No More Pretending

No More Pretending

Lynn had never been a particularly patient man.

If he wanted something, he wanted it immediately.

If he wanted to do something, he acted on it at once.

It was precisely this trait that had allowed him to rise from a lowly mercenary to the leader of horse bandits, then make a glorious transformation into the White Bear Baron.

But pregnancy—or rather, having a child—was far more complicated.

It was not something that could be done the instant one wanted it.

Even if Lynn was an infallible marksman and got Yagna pregnant tonight,

the child would not be born until next year.

Before discovering that Salt Mine, Lynn had been willing to give Yagna time to consider.

After all, he had not been certain when he would possess the strength to annex Shallow Beach Territory.

Besides, Yagna was the daughter of a noble. There was no harm in leaving her a little dignity.

But with the discovery of the Salt Mine, Lynn was certain that Shallow Beach Territory would be his by next year at the latest.

To ensure everything was legitimate, to silence public opinion, and especially to keep the Marsh Duke's elite forces from finding fault, Yagna had to appear in Shallow Beach Territory as a pregnant woman.

And it would be best if she gave birth to a boy.

Of course, it would not really matter if it was not a boy. He could simply find a boy of the same age and pass him off as hers.

In short, when Lynn took Shallow Beach Territory, the former Baron of Shallow Beach Territory's daughter had to appear with a bulging belly.

Everything had to fit perfectly, or all their efforts would come to nothing.

As for Yagna's personal opinion, Lynn did not care.

He had already agreed to avenge her. What more did she want?

That was how things worked in this era. Anything could be weighed and traded, including one's body and will. If she did not like it, then she should not play.

Besides, Yagna had been the one to propose this arrangement in the first place. Lynn was merely making a few minor adjustments to the terms.

"Sorry, I... I still haven't decided. Sorry."

Faced with Lynn's pressing question, Yagna hesitated again, like a fawn that had wandered into the forest and completely lost its way.

In truth, she did not know why she was still hesitating.

The only path before her was clear, while endless darkness lay behind her.

She simply could not break through the barrier in her heart and place that title she despised upon herself.

Lynn pushed back his chair and rose. His expression remained calm, but a threat lurked in his voice. "Before Spring Planting begins, I want a clear answer from you. Become my woman, and I will avenge you. Or leave Castle on your own."

He hated uncertainty, and he did not like keeping useless people around.

The next morning, Lynn still rose early. The exhaustion from eight days of rushing through the forest had completely vanished.

A young body tempered by hardship truly was useful. One night's sleep was enough to bring him back to full strength.

As he ate breakfast with his brothers, Old Albert arrived at Castle right on time again.

"My lord."

Compared to Yagna, who wore a bitter face all day, Old Albert was clearly far more experienced.

Before his lord, he could always put on a bright, ingratiating smile.

And he had been tactful enough not to appear last night, waiting until morning before coming to visit. After breakfast, Lynn brought Old Albert into the study and took out the simple map he had hastily drawn the night before from a drawer.

"I found a Peat Mine in the forest. This stuff can perfectly replace Compost and solve the shortage of Compost in the Territory System. Its only drawback is that the deposit is twenty kilometers from the territory, with forest and swamp all along the way. It will be difficult to transport it back without building a road."

Lynn's map-drawing skills were extremely crude, but crude had its advantages—at least it was easy to understand.

Old Albert did not actually know what Peat looked like, but if his lord said it could replace Compost, then it could definitely replace Compost.

He stared intently at the map for a moment, then pointed at it and replied slowly,

"My lord, if we travel entirely by land, we would indeed need to build a twenty-kilometer road through the forest.

But this Peat Mine appears to be only four or five kilometers from the White River. If we use the waterway, we can save a great deal of labor. We would only need to build a few kilometers of road, along with a simple dock."

Old Albert oversaw the levying of Corvée labor throughout the territory.

Based on his past experience, if every able-bodied young man in the territory were conscripted, they could probably build a simple twenty-kilometer dirt road in one summer.

It was possible, but unnecessary.

The serfs of this era were generally in poor health. Excessive physical labor could kill them.

Whether it was the hot, rainy summer or the bitterly cold winter, neither season was truly suitable for levying Corvée labor.

Unfortunately, spring and autumn were the seasons for planting and harvesting. They could not ask the serfs to abandon their crops to perform Corvée labor.

There was only a small chance of dying from Corvée labor, but a failed harvest meant certain death.

"Your suggestion is good, but waterways have their own shortcomings. What about the dry season and the frozen season? So we need to build the dock, but we also need to build a road through the forest."

Lynn had originally planned to build a road shaped like the number seven, connecting White Bear Territory, the Peat Mine, and the Salt Mine to the northwest. The total length would have exceeded fifty kilometers.

After hearing Old Albert's analysis, he changed the plan into a T shape, increasing the total road length to nearly sixty kilometers.

Water transport was more convenient for bulk cargo, but if either mine came under attack, land routes would provide faster support.

Furthermore, the White River had a dry season and a long frozen season. Water transport carried too much uncertainty.

Old Albert nodded repeatedly. "You are right, but that will make the project much larger. And building roads in the forest during summer will bring many problems, such as mosquitoes, swamps, and endless massive tree roots. We may even face harassment from the Wild People."

Old Albert did not actually want to build this road.

If there was not enough Compost, the fields would simply produce a little less.

But road construction would consume immense manpower and resources, and it would cause serf casualties.

Still, he did not directly object. Instead, he laid out every problem they might encounter and let Lynn make the decision himself.

White Bear Territory was, after all, the lord's private property. It was not his place, as a mere steward, to speak out of turn.

"No matter how many difficulties there are, this road must be built. Begin work immediately after spring sowing ends. Before autumn arrives, I want to see a straight road leading directly to the Peat Mine."

Lynn did not care about any of that. He gave a firm order.

Building the road to the Peat Mine was only the beginning. There were still more than thirty kilometers of road to build afterward, but he had no intention of revealing the Salt Mine to Old Albert yet.

"Everything shall be as you wish, my lord."

What else could Old Albert say besides accept the order?

He could only pray that fewer people would die during this massive project.

Old Albert had come to understand it as well. Lords were all the same at heart. In their eyes, serfs were nothing more than numbers. The new lord was no longer even pretending.

Thanks to Dizhe Baye, Nantong Town Fierce Man Zhazha Lei, Bloodsea Eagle Yang, Reading Books for a Lifetime, and Thousand-Color Memories for their monthly ticket support!

(End of Chapter)