When Duke and Hana returned to the lord’s mansion, the interior was evidently marked with the remnants of a fierce battle.
Ari had sustained injuries far more severe than those received while fighting the demon race, but unlike then, Rex remained calm.
“Thank you, Ari.”
This was something Rex had already resigned himself to, and it was something Ari had accepted as well.
Duke and Hana waited for Rex and Ari until they had departed from their world.
After a few minutes, Rex finally came back to reality with a throaty cough.
“Hmm. From now on, this fief is mine… no, I’ll take care of it.”
Of course, there was always the option of sparking a revolution and fleeing to someplace else.
However, Rex’s sense of responsibility anchored him to this place.
“Maintaining a revolution is often more important than igniting one.”
Here Rex tried flexing with a line he’d heard somewhere before.
Ari weakly applauded by his side, while Duke simply stared through his emotionless helmet.
Alone and feeling somewhat awkward, Rex slumped his shoulders.
Meanwhile, Duke had been asking Hana about something that had been on his mind.
“So, what do I have to do to become a lord? Is this really how it happens?”
Based on Duke’s incomplete knowledge from his past life, even after assassinating a lord, obtaining formal recognition for the fief involved complicated procedures.
One must receive a noble title from the royal family or higher-ranking nobles, and in some regions, religious recognition was also necessary.
But Rex had no legitimate claim to this fief, so he asked Hana, the neighboring lord, about it.
In response, Hana gave him a warm smile that didn’t quite fit her alias of “Queen of Shadows.”
“Yes, in the end, the fief belongs to whoever is the strongest.”
Duke’s common sense did not apply to this world.
“Holdings aren’t given; they’re taken. When the empire fell, the strongest people in each region became lords, like me, and managing them afterward was a matter of competence.”
Though there are barons and counts, those titles are less a formal awarding by the royal family and more a reflection of their strength.
“The royal family is basically like a representative of the lords. They have some degree of authority over the lords but are more or less equal parties bound by contract.”
Originally, among the hyenas feeding on the corpse of the empire, could there really be such distinctions? Hana bitterly remarked.
“Without the Thirteen Transcended Stars, frankly, the supposed legitimacy of royalty or lords means nothing.”
Her gaze lingered briefly on Duke.
He seemed perplexed by something, as if questioning why Duke didn’t know all this.
Duke openly admitted his ignorance.
“I don’t concern myself much with such things. Power is not what a knight should pursue.”
“Still, remarkable you are. If you can hold on to power, you might claim the title of count.”
That was also a warning: if he couldn’t protect his title, he’d naturally be supplanted.
Duke nodded in understanding.
“As a master, you’re certainly more than adequate for the title of count.”
Rex, who had been eavesdropping, interjected with a slightly uneasy look.
“Maybe starting as a count is going a bit far… perhaps start as a baron…”
Before Rex could finish, irritation flared from Ari listening nearby.
Duke closed his mouth as well, radiating a similar vibe.
Meanwhile, the messages from the battalion commander, who were monitoring the conversation through Rex’s interface ability, were frantic.
[The master as a mere baron!? That’s just preposterous!!!]
[Authority is necessary for instruction. Let me say no more.]
[Do we think that’s realistic in any practical sense?]
Rex’s cheeks tensed as he watched the heated messages flood like in a chatroom.
In the end, Rex was pushed into starting with the title of count.
“Will people even recognize me?”
[[They will recognize you.]]
Sighing with the weight of responsibility, Rex felt a quiet presence watching him and turned to see Hana smiling faintly.
“Shall I take the fief off your hands instead?”
“Really!?”
“Kidding.”
“That’s cruel…”
As Hana returned to Duke’s side with a wry smile, Rex felt deflated.
“Shouldn’t your lord be showing some ambition, Duke?”
With conviction, Duke spoke.
“The virtues necessary for a monarch are responsibility and ethics. Just as I shaped a young girl into a fine queen, it will be the same this time as well.”
“You’re ruthless.”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“When you interrupt like this without proper timing, it’s troublesome.”
Looking at Hana, who lowered her head bashfully, Duke appeared genuinely perplexed.
He couldn’t make out the point of their conversation at all.
Now, this land was no longer Karognaar’s fief; it was the Providence Realm.
Duke Erwick, as interim lord on behalf of the community lord, bid farewell to Hana and her vassals.
“Well, since the contract has been renewed, I’ll return then.”
“The Providence County will always anxiously await the visit of Lord Sneeria.”
As Duke Erwick, he saw Hana off.
“And I, too, welcome you anytime.”
“As long as you don’t overdo it, I’ll come by once a month.”
“Just rest well.”
“I have a lot I’d like to learn from you.”
“One cannot stop the urge to learn. In that regard, you’re always welcome.”
She replied gently with a smile before returning to her own fief.
After seeing Hana off, Duke returned to Rex’s office in the mansion.
Thanks to the mansion being half-ruined from the battle, Rex’s mutterings inside his office could even be overheard down the corridor.
“At last, domestic governance has been unlocked.”
The excitement in Rex’s voice was enough to infect Duke with it.
Having entered governance mode, Rex was eager to start with road repairs everywhere in the fief.
“I’ve noticed it while traveling around…”
But the vassals quickly intervened at Rex’s directive.
“Lord, there is something more urgent that must come first.”
“Huh? What?”
“The mansion and inner walls need to be repaired first.”
“Uh… yeah.”
Through a hole in the wind-drenched mansion, Rex stared at the neatly cut inner wall.
It felt much like receiving an unexpected bill.
After much deliberation, Rex changed his first order.
“Um… let’s start with repairing the mansion.”
At the very least, they needed a place where he and his retainers could stay comfortably, didn’t they?
After a few days of mansion repairs, Rex bypassed the inner wall repair and instead focused on roads and sewers.
“While our funds are already dangerously low, we’ll set the wall repairs aside for later and start by improving the sewers and roads.”
Thus, under Rex’s orders, the construction of the sewers within the Lord’s capital and roadwork throughout the territory commenced.
When Rex’s orders spread to the citizens, they all sighed.
“Here comes a new lord starting something strange again.”
To them, the changing of Karognar County to Providence County was neither here nor there.
Their lifespans were too short compared to the lord’s; their lives were too insignificant and powerless.
But powerless commoners were destined for a life of obedience to the lord.
Ultimately, they clutched their aching stomachs and shambled to perform their labor duties.
However, when they completed their daily labor duty, they were confronted with an unbelievable sight.
“Knight sir… is this…?”
“Your pay. By the lord’s grace, use it wisely.”
At the pouch of copper coins handed over by the knight sent as an overseer, the townsfolk’s eyes widened.
This was only the beginning of the inconceivable events that followed.
– “Why do we get to rest on weekends?”
– “Why are our taxes being reduced because we did this?”
– “Why are children prohibited from participating?”
Under Rex’s leadership, policies that were unimaginable in the time of Count Karognaar continued to roll out.
The citizens were bewildered by these incomprehensible acts of kindness they witnessed.
But while the citizens were confused, Rex’s domestic governance continued full steam ahead.
– “Why is the tax burden so heavy? This is odd. If we keep this up, the citizens’ lives will be unsustainable.”
– “If we conscript everyone into military service, who will farm the fields?”
– “We’ll need to build reservoirs for farming.”
As soon as domestic governance mode was unlocked in his interface ability, Rex began designing the fiefdom like a simulation game.
He was so engrossed in tinkering with the interface that he could even avoid meeting people, and thus he reduced his sleep time to work on administration day and night.
With the inner walls having been cut down earlier, the townsfolk could see Rex’s office, which stayed lit late into the night atop the hill.
“Why is he being this good to us?”
Initially, surrounded by the inexplicable benevolence, the townsfolk were afraid, worrying that Rex would take it away from them.
But as this went on for three years, the townsfolk finally began to accept him.
“Compared to the last lord, this one doesn’t cause trouble.”
“I haven’t heard of him taking out his anger on people by killing them.”
“Apparently, he hates taking bribes?”
Soon enough, the citizens stopped seeing Rex’s actions as mere whims of a lord and began to acknowledge and praise his character.
“Long live the Lord! Long live!”
Of course, Rex remained utterly oblivious to these citizen reactions.
“Domestic governance is fun.”
Since the day he met Duke, Rex had been busy with dense experiences. For an entire year, he avoided leaving, arguing that his cost of going out was too high, and hadn’t ventured out for almost three years since then.
Also, the lord’s mansion was already equipped with far more amenities than necessary, leaving him with no need to go out.
Thus, the townsfolk gradually began to view the faceless Rex, who had not shown up in years, as a mysterious and powerful figure shrouded in shadows.
*
As praise for Rex grew louder, the fame of his royal guard also rose accordingly.
Regardless of Rex’s exceptional abilities, he couldn’t directly instruct non-contracted serfs. Therefore, Rex utilized his only trusted force — the royal guard.
Thus, the knights flew their black banners with a yellow snake emblazoned on it, delivering Rex’s words all over the dominion.
“Court edict from Lord Rex!”
Initially, the townsfolk feared the knights. But after three years, they now welcomed the banner.
– “Knight sir! Could you look here?”
Naturally, under this warm reception towards the royal guard, Commander Duke’s popularity soared highest of all.
After three years,
Rex, whose face was unknown despite his authority as a distant overlord, remained shrouded in mystery,
Duke’s image, however, was known and yet boundlessly respected as an unparalleled knight.
For it was said, he could cleave mountains with a single blow.
It was said, none survived touching the badge of flowers pinned to his chest.
And, it was said, he remembered every person he had saved.
Two of the former statements might have been exaggerated, but Duke made no particular effort to deny the last one.
Thus, flowers and cheers accompanied him whenever he walked the streets.
– “Commander Duke glanced at me!”
Occasionally, someone would have seizures upon making eye contact with him, but Duke took pleasure in the people’s admiration.
‘The real game now begins.’
He would have much preferred playing the role of a strict but kind knight to children and commoners today,
But it was an important day, so Duke moved straight to the plaza, ignoring the flower-tossing crowds.
As Duke took his position in the square, the gnome deputy unfurled a scroll and shouted,
“Tomorrow, a significant order from Lord Rex will be announced here and as many people as possible are to be gathered!”
Similarly, the same announcement was made across the cities of the entire dominion.
Knights echoed these announcements loudly across the squares every hour.
The citizens complied out of respect rather than fear.
And the next day, knights began proclaiming new decrees before the citizens’ gatherings.
“From this moment, slavery will be abolished within the Providence Dominion!”
At this proclamation, the citizens were initially confused thinking they had misheard.
– What? Slavery?
Slavery was both close and distant for the commoners.
It was close and terrifying as one could easily slip into slavery by upsetting a knight or an underling noble, or by mistakenly crossing paths with criminals.
Yet, they almost never owned, retrieved, or employed slaves themselves, making it a distant worry.
In short, to the commoners, slavery left an impression of utter misery.
When knights declared the abolition of slavery, the citizens looked astonished, unsure if it was real.
The knights reaffirmed their message, emphasizing,
“In this blessed land and under our Lord’s authority, all humans are declared equal!”
Of course, Rex had never made such a declaration formally. The part about equality was added by a battalion captain from the 3rd regiment, but it was close to the spirit of the intended reform.
Realizing this wasn’t a dream but reality, the citizens cheered.
– Hooray!!
Satisfied by the citizens’ cheers, the gnome deputy nodded.
“Having witnessed this in my few remaining years, I’ll pass now without regrets!”
“Hmm.”
Duke too watched the cheering citizens with folded arms in the square.
But his mind was already onto a new plan.
“It has been too peaceful for three years.”
While Rex excelled in domestic governance, occasional assassins, spies from neighboring fiefs, and remnants of previous rulers kept things lively, but it did seem insufficient.
However, those quiet days were about to end.
“Deputy.”
“Lord!”
“Prepare a surveillance team.”
Given that the local market and influential figures wouldn’t relinquish slavery easily, Duke anticipated challenges.
Of course, it wasn’t just his own deduction; he picked that up while dozing off during a fiefdom meeting.
The gnome deputy nodded upon hearing this order from Duke.
“How large of a unit should we prepare?”
“Only the elite.”
“I understand.”
The deputy, with his wrinkled hands, promptly relayed messages to the knight battalion.
Duke, watching the jubilant citizens, curved his lips.
‘The undercover second-in-command.’
It was content he fancied trying out at least once.
