“Huh? Is it your spirit?”
Sancha asked back with a confused expression.
“CEO Caruso was successful, but... Hey, he’s from a commoner background.”
The nobility and the commoners were strictly separated. In the world of Sancha, crossing that line was nearly impossible.
Of course, Ariadne de Mare, who was not a noblewoman, was given the title of Countess.
However, Ariadne was from the beginning the daughter of a Cardinal in the capital city, which was the heart of the aristocratic world.
Countess Ariadne was more like someone who had originally belonged to that world but was forced out and returned to the group.
Caruso Vitelli, on the other hand, was a true commoner.
Just like Sancha and Maletta, Giuseppe and the millions of other Etruscans wandered the streets.
"Ah!"
Sancha, who suddenly thought of a way for even a commoner to become a noble, clapped his hands.
“Do you wish to ask His Majesty the King for a title?”
It was not unusual for someone who had made great contributions to the country to receive a new title.
Such titles are usually given to war heroes, but since the Prince is on their side, wouldn't the King treat him better than usual?
“Although CEO Caruso did not have as many contributions as you, he still made great contributions during the Great Plague.”
But Sancha's expectations were realistic.
“A Baronet, or if he's really lucky, a Viscount...”
“No. It’s not a coincidence.”
Ariadne smiled meaningfully.
“I’m going to file a petition to the provincial government to upgrade the autonomous city to a free city.”
'Autonomous cities' have been at the heart of the conflict and compromise between merchants and nobles that has emerged in recent decades.
Merchants who initially started their business on a small scale as peddlers gradually accumulated wealth and began to live together in the castle.
People with a lot of wealth tend to prefer places with good security as their residence.
In the Central Continent at this time, the only place where that kind of security was secured was within the walls of a noble's castle.
As their numbers grew, the merchants created their own streets inside the castle walls. These became a sort of merchant district where merchants gathered and lived.
Not just anyone could enter the merchant zone. Money alone was not enough; a letter of recommendation from another merchant was also needed.
They wanted their special zone to be different from the rest of the city.
Although not as noble as the lords of the castle, the merchants desired and could maintain cleaner streets, neater houses, and accommodations for servants to help with their household chores, more than the common peasant.
As merchants collected money from each other, formed a vigilante group, and set up a beautification schedule, the merchant special zone evolved into a place where the wealthy gathered and housing prices rose.
Then the lord's tax pressure began.
The feudal lords collected poll taxes and land taxes as taxes. The poll taxes were sent to the central government, and the land taxes were counted as the lord's income.
Land tax was a kind of agricultural fee. Merchants did not base their livelihood on the lord's land, so they only paid a poll tax.
However, the nobles who were the lords of the land thought that it was impossible to collect taxes from a person with so much money, as only half from what the peasants did.
On the other hand, merchants strongly opposed it.
Since they were not using the lord's land, they were not paying land tax, so on what basis were they collecting taxes from them?
In this context, lords and merchants clashed all over the country.
The conflict between the Marquis of Guatieri and the Baron of Castiglione was also ultimately caused by this incident.
During this time, the textile industry also developed, and dyes began to be used in the processing.
Textile dyeing was not suitable for operation in the narrow, unflowing river and unstable inner city, as it had a strong smell and produced a lot of sewage and wastewater.
Merchants distributed their work to villages outside the castle walls, along waterways such as streams or rivers, and this soon developed into industry-specific guilds.
Outside the castle, people arose who did not cultivate the lord's land.
“There is only one autonomous city. Unaisola.”
There was an abandoned swamp that no one used, and an island floating in the middle of it.
Although it was an abandoned land because it was difficult to enter, the island did not pose any obstacle to merchants who distributed goods through sea routes.
They settled down one by one on the swamp islands, which soon became the headquarters of the Etruscan shipbuilding and textile guilds, and eventually the mecca of the entire merchant community.
“The autonomous city is actually a lie. It may be called an autonomous city, but legally, it is still the territory of the Marquis of Guatieri.”
Unaisola maintained its own security—since it was an island in a swampy area, it could defend itself against invasion without the need for a lord's walls—and did not use an inch of the lord's farmland.
And as a provincial lord without a navy, he had no way of enforcing taxes on the island's secluded Unaisola inhabitants.
However, the people living in Unaisola were administratively the fiefdoms of the Marquis of Guatieri. There was no way to change this.
Eventually, Unaisola agreed to pay the Marquis of Guatieri a tax of 580 ducats a year from the money they collected, and gained their own autonomy.
This was a right that was renewed annually by paying money.
It was a profitable business for the Marquis. He was collecting money from people who would not use his farmland or need his protection anyway.
There was no reason to refuse, since taxes were collected without any investment.
Thus, Unaisola became an 'autonomous city', but this was an autonomy obtained purely through agreement with the Marquis of Guatieri, without any central permission.
There was no telling when the Marquis Guatieri might change his mind.
“I will petition His Majesty the King to elevate Unaisola to the status of an independent city. Not an ‘autonomous city,’ but a ‘free city,’ outside the jurisdiction of the Marquis of Guatieri.”
Sancha asked back.
“Then, will CEO Caruso become the lord of Unaisola?”
Ariadne shook her head.
“It is very likely that CEO Caruso will become the representative of the merchants’ association this time. In fact, it is safe to say that it is almost certain.”
It was good for 'elected' representatives to pretend not to know and to concentrate power, because it didn't seem like they were just picking on a specific person and showing off.
“We will submit a request to His Majesty to have the President of the Merchants’ Association become Unaisola’s representative.”
She had no intention of satisfying CEO Caruso's wish—not to be ignored by the nobles—by making him a noble.
It was just a rescue for one person. It didn't even get along with CEO Caruso.
That was the solution of Baron Castileone, a man of the last generation. The structure had to be transformed.
“The leader of a free city is in the same position as the lord of a fiefdom. That means that if CEO Caruso becomes the leader of a free city, no one except His Majesty the King can arrest him at will.”
It was an immunity derived from the principle of 'par in parem non habet imperum', which is a basic principle of church law.
This was a customary law that had been passed down from the time of the Latin Empire and was reaffirmed by the church. It was the law of the holy and the secular, and no one could go against it.
“And if CEO Caruso becomes the head of the merchants in this way, it will also have symbolic meaning for him.”
CEO of all merchants, leader of the merchant class.
If, by any chance, the great aristocrats were to attempt to eliminate CEO Caruso by committing a vile act such as assassination, this would result in turning the entire bourgeoisie into enemies.
“This way, Camellia and the upper class will be safe.”
Ariadne seemed delighted with her idea. Sancha looked at Ariadne in silence.
She was the girl who used to gossip about 'Miss Rossi' and laugh about who she would date. Sancha knew everything about her.
Sancha asked back with a confused expression.
“CEO Caruso was successful, but... Hey, he’s from a commoner background.”
The nobility and the commoners were strictly separated. In the world of Sancha, crossing that line was nearly impossible.
Of course, Ariadne de Mare, who was not a noblewoman, was given the title of Countess.
However, Ariadne was from the beginning the daughter of a Cardinal in the capital city, which was the heart of the aristocratic world.
Countess Ariadne was more like someone who had originally belonged to that world but was forced out and returned to the group.
Caruso Vitelli, on the other hand, was a true commoner.
Just like Sancha and Maletta, Giuseppe and the millions of other Etruscans wandered the streets.
"Ah!"
Sancha, who suddenly thought of a way for even a commoner to become a noble, clapped his hands.
“Do you wish to ask His Majesty the King for a title?”
It was not unusual for someone who had made great contributions to the country to receive a new title.
Such titles are usually given to war heroes, but since the Prince is on their side, wouldn't the King treat him better than usual?
“Although CEO Caruso did not have as many contributions as you, he still made great contributions during the Great Plague.”
But Sancha's expectations were realistic.
“A Baronet, or if he's really lucky, a Viscount...”
“No. It’s not a coincidence.”
Ariadne smiled meaningfully.
“I’m going to file a petition to the provincial government to upgrade the autonomous city to a free city.”
'Autonomous cities' have been at the heart of the conflict and compromise between merchants and nobles that has emerged in recent decades.
Merchants who initially started their business on a small scale as peddlers gradually accumulated wealth and began to live together in the castle.
People with a lot of wealth tend to prefer places with good security as their residence.
In the Central Continent at this time, the only place where that kind of security was secured was within the walls of a noble's castle.
As their numbers grew, the merchants created their own streets inside the castle walls. These became a sort of merchant district where merchants gathered and lived.
Not just anyone could enter the merchant zone. Money alone was not enough; a letter of recommendation from another merchant was also needed.
They wanted their special zone to be different from the rest of the city.
Although not as noble as the lords of the castle, the merchants desired and could maintain cleaner streets, neater houses, and accommodations for servants to help with their household chores, more than the common peasant.
As merchants collected money from each other, formed a vigilante group, and set up a beautification schedule, the merchant special zone evolved into a place where the wealthy gathered and housing prices rose.
Then the lord's tax pressure began.
The feudal lords collected poll taxes and land taxes as taxes. The poll taxes were sent to the central government, and the land taxes were counted as the lord's income.
Land tax was a kind of agricultural fee. Merchants did not base their livelihood on the lord's land, so they only paid a poll tax.
However, the nobles who were the lords of the land thought that it was impossible to collect taxes from a person with so much money, as only half from what the peasants did.
On the other hand, merchants strongly opposed it.
Since they were not using the lord's land, they were not paying land tax, so on what basis were they collecting taxes from them?
In this context, lords and merchants clashed all over the country.
The conflict between the Marquis of Guatieri and the Baron of Castiglione was also ultimately caused by this incident.
During this time, the textile industry also developed, and dyes began to be used in the processing.
Textile dyeing was not suitable for operation in the narrow, unflowing river and unstable inner city, as it had a strong smell and produced a lot of sewage and wastewater.
Merchants distributed their work to villages outside the castle walls, along waterways such as streams or rivers, and this soon developed into industry-specific guilds.
Outside the castle, people arose who did not cultivate the lord's land.
“There is only one autonomous city. Unaisola.”
There was an abandoned swamp that no one used, and an island floating in the middle of it.
Although it was an abandoned land because it was difficult to enter, the island did not pose any obstacle to merchants who distributed goods through sea routes.
They settled down one by one on the swamp islands, which soon became the headquarters of the Etruscan shipbuilding and textile guilds, and eventually the mecca of the entire merchant community.
“The autonomous city is actually a lie. It may be called an autonomous city, but legally, it is still the territory of the Marquis of Guatieri.”
Unaisola maintained its own security—since it was an island in a swampy area, it could defend itself against invasion without the need for a lord's walls—and did not use an inch of the lord's farmland.
And as a provincial lord without a navy, he had no way of enforcing taxes on the island's secluded Unaisola inhabitants.
However, the people living in Unaisola were administratively the fiefdoms of the Marquis of Guatieri. There was no way to change this.
Eventually, Unaisola agreed to pay the Marquis of Guatieri a tax of 580 ducats a year from the money they collected, and gained their own autonomy.
This was a right that was renewed annually by paying money.
It was a profitable business for the Marquis. He was collecting money from people who would not use his farmland or need his protection anyway.
There was no reason to refuse, since taxes were collected without any investment.
Thus, Unaisola became an 'autonomous city', but this was an autonomy obtained purely through agreement with the Marquis of Guatieri, without any central permission.
There was no telling when the Marquis Guatieri might change his mind.
“I will petition His Majesty the King to elevate Unaisola to the status of an independent city. Not an ‘autonomous city,’ but a ‘free city,’ outside the jurisdiction of the Marquis of Guatieri.”
Sancha asked back.
“Then, will CEO Caruso become the lord of Unaisola?”
Ariadne shook her head.
“It is very likely that CEO Caruso will become the representative of the merchants’ association this time. In fact, it is safe to say that it is almost certain.”
It was good for 'elected' representatives to pretend not to know and to concentrate power, because it didn't seem like they were just picking on a specific person and showing off.
“We will submit a request to His Majesty to have the President of the Merchants’ Association become Unaisola’s representative.”
She had no intention of satisfying CEO Caruso's wish—not to be ignored by the nobles—by making him a noble.
It was just a rescue for one person. It didn't even get along with CEO Caruso.
That was the solution of Baron Castileone, a man of the last generation. The structure had to be transformed.
“The leader of a free city is in the same position as the lord of a fiefdom. That means that if CEO Caruso becomes the leader of a free city, no one except His Majesty the King can arrest him at will.”
It was an immunity derived from the principle of 'par in parem non habet imperum', which is a basic principle of church law.
This was a customary law that had been passed down from the time of the Latin Empire and was reaffirmed by the church. It was the law of the holy and the secular, and no one could go against it.
“And if CEO Caruso becomes the head of the merchants in this way, it will also have symbolic meaning for him.”
CEO of all merchants, leader of the merchant class.
If, by any chance, the great aristocrats were to attempt to eliminate CEO Caruso by committing a vile act such as assassination, this would result in turning the entire bourgeoisie into enemies.
“This way, Camellia and the upper class will be safe.”
Ariadne seemed delighted with her idea. Sancha looked at Ariadne in silence.
She was the girl who used to gossip about 'Miss Rossi' and laugh about who she would date. Sancha knew everything about her.
She knew her eating habits and her sleeping habits. Sancha thought that no one would ever appear who was closer to Ariadne than herself.
“...You’re so cool, miss.”
Sancha muttered softly.
She tried studying books and account books to keep up with Ariadne's interests, but as a child, it ended up being just simple memorization and learning.
Beyond that, she wasn't interested in it, and it wasn't fun.
The girl who would come up with novel ideas just by looking at something was so different from her.
'Now... Is it time to send her to a higher place?'
Prince Alfonso, who returned from the battlefield, was a different person from the old Prince Alfonso. The boy Prince of the past was not very attractive.
He was fluttering, shiny, and sturdy, so Sancha thought she could better protect the young lady.
But now Alfonso was no longer a boy, but a man.
As a child, he is walking forward, holding hands with Ariadne, in an area that cannot be touched by anyone.
“Sancha. I want to go out wearing a ruby brooch tomorrow.”
Ariadne asked Sancha, thinking about what to wear the next day.
“How about wearing that with an orange suit dress?”
"Miss!"
Sancha screamed in fright.
“That’s not it! It’s not red and orange!”
Ariadne looked back at the mountain chariot with a startled face like a rabbit.
“No? They say that it looks pretty when you wear colors similar to each other. I have both colors, so I thought it would go well together...”
“That’s not a color that’s uncomfortable, that’s a color that’s upsetting!”
Sancha took out the dress and the brooch and showed them to each other.
“Look, isn’t the contrast terrible?”
Sancha grumbled and took out a bunch of dresses of different colors.
“If you really want to wear a ruby brooch, wear a complementary green dress, or a safe black or white dress! Or even blue would be fine, but not an orange dress!”
Sancha also had a talent that Alfonso could never replace.
This is something the Prince can't do. Yeah, that's true.
She would do her part by her side forever.
All she needed was the mindset that it wasn't necessarily okay to be in the closest seat.
Ariadne looked up at Sancha, hugging her green dress. Trust sparkled in her eyes.
Sancha, who was holding a ruby brooch, looked at Ariadne and smiled with her eyes, no, with her heart.
'I cherish you very much. My savior, my role model, my beloved young lady who is like family to me.'
“...You’re so cool, miss.”
Sancha muttered softly.
She tried studying books and account books to keep up with Ariadne's interests, but as a child, it ended up being just simple memorization and learning.
Beyond that, she wasn't interested in it, and it wasn't fun.
The girl who would come up with novel ideas just by looking at something was so different from her.
'Now... Is it time to send her to a higher place?'
Prince Alfonso, who returned from the battlefield, was a different person from the old Prince Alfonso. The boy Prince of the past was not very attractive.
He was fluttering, shiny, and sturdy, so Sancha thought she could better protect the young lady.
But now Alfonso was no longer a boy, but a man.
As a child, he is walking forward, holding hands with Ariadne, in an area that cannot be touched by anyone.
“Sancha. I want to go out wearing a ruby brooch tomorrow.”
Ariadne asked Sancha, thinking about what to wear the next day.
“How about wearing that with an orange suit dress?”
"Miss!"
Sancha screamed in fright.
“That’s not it! It’s not red and orange!”
Ariadne looked back at the mountain chariot with a startled face like a rabbit.
“No? They say that it looks pretty when you wear colors similar to each other. I have both colors, so I thought it would go well together...”
“That’s not a color that’s uncomfortable, that’s a color that’s upsetting!”
Sancha took out the dress and the brooch and showed them to each other.
“Look, isn’t the contrast terrible?”
Sancha grumbled and took out a bunch of dresses of different colors.
“If you really want to wear a ruby brooch, wear a complementary green dress, or a safe black or white dress! Or even blue would be fine, but not an orange dress!”
Sancha also had a talent that Alfonso could never replace.
This is something the Prince can't do. Yeah, that's true.
She would do her part by her side forever.
All she needed was the mindset that it wasn't necessarily okay to be in the closest seat.
Ariadne looked up at Sancha, hugging her green dress. Trust sparkled in her eyes.
Sancha, who was holding a ruby brooch, looked at Ariadne and smiled with her eyes, no, with her heart.
'I cherish you very much. My savior, my role model, my beloved young lady who is like family to me.'
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment