Chapter 100

"Let me introduce myself. I am Artur von Bennobau Meister."

"Likewise. I am Amadeus Flaitrek von Breichreider."

Thinking about it, it's a rather peculiar greeting.

I am now retired, but I served as the head of the Bau Meister knight family for over thirty years, and this is my first face-to-face meeting with my patron, the Breichreider Margrave.

Under normal circumstances, this would be impossible, but the Riech Mountains, which lie between the former Bau Meister knight territory and the Breichreider Margrave territory, made it a reality.

Thinking back, the Breichreider Margrave I greeted on my way to the capital for the succession ceremony after my father's sudden death was the previous one.

I accompanied a merchant caravan returning to Breichburg, and together with Klaus, who was young and experienced in mountain crossings at the time, I greeted the previous margrave and stayed at his mansion until the airship to the capital was ready to depart.

It saved a little on expenses, but the round-trip airship fare and the cost of staying in the capital were for two people.

I really wanted to go alone, but even a poor knight would hesitate to travel to the capital alone, and it ended up costing more.

Still, my father had already passed away, so I had to receive the succession ceremony as soon as possible.

Klaus, who was carrying a heavy box containing armor and a sword, looked apologetic when he saw me covering all the expenses.

Ordinarily, a retainer wouldn't care about such things.

It shows just how poor we were.

However, when I saw Klaus's condescending gaze, which I found physiologically disagreeable, I couldn't help but feel angry, as if I were being looked down upon.

Klaus is competent, but he and I don't get along.

I think I first strongly recognized this at that time.

The high-ranking officials of the Breichreider Margrave family also looked at me with a condescending gaze.

I can't blame them, but it still gets under my skin.

However, those annoying people, along with the previous margrave, died in battle in the Demon Forest.

It was a great blow to us, but it might have been a relief in a way.

"The incompetent previous margrave couldn't control the reckless actions of a foolish heir."

"Well, in that situation, I might have ended up with similar results... Even Wendelin couldn't have done much better."

The current Breichreider Margrave, though young, doesn't seem to be as arrogant as the previous one.

To think he would even consider the feelings of an incompetent old man like me.

"There's no need for your concern. I couldn't make the decision to pass the estate to Wendelin. I was an incompetent former head of the family."

"Doing so might have caused a lot of backlash..."

"My other brothers, preferably Erich. If I had passed it to him, he would have made good use of Wendelin. Let's stop complaining."

"Yes, you're right."

We should stop talking about hypothetical scenarios that can no longer be realized. The truth is, I was called by the Breichreider Margrave because I had to make an important decision as Wendelin's father.

In the past, it would have been impossible to be summoned by the Breichreider Margrave and reach Breichburg in just one day.

But now, with the regular airship service to the new territory where I have moved, including Paul's, it's possible to arrive quickly.

There's no longer a need to cross the Riech Mountains, risking altitude sickness and attacks by wild animals or wyverns.

The development of the territory is also progressing smoothly thanks to Wendelin's magic.

Paul has formed a retinue by calling his former guard colleagues and their acquaintances, and has accepted the people who could no longer stay in the Bau Meister knight territory due to the Kurt incident. The population has now exceeded two hundred.

Considering that it's been only about two months since Kurt's death, it's an astonishingly fast pace.

"The issue is about the 'appointed women,' right?"

"Yes, that's the case."

It's not a particularly good custom, but 'appointed women' are women assigned to teach the heirs of nobles, merchants, and wealthy farmers about such matters before they get married.

If they fail to learn and can't have children, it could be a serious problem, so such women are assigned to heirs of royal families, noble families, merchants, and wealthy farmers.

Usually, only the eldest son is assigned, but in families with more financial means, second and third sons might also be assigned.

This can vary from case to case.

However, the selection criteria are strict.

Consulting the Breichreider Margrave, even he would have to ponder deeply.

First, prostitutes are out of the question.

There's the issue of disease, and some may have problematic personalities, potentially spreading the news or even blackmailing.

Next, greedy or loose-lipped women are also unacceptable.

Even if it becomes common knowledge within the territory, officially they are not concubines, so if they cause conflicts with future wives, it could be disastrous.

If the man becomes too attached to the woman and tries to make her a concubine, it could disrupt the household hierarchy and lead to disputes.

There have also been cases where ambitious women have deceived men.

"Do you have any widows among your subjects?"

"There are, but they are the wives of those involved in the incident."

The wives of Kurt's co-conspirators in the assassination attempt, so it wouldn't be appropriate to assign them.

"I can offer advice as a man, but it would be difficult for me to introduce someone from my own household."

If it were the heir of the former Bau Meister knight territory, the Breichreider Margrave would have recommended someone immediately.

However, considering Wendelin's current influence, if an inappropriate 'appointed woman' were introduced and caused trouble, the Breichreider Margrave would be the one to face criticism.

He wouldn't want to take that risk.

As for me, I don't have any suitable candidates either.

After all, I'm just a retired old man now.

"Would it be better to give him some books and avoid the issue?"

It's impossible to assign 'appointed women' to all children, so usually, younger sons learn from such books.

Future wives also learn from such books given to them by their mothers before marriage.

"Although it's a very personal question, how about you, Artur?"

"I didn't have a specific 'appointed woman.'"

When I was young, women from the southern part of the territory were quite promiscuous.

Even married women would openly have affairs, and it was considered rude to refuse a woman's advances.

I had quite a few encounters myself.

However, when the priest, Master Meister, found out, the custom quickly died out.

Master Meister, who was an old man but usually gentle, was furious at this time, and the villagers were so frightened.

Klaus looked at me with a disapproving gaze, but at the time, I thought he should have taken my place.

He knew how much effort I put into the territory's harmony, yet he was a truly unpleasant man.

"I had a regular one."

His older brother, who was sickly, was the heir, so he was assigned one as a precaution.

"She was the daughter of a minor vassal. She had become a widow at a young age after losing her husband."

Such women are chosen to teach, so naturally, they have experience.

Moreover, having a husband would complicate matters, so widows are always chosen.

"The relationship ended when I got married, and I paid a form of compensation."

She is now the second wife of an elderly vassal, and both she and the vassal have been warned to behave, so they are well-behaved.

In that sense, I envied the Breichreider Margrave family.

"What about Kurt?"

"He didn't have the luxury..."

In a small, isolated territory, assigning such women could easily lead to problems.

So, he would just give them books to avoid the issue.

Thinking about it, this might have been one of the reasons Kurt went off the rails.

He might have wondered why, as the heir of a noble family, he was treated differently from other heirs.

Although I doubt it, I can't say with 100% certainty that it wasn't a factor.

"It would be best if Artur prepared it himself. However..."

"I want to avoid the Bau Meister family..."

The new margrave family has a large number of new vassals, so choosing someone from their connections could lead to trouble.

If the woman has connections to some noble family, she might use that to interfere with the new Bau Meister margrave family.

With the vassal group not yet fully formed, there's a possibility that such a connection could lead to a high-ranking vassal.

If she becomes a favorite concubine and bears a child, she might forcefully make that child the heir and wield power as an in-law.

It's a common story, but such risks should be avoided.

"That's a problem..."

"Yes..."

I thought about using the wives of the co-conspirators as a form of punishment, but on second thought, their ages didn't match.

They were all in their thirties, and it would be pointless to force a middle-aged woman on Wendelin, as it might make him lose interest in women.

"Wendelin is only fifteen, after all."

At most, she should be in her twenties, and if she doesn't have a good appearance, there's no point in assigning an 'appointed woman.'

It's a troublesome custom, to be honest.

"Through my friend Brantak... Let's not do that..."

"You mean that hired mage?"

"He's an ultimate bachelor, so he might only be able to introduce prostitutes..."

Indeed, I think it would be better to avoid that.

"Among the subjects, then..."

However, I can't use the connections within the Bau Meister knight territory, as Hermann is now the head of that territory.

That territory now belongs to Hermann.

"Actually, what about that person?"

The Breichreider Margrave mentioned a certain person.

Indeed, that person would fit the criteria.

However, the question is whether she would accept it.

After all, there was just such an incident.

"Why don't you ask her? 'It's easier to give birth than to worry,' as they say?"

"Yes, that's true."

In the end, if that doesn't work, we decided to give him a book.

After buying some souvenirs for my family in Breichburg, I returned to Paul's territory.

"Me?"

"I know it's a bad time to ask you this, but..."

After returning to Paul's territory, I gave souvenirs to my wife and grandchildren, and then secretly called the person to an uninhabited place.

My wife looked displeased.

She thought I was going to make a move on her because I didn't bring Reila when I moved here to retire.

I don't dislike women, but I think I have a sense of propriety in that regard.

Even with Reila, I considered it a perk of the job to ensure the stable governance of the Bau Meister knight territory.

I'm sure Reila thought the same.

She bore sons for Claus, but to her, it was a job.

Indeed, she never complained about not living in the main mansion.

It was just right to meet only for the purpose of making children.

Still, she did her job well.

I didn't mind that she didn't come with me when I retired.

Reila is fine as she is.

The problem is my wife.

I don't want her to worry unnecessarily about an old man in his mid-fifties.

I now teach my grandchildren archery and swordsmanship, and help with development and hunting and foraging for food in my free time.

I also learned kanji and arithmetic as a latecomer to learning.

My wife was the teacher, but now I think it would have been better to let her do such work.

I didn't realize it when I was the lord of the territory.

Perhaps it was due to the conservative opposition of the subjects in the former Bau Meister knight territory?

Now, those people have been intentionally retired by Hermann and have lost their influence.

This territory is still in the early stages of development and is always short of manpower.

So, it wasn't much of a problem for women like my wife to help with paperwork.

Perhaps this is a sign of the times?

Getting back to the topic, as a father, I need to assign an 'appointed woman' to Wendelin, who has become a baron.

Moreover, I need to do it secretly without the knowledge of my wife and other women.

It can't be completely hidden, but it would be strange to ask openly, so I ended up secretly calling a candidate.

In noble families, trusted vassals would take care of such matters, but unfortunately, it's not possible in my current household.

"I feel bad asking you to do this so soon after losing your husband..."

I was asking Amalie, Kurt's widow, to become Wendelin's 'appointed woman.'

She fits the criteria quite well.

First, she is Kurt's ex-wife and has two children, so she is experienced.

She is a widow, so there's no noisy husband, and unlike the wives of other co-conspirators, she is a noble.

If it becomes known, it would be seen as her atoning for her husband's sins, which would be to her advantage.

She is twenty-seven years old and looks young, so she doesn't look like a middle-aged woman.

She is not particularly beautiful but has a cute appearance and gets along well with Wendelin.

She is also a book lover, so they share common interests.

I think she would be the best choice.

"Yes, I accept."

Surprisingly, she readily accepted my request.

Relieved, she began to explain her reasons.

"I feel bad about it, but I do have my own calculations."

"Of course, you do."

She has two sons from Kurt.

They are Wendelin's nephews and are expected to inherit the Mainbach surname and a territory when they come of age.

However, if asked whether that promise will be fulfilled, I couldn't immediately nod.

I think Wendelin will have more wives in the future.

No matter how much he refuses, it won't be zero.

That's just how the noble society works.

Naturally, many children will be born.

They will establish branch families based on their mothers' status or be given undeveloped land in the vast territory.

If he prioritizes his own children and becomes reluctant to give territories to his nephews, what then?

It's a harsh story, but it would be futile to complain to Wendelin, who will be a great noble by then.

That's why she is offering herself to secure a future for her grandchildren.

Given Wendelin's position, it's unlikely that he would ignore the wishes of a woman in such a relationship.

It's a calculation, but there is also a mother's kindness.

"I'm sorry. I'll be a burden to you."

I've been putting her through a lot since she married into our family.

I doubt a noble daughter ever thought she would have to make ropes out of straw, the food was poor, and her husband, Kurt, was a bad man.

She