I Was Reincarnated as a Marquis in Another World

After successfully finishing the negotiation with the nobles, I returned to my office to handle my work.

Once I got back to my office and took care of my tasks, I found that I had quite a bit of time left.

I didn’t have a clock, but the sun was still high in the sky, so I probably had some time left. What should I do…?

I had a tough few days, struggling with the inheritance of the title and securing funds for a standing army, so I figured I could take a good rest for the remaining time today…?

Lost in this thought, as I sat blankly at my desk, Ela came in carrying a tray with snacks and black tea.

“Master, if you have a headache, please take a break… haven’t you been overworking yourself lately?”

“Thanks, Ela. I won’t overwork myself, so you don’t have to worry. What’s the next schedule?”

“Just a moment… Master…”

Then Ela took out a note with my schedule written on it from her apron and began to read it.

This is usually the job of my butler, but Ela strongly insisted that “Ela is your maid, and I always want to be helpful by your side,” so I let her take over.

Still, having a cute girl like Ela next to me, taking care of my schedule and bringing me snacks, makes the life of a lord feel bearable.

If it weren’t for her, I probably would have gone sick dealing with Count Schwabin, who seems only to think about his own interests.

“Master, you don’t have any further appointments for today. So, how about you take a break now that you’ve finished all your work?”

“Should I?”

Ela smiled brightly before saying,

“Yes, Master. And please try this cookie. It’s baked at the shop under the castle that the noble ladies often visit, and it’s delicious.”

“Really? Sounds tasty.”

I took a bite of the cookie Ela brought and found the nutty flavor of finely ground flour and the sweetness of honey spreading in my mouth—truly delightful and delicious.

“It’s good, Ela. Want one?”

“Yes, Master.”

Then Ela also started munching on the cookie she brought, her expression softening with each bite, and her cheeks puffing up like a squirrel, which was so cute.

So, I absentmindedly patted her head like before.

“Ah, did I surprise you?”

“Ah, no… Master, if you want, you can pet me a bit more.”

With that statement, Ela’s face turned bright red, looking quite shy.

At that moment, an incredibly awkward atmosphere enveloped us, and I scrambled to escape it by coming up with an idea to say,

“No, no. This is delicious. I want to go and buy some myself; could you take me?”

“Yes, Master. Let’s go together, Ela.”

After saying that, Ela walked a step ahead of me with really light steps.

Thinking about it, Elaine probably has no one close to her that is like ‘family’ other than me now, but I haven’t spent time with her lately because of the title inheritance.

Since I have some free time today, I should hang out with her.

We could sneak out and check on the lives of the people.

**

To observe how the people live, Ela and I disguised ourselves as a young noble and a maid from some knightly family.

The maid outfit is a white apron with frills and a black dress, which is common across families, but I dressed in a blue tunic and a yellow vest to hide my identity.

The color combination looked a bit funny, but this was all I could get in a hurry.

After ordering the guards to open the door, we stepped out into the market outside the castle, where the loud cries of lively market vendors greeted us.

“Come on, there’s a young noble and maid looking chummy! How about this? It’s a sandwich that’s all the rage among citizens lately! It’s even tastier with pickled fish or pickled meat inside. Just one silver coin!”

“How about a sandwich and a glass of this beer? We’ve packed it with lots of barley, and it’s very rich!”

“Try this bread loaded with butter! Ah, if you pay a little more, we’ll smear it with honey!”

When the bailiff and inspectors within the baron’s territory reported that “it’s more prosperous here than in Nante; although we fall behind in culture and arts,” I thought it was an exaggerated report…

But it wasn’t exaggerated; the market of Nante is less lively compared to this.

Though this is the most bustling place right in front of the castle…

Still, I saw skewers made of pork for sale at the stands in the distance, the commonly used bread being a high-quality bread with only a little rye flour, and expensive honey being sold plentifully. It was all truly a pleasant sight.

When I left for Windheim a few years ago, the market in front of the castle was just about selling cheap pickled fish wrapped in ‘rye bread.’

Thinking like that makes my emotions swell up.

However, the vendors approaching us looked as if they wouldn’t let us go without purchasing something, so in the end… I handed over five coins and said,

“Please give me two of those butter-loaded breads with honey.”

“Yes, thank you. The young noble will surely enjoy it as well.”

Upon hearing that, Ela’s face turned red and she said,

“Yes, I’m really glad to be out like this with you, Master. I’ll enjoy it, Master.”

“I’ll bring you often, Ela.”

“Thank you, Master.”

**

After that, Ela and I had a meal at a restaurant frequented by the city’s citizens.

I had pickled pork with bread made of flour, while Ela enjoyed bread made of flour, stew with cream and cheese, and some pork and milk.

As a history-obsessed master, I couldn’t help but feel curious about the pickled pork and tried it…

It wasn’t rotten, but it really was tasteless.

It had some meat flavor, but it was more like chewing on a lump of salt with a hint of a foul smell, and even the texture was like chewing a clump of paper…

However, since I ordered it, I forced myself to eat it, but this just isn’t right…

As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat; curiosity is killing this reincarnated noble.

“Ah, this taste is hell… it’s hell…”

“Master…”

“Could it be that pickled meat, with its texture close to paper, just tastes like salt…?”

Ela looked at me with deep concern and, feeling sorry for me, went to the stand to buy some honey mixed with milk and handed it to me.

“Master, drinking this will make you feel better.”

“Thank you.”

As I drank the honey-milk Ela handed me, I felt a bit revived.

“I’ll never eat pickled meat again… But something comes to mind when I think about pickled meat, oh, that’s it—the thing that the British naval officer told me not to throw away…”

Seeing me lost in thoughts, Ela smiled and said,

“Master, don’t you want to see other places too? You enjoyed the food sold by the peddlers and at the inns, so how about checking out the store where the citizens of our city buy their necessary tools?”

“The market? Right. Now that I think about it, I’ve only looked at food until now. Let’s go check it out.”

**

The place Ela led me to was a street lined with shops where artisans worked.

Even though it’s a street where artisans work, most are organized into ‘guilds,’ or rather, ‘cooperatives.’

So similar artisans form cooperatives and run their business in a sort of ‘collusion’ to protect each other’s rights to a certain extent.

Thanks to that, if you go to a smithy to buy a hammer, the designs and weights might differ slightly, but prices are almost the same, and it’s common to hear, “Oh, that will be sold at the blacksmith next door.”

It’s an economic system of small-scale medieval towns that can only operate this way…

The issue is that while this significantly helps to protect the ‘profits of small medieval towns,’ it can also be quite detrimental to both buyers and sellers.

Because if the guild colludes to sell something for 2,000 coins that could be sold for 500 coins, the buyer has no choice but to buy it.

Especially in this town where the supply of goods is limited, this is even more true.

Maybe that’s why the tools being sold here…

“Hey, young noble over there, how about this? These shoes fit your maid perfectly, and they’ll cost you just eight silver coins.”

“Eight silver coins… Isn’t that too expensive?”

Hearing my words, the shop attendant looked at me and chuckled slightly.

“Master, you can say that, but I can’t discount it any further. We’ve been selling here for several years; do you think we would cheat you?”

No, even in Hamburg, where prices are higher than yours, shoes like that cost only six coins…

With a dumbfounded expression, the artisan before me said with a wicked smile,

“We are artisans affiliated with the ‘Clothing Guild.’ So, Master, we sell at uniform prices within this city.”

“Got it, sigh… What’s the price for those shoes and that pink frilled dress over there?”

“Yes, Master. One gold coin and eight silver coins. Please visit us often.”

With that, I requested the shoes to be fitted for Ela and left the shop.

**

After returning to the mansion, I felt a little silly for my hasty actions.

Although the ‘fallen nobles’ may be the ones putting the most pressure on the commoners and threatening my future, the artisans maintaining a ‘monopolistic’ state under the name of guilds could also become a threat.

The difference is that the guilds of this era are a necessary choice and cannot be dealt with in ways like ‘execution’ or ‘purge’ as with corrupt officials.

No, if I handle it that way, the nobles and guilds might collude to give me a “justification to overturn me…”

Justifications in that time are easy to say: “Someone broke a promise first, so I’ll stop being loyal to you too. If you don’t stop, loyalty.”

If I overturn the guilds without any fault on their part, it would all end…

How can this be handled in a good direction?

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