a ride here. The Alkana territory, assigned to us by His Majesty…wasn’t on the territory of Elancia.
Fuck! The blasted sis-con demon king merely gave us a friggin’ empty promise of a territory! How awful! He’s completely cheating us here!
The Alkana fief was a land ruled by a lord belonging to Alexa. It was wedged between our fief and the territory of Margrave Stephan on our eastern side. After researching it further, I found out it had formerly belonged to Elancia, too.
In other words, what my wifey summarized as “having received a territory as reward” was a written promise that we would get the territory if we snatch it away from the noble who betrayed the Empire to Alexa. I guess I was rejoicing too early.
Anyone would consider it to be Bavst, a territory under the direct control of the imperial family, if they had heard of receiving territory under these circumstances. Because she crushed the remnants of Hero’s Sword and thwarted the rebellion, His Majesty is being sweet to his milk sibling, Malida.
Isn’t it terrible for it to be enemy land? Moreover, it seems like it’ll be a bother if we attack it. Understanding that we had received enemy land as reward, I couldn’t help but quietly sob into my pillow.
Afterwards, I decided to keep gathering information on how to usurp the land we received as an empty promise, while struggling to overcome the busy time at the beginning of the new year, and to do my own official duties and those of the family head.
■
Imperial Calendar, Year 261 – Moon of the Garnet
Happy New Yeaaaaaar!
I am 17 years old now. The new Albert von Erwin-sama.
After knocking up Malida last year, I was able to scratch one item off the list I still wanted to do.
The construction of the embankment and waterways is proceeding well, just as the cultivation of new land at the pioneer village is. We’ve also been getting reports that many fields would yield a harvest this year.
Also, we unified the weights and measurement units of the Slat fief, integrated it into the Erwin family’s business region, established basic tax ledgers, and precisely measured tax revenue. This was a huge improvement.
Moreover, thanks to hiring the Goshoot clan at the Malji company, my private intelligence agency, the information-gathering ability shot up, and we were able to formulate policies for the Erwin family based on various pieces of information.
Luminas, the daughter of Warid, is a good girl too, making me wish to deepen cooperation with the mountain folk in the future.
Anyway, because most of last year was occupied with the annihilation of Hero’s Sword, we had been recently busy in various ways while running from one place to another. Because of that, I ended up outsourcing all the governmental work to Irena and Milevis, but I somehow managed to balance the accounts by working like a madman at the end of the year.
As a result of that hard work, the financial balance report for the fiscal year 260 appeared in time.
Erwin family – Financial Report of the Year 260 in the Imperial Calendar
Population
– Castle Ashley: 190,774 (+1261)
– Castle Slat: 3306
Total: 22,380 – Total number of retainers: 423 (45) – Max. number of peasant soldiers: 2600 (+500)
Total Tax Income: 9211 gold (468 gold)
Total Income Outside of Taxes: 75590 gold (53,423 gold from the confiscated goods of Hero’s Sword renegades and remnants, 3280 gold for the sale of plundered Alexa goods, 17,545 gold profit on the sale of food, 1342 gold from selling balm inside Elancia)
Total Income: 84,712 gold
Wages: 15,900 gold (+1380 gold)
Miscellaneous Expenses: 49,330 gold (T/N: cut out a huge list of various smaller items)
Total Expenses: 65,230 gold
Balance: 19,482 gold
Loan repayment: 10,000 gold
Loan remainder: 20,000 gold
Balance carried forward: 2264 gold
Given that I eradicated the embezzlement of poll taxes and land rent by the village chiefs in the Ashley fief during the last fiscal year, the food payment doubled this year. The excess food stored in the newly built warehouses was released onto the market through Reinbell and Fran, based on market information gathered by the mountain folk, resulting in a large profit margin.
Thanks to this, the Erwin family’s financial affairs were changing for the better, and it looked like it’d be possible to switch to a long-term lasting system.
However, since we had to pay fairly high costs for the various plots, which led to the thorough destruction of Hero’s Sword, I must cover the costs by earning cash with the Malji company, or we will be dragged back into the quagmire of loans once again.
The list of things to do (Year 261)
– Implementation of matchlocks (Begin of trial phase → Scheduled to complete a prototype)
– Tax reform in the fief (Partially finished)
– Constructions of embankments and waterways in the fief (Progress at 30% → Progress at 90% reached)
– Cultivation of new land at the pioneer village (Progress 50% → Scheduled to be completed)
– Gather information in the vicinity (Focusing on Alkana and Alexa)
– Searching for new lover candidates (doing my best)
– Impregnating my women this year as well (really doing my best)
– Creation of a good environment for Malida’s birth (extremely doing my best!)
This year, my long-awaited child is going to be born. So I must make all sorts of moves to earn a lot more money for the future. I’ll do my utmost to turn the empty promise of Alkana into a real promise!
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