Chapter 007
* * *
“Regarding the remaining roots.”
Brisa gave her instructions calmly.
“They are dense and solid, so selling them separately will fetch a decent price. If the union provides us with the leftover rice bran or wheat bran from your warehouse, I will allow you to harvest the roots as well.”
In order to plant the seed potatoes, the roots had to be pulled out anyway. By using the labor the Union Head could mobilize, they could obtain bran—useful for other purposes—while saving their own manpower.
‘There is so much labor ahead of us. I must conserve our strength as much as possible.’
The Union Head, looking as if he couldn’t quite decide whether to believe all of this, asked:
“My Lady, where did you learn all of this?”
At that, the maids burst into chatter once again.
“Our Lady is a genius!”
“She could read at age three and mastered five languages by seven!”
“The Princess personally taught her history, culture, refinement, and etiquette! She was the top applicant for the Capital Academy and graduated as the runner-up!”
Amidst the shower of praise, Brisa spoke drily.
“The book Basic Understanding of Soil contains a wealth of knowledge regarding soil properties and agricultural methods. Volume 7 of Types and Utilization of Fruit Trees covers olive trees.”
As the Union Head pulled out his notebook again, Brisa continued.
“These are books found in the Capital Academy library. However, both are originals written in the Sernin Kingdom language, so they may be difficult to read.”
The maids’ praise was useless, but it was enough to earn the Union Head’s trust.
“Old olive wood has particularly beautiful grain patterns, so it’s quite popular for decorative use.”
Brisa spoke while staring at the timber with her characteristic look of deep concentration.
“However, drying and processing it isn’t easy, so don’t ask for too high a price when you take it to the West.”
“Is that so?”
The Union Head’s eyes sparkled with newfound reliability.
“The Grand Ducal House of Nozen in the West is currently purchasing various materials; selling it there would be perfect. Thank you for the advice.”
“In that case, make sure to provide plenty of rice and wheat bran.”
“That isn’t even fit for human consumption, is it? It’s just piling up in the warehouse, so of course I can give you plenty.”
“Really? Then give it all to us.”
“Yes! That’s possible! But what are you planning to use it for…?”
“Something that won’t make you any money.”
Lancie looked down at Brisa quietly.
‘She’s a clever one.’
Knowledge and the power of execution. Though she was young, she possessed the sufficient qualities of a lord. However, a question still remained.
‘But why does she keep those kinds of maids by her side?’
Usually, capable people gathered other capable people around them, didn’t they? Why were there only such unrealistic maids surrounding her?
‘At the very least, she should discipline them for talking nonsense. Why doesn’t she?’
Lancie decided he would find an appropriate opportunity to ask.
* * *
Thanks to the knights’ Aura, the felling was finished in no time. I stayed on-site the entire time. By the time the roots were meticulously pulled and the soil turned over, it was late afternoon.
The Union Head left the fief with a beaming smile, his carts loaded with timber.
“Let’s see…”
I examined the seed potatoes the Potato Squad had purchased. Perhaps because they had sent men with farming experience, the condition of the seed potatoes was excellent.
“Now, create ridges and plant the seed potatoes with the sprouts facing upward. Philip, show them how it’s done.”
“Yes! Everyone, watch closely!”
Philip personally demonstrated how to plant the potatoes. Just then, a snicker was heard among the knights. It was a female knight with a somewhat rowdy appearance. I looked at her silently.
She spoke as if making an excuse.
“No, it’s just a bit funny.”
She was a woman with red hair tied back in a ponytail.
“Doing all this over something like… potatoes, of all things.”
I sighed inwardly. I had expected this might happen. These were all Alpheus’s people. They were likely already in a bad mood because of the maids; it would have been stranger if no one objected.
“What is your intention in making us, who roamed the battlefields, do such useless work, My Lady? Do you find us laughable? If so, I’d rather you just ignore us as you have been. We’re busy enough just with training.”
Fortunately, only one maid remained by my side, as the others had returned to the mansion to prepare dinner. The maid’s face reddened with rage, and she raised her hand high to slap the female knight’s cheek.
“How dare you talk back to My Lady so flippantly…!”
I quickly restrained the maid. If the two of them were to clash fairly, the maid’s life would surely be forfeit.
In the meantime, the female knight, Wendy, spun around and shouted to the other knights.
“We are people who shared life and death with Lord Alpheus! This is making a mockery of our master! Don’t you see it? Unless you’ve lost your mind like your mother, why would you suddenly overturn a perfectly good Olive Plain and plant stupid potat—”
Suddenly, the surroundings fell deathly silent.
The maid gasped for air and collapsed to the ground, having fainted from a sudden shortness of breath.
Philip muttered.
“…That was too much.”
The other female knights standing behind Wendy also clicked their tongues.
“Bringing up her mother.”
“Look at that personality…”
The atmosphere was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over it, and Wendy flinched. She seemed to realize she had crossed the line.
I asked calmly:
“What is your name?”
“I-it’s Wendy Height.”
“Wendy, you are not to plant potatoes from now on. You may excuse yourself from all future knight order duties. You are free to train on your own as you wish.”
Amidst the frozen atmosphere, Wendy quietly shifted her eyes.
“Instead—I really didn’t want to go this far, but…”
I paused my solemn speech for a moment. Before speaking the words, I inevitably hesitated. Was it right for a human to give such an order to another? Could one truly be this cruel?
However, a superior must be cruel when cruelty is required.
“Since you did not plant the potatoes, from now on…”
My voice trembled with conflict until the very end. But in the end, I handed down the punishment firmly.
“You are forbidden from eating potatoes.”
At that moment, I saw everyone in the backyard suppressing their laughter with drained faces. Even Wendy was the same. In fact, Wendy seemed to be forgiving her young master inwardly.
‘Sigh, what kind of power struggle am I having with a child like that…?’
I could almost hear her thoughts. Philip, who was holding a seed potato, spoke quietly.
“Seeing a grown adult throw a tantrum in front of a twelve-year-old girl… doesn’t look very good. I only realized that once I became a bystander.”
He looked genuinely pained.
“I apologize once again for my disgraceful behavior during our first meeting. It is truly embarrassing. I hope everyone forgets it.”
“It’s fine,” I nodded generously. “Since I’m going to record it in the history books.”
Of course, after a bit of time passed, everyone would realize that my punishment was unimaginably cruel.
* * *
After planting the seed potatoes and arriving back at the mansion:
“Um, My Lady. Would it be alright if we had a private talk once we reach the mansion?” Lancie asked hesitantly. “While reviewing the budget, there was something I wanted to ask you personally…”
“That’s fine.”
I followed Lancie into the office. It had previously been my father’s space, and now it was inherited by Alpheus.
‘I naturally thought I would be the one to inherit it…’
I scanned the room once with eyes full of lingering attachment, then pointed to the stack of documents on the desk and asked:
“What are all those?”
“I’ve been organizing the Marquisate’s budget. It’s for five years, but nothing was properly organized, so I have to check everything one by one…”
My lingering attachment vanished instantly. When I left the mansion, I was ten years old, and I didn’t know the budget details. But referring to the original story, inheriting this household was already a disaster.
I sat haughtily in a chair provided in the office.
“So, you’re the one in charge of the mansion’s housekeeping?”
“In the mercenary group, anything related to money and documents was my job.”
Lancie sighed and sat across from me. Then he spoke cautiously.
“My Lady… actually, I have one question to ask and one favor to request…”
“Start with the question.”
“Yes. It’s actually regarding one of the budget items from five years ago… There’s an allocation here for ‘Private Top Secret Matter—Related to Brisa.’ It was equivalent to two years’ worth of the fief’s budget.”
Lancie flipped through the documents, pointed to an item, and asked:
“Such a large sum was spent, but there are no receipts, no detailed items. What on earth was this…? The maids only repeat that they ‘don’t know’…”
