The air in Buitenzorg felt much cooler and damper than dusty Batavia. However, for Julian, that coolness felt superficial as he followed Adrian through stony paths toward villages on the mountain slopes. Behind the mist shrouding the massive trees lay the lives of citizens squeezed by the vastness of colonial government plantations.
Julian observed farmers harvesting taro and tea. They worked with bent backs since before sunrise. Here, almost every inch of fertile soil was controlled by large corporations, leaving only narrow, rocky plots for local residents to barely survive.
"Look at them, Elias," Adrian said, pointing to a dilapidated shack by the roadside. "They live on their ancestral land, but now they must pay rent to the company just to plant cassava."
Julian saw an elderly mother—perhaps the same age as Ibu Siti—drying taro leaves in front of her house. Her face was full of wrinkles, yet her eyes radiated extraordinary resilience. Upon seeing Adrian, the woman smiled broadly and handed over two warm, steaming Talas Bogor.
"Adrian always brings good news, Tuan," the woman whispered to Julian in Sundanese, which Adrian slowly translated. "He helps our children learn to read so they aren't constantly cheated by the plantation foremen."
That afternoon, they sat at a small stall selling Doclang. While enjoying pieces of rice cake and tofu smothered in thick peanut sauce, Julian listened to the locals' conversations. They didn't talk about crown intrigues in The Hague; they talked about the suffocating price of fertilizer, the water rations diverted to big plantations, and the fear of soldiers coming to evict them at any moment.
Julian felt very small. All this time, he had viewed colonial law as an instrument of order. But in Buitenzorg, he saw that law as a chain around the people's necks. He saw Adrian moving among the citizens not as a prince giving alms, but as a friend sharing the same burden.
"You know, Elias?" Adrian broke the silence while gazing toward Mount Salak covered in clouds. "Buitenzorg means 'without worry.' But for the people here, every day is about worry. Worrying about tomorrow, worrying about their children's stomachs. I want to make that name real for them again."
Julian fell silent, his respect for Adrian now mixed with shame. He began to understand why his father so loved Raden Ajeng Sekartaji and this land. There was an honesty amidst the suffering that he had never found in the cold palace halls.
Culture & Language Notes
Talas Bogor (Bogor Taro): A famous tuber from the region, symbolizing the simple yet vital harvest of the local people.
Doclang: A traditional dish from Bogor consisting of lontong (rice cake), tofu, potatoes, and boiled eggs covered in spicy peanut sauce.
Buitenzorg: (Recap) Literally means "without care" or "without worry" in Dutch. The irony of this name serves as a central theme for the chapter.
Mandor: A foreman or overseer, often a local hired by the colonial government, who frequently acted as the "enforcer" on plantations.
Gunung Salak: The dominant volcano near Bogor, its misty presence often adds a mystical and somber tone to the narrative.