Chapter 62

"Here is the tax report for this year, Master Kurt."

"Thank you for your hard work. Just leave it there."

"Understood."

Every year, the harvest season arrives.

A certain tax is levied on the wheat harvested from the fields within the territory, and Klaus, the head of this village, calculates and collects it, then stores it in the warehouse adjacent to the manor.

The collected wheat is also a valuable source of cash.

It is sold to the merchant caravans that come from the Margraviate of Breichreiter across the mountains, and they carry it back with great effort.

The selling price is said to be slightly higher than the normal market price.

In such a rural village, I cannot keep track of the latest wheat prices, which fluctuate daily.

Perhaps I am not fit to be the heir to the lord, but there is no way for me to know such information.

(If Wendelin were here, we wouldn't have to go through such trouble...)

These were the words that Klaus, who just delivered the tax report, muttered under his breath a while ago.

Did he say it unconsciously?

Or did he say it on purpose so I could hear?

This man is truly unpredictable.

Even my father told me, "Don't trust Klaus."

This tax report might not even be accurately calculated.

Klaus, as the head of this village and the one entrusted with all tax collection duties by my father, could be using his position to pocket the difference.

(The heads of the other two villages are also checking. That's not possible.)

My father says this, but I don't want to hear it from someone who has increased the number of his illegitimate children by giving young concubines to himself.

My father is always like this.

He sent out troops as ordered by the previous Margrave of Breichreiter, and most of them never returned, reducing the population and the ratio of adult males in the territory to a critical level.

Furthermore, he didn't even complain about it.

Seeing the opportunity, the new Margrave of Breichreiter sent merchant caravans occasionally, as if giving alms to beggars, to help with the reclamation of the land.

In this rural territory, there are hardly any products that can be sold in the Margraviate of Breichreiter.

There is only wheat.

Despite being a noble, we toil in the fields like pioneers, and the money we save bit by bit is all...

...used for my marriage expenses and the preparation funds for my younger brothers, starting with Paul.

To be precise, a little is left.

But as a noble, it is necessary to keep it for emergencies, even if we are a poor noble family like ours.

After my marriage, my father began to change.

"I'm getting old. I'll entrust more to you."

Until now, my father, as the head of the Baumayster family, held absolute power.

There is no particular complaint about this matter.

In such a remote and inconvenient rural area, the head of the household needs absolute power to survive.

The rest is for the unity of the villagers.

Perhaps a smooth succession without conflict, based on primogeniture, is necessary.

There was a reason my father didn't entrust me with much work over the years.

First, the existence of my second brother, Hermann.

This guy is stronger than me and is popular when he occasionally leads the villagers in training.

He looks scary, but he is a funny man, so he is popular among the villagers.

In a small noble family, a child skilled in swordsmanship and leading small groups is highly regarded.

While there are many people with Hermann's level of ability throughout the kingdom, he is still better than me.

He is a threat to primogeniture.

"Hermann, you will marry into the house of the chief vassal."

"Understood."

Hermann didn't say anything.

He was aware that, despite his physical strength, he didn't have the ability to be a lord.

Next, the problem was the existence of my fifth brother, Ehrich.

He was skilled with the bow but was worse than me with the sword, which is a noble's pastime.

However, he was smart.

Around the age of fifteen, he caused some trouble.

Or rather, my father and Klaus caused it.

When my father saw the tax report that Klaus brought, for some reason, he showed it to Ehrich, who happened to be nearby.

After looking at the document for a while, Ehrich pointed out several calculation errors.

"This is quite a mistake. Young as you are, Ehrich, you are quite excellent."

The calculation errors themselves were not significant.

He only returned a little extra tax to a few households.

Klaus, who was pointed out for the mistake, apologized sincerely and returned the extra tax.

Was this series of events orchestrated by Klaus alone?

Or was my father involved?

At that time, I couldn't judge.

However, as such rumors spread in the territory, it became possible to predict.

"If you want planned development of the territory, wouldn't it be better for Ehrich to be the next head of the household?"

Undoubtedly, these rumors were spread by Klaus.

But if I pursued it too aggressively, it might backfire.

Moreover, there was no decisive evidence that Klaus had spread the rumors.

Neither my father nor I could find the errors in the tax report.

But my father, sensing something was wrong from Klaus's attitude when he submitted the report, showed it to Ehrich, who could do calculations.

The errors themselves were not significant.

Klaus apologized sincerely and immediately returned the extra tax.

So, it wasn't possible to reprimand him too harshly.

In the end, Klaus probably just confirmed Ehrich's abilities and smiled to himself.

He is really a man who doesn't please me.

After that, I was wary of Ehrich.

I thought he might be trying to curry favor with my father to become the next head of the household.

But that worry turned out to be groundless when Ehrich declared that he would take the lower-level official examination in the capital.

Ehrich, who was popular with the women in the territory, skilled with the bow, and intelligent, was honestly not someone I liked.

And then, the ultimate troublemaker appeared.

My eighth brother, Wendelin.

My father, who was nearly forty, had him with a woman a year younger than me.

Given our economic situation, even if I excluded the illegitimate brothers, I could only sigh.

Considering the age difference, he could almost be my son.

I and the other brothers gradually became unsure of how to interact with this eighth brother as he grew.

In reality, he was a well-behaved child who, from the age of three, followed his parents' instructions and did not interfere with the adults' work.

He spent every day in his father's study reading books. I wonder how his head didn't hurt.

Most of the books in the study, except for those that Ehrich read in order from the age of five, were hardly touched even by my father.

The study was set up for the sake of the noble's prestige, and there was no need to read them forcefully.

However, I began to notice a change in Wendelin around the time he turned six.

According to Ehrich, he said he wanted to use magic and spent his time in the study.

Indeed, there were books related to magic and a crystal ball for testing in the study.

The kingdom distributed them at a low price to nobles and the church to discover the few magic users.

I and the other brothers, of course, received the test as children when our father told us to.

If I had the talent, my life might have changed, but the world is not that kind.

Additionally, as a duty of the lord, all the villagers received the test as children.

It was not a big deal to place their hands on the crystal and see the results.

There was one person in this village, but his magic power was extremely low.

Adam, a farmer, could only produce a small flame a few times a day.

At home, he was valued for quickly lighting the stove, but was he really a magic user?

Adam himself was embarrassed, saying, "Well, that's..."

"Kurt, it seems Wendelin has a talent for magic."

A small child striving to become a magic user, practicing diligently even without talent, would be a touching sight if he were a small child.

However, my father told me a shocking fact.

"How much?"

"Right now, it's hard to say..."

However, the possibilities gradually expanded.

Even as a child, he hunted and gathered in the back forest, where wolves, bears, and boars appeared, with a calm face.

He brought back the valuable Holoholo birds every day.

He also brought back yams, wild strawberries, mountain grapes, and medicinal herbs.

At my wedding, he and Ehrich successfully hunted a large amount of game.

Even with Ehrich, who was skilled with the bow, the results were extraordinary.

My father must have noticed this and paired Wendelin with Ehrich to cover it up.

After Ehrich left home, my father gave Wendelin the freedom to act.

He finished his morning sword practice and breakfast, put on a dirty coat, and went out somewhere alone.

Or, as my father said, he went out to practice magic.

Where did he go and what did he do?

I once thought about questioning him, but my father stopped me.

"Wendelin has the power of magic to stand on his own. Let him be free until he leaves home."

"That's a waste! I don't know what magic he can use, but he could use it for the development of the territory."

A normal person would think that.

However, my father immediately rejected my opinion, looking at me with pity.

"Can you control Wendelin? What a joke? What are you talking about?"

My father continued.

"For example, if Wendelin contributes to the territory with his magic. Reclamation, road and irrigation construction. Elimination of ferocious beasts. Even if Wendelin takes care of all the hunting and gathering, the villagers will not complain about the increased agricultural work if they can eat meat freely."

If the villagers can eat their fill of meat and sell the wheat to the merchant caravans, they can focus their labor on wheat cultivation.

If he can use more magic and develop the land, the basic work can be left to Wendelin, and the finishing touches can be left to the villagers.

The more I hear, the better it sounds.

"The villagers will think this: If Wendelin becomes the next head of the household, this territory will be safe. But there will be no place for you. Are you okay with that?"

"!"

"That's..."

"This country has been at peace for a long time. Therefore, the kingdom recommends primogeniture to maintain stability in the territories. But it's not absolute."

When the eldest son is incompetent or there is an exceptionally talented younger son.

There are various factors, so primogeniture is not always absolute, but there are cases where it collapses.

"What do you think?"

I couldn't answer.

I was the heir, so my future was stable.

I pitied the brothers who left home but was relieved that they wouldn't cause trouble by staying.

However, the situation was completely reversed.

If Wendelin, who can use magic, becomes the next head of the household and I am forced to leave.

I might be able to stay, but to recognize a brother nearly twenty years younger as the head of the household and bow to him