Chapter 19
Taking Control (1)
After finishing his meal, Johan headed straight to Raguel’s room.
He must be hungry.
Raguel had been starving all by himself. Because of the baron’s orders, he was forbidden from appearing at formal gatherings. Naturally, he had not been allowed to attend the banquet either.
Feeling sorry for him, Johan had decided to bring him some food.
Holding a basket of food, Johan turned the doorknob.
The interior of the room came into view. Raguel was sitting curled up on the bed, staring straight ahead.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
Both confusion and anticipation flashed across the boy’s face.
“If it’s you, could you be…”
“Your older brother.”
Raguel’s mouth fell wide open.
“Johan!”
“I suppose my voice sounds quite different.”
Between his demonic state and human form, his voice changed as drastically as his appearance did.
“You sound like a completely different person.”
The distinctive chill had vanished entirely. Johan’s current voice was calm and carried a slightly youthful quality.
“We practically are separate beings. Right now, I’m an ordinary human. So you need to treat me differently as well.”
“Treat you differently?”
“Yes. Let’s start with how you address me. During the day, call me Brother.”
If Raguel called him “Johan” both day and night, someone might eventually catch on.
Understanding the situation, Raguel scratched his head.
“Wouldn’t it be better to give the demon and the human separate names?”
“You’re right, but I can’t think of another name at the moment. For now, do as I say.”
“All right.”
“Now, what are you supposed to call me?”
Raguel answered with an awkward expression.
“…Brother?”
“Don’t like it? Then I’ll play the younger brother. I don’t particularly care either way.”
Raguel hurriedly waved his hands.
“It’s not that I don’t like it. I’m just not used to it. And you seem more suited to being the older brother than I am…”
Johan chuckled.
“Do whatever makes you comfortable.”
“I-I’ll call you Brother. During the day, at least.”
Johan nodded and placed the food basket on the table.
“This is my first act as your older brother. Eat.”
“What is it?”
“I brought you a meal. You must have been starving.”
When Johan handed him some bread, Raguel beamed.
“Thank you, Johan. No, Brother.”
It was only a minor kindness, but it was more than enough to make the boy smile.
Just as Raguel happily bit into the bread, a familiar voice rang out.
“You’re rather considerate. Not very demon-like of you.”
Ilea was entering the room.
“I brought food for you as well.”
Ilea had also missed the banquet because she had been carrying out Johan’s request.
Her eyes curved playfully.
“You aren’t planning to placate me with food, are you?”
“I’ll grant you one request next time. So, where is it?”
Ilea pulled a notebook from inside her clothes.
“I searched the treasurer’s room thoroughly. He had hidden it at the very back of a drawer.”
The item she had stolen was a tax ledger.
“So you have a talent for thievery as well. Well done.”
“Was that really a compliment?”
“That depends on how you take it.”
“Maybe I should put it back.”
“I was joking. Let me see it.”
Pretending to sulk, Ilea handed the ledger to Johan.
Johan began reading through its contents.
The taxes collected from the five villages of the Myatro territory were recorded in detail.
The total revenue included grain, livestock, silver coins, woolen fabrics, and more. This year’s earnings alone should have been enough to fill the castle’s storehouses.
“They squeezed quite a lot out of the people during a bad harvest.”
A terrible famine had struck the south the previous year, reducing the grain yield to a quarter of its normal amount, yet the taxes had not been lowered at all.
Instead, they had demanded even more wealth than the year before.
“They practically squeezed blood from a stone.”
“The storehouses should be bursting at the seams.”
“You’ll have to expand them.”
Raguel, who had been listening to their conversation, spoke hesitantly.
“W-wouldn’t it be better to lower the taxes instead?”
Johan chuckled.
“Whether we expand the storehouses or lower the taxes, I’ll first have to see the reality with my own eyes. Ledgers and actual inventories don’t always match.”
Ilea nodded.
“The storehouses might be surprisingly empty.”
“Then things will become interesting.”
“Shall we pay them a visit now?”
“Finish your meal first.”
“All right.”
Unable to understand, Raguel alternated between following Johan’s and Ilea’s voices.
Ilea smiled.
“You should come with us too, Young Master Raguel. It must be suffocating to stay inside your room all day.”
She looked at Johan.
“That’s all right, isn’t it, Young Master Johan?”
“I don’t mind.”
***
“That damned bastard!”
The baron’s knight slammed his hand against an empty shelf.
The rotten wooden planks shattered, sending the dust piled upon them billowing into the air.
The treasurer, now covered in dust, brushed off his bald head as he spoke.
“I knew this day would come! We’ve siphoned off so much that there’s no way to cover it up anymore! If that bastard compares the ledgers with the actual inventory, we’re finished!”
The storehouse, which should have been overflowing with wealth, was as shabby as a shed in the slums.
Cheap furs, piles of hay, and rotten spices were all that lay scattered around. The interior was utterly desolate.
The knight shouted at him.
“Then rewrite the ledgers! Wouldn’t it be stranger for the storehouse to be full during a famine like this?”
“Do you think that’s easy? He ordered us to present the grain transaction records and tax ledgers by tonight! There isn’t enough time to falsify all of them!”
“Come now, Treasurer! What could a child barely ten years old possibly understand from looking at a ledger? We only need to make it look convincing!”
Doubt crossed the treasurer’s face.
“He was no ordinary child! Didn’t he corner you and manipulate all of us? It’s as if a cunning old serpent is hiding inside that tiny body! He’ll undoubtedly notice that something is wrong!”
The knight flew into a rage and drew his sword.
“He cornered me?! Who dares claim such a thing?!”
Terrified, the treasurer stumbled backward.
“W-why are you doing this? Please calm down.”
“Listen carefully.”
The knight’s voice sank dangerously low.
“He is nothing more than a lowborn brat raised among beggars. Forget ledgers—he probably cannot even read. And I was never cornered by him. I merely held back out of consideration for the baron’s dignity. Do you understand?”
The treasurer swallowed dryly.
“F-fine, I understand, so please put away your sword.”
The knight spat on the floor and sheathed his blade.
“Enough nonsense. Get to work. We must finish the ledgers before sunset.”
The treasurer wiped away his cold sweat. He would rewrite the ledgers under the knight’s relentless pressure, but far too many things still worried him.
He took out paper and a pen.
“…The ink won’t even have time to dry. Don’t blame me if something goes wrong.”
“We have Sir Krill. Even if things go awry, we can place ourselves under his protection. And the moment Sir Krill ascends to the barony, we will be rewarded for all our current hardships.”
The treasurer sighed and dipped his pen into the ink.
Just as he was about to write the first line, the grating sound of old hinges reverberated from directly ahead.
The storehouse door had opened.
The knight shouted.
“Who’s there?!”
Several familiar faces entered, accompanied by the light of the setting sun.
“Why are you so surprised? Who else would come here?”
It was Johan’s voice.
Raguel, who had accompanied him, timidly greeted the knight.
“L-Lord Rael. It has been a long time.”
The knight paid no attention to Raguel. He merely glared at Johan.
“…What business do you have here?”
“I stopped by while I was at it. There were some things I wanted to confirm. But this place is completely empty.”
At the same time, an unpleasant noise rang out.
Ilea had locked the storehouse door. She approached Johan and said,
“Just as we expected.”
“Let’s hear their excuses first.”
Johan looked at the knight.
“The storehouse is rather empty. What happened?”
The knight replied calmly.
“The south has suffered from drought for several years. When everyone else is starving to death, why would nobles be any different?”
“What a feeble excuse. It lacks creativity.”
“What did you say?”
Johan tossed the ledger Ilea had stolen onto the floor.
The treasurer’s eyes widened.
“Why is that here?!”
Ilea gave him a gentle smile.
“Isn’t hiding something in a drawer a little too predictable, Treasurer?”
“D-don’t tell me you…”
“That’s right.”
The knight appeared flustered as well.
“Ilea, why are you helping that bastard?”
She tilted her head.
“What a strange question. Young Master Johan is the heir to the barony, so all of us should serve him.”
“And here I thought you were clever!”
“It seems I’ve disappointed you without meaning to.”
Johan chuckled.
“You two must have been fairly close.”
“He was merely something to amuse myself with. The castle was rather boring before you arrived, Young Master.”
The knight let out an incredulous scoff.
“You two damned brats conspired to screw me over!”
Johan’s smile vanished.
“You’re finally revealing your true colors. Since you’ve decided to be honest, tell me the truth. Where did you divert the taxes?”
The treasurer answered in his place.
“D-divert them? Of course not! We merely moved them elsewhere! As you can see, this storehouse is far too small to hold all the tribute.”
Johan nodded.
“That isn’t entirely unreasonable. Then tell me where you moved it.”
“Th-that is…”
Johan’s gaze turned cold.
“Could it be my uncle’s storehouse?”
The knight and treasurer both froze.
“It seems I’m correct.”
The knight immediately shouted,
“What kind of bullshit are you spouting?!”
“I thought something was strange. How could a wanderer who had been cast out of the family gather an army of three hundred men and pay for all their military expenses?”
“It would be more than possible with Count Staviana’s support!”
Count Staviana was the leader of the aristocratic faction and the kingdom’s chancellor.
“Support from House Staviana, you say? You know something that no one but one of my uncle’s closest associates should know.”
Realizing his mistake, the knight furrowed his brow.
“You are unquestionably a traitor. Or perhaps you were my uncle’s spy from the beginning. Either way, it doesn’t matter. Admit your crimes and kneel.”
The knight glanced around the storehouse. Aside from himself and the treasurer, the only people present were three children.
As a knight, he could cut them all down with a single stroke and escape the castle.
Rather than discovering how his espionage had been exposed, his most urgent priority was to flee.
He reached for the sword at his waist.
“Kneel? I would never kneel before a lowborn bastard like you!”
The instant he tried to draw his sword, his expression twisted in confusion.
The sword would not come free. No matter how hard he struggled, he could not pull the blade from its sheath.
The knight lowered his gaze.
Shock spread across his face.
His hand and the sword’s hilt had frozen white, fused firmly together.
“W-what is this…?”
It was magic—a power forbidden by the laws of the kingdom. A profane miracle had ensnared him.
There was an apostate among them.
The knight immediately looked straight ahead.
Blue mana was rippling around Ilea.
She smiled gently.
“If you draw that sword, you’ll die.”
“Y-you couldn’t possibly be—!”
“Never mind. Now that you’ve witnessed my magic, there is no way you’ll leave here alive anyway.”
Having said that, Ilea turned to Johan.
“Do I have your permission, Young Master?”
“Keep him alive. A knight’s body has many uses.”
The knight was a valuable material. With proper treatment, he could be fashioned into an excellent creation.
Johan looked out the window and added,
“The sun will set soon. I should be going. We have no need for the treasurer, so deal with him however you please.”
Ilea pretended to click her tongue in disapproval.
“You truly are a thoroughgoing demon. I’ll do as you command.”
The moment she finished speaking, countless magical formulas spread throughout the storehouse.