Ch.10Aftermath

“First… bring the bishop here.”

“Yes!!”

I can’t keep drowning in sorrow. The living must continue to move forward.

After becoming the Duke, my first order was to prepare for the funeral, and my second was to immediately arrest the bishop who managed the church. The first order was natural, and all my vassals nodded in understanding at the second.

Of course they would. It was the church’s negligent management that caused the chandelier to fall, resulting in this catastrophe.

Thud!

“I’m sorry, so sorry! H-how… could this happen…!”

“…”

All people connected to the church had already been gathered in one place under guard to prevent escape, so bringing just the bishop before me took less than five minutes.

Until this very morning, the bishop had looked down on me with contempt, not even deigning to look at me properly because I was “impure.” But now, that’s not the case.

That arrogant bishop, those who claim to be servants of God, are now bowing their heads to me, a secular ruler, begging for mercy.

…He still isn’t looking at me properly.

“Raise your head.”

“P-please… spare me…”

“I heard you, now raise your head!”

“Eek…”

The chandelier accident happened in the morning, and now it’s almost sunset.

Having spent half the day trembling in fear of punishment, the bishop’s face has withered, and his eyes are swollen red from excessive crying.

Though his fear-stricken eyes are directed at me, he still isn’t seeing me.

He’s trembling not before me, Claude the person, but before my title, the Duke of Bourgogne.

…He has some principles after all.

“Execute him. And determine the guilt or innocence of everyone who worked at that church.”

“Yes.”

“P-please… please…”

But his having principles doesn’t mean I need to be impressed.

This man must die regardless. If I show misplaced mercy, both my vassals and feudal lords might turn their backs on me.

The bishop holds great power, but he’s not above the law.

Strictly speaking, negligent management alone might not warrant execution, but when that negligence causes the deaths of none other than the Duke and his family, execution becomes less problematic.

That’s probably why this once-arrogant man is now trembling so much.

The religious community might complain, but they’ll either understand or at least keep quiet outwardly. If they’re so upset, they can bring my father back to life.

“Contact the Holy See to explain the circumstances and request they dispatch a new bishop. And as for the church territory that has lost its master due to the bishop’s death…”

Church territory.

Land governed by the clergy, the church. It’s called delegated governance, but in reality, the clergy barely pay taxes while regularly sending “donations” to the Holy See, making it a source of national wealth outflow.

Church territories originated when nobles, unable to properly govern vast lands with limited administrative capacity but fearful of creating regional warlords through enfeoffment, began delegating governance to churches, which posed less risk.

Churches, knowing all their local believers, demonstrated excellent administrative capabilities. Satisfied nobles created more church territories.

The results were disastrous.

As church territories expanded, the increasingly influential religious sector pressured lords for tax reductions. The money saved wasn’t invested locally but sent to the Holy See, the center of the Canaan faith, draining national wealth.

One could confiscate church territories at the cost of antagonizing the church, but the aftermath would be problematic.

Churches possess registers of local believers, making them administratively valuable. Churches wouldn’t cooperate with nobles who seized their lands, the Holy See would express outrage and apply diplomatic pressure, and excommunication might even occur.

In short, reclaiming church territories means abandoning administration and risking diplomatic issues and excommunication. That’s why most nobles, including my father, didn’t dare touch church territories.

“…The Duchy of Bourgogne will govern them by proxy.”

So proxy governance is the only option, not confiscation.

As an illegitimate child, I already have to be cautious about everything. If I also antagonize the church and can’t even receive coronation, it would be the end of me.

Governing church territories by proxy until a new bishop arrives is something other countries do as well, so it shouldn’t be a major issue.

The longer the proxy governance lasts, the more previously uncollected taxes we can recover, so I’d prefer the next bishop to arrive as late as possible… but it’s somewhat problematic that this bishop needs to conduct my coronation.

Tsk… if not for the coronation issue, I would have just disguised an assassin as a thief and had him killed on his way here.

“Also, issue a summons to the vassals, telling them to come and pledge allegiance to me, the rightful ruler of the Duchy of Bourgogne.”

“Yes!”

Afterward, I devoted all my efforts to dealing with the aftermath of my father’s death and ensuring a normal succession. I had no time to mourn my father.

The same seemed true for my attendants who had become my vassals; the tear marks that had been around their eyes earlier had transformed into dark circles.

That day, I was only able to leave my office after the moon had reached its highest point.

……….

Creeeeak—

“Yaaawn…”

I’m so incredibly sleepy. After this morning’s ordeal, I seem to have become even more tired as a reaction.

Since it would be somewhat inappropriate to use the Duke’s room before it’s properly arranged, I returned to the room I had been using all along.

“I should go straight to—”

“Welcome back, young master.”

“Aaaack!?”

I was certain no one was there!?

I turned around in a fluster, and there was Chloe, neatly dressed in her maid uniform, standing beside the door in a waiting posture, smiling at me.

The faint starlight and moonlight coming through the window gently illuminated Chloe.

“Ch-Chloe… don’t scare me like that…”

“Hehe… I’m satisfied now that I’ve seen your surprised face.”

“You shouldn’t be satisfied with that…”

Due to the limited light, I couldn’t see clearly, but Chloe was smiling mischievously with a cute expression.

“Young master, no, Your Grace.”

“Hmm…?”

It’s quite different to hear Chloe, who always called me young master, address me as Your Grace.

“Now you’re the highest person in this castle, in Bourgogne, right?”

“Huh? Oh… yes?”

“Then… no one can give you orders, right?”

“I… guess so?”

…What’s this about?

Chloe’s voice remains unchanged.

It’s her usual sweet and cute voice, but somehow it feels a little—

“Then… the engagement with that Lorel woman could be canceled…”

“Lorel? Ah… right!”

I had completely forgotten about my engagement to Ines, the granddaughter of Duke Lorel, because I was so busy.

What a mistake… I should send a letter to the Lorel Duchy first thing tomorrow.

“…Your Grace?”

Seemingly a bit displeased that I cut her off, Chloe called me again in a calm voice.

“Ah, yes… sorry, you were saying something about canceling the engagement with the Lorel Duchy?”

“Yes…!”

Chloe answered with a voice full of excitement and energy. It’s not a voice one would expect in the middle of the night.

“Hmm… I don’t think it can be canceled.”

“What…?”

“Well, I’m a duke now. Wouldn’t they be even more eager to maintain it?”

When I was just an illegitimate child, my father had to make all sorts of efforts to secure this engagement, but now it seems like they would be the ones clinging to it.

The Duchy of Bourgogne may be called a duchy, but thanks to my grandfather’s enthusiastic conquest wars, it far exceeds the typical duchy in rank. I can assert that no noble would refuse marriage with the ruler or a family member of such a duchy.

“Your Grace… what about you…?”

“Hm?”

“What do you think about the engagement…?”

Me? I…

“It’s not bad.”

Although it’s a politically arranged engagement, Ines is kind and beautiful, and I’ve met her before at a previous banquet.

Despite her young age, Ines was clearly going to grow into a beauty, and her personality, unlike typical noble ladies, was shy and kind. If I’m going to marry anyway, I’d rather it be with Ines, who is familiar, has a good personality, and is pretty, than with some stranger from another noble family.

As for age… combining my previous life, there’s a difference of several decades, but my current self is 19, so it’s just a safe 4-year gap. Heh heh.

“…What about me?”

“What?”

“What… what do you think of me?”

…?

What’s this about?

We were just talking about Ines, why is Chloe suddenly bringing herself up?

“Well… you’re pretty… cute… reliable… like a little sister?”

“…Ugh.”

“Chloe!?”

As soon as I finished speaking, Chloe lowered her head and let out a short, intense groan.

Her hands, which had been modestly folded, clutched at her chest, and even in the dim light, I could tell something was wrong with Chloe’s condition, so I rushed to her in alarm.

“Y-Your Grace… I’m sorry, I’m so sorry… I…”

“No, what do you have to be sorry about, Chloe!? You’ve been since morning—”

I was about to stop Chloe when I saw her tears glistening in the moonlight, and I couldn’t say anything more.

“I’m sorry…”

Thud—

“…”

Chloe brushed off my hand, opened the door, and went outside, leaving me to stare blankly at her retreating figure.

I could have followed her, but the corridor was very dark in the middle of the night, and I had a feeling I shouldn’t pursue her, so I didn’t.

Needless to say, I couldn’t sleep properly that night.