The Isolated Marchioness Just Wants to Make a Living - Chapter 17

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 17

* * *

I knew this would happen.

I looked at Baron Hawin’s servants who had gathered at the potato field.

They stood there holding torches with expressions of dismay.

“Planning to throw torches at the potato field?”

I asked calmly.

“Don’t throw them. Instead, I’ll let you roast potatoes there to eat.”

The servants’ breathing became rough.

“Even if you throw them, you’re surrounded anyway, and the fire will be put out quickly.”

Around me were buckets filled with water. I had prepared by drawing river water in advance.

“Well, you’d still ruin a few potatoes though. The conclusion is already decided, so you just need to choose.”

I spoke matter-of-factly.

“Whether to just ruin them, or eat them yourselves. We’re already thinking we’ll lose that much anyway, so the process doesn’t matter to us.”

Actually, I had thought the potato field would be in danger. Given Baron Hawin’s character, it didn’t seem like he’d leave it alone.

So I had ordered that every night, buckets should be filled with water and placed around the potato field.

‘It’s water we’d give to the potatoes the next day anyway, so it wasn’t wasted labor.’

Labor must be conserved. It all comes from the strength we get from food.

And I increased the number of knights patrolling at night. So when arsonists came, they would immediately show the water buckets, surround them, and contact me.

Tonight, the contact finally came, so I was called out from sleeping at night.

In front of the hollow-cheeked servants, I gestured to the maid.

The maid stepped forward and presented several plates.

“Here’s the salt, and I’ve also prepared cold lotus root tea that was boiled and cooled.”

The starving intruders immediately surrendered.

“W-we’ll eat!”

“We’ll eat!”

I knew they would. Because they’re human.

We gave them three large potatoes each.

Watching them roast and eat them over the torches made us feel hungry too, so we roasted one each as a late-night snack.

The warm, fluffy potatoes dipped in salt and eaten with cold lotus root tea were very good.

Of course, Wendy couldn’t eat any.

I had brought several escort knights with me, and Wendy was one of them.

She wasn’t starving. She just couldn’t eat potatoes. But that meant she couldn’t eat the staple food in our territory’s current situation. Especially not being able to eat when others were eating was very painful.

“My goodness, it’s really fluffy and delicious. Wendy, this is really tasty.”

“It’s warm and soft. How long has it been since I’ve tasted something this soft? Wendy will have to wait even longer though.”

The knights even liked to provoke her by eating potatoes in front of her.

“Wendy, use your heart kindly. You can’t eat these delicious potatoes because of your character.”

“That’s right. You should just eat dried fish and eggs. It’ll help your character grow.”

At this point, it was confusing whether the knights’ character was good or bad.

Anyway, Wendy always suffered. Then a few days ago, she knelt before me and begged for forgiveness.

But I didn’t lift the potato ban.

“Well, then.”

After the late-night snack time ended, I gave the knights a look.

“I should take you all to Baron Hawin.”

The knights immediately tied up the intruders with rope.

The intruders blinked foolishly and muttered.

“Huh? We, we can go by ourselves…”

“Am I crazy to just let criminals go?”

I said indifferently.

“I need to make Baron Hawin pay the price.”

“…What?”

“Come on, let’s go.”

I headed to Baron Hawin’s Estate with a group of knights including Wendy.

It was the middle of the night without even a moon.

“Um, Miss.”

An intruder who had become docile after getting potatoes to eat spoke.

In fact, they were also territory residents who had considered Sears their lord until recently.

“But there’s really nothing in our territory. How are you going to collect the debt…”

“There’s probably only a few corn left in the Baron Estate too, right? Besides, our baron isn’t the type to hand over anything willingly…”

“He’ll probably never admit that the baron ordered it. He’ll pin it all on us!”

Then Philip shouted angrily from behind me.

“How dare you thieves speak to the Miss!”

I hadn’t brought any maids on the way to the Baron Estate, but I even had the illusion that I was accompanied by my maid.

“She is such a noble person that scum like you can’t even look at her properly!”

Philip glared and threatened them.

“Bow your heads! Walk properly! If even a speck of dust gets on the Miss’s hem of skirt because of you, that’ll be the day your blood stains my sword!”

The intruders quickly bowed their heads. Though they seemed more frightened by Philip’s size than his words.

Then Philip approached me and whispered proudly.

“This is the noble way, right Miss? I’m doing well now, aren’t I?”

Actually, it was Riente’s maids who were excessive – even the capital’s nobles didn’t act like that.

Philip had learned it wrong.

“You’re doing well.”

Still, by Riente’s standards, he was doing well. The problem was that Riente had fallen.

I answered proudly.

“Let’s record it in the history books.”

Philip was satisfied with my statement for the first time.

* * *

‘What on earth is going on!’

Baron Forman thought as he returned to Baron Hawin’s Estate again.

‘To think I’d be coming back again!’

The old information agent’s joints ached from moving around secretly.

In the middle of the night, Brisa dragged the intruders into Baron Hawin’s room.

No one could stop her, accompanied by well-fed knights.

“Hmm.”

Baron Hawin, who received complaints about the intruders, stroked his mustache and said.

“I don’t know anything about this, Brisa. Why would I ruin my niece’s fields?”

As expected, he was playing dumb.

Brisa asked sharply.

“Then why did these people come to set fire to our fields in the middle of the night, wasting precious labor when our knights were heavily guarding them? If it wasn’t your order, Uncle.”

Then Baron Hawin feigned ignorance and said.

“Well, this is a bit delicate to say in these difficult times… but they must have just envied you.”

“You should have been careful with such words.”

Brisa shrugged her shoulders.

“The intruders don’t look very pleased.”

Indeed, the intruders tied with rope were glaring at Baron Hawin as if they wanted to kill him. As expected, they resented their master for cutting them loose.

“Brisa, let me give you some advice for your own good. Don’t take it the wrong way,”

“That’s basically saying I’ll feel bad as soon as I hear it.”

“You’re really rude to adults. Did your mother teach you that? To come to an elder’s house in the middle of the night and question them so impolitely?”

“See. I was right. Because now I feel bad.”

“I clearly remember, three or four years ago, when I last saw your mother…”

“Saying ‘three or four years’ isn’t clearly remembering. It’s inaccurate, so I won’t listen.”

Brisa said proudly with her arms crossed.

“More importantly, I’d like you to take responsibility for this matter.”

“Responsibility? Why should I?”

Baron Hawin had a fit at the word ‘responsibility.’

“A lord can’t manage every single territory resident, can they?”

“Then what about punishing these people? May I handle it myself?”

“Well…”

When Brisa pressed him with questions, Baron Hawin rolled his eyes as if flustered.

“Still… they’re my territory residents, so the final decision should be mine. Don’t you think? That’s the principle.”

In principle, the right to punish territory residents belonged to the lord. No matter how much Brisa protested, there was nothing she could do about it.

Then Brisa asked nonchalantly.

“Then how about selling them off?”

At that moment, the elderly information agent eavesdropping outside the door, Baron Forman, nearly fainted.

Sell… them off? What does that mean?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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