In the kitchen, Marie, Catherine, Josette, and Elnet were gathered around Kent and Caro. It felt cramped with so many people in the kitchen. Patty was at the register, and Emily and Al seemed to be working in the dining space.
“Since it’s something an aristocrat does, I don’t know how it will be handled, but knowing Kent, I think there won’t be any problems. Managing the territory must have been tough, though?” Marie said.
“I’ve done what I can… What matters now is how Caro’s father judges it…”
“My father judges things fairly, you know. If you’ve worked hard, I believe you’ll be properly evaluated,” Josette encouraged Kent. After that, with Kent at the center, the conversation flowed, especially since they were meeting after a long time.
“Thank you!” Emily and Al’s voices came from inside the shop. It seemed the customers who had been in the dining space had left. Kent and his companions hadn’t noticed, but the two stopped their surveillance activity the moment the customers left the shop. Patty watched them from the register, breaking into a cold sweat from the unusually tense atmosphere.
“Ah, I should be going home soon…” Caro said, glancing at the clock on the kitchen wall. The shop was also approaching its busy evening hours.
“Oh my, I got too caught up in the conversation. If I don’t bake bread, we’ll run out of stock.” Realizing how much time had passed, Marie hastily returned to the workshop to bake bread. Following her lead, everyone else returned to their respective posts, leaving only Kent and Caro behind.
“Well then, I need to report to Baron Frederick, so since I’m heading that way anyway, I’ll help you with your luggage.”
“Thank you, Kent.”
Kent headed for Caro’s mansion to escort her home and to report on the territory’s management.
After passing through the center of town and entering the Aristocrat district, Caro’s mansion was located a short distance ahead. The gates of Upper Aristocrats were guarded by sentries, but Caro’s mansion, belonging to a Lower Aristocrat, had no such formal arrangements. They entered the grounds and rang the doorbell at the entrance. A servant then appeared from inside to confirm their identities.
“Ah, Young Lady. Kent. Welcome back. Please come in. I’ll take your luggage. I will report to the Master, so please wait in the drawing room.”
Since someone from the household had returned, they were guided inside without needing a formal announcement.
“Kent, this way.” Caro led him to the drawing room. Last time, she had been led to the guest room, but this time, she was shown to a different room.
“I see, this room seems more suitable for a discussion.” While the guest room was for entertaining visitors, the drawing room was arranged with sofas and a table, making it suitable for discussions. Kent and Caro sat side-by-side, waiting for Baron Frederick to appear.
“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. First, I apologize for making you use your precious summer holiday, even if it was for my daughter’s sake.”
“No, thank you for giving me such a valuable experience.” Baron Frederick sat down in the seat opposite them and began with an apology.
“Now, may I proceed with evaluating the tasks I assigned?”
“Yes, please proceed.”
“Excuse me, could you fetch that?”
“Understood.”
The Baron asked a nearby maid to bring something. “Master. Here it is.”
“Hmm, place it there. Thank you for your trouble.”
What the Baron had brought was some kind of document. Looking at the papers laid out on the desk, the Baron said, “First, you remember the task I gave you. I told you to produce results that would surprise me, and the results have far exceeded my expectations. First, let’s talk about revenue. This is the profit from selling crops after reforming the farmland… What on earth did you do? You’ve surpassed the estimated tax revenue for a whole year of the territory in just one month! Of course, tax revenue includes taxes from businesses and other sources besides farmland. To achieve this figure solely through agricultural production… from a common sense perspective, the harvest period doesn’t match, but I presume you used methods that cannot be publicly disclosed.” The Baron spoke as if he had grasped something.
“Next is the improvement of the food situation in the territory. By distributing the harvested agricultural products to the farmers, they had their own food to consume, and by selling the surplus, they earned income, which seems to have distributed food throughout the town. As farmers spent money in town, those in business also earned income. The town has become more active due to the synergistic effect. This is also highly commendable.” The Baron said with satisfaction.
“And then there’s the improvement of relations between the villagers and the guards. I don’t know what methods you used, but I was previously informed that they were not on good terms, and it’s reported that relations have improved. The above three points are the results of what you accomplished during this period.” He then stacked the documents he had been looking at earlier and placed them on the desk.
“Now, we come to the main point. You have passed the task. As promised, I will permit your relationship with my daughter. However, I have heard that you have other women you are involved with. I would like to hear your thoughts on that matter.” While the Baron granted permission for his relationship with Caro, a pointed question came his way.
“Yes, there are several such women, but I couldn’t choose any one of them. Therefore, I’ve decided to not refuse anyone who comes to me. However, with my current ability, I cannot keep multiple women by my side. To that end, my goal was to achieve a certain amount of tax payment, even as a commoner, to have multiple women by my side.” Kent explained his basic policy, which he had developed after starting to date Marie.
“I see. You intend to utilize the privileges for the wealthy, a unique policy of this country. However, obtaining those privileges requires significant tax payments. How much have you paid in taxes so far?”
“Uh, well… none at all.” Kent’s position was as a part-time worker at a bakery. Part-time workers have no obligation to pay taxes, and the profits of the shop are accounted for, with taxes being paid by Marie, the shop owner who has the obligation. Therefore, Kent had not paid any taxes up to this point.
“Kent, I’m an aristocrat so I don’t have much knowledge about business matters, but you’ve earned so much money and haven’t paid any taxes?”
“My position is strictly that of a part-timer. The money I earn is basically the shop’s revenue. Because of that, Marie pays the taxes. Out of the shop’s profits after deducting taxes, we are paid our salaries, including Caro and me. As you know, the shop’s revenue is quite substantial, so the pay is higher than working at other shops. While some shop owners would pocket the profits, Marie distributes them fairly.”
“I see…” Caro said, feeling uneasy as she learned about the shop’s internal affairs. Incidentally, Marie dislikes creating pay disparities among her part-time workers, distributing the pay fairly without considering individual abilities, as Kent stated. Therefore, the hourly wages for Kent and others working part-time are almost uniform. Catherine, however, is not a part-time worker and is treated separately.
“As long as Kent continues to work at Marie’s shop, you won’t be able to achieve your goal, is that correct?”
“Th-that is…” Kent was at a loss for words. There wasn’t a nonexistent solution in his current situation, but he was worried about how Caro would react if he spoke about it.
“Well, it’s fine. You are still a student. It might be too soon to make a conclusion. If it comes to that, I have a good plan to suggest. Hahahaha.” The Baron said with a laugh. Kent thought he was likely suggesting that if Kent became an adopted son-in-law, he would automatically gain noble status and be permitted to have multiple wives. He thought that would be acceptable, but having made a promise with Caro, he decided to stick to his original goal and keep that as a last resort.
“Now, Caroline, I have permitted your relationship, but while you are attending school, you must behave with decorum as a daughter of an aristocrat. This is somewhat belated advice, but…”
“Y-yes, I understand, Father!” Caro replied, her face bright red.
“Then, Kent, I entrust my daughter to you.”
“Yes, I look forward to working with you as well.” Kent and Baron Frederick shook hands firmly.
“Oh, I almost forgot… Could you bring that bag as well?”
“Yes, understood.”
“Kent, please wait a moment. I have something I want to give you.” With that, the Baron asked a servant to fetch something and urged Kent to sit down.
