Our territory—there’s no scale on the map, but it’s probably quite small.
Mountains press in from the north and west, and as was mentioned earlier, to the east lies a fairly vast Forest.
Beyond that must be another territory.
At the southern edge of the territory stands this mansion, and everything north of it is filled with villagers’ homes and farmland.
South of here is immediately another territory, which leads straight to the Kingdom’s Capital.
I imagine this location could be called the northernmost edge of the Kingdom.
Some numbers scribbled at the edge of the map—if they indicate length or distance, I don’t know the units.
The only thing I understood was the note ‘214 people.’
That’s probably the population of the territory.
‘214 people—so few!’
I don’t know how the tax system works, but I can hardly believe that the Baron’s Family can manage the estate with taxes collected from just these people.
That’s probably why Father is always away working elsewhere and rarely spends time in the territory.
According to my brother, rather than collecting taxes, they’re worried whether anyone among those 214 villagers might starve to death.
‘Wow, that’s quite the impossible challenge.’
A strange word floated up in my chest.
My brother, having finished the prescribed number of sword swings, next brought out a bow.
He got into position, drawing the bowstring taut and holding still for a moment.
Then he reshaped his form and paused again.
He repeated this several times.
I thought it might be training to build endurance or improve accuracy.
Watching this, Bettina asked the teacher beside her, “Lord Wolf wasn’t planning to be a swordsman?”
“That was the plan, but recently he’s wanted to train with the bow as well. I think it’s because of the wild rabbit hunt from earlier.”
“Is that so?”
“And Wolf’s blessing is ‘Wind.’ That pairs well with the bow. If used skillfully, it can increase accuracy and the power of the arrows.”
“Ohhh.”
I didn’t really understand the details, but I thought, ‘Brother looks so cool holding the bow.’
Truly, I hope his wild rabbit hunt for the villagers and Mother succeeds.
I thought about whether there was anything I could do to help, but gave up immediately.
With my current hands, I can’t even hold a bow or a sword.
Even if I had a few years, maybe, but the deadline is this winter, so there’s nothing I can do.
After the lessons and physical training finished, the teacher left.
Bettina seemed a little excited from being in a study session for the first time in a while and chatted beside my brother while he ate lunch.
She also made sure I had lunch served by the Nursemaid in the neighboring Kitchen.
After lunch, my brother went out on his usual rounds.
It was a time when I’d usually be napping, but I urged Bettina to take me back to the ‘Martial Arts Room’ where we’d been studying.
Reaching out to the wooden board where the basic character table was still spread out on the desk, Bettina continued teaching me the readings as if we were playing school again.
It was a good review, but I had mostly memorized everything properly.
While thinking about how to accomplish another thing I wanted to try, a voice called out.
“Bettina, can I ask you for a moment?”
It was Westa from the kitchen across the hall.
Bettina answered “Yes” happily and checked that I was seated safely.
“Please wait here and don’t move much, okay?”
“Uh-huh.”
She seemed relieved when I happily agreed.
After confirming the Nursemaid had left, I took action.
Behind the chair where the teacher had been sitting was a small bookshelf with several wooden-bound books.
Since I’d learned the basic characters, I wanted to see how much I could read.
The book I opened looked like a handwritten Plant Encyclopedia.
Before Bettina returned, I managed to get some information from it.
“Where is Lord Rudolf?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Oh, now we’re playing reading games too?”
“This book’s still too hard for you, Lord Rudolf. And you’ll get in trouble if you dirty it. Let’s put it away.”
Although I was still a little disappointed, I couldn’t argue.
I was picked up and taken back to my room for a nap.
Night.
Once again, I successfully crawled out of my room.
The hallway was dark, but there was a presence ahead.
I headed straight toward it.
“Hey, I told you not to come near!”
I ignored the voice.
I clung tightly to the legs that tried to shake me off.
Even the half-hearted attempts to brush me away failed as I held on, determined not to let go.
After an exaggerated sigh, I was hoisted up.
I was carried back to my room.
Upon seeing this, I fussed with a whimper.
Another big sigh.
The resigned footsteps led me to my own room two doors down.
I was pulled into the large bed.
Surrounded by the familiar comforting scent, I drifted into a deep sleep.
Morning.
The same conversation replayed between Bettina and my brother as the day before.
“Tell him to behave. I’ll spend some time with him during the day, so he needs to stop sneaking out at night.”
“I don’t think I can have that kind of serious talk with him.”
“Seriously? Damn.”
That day, I joined my brother’s study session again.
If I at least acted interested in the basic character table, everyone seemed relieved.
My brother’s studies were still at the beginner level for arithmetic.
There was a serious consultation again about geography.
In the afternoon, both my brother and the teacher went out to check the farmland and Forest, but they reported that no solution was in sight.
After studying and lunch, as promised, my brother spent about two hours playing school with me.
Afterwards, he went out again.
Peeking through the window, I saw him heading toward the back of the mansion and felt a little uneasy.
That day, savoring a small victory, I decided to skip my nightly adventure.
The next day went much the same.
After studying and lunch, we played school.
Then my brother went out again.
Confirming he disappeared in the same direction as before, I hurriedly urged Bettina to return to my room.
Once inside, I pointed at the window, fussing to have it opened.
The solid wooden window wouldn’t let me see outside otherwise.
“Aren’t you cold?”
Tilting her head, Bettina obediently opened the window.
Outside was the backyard, almost swallowed by the Forest behind it.
A very small shed stood there.
From the second floor, I spotted someone heading toward it at just the right moment.
“Oh? Isn’t that Lord Wolf?”
“Uh-huh.”
Seeing my brother enter the shed, I patted Bettina’s arm gently.
“Huh? You want to go to big brother? But it’s outside…”
After thinking it over, Bettina nodded, “Well, if it’s just the yard, that’s okay.”
Since winter was approaching, I was dressed in a thick coat just in case.
Bettina, cradling me, draped a cloak over us like a mantle and led me out the back door.
Thick clouds covered the sky, making it dark despite the early afternoon.
Bettina hurried toward the shed, almost swallowed by the dark shadows near the Forest.
Peeking inside, she bumped into a boy who came out.
“Eek!”
“W-What the—oh, it’s Bettina.”
The boy seemed to know Bettina, though he was a stranger to me.
“Ahim? What are you doing here?”
“Helping Lord Wolf. What about you?”
“What’s going on?”
“And Rinus too?”
Another boy about their age came out next, and Bettina looked at him wide-eyed.
Judging by their similar ages, I assumed they were childhood friends.
As I looked between the three of them, my brother appeared at the entrance from the back of the shed.