Chapter 168: Pirates (3)
“This estate’s location isn’t exactly ideal,” Ketal began explaining.
It was situated very close to the border of another kingdom. Naturally, their maritime territories also overlapped, making fishing difficult. The slightest mistake could lead to trespassing in foreign waters, forcing fishermen to navigate cautiously and limiting their catch.
Furthermore, these waters teemed with pirates. Even if a crew managed to catch some fish, getting robbed blind on the way back was a frequent occurrence.
To make matters worse, Lord Bulkan’s father, the previous lord, had shown little interest in revitalizing the suffering estate. Consequently, when Dorban inherited the lordship, the estate was in a deplorable state.
Vagrants filled the streets, and with little else to eat, people often resorted to consuming heavily salted, spoiled fish drenched in fermented sauce—the very dish Ketal and Baker had sampled at the tavern, a remnant of that desperate past. Naturally, this led to widespread illness, and while even such rotten food was scarce, some inevitably died.
“I heard there were even occasional instances where starving people exchanged their own children to eat,” Ketal said.
“What?” Aquaz looked utterly horrified. The estate she had seen was peaceful and bright; she herself had found solace in its apparent prosperity just hours ago. To think that only a few decades prior, it had been so wretched was almost unbelievable.
The lord stammered, equally surprised by Ketal’s knowledge. “Y-you know that well. It’s a past most people try to forget, so they avoid mentioning it...”
“It’s often said that the elderly know much and wish to share their memories with someone,” Ketal remarked simply.
While exploring alone earlier, Ketal had encountered an old, blind woman resting on a park bench. She had shared various stories about the estate’s history with him.
“From here, it would be better if you told the story,” Ketal prompted the lord.
“Ah, yes.” The lord quickly picked up the narrative. “When I became lord, the city was in ruins. Just as Ketal said, it wouldn’t have been strange if it had collapsed entirely at any moment.”