The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Chapter 156:I Will Take Care of This (2)

The Chief Overseer of Ferdium, Homerne, was enjoying an elegant tea time after quite a while.

“Such peace.”

Ferdium was experiencing its most peaceful period in history.

Zwalter and Randolph had departed for the Northern Fortress. If left unguarded for too long, the barbarians might seize the opportunity to invade.

Going on an expedition to the Northern Fortress was a grueling task for both the soldiers and their commanders. Due to the estate’s poverty, those who returned after risking their lives against the barbarians could neither eat properly nor rest.

The faces of those who returned empty-handed to the fortress without proper supplies were always dark and sullen.

But this expedition was different from before.

With ample supplies ranging from food to equipment, even those heading to the fortress had bright expressions.

‘It’s truly fortunate to receive such support every year like this.’

Not long after barely catching their breath with the runestone they received from Ghislain, they received support from the royal family as well.

Although Ferdium only received half of the allocated funds, it was still a godsend for an estate that constantly struggled with poverty.

Albert, the Treasurer, was so engrossed in the joy of managing the finances that he barely left his office.

‘To think the Young Lord could accomplish all this. Perhaps I’ve been too harsh on him.’

Homerne reminisced about when Ghislain was young, feeling a wave of nostalgia.

Ghislain was the son of his sworn brother, with whom he had vowed to be lifelong comrades, and the heir to the estate. He was more of a nephew to him than any blood-related nephew could be.

Thus, from a young age, Homerne had showered Ghislain with love and care.

However, as Ghislain went around causing trouble like a rogue, unbecoming of the estate’s heir, the affection he once felt had entirely disappeared.

The child he once cherished became someone he detested and despised.

‘Well, he was always an extraordinary child. We just didn’t understand him. If we had known he was so capable and dedicated to the estate, who would have hated him? Maybe he’s a bit ambitious, but that’s just because he’s still young.’

The hatred that had filled Homerne’s heart began to melt away, like snow under the warm spring sun.

He still wasn’t entirely fond of everything Ghislain did. His actions were often too dangerous and precarious.

But, judging by the results, things had turned out well.

Even though it was only after acquiring the runestone and royal support that they had finally reached a level comparable to other estates, Ferdium’s situation was gradually improving.

‘Yes, any shortcomings can be corrected with proper guidance and leadership. Isn’t that the role of an elder? He’s still young, and his spirit is bound to be fiery.’

Homerne smiled kindly and nodded to himself.

Old memories began to surface.

He recalled the days when he had been dedicated to educating Ghislain, striving to mold him into a great successor and lord.

From now on, he could start guiding him in that way again.

If only he could straighten out that unruly personality, Ghislain would make an excellent lord.

‘After all, he’s the one who will inherit Ferdium Estate. Let’s get along well again, Ghislain.’

As his animosity gradually faded, his heart felt more at peace.

‘Why did I live so long without realizing this peaceful feeling? Holding onto hatred only hurts my own heart.’

Having come to this realization, Homerne stood up, filled with renewed affection and hope for Ghislain.

It was about time for him to head out for an inspection of the estate.

“Today, I’ll start with the eastern village.”

Upon his command, the knights and soldiers quickly prepared.

Acting as the Lord’s deputy carried a heavy responsibility. Since the Lord was away, he had to pay even closer attention to managing the estate.

But was there really anything to worry about in Ferdium these days? He couldn’t help but feel at ease.

Even while riding, Homerne couldn’t hold back a broad smile.

“Hahaha, it’s truly peaceful. The clear sky without a cloud, the dazzling sunlight, the chirping birds, and the forest where… all the trees have disappeared… Wait, what is that? Why is it like that? Where have all the trees gone?”

There had been a small forest on the road leading to the eastern village.

But now, as he looked, all the trees had been cut down, leaving only stumps behind.

Homerne’s voice trembled as he spoke.

“Wh-what happened here? Why is the forest like this? I’m not just seeing things, am I? We must hurry and check this out!”

As they got closer, it became clear that this wasn’t some illusion. The forest had truly been devastated beyond recognition.

“The forester! Where is the forester? What happened here? What on earth happened?!”

When Homerne shouted at the top of his lungs, the person in charge of managing the forest quickly appeared.

“C-Chief Overseer, you’re here.”

“What happened here? Who would dare cut down the trees like this? Speak up immediately!”

In any estate, recklessly damaging a forest was considered a serious crime.

This was especially true in the northern regions, where harsh terrain meant people heavily relied on the resources of the forests and mountains. This made the management of such areas even more sensitive.

Otherwise, it would deliver a heavy blow to the already strained finances of the estate.

Even in Ferdium, special personnel were assigned to manage and protect the forests, preventing anyone from entering without permission.

But who would dare commit such a brazen act?

The forester, prostrating himself on the ground, immediately revealed the culprit.

“The Young Lord came and took it all!”

“What? The Young Lord? Why would that rascal cut down trees here instead of using the ones from his own estate?”

“He said his estate was running short on timber, so he wanted to borrow some….”

“Ugh, ugh!”

Homerne suddenly felt his blood pressure spike, clutching the back of his neck as he staggered.

‘That bastard is definitely not right in the head.’

Even if this was his father’s estate, taking timber from another estate just because he was short on wood? He needed to be caught and punished immediately.

“Wh-where is that lunatic! Where is he?!”

The forester timidly got up and pointed in a direction.

“Over there, running away as fast as he can.”

Sure enough, in the distance, there was a large group pulling countless carts loaded with timber. Despite their retreat, they were brazenly flying the banner of Fenris.

“Everyone, catch him… Catch that rascal immediatelyyyyyyyy!”

With that, Homerne collapsed, nose bleeding as he fainted.

His body couldn’t handle the sudden spike in blood pressure.

As he lost consciousness, Homerne thought,

‘Forget about getting along again…’

He hated him, he hated him so much he could die!

Thus, one of Ferdium’s forests was entirely stripped bare by Ghislain.

* * *

“Wow, what… What is all that?”

The villagers were stunned at the sight of the long line of carts coming in.

They had already heard that construction had been delayed due to a shortage of timber.

No matter how wealthy the lord was, they thought this time it might be a struggle, yet once again, he had managed to pull off a remarkable solution.

Claude, who had rushed over after hearing that timber was coming in, was also left speechless at the sight.

‘The quantity is enormous. It looks like they practically cleared out a small forest. There’s no way Ferdium, which isn’t in great shape financially, would willingly give away this much timber….’

He had boldly declared he was going to “take” what he needed, and it seemed he had indeed taken it by force.

‘Wow, he really has no regard for the consequences. If I keep hanging around this guy, I won’t live long enough to retire.’

No matter how urgent or important the situation, to go this far and do something so out of the ordinary!

Surely, Ferdium would come demanding explanations later.

For a moment, Claude worried about the future, but then he realized something and his expression brightened.

‘No, wait. Thanks to us, they’re getting support from the royal family, so this much should be fine, right? Let’s help each other out, Chief Overseer Homerne.’

Claude decided to just take it easy. There was no point in fretting over something that had already happened.

Meanwhile, rumors were spreading among the villagers.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

“They say the Lord raided his father’s estate and took the wood?”

“Apparently, Count Ferdium is on an expedition to the north. So, he doesn’t know yet.”

“Tsk, tsk, this is going to cause a big problem later on. Who knows, there might even be a war between father and son.”

I had heard that the lord was notorious for being an unfilial son around here, but I never imagined he’d go as far as to plunder his father’s estate.

Everyone was anxious, just hoping nothing serious would happen.

Claude comforted the worried townspeople and urged them to resume their work.

“Alright, let’s restart the halted work. Call the laborers back.”

Due to a shortage of resources, the construction had been suspended, causing the schedule to be severely delayed.

Even if they gathered the laborers again and resumed the construction, the lost time wouldn’t return.

Besides, building a house wasn’t easy. Even if they tried to keep things as simple as possible, essential facilities like kitchens and bathrooms had to be included.

There was a limit to how much they could shorten the construction time.

Seeing the construction progress stall, Claude eventually went to find Ghislain.

“We have a problem.”

“Ah, what is it this time? You always have a problem, don’t you? Are you making them up on purpose?”

“It’s not me creating them.”

“Maybe the real problem is that you see problems where there aren’t any.”

“Hah, the reason problems keep coming up is because you, my lord, always make plans detached from reality.”

Ghislain clicked his tongue and asked as Claude vented his frustration.

“So what’s the problem? We’ve got the lumber; what’s lacking this time?”

“Time.”

“Time was already in short supply, so why are you bringing it up like it’s a new problem?”

“I’m saying it’s a different issue this time. It seems like we won’t be able to meet the schedule for building the residences.”

“Why?”

“There are just too many houses to build. We have to carry out construction in several villages at the same time. Even though we’ve gathered as many laborers as possible, we’re still short on manpower.”

Ghislain tilted his head in confusion at those words.

Thousands of people had gathered here. Even if you excluded the elderly and the sick, there should still be a substantial number, so it was hard for him to understand how there could be a shortage of manpower.

“Why are we short on manpower? There are plenty of people around.”

“We’re lacking skilled workers and carpenters. You can’t just throw bricks together and expect a house to magically appear.”

“Hmm, so you’re saying there are plenty of people willing to work, but not enough people to direct them properly?”

“Yes, so adding more laborers right now won’t help. One supervisor can’t handle dozens of houses by themselves.”

But they couldn’t just rely on unskilled labor to build the homes. Otherwise, the result would be little better than the shacks the poor typically threw together.

Such houses would collapse with the slightest wind or rain, wasting materials for nothing.

“Hmm…”

Ghislain crossed his arms and fell into thought.

No matter how many laborers they brought in, it wouldn’t help if they didn’t know how to build houses.

A more efficient approach was necessary—one that would allow a supervisor to handle more houses than they were currently managing.

After pondering for a while, Ghislain muttered to himself.

“Ah, there is one way… but…”

“Sorry? What did you say?”

“Hmm, I wasn’t planning to build the houses like that, but maybe it’s the better option…”

“What? What do you mean?”

“We have no choice. We need to stabilize the housing situation before we can move on to anything else. I’ll take care of the housing problem myself.”

Claude looked at Ghislain, who had lifted his head with a resolute expression, and asked.

“My lord… Don’t tell me you know how to build houses too? When did you learn that kind of skill?”

“I used to work in construction a long time ago. Though, I was always better at tearing things down than building them.”

Claude assumed the lord was bragging again. After all, the infamous troublemaker of the Ferdium family supposedly had a background in construction? It sounded absurd.

“…Having you join the work isn’t going to magically increase the number of houses, my lord.”

“I just thought of something, and I want to give it a try. I’ll designate one of the villages as a test site and oversee the work directly. Gather all the architects and carpenters. You’re coming too.”

Claude frowned as he followed Ghislain, worried about what kind of outlandish plan the lord was cooking up this time.

When Ghislain’s orders were relayed, all the field supervisors responsible for overseeing and managing the various construction sites gathered together.

As he looked around at the assembled group, Ghislain spoke confidently.

“I’m going to show you a construction method that will allow us to build faster with more workers and accommodate more people!”

“Ooooh!”

Everyone’s eyes sparkled with anticipation as they looked at Ghislain.

Even if his ideas sometimes seemed odd, the lord had always managed to find solutions to their problems.

Especially with farming and cosmetics, he had introduced groundbreaking techniques that had never been seen before.

So if the lord was about to present a new method of construction, how could they not be excited?

Seeing their eager eyes, Ghislain spoke with confidence.

“All we need to do is build the houses really big!”

“…”

The anticipation on their faces instantly vanished, replaced by blank expressions. As their cold stares pierced him, Ghislain quickly corrected himself.

“I’ll show you exactly what kind of house I mean. From now on, I’ll be directing the construction myself!”

With a sly smile, he recalled a new type of house he had seen in his previous life, confident in his plan.