HTLCCBFT Chapter 141

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 141

The thought that his territory still harbored such twisted laws—cruel and greedy beyond all reason—filled Oliver with intense discomfort.

In practical matters, he had always been swift and decisive. After this breakfast that had somehow turned into a meeting, he chose to delay finalizing the textbook compilation in order to quickly review the pile of estate-related legal documents Fosse had prepared for him.

The more he read, the deeper his frown grew.

These laws, undoubtedly crafted to serve the nobility and their subordinates, were saturated with the brutal exploitation of commoners and slaves—squeezing every last drop of their blood and marrow. Many were shocking in their severity.

Especially for women.

If slaves lived worse than livestock, then female slaves lived worse than dust: from the day they were born, they became the property of the lord. They were forced to work until death, denied any freedom in marriage, and even their unborn children were already considered part of the lord’s wealth.

Even widows who had lost their husbands were required to remarry within a few months, lest the land previously cultivated by the couple fall fallow, causing a loss to the lord’s wealth.

And even among the higher-status free women, their rights were far inferior to those of men: they could be severely punished based on mere slander from male commoners, stripped of all property by law for leaving an irredeemable husband, and unable to resist any demand made by their husbands…

Just reading this made Oliver’s eyes ache.

He rarely looked so grim, his lips pressed tightly together, the corners slightly downturned.

In stark contrast to his silence, almost every time he turned a page, the quill held in his slender fingers would make clear, sharp strokes on the paper—clearly crossing something out.

The sound of scratching grew from sparse to dense, its intensity increasing with his rising anger—until it finally pierced through the paper, the nib leaving a clear tear.

Fosse, who had been quietly waiting by his side, leaned forward slightly with a worried expression. “Your Grace.”

Oliver forced himself to set aside his heavy mood and smiled at the butler. “I’m fine, don’t worry.”

Compared to these poor women drowning in misfortune, what could possibly be wrong with him?

Reforming the estate laws was only the first step.

He certainly wouldn’t attempt to immediately elevate women’s rights to match or even approach those of men.

Such deeply ingrained notions, even for him—the supreme ruler of Laina and Albury, holding the lofty title of Duke, backed by knights and guards—could not be easily overturned.

It was destined to be an exceedingly long process, requiring gradual progress, reliant on opportune moments driven by the broader environment, and the awakening of women’s own consciousness.

But there were many things he could do.

After a long period of contemplation, Oliver made up his mind.

He looked at Fosse and, attempting to frame it from the perspective of the lord’s interests, slowly began, “Fosse, I need you to refine these matters for me…”

Slaves are the property of the lord, and female slaves are no exception.

If so, what right do male slaves or common men have to abuse female slaves whose ownership belongs to the lord?

“Before they became their wives, they were already my slaves.”

Oliver unconsciously tapped the table with his knuckles, his expression carrying a hint of nonchalance and the arrogance unique to nobility: “Rather than maintaining order in those dilapidated houses, they ought to serve me better, instead of meticulously caring for their lowly husbands.”

Regarding the young lord’s words, the butler, who always stood unwaveringly by his interests, nodded without hesitation and agreed wholeheartedly: “Yes, Your Highness.”

“A violent storm is about to strike. To guard against the honorable king, I need more soldiers… my dear Fosse.” Oliver sighed softly: “In the past, it was always men who had this right and duty, but regrettably, not everyone knows how to cherish this precious opportunity, nor does everyone have the ability and honor to serve me.”

The butler immediately recalled the scenes from the disastrous swordsmanship assessment at the end of last year’s Autumn Market.

his brow furrowed tightly as he bluntly evaluated: “Indeed. Those worthless individuals are not worth Your Highness’s concern, and are entirely unworthy of serving by your side.”

“Whether men or women, all are devout followers of the great Cat God. And the generous God is always willing to bestow favor upon the faithful, granting them strength or wisdom.” Oliver smiled faintly: “Lucy is a fine example. No one who sees her now would ever imagine she was once a lowly slave, would they?”

Fosse gave a reserved, slight nod.

“To ensure the benevolent Cat God’s blessings are not wasted, and to enhance the power I possess… my most trusted Fosse, I need your help.” Oliver looked at the attentive butler and smilingly expressed his thoughts: “Whether it’s attendants in the Divine Temple or other duties within the territory, I plan to establish positions exclusively for women. As long as they possess sufficient qualifications and prove their absolute loyalty to Laina, those positions will belong to them. And the property they acquire through fulfilling these duties, under the protection of estate law, shall be solely at their disposal—both during their lives and after their deaths.”

According to the original laws, women had neither the freedom to choose marriage nor the freedom to manage household property, nor even the opportunity to obtain paid employment.

The shackles of marriage had already been removed by Oliver exercising the absolute authority of the lord, while other aspects he intended to address gradually.

Forcibly adding positions that “must be filled by women” is certainly not a perfect solution.

But given the current circumstances, a simple and direct approach might be the most effective.

“For instance, in animal husbandry, Lucy’s abilities have fully demonstrated that compared to some careless men, women often show more affection and are more willing to carefully care for those little creatures that only chirp softly.”

Of course, this was merely a prejudice deliberately exaggerated by Oliver.

However, even in the era he was more familiar with, where power dynamics were relatively balanced, there were still men who deliberately acted careless and clueless about household chores: for instance, when sent to buy groceries, they would always bring back poor-quality produce or “accidentally” splurge on unnecessary items. Or they would clumsily break dishes while washing them, burn food while cooking, fail to soothe a crying child, and could only stand by “helplessly,” leaving their wives to deal with the mess with a headache.

Did this mean they had absolutely no talent for such tasks?

Of course not.

Even if they were inevitably clumsy at first, learning was by no means difficult.

It was simply that they did not value these skills, saw no need for them, and were too lazy to learn.

Fosse fell into deep contemplation.

He had no idea how much time had passed when he finally snapped out of it under the patient, amused gaze of the young lord. A faint smile touched his lips as he said, “Your Highness, if you do this, there will always be greedy fools unwilling to let their wives compete for these positions, insisting on keeping them completely under their control.”

Oliver slightly lifted his chin, his eyes sparkling as he looked at him. “I suppose, my dear butler, that is when your whip should make its appearance.”

And so, on the day the Spring Market concluded, Laina City was rocked by a series of astonishing announcements—

The first batch of 100 copies of the Intermediate Textbook had been rushed to completion and distributed immediately. The first to receive these textbooks were, of course, the freemen living in the town area, as well as the small number of slaves who had performed best in the previous examination.

Bathed in the envious and admiring gazes of others, they unconsciously straightened their backs, their faces flushed with excitement as they accepted the hefty new textbooks from the guards.

Their proud demeanor made it seem less like they were receiving new learning materials and more like loyal new knights being honored by their great master for the first time.

Oliver watched from the castle window, observing their jubilant expressions, and couldn’t help but sigh: scarcity truly makes things precious.

If this were modern times… any student receiving a brand-new textbook with content far richer than this would likely be scowling.

This extraordinary excitement naturally caught the attention of many traveling merchants.

Merchants who had been thrilled just days earlier to get their hands on the long-coveted Primary Textbook—especially the bookseller Booke—were now practically green with envy.

The Intermediate Textbook was already out, and so quickly!

Even the Primary Textbook had been rich in content, remarkably balancing depth and humor. Booke was practically desperate to get his hands on the undoubtedly even more impressive Intermediate Textbook.

But the first print run was extremely limited—Oliver had no intention of wasting materials on excessive woodblock printing, especially since there was still time. Even if Booke were willing to pay an exorbitant price of 8 gold coins per copy, there was simply no stock to be had.

At the same time as the distribution of the Intermediate Textbook, the announcement that “the great Cat God will test the faithful once more on the final day of the Autumn Market and select official Divine Attendants” ignited everyone’s enthusiasm to a fever pitch.

The few who passed last year’s trials soon experienced a tremendous change in fate that was evident to all.

The fact that commoners like Weston were summoned to the castle and given positions superior to those of the castle servants was not particularly shocking. After all, the class divide made them seem too distant in the eyes of the slaves.

However, the tiny minority led by Slaev—those who had passed the knowledge examination and directly obtained managerial posts, slaves—no, former slaves, now free citizens—undoubtedly made many of the slaves who had chosen to back out at the last moment feel deep, genuine regret.

What no one anticipated was that before they could fully digest these two major announcements, a third bombshell struck.

“Women?! Did I hear that right?”

“Positions only for women! By the Cat God’s socks, this is unbelievable!”

“Anything women can do, we can do too! This is so unfair!”

“How can they be allowed to earn money?!”

In their extreme astonishment, many men instinctively voiced loud objections.

Although their words were directed at the fact that “women were being granted positions they themselves were barred from competing for”… their remarks inevitably implicated the Cat God and Oliver, leading to the quicker-witted others furiously pinning them to the ground and giving them a thorough beating.

“Hey, you damned swine, are you questioning His Highness’s decision?!”

“No questions asked! That is the divine messenger’s decree!”

“You filthy scum, you’d better keep your mouth shut properly. Don’t let me hear you spewing that stinking nonsense about His Highness’s words again!”

“If only I’d let her study back then, oh!”

This series of successive shocks elicited reactions of regret, confusion, or excitement among the people.

As for Lord Oliver, who had stirred up these waves, he returned to Albury on the fifth day after the Spring Market concluded, taking his Cat God, Fosse, and other trusted aides with him.

Following his guard unit were the Albury slaves, whose condition had greatly improved after nearly ten days of recuperation.

---