Chapter 83…
“Come, come. You should all have some too.”
While Ellie was stuck in place, unable to decide what to do, the innkeeper came out of the kitchen with another big bundle of popcorn and offered it to the people eating in the hall.
“Oh, nice.”
“Thank you.”
The customers brightened and eagerly accepted bowls full of popcorn.
The innkeeper chuckled as he handed it out.
He didn’t take any money from them.
Ellie looked down at the sack of popcorn in her hands.
It was big and heavy.
Even if it was a bribe, giving away this much for free…
“Is something wrong, miss? Do you need anything else?”
The innkeeper returned after handing out the popcorn to the others and spoke to Ellie, who was still standing there.
Ellie pressed her lips together, hesitating, then finally made up her mind and asked:
“Why aren’t you taking money from the others for the popcorn?”
“Hm?”
A very sudden question.
This little young lady seemed to be incredibly curious.
The innkeeper pondered how to answer, then smiled warmly.
“This business started because I like seeing people enjoy the food I make.”
The part about ‘bribes’ and such had been half a joke because she was so cute, but a sincere question deserved a sincere answer.
“I love watching people eat my cooking with delight. I figured opening a shop would let me feed more people than just sharing homemade food at home. It was originally a restaurant.”
Back then too, he ran the place by giving generously without keeping much for himself.
He never aimed to make a lot of money.
He was satisfied just by seeing people’s happy faces.
But there were too many starving people with no money, and he couldn’t feed every single one for free.
So he began thinking of something that required no ingredients—then he came up with the inn.
If necessary, he could at least give someone without a place to sleep a bed for the night.
“As the years passed like that, the business grew to what it is now.”
Hearing all this, Ellie’s thoughts grew even more tangled.
Feeding people so they don’t starve, and even giving them a place to sleep?
Then he’s a good person!
“He’s a good person… but Lord Marquis wants to hang him…”
It didn’t make sense.
“Then… if the lord collected taxes properly—like a fair amount—you’d pay honestly without hiding anything?”
“Mm… no?”
“What?!”
Why couldn’t he just stay a good person?!
If he had just said yes, she could’ve accepted, Ah, circumstances made it impossible before, and moved on!
“It’s better to answer honestly.”
“Well, yes, but still! …Then why would you keep hiding it?”
“Because the lord doesn’t use the taxes to help anyone.”
“Huh?”
The brutally honest conversation dug straight down into fundamentals.
“Taxes are originally money taken in exchange for the lord protecting us. They’re supposed to be used for building bridges, making roads… also for feeding the hungry. But the lord doesn’t use any of it for that. He spends it all on himself.”
“So the lord broke his promise?”
“That’s right. But who’s going to call him out on it?”
Even Ellie now understood why no one could confront the lord.
Marquis Simon had summoned immense courage just to give Ellie advice. That’s how hard it was for someone to reprimand a superior.
“Then if… if the lord actually used the money for the people like he’s supposed to, would you stop doing bad things and pay properly?”
The innkeeper watched Ellie quietly.
It was such an innocent, naive question.
The world didn’t work that cleanly. Humans were greedy.
But somehow, her words carried weight.
As if maybe… just maybe, the world could become like that.
“If things truly turned out that way, I’d have no reason to hide anything. The lord would be able to do more good than I could.”
“Okay!”
“…But of course, the amount matters. Too much is… uncomfortable.”
He was only human—paying too much hurt.
Ellie was willing to accept that.
“Alright! He’ll take taxes reasonably, and he’ll use them for good things for the people. If that happens, you have to promise you won’t do anything bad anymore!”
“Yes, I promise. …But ‘bad things,’ you say? I only kept him from taking too much.”
Even though he had confessed to a crime with his own mouth, hearing the young lady call it a bad deed directly stung him.
So he tried defending himself a little.
Ellie frowned sharply and shook her head.
“If you didn’t pay, someone else probably had to pay more.”
“…I don’t think that was exactly the case… but yes, those who paid properly must’ve felt unfair.”
No one here had enough to pay someone else’s share.
The lord would squeeze even the tiny amount they needed for survival.
But from the perspective of others, someone who got squeezed less was enviable.
“Yeah! And then some people would just get poorer and poorer.”
Ellie thought of the bandits.
They had once been hardworking people too.
Now she understood: even if you worked hard, life could still drag you downward.
Moved by Ellie’s earnest gaze, the innkeeper made a sincere promise.
“Yes. If the lord does well, I will never do it again.”
Though he doubted such a day would come.
Still, he raised his hand to swear.
Seeing that, Ellie finally nodded in satisfaction.
“Good. I’ll overlook what happened until now. And I’ll make sure the lord collects taxes fairly and uses them for good things.”
“Oh dear, I leave it in your hands, miss. I trust you.”
Even just hearing the words felt so comforting.
The innkeeper chuckled and bowed repeatedly as Ellie left the dining hall.
I need to call a meeting the moment I get back!
She hadn’t even arrived at the summer villa yet, but she already had work to do back at the palace.
“Will you take this to your room to eat?”
Rilkia set down the popcorn sack she’d been carrying and asked.
“Hmm…”
Ellie wanted to eat a lot of it, but if she tried finishing that whole bag, she’d probably burst like popcorn.
She gave up her greed.
“Let’s eat it together!”
“Hm…”
Rilkia looked at the sack anxiously.
That popcorn… the two of them… at this hour…
If she did as Ellie asked, it would mess with her strict diet.
Maintaining her body was essential for protecting Her Majesty.
Her Majesty’s life or Her Majesty’s brief moment of joy.
Between the two, the choice was obvious: her life.
“This is practically pure carbohydrates. Eating too much late at night would not be wise.”
“…Oh.”
So Rilkia gave up the sweet chance of sharing popcorn alone with Ellie.
She almost cried.
Ellie, unaware of Rilkia’s grief, began wondering again whom she should eat with.
“Do you think anyone else is still awake?”
Time had passed while making popcorn and talking with the innkeeper.
People who had been at the tables were slowly disappearing.
“Yes, most are awake. Everyone has packing or duties to take care of. About half will stay awake on night watch anyway.”
“Great! Then let’s share it with everyone!”
“Yes, that is a good idea.”
“Yeah! Oh, can we borrow umbrellas from the owner?”
Feeling cheerful again, Ellie was excited about sharing the popcorn.
“…Excuse me?”
Just then, thunder boomed outside.
It echoed inside Rilkia like a scream.
“Hm?”
Ellie looked at her strangely.
“Umbrellas?”
“Yeah. It’s raining.”
“You mean… you don’t mean you want to deliver popcorn to the people in the other lodgings too, do you?”
Rilkia’s voice lowered like distant thunder.
Thunder wasn’t scary—but Rilkia’s mood was.
“Wh-why…? Is that bad?”
She felt like she had accidentally said something disastrous.
Ellie hugged the popcorn bundle tightly and hid half her face behind it.
Only her eyes peeked out, rolling anxiously above the bag.
Is it bad? Why is it bad? Is it really bad?
If there had been even a hint of hidden intention behind the question, it would’ve been easier to refuse.
But facing those pure, innocent eyes that genuinely wondered whether it was okay—it was incredibly hard to object.
