Lord Humarzov waited until Lieutenant Macaran of the cavalry had left the room, then gestured for us to sit again. He continued in a calm voice:
「First, let me thank you. I was most pleased that you made those unruly cavalrymen dismount.」
「I only insisted upon the courtesy due.」
So he had been displeased with them. The way he looked at me was soft, almost approving.
「I heard of your exchange from the servants. You didn’t actually know about the ‘horse-dismounting gate,’ did you?」
Ah, that low gate.
「I’m hardly a learned man. I knew nothing. I only guessed, by analogy to the tale of the ‘Spear-Bowing Pine.’」
「That makes me admire you all the more. To perceive without being told—that is something only a true wise man can do. By the way, where is that pine tree?」
In Yamaguchi Prefecture, Iwakuni City. A good place—beautiful scenery, excellent sake.
…Not something I could actually say.
So I gave him a vague answer.
「I only heard it was in a faraway land.」
「So it seems. But in the end, people everywhere think the same sorts of thoughts.」
「Perhaps so.」
I smiled and sipped the tea, already cooling. Early spring here was still colder than midwinter near the capital.
「Yes, people are the same. But surely when the land itself differs, the way of life must differ too?」
I tossed him the question. He nodded lightly.
「Indeed. In Kavallaf we have long had a custom called the ‘Bride Dispute.’」
Now that sounded promising.
「In this harsh land, lord and peasants alike would perish if we fought each other. Yet rank still exists. And so—the women enter the picture.」
Lieutenant Crimine leaned forward, fascinated. I was interested too.
「Here, if the people wish to petition the lord, the peasants’ wives confront the lord’s wife directly. Even if it gets a bit heated, we men pretend not to notice.」
This empire is a male-supremacist society. The class system binds men more tightly than women, who often change rank through marriage and stand half outside the structure.
Separate societies by gender. If the women clashed, the men just shrugged—“Sorry, our wives are at it again”—and let it pass with a bitter smile.
A little unfair, maybe. But I had to admit it was a practical way to avoid bloodshed.
Humorzov smiled wryly.
「We cannot rough-handle unarmed women anyway. So we listen, then politely send them home. That restraint is the pride of Kavallaf knights.」
If that curbed violence on both sides, then fair enough. From a reincarnated man’s perspective I had my own thoughts, but still.
Though that did raise a point.
「Then, my lord, if what we hear is a peasant ‘revolt’…」
「Most likely just the usual ‘Bride Dispute’—a mass petition. A true armed rebellion would be immediately known among the lords.」
He stroked his beard.
「What must have happened is that some ‘Bride Dispute’ somewhere reached the central authorities, and they took it too seriously. I myself received orders that the next time one occurred, it should be treated as a rebellion and strictly suppressed.」
“Central authorities” meant the Emperor or his high ministers.
Humorzov rubbed his white head and sighed.
「For example, in this domain the last ‘Bride Dispute’ was only about reducing the tithe. That year was indeed a poor harvest, so I agreed, and those who still lacked enough were given compensating labor during the slack season. That was five years ago.」
Reasonable enough. Letting them flee the land would have been worse.
I’d need to check by questioning others later, but if Humorzov spoke true, then Major Gehenbach’s attitude made sense. If someone were executed every time one of these happened, it would provoke a real revolt.
「Then, Lord Humorzov—where is the supposed ringleader, Yuoh Nevilnel?」
He looked troubled.
「I suspect such a person never existed at all.」
Of course. That was what the Major’s memo had said. So this man told the truth, then.
He drank his now-cold tea.
「In a ‘Bride Dispute,’ it is the women who act, but it is the men who request it of them. The supposed ringleader never appears, so no one knows who it was. That is the beauty of it—no heroes, no criminals.」
It reminded me faintly of the “Umbrella Oath” petitions in my past life.
Lieutenant Crimine, nibbling nervously at a biscuit, asked:
「Then where did the name Yuoh Nevilnel come from?」
「Some official, ordered to find a ringleader, must have invented the name to avoid punishment. There is no family called Nevilnel in Kavallaf, and ‘Yuoh’ is a woman’s name. Anyone from here would know at once.」
「I see.」
Hunting down and executing a nonexistent person was impossible, even under an imperial edict. Which meant: time to finish this “duty” without fuss.
「Then our battalion must locate someone who does not exist, and erase him from the world. Quite the problem.」
「Indeed. Just as I am troubled by those cavalrymen’s horses—fodder and stables alone strain my finances, and their masters are thankless brutes besides.」
He looked weary, sighing again.
「Already companies of the 2nd Army Division scour the land for a ringleader who cannot exist. Unless we ‘execute’ Yuoh Nevilnel in front of them, this will not end.」
They too would need confirmation to report. Better to settle it that way—fewer problems later.
「We could, of course, select someone at random to execute. But of course, you wouldn’t do that, would you?」
I had to ask. Really, I meant: don’t even think about it. Most nobles value peasant lives lightly.
But Humorzov nodded.
「Of course not. I don’t particularly love peasants, but to execute an innocent is beyond the pale. I was not the one who fabricated the name, so I’ve no obligation to go that far.」
…Was that really true? Even if he hadn’t made the report himself, had someone begged him for help? A bit suspicious. But he wouldn’t admit it anyway, so no point probing.
At least I now understood why I had been given this assignment. This was exactly my specialty.
「Very well. Our battalion will handle it discreetly.」
「You will?」
「That is why you wrote to our Major, isn’t it? Leave it to us.」
Relief flooded Lord Humorzov’s face.
I leaned forward.
「In that case, I would ask a small measure of cooperation from you.」
「Of course. Say what you will.」