Since It's My First Time Being a Lady, I'll Cause Some Trouble - Chapter 12

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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A Lady’s First Time Causing Trouble · Episode 012
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It began as a simple errand.
A few hours earlier, as I was preparing for the afternoon tea gathering and leaving the house.
The Viscountess, seizing the moment, pressed a Document Envelope into my hands with something between a request and a command.
‘There’s no rush—once the tea gathering ends, stop by the Batory Estate and deliver it to the Viscount for me.’
I’d agreed readily enough.
The Batory Estate lay scarcely an hour from the Imperial Capital, and what trouble could arise from a simple errand to deliver papers?
As we drove toward the mansion, I gazed idly at the landscape streaming past the window.
I never tired of watching the city fade into quiet countryside.
Midway through the journey, dark clouds gathered overhead, and soon the rain began to fall.
Without an umbrella or coat to hand, I could only grumble inwardly and hope the downpour would pass quickly.
After driving further, the windbreak-lined roads gave way to a charming village with an air of old-fashioned elegance.
We’d reached the Batory Estate at last.
I was thinking we’d arrive at the manor house soon when the carriage lurched to a sudden halt.
“What’s happened?”
The Coachman, who’d been speaking with one of the locals, replied with visible embarrassment.
“My apologies, Miss. The main road is undergoing repairs, so we’d need to take a detour, but that route is blocked by an accident as well. I’m trying to find another path wide enough for the carriage, but I’m afraid the situation is rather difficult…….”
In other words, there was no choice but to take the damaged road.
“How long will it take to clear the accident?”
“At least an hour, they say.”
“An hour?”
I turned my head to look ahead.
Beyond the small houses with their yellow and orange roofs, their neat yards separated by a well-maintained path, the Batory Estate House rose in plain view.
Waiting for the road repairs would take over an hour, but walking would get me there in a mere fifteen minutes.
“Then I’ll walk ahead.”
With that, I reached into the carriage’s storage and pulled out the Robe and Boots the servants used.
The rain had stopped, but the road remained muddy, and an unseasonable chill bit at the air.
Walking to the manor in nothing but a thin tea-gathering dress would be asking for illness.
The Coachman tried to dissuade me, but I paid him no mind and set out with the Document Envelope in hand.
However bad the weather, I’d arrive in no time. What could go wrong?
But my confidence proved spectacularly misplaced.
By the time I reached the manor house, I was trembling with cold. The wind wasn’t merely chill—it bit with such force that I could hardly think straight.
I knocked the door knocker, and the door swung open at once, releasing a wave of warm air from within.
Then came a stern voice.
“I should’ve mentioned using the servants’ entrance, but……is that you, Miss Ulfina?”
I didn’t need a mirror to imagine my appearance.
Even the butler and maid who greeted me at the entrance were staring as though wondering if I were truly a young lady and not a beggar.
Ah, what a wretched thing I was—the world around me seemed nothing but cold and dampness.
As I warmed myself by the fireplace in the parlor, the Viscount soon entered.
“Ulfina? What on earth is this getup?”
I explained everything to his bewildered face and handed him the Document Envelope.
After hearing my account, the Viscount gave a sympathetic tsk-tsk.
“Since you’ve come this far, stay for supper as well.”
“But is that really acceptable?”
“Of course. Besides, you’ve come to the Batory Estate—you ought to pay your respects to the Count, the master of these lands, shouldn’t you? If he hears that his granddaughter visited but didn’t see him before leaving, he’ll be displeased.”
True enough. That was fair. I was at my grandmother’s house, even if only in pretense—I should at least fulfil a granddaughter’s duty.
“He’s at the Imperial Palace at the moment attending the Council, but he’ll return for supper.”
I nodded in acknowledgment.
“Then, might I walk around the village until dinner?”
At my words, the Viscount’s eyes narrowed with what I could only interpret as suspicion—doubtless fearing what sort of trouble I might cause.
“……Return before supper.”
“Yes!”
With eager enthusiasm, I bolted straight for the Tavern in the heart of the village.
Cold? Dark clouds? What did any of that matter now? A chilled body could be warmed with drink.
‘Today I’m going to strip this village bare—they won’t even have barley seed left!’
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“Ahhhh!”
I drained the glass in one long pull.
After so long without it, the Beer tasted sublime—crisp and delicious enough to bring tears to my eyes.
When I was a commoner, I loved drinking at taverns and chatting with people. It was a simple pleasure, the kind only the ordinary folk knew.
But lately, condemned to live as a young lady, I haven’t savored even those small joys.
‘If my body hadn’t changed, I’d probably be pestering my colleagues right now to grab a drink after work.’
The cold weather had driven a decent crowd into the tavern, despite the sun still lingering overhead.
I was examining the tavern’s interior while chewing on some basic snacks when the voices of drunkards at a nearby table drifted into my ears.
“Raising taxes by twenty percent? These bastards.”
“Shh! Keep your voice down. Someone might hear you. You could get arrested for that.”
“Let them arrest me, then! Did I say anything wrong? They’re telling all of us to drop dead, aren’t they?”
A middle-aged woman, her face flushed crimson with rage, slammed her hand on the table. Bang!
“They raise taxes in the name of filling the Treasury, but it’s unfair. Why do they lavish benefits on the nobility while asking commoners to shoulder the burden? It’s maddening…….”
Her companions, who’d been cautioning her to watch her tongue, sighed heavily in agreement.
The privileges he mentioned were surely the Tax Exemption Privileges that certain nobles held.
‘It really is unjust.’
Commoners bore all the hardship, their earnings amounted to pittance, and even that pittance was drained away by taxes without fail.
And it wasn’t as though the state offered decent welfare in return.
The Treasury had been completely emptied by the misrule Alisand committed in his bid to win the nobility’s favor.
Under the pretext of filling the budget gap, the Imperial household was gradually dismantling even the bare minimum of facilities and institutions meant for the people.
“Are only the nobility subjects of this realm? Are commoners not subjects?”
At my bitter muttering, both of the people who’d been venting their grievances turned to look at me simultaneously. I was surprised they’d heard me over the din.
“Well spoken, young lady. Aren’t only the nobility subjects of this country!”
“Exactly.”
Within moments, I found myself seated at their table, raising a cup with them.
They say that mutual derision builds camaraderie. Bonding over grievances against the incompetent Imperial household and the nobility, we quickly became fast friends.
“Which means we have to show them something, don’t we?”
Flushed with drink and the mood, I shouted excitedly, and a storm of applause and cheers erupted around me.
When I came to my senses, I found myself surrounded by people pouring out their hearts about the tax issue.
Evening had fallen, and workers who’d finished their day had crowded into the tavern, either for a drink or a light meal.
‘Oh, that’s right! Dinner!’
Gnawing on a chicken leg, I belatedly remembered the dinner with Count Batory that the Viscount had stressed so earnestly.
Hastily spitting out the bone, I rose from my seat without so much as a goodbye and bolted from the tavern.
I wanted to run, but my stomach was churning, so all I could manage was a brisk walk.
‘I should have shown restraint. I drank too much after so long without it.’
I cursed myself for my foolishness, but the milk was already spilled. All I could do was hurry forward.
Still, it had been fun. It felt like I’d caught a whiff of real life again. The spirited voices still seemed to echo in my ears.
As I neared the Batory Estate House, I spotted the Viscount standing outside the entrance.
‘Damn it all! Has Count Batory arrived already?’
If so, this was serious trouble.
A granddaughter arriving late to dinner because she’d been guzzling at a tavern? It was the sort of disgrace even a wastrel wouldn’t earn.
I was about to hurry forward and apologize for being late when——
The Viscount’s face had gone deathly pale, as if he’d seen a ghost.
“Ulfina……. What on earth have you been doing……?”
“Pardon?”
His gaze slid past me, as though he were looking at something beyond.
Dumbly, I blinked and turned my head to follow his line of sight.
‘What, what is that?’
There was a crowd of protesters. Their angry faces looked ready to erupt into violence at any moment.
Before I could even comprehend what was happening, someone in the crowd shouted loudly.
“Young lady, come here! You gave us courage! We oppose the tax increase! Count Batory, guarantee your subjects’ right to survival!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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