Chapter 52
Lady Eva was Lady Eva.
As for her mother, the Count's wife, whenever I asked anyone else about her, they brushed me off with something like, "Sometimes it's better not to ask," so I assumed she had probably died. But Lady Eva had grown up loved by everyone in the mansion simply as Lady Eva, and I had never heard her say anything about her mother.
"Reiji!"
"I'm right here in front of you. Please don't call out so loudly."
"I am fortunate. Everyone in the mansion is kind to me, and I even have a strong guard like you."
"We are deeply honored. Your feelings alone are more than enough for us, so there's no need to go any further..."
"I think I should share my happiness with everyone!"
Because Lady Eva was Lady Eva, she sometimes didn't let people finish speaking. No, she did listen when she chose to, but whenever I was thinking, "Will this conversation ever end? Or could you continue it somewhere that doesn't involve me?" she generally didn't listen.
Once, she said, "I want to climb up to the roof!" and refused to give up even after I turned her down about seven times, so I had no choice but to pick her up and climb onto the roof. The view was wonderful, but if I had known I would be summoned by the Cold-Blooded Lord that night and stared at for fifteen minutes with a silent smile, I wouldn't have wanted to see it. The Cold-Blooded Lord seemed to become a doting father when it came to his daughter.
On another occasion, she said, "I want to go into town and see how common people live!" I thought, Yes, yes, the classic young-lady routine, and half gave up after turning her down about twelve times, but she still wouldn't give in. So I bought some clothes that looked like rags, stuffed Lady Eva's beautiful hair into a cloth item that might have been a hat or might have been a sack, and showed her around town. As a result, my plan to sneak out without telling anyone, figuring they would stop us anyway, backfired. When we returned, a search party had already been formed; we narrowly avoided the Holy Capital Guard being contacted, the maids let out silent screams at Lady Eva's drastically altered appearance (two of them fainted), and I was locked in the Count's private study until late at night, where we engaged in a heated debate over "What does it mean to be a guard?" According to the Count, "Being a guard means keeping someone away from danger," while my view was, "The problem is how her parents raised her." Our opinions never met, but when I remembered the tragic look on Maxim-san's face—he had been appointed leader of the search party—I reflected that, regardless of what the Count thought, I had to avoid making everyone in the mansion sad.
Lady Eva, do you mean you want to scatter money around?
There was no way to hand out little pieces of happiness. But most people were happy to receive money.
Reiji, that's not it. It is precisely the problems that money cannot solve that we must solve. In other words, structural problems!
By "structural problems," she presumably meant things like nobles having an obvious advantage over commoners, lords being able to set taxes unilaterally, and, in rural areas, things like the "right of the first night," which allowed a lord to take a bride's virginity, I supposed.
I had learned about such things from her tutor.
Some time after I became her guard, another tutor was added, and she began studying the knowledge necessary for a noble—politics, administration, law, and the like.
But surely all of that had been taught from the perspective of those in power: "You will be in a position to make use of these things, after all, Lady Eva."
Who had taught Lady Eva to see things from the commoners' perspective and instilled in her the sense of mission that "We need to be fairer!"...?
I realized it while watching you, Reiji. You speak to your tutor as an equal and study hard, don't you? In fact, there are times when you apply yourself to your studies more diligently than I do. Given the opportunity, anyone, noble or commoner, can learn and acquire abilities!
"..."
Apparently, it was my fault.
"No, Lady Eva, um, I..."
If I could tell her I had a past life, it would be easy, but there was little chance she'd believe me, and even if I tried to prove it, bringing out the 【All Creation】 Talent Jewel would be awkward...
"Reiji, you don't have to say anything more."
"Lady Eva..."
"You feel the same way I do. That's what you're saying, isn't it!"
Nothing gets through to her after all...
"Reiji, I'm going to see Father!"
"Huh...?"
The Count's office? I could see nothing but trouble in our future.
"I'm going to ask Father to stamp out the illegal slavery that has spread throughout this Holy Capital!"
His Majesty the Holy King had made his policy of "prohibiting" "slavery" quite clear. Everyone called that the "Holy King's kindness," but I sensed something different.
This country was supported by the "First Altar." Its abundant Talent Jewels were distributed among its people, and because there was no discrimination based on race, many immigrants came here.
If the country allowed "slavery," many of its citizens would end up as slaves. After all, it was commonplace for people to arrive in the Holy Capital without a penny to their name. Slaves became the property of the wealthy, and the wealthy could legally own armed forces. From the perspective of the nobles, the privileged class, that would be a frightening prospect.
Even so—many people were buried in debt, and if they couldn't ultimately "sell themselves" as slaves, moneylenders would be unable to recover their loans.
That was where "underlings" came in.
By binding people with Contract Magic, they could be treated no differently from slaves.
Of course, in the Holy Capital, which publicly proclaimed "No slavery!", such a business couldn't be conducted openly, so it had to be done in secret, and the city did not see an explosive increase in slaves.
(It's like pach●nko in Japan.)
That was what I thought when I first heard about it. Lady Eva, on the other hand,
"If they're slaves in all but name, then this goes against His Majesty the Holy King's wishes!"
was furious.
I passionately argued that the "underling" system kept moneylenders' interest rates from rising, and that, unlike slaves who could be bought and sold as property, "underlings" could be bound only by one-to-one Contract Magic between master and servant, making them less valuable as assets. It might even serve as a safety net for citizens drowning in debt. But of course Lady Eva wouldn't listen. Well, if she were the kind of young lady who would say, "It may very well violate the law, but it's a necessary evil!" and then yield with a "I suppose so!" I wouldn't have had nearly so much trouble.
What Lady Eva cared about was that very young children were being offered as "underlings" to pay off their parents' debts.
Contract Magic could be used to do anything.
Anything.
Apparently, "underling" also carried the meaning "someone whose duties included tending to one's lower needs," and when I heard that virgin girls fetched high prices as "underlings," there was no way to stop Lady Eva, whose sense of justice was running like an express train.
(Still, I couldn't imagine the Count accepting a proposal so absurd it made me wonder, "Is he sane?": marching into a slave dealer's shop, announcing, "You're dealing in slaves," and having the dealer's business shut down.)
One thing that made me glad that even Lady Eva retained the tiniest shred of common sense was that she suggested consulting the Count beforehand.
The Count seemed to be busy enough to drop dead every day, but he was indulgent only toward his daughter, so he made time to hear her proposal.
After listening to the whole thing with a series of nods, the Count said, as expressionless as ever:
"I understand, Eva. I'll prepare a list of 'employment agencies' that are highly likely to be illegal, so you should look into them."
"Thank you, Father!"
The look on my face at that moment must have been worse than the one Us●pp made when he was startled in O●e Piece.
What, permission? He actually gave permission?
Whether my soul's cry had reached him or he was simply ignoring my thoughts completely, the Count simply said:
"Reiji-san, I trust you to carry out your guard duty."
Just like that.