HTLCCBFT Chapter 123

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 123

After receiving Oliver’s visual cue, Fosse’s brow twitched slightly.

…… Is the young lord really going to do this?

Despite his conflicted feelings, the loyal butler maintained a stern expression and calmly carried out the prearranged plan.

The elite guards equipped with shields were all positioned near the city gates within firing range to protect those inside; about a dozen steps away stood other guards in armor wielding iron swords; the duke’s personal knights each commanded a squad, with clear and defined positions.

Evidently, the majority of those forming this “army”—which appeared vast and mighty in the eyes of Albury City’s slaves—were actually genuine farmers.

The external structure of Albury City had long been thoroughly understood by the Lainans through firsthand accounts from refugees who had fled to them.

The duke, who always preferred to prepare in advance for any situation, was no exception this time—he had Farmur and Rebel work overtime to design the most suitable spring planting plan for Albury.

Before setting out on the campaign, Oliver had gone to great lengths to persuade butler Fosse to leave both knight captain Noel and the current sheriff Kane behind, ensuring the rear base remained secure.

Although these two knights weren’t as adept as the experienced Fosse at managing other castle affairs, they were sufficiently loyal and brave.

As nobles, they could legitimately command all commoners, and they also served as reliable symbols of martial strength, ensuring strong execution.

Oliver had left them with straightforward tasks that only required following instructions: the entire spring harvest and planting in Laina had been prepared well in advance, sparing them the headache of dealing with unfamiliar matters.

Though Fosse felt deeply uneasy about this, he decisively agreed once he saw the young lord’s determination: if he refused again, he might be the one left behind instead.

“This land all belongs to me.”

With a casual gesture and a light remark, Oliver drove the other farmers—who were accustomed to such scenes—out of the vast area.

They deftly retrieved their most handy farming tools from the horse-drawn carts and, under the stewards’ guidance, naturally began working the fields.

Although spring had already been underway for over half a month, the abandoned fields were overgrown with tall, dense weeds, completely untouched in their original state.

They couldn’t rely solely on heavy plows pulled by oxen or horses for cultivation.

Instead, they first had to roughly pull out the weeds several times before turning the soil.

The only one who hadn’t moved away and stood naturally beside the beautiful lord was that equally dazzling, tall, and handsome noble youth with golden hair.

Meeting those pure golden eyes, Oliver couldn’t help but curve his lips: “If you don’t mind being bored, you can stay and keep me company.”

Hearing this, the deity—who had absorbed more wisdom and realized “standing here alone might seem awkward”—naturally returned to the cart area and selected a rather worn-out farming tool that had been left behind.

Holding the rusty iron hammer, he returned to Oliver’s side with a composed expression.

Oliver let out a soft sigh, half-genuinely, half-playfully complaining: “Well, only you would dare compete with me for work… my dear Cat God, please don’t dig the same furrow as me later. Could you move to the side?”

The handsome young man silently glanced at him, then obediently shifted three steps to the left.

—After all, whether standing beside his beloved believer or positioned where he could see the other’s back with just a lift of his eyes, he was equally happy.

Though the Lord of Laina had only arrived briefly, everyone behaved like well-trained soldiers, obediently accepting their assigned tasks.

With this orderly distribution of work, it was actually the native Albury people who appeared helpless and at a loss.

They stood dumbly in the weed-choked fields, like neglected guests in someone else’s home, unable to find any work they could do.

They watched with their own eyes as these uninvited Laina enemies—should they even be considered enemies?—not only refrained from fighting or killing, but after blocking the castle gates, simply picked up iron rakes and began efficiently clearing the thick weeds from the fields.

Besides the charred remains of crops, the fields contained only messy wild growth.

The Laina people boldly chose to clear these first, truly appearing as if they intended to farm!

Being ignored, the Albury people fell into deeper confusion.

These were… the very fields they had toiled on so hard for so many years.

The poor Albury serfs exchanged glances, seeing only bewilderment and embarrassment in each other’s eyes.

They watched anxiously, over and over, whispering about this absurd situation.

“Hey, what should we do now?”

“We can’t just stand here like it’s none of our business.”

“Something doesn’t feel right no matter how I think about it.”

“But… should we really be doing farm work alongside Laina’s army?”

At these words, dead silence fell around them.

“Why are they helping us with work?”

“Aren’t they here to plunder?”

“They’re not here to take things from the fields.”

“There’s nothing left in the fields anyway, not even vegetable roots.”

“They don’t look like an army…”

“Idiot! What else could they be if not an army?!”

“Are they really from Laina?”

“I don’t think so either. Isn’t Laina poorer than us? I heard they can’t even feed their commoners properly! They have far more people starving to death each year than we do!”

“They’re too well-fed—their arms are thicker than my legs!”

“That Lord is so beautiful… Would he accept our loyalty?”

The serfs chattered among themselves, their hearts filled with anxiety and their minds bursting with enormous doubts.

The scenes unfolding before their eyes were far beyond anything they could comprehend.

Seeing the Albury serfs frozen in place like a pitiful flock of lost lambs without a shepherd, Oliver couldn’t help but feel some compassion.

Before heading to the fields, he couldn’t help but glance at the stern-faced butler and ask, “How long until Simmot arrives?”

Hearing this, Fosse sighed inwardly.

Look at this. After Lucy… now it’s just some lowly serf from a place fallen to ruffians! How dare such a one be worthy of having his name remembered and spoken aloud by His Young Highness!

Even as waves of shock surged within his heart, his expression remained as calm as ever: “As per Your Highness’s instructions, the serf Simmot will depart half a day later to allow time for his injuries to heal. He should arrive by evening.”

“Mm.”

Oliver felt reassured.

He had no intention of having the people of Laina directly lead these serfs in their tasks. After all, he did not plan to rely solely on force to oppress them and secure their obedience. Instead, he aimed to achieve better results through gentler methods.

In times of sudden upheaval, the only thing that could bring a sense of security to these poor serfs was the tangible sight of “familiar people living well.”

He planned to have the recently accepted serf “Simmot,” along with some of the earlier accepted Albury commoners, motivate this group of serfs.

But that would have to wait until Simmot and the others arrived.

Oliver stared thoughtfully at the emaciated serfs: “They look so starved they’re practically skeletons. If they don’t eat something soon, I’m afraid they won’t even have the strength to lift a hoe.”

He smiled faintly: “The food we provide now can be repaid with their future labor.”

This was an indisputable fact, and also the reasoning Oliver deliberately emphasized to reassure his subordinates.

Since he had decided to fully take over this city, the serfs of Albury were now the “property” of the Lord of Laina. Of course, he could not let them starve to death.

The unbearable misery before him almost made Oliver feel as if he were seeing a replica of Laina’s serfs from the past.

But the Laina of today was not the Laina of last year.

After a winter with more than enough food, not only had the seedlings in the fields, covered by auspicious snow, grown fully, but the people of Laina—whose health had steadily improved over the past six months—had even miraculously gained some weight.

Fosse, who had developed a deep understanding of his young lord’s ways, bowed slightly without changing his expression and continued: “Please rest assured, Your Highness. I will immediately have people prepare soup and distribute bread for them.”

Although he firmly believed that the kind young lord’s true concern was not the “inability to lift a hoe” mentioned in his words—it was purely out of compassion for the weak and impoverished.

“Dear Fosse, you truly are always worthy of trust, always so understanding!”

Facing his reliable butler, the Angel Duke smiled and spoke such sweet words that the blond young man beside him widened his eyes in surprise, earning him a fond and indulgent look in return.

“However, these people have been starving for too long. Don’t give them too much food at first, lest they overeat and harm their stomachs.” After a moment’s thought, Oliver added: “One piece of black bread and a bowl of soup per person. They can have more in the evening.”

Fosse naturally had no objections.

He bowed his head and replied, “Yes, Your Highness.”

This conversation between the noble master and servant was, of course, beyond the hearing—and beyond the daring—of the serfs of Albury.

Even if they had heard it, they would never have dared to believe it had anything to do with them.

—Why would a lord from another city, sent to suppress the rebellion, care about the lives of serfs like them?

To avoid angering the Laina army, they had cautiously kept their distance after realizing the identity of this group.

The surreptitious glances they cast toward the lord, who was as pure and beautiful as an angel, had long shifted from uncontrollable awe and infatuation to deep confusion.

When their vision blurred and they were startled to find an overwhelmingly conspicuous large hoe suddenly materializing in the other’s hand, this bewilderment instantly peaked.

……What exactly were these two nobles—with their unbelievably superior appearances yet holding hoes utterly mismatched with their lofty status—planning to do?

Just as they were hazily speculating, the handsome blond lord smiled and swung the exaggeratedly large hoe in his hand.

Thud!

When the iron hoe sank deep into the slightly damp soil, it made only a low, muffled sound, yet it struck the hearts of the Albury people like a heavy hammer.

“Wh-what?!”

Naef was utterly dumbfounded.

Just like him, all the Albury slaves fell into complete stupefaction.

“My God…”

Their eyes widened abruptly, and their mouths hung open foolishly.

—That was only the beginning.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, this noble lord, whom one could only describe as “slender, elegant, noble, and delicate,” swung the heavy hoe with such vigor and speed that it left behind a dizzying afterimage.

Faced with the field overgrown with thick weeds, he even skipped the “weeding” process that others would consider essential.

Indeed.

It was probably like how the dirtier a room is, the more satisfying it feels after cleaning it.

As Oliver swiftly advanced, he couldn’t help but think with delight.

—Since the game-produced hoe treated all “fields” equally, it was truly the more desolate-looking land that brought the greatest sense of accomplishment when tilled.

Although he felt a bit rusty at the very beginning after a whole winter’s hiatus, the comfortable familiarity quickly returned entirely.

He hoed faster and faster, to the point where even the Laina people, who had been forced to grow accustomed to this sight, couldn’t help but pause their raking and stare at him in astonishment.

At this moment, in everyone’s eyes, that slender figure wielding the hoe stood as tall and imposing as an elite army that had never lost a battle.

—With an unstoppable, formidable momentum, he rapidly “carved” out a straight, barren, earth-brown “path” through the weed-infested wasteland.

---