"In that way, I'll explain the military tax and rent you just collect. The Duke has the widest territory except for the Imperial family, which of course owns the whole Holy Verk from the southern province of Pisval. Mostly, serfs and commoners are engaged in agricultural work, while in some areas, mining and livestock has come into view. The basic tenancy fee is often influenced by the year's harvest, but in principle, an iron tax of 4 pence per person and a land rent of 30 shillings per hectare are the preferences. However, most farmers often offer livestock such as bulls, sheep, and pigs, or firewood, wine, honey, soap, and oil instead. The units and appropriate collection for these items are all written on the parchment paper I gave you earlier. Please refer to it."
Eun-woo, who had been taking Johannes' class hard so far, soon realized that it was not enough to write down, and left her pen on the table.
But Johannes didn't stop with only those words.
"In addition to that, professional craftsmen such as shoemakers, carpenters, blacksmiths, and jewelry gourd men must be charged a ten quarters of their overall production as their tax. It is also a duty of a Head of the family to calculate its quantity and manage the goods that are being paid and being obtained."
"...Ah."
"This work is also included with visiting various rural estates, villages within the Duke territory as to check the roads, dams, sewage facilities and to visit the Manor House to see if there are any discord between inhabitants. All family ordinances within the Duke fulfillments, particularly in marriage, divorce, remarriage, birth registration, and death registration are subjected to the Head's permission. Aside from that…"
Johannes' explanation continued endlessly.
Johannes had to explain about the family's several fortunes, their real estates for hours. What she should pay when he leaves the villa in the countryside, how the manager was hired, and how the monastery in the estate was managed every day.
Looking at Selena next to her, she wanted to get comfort from her comradeship. However, Selena was showing enthusiasm, taking notes from time to time, nodding her head hard with a face full of understanding.
Eun-woo became more depressed.
"…Well, I guess you've got a basic knowledge now."
Johannes declared in a neat voice after a long explanation. In just a few hours, Eun-woo nodded with a deep face.
"I didn't know that the Head of the family had so much work to do…"
"All I've said is just the tip of the iceberg. Addendum, there are still a lot of things left to learn by taking classes and working with me."
Eun-woo immediately wanted to run to bed, and bury her face in a pillow and felt like crying.
For her, even units such as sealing, pennies, and hectares immediately came to her as a big topic, and difficult to comprehend.
Of course, other things that held her back were everywhere. She was indeed ignorant of the basic lifestyle and cultural habits of the people here.
Eun-woo sighed, as if she was an object looking at the mountain she had to climb with a devastated feeling.
"Then, let's learn step by step from tomorrow onwards on how to calculate the pharyngeal tax and the oligopoly tax. After that, we will have time to practice by reviewing the reports posted by each of the ladies in their families. Then, I'll see you tomorrow."
Johannes, who had a lot to do besides this class, disappeared like wind as soon as she finished talking.
Eun-woo and Selena complained from the butler's office to the annex.
"You're amazing, Selena. How can you write down all the explanations without missing a single word? I missed it in the middle, and missed a series of words in order to keep up with Johannes' explanation."
Selena smiled and answered softly at her words.
"My butler's class was not easy for me either. Still, I think it was a little easier for me now because I was learning how to run the family with my mother these days. I'll show you the notes later. And use it to review."
Eun-woo pouted when she said that.
'Ah… come to think of it, Selena has just lost her father.'
Suddenly, something came to her mind.
Eun-woo slightly opened her mouth whilst looking sideways at Selena.
"Selena. I know that this might be really sudden … but, is Selena planning to become the head of Baron Wellwood?"
Selena, who does not have a male brother, learned the role of the baron's family as the Head until she met Ikshid. Then, she married Ikshid, whose status was like the moon, and became the crown princess.
She knew this of course. But there was one thing that bothered me.
'As far as I'm concerned, Selena had someone whom she promised to marry at this time of year…'
As Eun-woo expected, Selena shook her head and answered.
"No, the family is going to be taken care of by my mother as it has been. I… I might get married soon. An unfortunate marriage is inevitable for the daughter of a poor noble who lacks dowry."
Eun-woo was quite stupefied to see Selena reveal her true feelings and expressed her upcoming marriage as an 'unfortunate' thing.
As she said, Selena's family was weak from the beginning, and it was a very poor situation due to the slanted influence even before her father died. For a very long time, she had been talking about being the Head of the Wellwood.
'… .Of course, Selena became his Crown Princess because she didn't let Ikshid, that guy, know about it.'
Eun-woo felt his head throbbing again.
Her and Ikshid's love serves as the biggest reason for the villain Tashian's betrayal to the Crown Prince.
'If Selena gets married to that nobleman, my conscience wouldn't stay still. However, if Ikshid would save Selena from that unhappy and unfortunate marriage, it'd only be a matter of time before she becomes the Crown Princess….'
Eun-woo had no choice but to admit it. Before she knew it, she realized that she had a lot of affection for Selena, the heroine of a straight and inflexible character.
'I don't want to see Selena wed in that big belly, nor would I want to witness Tashian being executed by guillotine….!'
Eun-woo wanted to groan by pulling her hair that seemed to be breaking right away from her thoughts.
***
On the other hand, when the two ladies were eagerly taking a housekeeping class from Johannes, there was an untimely commotion in Tashian's office.
"Euk! Please let go of this, Your Highness! My neck will be off at this rate!"
"Your neck might be better off once in a while. That way you will learn how to think properly even for a bit."
While Tashian was working at his office desk as usual, he gave an insensitive look at the two black men who came in from nowhere, as if he was looking at flies.
"What kind of nonsensical behavior is this in someone else's house?"
Diego, who was peacefully taking a nap in the narrow passage that was connected to the kitchen, shouted and was unfortunately caught by Ikshid, who visited the Duke Office with his neck in Ikshid's hands.
"Your Majesty! If I get caught by the duke this time, I might really die! You heard it! These days, I barely get to eat at the Dining Room!"
"I'm not worried. At least if I take you next to the Duke, wouldn't you die answering his endless question with a cold knife in his back? And it's impolite to eat without his permission!"
Ikshid threw Diego onto a chair in the office as if he was throwing a paper, and he himself collapsed next to it. Ikshid pretended not to see anything and shouted angrily at the Duke, who was casually doing this in front of him.
"If protesting doesn't work, I'll ignore him, is that what you mean, Lord? Lord, you haven't changed at all. If my only two loyalties are like this, then how can I take care of the government without worrying about you two?"
"…God is listening. Please speak."
Tashian muttered in a voice full of annoyance. Next to him, Diego sat on his butt at the end of the chair and buried his back deeply.
"Your Majesty, the duke is so uncooperative. So can I leave now? Every day is a long day for your servant to carry out your orders of the ordinance issued by Your Majesty.…"
"You were taking a nap in the kitchen aisle. Yes, I could see that you've been hectic."
Tashian sighed and put down the pen he was holding. He turned his chair around, fixed his body toward the two men, and touched his forehead with both of his hands.
".... So, what the hell is going on this time? Hurry up and say it."
"What would I have to say to you two in this broad daylight? Come on, work your imaginations."
"Unsatisfied with my offering…"
Ikshid cut off Tashian's words as if it was natural.
"That's enough! But you, Diego this brat! Isn't this the problem you created, when you were supposed to be caught by Warawi pirates, yet you returned, and that was when in the Victory Celebration Banquet?! How shameless of you!"
Diego, who was scratching his shaggy golden hair next to him, jumped up and shouted in an unfair voice.
"What are you talking about? Then, can this lowly servant of yours tell that this loyal servant should have waited for the imperial rescue team in that dirty and filthy place?"
The whole story of the incident was like this.
The fifteen ship Cremons Grand Squadron, dispatched by Ikshid personally and discreetly, was advancing towards the easternmost part of Genova through the sea route of Austuralch under the command of skilled navigator, Diego Miller.
But just there, Diego's fifteen ships met the notorious pirates of the Warawi Strait and were defeated.
"You can't imagine how incredibly bloody the battle was! Three ships were burned down, and more than thirty sailors, including the captain, me, were captured by the pirates!"
Diego Miller's face while reminiscing of the past, showed an unusually serious light. Looking at that, Tashian opened his mouth and said that he had been biting hard.
"I knew that one day you would be seriously injured. But wasn't it you who always walked along the sea road as if you were walking around on the floor of some kind of market?"
(TN: Telling him that Diego sees the sea route like the road of land.)
Tashian lifted his brows, looking at Diego's face with his distorted face and as if Diego was pathetic. As he said, Marquis Miller was a person who was very far from the virtues of caution and prudence, compared to the unconventional and ingenious nature of the holy spirit.
Leaving Tashian's criticism behind, Diego spoke.
"When I entered a small island where pirates locked up the prisoners, there were already sailors from other fleets besides me. All of them were hairy and their skin was soaked in salty sea water.… Obviously, they were never the kind of people who wanted to sit down and talk or eat together. There, I met Rusti, an Austuralch writer."
"Writer…?"
Ikshid asked what Diego's escape from the Warawi pirates due to bloodshot was related to, but eventually, he couldn't find any answer.
"Did he let you go?"
"No. All he did to me was show interest in the story I told him."
Diego replied, scratching his forehead.
"He was a very curious friend. Lord, as you and the Crown Prince know, Hellasium and Austuralch are almost completely free from the exchange, right? He asked questions from one to ten, but when I went back later, I had to yell at him to get some sleep, and then he just walked away."
"But what does that have to do with your success in escaping?"
As if Ikshid still couldn't find a connection, he wondered.