CHAPTER 64: A NOISY TAVERN

After Viviene agreed to Gideon’s proposal, she started working in Nozel’s office. She had already brought her two daughters into the house without explaining the deal they made.

For Viviene, it was too early for Sheilla and Isabella to understand such matters.

Since she was just starting her work, Gideon gave her a simple task: calculating income tax for each person and eliminating the housing tax.

Not only that, Gideon wanted her to figure out the exact monthly income under the new system. He didn’t want the noble government to set high taxes for the villagers.

The maximum limit was one silver coin for every worker in the village, without a housing tax. That way, Viviene should know the exact total income collected by calculating the number of villagers and the monthly tax.

She became very busy, though it wasn’t something forced upon her. Viviene truly wanted to do it, purely to gain Gideon’s recognition. She wanted to make him proud of her.

Silva came and told Gideon that she had finished her task. All the luxury goods were carefully stored in the warehouse, totaling 120 items.

As day turned into night, Noelle and Silva couldn’t stay long in Rockvalley. They had to return to Nemora.

Because of this, Gideon ordered the coachman to escort them safely back to Nemora village. If they couldn’t pass through the southern route, then they had to go through the northern one.

"Take care of yourself, Lord Gideon," said Noelle.

"You too. I will return after I finish everything here," Gideon replied.

Noelle and Silva boarded the carriage, and it rolled at a steady pace, leaving Banor Manor toward the northern route. It was the best way back to Nemora village, avoiding the fury of the crowd.

Everything gradually turned stable just as Gideon had planned. The sex slaves had returned to work as maids, but those who were pregnant were granted leave until they gave birth.

There mustn’t be any sex slaves while Gideon became Baron. The maids were also forbidden to offer their bodies to satisfy Gideon. Everything inside the manor was running smoothly without any disturbance.

"Lord Gideon," called Viviene as she stepped out of her office carrying documents in her hands.

Gideon turned, clearly seeing Viviene coming down the stairs quickly. She said she had finished her task and had summarized everything in the documents she carried.

"I created three tax schemes," Viviene said, handing over the papers.

He received them and began reading while Viviene happily explained each tax scheme. The first scheme was a single tax of one silver coin applied equally across the four villages. The second scheme divided it into income tax and housing tax, each worth 50 copper coins. The third scheme based the tax on the average income of each village.

Gideon listened carefully. Viviene’s proposals were good, but the first and second schemes still resulted in the same outcome, only split into two categories of income and housing tax.

He rejected the third scheme where village tax was adjusted according to the average income of each worker in the village.

That would create an imbalance between larger and smaller villages. However, he would still consider the third scheme if it turned out to be effective for implementation.

"Gather data about the workers’ incomes, then divide them into three groups according to their earnings. That way, we can determine who is taxable and who is not," Gideon instructed.

"I will do it," Viviene said.

Gideon narrowed his eyes, noticing how Viviene’s eyes were red from working nonstop from day until night, compiling documents and calculating numbers.

"Are you alright?" Gideon asked.

"I’m fine, truly."

"No, you are not."

"Take a rest. Today has been exhausting for you, hasn’t it?" Gideon asked.

"But I still—"

"You’ve worked hard. I really appreciate it and I thank you. But you also need rest."

"Don’t ruin your work just because you’re pushing yourself too much," Gideon added.

Viviene fell silent, clutching her documents again with her head lowered. In the end, she nodded in agreement. She would go and rest as Gideon instructed.

"You should rest too, Lord Gideon."

"I will go to the village tavern for a while," Gideon explained.

"For what?" Viviene asked.

"To see their problems up close," Gideon said.

The woman nodded. Even though Gideon had decided that, Viviene had no authority to stop him from going.

Besides, only Clark knew who Gideon really was. The villagers still did not know their new Baron.

"Please be careful," Viviene asked softly. Gideon smiled and nodded.

After equipping himself with the SIG M17, Gideon stepped out of the Baron’s residence and removed the Baron’s badge from his clothing. With a few silver coins, he was certain he could buy some of the best drinks in the village.

As usual, the tavern and brothel were the best places for nightlife in the village. The bakery had already closed, as had the restaurant, boutique, and other shops.

The tavern still glowed brightly in the dark night, while the brothel was full of moans that stirred the lust of men.

Arriving at the tavern’s door, Gideon could already sense the crowd from the drunken and gambling men.

He saw their happy faces, though some of them continued talking about Nozel. Gideon walked to the bar counter, buying a glass of the best drink for one silver coin.

The tavern staff, a woman with a large breast, tried to guess who Gideon was.

"You must be new here, right?" the woman asked.

"How could you tell? Are you always on my mind?" Gideon asked, teasing her.

"Haha! Don’t say that, sir. I’m a married woman," she replied, showing the ring on her finger.

"Ah, too bad for me."

"I’m a newcomer from Algus. I saw a big building there. Who owns it?" Gideon asked.

"The noble Baron who rules the southern border, that fat pig Nozel," the woman said, her face showing annoyance as she mentioned Nozel’s name.

"That’s a strange name for a nobleman."

"That’s what we call him. He really is a pig!" the woman declared.

"What’s your name, beautiful?" Gideon asked.

"Lena," said Lena, the tavern owner’s wife.

"Lena? That’s the same name as my friend."

"Really? Bring her here, I’ll give her free water," Lena replied.

"Please, be a little more generous."

"Hahaha!"

Not only the visitors but also the tavern owner held grudges against Nozel. This was truly complicated.

Gideon turned when a drunk man shouted to gather everyone’s attention. He pulled down his pants and began jerking off himself right in front of the other visitors. Gideon shook his head and sighed.

"Well, that was unexpected," Lena said.

Even more shocking, the man finished all over a sketch portrait of Viviene, Nozel’s wife, who was the desire of many men in the village. They always dreamed of thrusting their hips against her ass.

Viviene would be destroyed if I let her walk outside unguarded. These men, they’re disgusting.

"And who is that in the picture?" Gideon asked.

"Lady Viviene, the damned whore who married Nozel just to seize his wealth. She’s just as bad as he is," Lena answered.

"What happened to all of you? Why do you hate this man Nozel so much?" Gideon asked.

Lena smiled and laughed. It had been a long time since she heard such a question. She guessed that Gideon was truly a newcomer who knew nothing.

With detail, Lena explained many things to Gideon about Nozel, Viviene, and the policies they made. Gideon smiled. Getting information about the villagers’ problems was indeed more effective by visiting the tavern.

"If Nozel or Viviene don’t die, then our suffering will never end," Lena explained.

"That is truly complicated," Gideon muttered.

SLAM!

The tavern door suddenly burst open with a loud bang, startling many people including Gideon. But he stayed seated without turning his head.

"Listen up, all of you! Nozel is dead. The new Baron is inside the manor," someone shouted, making Gideon freeze.

Damn! Who is he?

The men cheered loudly. Their long-awaited day had come, where Nozel was finally dead. But when they heard that Viviene was still alive, their anger rose.

They saw it as a chance to storm the Baron’s Manor, loot everything inside, rape every maid and most of it, Viviene.

Gideon couldn’t stay any longer. He left the tavern without a word. He had to return to the Baron’s Manor to defend it from destruction.

This is bad! Chaos is rising because their anger has peaked. I must act immediately!