The dispute over this village was brought to a close the moment the corrupt lord fled in disgrace.
The problem was settled peacefully, without a single person getting hurt.
"...Well, that's not exactly how it went down, though."
Right — that's not how it went at all.
Noble society isn't so forgiving that you could pull a stunt like that and get off scot-free.
After that, House Crocus formally issued a reprimand to the corrupt lord.
Attached to it were joint protests from House Rosemary and House Clover.
Being called out on his domain management and his conduct as a noble by the leading aristocratic families of the royal capital plus one more, and then grilled over his threats to punish Rest and his family... the corrupt lord reportedly turned deathly pale and collapsed on the spot.
That corrupt lord — his name was Habirau, a baron and minor lord who held about three villages — had made the wrong choice.
If he had realized Rest was a count and immediately bowed his head in submission, groveling and apologizing on the spot, things probably wouldn't have escalated this far.
His exploitation of the villagers was certainly illegal, but sadly, plenty of other lords did similar things.
Not every provincial lord was engaging in corruption, of course... but punishing each one individually was an endless task, so they were simply looked away from. That was the reality of this world — a feudal society modeled on medieval Europe.
"The real issue isn't even the exploitation of the villagers — it's the fact that he threatened me. A baron doesn't get to bite at a count, you know..."
In noble society, one's peerage carried immense significance.
Peerage was the hierarchy established by the king. To defy it was tantamount to rebelling against the royal family itself.
Even setting that aside, if one possessed overwhelming economic or military power, perhaps slighting a higher-ranking noble could be tolerated — but a man who was nothing more than a minor provincial lord in both name and reality could hardly be given such latitude.
As a penalty for this debacle, that fishing village was to be ceded to House Clover.
Furthermore, the lord of House Habirau would be replaced. Passing the peerage to his son was not permitted; instead, a male heir from a distant branch of the family was designated as successor.
The fact that the house was not entirely dissolved was an act of mercy — made possible only because Rest had never revealed his true rank.
There was no confusion in the fishing village over the sudden change in lord.
Though "lord" was perhaps a generous title... the influence of Lady Sanada, the great landowner of that territory, was far stronger, and she had apparently been the de facto ruler.
Even with Rest becoming the new lord—having inherited the land rights through the Third Prince Rodele—there would be little real change for the villagers.
If anything, the villagers were overjoyed that Rest, whom they revered like a living deity, had become their lord, and celebrations had been going on day after day in a frenzy of revelry.
"Well, it all worked out in the end. That village can support itself without outside help, as long as there aren't monster attacks like this time, so there won't be much for me to do as their lord."
"I see..."
"Understood..."
Upon hearing Rest's account after his return to the royal capital... his two fiancées, Viola Rosemary and Primula Rosemary, nodded with solemn expressions.
"I understand, Rest. But... that's not really the part you need to explain, is it?"
"Rest, don't try to dodge the issue."
"Uh... wh-what are you talking about?"
"Oh, come on. It's obvious."
The two of them closed in on Rest from either side.
"You went to the hot springs with Celestine!"
"Ugh..."
"Explain yourself!"
"............"
Interrogated by his eerily identical twins... Rest broke into a cold sweat down his spine and was utterly at a loss.