I Was Reincarnated as a Marquis in Another World

After receiving the summons from my father, Count Croilet, I left Balt behind in the territory and set off in a carriage towards the Count’s domain with Ela.

The distance from Windheim to Count Croilet’s territory was about two days by carriage, so it couldn’t be considered a short journey, to be honest.

Upon arrival, I immediately headed to the mansion to meet the Count.

The Count sat in his office, where only a desk and chairs for himself and me were placed, adopting as serious an expression as he could.

To such a Count, I greeted with the utmost respect as a noble.

“I, SIEL von Croilet, Lord of Windheim, have come in response to the summons of Your Excellency, Count Croilet.”

The Count slightly raised his right hand to receive my greeting and replied with a smile.

“Thank you for coming, Siel.”

“Thank you.”

“So, how does it feel to govern the territory for the first time?”

“It’s still quite challenging due to a lack of experience. However, I am relieved that the serfs of the territory are following my efforts well.”

The Count, seeming satisfied with my answer, nodded before speaking again.

“I see. As expected, my son, no, you are better than I am. To be honest, when I sent you to the territory, I thought about 100 out of the 2,000 serfs wouldn’t survive this winter. They likely had no food to last until summer due to the bailiff’s exploitation.”

That was indeed the case.

Even though I returned the wealth taken from the serfs by the bailiff, the extent of the exploitation was so severe and much of it already consumed that there was no food left to endure even until summer.

Typically, in such cases, even if the lord relieves gathering restrictions in his hunting grounds or grants various tax reductions, there will still be people who end up starving to death.

It was because of such circumstances that Malthus used the term “Malthusian trap” to assert that as humanity increases, food will become scarce, leading everyone to perish, thus predicting the downfall of future humanity.

“Even then, when I received reports that your village was not starving but rather living better than the serfs of other domains, I doubted my own eyes. Even I, or any lord in the Empire, wouldn’t achieve such results in such circumstances like SIEL von Croilet.”

For a moment, the thought of modestly declining the praise crossed my mind.

However, the results I produced were so overwhelming that it would be ridiculous to turn it down.

Moreover, in this feudal society, being somewhat assertive within reasonable limits was considered virtuous.

So I should just accept it appropriately.

“It is an honor.”

Perhaps this was the correct answer, as the Count beamed with a satisfied smile and replied in a cheerful voice.

“Exactly! It’s nice to see you so confidently, neither arrogant nor servile! This is how a son of Paul von Croilet should be! Until now, I was worried that you seemed a bit timid, but now you show such a dignified demeanor; it’s truly wonderful!”

“Thank you.”

After a brief pause, the Count resumed in a serious tone.

“Now, my son. I will ask you directly. Is this agricultural method applicable throughout our Count’s territory?”

“Of course. However, simply relaying it in writing or spoken word would make it hard for the serfs to understand, so we must send a few serfs who have learned this method from Windheim along with village heads to teach them directly. Otherwise, there could be a large-scale crop failure.”

“I see. Is that all that needs to be done?”

“No, not at all. Furthermore, you must promise on your noble honor that if the serfs fail while trying this method, we will reduce or exempt their taxes.”

Hearing that, the Count began to look at me strangely.

However, it was understandable; honor for nobles is sometimes more important than life itself.

Some nobles would go to the extent of selling their home to fulfill an honorable contract, even if it meant being swindled or letting money slip through their fingers.

Thus, asking for such honor is akin to saying, “Please provide a guarantee” in today’s terms.

However, in order to overcome the impending crisis and save many starving serfs in this territory, this agricultural method must be disseminated throughout the Count’s domain as swiftly as possible.

I continued in a calm voice.

“Because for serfs, the harvest of a year is a matter of life and death, not just for themselves but for their families. Therefore, generally, serfs tend to stick with the methods that worked for them yesterday rather than attempting new methods today that might cause losses. Because the moment they incur losses, their families could die. Thus, to motivate them, a reliable promise of compensation in case of loss is necessary.”

The Count nodded in response to my words.

“It’s true. When Count Nante goes into war against other domains and sends me and my vassals into dangerous battlefields, I would secure a firm promise of reward before heading out. It’s the same for those serfs, isn’t it?”

“Exactly. Now think about it.”

Upon hearing that, the Count showed a face full of curiosity and asked, “What do you mean?”

“I mean the scene where Your Excellency, the Count, personally risks his honor to initiate an agricultural method that achieves tremendous success. How do you think your serfs and vassals would view that?”

The Count closed his eyes for a moment, seemingly pondering, and then quietly began to smile.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and spoke.

“I see, I would earn the trust and respect of the serfs and vassals in the territory. My honor as Paul von Croilet would also rise, and with ample food, I would become wealthier.”

“Indeed, and even the title of a benevolent Count, who cared for serfs, by risking his noble honor will be born; even political rivals would be reluctant to challenge you.”

Upon hearing this, the Count beamed with joy.

After that, I spent about an hour conversing with the Count, and when I finally prepared to leave, I bowed my head to take my leave.

“Then, Father, I shall take my leave now.”

At that moment, the Count casually said to me as I was about to exit.

“Oh, Siel. In a week, we will be summoned by our lord, Count Nante, to gather the vassals, so prepare yourself.”

**

As soon as I exited the office, my mind began to get tangled.

Yes, first of all, Count Nante is… a somewhat ambiguous person.

Currently, Count Nante, who is the lord of Count Croilet, is not a bad person.

Rather, he treats his vassals fairly well and is a reasonably competent individual who governs his territory effectively.

He is also relatively clean in terms of private life and is a person of integrity.

Of course, like other nobles, he has had instances where he took maids or serfs as concubines or paid off situations so they would simply vanish as if nothing had happened.

Yet, even when he had children, although he did not acknowledge them as his own, he ensured they had a livable situation in another territory, providing them with support to avoid starvation, even if they didn’t live in luxury.

As long as there were no wars, he wasn’t one to extract taxes by force from the serfs.

Because of such traits, he garnered a degree of respect from his vassals, and the serfs of his territory did not dislike him.

If I were to liken him to someone in the current world, he would be like an ambiguous king often absent from Korean historical texts about Joseon or Goryeo.

Thinking that way would simplify things, but such types of monarchs or leaders often struggle to respond well in times of crisis.

Considering what I know, it’s only a few years before the Emperor dies, and a civil war breaks out…

As I fell into thought, I suddenly heard Ela’s voice from behind me.

“Master, Master.”

“What is it?”

Ela hesitated, looking at me before responding.

“I don’t want to be apart from you, do I really have to stay here? If tomorrow you go to where Count Nante is, we won’t meet for weeks.”

She said this while looking at me with slightly anxious eyes.

After losing her father and mother at such a young age and being exploited by the bailiff, it’s understandable that she’d be scared to part with me, the one who saved her, especially after she nearly fell into forced servitude at that age.

However, taking Ela, who has not received proper maid training, to meet my lord, the Count, wouldn’t be a good choice.

In Windheim or Count Croilet’s territory, even if Ela acted immaturely or made mistakes, there was no one around to correct her as I was there.

For them, it would be a greater risk to oppose me than to point out Ela’s mistakes or bully her.

But in the Count’s territory, there are countless people of higher status than me, and if Ela makes a mistake, I could end up bearing not just my own responsibilities but also those of the Count.

Even if I explained this intricate situation to Ela, it would be hard for her to understand.

With the mindset of comforting a child, I placed my hand on Ela’s head and stroked it, saying,

“I will miss you too, Ela. However, I’m going to do important work with Your Excellency, Count Croilet. And right now, you cannot assist me.”

Hearing those words, Ela pouted.

“So, we have to be apart for a while.”

“Master…”

“But I’ll bring back something delicious that you like when I return. There are sweet confections in the castle governed by Count Nante, let’s eat them together.”

Ela seemed to be intrigued by the mention of sweet confections, looking at me with curiosity.

“Confections? Are they sweeter than honey or fruit?”

“Yeah. They will probably be sweeter and softer than honey or fruit.”

Upon hearing that, Ela smiled brightly.

“That sounds incredibly delicious! Master, you will definitely buy them for me, right?”

“Of course. But you also have to behave well.”

“Okay.”

After that, I changed into travel clothes with Ela’s assistance and headed towards Count Croilet and Count Nante’s domain.

Traveling by carriage for about a week, covering a distance of 280 kilometers, made me feel like I was on the verge of death from back pain.

They say a man’s life is in his back, and having faced such a crisis made me long for a car equipped with shock absorbers.

Thus, enduring the hardships of a journey that felt neither like a proper march nor a true journey, I finally had the opportunity to greet the lord of Count Nante’s domain.

“I am Paul von Croilet, the rightful lord of the territory of Count Nante, here to pay my respects to His Excellency, Count Halt von Nante.”

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