Chapter 156
Chapter 156: I Will Solve This. (2)
Count Homern of Perdium was enjoying an elegant tea time for the first time in a while.
“How peaceful.”
Currently, Perdium was experiencing the most peaceful period in its history.
Zvalter and Randolf had set out for the Northern Fortress. If left unattended for too long, barbarians might seize the opportunity to invade.
Departing for the Northern Fortress was a trial for both the soldiers and the commanders leading them. Due to the territory’s poverty, those returning from battling the barbarians had barely eaten or rested.
The faces of those returning empty-handed to the fortress were always grim and lifeless.
However, this time, the situation was different.
With ample supplies of food and equipment, those heading to the fortress had cheerful expressions.
“To receive such support every year is truly wonderful.”
How long had it been since he had finally caught his breath thanks to the runestone received from Ghislaine, only for the royal family to provide support once more?
Although Perdium only received half of the support funding, it was a most welcome relief for a territory that constantly struggled with poverty.
Treasurer Albert was so engrossed in calculating funds that he hardly even stepped outside his office.
“Who would have thought the Grand Duke could achieve this much? I think I might have disliked him too much.”
Homern reminisced about Ghislaine’s childhood with mixed feelings.
Ghislaine was the son of his blood brother, someone he had pledged to protect for life, as well as the heir to the territory. He was more like a nephew than a nephew.
Thus, he had lavished love on Ghislaine since he was little.
But as Ghislaine, unlike a proper heir, ran amok and created chaos, that affection had vanished in an instant.
In time, his fondness for the child turned into sheer hate and revulsion.
“Yeah, it must be because he’s so extraordinary. We just didn’t understand. If we had known how much he cared about the territory and his outstanding capabilities, who would ever have hated him? His greed seems a bit much, but that’s probably just youth talking.”
The hatred that filled Homern’s heart began to melt away like snow under the spring sun.
Still, he didn’t fully embrace Ghislaine yet. His every action was too dangerous and precarious.
However, if one only looked at the results, it could be said that things were coming together well.
It wasn’t until he got the runestones and royal funding that they finally reached a level comparable to other territories, but nonetheless, Perdium was steadily improving.
“Right, the lacking parts can be well taught and guided moving forward. Isn’t that the role of an adult? He must still be brimming with youthful vigor.”
Homern nodded to himself with a gentle smile.
Memories from the past began to resurface.
Those days spent educating Ghislaine to become a great heir and lord.
From now on, he just needed to guide him again like that.
If only that explosive personality could be fixed, he would become a splendid lord.
“After all, he is the one who will inherit the Perdium territory. Let’s get along well again, Ghislaine.”
As the hatred dissipated, his heart became overwhelmingly peaceful.
“Why was I living in ignorance of such peace all this time? Disliking someone only brings me pain.”
Gaining this realization, Homern rose from his seat filled with anticipation and affection for Ghislaine.
It was about time he headed out to inspect the territory.
“Today, I will start with the eastern village.”
At Homern’s command, the knights and soldiers quickly prepared.
Being a deputy lord came with heavy responsibilities. With the lord absent, he had to be extra careful in managing the territory.
But was there anything to worry about in the current Perdium? There was no reason not to be at ease.
As Homern rode, he burst into laughter.
“Haha, truly peaceful. The clear sky without a cloud, the dazzling sunlight, singing birds, and—wait, what’s that? What happened to the trees?”
On the road to the eastern village, there was a small forest.
But now it appeared that all the trees had been cut down, leaving behind only stumps.
Homern spoke in a quivering voice.
“W-what is going on? Why is the forest like this? Am I seeing things? L-let’s hurry over!”
The closer he got, the more certain he became that this wasn’t an illusion. The forest had been utterly devastated.
“Forest Keeper! Where are you? What happened here? What on earth happened?”
As Homern shouted loudly, someone managing the forest quickly appeared.
“M-my lord, you’ve arrived.”
“What is happening?! Who dares to cut down the trees like this? Can’t anyone report this immediately?!”
In any territory, recklessly destroying a forest was considered a grave crime.
Especially in the harsh northern regions, people heavily rely on the resources of forests and mountains, making such places more sensitive to management.
If not, the already strained finances of the territory would take a massive hit.
Even in Perdium, they had appointed someone to manage the forest to prevent unauthorized entry.
But who would dare commit such an audacious act?!
The forest keeper lay flat on the ground and promptly revealed who was responsible.
“Th-the Grand Duke came and took everything!”
“What? The Grand Duke? Why would he cut down trees in another territory when he has his own?!”
“The Grand Duke said his territory was short on wood and asked to borrow some…”
“U-uh?!”
Homern suddenly felt his blood pressure rise and grabbed the back of his neck, staggering.
“That guy is definitely not normal.”
No matter how much it was his father’s territory, to invade another territory just because he was short on wood! He had to be caught and dealt with immediately.
“W-where’s that crazy guy?! Where is he?!”
The forest keeper subtly pointed with a finger.
“He’s over there, trying to make a run for it.”
Indeed, in the distance, a large convoy pulling an enormous number of wagons loaded with timber could be seen.
With such audacity, they were even waving the banner of Penris while escaping.
“Go, catch him…! Get that guy immediately!”
Those were Homern’s last words before he fainted, blood pouring from his nose.
His body couldn’t withstand the sudden spike in blood pressure.
As consciousness faded, Homern thought.
‘Getting along well again is a load of nonsense…’
Hate, I hate him so much!
Thus, a whole forest of Perdium was completely robbed by Ghislaine.
*
“W-wow, what’s all that?!”
The territory residents stared blankly at the procession of wagons rolling in one after another.
They had already heard the dreadful news that timber was running low, causing construction delays.
Even though the lord was wealthy, they thought it would be difficult this time, yet this was a shocking resolution.
Claude, who had rushed in upon hearing that timber was coming, stood amazed at the sight.
‘That’s an enormous amount, isn’t it? It looks like they brought in almost a whole mini forest? There’s no way such a poor Perdium would easily part with this much timber…’
It seemed he had indeed boldly gone to rob.
‘Wow, that guy really has no backup plan. If I keep associating with him, I might not make it to my old age.’
No matter how urgent or important it was, to act outside common sense like this!
It was clear there would be ramifications later in Perdium.
As Claude briefly worried about the future, he soon realized something and brightened up.
‘No, we’re receiving support from the royal family thanks to him, so this isn’t too bad, right? Let’s help each other out. Count Homern.”
Claude decided to relax and leave his worries aside. There was no use fretting over what had already happened.
On the other hand, dark rumors circulated among the territory residents.
“I heard the lord robbed his father’s territory?”
“I hear Count Perdium has gone out to the north. So he doesn’t know yet.”
“Tsk tsk, this will surely lead to a big disaster later. I wonder if war will break out between father and son.”
They had heard enough rumors about the lord being an infamous ingrate in the town, but never had they imagined robbing his father’s territory.
All of them felt uneasy and just hoped nothing would happen.
Claude comforted the pale-faced residents and urged them to resume their work.
“Alright, let’s restart the work that was halted. Gather the laborers again.”
The delay in construction was due to a lack of resources that had interrupted the progress significantly.
Even if they were to recruit workers again and resume construction, the time already lost couldn’t be recovered.
Besides, building a house wasn’t an easy task, even if it were to be simplified. Facilities like kitchens and bathrooms that were essential for living still needed to be included.
This meant there was a limit to how much the timeline could be shortened.
Observing the serious situation on the construction site, Claude eventually sought out Ghislaine.
“There’s a problem.”
“Ugh, what’s it this time! What are you always finding problems for? Are you just creating problems on purpose?”
“I’m not making them.”
“Isn’t it a problem because you think something that isn’t a problem is a problem?”
“Ha, it’s bound to be problematic because the lord is always coming up with plans distant from reality.”
At Claude’s outburst, Ghislaine clicked his tongue and asked.
“What’s the issue? You got timber this time too, so what’s lacking?”
“Time.”
“That was already in short supply, so why bring it up now?”
“This is a different problem. It seems we can’t meet the schedule for creating the habitation.”
“Why?”
“There are too many houses to build. We need to proceed with construction in several villages simultaneously. I’ve tried to gather as many laborers as possible, but we’re still short on manpower.”
At that, Ghislaine tilted his head.
Thousands of people had just arrived. Even excluding the elderly and sick, there should still be a considerable number, so not understanding why there was a shortage of manpower was puzzling.
“Why is there a labor shortage? There are so many people!”
“We lack proper engineers and carpenters. A house isn’t just built by slapping bricks together.”
“Hmm, so while there are plenty of those who can put in effort, there aren’t enough who can direct them to where that effort should go?”
“Yes, so adding more laborers now would be pointless. A single person in charge can’t handle dozens of houses.”
But they couldn’t just build a house with mere laborers without skilled craftsmen. If the impoverished built it carelessly, it wouldn’t be able to withstand even a storm. What a waste of materials that would be.
“Hmm….”
Ghislaine crossed his arms and fell into deep thought.
No matter how many workers were introduced, if they didn’t know how to build a house, it would be useless.
A more efficient method of work was needed. One in which the person in charge could handle more houses than currently.
Muttering to himself for a moment, Ghislaine suddenly had a thought.
“Well, there’s one method I could use…”
“Yeah?”
“Hmm, I didn’t plan to build like that. But maybe it’s better to consider that…”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“We need to stabilize the residence first before we can attend to other matters. The issue of housing, I’ll resolve it myself.”
With a serious expression, Ghislaine raised his head, and Claude asked.
“Lord… you can build houses? When did you acquire those skills?”
“I was involved in construction once upon a time. Although, I’m better at demolition than at building.”
Claude thought the lord was just boasting again. With the rumors of the Perdium troublemaker circulating nearby, it seemed absurd that anyone would proclaim to have been involved in construction.
“…… even if one lord participates, houses won’t miraculously multiply.”
“I’ve thought of something. I’ll designate a trial village and conduct the construction myself. Gather all the architects and carpenters. You come along too.”
Claude, now looking dazed, followed Ghislaine, already worried about what ridiculous antics he was about to undertake.
Once Ghislaine’s summons was conveyed, all the executives responsible for supervising and managing the construction in various regions gathered.
Looking around at the crowd, Ghislaine confidently declared.
“I’ll teach you a building method that allows for quicker construction with more laborers, making it possible to accommodate more people!”
“Oooh!”
Everyone looked at Ghislaine with expectant eyes.
Although the method might seem a little odd, the lord had always found ways to solve problems.
Especially in agriculture and cosmetics, he had introduced completely new techniques that had never existed before—truly remarkable achievements.
So a new building method introduced by him was something that couldn’t possibly disappoint.
Seeing the sparkling eyes of the people, Ghislaine confidently shouted.
“Just build really big houses!”
“…….”
The faces of the people, which had shone with expectation, fell eerily blank. Faced with such cold expressions, Ghislaine quickly corrected himself.
“I’ll show you what kind of houses I mean. From now on, I will oversee the work!”
He smiled triumphantly, remembering the concept of houses he had seen in his previous life.
