Episode 102: Shall We Make a Bet? (2)
The rumor that the Chief Officer had made a bet with the Lord spread quickly.
Those who heard the details shook their heads and clicked their tongues.
“Tsk tsk, the Lord is overreaching.”
“The Chief Officer really has a temper. Still, he should feign losing for the Lord’s sake. The Lord’s close associates are all riled up.”
“The Lord said not to touch it, so now the associates can’t either. If anything happens to the Chief Officer, it’ll only tarnish the Lord’s honor. Who would want to work for someone like that?”
As the people said, Belinda couldn’t bring herself to touch Claude and spent the whole day hitting her pillow in frustration.
“Ugh! Why did the Young Master make such a bet! He knows nothing about farming, what a ridiculous move! When will he fix that temperament of his?”
As Claude said, it was a problem that nobody had been able to solve for centuries.
There was no way Ghislaine, who knew nothing about it, could resolve such an issue.
She could ask Mages or Priests to temporarily boost her intelligence, but that effect wouldn’t last long.
It would have been cheaper to just buy food with that money.
“Ahhh! I’m so mad! That gambler should know to back down when the Lord is in a tough spot! To just accept it like that? Acting all high and mighty while even asking for personal protection… What a cheeky brat!”
Belinda hit the innocent pillow hard.
With Belinda the Butler going after the Chief Officer, the atmosphere in the castle became chaotic.
Vanessa was looking around anxiously, lost in thought.
“The Lord has to win. Should I temporarily boost my intelligence with magic? Managing that vast land all by myself is impossible. To maintain it, I’d have to pour in a ton of magic power… but I have no mana… or runestones…”
With her magical power, she couldn’t handle not even a tiny plot of land, let alone the entire cultivated land that Ghislaine planned.
“Should I steal some power from Alfoy and the other Mages?”
She considered ambushing them while they slept, but it would be impossible for her alone to overpower them.
“I’m sorry, my Lord. I’m just a useless human…”
As the days went by, Vanessa became more and more frail with worry, drawing concern from those around her.
The worries of the people were aroused.
Meanwhile, Kaor’s face grew shinier day by day.
It was thanks to Belinda being cooped up that he had been drinking heavily with the members of the Cerberus Mercenary Group.
“Heh, it’s fun when the Lord loses… it’d be even more fun if the Chief Officer loses. Though that probably won’t happen.”
“Right? I’m so curious about what kind of expression that monster of a Lord would make if he lost.”
Kaor scoffed at the words of one of the members.
“This time, the Lord made a mistake. It’s a bet he couldn’t win. I knew that stubbornness would be a problem someday.”
Ghislaine had always challenged things everyone else opposed and declared impossible.
And every time, he succeeded.
With outstanding senses and powerful strength, he made the impossible happen.
Since that happened every time, the people around him usually followed Ghislaine’s lead, but this time, they couldn’t do so.
“This time, it’s a matter that requires professional knowledge, not strength.”
Kaor, who had been chuckling, suddenly turned serious.
Gillian was approaching from a distance.
“Oh no, the old grump is coming. Hey, everyone disperse! Move quickly, you kids!”
Since Ghislaine started betting with Claude, Gillian had been wandering around with a displeased expression.
He thought Claude had provoked Ghislaine on purpose by bringing up the gambling topic.
With his mood being so bad, it was obvious that if he caught wind of this drunken debauchery, he would be bombarded with all sorts of scolding from Gillian.
Kaor quickly tidied up with the mercenaries and quietly slipped away while watching Gillian.
*
As the atmosphere inside the castle became more tense, Claude worked fervently.
Strangely, energy surged through him even without sleep.
“Wahaha, I’ll be free soon.”
Even though there was still an overwhelming amount of work, just thinking that he had to hold on for only three more months made it feel doable.
There’s a huge difference between work that seems endless and work with a clear finish line.
“I need to get things done neatly before I go. I can’t get caught off guard.”
Wendy, spinning a dagger in her hand from behind, definitely wasn’t scared of that at all.
“Are you sure you won’t suddenly stab me from behind or something? Poison my food?”
At the sudden comment, Wendy flustered and tucked the dagger away.
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“If I die, the Lord will be even more embarrassed. You understand?”
“…I understand.”
“Good, so keep me safe. I think there are some people aiming for me recently.”
Claude warned for the twenty-third time and started working with a relieved expression.
It wasn’t long until Wendy took the dagger out again, and Claude asked the same question for the twenty-fourth time.
*
Ghislaine reviewed the tasks Claude had handled and summoned the mercenaries. It was faster for him to personally handle the task of finding and bringing back the Firewood Farmers.
“Gillian, you go get the cooperation of the neighboring territory to find the escaped Territory Residents. Kaor, search the north. Bring back every last hidden Firewood Farmer. I’ll head south.”
The Territory Residents were trembling with anxiety since Claude had been snooping around here and there.
The territory residents were trembling in fear due to the circumstances.
With armed soldiers searching all around, they thought a major disaster would happen soon.
But now the Lord himself was personally leading the troops to catch them.
As a result, the territory residents were quaking in terror. Public sentiment had hit rock bottom, and Ghislaine’s popularity plummeted endlessly.
Rumors circulated that the new Lord was even more vicious and terrifying than the former one.
The stewards, worried, suggested proceeding slowly, but Ghislaine didn’t even blink.
“It doesn’t matter. We don’t have the leisure to proceed slowly. Even if it’s forceful, we need to move as quickly as possible.”
In no time, Ghislaine located the firewood farmers hiding in the mountains.
Of course, the discovered people wouldn’t just follow him willingly.
“My Lord, please let us live here. Or at least give us a few days to organize.”
“I swear, I will find a way to pay the taxes.”
“There’s no land left if we go down. We have no food to survive on.”
The people pleaded desperately, but Ghislaine shook his head coldly.
If given time, they’d surely escape to another place.
“I’ll provide food and work, so don’t worry. We’re going down immediately. No time to waste.”
The taxes that could be collected here would barely amount to a pittance.
They came because they were short on workers, not to squeeze a few coins out of them.
The firewood farmers exchanged glances, trying to communicate silently in Ghislaine’s resolute attitude.
Attempts to buy time were futile. It seemed like the Lord was fully determined to capture them.
The troops that came to find them numbered only ten, including the Lord. It didn’t seem like an overwhelming force.
A middle-aged man raised a club and shouted.
“Damn it! We’re just gonna get exploited like before once we go down!”
“I’m not that kind of person. I’m such a good person. People say there are no non-violent pacifists like me in this world.”
If the people around him had heard that, they would have tilted their heads in confusion.
Even the mercenaries who came with Ghislaine wore expressions as if they had heard absurd words.
The firewood farmers couldn’t believe him.
“Not going! Just leave us alone!”
A few agitated firewood farmers began to rally others.
“Everyone, let’s fight! It’ll be hell if we go down!”
“Let’s do it! Give us freedom!”
“We will just live here together!”
Despite the people’s intense reactions, Ghislaine broke into a grin.
He was not one to ramble on or waste time. He had never tried to persuade anyone.
He subtly motioned to the mercenaries.
“Just arrest all of them.”
The mercenaries exchanged knowing glances, then charged at the firewood farmers.
“I knew it! What a non-violent pacifist!”
“Everyone, grab your weapons!”
“Waaaah! We won’t be exploited anymore!”
The momentum of the firewood farmers was surprisingly fierce.
People who fled to escape exploitation wouldn’t meekly obey oppressive orders.
“Give us freedom or give us death!”
The firewood farmers were ready to kill anyone who came and then flee.
Whether they were captured by the Lord and slowly starved to death or died by a sword in rebellion, dying was dying.
It’s the same thing.
The number of firewood farmers was more than double that of the mercenaries who had come, so it seemed worth a shot.
But it didn’t take long for their hopes to be shattered.
“Ugh!”
As the mercenaries brushed past, hitting them one by one, the firewood farmers fell to the ground like puppets with cut strings.
“Ugh…”
In front of the moaning firewood farmers, one mercenary asked Ghislaine.
“What should we do?”
Those who dared to challenge a lord were typically put to death for treason.
However, knowing why Ghislaine had come to the firewood farmers, the mercenaries couldn’t act immediately.
Ghislaine slowly looked around.
The families of the fallen men – children, women, and old men – were huddled together, trembling.
“This makes me look like a wicked lord, doesn’t it?”
Ghislaine chuckled and gestured to the people.
“Don’t be scared; I won’t kill you. I’m a non-violent pacifist, you know? Just get the necessities ready to head down to the territory.”
Losing their will to resist, the firewood farmers began to gather their things.
As the people hastily packed their belongings and congregated, Ghislaine commanded the mercenaries.
“Destroy all the houses. Criminals and spies might be hiding in them.”
The mercenaries immediately grabbed their axes and moved out.
The makeshift huts hastily erected by the firewood farmers quickly crumbled under their strong blows.
Seeing their village, where they had lived until moments ago, falling apart before their eyes, the firewood farmers’ faces darkened.
They suddenly realized they could never return to this place again.
Seeing a child stifling a sob, Ghislaine spoke gently.
“Don’t worry. There are no other lords in the world as kind and gentle as me. Look, even though you challenged me, nobody died, right?”
Of course, that didn’t hold much weight.
To the child, Ghislaine was merely a wicked lord, beating their father and tearing down their home while forcibly dragging them away.
The child could only clench their teeth, unable to say a word, tears brimming in their reddened eyes.
Seeing that expression, Ghislaine shrugged.
Honestly, explaining everything to these distrustful people would be pointless. They just needed to see for themselves.
“Alright, let’s head down now. It’s going to be cold tonight.”
With a proud smile after demolishing another village, Ghislaine turned around.
The people who had dared to challenge her were being dragged away, tied up like fish caught in a net.
With despairing expressions, the remaining family members followed behind them.
The firewood farmers wept quietly as they descended from the mountain, worrying about their future lives.
If they had known this would happen, they would have run away further.
They truly didn’t expect to be hunted down so fervently deep in the rugged mountains.
“Today, we found quite a few. I never thought there would be more than forty gathered.”
Watching Ghislaine revel in her success, the firewood farmers gritted their teeth but felt utterly powerless.
A little while later, as they arrived at the fortress, Ghislaine whistled at the sight before her.
“Oh, we’ve gathered quite a bit.”
The firewood farmers were taken aback.
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