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‘This makes no sense. Did it really sprout?’

The logic Ghislain presented was quite plausible, leaving Claude feeling a bit uneasy, to be honest.

He had been relieved, thinking it was just the words of someone who had never farmed, studied agricultural techniques, or learned magic!

‘Ah, no way. If it’s true, I’ll be a slave who can’t even make a peep! The overseer must have misread it!’

He hid his anxiety and tried to walk confidently, putting on a façade of bravado.

The reclaimed land closest to the castle was already crowded with people.

The news had spread quickly, and not only those working in other areas but even mages had gathered.

The people, who had been standing around with dazed expressions, hesitated and moved aside when the lord appeared.

Ghislain walked down the path they opened up for him and approached the field. His heart pounded with anticipation.

“Oh, this is impressive.”

Seeing the green sprouts covering the cultivated land, Ghislain let out a gasp of admiration.

The rows and columns of wheat shoots, standing perfectly aligned, looked just like an army.

Unlike Ghislain, who smiled with satisfaction, the people around him stared at him with eyes full of shock.

For such sprouts to appear so quickly from land that had been as good as dead!

Alfoi, who stood nearby, clenched his fists, his face turning bright red.

It was as if the enlightenment that had brought him peace just a few days ago had vanished, and a storm now raged within him.

Pointing angrily at the fresh sprouts, Alfoi shouted.

“What are you doing there!”

No, this can’t be. It must be a dream. It had to be a dream.

A slave? How could he, the successor of the tower, become an unpaid slave for ten years!

The mana coursing through his body began to surge out of control.

He could not withstand the gap between the enlightenment he had gained a few days ago and the reality before him.

The shock of his pride being forced into the position of an unpaid slave was no less severe.

Alfoi, trembling all over, eventually coughed up blood and collapsed.

“Cough!”

Ghislain clicked his tongue in disbelief.

“Why is this idiot acting up now? This doesn’t seem like a situation that would cause mana backlash. It’s only been a few days since he achieved enlightenment… Seriously, what a peculiar guy. Hey, you there, hurry and take this guy and get him to rest. He’s a valuable slave, so he can’t afford to be sick.”

The fallen Alfoi was quickly carried to a sickbed by those around him.

But the shock Alfoi felt was nothing compared to the despair that gripped Claude.

‘No, damn it… this is really happening?’

It was a moment when everything he had believed in was shattered.

‘The yield could be duplicated? This? By the lord?’

He had never heard of anyone across the continent farming this way.

And it all meant that this was a method Ghislain had thought of on his own.

Anyone can come up with ideas, but if it actually worked, that was a different story altogether.
Claude couldn’t believe that Ghislain, whom he thought knew nothing, had succeeded so effortlessly.

“I lost? Me, a top graduate from the Seiron Royal Academy? No way, that can’t be right!”

Claude began to outright deny reality.

“I must’ve been working too hard lately and it’s left me weak. I’m starting to see things. I miss Anna…”

“Hey, Claude!”

Ghislain urgently grabbed Claude by both shoulders and shook him.

“Are you okay? Snap out of it! You’re not someone who’d give up here!”

“…What?”

“You’ve got to work for the next ten years. What are you going to do if you’ve already lost your mind?”

“…”

…I was almost touched, but now I’m even more pissed.

Ghislain smirked and patted his shoulder.

With those final, confirming words, Claude couldn’t withstand the shock any longer. He foamed at the mouth and fainted on the spot.

Fortunately, Wendy, who was standing nearby, gently caught him.

“Let him get some rest today. He’s going to be much busier starting tomorrow. There’s a lot I need him to do.”

“Understood.”

Wendy nodded and dragged Claude away.

“Well, shall I take a look around the other fields?”

Ghislain whistled leisurely as he strolled around the estate.

Though there were slight differences between the fields, since they had been sown at different times, all the reclaimed land had either sprouted or showed signs of sprouting.

The results were satisfying enough for him to return to the castle with a smile.

In his past life… though he had stolen knowledge from the future, he had still succeeded in the most crucial task—food production.

Now, the estate would develop at a tremendous pace. After all, food was the foundation of any estate’s growth.

“Young master! How did this happen? How did you know?”

“Well, you see, if the seeds absorb mana and grow stronger, they can withstand even harsh soil.”

Belinda probed him with questions, but Ghislain brushed them off with a vague explanation.

The truth was, Ghislain couldn’t precisely explain the principles behind it.

It wasn’t his doing, but a method that future mages and scholars had devised through joint efforts.

He only knew the outcome.

Neither the one explaining nor those listening truly understood, but they accepted it without much fuss.

They assumed it was a family secret or something too complex to grasp even if it were explained.

From the start, the principle didn’t matter.

What mattered was that the result truly increased food production.

* * *

After confirming that the wheat was growing well, Ghislain focused on other matters.

To him, this was just another step in a long-term plan, a process he needed to pass through.

The bet with Claude was merely a small bonus.

But for the estate residents, it was different. This was an event that would change their lives.

“Are crops really growing this well on our estate? I still can’t believe it, even when I see it.”

“Our lord is a gift from the heavens! He’s been blessed by the god of agriculture! We must follow him without question!”

The residents were genuinely overjoyed.

Praise for the lord echoed throughout the entire Fenris estate.

Up until now, despite seeing how generous the lord had been, there was still a lingering unease in the hearts of the people.

Renovating the estate’s facilities was great, but ultimately, all of that required money.

Wouldn’t the lord’s funds eventually run out? Wouldn’t they become poor again, like before? And if that happened, wouldn’t they be exploited like other lords did to their people?

With no apparent source of income for the estate, it was only natural for them to feel anxious.

But now, there was no need for that anymore.

Elderly residents looked at the reclaimed land with tears in their eyes.

“Now we won’t have to starve. My children and grandchildren won’t have to go hungry anymore. Sniff.”

“Thank you, my lord. Truly, thank you.”

“We must serve the lord well. He is our only hope.”

It felt like the years of starving and hardship had been a lie. The new lord had solved all the estate’s problems within a few months.

The loyalty of the residents soared, reaching new heights with each passing day.

Ghislain sat arrogantly in the hall, surrounded by his vassals, basking in his success.

“Didn’t I tell you? I said it would work. Anyone else who wants to bet against me can feel free to challenge me anytime.”

The vassals all kept their mouths tightly shut, unable to say anything.

It was clearly something beyond common sense, yet now that the results were there, they couldn’t refute it.

For the time being, they had no choice but to quietly follow the lord’s commands.

Ghislain snorted at the grim expressions of the vassals and turned to Gillian.

“The sprouts are still growing, so they need to be well managed, right? Station some troops at the reclaimed land to keep wild animals or any lunatics from trampling it.”

Gillian responded with a smile.

“The residents have already stepped up voluntarily and are guarding it in shifts.”

“Oh, really?”

“They seem to be quite desperate as well.”

“That’s good. People who are determined to protect something are strong.”

The fact that the residents were voluntarily guarding the reclaimed land was a very positive sign.

It meant that everyone now understood that the land represented the hope of the estate.

Ghislain smiled with satisfaction.

The hope he had been certain of alone was finally beginning to spread throughout the estate.

* * *

“So, he detonated the Runestones that had been buried in the ground all at once? And the one behind it was Ghislain Ferdium… now Baron of Fenris.”

Count Desmond, Harold, muttered as he leafed through the report.

His voice was heavily subdued, as if exhausted, and his face was noticeably gaunt, a stark contrast to before.

His hair had turned gray, and the dark circles under his eyes suggested he hadn’t been sleeping well.

“That is correct.”

“…Crazy bastard.”

At first, Harold couldn’t believe the report.

But with the rumors coming out of Ferdium, and even the ducal house confirming it, he had no choice but to accept it as truth.

Still, accepting it was one thing; understanding Ghislain’s actions was another.

To think he had detonated enough Runestones to bankrupt the estate just to protect that measly Ferdium.

“Who would have thought I was dealing with a lunatic who doesn’t even understand basic arithmetic. Well, no wonder I couldn’t predict it.”

No wonder he had felt uneasy from the moment he heard that name.

Harold clicked his tongue and looked over at his adjutant.

“What is that guy doing now?”

“He’s tearing through the estate, saying he wants to increase land productivity. He’s either building new infrastructure or repairing existing ones. He’s spending a fortune on developing the estate.”

“Increasing land productivity, you say?”

Harold rubbed his temples, deep in thought.

After Digald’s defeat in the war, the entire region was absorbed into Ferdium.

Ghislain had taken half of it for himself.

That alone was surprising, but hearing that Ghislain was upending Fenris Estate was even more bewildering.

“Why would he do such a thing? He must know that the land in that area can’t be used for cultivation.”

“Isn’t it because the production is too low? If managed properly, it could improve, even if only a bit.”

“Even so, it’s excessive. It’s like he’s funneled every last coin he earned from the Runestones into it.”

At this, the adjutant carefully shared his own thoughts.

“It’s his first estate, and he’s still young. He probably wants to try different things, no matter what others say. Some people just can’t be satisfied until they try things for themselves. Considering his past as a troublemaker, it’s not so strange.”

Harold nodded. It was a reasonable point.

Ghislain wasn’t the only one who had wasted a fortune on lofty dreams of developing their estate.

It was a common mistake for inexperienced lords who hadn’t been properly trained as successors.

“He must be overconfident after winning a war with just one trap.”

Harold refused to acknowledge Ghislain. No, he couldn’t bring himself to.

Even if someone changes, their past as a reckless fool doesn’t just disappear.

Harold’s inflated pride and prejudice against Ghislain clouded his judgment.

The thorough investigation he had done into Ghislain’s past had backfired on him.

To Harold, Ghislain was just a lucky brat who managed to survive.

Next time, he’d make sure to behead him once and for all.

“This is perfect. We don’t have the resources to worry about that place for the time being, so if he self-destructs on his own, that works out just fine for us. Just leave him be.”

“Understood.”

“There are more important matters at hand right now.”

Since the defeat in the Ferdium siege, Harold had been harshly reprimanded by the duke.

If not for his past achievements, he might have lost his head.

So, this time, failure was not an option.

This matter was far more crucial than taking over Ferdium Estate.

“It’s time to wrap up business in the North.”

The kingdom was going just as Duke Delfine had planned, except for the North.

To bring the rebellion to complete success, the North had to be subdued as well.

Harold scanned the gathered strategists with a sharp gaze.

“There aren’t many estates left that haven’t been swayed. Use any means necessary to push them. And make sure to expedite Amelia’s preparations for the rebellion. As for dealing with Raypold’s Knight Commander, I’ll come up with a separate plan.”

The Knight Commander of Raypold was the strongest warrior in the North, known as the “Northern Sword.”

Harold had trained Viktor specifically to face him, but… since Viktor had died in the last war, he had to come up with another plan.

“Ghislain… if it weren’t for him. After I’ve dealt with Raypold, it’ll be your turn. Get ready to have your head taken.”

Just thinking of Ghislain made Harold grit his teeth, but for now, he had no time to spare for him.

The duke and Harold decided that securing Raypold was more important than dealing with Ghislain, so they adjusted their plans accordingly.

No matter how much Ghislain struggled, they believed the duke’s house could crush him whenever they wished.

They couldn’t even begin to imagine how Fenris might develop.