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As they made their way to the lord’s castle, Ghislain asked Gillian,
“This is the Ferdium Estate. How do you feel after seeing it yourself?”

“…It seems fine.”

“No, no. I’m not asking for that kind of formal answer. I want an honest evaluation of what it looks like to an outsider.”

Gillian hesitated for a moment but eventually decided to speak honestly. He wasn’t one to prefer flattery, even to the one he served.

“…The houses are all old and worn down. It doesn’t look like they’re being maintained at all. That likely means the estate is poor.”

Raypold was the wealthiest estate in the north. Although Gillian himself lived in poverty after spending his fortune on his daughter’s treatment, he had seen how the people of Raypold lived during his comings and goings. As a mercenary, he traveled extensively and witnessed many estates firsthand.

From what Gillian could see, the Ferdium Estate was nothing more than a poor, rural backwater.

Ghislain nodded without any sign of anger.

“You’re right. It is an impoverished estate. The lord, the people—none of them have money. They live day by day, earning just enough to eat.”

“I see hardly any young men around. Even if you wanted to develop the estate, that would make it impossible.”

“Right. Do you know why that is?”

After a brief moment of thought, Gillian replied, “I’ve heard that the Ferdium Estate is constantly at war with the northern barbarians. That means there’s frequent conscription, and it’s only natural that the young are in short supply.”

“You know your stuff.”

Ghislain smiled bitterly.

“This area near the lord’s castle, which is supposed to be the most developed, is in this state. You can imagine how bad the other villages are.”

“Hmm…”

“With no one to work the fields, tax revenues decline, and the estate becomes even poorer. It’s a vicious cycle.”

Listening to Ghislain, Gillian realized that the estate’s condition was worse than he had initially thought. Ferdium’s situation was akin to pouring water into a bottomless pit. The inability to collect proper taxes made it impossible for the estate or its military to function properly.

Ghislain urged his horse forward slowly, letting out a self-mocking laugh.

“The biggest problem, as always, is money. The knights’ and soldiers’ equipment is outdated, but we can’t afford to replace it. Even supplies don’t arrive on time. If it weren’t for support from other estates, Ferdium would’ve collapsed a long time ago.”

“The situation doesn’t sound good.”

“Yeah. At this rate, we’ll starve to death long before we die in battle.”

In his previous life, Ghislain complained about being born into such a poor estate. Now, he realizes just how childish that had been.

“Actually, we don’t fight all year long. It’s more like we fend them off and push them back at regular intervals. The real problem is that even with all the able-bodied men in the army, we’re barely holding on.”

“But you can’t just disband the army, can you?”

“Exactly. We have no other source of income, yet we must maintain the army. It’s no wonder we can’t escape this cycle of poverty.”

In Gillian’s opinion, it wasn’t just a geographical issue. The weather in the Ferdium Estate was cool but not bad for farming. The real problem was that there weren’t enough people to farm. All the labor force was being consumed by the war.

Ghislain then brought up another issue aside from the barbarians.

“Did you see the forest attached to the northwestern part of the estate on your way here? It’s called the Forest of Beasts. Have you heard of it?”

“Yes, I’ve heard it’s filled with monsters.”

“We’ve got troops stationed there, too, constantly keeping watch because we never know when those monsters might emerge. So, in a way, we’re fighting another war on that front. Just maintaining the army drains our resources.”

With barely any money or manpower, all the capable men were busy standing guard with the army. It made one wonder if it wouldn’t be better to just charge in, fight, and die in a blaze of glory rather than slowly bleed the estate dry. The military alone was consuming resources just by existing. Even now, the estate was barely staying afloat thanks to aid from other estates, but it wouldn’t be surprising if it collapsed any day now.

With a heavy heart, Gillian asked, “Couldn’t you ask for more aid from the other estates? Money or food, for example. You could distribute it to the poor….”

“They don’t want us growing stronger. They give us just enough support to keep the army running, but they would never provide anything that could benefit the people of the estate.”
Gillian found himself nodding instinctively.

Ghislain was an exception. Most nobles didn’t even care about the welfare of their own people, let alone those of another estate. They certainly weren’t about to give away their wealth to feed someone else’s subjects. The only reason they offered even meager support was because someone had to hold the line here. The strong northern temperament allowed the people to endure such poverty for so long.

“Were there no other alternatives?”

Ghislain nodded.

“My father, his father, and even his grandfather all tried to break the cycle, but they couldn’t. Without money, there was no way to try anything new.”

“It’s a difficult situation.”

“Even if the land is dry, as long as there’s a single drop of water, there’s a chance for new life to sprout. But the reality is that our estate doesn’t even have that one drop.”

Gillian spoke honestly, voicing the frustration building in his heart.

“To be frank, I think you’d be better off being knighted by another estate. Inheriting this estate would only bring you endless suffering.”

Ghislain responded with a grin.

“I’ll fix this.”

“Pardon? You, my lord?”

It sounded almost like a vow. When Gillian asked in disbelief, Ghislain nodded.

“I will put an end to the estate’s poverty. Not just a single drop of water, but a rainstorm.”

Gillian thought it was nothing more than the foolish dreams of youthful confidence. Anyone could see that saving the estate in its current state was impossible. However, Ghislain truly believed he could solve Ferdium’s problems. It was a conviction no one else could understand, one that only he held.

* * *

As soon as Ghislain arrived at the lord’s castle, he confirmed that his father had returned and began moving swiftly.

“Belinda, please prepare a place for Gillian and Rachel to stay. I’ll be meeting Father soon. We’ll also need to prepare medicinal herbs for daily treatments.”

“Understood. I’ll handle the backlog of other tasks as well.”

Ghislain then turned to Gillian.

“Gillian, stay at the castle for the time being. I’ll arrange proper accommodations for you soon.”

“Thank you.”

After thanking the knights-in-training for their efforts, Ghislain, with Gillian in tow, headed to meet his father.

‘How long has it been?’

As the young lord of Ferdium, it had only been a few months since he last saw his father. But for the King of Mercenaries, it had been decades. Standing at the door, Ghislain took a moment to calm his nerves, unable to enter immediately.

His father’s weary voice could be heard through the door as he spoke with his retainers.

“Are you saying we need to reduce our forces?”

“Yes, it seems we’ll struggle to maintain the current state. The amount of aid we receive has decreased,” replied Albert, the treasurer, in a monotone voice.

There was a brief silence before Randolph, the captain of the knights, spoke up with a heavy tone.

“Albert, if we reduce the troops any further, we won’t be able to maintain the frontlines properly.”

As captain, Randolph was deeply invested in maintaining the frontlines and fighting off the barbarians. He asked, frustrated, “Where have we lost funding from? Why don’t we just request more support from Raypold? They should have the resources to help.”

Steward Homerne sighed at Randolph’s words.

“That won’t be possible. We need to cut back because Raypold, the estate that sent us the most support, has reduced their aid. I’ve heard that the Count of Raypold has increased military spending. He’s gathering more soldiers and stockpiling food.”

Randolph, surprised, asked again.

“Why is the Count of Raypold increasing his forces? There’s nowhere else in the north to fight besides here.”

“I don’t know. We’ve always been too focused on the northern fortress to understand what’s happening around us.”

“We can’t afford to reduce the troops. If we do, the barbarians will overrun us. We have less than thirty knights left as it is. Everyone else has abandoned us due to lack of money, and that’s why we’re dealing with traitors like Jamal and Philip.”

Though Randolph argued forcefully, Albert responded in the same emotionless tone.

“We’ll also need to reduce the knights’ forces. If that happens, we’ll have no choice but to scale back our northern front.”

Randolph shouted loudly as if he was about to explode.

“Brother! There’s no point in holding the line if we shorten the front! The barbarians will just slip through all the gaps we’ve left open!”

No one could respond to that; it seemed they had no words left to argue. The main retainers were limited to the steward, the knight commander, and the treasurer. Although the estate was poor, these few individuals had stuck together, somehow managing to keep it running until now.

Homerne, Albert, and Randolph were the core and the real power behind running Ferdium.

Ghislain, who had been listening to the conversation by the door, turned to Gillian with an awkward smile.

“This is a bit embarrassing. The estate’s circumstances are dire, so the atmosphere differs from other estates, right? They’re all sworn brothers to my father.”

“It’s fine. I was actually surprised that the estate has been able to hold up in this condition, but it seems like it’s thanks to the strong bonds among the people.”

“Yeah, those men have endured hardship with loyalty and duty. Even if they’re a bit stiff, they’re good men.”

‘Though they still treat me like an enemy.’

Ghislain swallowed those last words. He wasn’t exactly on good terms with the three of them since all he ever did was cause trouble.

Before opening the door, Ghislain took a deep breath. Now, he had to face those strict and stubborn men.

“Let’s go in.”

He pushed the door to the hall open with effort.

Inside were the half-bald steward, Homerne, the ever-serious treasurer, Albert, and the bearded knight commander, Randolph. They were around the same age as the Count of Ferdium, and as soon as they saw Ghislain, their expressions immediately darkened.

However, the moment Ghislain saw his father, nothing else registered in his mind.

‘Father!’

His father, Zwalter Ferdium, wore the same impassive, stern expression as always.

Ghislain’s heart pounded in his chest.

Of course, he was happy to see the other three, but his father was someone special to him.

In his past life, after running away from home, he had never gotten the chance to see his father again, so his memory of him had faded over time.

Now, seeing his father again, every detail of his face stood out vividly.

‘I didn’t know it would take this long.’

When he had left the family, he thought he could return anytime to see him again.

That had been a childish thought.

Only after the family had fallen into ruin did he realize what he had taken for granted wasn’t guaranteed.

After experiencing the pain and sorrow of being unable to see the people he longed for, he understood how precious the things he had once assumed would always be there truly were.

“Father…”

Ghislain opened his mouth with a trembling voice but couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence.

Words like “Thank you for your hard work” or “Did you return safely?” didn’t come out. He could only stare at his father with trembling eyes.

But Zwalter had no way of knowing what Ghislain was feeling. Seeing his son acting strangely, he grew a bit tense.

‘What’s going on? Did he get into trouble again? Why are his eyes so unnecessarily wet?’

When Ghislain didn’t say anything after a long moment, Zwalter finally spoke first.

“Ahem, I heard you went out. What happened with Count Raypold’s daughter?”