Bailiff

Most of Scarterra is dominated by feudalistic nations.   Most kings and queens have many vassals who manage parcels of land in the name of their liege, but the king almost certainly has a personal demesne.   In a lot of cases, the king and queen are so busy dealing with their vassals and foreign ambassadors and other aspects of politics that have little time to manage their own demesne. Even dukes and counts often have this problem.   Any feudal lord of course cannot manage their land if they are not there. Perhaps they are off to fight a war, have an adventure, act as a political envoy, or simply shirk their duties to go indulge in hedonistic excesses.   It is often the case with feudal bishoprics that the ecclesiastical rulers are too focused on spiritual concerns to be willing and able to deal with day-to-day decisions of managing the land. Likewise, the mage lords feudal covens often prefer not to have to deal with lowly tasks such as realm management.   If a lord or lady cannot or simply does not want to directly manage his or her own land, the lord or lady can hire a bailiff to do it for them.   The bailiff makes sure the servants are paid, the livestock is fed, tools are maintained, vital assets are guarded and otherwise make sure all the little details of realm management are attended to.   Bailiffs are similar to courtly stewards. They both have similar job descriptions, but there is a social class distinction.   A bailiff is an employee paid a salary on a temporary basis (though a good bailiff can easily expect to have his contract renewed) while a steward is a formal court position that is theoretically held for life (though a bad Steward can still be removed by their lord).   A king or duke might have a bailiff and a steward, but most lesser lords and ladies have to make due with one or the other.  If the ruler has both, the steward probably has the bookkeeping while the bailiff is the one who actually goes out to supervise the staff.