The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Chapter 27 Insights

"My lord, may I wander around the territory at will?"

Caroline gracefully lifted her skirt beside Claire, then added, "I don't really like socializing and want some private space. I don't need any guards anyway, since most guards can't beat me."

Although her manners were impeccable, Caroline's tone was somewhat aggressive, as if it were a demand rather than a request.

Linde, who really wanted to complain about why someone who dislikes socializing would come to the North with Claire, finally held back. Facing this NPC he had never seen before in the game, Linde nodded and said, "Miss, please feel free, but please be careful not to leave the territory. You know, the North is not very safe."

Caroline nodded and smiled, then left the group.

Linde wasn't worried about any secrets being leaked from his territory, except for gunpowder. But the gunpowder factory already had top-level security, with Rena's knights fully armed and stationed there. If even that couldn't stop them, then there was really nothing that could be done.

Watching Lind and the others leave into the distance, Caroline took out paper, pen, and a magic scroll, preparing to record everything she had seen and heard in the Gray Collar, to uncover the darkness hidden in this Lars territory. She was even prepared to sacrifice herself for this moment.

First, there were the houses near the dock. Caroline didn't even glance at them before heading straight towards the edge of the territory.

These are definitely just facades that Lena uses to deceive herself. The North must be like the hell on earth that Chancellor Cordick described, and people there might have already started selling their children to survive. She thinks she can just happen to be here and save some innocent children.

Caroline, who had this idea in mind, felt more and more uneasy as she walked. Why were there only houses like this along the way?

Not only that, but the gray-collar workers didn't have the disgusting swill smell of the outskirts of the royal city, and there wasn't even a regular beggar, let alone the cruel mutilation and dismemberment described by Cordick.

Everyone I met was busy with their own things and full of energy, showing no signs of being hungry.

"Excuse me, sir."

Caroline stopped a worker pushing a wheelbarrow.

The wheelbarrow was loaded with stone bricks, clearly indicating that it was going to build a new house.

"I'd like to ask you a few simple questions, is that alright?"

Although the other party was a commoner, Caroline still used honorifics, not only because it was a long-standing habit, but also because the other party's attire did not resemble that of a serf or slave.

Only serfs and slaves are not considered human. When dealing with free people, cultured nobles do not mind showing more respect in order to demonstrate their generosity.

"Sorry, I still need to transport stones; the construction site is waiting for me."

Although the simple worker didn't know who Caroline was, he could tell from her clothes that she was a noblewoman; otherwise, he probably wouldn't have paid any attention to her for work points and performance bonuses.

Caroline didn't say much, but instead took out two silver leaf coins from her pocket.

The worker's eyes lit up the moment he saw the silver leaf coin, but he quickly withdrew his outstretched hand.

"Sorry, I have to transport stones. If I'm late, Old Joe's group next door will overtake us, and there won't be any meat soup for tonight."

After saying that, the worker pushed the wheelbarrow away immediately.

Despite the setback, Caroline became even more convinced that these people were all actors; otherwise, there was no way to explain why everyone was dressed so well and didn't even care about two silver leaf coins.

However, Caroline remembered a saying in her family: money is everything. If it doesn't work, it means you haven't spent enough money.

Finally, after the price was raised to ten silver leaf coins, equivalent to half a year's income for a wealthy farming family, a worker who had just come out of the logging camp and was about to change shifts and rest stopped in his tracks.

"Tell me, did Lena get advance notice and have you put on a show in the territory in new clothes?"

Caroline, who was initially gentle and refined, gradually became somewhat irritable and even impatient for quick success.

After walking around the area, I didn't find anyone selling their children, or even a beggar. Everyone was working.

"Act? What play? The lord only said that we have guests visiting today and told us not to go near the dock."

The lumberjack looked at Caroline with a puzzled expression. This noblewoman was giving silver leaf coins to everyone she met, which he couldn't understand at all. The questions she asked were even more baffling.

"So, have you already started selling your children in your territory? Has the North become a living hell?"

Caroline took a confident step forward, startling the lumberjack who retreated hastily.

"What are you selling? Does it count as the lord forcing my child to go to school?"

After saying that, the lumberjack seemed to have opened a floodgate of words and continued, "Ah, the lord and his wife are good in every way, except they have too many rules."

"The lord requires that children over the age of seven must attend school for half a day every day. Those who don't attend will have their performance bonuses or even work points deducted. You know, seven-year-olds can help with chores at home. My kid is not going to amount to anything anyway, so why doesn't he come back and help his mother farm? But it's alright, he only attends for half a day, so he can still lend a hand at home."

Although the lumberjack's face was full of worry, Caroline seemed to have heard something completely incomprehensible and took a step back in surprise.

Are these people really just acting? Otherwise, how could they afford to send their children to school? How could a family that can afford to send their children to school have one person working in a logging factory while the other farms at home?

You have to understand that this era is all about elite education; when it comes to studying, there are only two choices: the best or no studying at all.

Even though the Vatican has recently been setting up some church schools that teach basic knowledge, those schools mainly teach theological content.

Caroline could not understand or imagine that all the children in a territory would be forced to study.

That's it! This must be Rena's way of exploiting the people, that disgrace to the aristocracy! She squeezes these people out of them with exorbitant tuition fees, and then brainwashes their children at school, making them her slaves for eternity.

Rena is so vicious!

Just as Caroline began to imagine what was going on, the lumberjack finished speaking and a relieved smile appeared on his face.

"But it's free school after all, so why not go? Besides, the school provides breakfast and lunch, so we still have to go to school. Teacher Nebert is a good teacher. My kid even secretly brought his lunch egg out for my wife before. He's definitely more sensible than before."

"But I still gave him a beating. This egg was given to us by the lord, and we don't need it. But he dared to disobey the lord's orders!"

Looking at the happy expressions on the lumberjacks' faces, Caroline suddenly felt as if her worldview was collapsing. How come these people seemed so different from what Lord Cordick had said? These commoners were even bragging to her about how well-behaved their children had become in the territory's school.

To be honest, Caroline didn't dislike this feeling; deep down, she hoped that what the lumberjack was saying was true.

But the imprint of an ideology is not so easily broken.

Moreover, Caroline's doubts grew. This territory not only forced children to attend school, but also didn't charge tuition? And the surname Nebert—wasn't that the senior student who rebelled under the banner of the White Saintess that the Holy See had previously reported?

Thinking of this, Caroline took out two more silver leaf coins and asked the lumberjack, "Could you take me to see your school?"