chapter 6
6 – Judgment, and Purification (1)
When you say bailiff, it sounds like a very great position, but in fact, it is not such a great position.
At best, it refers to an official who serves as the mayor of 00-dong, 00-gu, Seoul.
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Moreover, since he is not a nobleman who actually received the town as a fiefdom, he only plays roles such as ‘deputy manager’ and ‘deputy chief’ in the company…
However, most of the nobles, such as knights, live in cities owned by nobles with titles, seeking the luxurious and comfortable life of the cities or the opportunity to rise in the cities, and all the lords, such as knights, do not allow elegant nobles to intervene in the lives of commoners. consider it trivial
Therefore, the nobles who own the land as their fiefdoms do not care much about other things as long as they receive the taxes they are entitled to.
Therefore, the ‘deputy head of the village’, Bayleaf, is an existence with absolute power that is not interfered with.
Therefore, he was able to commit such corruption. That’s why I’m going to personally punish him.
“Brother, we are almost at the house of Baileef Mars.”
Hearing that, Balt, who was sitting next to me, grumbled.
“Is this better than the house where some knights live? No matter how rural it is, land is cheap, but what is this? Isn’t this a mansion?”
As the saying goes, that house was too big for something like the “deputy mayor” Bayleaf to live in.
It had red-brick walls, a plastered exterior, a roof made of thin bricks rather than heaps of straw, and even a small garden.
At this level, even among knights, those with fairly large estates lived in mansions.
Baileaf, which does not have a lot of official salary, is not a mansion that can be built in a normal way.
“Balt, what do you think of this? Doesn’t it smell of corruption?”
“Yes, even I think so.”
As we were talking like that, a fat man from the front door of the mansion ran towards us shaking his belly.
The way he ran while panting in the middle was like Paohu in a cartoon, so it was a little funny.
I’m not joking, wouldn’t that sound like kumchuk kumchuk even when we breathe?
Bayleep, who came running with his belly fluttering, looked at me and lowered his head.
“Hey, heck… Baileef Mars, I see Master Ciel, the heir of Baron Creutel, the legitimate lord of this land.”
I hid my displeasure and accepted the greeting with a smile on my face.
Then, Bayleaf looked at me with a slightly relieved expression and said,
“I, Mars, heard the news that the young master was coming and prepared a small banquet. Oh, I’m giving this one with a pure heart, so you don’t have to be burdened.”
“yes? What do you think Balt?”
Hearing those words, Balt looked at me and blinked.
“Isn’t it the right thing to accept? young master.”
If you look at the signal that guy is sending, it seems to be pretending to be tricked.
Well, even the secret royal inspector catches our teacher Byun when he forces a village girl to gossip.
It would be nice to do it for dramatic effect.
“Please. Bayleaf. Even if I look like this, my eyes on women are a bit high, please take good care of me. Shouldn’t you be fine?”
After hearing my words, Bayleep wiped away his worried expression from a moment ago and smiled brightly.
“Please leave it to me. I really just brought in a girl who suits you well.”
Such an evil bastard, I want to kill him.
**
After staying there for several days, it was finally the night before leaving.
“Good night, Balt. You’re not going to offer to escort me to my room, are you?”
“Will Baileef kill you for being crazy? I’ll just get some rest! Ha, by the way, I liked a girl named Chris in the village on the way… but it’s a pity I didn’t get to hold her hand.”
“It’s because a man in his 50s has feelings for a widow who is just over 30 years old.”
Hearing those words, Balt grumbled with a ‘yeah’ sound, and I opened the door assigned by Bayleaf and entered.
And I went in to sleep, but I couldn’t sleep well today.
no my head is dizzy
No matter how much I said it was to find out about Bayleep’s corruption, what I did to the serfs in this village over the past few days was a nuisance and tyranny beyond imagination.
The crazy bailiff gave the summons to the serfs who had to farm because the young master had to hunt, and suddenly they had to be mobilized as herders.
After that, he treated the flour in the serfs’ house as if it were his own, and had the serf lady bake and bring it to him.
I wanted to drink beer, so I stole the beer piled up in the houses of the serfs.
When one of the serfs gave him a look of injustice, Bayleaf kicked the serf in the shin and then trampled on the back.
At that time, I can still see the resentful gaze of the serfs towards me and Bayleaf.
But I can’t fall asleep. It’s a bit cramped and uncomfortable, but I’ll just sleep in the carriage with a cloak on.
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Just as I was thinking that, I suddenly heard someone knocking on the door.
Who’s knocking at this hour, Balt?
“Bald, why are you coming at this time again? What’s urgent?”
“…”
Even after a minute passed, there was no answer from outside.
I don’t think it’s Balt, but maybe it’s an assassin or some other suspicious guy?
I quickly got dressed and pulled out the knife that was parked beside my bed.
Then slowly opened the door slightly and looked out.
I looked outside and saw a girl standing there trembling.
I was too dumbfounded for a moment, so I stared blankly through the crack in the door.
“Do, Bocchan. Please let me in.”
Embarrassed by the sight, I didn’t say anything for a while and froze with the door open.
No way, no matter how crazy that baileif was, he couldn’t understand why he would send such a young and small child to my room without my asking.
However, I’ll have to take it in first.
And let’s explain the situation and politely send it out. Anyway, in two or three weeks, Baileaf will send an inspector to cut off his head for corruption and deceit towards the lord, but what…
Would you do something more crazy than this?
“That, yes. come in.”
After hearing that, the girl cautiously entered my room.
And when I closed the door, I stood a little distance from my bed, shrinking.
It was only then that this girl’s appearance caught my eye, and to put it in conclusion, she looks like a picture of my ideal type.
Long brown hair, white skin, cute big eyes and a small face, and a moderate height…
Her breasts are big enough that her body line stands out even though she is wearing a fairly baggy dress.
When I listened closely to the voice, it was as sweet as a bell blown by the wind in summer.
Blinded by this beauty and cuteness, I forgot even my anger at Bayleef for exploiting people in all sorts of evil ways.
So I stared blankly at the girl for a while, and the girl said in a frightened voice.
“Do, Bocchan… do you not like me?”
“No, that’s not it. Cute, really.”
“…”
Normally, a girl would be happy to receive a compliment like this, but since the situation is a situation, it must be too scary.
First of all, I want to kill Bayleaf right now… but right now, it’s not legal for me to kill Bayleaf, the manager of this estate.
Let’s calm down this girl first.
And after asking the circumstances, it is best to add them to Baileaf’s charges.
I said pointing to the chair I was sitting on a moment ago.
“Sit over there first. And I won’t do anything bad, so don’t be afraid.”
“Yes, Bocchan…”
The girl spoke to me and sat down in the chair I pointed to.
“So, what is your name and how old are you?”
“I… My name is Ella. I am 13 years old.”
“I see, I am Ciel von Kreuttel. This is the heir to Baron Creutel. Are your mom and dad not home?”
Hearing this, Ella suddenly started to cry.
I quickly patted him on the back to appease him.
After patting her for such a long time, Ella stopped crying to see if she had calmed down.
“Last winter, he died because he had nothing to eat. After that, I took the house and the remaining cows because I had to pay the death tax on Master Baileaf’s orders…”
what? No, no matter how blind humans are to sacrifice and power, isn’t this too crazy for money?
Unlike aristocrats like us, this kid needs at least the support of the villagers, but he doesn’t care at all and takes the orphan’s property for the sake of death tax?
Even to a child who is crying because his mother and father died?
This goes beyond common sense, ethics and morality, just kill me. Isn’t that kind of crazy?
Regardless of my inner thoughts, this child’s story continued.
“Then, right after the priest’s mass, Mr. Baileaf brought me and my brother here and put them to work.”
“Did you work? So what’s up?”
“I cook, clean, do laundry, and weave fabric as my wife tells me. I also made clothes, but I got hit a lot because I made them wrong. And my younger brother, Zach, was plowing Lord Baileaf’s land with other serfs, working so hard day and night.”
As Ella was talking, she started whimpering in front of me as if she remembered a terrible memory.
I couldn’t say it all, but I’m guessing… dead.
If that bastard was Baileef Miles, he would have made all sorts of things because he wouldn’t mind dying a serf boy who couldn’t make much money selling it.
“You’re dead…”
“Yes, a few days ago I went to see my younger brother lying on the straw in the stable, and he was lying helpless and breathing heavily. When I held her hand, she said, ‘Sister, sister… I want to eat the porridge full of wheat that my mother made’ and died. When I cried and told Mr. Baileef that Zach died, he was beaten by telling me not to cry over the death of Bobbug.”
In the past, when the Shinan Salt Farm slavery incident broke out, they said they didn’t kill them like this and just made them work like slaves, but this doesn’t make any sense.
They made the 11-12-year-old child work harder than adults, killing the boy on purpose, and keeping Ella alive because she believed that she had commercial value because of her appearance.
No, that bastard could have tried to use it to establish contact with real nobles who live above the clouds like me.
Then, this child came up to me and cried.
“Boss, why the hell… do Zach and I… have to go through this? Me, Zach, and my mom and dad always lived thankfully to the lord and baileef… why the hell? Why the hell… Zach, Zach, Dad, Mom…”
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My heart was heavy.
Of course, strictly speaking, it’s not a ‘tragedy caused by me’, so I said, ‘It’s not my fault.’ and avoid responsibility.
However, Ciel von Kreuttel is not free from this responsibility.
Because he is a noble who rules this territory.
Because he is the next lord who decided to protect these people instead of receiving their taxes and enjoying wealth and glory.
Before I knew it, tears began to fall from my eyes drop by drop.
Embarrassed at the moment, Ella hurriedly wiped my tears with the sleeve of her one-piece dress.
As she got closer, I noticed her pretty well-shaped breasts…
I’m not excited at all, and I don’t feel dirty at all.
I just want to kill that bastard baileef.
No matter how much this is a world where the judicial order is a mess, how can an orphaned child illegally seize the last remaining property?
And what’s even more absurd is that he actually killed the child’s younger brother outright.
I tried to endure it for a while, but I just can’t stand it.
That bastard who asked me to accept and eat a girl like this saying ‘Thank you for the reward, Jean Bayleef’, I should kill him as soon as possible even for a minute or a second.
After carefully wiping the tears from my eyes, she went back to her seat and sat down.
“thanks. Bocchan… thank you.”
“What are you thankful for?”
Then, with a dazzlingly bright smile, Ella spoke in a voice that felt sorrowful at the same time.
“This is the first time, the person who listened to my heart like this after my mom and dad passed away… I tried to show Zach a strong side as much as possible, so I couldn’t show such a weak side. Thank you, Bocchan.”
Then, in front of me, Ella grabbed the straps of her one-piece dress and untied the right breast slightly to undress.
I quickly held her hand and said.
Yes, in a way, a stupid word that I don’t know how to sound in this child’s world where trying to protect love doesn’t go as I want.
“That’s what you do with someone you really love. With someone I want to be with for the rest of my life, I think I can overcome it if I am with that person even when I am sick, and I want to laugh with someone who makes me happy. So, it’s fine if you don’t do that now.”
When Ella heard that, she said with tears in her eyes.
“really?”
I put my hand on her head and stroked her lightly, smiling wryly and saying.
“Then, that’s okay. So, rest in peace. Will you stay with me in my room until morning?”
“Yeah…”
Ella’s expression as she said those words did not show the sadness and resentment from before.
It was as if he was relieved, as if a person who had suffered all his life had gained a moment of rest.
And I stayed up all night talking to this kid reassuringly.
It’s not like that, but it’s because I wanted to.
Then Ella fell asleep in the chair on the bed without anyone saying anything first.
**
The next day, I left for the castle with Bayleaf seeing me off.
And after another day, I returned to the Bayleaf house.
To punish a child who is no better than a dog wearing that person’s skin.