The Abandoned Duchess Seems to Want a Peaceful Life - Chapter 131

Chapter 131: Apprentice Steward

On the third day after the priest’s visit, I reviewed the list I received from August, who had come to the manor in the afternoon. Out of the eighteen who had received the blessing, only four had entries in the talent section.

“Don’t you have to be with Priest Emil today?”

“It seems he’s spending the whole day in his room today because it’s a day of purification. He said I shouldn’t go near him or speak to him unless I’m a church member who has also purified myself, so I was told to take a break. It was basically a way for him to send me away.”

He said it jokingly, but it was helpful to me because I could receive the report like this.

The list included Lloyd, along with Rad who had Calculation and Analysis, and the boy from Melto Village who had Sewing, and the boy from Enkar Village who had Green Hand, each written next to their names.

“Green Hand is rare. I believe it’s a talent that’s good for growing crops.”

“Yeah, it’s the first time I’ve seen that one. It’s not that common for farmers to receive ‘blessings’ in the first place, but seeing as it only appeared once in eighteen people, you could call it quite a rare talent.”

“It’s also nice that Sewing came out. Since last winter, we’ve been providing needles and thread to Melto Village so they could learn to sew. We’ve put a set in the village chief’s house for everyone to use.”

Serfs couldn’t take on other jobs, and needles and thread were considered luxury items, so many hadn’t sewn once in their lives until Melfina encouraged them. Luckily, Melto Village had Eli, who was from a merchant family and had a fair amount of education, so I asked her to take care of the sewing supplies and teach anyone who wanted to learn the basics of sewing.

It seems that it has borne fruit.

And next to Lloyd’s name, who had always been considered to have talent, was written Arts and Arms.

“What kind of talent is Arts and Arms? I get the impression that they can handle both civil and military matters.”

“Arts and Arms is a well-balanced talent where someone excels in military skills with a flexible mind, and excels in civil matters with a robust physique. It should be a talent that appears from time to time in the Carlisle family of the capital, through bloodlines. I believe your older brother also had it, didn’t he?”

August turned the question on Cedric, who nodded firmly in agreement.

You could call it a talent worthy of the Carlisle family, who are counts who are both knights and politicians, and whose head serves as the commander of the Royal Knights, directly under the royal family.

“So, I spoke with Cedric a bit, and how about we make Lloyd Cedric’s squire and add him to Lady Melfina’s guard, but at the same time, have him learn politics and administration as an apprentice to the administrator, and eventually, bring him on as Lady Melfina’s steward?”

“Steward?”

I was a bit surprised that such a grand position was being proposed, as the manor only had a handful of servants, but August seemed to be making a serious suggestion.

Cedric, standing beside me, also nodded deeply as if in agreement.

“If Lady Melfina continues to develop the land with her talent, the day will surely come when she will no longer be able to manage it alone. It’s bound to happen sooner rather than later. It’s typical for the management of a vast estate to be handled by a steward and an official, so it would be a good choice to cultivate him as a direct vassal now.”

“The steward of a lord of a prosperous land faces many temptations and dangers. They need strength to defend themselves and loyalty that won’t succumb to temptation. Rufus-sama, the steward of the Oldrand family, is amazing. He’s getting on in years, but he’s unmatched in close combat with weapons, even by ordinary knights.”

I recalled the man in a butler’s uniform who had stood slightly behind Alexis right after the wedding. His posture was straight, but his hair and beard were truly white, making him seem elderly.

“Depending on the territory, some stewards travel around the vast lands all year long, conducting audits, so it’s also a very physical job. Ideally, it would be the fastest way to learn if he could train under Rufus-sama for a couple of years at the Oldrand house.”

“Oldrand and Enkar are different territories. I can’t possibly send someone to train under another lord for such an important job as steward.”

That’s why he’s Cedric’s squire and an administrator apprentice. Cedric is part of the Oldrand Knights, but he is currently Melfina’s bodyguard, and she can monitor his training at any time.

“Is Cedric alright? He’s already guarding me almost the whole day, and now he’s going to have to take care of a squire on top of that?”

A squire is a knight apprentice who takes care of a specific knight and serves as his shield-bearer. Their status is higher than that of soldiers, and they can be raised to the rank of knight by merit.

While it’s a promotion as a soldier, if Lloyd aims to become a steward in the future rather than a knight, he would learn knightly behavior and combat skills under Cedric, more as a teacher than as someone who will lead him to victory.

Wouldn’t that be a heavier burden on Cedric than a typical squire?

“There’s no problem. He already trains at night, so Lloyd will just join in.”

“Wait, he’s been training at night? I’ve never heard of that before.”

“If he doesn’t do at least some running and sword practice every day, his body will become sluggish if he just guards Lady Melfina.”

“When does he sleep!? I mean, he doesn’t have any backup, so I’ve been neglecting him. I’ll give him a full day off twice a week…”

I had been vaguely aware of it before, but Cedric’s work environment was, was it a bit too much? I hastily got up from my chair, and August, chuckling at my reaction, chimed in.

“Lady Melfina, knights are used to training from a young age, so if you give them time off or make them train less, they tend to become restless or have trouble sleeping. This guy is incredibly conscientious, even his relatives think he’s overdoing it, but he’s not stupid enough to push himself to the point of collapse, so he’ll take breaks when he needs them, even without me telling him.”

“But it’s dangerous to go out at night. There are wild animals that come out after dark.”

“There aren’t many wild animals that can do anything to him, and wild animals are smart, so they usually won’t pick a fight they can’t win.”

“Not Lloyd! He’s different!”

“There aren’t many animals that would pick a fight with a pack that has a strong leader, and the northern monsters are good at surprise attacks, so it’s better for him to be able to deal with them on his own. Right?”

“He’ll be the next person to guard Lady Melfina. He needs to be able to handle things himself as soon as possible.”

“Th-that’s…”

They both usually treated Melfina gently, and Cedric, especially after he first came to Enkar, hadn’t shown any signs of being rough, so it was easy to forget, but knights are a combat profession.

It’s a profession, no, a status, that can’t exist without rigorous training and a stoic mindset.

“Let’s listen to Lloyd’s opinion as well. The villagers currently undergoing training were going to be soldiers to protect Enkar in the future, and I’m sure Lloyd is aiming for that as well.”

“It’s a position where he will protect Enkar more widely and firmly than a soldier, so I don’t think he’ll say no.”

“It’s a very good opportunity for him, too. It’s customary for the steward of a ducal house to be someone who has received proper education from a family with a title, like a baron or viscount, and the steward of a prosperous territory has a lot of power. In the end, he could end up with a higher position than me.”

August’s words, coming from the side of the Oldrand family, who are close advisors to the northern rulers, made Melfina chuckle.

“In any case, his opinion is the most important. But I’d be happy if he accepted. I’ve been thinking I need more direct vassals, and he’s a kind boy who always brings fish and gets along well with everyone.”

It would be a great thing for Enkar to have more reliable people to help develop the territory.

A few days later, I officially asked Lutz, the village chief of Enkar Village, about his grandson’s employment. I received a report that the village chief, who has a fear of nobles, fell off his chair before finally agreeing after consulting with his grandson, but that’s a story for another time.