"I see." Rafael cursed those who thought that way. Humanity's knowledge was already limited, and to make matters worse, it was monopolized by nobles or select groups, like the masons hired to build grand structures.
"What are they going to do?" he asked.
"For one, our reputation will be dragged through the mud. No one will treat us as Barons anymore. And second, they may unite and ask the King to punish us."
"… Just that?"
"Wha… What do you mean, just that?!" Eruin felt a headache coming. "We could lose everything! The crown could strip us of our title and lands!"
"Hahahaha!" Rafael laughed, leaving Eruin deeply uncomfortable. "Why are you laughing?"
"Haha… oh man… hahaha. Okay, are you really worried about just that? Let me tell you something." He paused for a moment before continuing.
"The King won't do anything to us because we control him."
"What?!" If it weren't Rafael saying this, Eruin would have sworn it was a madman who'd hit his head as a child.
"Now you're just talking nonsense. You've clearly lost your mind."
"Hey, no. Listen to me. You're only saying that because we haven't shown my ideas about farming to the royals. I guarantee that when they see my plans and hear my explanations, they'll give us anything we want. You could even ask for a higher title, and I'm certain they'll grant it."
"Think about it. Remember all that we've given him. Hell, he's King right now only because of us! He owes us… a lot." Rafael leaned back, trying to find some comfort inside the shaking carriage.
Eruin stared at him, his mind turning over Rafael's words. They remained silent for several minutes until they arrived at their grand house.
"Think about what I said. It may seem like a hard choice now, but it'll pay off in the long run. Now, I'm off to check on Ella—oh, and I still want to meet those crazy guys."
Rafael walked away, feeling Eruin's gaze following him. Once Rafael vanished from sight, Eruin looked up and took a deep breath.
His words felt… right. But what if it doesn't go as he says?
He heard someone approaching.
"Welcome back, milord," the head servant greeted him.
"Any news from them?" Eruin asked.
"Just one… and it's not positive." The servant handed him a letter. Eruin read it quickly.
"Heh." He chuckled while folding the parchment. "I think it's time to change how things are done."
Rafael found Ella in the small garden behind their modest mansion. She sat at a round table with Adelaide and Willian, each holding a parchment. The sky was nearly cloudless, and the midday sun was warm but tolerable.
As Rafael approached, he saw Ella reading to them.
"Oh, glad you're back, dear," she greeted him, her face lighting up. "I'm teaching them how to read."
"Really? That's great! In fact, I was going to ask you to do just that. It seems you read my mind."
"You can read minds? I don't believe it! What am I thinking right now?" the little girl asked, her eyes wide with playful curiosity.
"Hmm, with my mind powers… I see you're thinking about a big pizza!"
"Wrong! Ha! I knew you couldn't read minds."
"Hey, stop saying stuff like that. No one from the church ever mentioned anything about mind reading. What if it's from the bad side?" Willian asked, a touch of nervousness in his voice.
"Oh, come on, Little Will. Don't be fooled by such things. It's fine to believe and be religious, but always question what you hear or see. Never take everything as truth just because someone else said it," Rafael said, ruffling Willian's hair.
"I'm not little!"
"Hahaa! Little Will! Little Will!" Adelaide teased, joining in on the fun.
"Stop! I'm a grown man!" Willian pouted, but a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Ella and Rafael exchanged amused glances, pleased to see the siblings slowly overcoming the loss of their mother.
"My dear, if you're already teaching others, that means you're comfortable with reading now, right?"
"Actually, I think I'm getting the hang of reading and writing, but I still can't quite grasp math."
"First, let me tell you how proud I am of how quickly you've learned, and second, don't worry. You'll understand math too if you keep at it."
"Thanks." She smiled softly, her day a little brighter.
A servant appeared and informed them that Eruin was waiting at the dining table.
"I had something to do, but I guess it can wait. Let's go, everyone." As Adelaide shot out of her chair, eager to follow, Ella teased, "I think I was right when I said you were thinking about pizza."
"What? No, you were wrong," Adelaide said triumphantly.
"Then what were you thinking about?"
"Hamburgers!" The girl giggled.
They all gathered around the table, where Eruin was already seated. As they began eating, Eruin spoke up, his eyes on Rafael.
"I'm going to follow your proposal."
"Really? You didn't seem too sure about it earlier."
"I wasn't convinced because of the backlash we might face, but I've changed my mind. I don't care what they think anymore." Eruin's tone made everyone at the table pause and look at him.
"Did something happen?" Ella asked.
"I sent letters a while ago to a few prominent houses, asking for cooperation on those new clothing ideas you mentioned—underwear, socks, buttons, and the like. None of them responded, except for one. His reply only confirmed what I suspected: we're being ignored and avoided."
"What? Why?" Ella asked, visibly confused. Rafael remained silent, also eager to understand.
"In the letter, he berated us for the marriage debacle, calling us liars unworthy of attention. But I don't think they'd ignore us just for that. There's something more."
It makes sense that he tried to strike a deal with other nobles, Rafael thought. But from what I've seen, these nobles and merchants never really respected us, so this outcome was predictable. By attempting to involve others, Eruin had hoped to speed up production and split the profits. That part I understand.
But Eruin was also thinking ahead. By "sacrificing" smaller items like underwear and socks, he could strike a deal that would yield quick money, which would fund Rafael's bigger ideas in the future. And now, Eruin was sure there would be many more brilliant ideas coming from Rafael.
Unfortunately, that won't happen as quickly as he hoped.
"And that's why I agree with your plan. We're on our own now, but it won't be long before they come crawling back to us, begging for crumbs."
Rafael smiled. Now that's the spirit.
"You think there's another reason behind their behavior?" Willian asked.
"Yes, but I don't know what it is yet."
"How can you be so sure?" Adelaide piped up, her eyes wide with curiosity.
"Our father taught Godwin and me about how dirty the nobility can be. That's why I'm sure—no one would boycott another noble just because of a lie at an arranged marriage."
After dinner, Rafael spoke up. "I've arranged for someone to take you to those old men you mentioned."
"Thanks. I intend to ask them to help teach more people. Speaking of which," Rafael turned to Ella, "I want you to teach others to read and write."
"Eh?"
"Really? Can I help? I wanna help!" Adelaide jumped in before Ella could respond.
"You want to help? Well, okay. The more the merrier." Rafael smiled at Ella, who still looked uncertain.
"I… I don't know if I can."
"Don't worry, dear. I'm sure you'll be great. You've already taught your siblings. There's no one better suited for the task."
"Wait, when did you learn all of this?" Eruin asked, surprised.
"I taught her. Well, I'm still teaching, but she can read on her own now."
"Okay," Ella finally said. "I'll teach more people." She felt a spark of joy. Teaching her siblings had helped her cope, giving her a sense of purpose amid her pain.
An hour later, Rafael and Ella arrived at a wooden house where they found one of the elderly mathematicians. He jumped with excitement upon seeing Rafael. The servant left and returned moments later with the other two scholars.
They discussed many topics, ranging from everyday matters to more serious issues, like the war. Rafael asked if they would be willing to teach more people math, and they agreed without hesitation.
"I'll let you guys come up with a plan for how to teach, but start slow and simple. Also, I've been thinking about something." Rafael pulled a parchment from his pocket, revealing a drawing of a cogwheel.
"What's this?" one of the men asked, confused. He recognized the drawing but wasn't sure what Rafael intended.
"I want you to research cogwheels. Believe me, this is important. To simplify, take two wheels, put them together, and when one spins, the other spins as well. Now tell me, what size should the first wheel be for the second one to spin twice as fast?"
"Double the size?"
"...Well, yes. But that's just a basic example." Rafael scratched his head, realizing his explanation needed work.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, an important meeting was taking place, with influential figures discussing the young man and deciding what to do with him.
Today had been a good day, Rafael thought as he washed his face with cool water. Eruin had agreed to his plan, Ella had accepted becoming a teacher, and his old friends had agreed to teach math. To his delight, everything was falling into place.
Rafael turned toward the bed where his girl was waiting for him.
I get why some people think it's easier to control an ignorant population. But if we want to advance, we can't do it with uneducated people. This choice might not bring short-term results, but I don't care.