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The people looked no different from beggars.

It was as if they had given up on life itself, their eyes resembling those of dead fish.

Ghislain furrowed his brow.

“The situation is worse than I thought.”

He had anticipated it after seeing the state of the villages they passed through, but he hadn’t expected it to be this bad even around the lord’s castle.

This meant that every last bit of the land’s potential had been squeezed dry.

The soldiers guarding the castle were no exception.

Their equipment was worn out, and there wasn’t even a trace of morale left.

‘They’re beggars without the strength to rebel.’

Rebellion requires a certain amount of strength and will.

The people, who seemed to be merely waiting for death, didn’t even appear to have the energy to resist.

Even though they must have heard the news that a new lord was arriving, their eyes were still filled with nothing but despair.

The years of living under exploitation had been so long that they no longer believed in whoever became their lord.

Although Ferdium was also impoverished, at least the people there weren’t as despondent as this.

The other members of the group clicked their tongues and shook their heads.

No matter how much they looked around, it was clear that this place, once under the former lord, was no longer fit for human life due to the extreme exploitation.

Fenris Estate had no usable resources or special products. The land wasn’t even suitable for cultivation.

To live in abundance, the lord had no choice but to continually squeeze the land’s people.

‘If it weren’t for our lord, and if someone else had become lord, they would have withered away completely.’

Belinda clicked her tongue.

The only glimmer of hope they had was thanks to Ghislain, who now held the Runestone.

After all, the most important thing for feeding the people and developing the estate was money.

Claude, realizing this, steeled his resolve.

‘It’ll take a long time to develop this estate. But at least the lord has plenty of money, so it won’t be too hard to endure.’

Claude assessed the information he had gathered from various angles.

‘It’s definitely worth trying. It’s a challenge worth taking on.’

He viewed this situation as an opportunity to showcase his abilities, but…

Had he known what Ghislain truly had in mind, he would have fled for his life, grateful for any mercy.

Claude still didn’t understand just how large Ghislain’s ambitions were or how quickly he wanted to achieve them.

Nor did he know that the Delfine Duchy was Ghislain’s enemy.

It was a fact Ghislain deliberately kept hidden even from his closest aides, Belinda and Gillian.

Naturally, he had no intention of revealing everything to Claude, whom he had only recently met.

The biggest reason was that there was no need to stir up confusion by bringing up unproven claims.

It would have been far more convincing to simply declare that he harbored ambitions to bring down the Delfine Duchy.

‘Not yet.’

Ghislain, looking at Claude’s pensive face, soon turned his head away.

The Duke’s family would reveal their hand sooner or later, anyway.

The truth could be revealed later.

* * *

As soon as Ghislain entered the castle, he immediately summoned all the officials.

There weren’t many, but they were the ones who had managed to maintain the bare minimum of administrative power to prevent the estate from being completely paralyzed.

The officials, upon seeing Ghislain, hastily bowed their heads in a panic.

“We greet the Lord. We didn’t know when you would arrive, so we weren’t able to prepare a welcome banquet. If you give us a moment, we can quickly—”

It was customary to hold a grand banquet when a new lord took office.

The officials, fearful of upsetting a prideful noble and suffering retaliation, hurriedly bowed their heads.

“That won’t be necessary. I have no intention of being bothered by such things.”

The officials were taken aback by Ghislain’s response.

They couldn’t tell if he was speaking sincerely or sarcastically out of anger.

Clicking his tongue, Ghislain continued.

“Let me make this clear now. For the time being, hosting banquets at the lord’s castle is prohibited. I won’t interfere with personal events, but I won’t tolerate anything that harms the residents of the estate.”

Ignoring the cautious looks from those around him, Ghislain immediately began issuing orders.

His intentions were clear.

He didn’t want to waste time explaining everything and trying to make them understand.

The top priority was to stabilize the estate as quickly as possible.

“The estate seems to be in bad shape, so we need to normalize things first. It may feel a bit forceful, but I expect your cooperation. If you have any good suggestions, feel free to share them at any time.”

Everyone bowed their heads and accepted his orders.

Those who had participated in the war had already been executed by Ghislain.

The officials, fully aware of this, didn’t dare to oppose him.

“All current positions are abolished, and the advisory council will be restructured.”

The gathered officials tensed up, their faces stiffening.

The distribution of official positions would determine whether they could maintain the power they had held until now.

After briefly observing their expressions, Ghislain pointed to Claude and spoke.

“From now on, Claude here will take on the role of Chief Overseer. He will be in charge of setting policies and implementing them. Consider it my command, and offer him your full cooperation. I also delegate to Claude the authority to appoint secretaries and others necessary for administrative tasks.”

Though the officials were a bit surprised to see an unexpected person take such a position, they quickly accepted it. It was common practice to place a close aide in a key position.

Claude also wore an expression that suggested he found it only natural.

Ghislain had intended to entrust Claude with managing the estate from the start.

Given the estate’s current state, it was only fitting that Claude be given the position of Chief Overseer so he could proceed as he wished.

Ghislain spoke again.

“Claude will also take on the role of Treasurer.”

At these words, a few people let out involuntary gasps before quickly silencing themselves.

It was rare for one person to hold more than one high-ranking position.

Claude, though slightly surprised, quickly understood.

‘Well, it would be faster and more convenient for me to handle the finances directly.’

Handling the finances himself would be better than arguing with the treasurer when busy, even if it meant more work.

He was confident he could manage it.

In any case, it wasn’t like he had any way of escaping. The more authority he received, the better off he’d be.

But Ghislain wasn’t done yet.

“Claude will also take on the role of Intelligence Officer. You can hire any necessary subordinates at your discretion.”

Claude began to sense that something was wrong, and his expression hardened.

Sweat started to form on his forehead.

‘Well, yes. Information is important. It’s better to be prepared in advance than to rush things once war breaks out.’

However, it seemed Ghislain wasn’t finished.

“Claude will be the head of Foreign Affairs as well…”

“You’ll also be in charge of the estate’s Magistrate. Based on the situation, you can request reinforcements for the soldiers…”

“Claude will serve as Chief Strategist during times of war…”

“In order to quickly develop the estate, we’ll establish a Special Development Department. Claude will be the head…”

“We will also reorganize the estate’s laws. Claude will be the Chief Justice…”

“Claude will oversee the management of supplies and serve as Quartermaster…”

“We’ll also be founding a merchant guild for the estate. Claude will be its leader…”

As Ghislain continued speaking, the faces of those present turned pale.

Claude began trembling.

Suddenly, he remembered what Ghislain had said to him just before they left Austern.

‘— Don’t worry. There are plenty of ways to squeeze you dry.’

Ah, that remark had been dead serious.

‘He’s planning to dump all the annoying tasks on me! How much work does he plan on giving me?!’

In fact, just holding the position of Chief Overseer would have been enough to manage the estate.

But giving him all these additional roles was a clear message: Ghislain expected him to be directly involved in everything and handle it all thoroughly.

There are some people like that—people who can’t rest until they see results with their own eyes.

This damned young lord seemed to be one of those people.

But since handling all this himself would be too much of a hassle, he had dragged Claude along to take care of everything!

Doing all of that work would kill someone. That’s probably why Ghislain had brought him—to pass off all the responsibilities.

There was no way Claude, who had less stamina than the lord, would be able to endure it all.

With a serious expression, Claude made a heartfelt plea.

“I want to spend the rest of my life with Anna. Please allow me to do so. I don’t think I’m suited to living here. The air doesn’t agree with me, the water doesn’t agree with me… and neither does the work.”

Ghislain, disinterested, asked indifferently.

“I thought being with her made you sad?”

“That kind of thing gets resolved with time. I was just trying to sound cool. Pain is just part of youth, right?”

Though it was a little embarrassing to contradict himself, it was better to feel a bit ashamed than to work himself to death.

But his opponent wasn’t someone who would let him off so easily.

“It’s too late now. There’s only one way for you to leave.”

“What… way?”

Ghislain smiled kindly.

“Pay off your debt. Then I’ll let you go immediately.”

“Ugh…”

Claude clenched his fists, unable to respond.

He had wasted several years in the gambling halls, all because of that cursed money.

After barely managing to escape the world of gambling, now his life was once again being pawned off because of money.

‘I can’t back down like this!’

Claude gritted his teeth.

If he was going to die anyway, he might as well say what he wanted. Just as he made up his mind, Belinda started furiously ranting from behind him.

“Young Master! Why are you dumping so much work on him?”

Claude turned to look at Belinda with a glint in his eyes.

She was an irritating woman who could cut people down with her words, but right now, he was incredibly grateful.

“He’s a gambling addict, a bum, a man who’s given up on life, a fool, a runaway, and a pathetic guy who doesn’t even understand women! He probably can’t even clean a toilet properly!”

‘Well, it’s not that bad…’

Claude wasn’t sure if she was really helping him or not.

His face twisted into a mix between a smile and a frown.

He glanced around.

The existing managers were already looking at him with suspicion. It felt like they were forming preconceived notions about him before he even had a chance to prove himself.

Just as Claude was about to stop Belinda, Gillian’s deep voice interrupted.

“My lord, he’s still someone whose abilities have not been verified. How about assigning him responsibilities step by step?”

‘Yes, that’s how it should be said.’

As expected, Gillian’s experience showed. He was persuading Ghislain without disparaging Claude.

However, just when Claude felt relieved that the mood had improved, Gillian added something more.

“He is someone who fell into gambling. It’s well-known that gambling can ruin a person’s mind. He may have even forgotten how to read.”

‘Hey!’

Claude glared at Gillian with dead, lifeless eyes.

But Gillian, unfazed, continued speaking.

“Even if that’s not the case, his body and mind won’t be able to keep up. He hasn’t studied or worked in years. The more authority you give him, the more likely he’ll misuse it, wasting time on gambling again.”

Though more polite in tone than Belinda, Gillian’s roundabout criticism stung even more.

Claude, flustered, glanced around again.

By now, everyone’s gazes were filled with doubt.

Claude’s eyes, which had been darting around, finally landed on one person.

A man with fiery red hair, standing with a cocky tilt to his head, was glaring at him.

‘His name… was it Kaor?’

Kaor had been in charge of maintaining order in the Fenris territory while Ghislain had been away in Austern.

Today was the first time Claude had ever met him.

But Kaor’s gaze was far too challenging for someone meeting him for the first time.

‘Why is he staring at me like that?’

It was as if Kaor was trying to assert his dominance, glaring at Claude without blinking.

Seeing that, Claude couldn’t help but chuckle.

He had spent his days rolling around with thugs in gambling halls and had even been involved in a rebellion.

After everything he had been through, there was no way he’d be intimidated by just a mere glare.

‘Take this.’

Claude discreetly raised his middle finger, hidden from the others.

Kaor’s face twisted in rage, his hand instinctively reaching for the sword at his waist.

However, despite trembling as if he was ready to pounce, he kept glancing at Ghislain, unable to make a move.

‘Frustrating, isn’t it? You can’t act in front of the lord, can you?’

Claude went a step further and made an even ruder gesture, sticking his thumb between his fingers and wiggling it mockingly.

“You bastard!”

In the end, Kaor couldn’t hold back anymore. He drew his sword and charged at him.