The large estate near Baron Moro's castle was really just a large village built by the peasants around his castle.
There were no free peasants here. Everyone was a serf.
The buildings here were clearly a level below those in Kali Town. Everywhere Yveta looked, he saw thatched huts, and there were no large buildings.
All around them were neatly cultivated, square fields. Cabbages, turnips, broad beans, cucumbers, radishes, onions, pumpkins, and other crops grew in them, and some dark-skinned peasants were working in the fields.
Some strong young men were chopping down trees in the woods beside the fields, while others struggled to haul away the felled trunks.
Unlike the shrewd merchants and energetic workers of Kali Town, the peasants laboring in the fields and woods seemed simple and dull, almost dazed.
These people were all serfs belonging to the lord of the estate, Baron Moro.
A sturdy peasant man pulling a small cart full of carrots passed by them.
Yveta suddenly saw his own stupid cow take the opportunity to lower its head and eat the carrots in the man's cart.
Yveta was horrified.
Not for any other reason.
It looked like he was going to have to pay for them.
Yveta called out to the peasant. "Excuse me, sir. Take a look at the carrots behind you. I'll pay you for them."
The peasant pulling the cart glanced back at the thieving cow, thought for a moment without changing his expression, then picked up three carrots and tossed them on the ground. "Here, cow. Have some more."
Then he turned around and continued pulling his cart. "No need to pay. These carrots belong to the lord's fields, anyway. Might as well eat them."
"The lord's a fool who can't do math. He won't notice a few missing carrots."
Yveta: "..."
He had gotten a taste of the serfs' state of mind.
After the man had gone some distance,
Yveta complained to Black Wolf and Leili, "This place and Kali Town are practically two different worlds. Can you believe those greedy bastards in Kali Town wouldn't make us pay? The most incredible thing is that these two worlds are only twenty kilometers apart."
It was about the same as walking a few more streets back on Earth, in his previous life.
So close, yet so far apart!
Black Wolf said, "There must be quite a few runaway serfs. They'd flee to Kali Town and become free citizens."
Leili shook his head. "Demon Hunter, you're being too simplistic. First, there's the Seven-Day Pursuit Law, which gives the lord seven days to pursue runaway serfs."
"Towns generally don't want to get involved in trouble."
"Besides, towns are close-knit communities. Without neighbors or relatives, it's impossible to put down roots."
"And freedom comes at a price. The citizens in towns have no lord; they're their own masters and only have to obey the guilds and Town Council. But they could starve or die of thirst."
Leili explained, "These serfs aren't free, but their living conditions aren't necessarily worse than those of the citizens in town."
"Even during famine, the lords do their best to protect them, because they're the lords' property."
"A lord doesn't want to see his territory left with hardly anyone in it."
"The citizens in town, on the other hand, are on their own. They have to fend for themselves. Even if they starve to death or die of thirst, nobody will care, except the usurers."
"So even when people have the chance to become citizens of a city or town, they don't always take it."
Leili suddenly came up with a fitting analogy. "This might not be quite appropriate, but it's like the difference between a dog and a wild wolf."
Yveta smiled, and they continued on. This time, he asked Leili to keep an eye on the cow behind them, to stop it from eating anything else.
Leili said the stupid cow had already eaten four carrots and was probably full for now.
Unlike orderly Kali Town, the estate was large enough that they wandered around for quite some time without anyone paying them any attention. The serfs didn't want to meddle in other people's business.
The soldiers didn't seem particularly diligent at their posts, either.
Eventually, they came across some guards. After explaining that they were adventurers and passing inspection, the soldiers stopped paying attention to them.
They only warned them not to cause trouble or steal anything from the fields, since everything there belonged to the lord.
If they caused trouble here, they would either be permanently driven out or, in the worst case, hanged from a tree by Baron Moro.
After asking around several times, they finally persuaded a young man who guarded the castle to notify Branton, Baron Moro's eldest son.
Once permission was granted, the young man had someone see to their carriage and cow, then led them to a small side room on the castle's second floor.
The castle seemed to belong to a minor baron, so it had no outer wall or moat, only an inner keep.
The most important rooms inside the castle were the spacious, imposing reception hall and the chapel. The rest were small rooms packed closely together.
Yveta followed the servant leading them up the spiral staircase. He noticed at once that it wound clockwise.
That was right. Staircases in castles like this usually spiraled clockwise.
That way, anyone trying to attack the castle's second floor would have to climb the stairs, and the clockwise direction put those coming up at a severe disadvantage.
It meant that anyone coming down from above could use their dominant hand with ease.
Anyone climbing up would expose their chest to the weapons of those above.
Put simply, it was like an unbalanced game map, with one side having the familiar viewpoint and the other an unfamiliar one.
When they reached the second floor, they weren't led to the proper reception room, but to a small side chamber.
That was only natural.
Yveta and the others were just lowly adventurers, not nobles visiting other nobles.
A young man of about eighteen, wearing a robe decorated with intricate patterns, was already waiting in the side room.
He had to be the baron's eldest son, Branton Moro!
Yveta handed him the commission letter. Branton Moro looked excited. "You're finally here. You've come at just the right time."
"My sister has been missing for more than three and a half months."
"But..."
Yveta frowned. "It's been three and a half months?"
Was there any chance she was still alive?
"Didn't you send anyone to look for her?"
Branton Moro suddenly burst into tears. "No, because everyone keeps telling me I don't have a sister. They say I imagined her. But I remember perfectly well that an ogre snatched her right in front of me. We were out hunting when we encountered an ogre."
"No, it might have been a whole group of them."
"Then the ogres took my sister, but for some reason everyone around me keeps telling me I don't have one."
Yveta and the others were stunned.
Yveta looked at Leili and Black Wolf. Leili shook his head, while Black Wolf shrugged. "I've never had such a strange commission."
"Maybe our client's mental state..."
"That's right. My son has indeed gone mad. He doesn't have a sister!" A loud, powerful voice suddenly came from outside the room. A burly man with very short hair, sharp eyes, and a square face strode in, looking exceptionally strong and imposing.
This was clearly Baron Moro.
Baron Moro looked at Branton Moro with disgust. "Idiot, do you know how many people will covet our territory if word gets out that you're insane?"
"You're the heir here. Moro Baron Territory is responsible for guarding a key route and scouting enemy movements on behalf of Viscount Country. If people learn about your condition, many of them will urge the Grand Viscount to appoint a different heir. I hope you'll stop doing foolish things."
Branton Moro grew agitated. "No, Father, have you forgotten about my sister? You have a daughter! I have a sister! You used to love her most!"
Baron Moro sighed and said helplessly to Yveta and the others, "Honored guests, you can ask anyone nearby whether I have a daughter."
"But I can't host you right now."
"This commission is nonsense, too."
"You can leave. I expect you to be out of my territory by tomorrow morning. Otherwise, I'll have the guards arrest you."
"Now, please leave."
Yveta was completely bewildered.
What...
Hadn't that druid said he would get what he wanted from this commission?
What was going on?
Black Wolf and Leili clearly hadn't expected this, either. They both looked baffled.
They had no choice but to leave for the time being. As they were going, Baron Moro was still muttering, "I suspect my son's been cursed by a witch."
Everyone turned to look at the Hearthstone Great Witch.
The Hearthstone Great Witch said, "Why are you all looking at me?"