22 — A Shocking Turn!

“Is the Captain here yet?” asked Mr. Fisalis.

“No, he isn’t. Is something the matter?”

“I told him to come here when we crossed paths in town earlier today. Direct him to the living room when he does arrive.”

“Yes, sir.”

I was a bit relieved he hadn’t shown up yet—we hadn’t ended up wasting any of his time. I sat down beside Mr. Fisalis on the living room sofa to seize a moment’s respite. I only realized how exhausted I truly was when I partook of the warm, delicious tea a servant brought in for me. As I sipped, I could feel the considerable fatigue from our very eventful stroll melt away. “Phew...” I closed my eyes and breathed in the tea’s aroma. My body was healing from the inside out. If only I could sink right into the sofa!

“I see even you have to run out of energy eventually, Viola. I can hardly blame you, given the day’s events.” He patted me on the hand, as a gesture of appreciation for what I’d gone through. Then, he gripped my hand tight as he continued. “Though when I think about you being manhandled by those criminal scum, my blood boils... For now, though, we should dispose of those clothes they’ve defiled with their filthy hands. Go change, Viola! On second thought—changing clothes won’t be enough, I think. Oh, I know! You need to go take a bath as well! On the double!”

“Come again?”

It seemed Mr. Fisalis’ wrath had returned upon reflecting back on today’s events, and now he was making erratic demands of me. How could I take a bath right this second if nobody had drawn one? What was he on about!?

Mr. Fisalis was in his own world now; he was paying my exasperation no heed. “The bath has got to come first. Rosa, prepare one for her, and quickly. Stellaria, prepare her a new set of clothes. And get rid of the clothes she has on now.”

“Understood.”

Hold your horses! Don’t just go ordering the servants around willy-nilly on my behalf!

“Wait, hold on, I can bathe and change out of these clothes later. It’s no big deal, really!”

“It’s a big deal to me! If you’re not going to take a bath, then at least change clothes.”

“Excuse me!?”

“If you’re going to make a fuss over it, I’ll just rip them off!”

“Eeek! You’re a sick, dirty pervert!”

Our verbal tug of war (“take a bath!” “no!” “change clothes!” “no!”) ended when we were informed of the Captain’s arrival.

Nice timing ☆

“Allow me to apologize for troubling you earlier, Your Excellency!” he said, bowing so deeply he was bent over at a right angle. He’d been led to the living room by Fennel.

Mr. Fisalis bade him stop with a raised hand. “No, think nothing of it. Of course, if Viola had come to harm, it would be a different story... but all’s well that ends well.”

If the servants’ wide-eyed expressions were any indication, they were gobsmacked by the words that had just come out of Mr. Fisalis’ mouth. I could swear I even heard their souls shout, “Are you for real!? Was he always the type to say something like that!?” but maybe I was just hearing things. In any case, the Captain was humbled by his words, but no more so than anybody else in his position might be.

Mr. Fisalis raised an eyebrow at the servants’ reactions, but almost as soon as we’d noticed it, they’d all reverted to their original expressions. Talk about a quick recovery! They may have retired, but they were still the servants of a ducal house. And yet at Mr. Fisalis’ remark, even these first-rate professionals were unable to hide their shock. Just what was their opinion of you before, Mr. Fisalis?

Mr. Fisalis, for his part, must have decided to pay them no mind. Instead, he cleared his throat and returned his gaze to the Captain. “Never mind that, Captain. It’s my understanding from what I heard earlier that so many guards have been dispatched south thanks to the war that Le Pied is currently short-handed. My question is, if you’re having such a tough time cracking down on crime, then why didn’t you ask for my assistance? My personal squadron of knights has been in this territory the whole time. As such, you understand there was no reason for you to let public order deteriorate to this degree?”

The Captain was wiping his brow. “I can’t apologize enough, sir! I’ve been so busy due to your predecessor’s absence that I ended up putting off dealing with the situation. I heard he was summoned to the capital by order of the king, so I figured he’d have his hands full there, and I didn’t want to inconvenience him with what amounted to a band of ruffians out in the country, so I felt reluctant to contact—”

“Enough. When all is said and done, you avoided bringing it up out of a misguided thoughtfulness, correct?”

“Yes, sir. That is correct,” said the Captain, head hanging in shame.

“If that thoughtfulness results in crime running amok, then what use is it?” he scolded, coming off more severe than usual. His typically kind eyes had turned cold.

“You’re too right, sir, too right.” In his obsequious humility, the Captain was practically cringing with his entire body.

By the look of it, their talk was leading to the matter of Le Pied’s security force. Maybe I’m a third wheel here. If I’m hanging around and listening to them discuss delicate political matters, they’ll probably feel like they have to watch what they say. It might be better if I just take my leave here.

I glanced at Rohtas, but he just shook his head slightly. Well, that’s out of the ordinary. Is he telling me to stay? I still think I should probably just read the room and run off.

“If you’ll excuse me,” I said, rising up from the sofa.

But Rohtas stopped me midway with his arm outstretched. “Please, you should listen, too.”

“Huh? Ah, okay.” I plopped back down beside him. Um, are you sure it’s okay if someone like me’s hanging around? This is important stuff! I don’t really feel needed here, but everybody wants me to stay. All right then, I’ll be good and stay put.

The conversation resumed once more. As the Captain put it:

“Ever since the most recent war with Aurantia broke out, the majority of the town’s guards have been deployed to the southern portion of the territory, resulting in a sharp reduction in raw manpower available for Le Pied’s security. Le Pied was hardly crime-ridden before, and the judgment was made that it would be fine even if the number of guards in town went down. But that failed to take your predecessor’s absence into account. Due to his absence—that is to say, the absence of an authority figure—the next thing I knew, public safety had devolved to the extent you witnessed today. I’m not blaming him, of course! It’s all my fault; I’m out of my depth, sir! I’m not worthy to have taken up the responsibility of leading in his absence... I cannot apologize enough, sir.”

Apologies don’t get much more earnest than that. Honestly, though, that five-man gang was the worst of the crime in town. It appeared that the rest amounted to small-time brawls and petty burglaries, which the few remaining guards in Le Pied and the upstanding townsfolk dealt with in their way.

Life in the capital hadn’t changed appreciably, despite the ongoing war, but I should have realized the war would affect the lands outside the capital. I’m embarrassed at myself for being so ignorant and carefree. I’m sorry, world.

While I was engaging in some serious self-reflection, Mr. Fisalis and the Captain continued their discussion.

Mr. Fisalis had his arms crossed, a hard look on his face. “It’s all because the guards are concentrated in the south for the time being... and it would take time to send aspirants to Rozhe for the necessary training in order to swell their ranks. Not to mention we can’t ask them to focus solely on increasing the number of guards in this one territory of ours. It would throw off the overall balance of security forces throughout the kingdom.”

“Indeed, sir,” said the Captain, nodding meekly.

Guardsmen were actually civil servants dispatched by the nation, and belonged to a low-level section of the military. Many used to be gung-ho active-duty knights, and those who wanted to be a guard without being a knight first still had to endure knightly training at the capital. As such, unless one already had a considerable amount of skill and prowess, becoming an official guardsman took time.

From what I’d witnessed back in town, the Captain of the Guard had elegantly performed a proper knight’s salute. And moments ago when he’d stepped into the living room, he’d bowed at a very precise angle. He must have had experience serving as a knight when he was younger.

Well, putting that aside, I find it odd that all they’ve been talking about is “increasing the number of official guardsmen.” I mean, there’s an obvious, better solution, isn’t there? At first I thought I’d just sit there and listen, but I just couldn’t hold back any longer. “Um, could I say something, if I may?” I asked, breaking in when the opportunity presented itself.

“What is it?” replied Mr. Fisalis without delay.

“Um, well, uhhh...” I hesitated—was it really my place to speak up all high and mighty like this?

“Is something wrong? Do you have something to say?”

Well, he’s not telling me to shut up, so out with it, I guess. “If we can’t increase the number of guards, then why don’t we organize a community watch group?”

“A what?” Mr. Fisalis and the Captain were taken aback. To them, this was coming out of nowhere.

Did the idea really never occur to you guys? I saw what looked basically like a community watch group back in town already. You know, people breaking up fights, chasing down robbers, that sort of thing. Wouldn’t it make sense to formalize what’s already more or less there? In my family’s territory, our community watch group was just a fact of life everyone took for granted. I guess that isn’t necessarily the case everywhere, huh? Maybe what’s common sense where I lived is regarded as silly elsewhere! What if they think I’m an idiot?

“A “community watch group,” you say. Could you tell us more?” said Mr. Fisalis.

Everyone’s eyes, the servants’ included, were on me, so I went into how we did it in my territory. “My territory never had many guards to begin with, so the people created a self-policing body. Being minor nobility, we couldn’t tactfully request an increase in guards.”

That’s right—my territory’s security scheme, too, was handled internally, and by the common folk at that. My land was nowhere near as important as this duchy, so we didn’t exactly have many guards stationed there.

“I see. A watch group composed primarily of citizens... So, how were they trained in physical combat? In swordsmanship?” asked Mr. Fisalis, intrigued.

“That, the countdom’s guards saw to. As they trained, they would also instruct the community watch. And given this place has so many official guards compared to my territory, not to mention all the ducal knights, couldn’t they draw more highly-trained watchmen from their ranks?”

“Shortage of guards” my butt. You’ve still definitely got more than my land does. I’m green with envy here!

“That’s a fair point.”

“Some community watch members would also end up wanting to become actual guardsmen. We would arrange for them to receive training in Rozhe. Moreover, people are coming back from the war every day, aren’t they? I’m sure some of them could return to their old jobs, but the ones that can’t tend to end up resorting to... not-so-great alternatives.. If there are more people looking for work here than there are jobs, then I think a community watch could also serve as an avenue of employment. The community watch may be a voluntary, unsalaried service, but its members are usually rewarded for their efforts protecting the townsfolk through donations. That’s how we managed to operate ours.”

We didn’t have money to pay them, exactly, but we did collect food for them to share amongst themselves. That was how we compensated them for their service. When one’s coffers are empty, we just use our heads ☆ As for supplies, each individual member of the watch contributed what they could.

“That sounds like a splendid idea,” said the Captain. Initially, the Captain had listened to what I had to say with a little skepticism, but his stern expression had given way to a smile. “If we implement it, we can maintain the public order in town without having to worry about wars or shifts in national policy changing anything. Dear me, little miss—you may be young, but you have a good head on your shoulders!”

Tee hee. Did you hear those words of praise!? And here all I did was share a little bit of pauper’s wisdom!

“She’s not ‘little miss’ to you,” grumbled Mr. Fisalis. “She’s Viola. My wife.”

I can’t have been the only person to notice the “uh-oh” look on the Captain’s poor face. “Ah, you mean she’s your...! For-forgive me, sir, this is the first I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her! Ha, haha...” he said, his smile strained.

Mr. Fisalis evidently elected to ignore him. “What’s the current employment situation in the territory like, Fennel?”

“It hasn’t changed much in Le Pied, sir, even now that the war is on. However, in rural areas, people are often left without work in the off season. Furthermore, just as Madam observed earlier, many residents who participated in the war effort as volunteer soldiers have returned, and I believe her solution may be the most suitable means of giving them work. As such, I’m of the opinion that a great deal of the citizenry will likely approve of her proposal,” he replied, with complete confidence.

That’s Rohtas’ butlering teacher for you!

Mr. Fisalis paused to think. “Hmm... I see. Let’s give the community watch a try, shall we? I’ll explain the idea to Father. What do you think, Rohtas? Do you think it’s in the cards?”

“I think we can work out the little details later down the line, but no, I don’t believe the expense will be an issue,” he answered, no less smoothly than his old mentor. He never failed to impress!

“Then it’s settled; now we just need to work towards that goal. I bid you make the necessary preparations as well, Captain. Set your sights on young men of physical prowess, as well as any able-bodied residents in search of work.”

“Yes, sir.”

Just like that, the community watch project was given the go-ahead. Then...

“Thank you for speaking up, Viola. We would never have thought of such a brilliant idea on our own.”

“Oh my... Don’t mention it; I just told you how we do things in my territory, that’s all!” Mr. Fisalis had bowed his head, so I felt incredibly humbled.

Mr. Fisalis’ next words to the Captain had me wide-eyed with shock. “I’m very interested to see whether the community watch functions as intended, so expect me to drop by whenever it’s practical from now on.”

Wait, what? Did he just say what I think he said!? Until now, he’s left this territory completely in his in-laws’ hands, hasn’t he!?

And I was far from the only one completely floored by this development. Everyone did a double take, even the group from the capital. Boy, it’s been a while since I’ve seen Rohtas that nonplussed!

The only one who couldn’t read the room was the Captain. I bet he thinks it’s only natural that Mr. Fisalis doesn’t come to his territory more often, probably assuming he’s busy with knight stuff in the capital. He’s not totally on the mark there, but I’m not about to make a peep about it.

Their reactions hadn’t, however, eluded Mr. Fisalis. “What? Is my coming here a bad idea?” he asked sullenly.

It’s your fault they’re all boggling at you, dummy! With how you totally neglected the place before now, of course they’d react this way if you suddenly come out with an “I’ll basically run the territory now.” Get a clue already!

“That’s not it,” Rohtas replied promptly, smiling wryly.

But Mr. Fisalis’ next remark made him completely freeze up. “I am sorry about my past conduct, you know. And I’m fully aware that in order to truly repent, words alone won’t cut it. I know that my words carry no weight, and that I haven’t entirely earned your trust yet, so I intend to demonstrate how much I’ve changed through my behavior going forward. I do plan to enlist Father’s help in governing the territory, but I wish to do everything I can myself as well.”

No way!! So he’s aware of how impossible he used to be!?