Since It's My First Time Being a Lady, I'll Cause Some Trouble - Chapter 13

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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 Does This for the First Time — Episode 13
The Baron’s pupils trembled at the angry chants of the crowd. His disbelieving gaze flew toward me and struck like a dart.
His eyes held the accusation: how could she—the troublesome daughter I’ve taken in, taught, and raised—commit such an act?
The Batori household steward and servants standing behind him stared at me with pale, stunned faces.
“No, that’s not it!”
My frantic cry was drowned out by a thunderous shout from behind.
“That’s right—we’re no mob! We’re laborers struggling for survival!”
“Hear, hear! Hear, hear!”
“Do you think we don’t see through your profiteering disguised as a tax increase?”
Please, everyone, be quiet! A man’s entire future is hanging by a thread right now!
‘Sir, look at me. Do I seem like the type who’d incite the territory folk to riot, no matter how disgruntled I might be?’
I flashed desperately at the Baron with every ounce of silent plea I could muster. Whether he understood was another matter entirely.
I wasn’t ignorant of the Batori Territory folk’s grievances.
But I had no idea why they’d suddenly swarmed here, or why they were treating me like their vanguard leader.
‘This is driving me insane.’
We were getting along fine just moments ago. We clinked cups, shared appetizers. Did I really upset them because I ate two chicken legs? Though, to be fair, one of you—I didn’t catch which—ate two wings solo.
“Everyone, please calm yourselves. The Count is away on business at present. If you have grievances, submit a formal petition tomorrow.”
The Baron attempted to reason with them in measured tones, but it was no use against the inflamed crowd.
“How many times have we petitioned for the taxes to be lowered? Has it ever been granted even once?”
The middle-aged woman from the tavern—the one who’d first denounced the tax increase—shouted this.
“Rather than lowering taxes, you keep raising them. What use is another useless petition?”
Her cutting rebuke reignited the crowd’s fervor, and voices tumbled over each other.
“Stop the excuses, Count Batori and Baron Netzer—solve the problem!”
“Guarantee our right to survive!”
“Our income stays the same while taxes climb—how is that fair?”
“Implement tax reform!”
As the crowd’s fury swelled, the Baron’s jaw hardened visibly.
Yet he still exercised reason, raising a halting hand to the Count’s soldiers who were moving toward the mob.
“We’re doing everything we can. But there is a tax rate set by law, and Batori Territory alone cannot arbitrarily lower it.”
His answer, however, only inflamed them further.
The crowd looked ready to rush him at any moment, and the Baron scrambled to appease them.
“The Count has been attending council sessions to oppose the tax increase. We are doing all we can. No one welcomes this rise.”
He was right. Indeed, the Baron and the ladies I’d met today hadn’t used profanity—but they’d certainly grumbled that the Emperor had finally lost his mind.
‘But who’s going to believe that if I say it aloud?’
These people were blinded by desperation.
When a nobleman said “We’re suffering too,” they’d just assume he was a fat liar trying to trick them while sitting on his wealth.
Even now, I could hear that ominous sound behind me—someone slapping a cudgel against their palm, over and over.
‘This won’t do.’
If things continued like this, it was only a matter of time before that cudgel came down on the Baron’s skull.
Then I’d either get my hair torn out by an enraged Baroness, or get beaten by the territory folk once they learned who I was. Possibly both.
If luck was truly against me, I’d suffer both fates.
“What exactly do you mean by ‘doing all we can’?”
I stepped forward and raised my voice louder.
“Tell us precisely, in concrete detail, what efforts you’re making.”
What they wanted wasn’t hollow reassurance—it was a detailed plan and concrete progress.
Anyone can mouth empty words about doing their best.
But if the Count and Baron were truly committed, they could share the steps they’re taking and their future plans.
My question, then, was the Baron’s last chance.
‘Otherwise they really will rise up.’
‘Like fat pigs spouting platitudes. Ready to taste the red flavor of revolution?’—that’s what their silence was saying.
“The Count has been attending council with other members, voicing strong opposition to the tax increase before His Majesty. Unauthorized tax increases are classified as illegal, after all.”
Fortunately, he grasped my meaning.
“But what if you cannot prevent the tax increase?”
“If opposition fails to persuade, we’ll file a lawsuit before the next month begins. Until the court renders its judgment, the tax rate remains as it is. Even the Emperor cannot force compliance while the trial is ongoing.”
The Baron spoke with grave authority.
“What lord with any sense would stand idle while his people suffer? Demanding such harsh taxes is nothing but exploitation. As time passes, the people will starve.”
…….
Perhaps because of his blunt and sharp words, silence rippled through the crowd.
“I understand well enough that this tax burden weighs heavily on you all.”
Baron Netzer’s voice had grown softer, more measured.
“We’re fighting a battle too—just without bloodshed. If you don’t master your anger, you’re simply handing the Imperial Court an excuse to draw steel.”
“……So you’re telling us to sit idle and watch?”
The middle-aged woman pressed back, her words wrung tight, and he shook his head.
“Don’t think of it as watching. Think of it as conserving your strength.”
It was vague, but there was steel underneath it.
“Understood. We’ll withdraw for now.”
I turned quickly toward the gathered crowd, speaking in haste.
“Didn’t Count Netzer here just say so? At minimum, the tax rate won’t increase before the judgment comes down. Continuing to protest today will only sour everyone’s mood.”
I made sure to emphasize that it wasn’t just anyone speaking, but Count Batori’s representative guaranteeing it—anything to hasten their departure.
The middle-aged woman nodded, then turned to address the crowd.
“Right, that’s what we’ll do. Until the judgment comes down, it’s best we conserve our strength. Does anyone object?”
They looked at one another. No one spoke against it.
* * *
“You really are something! I tell you not to cause trouble, and you don’t listen!”
Though I’d navigated the crisis neatly enough, the Count showed no gratitude—he raged loud and fierce.
I had my excuses too, so I fired back just as sharply.
“Is this my fault? I was just playing around the village, saw it was getting late, and rushed back—and people made their own assumptions and followed me!”
“You left an opening, so they followed! How could you not notice all those people trailing behind you?”
“I thought the village was just noisy! Besides, thanks to me you’re still alive and in one piece!”
“Well, you did do that perfectly!”
If I hadn’t pressed him for details, the Count would have kept dancing around the truth with noble evasions, and this place would have turned into a battlefield.
“But the tax rate really won’t increase before the judgment, right?”
When I brought up the tax question again, the Count exhaled like a sigh before answering.
“That’s right.”
“What are the odds the Nobility Council wins?”
“I can’t say for certain. The Imperial Court isn’t just being stubborn—they have their reasons.”
Which meant the possibility of the Imperial Court’s victory couldn’t be dismissed either.
“Then……if the Imperial Court wins and the taxes do increase? What happens then?”
“……Do you happen to know any foreign languages?”
The non sequitur caught me off guard, and I stared at him with confusion clouding my eyes.
“No. But why do you ask?”
“Why? Because if taxes go up, we’ll have to flee the country.”
……Excuse me?

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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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