Chapter 11
On the morning of the second day after I arrived in Thesis, a man with a frightening-looking face came to see me.
Glenn said the man seemed suspicious and offered to drive him away, but I allowed the visit and had him brought to my study.
I knew him, after all.
“So? How was it?”
At my question, the man snorted.
“Bandits? What bandits? We kept watch for four whole days. Not a single bandit showed up—people were just passing through normally.”
As expected.
The man was a fixer I had contracted through a manpower office in Herona.
In more common terms—a mercenary.
I had used almost all the money I’d found in Herona to hire them. And that was just the advance payment.
But I was confident that this job would bring in funds far exceeding their wages.
“If there are no bandits,” I said, “then we’ll have to make some.”
“Does that mean you want us to proceed with Plan B?”
“Yes. Technically, and without casualties. You know the drill, right?”
“You do know that costs a bit more, don’t you?”
There was no need to make it rhyme at a time like this.
Still, I nodded.
About two hours after he left, Glenn returned from an outing and reported to me.
“The representative of the Merchant Alliance says he’d like to meet you today, if possible. What should we do?”
“The sooner the better. Time is money.”
And so, around five in the evening that same day, I found myself seated across from the Merchant Alliance members in the reception hall of Thesis Manor.
It seemed word of the baron and baroness’s deaths had already spread throughout Thesis. They entered with solemn faces, offered their condolences, and took their seats.
But I could clearly see what they were hiding behind those expressions.
‘A little girl became the ruler of this territory—nice, right? You want to suck her dry to the bone, don’t you?’
Over my dead body.
As expected, once the obligatory words of mourning ended, Baker—the chairman of the alliance—began complaining.
“I apologize for bringing this up during such a tragic time, but the commercial district of Thesis is in very bad shape right now. Every time we transport goods from Erandor, we form vigilante escorts, but even then we lose a significant amount to bandits demanding tolls.”
Erandor was the nearest commercial city to Thesis.
Grasico Forest lay along the route to Erandor—and it was also the forest I’d passed through when escaping from Baron Turner’s territory.
“That’s why you’ve been receiving vigilante subsidies. I even temporarily reduced your taxes.”
“That still isn’t enough. At this rate, we’ll all die.”
Funny, for someone saying that, his clothes looked very expensive.
But they continued spinning ridiculous lies, apparently seeing me as nothing more than an ignorant child.
“Last time, they even took the entire cart. That’s why the market stalls were empty for a while.”
“If the vigilantes couldn’t stop bandits even after receiving subsidies, is there any reason to maintain them at all?”
“Ah—haha! When I said ‘last time,’ I meant before the vigilantes were formed.”
“Then things are fine now. So what’s the problem?”
They clearly hadn’t expected me to press them like this. They exchanged glances frantically.
“Well—uh—the bandits saw our vigilantes and brought more people with them.”
“That’s right! If this continues, our goods will be stolen again, and Thesis’s situation will become very dire.”
“What if rumors spread that life has gotten harder the moment you became the new lord, my lady?”
Oh please. Since when did you care so much about me?
Suppressing the urge to sneer, I nodded slowly.
“So what you’re saying is—you want me to bring in manpower to wipe out the bandits myself?”
“N-No! Of course not! How could we burden you with such trouble? You must already be exhausted after such a tragedy.”
“Then what do you want?”
“We’ll gather more men ourselves. So please increase the subsidies and delay the tax deadline…”
They really went on at length about wanting to bleed me dry.
I stared at them silently, letting the pause stretch. They grew anxious, but didn’t back down. After all, they probably thought manipulating a twenty-year-old girl would be easy.
“Fine.”
I flipped through the ledger Glenn had given me and said calmly,
“I’ll take the spare funds from the manor and give them to the vigilantes.”
“What?”
That reaction came from Glenn. Unable to openly object in front of the Merchant Alliance, he could only gape at me.
The merchants, on the other hand, broke into smiles.
Don’t worry, Uncle Glenn. I’ll fix their habits properly.
“But there’s a condition.”
“A condition? Please tell us, my lady.”
“If I support you this much, you won’t lose goods in the forest anymore, right? Then the second-half tax deadline stays the same. The tax rate too.”
“W-What? Th-That’s—”
“Why? Planning to never pay taxes at all?”
“O-Of course not! That’s ridiculous!”
“I know my father bent over backward for you many times. This is your last chance.”
I snapped the ledger shut.
“If you still whine after being indulged this much, that’s incompetence. And I have no intention of catering to incompetent people.”
They forced smiles, unable to hide their displeasure completely.
Just how long would that arrogance last?
‘Trying to steal my money? Not a chance.’
As I left the reception hall, I pressed my lips together to stop a sneer from forming.
The curtain had risen on the performance I prepared for them.
***
“Trying to act like a baron when she doesn’t know a thing. Hah.”
“Go easy on her. I welcome Lady Rosalyn becoming baron.”
“Hope she marries late! Hahaha!”
The Merchant Alliance executives laughed and congratulated themselves as they left Thesis Manor, boasting that they’d scored another win.
Adam Thesis had been lazy and gullible, which made things easy—but Rosalyn was even more foolish. Their profits would surely increase.
“We’ll take our share first and divide the rest evenly, right?”
“Honestly, we should increase our share. The others just sit around and profit thanks to us.”
“That’s true. Let’s raise our cut this time. Anyone who complains can be kicked out of the alliance.”
They schemed to increase their own portions even further as they headed down the road.
In two days, they planned to go to Erandor to purchase goods—and they weren’t worried in the slightest.
Bandits had never appeared in Grasico Forest. They’d never lost goods there.
“Oh right—how much are we investing in this purchase?”
At Baker’s question, the others shrugged.
“Big. I got extra funds today, so I’m buying more fabric.”
“Same. I’m spending a lot this time. It’s almost wheat harvest season—people spend more then.”
“Then should we bring Randolph’s cart too?”
“Probably.”
Everyone laughed heartily, dreaming of massive profits.
But their happy dreams were shattered on the road back from Erandor.
“B-Bandits! Bandits!”
Before the cry from the front of the merchant caravan even finished echoing, masked men surrounded them.
There weren’t many, but their weapons, physiques, and the air they gave off made it obvious they were skilled fighters.
“Well, would you look at that. They said if we waited in Grasico Forest, prey would walk right in. Guess they were right.”
“W-Who are you people?”
When Baker shouted up the courage to ask, the leader of the bandits snorted.
“Who are we? Can’t you tell? You must’ve lived pretty peacefully until now.”
Gasping sounds rippled through the caravan.
As if hearing them, a man who seemed to be the bandits’ second-in-command stepped forward and spoke gently.
“Don’t be too scared. We’re not bad people. If you show sincerity, we’ll treat you kindly.”
They were demanding a toll.
The caravan did have guards, but they weren’t trained fighters—just local youths hired to double as laborers.
The other side were professional bandits, casually spinning sharp swords in their hands.
Fighting here would only get the merchants killed.
With tears of blood in his heart, Baker pulled out the remaining travel funds.
“H-Here! This is everything we have left. Take it and let us go!”
But after checking the pouch, the bandit leader laughed incredulously and looked up.
“Are you kidding me?”
“This is all we have left!”
“Then what’s all that loaded on the carts?”
