I knew this would happen.
I looked over the servants of Baron Harwin gathered around the potato field.
They stood there holding torches, wearing expressions of utter defeat.
“Were you planning to throw those into the field?”
I asked casually.
“Don’t. Instead, I’ll let you use them to roast potatoes.”
The servants' breathing grew ragged.
“Even if you throw them, you’re already surrounded, and any fire will be put out immediately.”
Around me sat buckets filled with water. We had drawn it from the river beforehand.
“Well, you might ruin a few potatoes. But the outcome won’t change. You only have to decide one thing.”
I spoke calmly.
“Will you waste them, or will you eat them? We already assumed we'd lose that much anyway, so the process doesn’t really matter to us.”
To be honest, I had expected the potato field to be targeted. Knowing Baron Harwin’s personality, there was no way he would simply leave it alone.
That was why every night I had ordered buckets of water to be placed throughout the field.
The water would be used for the potatoes the next day anyway. It wasn’t wasted labor.
Labor had to be conserved. It came from food, after all.
I had also increased the number of knights patrolling at night. If arsonists appeared, they were to surround them, show them the water buckets, and notify me immediately.
Tonight, the report had finally come.
I had been dragged from bed in the middle of the night because of it.
Standing before the hollow-cheeked servants, I nodded toward a maid.
The maid stepped forward and presented several plates.
“We have salt here,” she announced. “And chilled lotus-root tea prepared earlier.”
The starving intruders surrendered instantly.
“W-We’ll eat!”
“Yes! We’ll eat!”
Just as I expected.
They were human, after all.
We handed each of them three large potatoes.
Watching them roast the potatoes over their torches made us hungry too, so we each roasted one for ourselves as a late-night snack.
The potatoes were warm, fluffy, and delicious. Dipped in salt and washed down with cold lotus-root tea, they tasted wonderful.
Of course, Wendy couldn't eat any.
I had brought several escort knights with me, and Wendy was among them.
She wasn’t starving. She simply couldn’t eat potatoes.
But in the current state of our territory, that essentially meant being forbidden from eating the staple food.
And watching everyone else eat while she couldn’t was especially torturous.
“My goodness, it’s so fluffy and delicious. Wendy, this is amazing.”
“It’s warm and soft. How long has it been since I tasted something this tender? Though Wendy will have to wait much longer.”
The knights even enjoyed teasing her while eating right in front of her.
“Wendy, work on your character. The reason you can’t eat these delicious potatoes is because of your personality.”
“That’s right. Stick to dried fish and eggs. Maybe they’ll help improve your character.”
At this point, it was difficult to tell whether the knights themselves had good personalities.
Regardless, Wendy suffered every day.
A few days earlier, she had even knelt before me and begged for forgiveness.
I still hadn’t lifted the potato ban.
“Well then.”
After the late-night snack ended, I signaled the knights.
“I suppose it’s time to escort you back to Baron Harwin.”
The knights immediately tied up the intruders with ropes.
The intruders blinked in confusion.
“Huh? W-We can go back ourselves—”
“You think I’m stupid enough to let criminals walk free?”
I replied flatly.
“Baron Harwin needs to pay for this.”
“…What?”
“Come on. Let’s go.”
I set off toward Baron Harwin’s manor with a group of knights, including Wendy.
The moonless night stretched dark around us.
“My lady…”
One of the intruders spoke up.
The potatoes had apparently made him much friendlier.
Not long ago, these people had still recognized Sears as their lord.
“But there’s really nothing left in our territory. How exactly are you planning to collect compensation?”
“There are probably only a few ears of corn left in the manor. And our baron isn’t the kind of man who hands things over willingly.”
“He’ll never admit he ordered this. He’ll pin everything on us!”
Before I could answer, Philip barked furiously from behind me.
“How dare thieves address the young lady directly!”
I hadn’t brought any maids with me tonight, yet somehow it felt as if I had.
“You wretches are unworthy even to meet her gaze! She is a noble lady!”
Philip glared at them fiercely.
“Lower your heads! Walk properly! If even a speck of dirt touches the hem of her skirt because of you, the day my sword is stained with your blood will be the same day!”
The intruders immediately bowed their heads.
Not because of his words, but because they were terrified of his size.
Then Philip approached me and whispered proudly,
“This is how nobles do things, right, my lady? I’m getting good at it now, aren’t I?”
In truth, it was the maids of Liente who were excessive. Even nobles in the capital didn’t behave like this.
Philip had learned all the wrong lessons.
“You’re doing well.”
Still, by Liente standards, he was.
The problem was that Liente had collapsed.
I answered with regal dignity.
“Have it recorded in the history books.”
For the first time ever, Philip seemed genuinely pleased by that statement.
What in the world is happening?
Baron Foreman thought as he returned once more to Harwin Manor.
I can’t believe I’m back here again!
The elderly information broker’s joints ached from sneaking around.
In the middle of the night, Brisa stormed into Baron Harwin’s chamber with the captured intruders in tow.
Accompanied by well-fed knights, she was unstoppable.
“Hmm.”
After hearing the accusations, Baron Harwin stroked his mustache.
“I know nothing about this, Brisa. Why would I sabotage my niece’s fields?”
As expected, he denied everything.
Brisa’s gaze sharpened.
“Then why would these men waste their time sneaking into a field heavily guarded by knights in the middle of the night and try to set it on fire? Unless they were acting under your orders?”
Harwin looked away and feigned innocence.
“Well... this is a delicate thing to say during difficult times, but perhaps they were simply jealous of you.”
“You should have been careful saying that.”
Brisa shrugged.
“The expressions on their faces don’t look very good.”
Indeed, the bound intruders were glaring at Harwin as if they wanted him dead.
They had expected it, but seeing their master abandon them still filled them with resentment.
“Brisa, let me give you some advice. Don’t take offense.”
“That usually means I’m about to be offended.”
“You really have no respect for your elders. Is that how your mother raised you? To barge into an elder’s home in the middle of the night and speak so rudely?”
“See? I was right. I’m offended already.”
Harwin ignored her.
“I distinctly remember the last time I saw your mother, three years ago... or maybe four...”
“‘Three or four years ago’ doesn’t sound very distinct. Since it’s inaccurate, I’ll ignore it.”
Brisa folded her arms.
“More importantly, I’d like you to take responsibility for this.”
“Responsibility? Why should I?”
The word alone seemed to make Harwin twitch.
“A lord can’t possibly control every single person in his territory.”
“Then what should be done with these criminals? May I deal with them myself?”
“Well...”
As Brisa pressed relentlessly, Harwin’s eyes darted nervously.
“Even so... they are still my subjects. The final decision should be mine, shouldn’t it? That’s the proper procedure.”
Legally speaking, he was correct.
The right to punish subjects belonged to their lord.
No matter how much Brisa protested, she couldn’t change that.
Then Brisa asked calmly,
“Then how about selling them?”
For a moment, Baron Foreman—who had been secretly eavesdropping outside the door—nearly fainted.
Sell them?
What on earth does she mean by that?
