Because I had been scolded by my mother, I only glanced at the goats out of the corner of my eye and turned to face the villagers.
Several dozen adults were bowing with their heads to the ground.
Perhaps because the forest was far away, none of them seemed to notice the goats.
Da-u, however, was looking at the goats and wagging his tail, so he had clearly noticed them.
Carro and Koruko werenโt looking at the goats, so it was likely they hadnโt noticed them either.
The goats, for their part, seemed to think they were hiding, peeking at us from behind the trees.
But they were far too large to actually hide.
โSara, can you see them?โ
When I asked, Sara tilted her head as if to say, โSee what?โ
โLuria, stay quiet,โ my mother gently scolded me again.
Just as I was about to whisper to my mother about the goats, the maid spoke up in a loud voice.
โLet us hear your story.โ
โAh, thank you!โ
Since they couldnโt address my mother, the duchess, directly, the villagers began explaining their plight to the maid instead.
Apparently, a canal that carried water from the lake had been blocked by a massive boulder due to a landslide.
The boulder was far too large to remove.
They had tried to reroute the canal around it, but the local magistrate refused to grant permission.
โWhy does the magistrate refuse to approve it?โ
It was the maid who asked this question.
โThe magistrateโs son serves as the mayor of a village that receives water from the canal.โ
It seemed that, taking advantage of the blockage caused by the boulder, the magistrate had monopolized the water supply.
Of course, the villagers protested, but the magistrate ignored them.
The villagers didnโt know how to petition the duke, their lord, properly.
They only knew that filing a direct petition was considered a grave crime.
โWe are prepared to offer our lives if necessary. But please, save our village!โ
The villagers feared not only the failure of a direct petition but also being executed for it without their plea ever reaching the duke.
โIf this continues, weโll have no choice but to abandon the land thatโs been in our family for generations or perish!โ
In recent years, decreased rainfall had dried up the irrigation canals, making it impossible to harvest crops from their fields.
Yet the magistrate refused to lower their taxes.
โPlease, I beg you! I implore you!โ
The villagersโ requests were to approve the canal rerouting project and to exempt them from taxes temporarily.
When my mother finished listening, she instructed her attendant, โInvestigate this matter.โ
Then, turning to the villagers, she smiled and said,
โSo, is the boulder blocking the canal far from here? You may answer directly.โ
โNo, Your Grace! It is about a ten-minute walk from here!โ
โI see. Lead the way.โ
She had the villagers walk ahead, and she followed after them.
Our attendants formed two protective circles around us: the inner one made up of indoor guards, and the outer one of outdoor guards.
As we walked, my mother murmured,
โSara, what do you think?โ
โI feel sorry for them all.โ
โYes. A lord bears responsibility for the lives of their people. That sense of compassion is important.โ
After patting Sara on the head, she turned to me.
โAnd what about you, Luria? โฆ Youโve been staring at the forest this whole time. Were you listening?โ
โI was listening properly.โ
To be fair, I was very curious about the goats in the forest.
While I had been sneaking glances at them from afar, I had also paid attention to the conversation.
โThe magistrate seems suspicious.โ
โWhat do you mean by suspicious?โ
โItโs possible the landslide itself was the magistrateโs doing.โ
When I said this, my mother smiled gently.
โThat is indeed a possibility.โ
โHmm. Water is vital to a village, after all.โ
Water is crucial not only for farming villages but also for villages whose main industry is livestock.
It is needed to raise livestock and to grow the grass that feeds them.
โWater has always been a source of conflict, hasnโt it?โ
Even in my past life, water rights had been a frequent cause of fierce disputes.
Especially during droughts, conflicts grew more intense.
In my previous life, I had been called upon to mediate such conflicts.
By performing a sacred dance as a princess-saint, I had summoned rain to fill reservoirs.
โThe villagers also said there hasnโt been much rain, right?โ
The decrease in rainfall had reduced the canalโs water flow, making it impossible to meet the water needs of both villages.
Perhaps thatโs why someone had chosen to block the flow and monopolize the water.
โHmm. Maybe the magistrate isnโt lowering taxes because he wants to seize the land?โ
โLuria, tell me what youโre thinking in more detail.โ
โWell, if the villagers canโt pay their taxes, the magistrate could lend them moneyโฆโ
โAnd demand their farmland as collateral?โ
โYes!โ
The villagers would likely be unable to repay the debt.
The magistrate could then acquire both the land and the laborers to cultivate it.
โLuria, youโre very clever.โ
โReally?โ
โAmong your siblings, your way of thinking might be the closest to Graffโs.โ
My mother smiled happily and patted my head.
Personally, I would have preferred to hear that my personality was more like my motherโs than my fatherโs.
โWe wonโt know for sure until we investigate, but your reasoning has a high chance of being correct, Luria.โ
Saying this, my mother subtly gestured to a nearby attendant.
The attendant bowed and ran off, likely to begin the investigation immediately.
โDo you think the magistrate has betrayed us? If so, I cannot forgive him.โ
The maid seemed angry.
โItโs a common occurrence, unfortunately. No matter how much Graff tries, perfect governance is impossible.โ
My motherโs expression grew a little sad.
Meanwhile, I was watching the goats in the forest.
It seemed our destination was near the forest where the goats were.
The distance between us and the goats was gradually shrinking.
โTheyโre magnificent.โ
The goats were very large, with splendid horns and beards. Their golden fur was beautiful.
They looked at us, wagging their relatively small tails with surprising vigor given their size.
The boars and oxen were also impressive and seemed happy.
I wanted to pet them, hug them, and bury myself in their fluffy furโit would feel so nice.