24 The city divided

"Alright, thanks."

Savine got out and went through the formal hiring procedure. Of the fifty silvers per week, a part of it went to the association. If a servant stayed with a master for three years, they could remove their ties to the association become their master's exclusive worker.

That was Savine's intention with her new valet and steward, but of course, she needed to work with them for a month or two to understand them better. After that, she could give them a gift of some kind as well.

After the paperwork was done, Savine and the two others got on a passing carriage and headed to the temple.

The two were somewhat surprised to see the state that Savine's room was in, but spoke about decorating very quickly. Savine cut them off and gave a small introduction of herself.

She said that she was a daughter of a noble in the Magicracy, but since she turned out to be a mage, she decided to come to the Sovereignty. This and that happened, and she became a noble priest in the temple.

As for the rest of her history, she decided to keep it a secret for a bit. The same applied to her being God's Chosen.

After her own introductions were over, Savine started asking them questions.

"What do you know about mages and what they can do?"

"Not much. They can create miracles and magic tools."

"Do you know how they use their magic? How they manage their mana."

The two looked confused. Why was she asking questions like these?

"No, young mistress. But we do know that if a child is constantly suffering fevers for no reason, we should bring them to the church."

Savine nodded. That was the normal answer to her questions. But in the Magicracy, people would start talking about Vasas and manas and whatnot immediately.

"Don't mind that," Savine said. "First off, tell me what you two know about the northwestern area and the slums."

Zuri took the initiative to speak.

"The northwestern area is where all the farmers live. The land to our north is fertile and productive, so it's managed by the best farmers, and they're all owned by the duke himself."

It was a common situation. That meant that there was something weird going on with the slums.

"As for the slums… although it's called that, it's almost like a city of its own," Zuri said. "It has farmers, craftsmen, tradesmen, all sorts of people living there. It's a place that's almost independent from Fest."

"Seriously?" Savine couldn't help but laugh confusedly. "What a mess."

"As you say, young mistress. It's happened because of the previous Duchess. Have you heard about her?"

"Yes, yes. The war and the Duchess's failure. I've heard it all. But I haven't heard about the slums' emergence. Tell me about that."

"Young mistress…" Zuri looked hesitant.

"As you will keep my secrets, I will keep yours as well. Don't worry and speak your mind."

The two shared a look, and it was Wilfred who spoke. He was the one who was more knowledgeable.

"The city's commoners and craftsmen alike were always oppressed by the incredibly high rate of tax by the duchess. 70% was an unfair amount, no matter how you saw it. But the duchess allowed no room for negotiation. The tax collectors were always accompanied by an order of guards and anyone who failed to pay the necessary amount was punished harshly.

"But the people didn't openly rebel because… I believe because the duchess sowed discord among the commoners," Wilfred whispered. "She reduced the taxes for the ones who snitched on the people who managed to falsify their income to pay less tax. With that, the commoners were divided into two groups, the ones well off and the ones who weren't.

"Because of that, the poorer commoners were always stuck fighting the well-off ones. The duchess also didn't allow them time to take a breather, constantly harassing them from above. At least that's what this humble one thinks. I may be too presumptious."

Savine thought about the situation for a bit. Perhaps the duchess wasn't as big of an idiot as the merchants described. From the rumors, she was a complete airhead who didn't even know the amount of land her duchy cultivated.

But from Wilfred's words, it could be seen that the duchess was deeply involved in the matter of commoners, even if it was only to act as a marionettist. Would someone like that really not know the amount of grains they produced?

'Something's off… Eliseline's reactions to what I heard was off as well.'

"Did they finally get their chance when the duchess went to war?" Savine asked.

"It is as you say," Wilfred said. "A week after the duchy's main fighting force left for the war, a great rebellion occurred on the eastern side of the city. It was so big that half the city took the side of the rebels. But of course, they were unable to overcome the wall that was the mages. They couldn't take over the entire city, but they were still extremely successful. Now, the entirety of the eastern side is under their control."

It was a great success, but something like this should normally be impossible.

"Why does the duke still allow this?" Savine asked.

Wilfred looked briefly flustered. "I'm not sure I understand, young mistress."

"Even if the rebels numbered in the hundred thousands, as you mentioned, the noble side still has mages. If they wanted to, they could've reduced the rebels to ash a hundred times after the war was over."

A look of fear flashed past his eyes.

"Perhaps it's because they still pay taxes," Zuri spoke up. "Though the rate is nowhere as high as before, the residents of the slums still give 40% their income to the duke."

Savine laughed. A rebel force that still paid taxes to the force they were rebelling against? The idea was wrong on so many levels.

"Who is the leader of the slums?"

"I know little about it all, but it's someone called the Architect."

Savine wanted to scoff at the pretentious name, but she found herself smiling instead. She suddenly found herself extremely interested in the situation.

"I assume there's trade between the slums and the main city?"

"Barely none," Zuri said. "The traders from the slums are shunned and buyers usually prefer to buy from the craftsmen in the southwest."

'That sounds about right…' Savine hummed. 'At this point, aside from military invasion, the duke can only influence the slums with money. Ah, I need to see it with my own eyes.'

Savine got up and declared immediately.

"I'm going to the slums."

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