Chapter 6: Chapter 6 Issues
When he touched her hands, Alexander was stunned. His body just moved out of consciousness. This must be the original Alexander's wish, which was to hold her hands and say these words.
(AUT: Shameless!)
When he saw her cries, he panicked since he did not know what to do, so he just let her cry to calm her emotions.
Serena then used her sleeve to wipe away those tears as she looked at her with a smile. She was about to say something when a person walked inside the door.
This caused Serena to panic since this was the first time they had physical touch after all those years.
Even though it was just holding hands, she was embarrassed, especially if someone saw it.
She returned her hands and looked at the figure while Alexander glanced at the figure, too. The person who appeared was a slight old man with a few strands of white hair.
As he looked at the two of them, he seemed to be in his 50s. When he looked at Serena, who was very shy, it seemed like she had been caught doing something bad.
Moving his gaze towards Alexander, he was petrified. He could not distinguish if this person was still his young lord at all. He changed his aura, appearance, everything.
"Did I overslept?" the man muttered in confusion as he looked deeply at Alexander.
Seeing the man's gaze upon him, Alexander shrank a little. The man before him was his personal butler, Alfred Vonsweet, who had cared for him since childhood.
He was very indebted to him since every personnel member in this palace had left except for him.
Alfred was also the one currently managing the kingdom while he was spending his time drinking alcohol.
This strengthened his resolve to repay those who were close to him, even though this was not the life he had chosen.
The fact that they had sacrificed so many years to serve this unworthy prince motivated him to do his best to revive the kingdom.
Alexander then stood up, and Alfred looked at him with his mouth slightly agape. He walked towards Alfred and offered a bow as he arrived in front.
"Thank you very much for all this time, Uncle Alfred. This time, I'll do my responsibility as king of this kingdom. So I can become a man who will live up to my father's reputation." He then stood up straight and looked Alfred straight in the eye.
Alfred was speechless at the moment when he saw his sudden change, but hearing his words that had the hint of maturity, Alfred could not help but release a single tear.
Then, after some time, it burst into waves like a river as he hugged his young lord with happiness, "Young Lord, finally, you've changed, Bohoo." he sobbed at the end.
Feeling the affection, he could not help but pat Alfred's back. The feeling of being taken care of is actually good, he thought, looking at the ceiling.
Serena looks at this heartwarming scene and releases another delightful smile. After a few seconds, Alfred returns after wiping his tears.
"Young Lord, it's good that you have now faced reality. Now I'm excited for you to rule this kingdom back to its former glory," Alfred said excitedly.
Alexander just smiled as he shook his head. "I'll try my best, but it won't be easy. Can we go to the archive room so you can provide me with a report on the kingdom's problems from the past years?"
Seeing him act like an adult made Alfred very happy. "Sure, Young Lord, I'll lead the way," he said in haste.
When Alfred left the room, Alexander glanced back at Serena. "You can go ahead and sleep for now, Serena. I'll be doing something for a moment. Thanks for the meal," he said with a smile filled with gratitude.
"You… Don't.. Ne-need.. To.. Thank… Me-mee.." She voiced out, covering half of her face with only her eyes revealed as she looked down.
Her voice was like a mosquito's, soft and quiet, but it was not annoying like a mosquito but music to his ears. She looked like a virgin maiden as she looked down, not looking at him.
Alexander then left the room, following Alfred when they arrived. He then sat in the chair behind the big table.
The room was clean; clearly, Alfred managed this place very well. The table had no dust on it, and the books and scrolls on the shelves were also devoid of any cobwebs and dirt.
"There are lots of problems, Young Lord. First, let's start with our farm," Alfred said, handling a thick bundle of old records about the farm.
"To refresh your memory, young lord, the territory of this kingdom spans approximately 10,000 acres of land. It is large enough to encompass several villages, a central town, and rich natural resources. During your father's reign, people numbered over 10,000, spread across the villages, central town, and isolated settlements. But now…" Alfred sighed deeply, his gaze dropping to the floor.
"Now only about 1,000 remain. The rest have fled to neighboring territories, unable to endure the conditions here."
Alexander could not help but feel a headache from seeing Alfred's looks. Alfred bowed his head deeply and bellowed.
"Sorry, young lord. I tried. But I am just a butler. Without the ruler's authority, I could not rally the remaining officials or allocate the funds needed to repair the damage. The treasury was nearly empty due to." Alfred hesitated, unwilling to hurt his young lord's face.
"Due to your previous lifestyle, I focused on keeping what little we had crumbling entirely, but the larger problems were beyond my reach."
Alexander's brows twitched as his jaw tightened; he could not help but curse the real Alexander.
But it seemed like he was just cursing himself, making him sigh deeply. "I see, so what's the first issue I need to handle?" he asked since he really did not know how to solve this problem.
Alfred nodded as he continued, "Our agriculture. The rice and wheat fields were one of our biggest exports, but now they are failing. Years of neglect have led to dried irrigation canals, soil depletion, and pest infestations. Without proper irrigation or fertilizers, harvests have dwindled, causing food shortages among the remaining villagers and unrest in the kingdom."
Alfred paused for a bit, his expression grim. "This also affects the economy of our kingdom. Rice and wheat were our main exports, bringing in a substantial part of the kingdom's revenue. Without them, we've been unable to trade effectively, and even basic supplies have become scarce."
"This causes food shortage among the villagers and our people in this kingdom," Alfred reported.
Alexander glanced at the current situation from the records. This kingdom had three villages with different purposes.
Greenfield Village is primarily an agricultural place; they produce wheat and livestock.
The total population in this village is about 400 people or more. The farmland covers at least 1,500 acres, and it is used for wheat and rice.
The land size for this village is about 2,500 acres, which supports both farming and residential areas.
"Most of the experienced farmers left long ago, seeking better lives elsewhere, leaving behind only a handful of unskilled laborers," Alfred spoke.
As he continued to read the records, Alfred explained again: "With few laborers, maintaining irrigation systems and soil fertility becomes difficult, thus reducing crop yields. The unused fields have also been overgrown with weeds, attracting pests and further agricultural activity," he uttered, shaking his head with a deep sigh.
"To make matters even worse," Alfred stopped momentarily and continued.
"Pests and diseases have taken over. Locusts devour the rice, and wheat rust turns our harvests into shriveled, useless stalks. Bandits raid the storage silos, and what little we manage to save is of such poor quality that even the villagers hesitate to eat it."
Hearing the words bandits, his eyes glint for a moment but return to normal for a second.
"What we do manage to harvest is barely enough to feed the people left in the kingdom, let alone export to other regions. Without immediate action, Young Lord, the fields will fail completely within the year."
When Alfred was done, Alexander placed his hand on his chin for a moment to think about it.
"This is really bad than I thought," he said, biting his fingernails in a deep thought.
Seeing his young lord so serious, Alfred could not help but want to tear up again; this was the first time his young lord looked so serious other than gambling.
After some thinking, he decided to ask for suggestions from Alfred since he was clearly new.
"Do I receive any tax for this?" Alexander asked.
"Young Lord," Alfred began, unfolding a worn ledger. The villages pay a 10% tax on their harvest, but only half of that goes to the treasury."
Alexander, hearing this, was confused since he did not know the proper contribution.
"Why only Half?" he looked at Alfred, trying to inquire about it.
Seeing that he wanted to learn about this stuff, Alfred was very much pleased.
"Several reasons, my Lord," Alfred began to explain.
"A portion is kept by the village heads for local needs like repairs, guard wages, and such. There's also... inefficiency in transportation, and in some cases, dishonesty among the collectors." He hesitated before adding, "If we could centralize the collection process or increase oversight, we might recover a larger share."
Alexander frowned. "So, of the 10% they pay, I see only 5%? Also, what do you mean by dishonesty among the collectors?"
Seeing his look, Alfred responded. "Actually, young lord, during harvest, like about 7 years ago. The problems run deeper than poor harvests and broken irrigation. There are... individuals in positions of power who have been exploiting the kingdom for their gain."
Alexander frowned, his face full of black lines. "Please, continued Uncle Alfred," he motioned, seeing that Alfred was a bit hesitant.
Alfred hesitated before continuing, "The tax collectors, for one. Many of them report smaller harvests than what is actually collected. And some village heads—particularly in Greenfield and Stonequarry—have been keeping a portion of the taxes for themselves under the guise of 'local expenses.'"
"Who else is involved?" Alexander asked in a calm voice.
"The chamberlain of the treasury," Alfred admitted.
"He's been falsifying records, collaborating with certain nobles to pocket funds before they're recorded. And then there's Baron Ryndel, who oversees the northern villages. He claims bandit raids have depleted his stores, yet his manor grows more lavish by the day."
Alexander could not help but clench his fists; the weight of this problem was settling on his shoulders.
"They've been taking advantage of me because they thought I was just a foolish boy," he muttered with a bit of anger, not knowing why.
When he heard that they were living lavishly while her wife Serena was suffering to make money just to feed him, his anger boiled just thinking about it.
Seeing his young Lord look, Alfred knows that this is going to be a problem since there are lots of soldiers and personnel from those nobles.
If his young lord deals with them through force, bad results will come after that. What would happen if they used this to frame the young lord and remove him from the throne as the king of Ryndoria?
So he hastily explained to Alexander not to be swallowed by anger, "Young Lord, I urge you to treat this matter carefully. These nobles are not without influence. Many of the kingdom's soldiers and officials remain loyal to them."
Alexander, who was very angry, was stunned by his sudden shout, "If you confront them by force right now, they'll twist the situation to their advantage. They'll claim you're abusing your authority and paint themselves as the victims. Worse, they could unite against you and accuse you of tyranny. If that happens, they might have enough leverage to demand your removal from the throne. Young Lord, please don't be hasty." Alfred pleaded.
Alexander, who was listening to him, was speechless. Is he that mindless? He knows that with his tarnished reputation right now.
He's not a match for the nobles right now, so if it comes to people's opinions, he will lose if they ever dared to decide to frame him.
"Don't worry, Uncle Alfred, I'm not that mindless," he responded to quill his worries, making Alfred calm.
"From what Uncle Alfred said, if I ever decided to force my way in to make them pay his rightful share, those nobles would just accuse me of tyranny. They might even fabricate some evidence, like spreading propaganda to tarnish my already tarnished reputation, " he thought.
"Also, I have already lost some of the soldiers, and if they ever stage a rebellion, this is going to be a hard one for me," he said, biting his nails again as he bit the piece of fingernails to pieces and swallowed it.
He does this action sometimes whenever he is in a deep state of thinking, so it literally attaches deep into his soul after transmigration since he is doing it right now.
The weight of Alfred's words hung in the air. Alexander knew his butler was right, but the thought of allowing these nobles to go unpunished made his stomach churn.
"So, what is the best way to solve this problem, Uncle Alfred?" Alexander asked after a moment of silence.
"I think the best course of action is to gather evidence. With solid proof of their corruption, it will be impossible for them to deny their crimes," he suggested since this is the only option they have.
Alexander nodded his head. "What happens if we also reduce the power of these nobles and officials over the tax system? Let's try centralizing tax collection under the crown's supervision, So we can limit their ability to steal from the treasury," he proposed.