Chapter 71

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Now, as for the overall revenue of Kikunoi, I don't know what it is.

The reason is simply that I don't have the authority to see it, and since there is no steward, my father manages it all.

There's nothing I can do about this without the authority as a viscount.

Worse still, even if the reported revenue is falsified, I have no way of knowing or stopping it.

However, I can't just stand by and watch my allowance be cut off. Well, it's not certain that it will be cut off, but the tension of constant surveillance can serve as a deterrent.

So, what should I do?

"Mr. Romanov, could you please tell my mother that the economy of Kikunoi is improving?"

"…I will tell her to analyze the revenue and expenditure reports from Kikunoi more thoroughly. She will gladly take on the task of monitoring your father. If you like, I can introduce her to an excellent auditor."

"Thank you. Although it may accelerate the discord, there's nothing to be done about it."

"I also have the obligation to supervise the fulfillment of the agreement between the Viscount and Viscountess Kikunoi, so I will fulfill that duty."

Yes, the agreement.

The agreement regarding Regulus's upbringing, which we made before, was created to have legal standing under Mr. Romanov's name. My father, mother, Mr. Romanov, and my attorney, Mr. Rottenmayer, each hold a copy, and he also holds my will.

Since it is an agreement made under my name, he is saying that he will take responsibility for it. It's the kind of adult response I wish my parents would emulate.

Actually, I want the supervisory authority over the domain, including personnel. But I want to push the responsibility onto those two… cough, cough… Is there a way to do that?

The obligation to properly manage the domain in exchange for wealth and honor is the duty of the person who inherits the title. It's strange to take the wealth and honor but not fulfill the duty.

Wealth should be returned, the economy should be circulated, the domain should be enriched, and the army should be strengthened – though the latter isn't necessary. However, maintaining law and order, securing personnel, and bolstering the finances to return them is the duty of a lord, and by extension, a noble.

It's something like that.

Does this country not have the concept of noblesse oblige?

I'm not saying that nobles should serve the people selflessly. I just want to make money and spread education to reproduce the "Violet Garden" and perform musicals.

But if there's not even that, what is it?

If they haven't even been taught how to manage a domain, perhaps they haven't been taught why they need to manage it.

I might be underestimating my parents, but if that's the case, it's terrifying. However, if that's the case…

"What do they learn at the elementary school?"

"Basic reading, writing, and arithmetic, the use of magic, networking in society, dancing and etiquette, the history and ceremonies of the empire, and a little bit about domain management… I suppose."

"So, they do learn about domain management?"

"It's just a formality. Most children understand the significance of domain management before they enter school, and the school is seen as a place to build the appropriate network."

Hmm?

Before entering school, they should have learned the basics of domain management and understood its importance. In other words, the necessity and importance of domain management are general knowledge that should be acquired before entering school.

If that's the case, why do they need school? If they have a tutor, they should be able to manage other things. Yet, they are sent to school. Is there another purpose?

What could it be?

Why do they make all the children of the nobility attend one school?

Mr. Romanov looks at my troubled face with interest.

Something is bothering me, like a fish bone stuck in my throat.

Sending children to school, in other words, gathering them in one place, must have some purpose, and that purpose is imposed by a power greater than the nobles.

Ah… what is this? It reminds me of some system.

Suddenly, something comes to mind.

I remember that the Tokugawa shogunate made all the daimyo build residences in Edo and live there with their wives and heirs as hostages.

"…Is the elementary school, perhaps, a place for hostages…"

"I won't deny it, but the main purpose is to foster friendship and solidarity by studying together… so they say. Also, it's a place to find a marriage partner or friend who can benefit their family."

"Is that what socializing is…"

"Yes. Most children enter school with a proper understanding of their family's business and domain management. They are eager to form relationships with people who can benefit their family. Conversely, it's quite rare for someone like Phoenix's mother, who is an only daughter and married a lower noble without a title."

That's right.

Being an only daughter means she will eventually inherit and manage the domain. In that case, they would hope for a talented person or someone from a larger family to marry.

But my mother married a poor noble, abusing her power. Isn't that the same as discarding her own value?

Would a lady who received proper noble education do such a thing?

Looking at my father, he doesn't seem to have received the education suitable for a viscount's son-in-law, as I felt before.

Was he also on bad terms with his father-in-law, or was the previous viscount already dead when my parents married?

Or, has the Kikunoi family always been negligent in domain management?

The more I think about it, the more I feel a chill down my spine.

"Can we turn this around…"

"Phoenix's appearance, at a point where things were still salvageable, was a relief for Kikunoi. If things had gotten worse, they might have been in debt and controlled by some merchant. Mr. Rottenmayer said that when he saw the accounts of the matriarch, she mentioned that they could manage until the next generation."

"Really!? Mr. Rottenmayer saw the accounts!?"

"Not only that, but he apparently served as the right-hand man in domain management until the matriarch passed away."

"What a capable person, Mr. Rottenmayer. It's a waste to use such a person as just a nanny. Wasting talent is absolutely unacceptable!"

"Well, it was the matriarch's earnest 'request.' She said, 'My daughter is already set in her father's ways and can't be changed, but my granddaughter can still be influenced.'"

Wow, she must have had a hard time with a temperamental child like me. I'm really sorry, Mr. Rottenmayer.

By the way, when he said 'set in her father's ways'…

"Was my grandfather the head of the viscount family from the beginning? Or was my grandmother a viscount's daughter…?"

"Your grandfather was from the Kikunoi family, and your grandmother was chosen by your great-grandfather for her talent, but their relationship was strained."

Why, Kikunoi!

No, more importantly, if my grandmother was chosen for her talent in domain management, she and my great-grandfather must have been passionate about it. So, where did it go wrong? It must have been when my grandmother gave up and my grandfather, who was set in his ways, took over.

"I see, there shouldn't be any portraits of my grandparents, right?"

"Not only that, but there are no portraits of your great-grandparents either. What do you think this implies?"

"What does it imply…?"

It's not just that my great-grandparents and grandparents didn't get along; there's more to it.

I rub my chin and think.

My grandparents were on bad terms, just like my parents. However, my mother was with my grandfather long enough to be influenced by his values.

In other words, my mother was favored by my grandfather.

Assuming the servants took care of her, my grandmother must have given up on my mother's education or correction. A talented and wise woman wouldn't let her daughter be influenced by her husband's values. In fact, she would prevent it. But since she couldn't, my mother turned out the way she did.

However, my mother, for better or worse, is a noblewoman.

Who educated her?

My grandmother was chosen by my great-grandfather, and my great-grandparents didn't get along.

In the daytime dramas I know from my previous life, the most vicious conflicts were between the daughter-in-law and the mother-in-law—

I realize something.

"Was my great-grandmother and grandmother on bad terms, and was my mother raised by my great-grandmother…?"

"Your great-grandmother took your mother away from your grandmother and raised her."

"…What is Kikunoi really doing?"

The conflicts between daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law can have such far-reaching effects; it's really scary.

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