A strained smile involuntarily spread on my face. I rarely receive an apology so insincere. “No, it’s fine. Let’s hear your report.” I walked to the table for guests and placed my lantern on top of it. Once I’d settled down on the sofa, I turned my gaze onto Ratte. “How was it?”
The corners of his mouth curled up into a smirk. “It’s turned into something quite entertaining. He’s finally begun to panic, though it’s far too late for him.” Ratte’s tone and demeanor showed that he was awfully amused. His crafty smile harbored more emotion than the one he’d pasted on earlier.
It seems he detests that man very much. Then again, I feel the same, so I can’t point fingers. I had ordered Ratte to scout the Schletter Duchy. Daniel von Schletter was the head of the Schletter Duchy and the current king’s cousin. It was a grand status to hold, but without his peerage and bloodline, he was merely a fool with nothing to be proud of.
He was a typical older man, deeply indoctrinated in misogyny, so he hated the very sight of Rose for being a duchess regnant. He didn’t have the guts to dispatch an assassin, but I couldn’t call him completely harmless. Spreading unsavory rumors about Rose in high society, increasing the tariffs between our domains—his harassment was banal.
Fortunately, thanks to Duke Schletter’s lack of virtue, his actions had never amounted to anything serious. The nasty rumors might have persisted if Rose were still a princess who rarely appeared in front of others, but now she was actively socializing. It was no contest—in one corner was a peerlessly beautiful duchess who stood at the forefront of trends, and in the other was an old duke with no achievements to his name. It was plain as day whom it would be more advantageous to curry favor with. Those wise individuals were stamping out any vulgar rumors before they could reach Rose’s ears.
Although trade between our domains had temporarily stagnated, that was trivial in the long term. It wasn’t as though the Schletter Duchy was our only business partner. Prelier was currently garnering attention from all over the world, and we didn’t need to search for business partners—they came to us. Ultimately, the ones to suffer were Schletter’s citizens.
“Raising taxes reduces transactions, which decreases tax yield. It’s common sense, and yet he’s panicking now? What a fool.” Ratte chuckled merrily.
Being in high spirits over another person’s misfortune is a sign of bad character. A person’s physical beauty doesn’t necessarily reflect the beauty of their heart, I thought rudely. “He’s a fool because he doesn’t understand common sense.”
“Don’t act like you feel differently,” Ratte scoffed.
I guess we both have bad characters, I corrected myself internally. I try to behave like a gentleman in front of Rose, but I’m actually cut from the same cloth as Ratte.
“While we’re still on the topic of the fool, he allegedly intends to raise the taxes on his domain’s residents. He thinks he can offset his declining tax yields by seizing it from the populace. He’s a picture-perfect tyrant. He’s so by the book that it’s funny. Astounding, really.” Ratte sighed.
It’s amazing he’s kept his status for so long when he’s this incompetent... No, he’s lasted this long because he’s incompetent. His domain managed without any issues until now because he was so absorbed in larking about that he foisted his work onto his subordinates and wife. The duke brought about the worst possible situation because he began to take up his own duties to antagonize Rose.
“If he keeps that up, everyone will leave him before long. When will he realize that?” I asked.
“That type won’t learn a thing until he’s the only one left. That’s how tyrants are,” Ratte replied.
“I pity his wife and son.”
“The sooner that vermin is quashed, the better for his family too, in my opinion.” Murder lurked in Ratte’s almond-shaped eyes. His face had transformed from an affable young man’s to a ruthless assassin’s in the blink of an eye.
I took in his gaze, sharp as a drawn blade, and narrowed my own eyes. “Even if that’s true, don’t do anything.”
“Oh? When did you become a pacifist?”
“I’m not. In fact, I’m the opposite. I may pity them, but I’m not charitable enough to help them. They should clean up their own family’s carelessness. Also...”
“Also?”
“Rose will reprimand me if I make you dirty your hands.”
Ratte blinked at me. The murderous aura he’d been exuding petered out, replaced by a dumbfounded look. He glared at me, unamused.
“What?” I asked.
“It makes me sick to my stomach how you act like you understand everything about the princess,” he grumbled.
It sounded like he had a bone to pick with me, but I chortled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Ick.” He recoiled in disgust, but I paid it no mind.
“Anyway, what of the mines? I heard the output has dropped considerably in recent years,” I said.
There were silver and copper mines in the northwest of the Schletter Duchy. It was a long-established mine that had been an invaluable source of income for generations. However, resources were not unlimited. It was an obvious fact of life: Continuous mining eventually exhausted the supply.
“Apparently, they’re in quite the pickle. He wants to dig in the zones his astute wife prohibited. One wrong move may result in many deaths.”
I silently clenched my fist. Miners constantly walked hand in hand with death. Falling rocks, dangerous gases—there were casualties every year. No amount of caution could completely prevent accidents. Hence, the proprietor’s direction was crucial, and their every decision could dramatically alter the survival rate.
Duke Schletter’s wife was a renowned woman of much talent. She had likely consulted with experts and experienced miners to ban mining in zones with a high probability of caving in. However, where a brilliant mind saw a grave, incompetent eyes saw an untouched mountain of treasure. She could try to explain with all the logic in the world, but that man had little regard for human life and would never relent.
“I forbid you from relaying this to Rose,” I said.
Ratte lowered his gaze and nodded obediently. “As you wish.”
If Rose learned of this, she wouldn’t be able to ignore it. However, meddling with another domain’s affairs would be overstepping her authority. Furthermore, although Duke Schletter’s decision is inhumane, it’s not against the law. Objecting to accidents that haven’t yet occurred would only bring dishonor to Rose’s name.
If she were the Rose of the past, she would follow her heart without caring about the drawbacks. However, now she’s a feudal lord and the director of the medical facility. She knows her actions would involve her citizens, friends, and family, so she wouldn’t be able to take action. I don’t want Rose to have to make that decision, even if it means being condemned for exceeding my authority or criticized for being egoistic. There are some things I refuse to concede.
“Would it be possible to spread rumors among the miners?” I asked.
“Of course,” Ratte replied, the corners of his mouth quirking up. “I’ll spread the news that the supervisor has changed, and he intends to have miners take on very dangerous work. Shall I also mix in some falsehoods about how there have already been several fatal rockfall accidents in addition to that? The story will look a little more credible if I have my subordinates act like injured miners.”
“Please do.”
It won’t work on everyone, but it should cause a decent number of miners to hesitate. They might protest against their higher-ups and boycott, which would buy some time. In the meantime, Duchess Schletter and her son will just need to devise a countermeasure.
“All right, I’ll go with that. I’ll send regular reports through my subordinate,” Ratte said.
“Very well.”
Our discussion over, Ratte stopped leaning on the office desk and headed for the door. He stopped mid-step and glanced in my direction. “Oh yeah—you should set up an airtight security plan for the festival. Who knows what sort of harassment that fool might scheme up?”
“Of course we’ll have guards stationed...” I paused for a moment. “Would he really waste time on such childish things when he’s in the middle of a crisis?”
“Yes, because he hasn’t realized just how big a crisis he’s in.”
“I see.”
Ratte flashed me a sardonic smile and promptly left.
Alone in the room, I said to myself, “I absolutely will not allow him to hamper the festival.”
My wife’s face as she embroidered the sash while fighting off her drowsiness floated through my mind, and I vowed it to myself once more.