Reincarnate as Prince: Change Magical World with Industry

26 Rounding Up

After careful deliberation with the Stewards and the managing staff of the manor, Janus rounded up everyone near the mansion grounds to discuss how they will move forward with things.

Every worker was in attendance, they had set up chairs on the grounds but it wasn't enough to accommodate everyone, leaving some of the workers to stand. The guards, the goblins, and serfs were all huddled in a tight square. Janus stood at the center, standing on top of a pedestal made of stacked-up garden rocks. It had been a long week for him, but he felt that this needs to be addressed before they proceeded. Rumors were already going around, he had to address his men with the truth at the very least.

"First of all, I would like to apologize for the grueling experience that you had to endure. What they did to us wasn't something I expected at all. The Holy See has deemed that our practice of raising earthworms wasn't up to their standards. So they had to take that away."

There were a string of murmurs. There was a look of uncertainty going around, Janus couldn't blame them. He felt the same way himself.

"As you may already know, there is a war on the north with the orcs. So the King took it to himself to take away our iron, our stone, and our stockpile of food. On top of that, the Holy See and the Crown are taxing the manor an even greater amount, things are not looking good for us."

A low murmur started that grew into a rumble of voices. Sighs rumbled across the workers, some of them were utterly upset. Janus found himself lost in their cries, in their worries, but he had to be straight.

"The manor isn't as safe as it used to be anymore. I'm suspecting that there's a target on my back, although I'm not quite sure why. So I'm giving you all a choice. If you decide to stop working for the manor, please do so now. There is a lot of work ahead of us, even more work than in the previous year, and I cannot assure you that we can defend you if any danger transpires. If you wish to leave, you may leave now."

A few people started walking out of the group, picking up all of their stuff and headed towards the gates.

Janus watched and waited. Ten people, twenty. Their faces weren't familiar as far as he could tell. They looked like workers who had only been recently hired for to the newly reclaimed land.

A few more minutes passed, but nobody else moved.

"Anyone else?"

A few of the overseers stepped forward, he recognized them as Sandor Binns, Gallen Eldorn, Mirna Umi, and Kaellin Darkthorn.

"We will stay, your highness. Our lives are tied to the manor, there is nowhere else we can go, and this land is our land just as our fathers before us."

"Very well, I appreciate your work." Janus said.

Caleb Elderman stepped forward next. He was the captain of the guards at Gracewood. He had been a former soldier serving under the crown until an injury took down vision in his left eye and he was relieved from service. He had been working on the manor ever since. He had tufts of graying eyebrows and his younger days had passed but still walked and spoke like a soldier. He usually wore an eye patch to cover his old wound but this time it was exposed for everyone to see.

He knelt down in front of Janus and said. "I have been under Gracewood for most of my life, it has been my home ever since I was relieved of service. I cannot assure you that I can go against any of the soldiers or Crimson Blades when the worst-case comes but you have made my home a better place to live in, and for that, you still have my service. As well as some of the men with me."

Some of the guardsmen cheered, there were around thirty of them at the moment. Janus noted that some of them didn't look as certain as the others, but he couldn't really blame them for that.

Third to speak up was Kazzuk. The goblin's headdress was a little more unkempt than usual. Feathers were clearly missing as some of the livestock were taken by the latest incident.

"Princey, a little bit of trouble isn't a new thing to us goblins. We have been on the run for most of the past few years, and we are content to practice our craft in the safety and hospitality of your walls. Never in a hundred years would we think that there would be a human that would accept us openly, and for that we will stay."

"Thank you Kazzuk, we owe a lot to you and your band. Gracewood welcomes you and any other refugees for as long as I am at the helm."

Adduk waddled in shortly after, carrying something that looked like a small key.

"Princey," he said. "We have something for you, crown men didn't know about the goblin pit. We have more tools in there, but not enough for everyone. Adduk will be happy to make more."

"Thank you Adduk, but we will have to be more careful in using those tools. We don't want them to be taken away again. I suppose we'll have to make the majority of those using wood." Janus said with a sigh.

"Interesting idea Princey, Adduk will see if we can make it work."

"Thank you Adduk."

Janus went around, thanking everyone who decided to stay. To his surprise, most of the residents of Gracewood decided to remain despite the questionable future that they were facing. These people put their trust in him and he intended to make it worth it.

Janus regretted his initial thoughts. After hearing the report of the situation from Master Ringo, he was tempted to just keep things going as they were. After all since the status of the manor was back to its old state, why not take a step back from all the improvements? Make the workers stay in the same old shacks and dormitories. What's the point? The crown was going to take it all away anyway. Why not just let everything remain as they are and live a comfortable life?

But after seeing all these faces and knowing all their stories, Janus was ashamed that he had even considered the thought. No, he had an obligation to these people and he was going to see it through. His situation was still dire, but he was going to finish what he started. If they were able to increase yields by ten times per acre just from one year, then a combined effort would be worth it, they could probably aim for two or three times more. Janus just had to get back to the drawing board.

Nights of managing and planning did not give him enough time to sleep. They set up makeshift tables and tents around the field in front of the mansion. In front of him were stacks of books and records and calculations. They had spent all night double-checking inventories, living quarters, supplies, tools. Anything that was taken from them was carefully tallied and recorded. In order to make the right decisions and strategy, Janus had to see the real picture.

They had set up a small soup kitchen for everyone to eat. Some of the workers were practically homeless now, they were now sleeping in this space temporarily until they could find a new place for them to live in.

They went through rounds and rounds of plans and solutions, but Janus couldn't find any scenario that he was satisfied with.

First, there was an option to basically run the manor just as the same as before. With all the tithes, offerings, and taxes they were required to send every season, they could theoretically survive. But there would be no more food rations, no improvements and essentially no hope left for the workers to have a stable life. Janus dismissed this immediately.

Then there was an option where they would be laying off workers so that they could still sustain their basic needs and build up the houses again. These people who had built their lives in the manor, the faces and friends that they had made during years of work. It didn't feel right to him, so he dismissed that.

They went through more and more options, but ultimately their resources were tight. The Holy See and the King had a stranglehold on them. Janus thought of a way that he could negotiate with them to relax the terms, but judging on the hostile takeover that his workers had to endure under their hands, he didn't think it would be likely.

Those were his only options. Perhaps there could be a compromise that he could offer with the King and the Holy See.

Janus rounded up everyone who had lost their homes and made a decision that would probably create a big rift among the nobles, but there was no other choice.

He opened the mansion for those who had nowhere to sleep.