"I can see it... but are you really going to go, ma'am?" Cedric, who was riding a horse, asked from the other side of the carriage window.
"Cedric, there's no way you'll come this far and turn around."
"However, a serf village is not a place where your wife would go. It's unsanitary, and there's no proper etiquette."
"It's unreasonable to tell serfs to be polite to the king. We are in a position to ask for work, so we have no intention of telling them to follow our style."
Cedric's expression was a mixture of anxiety and dissatisfaction. To a serious and hard-working escort knight, a serf is someone who faithfully carries out orders, and a lord is someone who gives orders.
"I'm sure there's no room for ambiguous and equal words like requests to get in there."
Cedric's attitude clearly shows his distrust towards Melfina. A daughter of an aristocrat who doesn't understand things, runs away from her marital home the day after her wedding, and tries to pretend to be a feudal lord in this remote part of the country. What kind of education did you receive? Deplorable and frustrating. Even so, I have no choice but to obey because of my social status - Is this what it feels like?
What they're actually doing is completely insane, so it can't be helped that people think that way. It would be impossible for him to accept Melfina's actions favorably since he had lived his life as a serious knight. While Cedric was silent, the carriage driven by Rad approached the entrance of the village. A simple fence had been set up to keep out animals, and there was no gate-like thing, just a partially open path that looked like a well-trodden path.
At night, they will probably drive stakes into this open area and erect a simple fence. When I got off the carriage, several children were looking at me with a mixture of curiosity and fear. I bent down and beckoned, and an older boy who seemed to be the leader of the children soon approached.
"I adjust clothes that don't fit me by tying a string around my waist. The sleeves and hem were frayed and tattered, so damaged that they looked like they would easily tear if pulled too hard. All the other children are dressed similarly."
"Ma'am, please stand."
"Hello, I'm Melfina. Can you tell me your name?"
"Rodo!"
"Yes, Rod. Could you please bring an adult from the village, preferably the leader? If you're at work, his wife would be fine."
"Understood!"
The boy who called himself Rodo said cheerfully and ran off. The children who had been following me from afar started following in their footsteps.
"Ma'am, you should bend your knees in front of your serfs."
"It's better to make eye contact when talking to children."
"I'm not a child, I'm a serf."
"We can talk about that later, Cedric."
What Cedric says is never wrong. Nobles are in charge of their fiefs and commoners, and it is true that they are protected by being arrogant and acting like they are of a different rank than commoners. The idea of equality under the law in a democratic system like in my previous life would make people doubt their sanity just by mentioning it here.
Melfina is the one who is violating that principle, especially if she is from a noble family like him and has the status of a knight, where hierarchical relationships are strictly defined.
It was only natural that his own values, which he remembered from his previous life, and those of Cedric, who was born and raised in a society where the class system was the norm, did not mesh well. Melfina was in a higher position than her, so she was only following along reluctantly, and it was clear that dissatisfaction was growing among them. At some point, we will need to reconcile our intentions properly.
"If it were the duchess Melfina von Ordland in the original story, she would have scoffed at a mere escort knight and told him not to interfere with what I was doing, and would have done something like hit him in the side with a fan."
Even though he knew that if he acted in an authoritarian manner, Cedric would have no choice but to remain silent because of his strict social status, but he didn't think he could do that right now, and he didn't want to do that. As I was thinking about this, a man was pulled by Rodo and children ran towards him surrounding him. I smiled at the fact that there were more children than before.
"Um, sorry for keeping you waiting."
"No, I'm sorry for coming to see you so suddenly. My name is Melfina von Ordland. I'm the wife of Duke Ordland, and I'm the new lord of the Enker region. Please get to know me."
"Um, I'm Nido. I'm the leader of this village."
"Thank you for your hard work. Is the cultivation going well?"
He looks older because he has a thick beard, but the tone of his voice suggests that he is not yet in his prime. I'm trying my best to respond politely, but I find myself biting my tongue at times, probably because I'm not used to such words.
"Now that winter is over, there are fewer children going hungry. The pioneers were able to cut down the forest and clear the land to a certain extent, but it is still difficult to produce enough crops to pay taxes. …"
Nido speaks in a slow manner and seems to choose his words carefully, but his responses are solid. His words weren't too rough, and he didn't seem to be afraid of us any more than Lutz, the village chief of Enker Village.
"No, I'm not here to talk about taxes. I'll never push you too hard, so I wonder if you could show me some places you've developed."
"Okay. So, uh, do you want to be transported by carriage?"
"If you're going to walk, I'll do that too, Rodo."
The boy, who seemed to be Nido's son, came walking towards me when his name was called.
"Little knight, can you show me around the village?"
"Yeah! Is your sister a princess?"
"I'm not a princess, I'm a lord."
"It's the lord! Then, this way!"
I smiled at Rodo, who was probably taking care of the younger children as he naturally grabbed my hand, and at the same time I heard the sound of the wind blowing. It lightly fluttered Melfina's long golden hair, and the next moment, Rodo's small body was blown away.
"What... Cedric!"
"You rude person. This person should be a duchess. She is not someone a serf can touch."
Melfina stuck out her hands and pressed his chest so hard that no words came out until the end.
Cedric didn't stagger, but his eyes widened and he looked shocked, no matter what a young lady who had never lifted anything heavier than tableware did to a well-trained knight. was on his face.
"I won't allow you to say anything more, Cedric."
"But ma'am."
"Shut up ! If you don't listen to my orders, return to the capital right now!"
I don't like screaming emotionally. However, he can't stay silent, blames Cedric, and runs towards Rodo. His arm was holding him in the stomach, so he probably kicked him. A thin, depressed boy was lying on the ground, hanging from his back.
"Rodo, Rodo! Are you okay?"
"Stay... it's okay. I took it passively."
"Didn't you hit your head? I'm scared of hitting your stomach. Even if it doesn't feel like anything, please rest today."
"It's okay! The other day I fell off the top of the big rock in the west, but nothing happened!"
Rodo smiled as he said that, but his small body was trembling. No wonder. There's no way you wouldn't be frightened if you were suddenly assaulted by an adult man you met for the first time who was much bigger than you.
I put a hand on his back and pulled him up, checking to make sure he didn't look pale and that he hadn't hit anything else.
His face and arms were dirty, as if covered in dirt. She was thin and had bones protruding from her limbs. Her clothes were coarse, tattered cloth, and even though it was spring, it was supposed to be cold. I wonder if they were properly warmed up in this area, which is particularly cold in winter.
It must not be an easy life. There were many times when I felt depressed. Still, the boy took Melfina's hand and showed her around the village, and he laughed.
"I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry."
"The lord didn't do it, so you don't have to apologize, okay?"
"No, what the escort knight did was the same as what the lord did. Therefore, I am truly sorry."
Rodo looked unconvinced, but eventually he gave a small nod.
"I forgive you, I forgive you. I don't care, so don't apologize, Lord."
"Thank you, you're such a kind child."
He took Rod's hand and stood up. He double-checks to make sure he's not feeling light-headed or feeling unwell, then looks back at Nido, who is standing still.
"I'm going home today. I'm really sorry for being so rough with your son."
"No, no! It's not for the lord to apologize! My son-in-law touched my hand brazenly."
"It's okay. I asked you to show me around, so there's nothing wrong with Rodo. If you feel unwell, please send an errand to the lord's mansion immediately."
I told him carefully and returned to the carriage.
Cedric had a stone-drinking look on his face, but I really didn't feel like talking to him right now.