Chapter 7 - Appointed Scribe Radmir's Homecoming
As Appointed Scribe Radmir Hasheck opened the door of his official residence to head to work, a young man who looked like a footman from somewhere gave him a respectful bow.
At the end of the alley, on the main street, a carriage could be seen waiting.
"Master Hasheck, I have come to collect you on my master's orders. I have a carriage waiting there."
"To collect me?"
Radmir repeated like a parrot. He had no idea who it could be.
"Please, take this."
He took the letter the footman offered and checked the contents. It was nothing more than an order for a business trip.
The document, stamped with a red seal marked 'Urgent,' certainly ordered Radmir to go on a trip. The destination was Manor, a small port town three days' journey west of the royal capital. It was Radmir's own birthplace. Since his father passed away from illness six years ago, his mother had been living there alone.
It wasn't that he didn't wonder why he, an Appointed Scribe, was being sent specifically. The reason Radmir accepted it so readily was more than just the fact that it was a formal order; it was because his workload had settled down, and because of the single line in the postscript written below the signature.
'Please show your face to your mother once in a while.'
It was the same familiar handwriting as the signature. It belonged to the daughter of Marquess Mares, Ariarein Hazen.
Radmir chuckled softly, thinking that this kind of thoughtfulness was very much like that young lady of the Marquess's house.
There must be some small official business. And she, remembering his birthplace, must have designated him for the task. It had been ten years since he came to the royal capital, and it was true that for the past three years, he hadn't returned to his mother's side, only exchanging letters and sending money. He had a memory of mentioning such things to her.
"I'm sorry, but I have no preparations made just yet. Also, I must write a word to my subordinates. Could I have a little—yes, about fifteen minutes?"
"Of course," the footman nodded.
Returning inside the official residence, Radmir quickly packed for the journey and sat at his desk to write several short letters.
One to his original subordinates, one to the scribe Ariarein had sent him, and one to the handyman Ariarein had also sent to help with filing and chores. Since it was a three-day journey one way, he estimated it would take seven or eight days; he listed the work scheduled for that period and gave instructions to each of them, narrowing it down to only what had to be processed. The rest could just be piled on his desk—he figured he might be a bit busy after returning, but he should be able to catch up in a few days.
Exactly fifteen minutes later, Radmir emerged from the official residence again and handed the gathered letters to the footman. In exchange, the footman handed Radmir two packages.
One envelope was addressed to the magistrate of Manor. It was likely meant to be delivered.
"Please open this one after you have finished your business in Manor," the footman said while handing over the other bundle.
"Not now, but over there, you mean. Was that... the young lady's instruction?"
"Yes. That is what I was told."
It was a strange request, but holding it, he only knew it was surprisingly light; he couldn't tell what was inside. Knowing her, there must be some meaning to it. Rethinking it that way, Radmir climbed into the carriage.
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Radmir woke up on the seat of the carriage as it swayed rhythmically. He seemed to have dozed off before he knew it.
Opening the small window to look outside, he saw a rural landscape that hadn't changed much, but the mountains were getting quite close. The sun had already risen high, illuminating the fields stretching out on both sides of the road. Wheat fields that had already been harvested, sugar beet fields with lush green leaves, and potato fields right in the middle of harvest season.
This year's wheat crop was quite good, Radmir recalled several reports.
There was no mistake, as he himself had read them and calculated the amount to be sent to the royal capital and the amount to be stockpiled in each territory. From what he could see, both the potatoes and sugar beets seemed to be doing well. There might be some variation depending on the location, but it didn't look like there would be a crop failure due to bad weather.
Thinking that far, he realized that perhaps his mother and the official business in Manor were merely incidental to that young lady of the Marquess's house.
In this vast kingdom, stockpiling agricultural products so that there would be no shortage anywhere, or moving them from here to there. That was necessary as a preparation for poor harvests or natural disasters, of course, but also to feed the soldiers in times of crisis.
Reading through various reports, listening to the predictions of astronomers and agricultural officers, and staying ahead of shortages or surpluses by buying, releasing, or transporting goods. That was Radmir's duty.
—Perhaps she means for me to see the actual situation.
He had thought that receiving reports from all over was enough for his work, but to know the crop conditions as quickly, in as much detail, and as reliably as possible, there was nothing better than seeing it firsthand. Of course, even if he couldn't see everything, it should be possible to send people or go himself to the major granaries, for example.
Setting up a pretext for a short trip to suggest such a thing was exactly the kind of thing that young lady would think of. Come to think of it, it might have been that way from the very beginning.
Radmir was remembering the occasion when he first became acquainted with the young lady of the Marquess's house.
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It must have been about two years ago. When she said she wanted to see the actual situation of the Government Administration firsthand as the Crown Prince's fiancée, he had felt no small amount of resentment. However, even when she saw the office where unprocessed documents were piled high, that young lady didn't utter a single word of reproach.
"Are there no other people working here?"
At the time, there was a story that someone in some department had collapsed from overwork. Personnel changes were made like a game of tag, and eventually, one colleague disappeared from Radmir's department.
Of course, the amount of work had not decreased.
It was the result of Radmir's boss, who wasn't politically powerful, drawing the short straw in various tugs-of-war and having one scribe pulled away.
If returning to the official residence only to sleep was the best-case scenario, he couldn't remember how many days he had been staying overnight at the Government Administration back then. He had already grown weary of explaining every single thing, and Radmir, who was struggling with the mountain of documents at that very moment, had answered with a brevity that was somewhat lacking in courtesy.
"There are none. This is everyone."
Even at that response, the young lady's expression did not change.
"I see. I have interrupted you while you are busy. I shall ask His Highness if we might increase the number of hands even a little."
That was the only conversation they had in the office on that first day.
The next visit was about a week later, and he remembered her apologizing the moment she opened her mouth.
"I am sorry, I was unable to fully convey your plight to His Highness."
To be honest, he hadn't expected a second visit, and he had only thought that telling His Highness was a lip-service promise made on the spot, so he was surprised when she apologized. The next visit after he had vaguely brushed it off was about three days later.
The young lady of the Marquess's house brought about four civil officials with her.
"You are likely the only ones who can examine and analyze reports and make plans, but what about beyond that?" she had asked.
"If we no longer had to create the documents, I think things would change considerably. Right now, that is consuming the majority of our duties."
To Radmir, who answered after a moment's thought, the young lady smiled and nodded.
"Then, please use these men. For now, until the work accumulated in this room is cleared. We shall discuss what comes after that later."
In about two weeks, the office was cleared to a point where it was at least presentable. On the evening of the day those two weeks had passed, Radmir was able to leave the Government Administration at sunset for the first time in a long while, have a slow meal, return to his official residence, and sleep peacefully.
He heard from a colleague some time later that similar things were happening in other departments of the Government Administration, and that the civil officials were retainers of House Mares—meaning their labor was paid for by House Mares.
In the department where Radmir worked, two retainers of House Mares were still participating in the work.
She visited the office about three or four times a month with sweets and tea as gifts, listened to them talk for about fifteen minutes, and then left. The reason given was to visit her retainers, but since she spoke more with the scribes, the visit was likely a pretext.
It was like small talk about work, a place to vent things they couldn't tell their superiors, and purely a time to take a breather.
No one said it out loud, but there were more than a few scribes who trusted that young lady more than the ministers who only showed their faces when making unreasonable demands. Radmir himself was one of them.
—If she were to become the Queen one day.
Radmir thought.
Not to mention the era of the Crown Prince, she would surely build a country that would be peaceful for two or three generations beyond that. He was worried about the recent rumors of discord with His Highness, but such rumors were common for a fiancée.
—Even if his heart were to be moved by another woman for a time, there is no way he would let go of such a talented individual.
There is no way (Certainty)