The group that arrived at Fenris Castle was met with a devastating sight.
People who looked no better than beggars.
Their eyes, like those of dead fish, seemed devoid of any hope for life.
Ghislain frowned.
"It's worse than I expected."
He had anticipated the conditions after seeing the surrounding villages, but he hadn't thought even the area around the lord's castle would look like this.
This meant they had scraped every last bit of potential from the territory.
The soldiers guarding the castle were no different.
Their equipment was worn, and there wasn't a shred of motivation in their eyes.
'Beggars who don't even have the strength to rebel.'
Rebellion takes a certain level of strength and spirit to attempt.
These people, who seemed to be waiting only to die, didn't even have the energy to resist.
Even though they must have heard the news that a new lord was coming, their eyes were filled with nothing but despair.
They had lived under exploitation for so long that they didn't believe it would make any difference who the lord was.
Even Perdium was poor, but at least the people there hadn't been so utterly crushed.
The other members of the group clicked their tongues and shook their heads.
No matter how you looked at it, this place could hardly be called livable. The former lord must have exploited the people terribly.
The Fenris estate had no usable resources, no specialty goods. The land wasn't even suitable for farming.
For the lord to live in luxury, he would have had no choice but to keep squeezing every last bit from the people of the territory.
'If it hadn't been our young master but someone else who became the lord, they'd have starved to death.'
Belinda clicked her tongue.
Thanks to Ghislain's arrival, holding the Rune Stone, there was at least a glimmer of hope.
After all, money was the most important thing for feeding the people and developing the territory.
Claude understood this too, and resolved himself.
'Developing the territory will take a long time. At least the lord has plenty of money, so surviving won't be difficult.'
Claude assessed all the information he had gathered from various perspectives.
'It's doable. It's worth the challenge.'
He thought of it as a chance to prove his abilities, but…
If he knew Ghislain's true intentions, he'd run for his life, gratitude be damned.
Claude had no idea yet just how ambitious Ghislain's goals were, or how fast he expected to achieve them.
He also didn't know that the Delphine Duchy was Ghislain's enemy.
This was something he was intentionally keeping from even his closest allies, Belinda and Gillian.
Above all, there was no reason to bring up a story without evidence and cause unnecessary confusion.
It would be more convincing to say he had ambitions to bring down the Delphine Duchy.
'Not yet.'
Ghislain looked at Claude, who was deep in thought, and then turned away.
The duke would reveal himself eventually.
He could share the truth when that time came.
As soon as Ghislain entered the castle, he immediately summoned all the officials.
There weren't many of them, but they were the ones who kept the territory from complete collapse by maintaining the minimum administrative functions.
The officials hurriedly bowed as soon as they saw Ghislain.
"We greet the lord. We didn't know when you would arrive, so we didn't prepare a welcoming ceremony. If you could give us a moment, we can quickly…"
It was customary to hold a grand banquet when a new lord assumed office.
The officials, fearing they might be punished by a proud noble, bowed hastily.
"That's enough. I have no interest in tiring myself with such things."
The officials were taken aback by Ghislain's response.
They couldn't tell if he was serious or sarcastic out of anger.
He clicked his tongue and continued.
"Let me make this clear. For the time being, there will be no banquets at the lord's castle. I won't interfere with personal events, but I will not allow anything that burdens the people of the territory."
Leaving the people watching nervously, Ghislain went straight to issuing orders.
He had made his intentions clear.
He didn't want to waste time explaining and persuading; stabilizing the territory as quickly as possible was the urgent priority.
"The state of the territory looks poor, so first, we need to restore it to normalcy. It may feel a bit coercive, but I expect your cooperation. Feel free to suggest any good ideas at any time."
Everyone bowed their heads, accepting his orders.
Those who had participated in the war had all been executed by Ghislain.
Knowing this, none of the officials dared to argue.
"All current positions are hereby dissolved, and I will reconstitute the advisory board."
Those gathered grew tense, their faces stiffening.
Their hold on their current power depended on how the positions were allocated.
After pausing briefly to observe their expressions, Ghislain pointed to Claude.
"From now on, Claude here will serve as head butler and will be responsible for policy planning and execution. Consider it my order and cooperate without question. Claude is also granted authority to appoint secretaries and other administrative staff as needed."
The unexpected appointment surprised the officials, but they quickly accepted it. It was common to place close allies in key positions.
Claude's expression showed he felt this was only natural.
From the beginning, Ghislain had wanted Claude to take charge of the estate's management.
Given the state of the estate, Claude needed at least the head butler position to proceed with his plans.
Ghislain continued speaking.
"Claude will also serve as the Treasurer."
Several people gasped at this, then quickly shut their mouths.
It was rare for one person to hold more than one high position.
Claude was slightly surprised but quickly understood.
'Well, it's faster and easier if I handle the finances directly.'
It was better to add work rather than waste time clashing with whoever held financial control.
He was confident he could handle that much.
If he couldn't escape, he might as well get as much authority as possible.
But Ghislain wasn't done yet.
"Claude will also oversee intelligence and will be responsible for selecting subordinates."
Claude started to feel uneasy, his expression stiffening as cold sweat formed on his forehead.
'Sure, intelligence is important. Better to prepare beforehand than scramble in the face of war.'
But Ghislain didn't seem to be finished.
"Claude will also head the diplomacy department…"
"Claude will serve as the magistrate. Reinforcements for soldiers will be determined based on need…"
"Claude will act as the strategist in times of war…"
"To accelerate the development of the territory, I'll establish a special development division. Claude will lead this as well…"
"We will revise the laws of the territory. Claude will be appointed chief justice…"
"Claude will handle material management and serve as quartermaster…"
"We will establish a trading company for the territory. The head of the company will be Claude…"
With each statement, the officials turned paler.
Claude began to tremble.
Suddenly, he remembered what Ghislain had said before they left Auston.
—"Don't worry. There are plenty of ways to squeeze you dry."
Ah, so he was dead serious.
'This just means he's dumping all the work on me! How much does he plan to exploit me?'
In truth, one position, like head butler, would have been enough to manage the estate.
But giving him all these roles meant he was expected to be directly involved in everything.
Some people can't rest until they see results firsthand.
Unfortunately, the young lord seemed to be one of them.
But doing it all himself would be exhausting, so he'd dragged Claude along to take on the burden!
If someone worked like this, they'd die. That must be why the lord brought him along.
There's no way Claude, with less stamina than the lord, could survive.
Claude spoke earnestly, his expression serious.
"I'd like to spend the rest of my life with Anna. Please allow it. I don't think this is the place for me. The air doesn't suit me, the water doesn't suit me… and neither does the work."
Ghislain asked, unimpressed.
"Didn't you say it hurt to be near her?"
"Time heals those things. I was just trying to act cool. Pain is just part of youth."
It was a little embarrassing to backtrack, but he'd rather be embarrassed than work himself to death.
But his opponent wasn't so easily swayed.
"It's too late. There's only one way for you to leave."
"And that is…?"
Ghislain smiled kindly.
"Repay the debt, and I'll send you on your way immediately."
"Urgh…"
Claude clenched his fist, unable to respond.
He'd wasted years at the casino because of that damned debt.
Just when he'd managed to escape gambling, he found his life mortgaged here because of money again.
'I won't back down like this!'
Claude gritted his teeth.
Since he was already as good as dead, he resolved to say what he wanted before going down. At that moment, Belinda started arguing loudly from behind.
"Young master! Why are you giving him so much work?"
Claude turned to Belinda, eyes shining.
Annoying as she could be with her sharp tongue, he was grateful at this moment.
"That man's a gambling addict, a good-for-nothing, a quitter, an idiot, and a runaway who's terrible at understanding women's hearts! He couldn't even clean the toilet!"
'Well, that's a bit harsh…'
Claude wasn't sure if this was support or not.
He had a faint smile, caught between laughing and crying.
He glanced around at the others.
Even the existing officials were now looking at him with doubt. They were practically forming prejudices before he even started working.
Just as he was about to tell Belinda to stop, Gillian's deep voice sounded.
"My lord, he's an untested individual. Wouldn't it be better to give him responsibilities one at a time?"
'Yes, that's the way to say it.'
Gillian's experience showed; he was diplomatically appealing to Ghislain without demeaning Claude.
But just as Claude felt the atmosphere was improving, Gillian added:
"He was once addicted to gambling. It's well-known that gambling dulls the mind. He may have even forgotten how to read."
'Hey!'
Claude glared at Gillian with lifeless eyes.
But Gillian continued unfazed.
"Even if that's not the case, his body and mind will have weakened. He hasn't worked or studied in years. The more power he has, the more likely he'll use it to gamble or waste time."
Though more polite, Gillian's words hit harder, making Claude feel even worse.
Claude glanced around in embarrassment.
Now everyone's eyes were filled with complete suspicion.
His gaze stopped on one particular person.
A red-haired man with a cocky look was staring at him with his head cocked.
'His name was… Kaor, right?'
Kaor had been maintaining order in Fenris during Ghislain's trip to Auston.
Today was the first time he'd met Claude.
But Kaor's gaze was strangely…
'Why is he looking at me so challengingly?'
Kaor stared him down, as if trying to assert his dominance.
Claude couldn't help but let out a laugh.
He had lived every day roughhousing with thugs in gambling dens and had even been involved in a rebellion.
He wasn't about to flinch from a stare.
'Take this.'
Claude subtly raised his middle finger, out of sight from others.
Kaor's face contorted, his hand moving to the sword at his waist.
He trembled as if he might lunge any second, but he kept glancing at Ghislain and didn't make a move.
'Annoyed, aren't you? But you can't do anything in front of the lord, can you?'
Claude raised his thumb, poking it between his fingers, and wiggled it tauntingly.
"You bastard!"
Finally, Kaor couldn't hold back. He drew his sword and charged forward.
[T/L: Please support me and read extra chapters here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]