"(...)"
After absorbing the previous Wendelin's memories in the form of a dream, I woke up along with my new brothers to eat breakfast in the mansion's dining room.
The term mansion implies a certain grandeur, but don't be misled. It's just the mansion of a lower ranking noble, so it lacks most of the opulence that you might expect.
The mansion has rooms such as a study and a warehouse (to store food, money, goods and armor), but from what I can see, it's only a hair nicer than the house of a wealthy merchant.
Those who have their own personal room are the current family head, Arthur (45 years old), Johanna (44, Arthur's legal wife), Kurt (25, the eldest son), and Hermann (23, the second son).
The four remaining brothers from the legal wife have been shoved into one room.
Besides me, they are Paul (19, the third son), Helmut (17, the fourth son), and Erich (16, the fifth son).
This overcrowded home makes for a depressing scene, though it would be a good setting for an old novel or something.
It's worth noting that Arthur's mistress, Leila (31), resides with her parents at the village head's villa.
Living with her are her children, Walter (14, the sixth son), Karl (13, the seventh son), Agnes (11, the eldest daughter), and Karina (10, the second daughter).
Most people in this world seem to have names borrowed from the flashy German naming tradition, but there doesn't seem to be much substance to it. It seems that people are about the same no matter the world.
From the information I gathered in my dream last night, the reason that everyone doesn't live together in the mansion is because there are just too few rooms to comfortably house that many people.
Besides, there's no reason for the mistress's children to live in the mansion, as they really don't need a noble's education. In fact, there's no good reason for the two branches of the family to regularly interact.
Though, the previous Wendelin had met them several times.
My father and mother aren't on good terms with the son and heir of the village headman, who is an influential person in the territory. That is apparently a problem, but the politics of it all don't matter to me since I won't inherit it.
At the mansion we have a number of retainers whose job is to maintain the house. Abel (71) is the butler. He's been serving the family since my grandfather was the head of the house. There are four maids as well, but all of them are old ladies from one of the villages (which I assume is to ensure that there is no way that Arthur, with zero capacity for family planning, can get them pregnant).
There are also retainers that command the militia in times of war, but they are basically just farmers, artisans, hunters, or blacksmiths from the villages. Since they don't live in the mansion, all of them commute to work from their family houses in one of the villages.
In poor villages on the frontier, like the ones in our territory, there is no difference between a warrior and farmer. If there is an emergency, the nobles can conscript the population at will.
Even so, there hasn't been a conflict in a small territory like this for the last 200 years.
There are a number of reasons for this. To begin with, the Baumeister Knight Territory, ruled by the current family head, Arthur von Benno Baumeister, is at the southern end of the Helmut Kingdom, which is on the continent of Lingaia.
Lingaia has only two primary powers, with the Urquhart Holy Empire being the only country that could oppose the Helmut Kingdom. The two countries are divided by a border that runs from east to west, with the Empire in the north and the Kingdom in the south.
However, both countries are currently expending substantial funds and manpower developing their respective frontier territories. That is to say, neither side is able to afford a war right now.
As a cautionary measure, both nations had historically kept standing armies. However, about 200 years ago the two nations signed a ceasefire treaty and disbanded their standing armies, as their maintenance only wasted food and resources. Thus, a peaceful border was established.
In addition, the treaty opened trade between the two countries. With the two countries profiting from their peaceful relationship, the flames of war that had enveloped the continent subsided. Of course, there are always a few hard-liners that try to reignite tensions.
Hence, I can rest assured that I won't have to experience war. I am lucky in that respect.
"Dear, what's the matter?" (Johanna)
I stare down at the meal in front of me. Brown bread served with vegetables and a small portion of meat. A bowl of soup seasoned only with salt.
It is an incredibly bland meal, but it seems like eating meat in the morning is the mark of nobility. Also, nobles eat three meals a day, while farmers eat only two. Since the menu for farmers and nobles alike includes bread and soup, the social distinction doesn't appear to be so pronounced.
The brown bread was hard and tasteless, if only it was followed by some soft white bread, jam, butter, cheese, and tea, then this poor meal would seem a feast.
I heard that there are big differences in the menu between the poorer rural areas and the wealthier urban areas. I won't know for sure unless I visit other areas, of course. But if that's true then I have some disappointing news: our territory appears to be quite poor.
"The adventurer's guild has refused our request to establish a branch office in our territory." (Arthur)
"They might have just been busy with other work." (Johanna)
"They could have at least cleared a few more transportation routes." (Arthur)
My new father, Arthur, wears a sour look as he stares into his soup.
As I had learned earlier, magic exists in this world. Magic exists, and creatures like monsters exist, so it makes sense that there would be adventurers who hunt those monsters to make a living. And those adventurers belong to the adventurer's guild, which is apparently rather famous.
"It's because the monsters in our territory are quite strong…" (Arthur)
"Father, can't you just call the army in to wipe out the monsters in one fell swoop?" (Kurt)
"That's not possible. They are afraid to repeat the same blunder as the late Margrave Breithilde." (Arthur)
"Can I say something… Father?" (Wendelin)
"What is it, Wendelin? And no more soup for you." (Arthur)
From last night's dream I had learned that I, the eighth son, am six years old (if counted from the new year). I was seven years younger than the seventh son. Hence, it is required that I sit at the end of the dining table, at the edge even.
I just wanted to ask a question, but Arthur misunderstood my intentions and assumed that I was requesting a second serving. Just more evidence that this house is poor.
"No, I am not asking for more soup. I was just wondering what happened to the Margrave Breithilde that tried to hunt the monsters." (Wendelin)
"About that? Huh. A few years ago we received a request to aid the Margrave in a campaign to subjugate the monsters in the Baumeister territory…" (Arthur)
Judging from the language of the request, the Margrave must have been confident in the endeavor, but after needlessly provoking the monsters on their own turf, the Margrave's army of 2,000 suffered a crushing defeat.
Shortly thereafter, the new head of the Breithilde Margraviate took over, and his first task was to rebuild the destroyed army.
"The new Margrave Breithilde has made it clear that he won't claim any rights in the territory currently occupied by the monsters. To put it another way, he doesn't intend to ever engage the monsters in the Baumeister territory again." (Arthur)
And so, until I grow up, I will have to spend my life in this ominous place, beset by monsters.
The soup that I was eating seemed nearly tasteless, and was probably never very tasty as it was only seasoned with a bit of salt.