A Captive Prince Awaiting Execution Falls In Love With A Young Lady - Episode 18

Two days since the ball.

The day after leaving the tower and setting out towards the royal capital.

Sirius and Judith were in the courtyard of the church in the Granada’s territory.

“……I wonder if it’s really okay to be wandering around in a place like this.”

Sirius is hesitating, but Judith is frolicking without even trying to hide her joy.

“It’s okay! Dad said it was fine for an hour, didn’t he?”

Without looking back, Judith is completely focused on checking the stalls.

The reason is that.

While moving to the hotel where they were scheduled to stay today, Judith spotted this market from the carriage window.

It seems that for the past few days, it has been the feast day of Saint Ignatius, who is associated with this place, and the church has opened the square, inviting street performers and various craftsmen to hold a market.

Seeing such a fun event, could Judith possibly refrain from doing anything? No, there’s no way she could.

We decided to stop the carriage and watch for a while.

As expected, the Duke of the Imperial Court is waiting at a nearby café, saying, “I’m not good with crowds.”

“I’m supposed to be a person who belongs in the tower.”

Sirius, thinking to himself that he was acting as suspiciously as a baby rabbit just out of its burrow, followed Judith from behind.

“Isn’t that Ijet-kun taking care of it?”

Because Judith was speaking with her face turned backward, Sirius couldn’t help but laugh.

That’s right.

While Sirius is away, Ijet-kun will take on the role of Sirius Sirius’s body double.

Both the knights on guard and the caretakers are serving that training dummy for spear practice.

I thought they would be reluctant, but everyone involved with the tower was enthusiastically taking care of “Sirius-bocchan” and Ijet-kun.

“At this point, it really seems like the ghost bottle actually had something in it.”

“What are you talking about? That ghost bottle properly contains the spirit of a man.”

It feels like it’s my substitute right now.

“Anyway, no one here knows me as that Judith, and no one here knows you as that Sirius.”

Twist, and.

Judith lifted the hem of her skirt and looked up at Sirius.

She isn’t wearing her usual dress right now.

A blouse and a skirt. Over that, she wore a short jacket. She looked more like the daughter of a wealthy merchant than a noble lady of the court.

On the other hand, Sirius, speaking of which.

Simple trousers and a vest. Wearing riding boots, completely like Judith’s attendant.

“Even the people here came to enjoy the festival rather than pry into others’ business. Let’s enjoy it too.”

Judith, smiling cheerfully.

“That’s true,” Sirius said as he looked around again.

I’m worried about my brother-in-law, but judging by the state of that tower, I don’t think the matter will come to light anytime soon.

And above all, the church organizing this festival is not the Nalan sect. It is the Orthodox Azil sect.

Isn’t it difficult for different sects to infiltrate?

Even though it’s a festival, since it’s during the day, most of the people are mothers with their children or kids in their early teens. Sirius thought that those older or adults must be enjoying the night market.

In that case, it might not be that dangerous. In fact, there are no adult men among the spectators. It’s mostly street vendors.

Moreover, and.

Slightly relieve the tension in my shoulders.

We can’t tell from Sirius and the others, but Sanders should be somewhere around. If anything happens, he will come to help.

“Oh! Look, they’re selling fruit!”

Because Judith started to run, Sirius hurriedly navigated through the crowd, chasing after her.

“Welcome, young lady! Just tell me your favorite fruit, and I’ll peel it for you.”

The man with the black beard called out loudly to Judith, who was full of curiosity.

Standing next to Judith, Sirius looked at the items lined up on the table.

This might indeed pique Judith’s interest, and I can’t help but smile.

There are so many varieties that it hardly seems like a street stall. It might even be a stall that always sets up at the regular market.

Raspberries, plums, peaches, figs, apples, and other autumn fruits are shining brightly.

Is it because it’s fresh? Just standing here, the smell rises right to my nose.

“Uncle, what’s that?”

Without hesitation, Judith points her finger.

Seeing what she was pointing at, Sirius blinked as well.

The size is about that of a large plum.

However, the skin is a deep orange.

“Is this it? Nectarine?”

“Nectarine?”

“Depending on the variety, it can be sweeter than peaches. It’s still rare around here, but merchants from the south have been bringing in some good stuff lately. I bought some.”

“Southern fruits, what are they?”

When Sirius asked, the man with the black beard nodded vigorously.

“Yeah, that’s right. Ever since the king’s reforms, things from the south have been coming this way like this.”

The king has been renewed.

I involuntarily flinch at those words.

“Is there a connection between the change of the king and the things from the south coming here?”

Judith asked curiously.

“Oh, Arisane. Ah, you girls. Not knowing what a nectarine is, could it be that you live around the royal capital?”

Speaking of the surroundings, Sirius and Judith exchanged glances and nodded.

“Ever since the king changed, we have to sign something called an employment contract when hiring people.”

“Oh, if that’s the case, I know.”

Judith nodded.

“Thanks to that, it seems there are plenty of lawyers and administrative scriveners who specialize in employment contracts.”

“Yeah. You see? There are a lot of merchants around the royal capital. They were already doing that kind of thing. Well, there were verbal agreements too, so it just added a bit of extra work to put them in writing. But the real chaos is in the southern region.”

“Southern”

Sirius murmurs.

Come to think of it, isn’t it the Nalan faction and the powerful southern nobles who are supporting my brother-in-law?

“The South is mostly run by aristocrats who manage plantations, and they’re practically serfs.”

“Ah”

“…I see.”

Sirius and Judith looked at each other and raised their voices.

“Could it be that even serfs have contracts?”

“Or rather, it seems there aren’t any serfs anymore these days, right? Human trafficking has been banned too. Most of the slave traders apparently fled in all directions. Now, if you want to employ someone, you have to sign a contract and pay wages, or both the employer and the slave trader will be punished.”

“But… isn’t a serf essentially someone whose wages are paid in advance? The landowner must be paying the slave trader to buy the serfs.”

When Sirius spoke, the man with the black beard shrugged his shoulders.

“Of course. That’s why they’re in the red, the plantation owners and the Southern aristocrats.”

“Uh… But can we really pay wages to so many former serfs?”

When Judith asked, the man with the black beard laughed.

“Pay them? No way. So, I kept only the minimum necessary employees and fired the rest. Of course, I didn’t pay any severance. Instead, I just gave them some suitable farmland and kicked them out.”

“Then, even though I was finally freed from slavery, I’m still unemployed.”

Judith’s eyes widen, but the man with the black beard grins.

“The management of the farm was indeed done by the landowners and the nobility, but it was the former serfs who actually grew the crops. They diligently cultivated the land they were given and produced crops that surpassed even those of the main estate. And then, they…”

The man with the black beard spread his arms wide and showed the product.

“This is how they sell it to us common folks. Look, this nectarine used to be something only the nobles could have on their tables, you know? And now it’s at this affordable price. That red plum over there… well, if you like it sour, go ahead, but this purple one is delicious!”

“I see,” Sirius said, understanding.

Why is only the South trying to elevate the brother-in-law as the new king?

I can’t keep up with the current king’s policies.

Originally, there was a temperature difference between the southern nobles and the nobles around the royal capital.

However, one reason why the central government and the royal capital could not disregard the southern nobles was the immense wealth they possessed from managing their plantations.

If you combine their wealth, it surpasses that of the royal family.

The family that has risen as a new power there is the LeBlanc family.

They used maritime routes and earned enormous profits from both overseas and domestic trade.

And then, he also took the throne.

The Leblanc family probably wants to keep the southern nobles in check.

One of them is the “Emancipation of the Serfs.”

They are not free labor; they are workers. Workers must be compensated.

The LeBlanc royal family attempted to release the wealth of the south as labor costs.

As this bearded man says, the management of the farm may be in the hands of the nobles, but it is the serfs who actually run the farm.

If you release it.

The new king can make a name for himself overseas as a human rights advocate and be appreciated by the serfs.

Moreover, it can also cut off the financial resources of the southern nobles.

It’s killing two birds with one stone.

Why do the southern nobles support the former power, their brother-in-law Patrick?

They are desperately trying to replace the king to ensure their own survival.