Chapter 4: The Village of Lother [2]

The aspect clock ticked, moving continuously, taking no break even after the elder's introductions. The hearth of the old manor flickered, sharing its motherly warmth to everyone in the room.

According to the letter of the Baron, the new lord would focus a lot on the current status of the village. The coins in the village coffers and the harvest's yields. Queries about illnesses, infrastructures, human resources, and issues that might need immediate attention.

These were the standard questions crafted by the kingdom’s ministers to streamline the things a lord should know. It also serves as a guide for new nobles who received their new fiefs.

A protocol that new nobles rarely cared about.

"The assembly today would be a simple question and answer," the Madam said. "Remember, I'll be the only one asking questions. You guys would just answer, as simple as that. Understood?"

"Yes, Madam," the elders replied in chorus.

"Ciera, please write up all their answers on a paper." The madam walked towards the little lady before patting her head intimately. The eight-year-old lady’s eyes shone as she purred in delight.

The old chief and the elders threw a surprising look at the little lady. Their bored eyes had found something interesting. The young girl tickled the elders' curiosity.

After all, most of the eight-year-old brats in the village were still slinging mud against each other. Those noisy critters’ only job was to enliven the village. Those little kids didn’t even know how to write their names.

Hearing her mother's request, the little lady strode. A proud smile filling her adorable face. Carrying a piece of paper, a bottle of ink, and a clean writing brush, she sat at a chair near the oak wood table.

She tried to imitate her father, who was sitting straight in the nearby chair. She then looked at the villagers, waiting for the answers that she would write.

"Okay elders, let's start with the first question." The Madam’s eyes turned into slits. "How much do we have in the village coffers?"

"This Old Bose answers Madam. We currently have 2 gold coins, 73 silver coins, and 202 copper coins, all Rutherfordian."

“Oh, where did you get those gold and silver coins?” Madam Annis asked, her eyes showing a bit of interest as she waited for the answer. It was rare for a tiny village to have gold or silver coins since they only used the currency in big towns or cities.

She knew that the villagers only barter goods with other nearby villages. The peddlers and passing merchants would also only barter their goods. It was far better than releasing their hard-earned silver or gold coins.

In their eyes, it was stupid to pay the villagers gold or silver since most of them would only keep them as heirlooms. The high-value coins better stay in their pockets.

At most, they would only pay copper coins for goods.

“Madam, we earned the gold and silver coins from the carcass of a dead monster. Last year, we found a dead magic beast in the forests.” The village chief Bose answered. “I knew that monster parts are worth a lot in the capital, so we brought it to the village and sold it to a passing merchant. The merchant had no goods in his hand to barter with us, so he paid us gold and silver coins instead.”

A glint flashed in the madam's eyes.

“Hmnn, you were indeed lucky. Alright. What's the current status of the animal husbandry and the past season's harvest?”

"We have four oxen along with two calves.

Seventy-three domesticated boars distributed throughout the households.

Twenty-two sheep with five cossets.

Seven goats with two kids.

Sixty-three egg-laying hens and an unknown amount of chicks.

We based the figures on the last census before the winter." The old chief answered.

"For harvest; it's mostly lentils, beans, onion, parsley, peas, coleworts, and others. Most of them already pickled in a salt brine before the cold weather to last longer."

'What of the illnesses? Are there any epidemics? Do we have any doctors or herbalists here?

"None Madam, aside from fever, coughs, and indigestion due to overeating. We have no doctor nor herbalist, but this old man knows a little because of my experiences in the town."

“The infrastructures?” Workforce? The knight butted in. “Are there any former soldiers in this village?”

"This little manor, the deep wells, and the stone and wooden walls on the outskirts are all we have, Lord." An army en route to the forest of wilderness for a monster campaign built it a few decades ago."

Unbeknownst to some elders, a glint of coldness arose from the Madam's eyes. Her sharp eyes peered towards the bored-looking oldies. The Madam crossed their yawning faces out with red paints in her mind.

In her eyes, the fidgets of an adult man weren’t so nice to see.

“As for the soldiers, we once had a lot of soldiers, but they are already old.” The village chief answered as he scratched his head. “Most of them loved to patrol all across the village to reminisce.”

Hearing the unperturbed exposition of the old chief, little Ciera's hand waltzed. Her feathered pen dancing throughout the dull paper.

Nearby the knight and Madam, Liszt proudly looked at the broad shoulders of his parents. Whilst little Klive played with the dust-laden mahogany table. He became curious after failing to keep his back straight and chest puffed. Losing interest in keeping up appearances, unlike his father and elder brother.

"As for labor, aside from those people in here. We only have another 207 people working in different areas. Most of them are middle-aged men and old ones who don’t wish to retire." With a sigh, it cast the face of the old man with shadows. "Please, punish the incapability of this old man."

To feed a village that focuses on planting throughout winter, at least half of its population must work to assure a stable supply of food before the first fall of the snow. Considering the size and age of the farmers, it was a miracle the village survived past this winter.

The old chief then looked at the other elders. The elders also looked at the old chief as if encouraging him to tell something.

“Well, we also have a lot of young ones.” The old chief called Bose scratched his head. “But most of them are lazy bums."

“Lazy bums?” The knight raised his eyebrows upon hearing the explanation of the chief.

Creak!

The villagers gasped in surprise as they looked at the knight. The Knight's hand had crushed the arm of the oak wood-carved chair.

“Interesting!” The knight threw a piercing gaze at all the elders in the room.

The villagers lowered their heads as they gazed at their feet as if it was an unfathomable abyss. No one dared to look at their new lord, sweat trickling from their brows. They felt they were standing in front of a predator, the hairs on the back of their heads tingling.

In the Kingdom of Rutherford, lazy people were something every lord loathes. It would be fine if they were nobles or rich merchants who could earn as they sit.

But if they were not?

That would be a very different story. In some fiefs, some hot-headed nobles would even whip the slothful ones. They would do it in front of their entire domain to set an example.

After all, the founder of the kingdom instilled the word ‘hard work’ as one of the greatest virtues of the kingdom. It was one reason for the economic success of the kingdom after the war.

It’s even written in the Analects of the First King of Rutherford. A collection of quotes revered by scholars, nobles, and commoners all across the Eudorian continent.

A few moments later, the knight sighed and simply looked at the madam.

He glanced at the crestfallen old village chief.

The old man's brows and hair were graying white, his back arching. Wrinkles had taken over his callous palms. He didn’t look like someone lazy. He earned his looks through farm work and paper works.

A stifling bout of silence loomed all over across the four sides of the room. Some elders paled, they knew they had failed in disciplining the young ones. So, the punishment was inevitable. They thought of their sons, daughters, and grandsons that would undergo whipping. Their faces crumpled and their scalps went numb.

They doted on their children and grandchildren, unlike those in the towns and cities. They would take over the work of the sloths despite their old age. It was their actions that made the young ones become like this.

Until...

Achoo!

A sneeze from the little lord broke the silence. All the people present stopped and looked at the child tinkering a dusty wooden chair. Even the young lord and young lady, Liszt and Ciera, awkwardly glanced at their little brother.

“Eh?”

Seeing the focused look of everyone in the room, the child suddenly found his courage to boast.

Innocently scratching his tiny nose, the child slowly stood up. He proudly looked at the people in the meeting room and said.

"Don’t worry, old grandpa. My father and mother will solve all your problems right away. You see, I even saw Uncle Baron, Uncle Rich, and Uncle King begging my father for help. Also, they'll... mnhnn- mhnn…”

“…”

Hearing the scandalous tale of the young kid, the people in the meeting room smiled wryly. It blew away some seriousness in the room.

The maids and attendants sweated upon hearing the words of the little kid. Cold sweat filled their palms, especially hearing the ‘king part’.

When the esquires who had just returned from their patrol heard it, they immediately walked away again. The aim now was to patrol the entire village.

They wouldn’t dare to return unless the meeting had already ended. But before leaving, they didn’t forget to gaze at the kid. The little lord’s big mouth was now covered with the hand of his burly father.

"Stop it, Klive! Return to your seat and wait. Hmmm... Anyway, for the last question. Any issue or problem that requires our immediate attention?"

For the last question, a not-so-old man took a step forward and answered. He peeked at the Lord. Though, hiding his sight immediately when the knight looked at him.

The gingerly old man piqued the interest of the Knight.

Thus, the burly knight repeatedly glanced at the old man, teasing the nervous old dud. In short, the knight found it fun.

"Th-this Ol-old Gazz will an-answer the query, Madam." Biting his tongue, the old man stuttered. It invited a bunch of nervous cackles from the lord and the attendants.

“The village is currently experiencing problems with t-the weakening land. It's one of the causes of lower yields during harvest. We already did our best to find a solution, but still to no avail. We ask for guidance from Madam and th-the K-knight!"

“Alright, we will look at it.” The knight answered in a deep voice. He then shut his eyes.

“As for the slothful ones, I’ll put my judgment for later." He stood up and took a deep breath. "Remember, the first king once said, ‘we will show no mercy to the sloths’.”