Are You Defying My Orders?

Sigg Town had one Agricultural Officer, sixteen Stewards, and thirty guards.

Those Stewards could only understand and relay the most basic decrees. They had received little education themselves and possessed only rudimentary management skills.

The guards, meanwhile, were semi-professional personnel and the foundation of Sigg Town's stable order.

Romain believed Mol would not disappoint him.

So he rode back to the manor at ease, driving that flock of ignorant, bewildered children before him like Lambs.

Romain named this manor of his Origin Manor.

It took nearly twenty minutes to walk from Sigg Town to Origin Manor, but only a few minutes on a fine horse.

Before leaving that morning, Romain had told Bob to prepare an additional three hundred portions for lunch. He had also handed Bob command over all the Maids and male servants in the manor—this was only for the first day. Things would be easier afterward.

Aside from studying, these three hundred children could also shoulder most of Origin Manor's labor.

Those who did not understand could learn. Once they learned, they would understand. Those who refused to obey would be beaten until they did.

Romain considered himself far from harsh toward them.

This was the pioneering stage. Because of the spring plowing, nearly every available hand had already been assigned work.

He summoned the manor's two clerks. One was called Germann, and the other Hans.

They came from the City School in the Grand Duke Armor-Splitting Territory.

This world possessed basic educational institutions.

Not to mention the church's seminaries and monasteries.

The children of princes, dukes, and nobles acquired knowledge through Court Schools.

The knightly class also had its own educational system. However, most knights did not value cultural knowledge. These warriors only needed to be literate and able to understand orders—Green and Aaron had grown up beside Romain and learned through constant exposure, so both were capable of serving as civil officials, but they were special cases.

Lastly came merchants, country gentry, and other members of the middle class. They acquired knowledge through City Schools, mainly reading, writing, arithmetic, and commercial knowledge.

It could barely be considered half a vocational school.

The two clerks Romain had recruited came from such schools. Though they were commoners, they had grown up in relatively wealthy families.

They were each either the second son or an illegitimate son of some merchant or country gentry family. In the future, they could only support themselves and would receive no help from their families.

Romain had paid a considerable price to recruit these two clerks.

Developing a wilderness was an arduous undertaking.

Romain offered them 1.2 Gold Coins a year and paid three years of wages in advance, thus signing ten-year contracts with them.

This employment price was undoubtedly high, more than half again as much as the going rate.

Moreover, wages were only the main part of their income. They could also receive compensation in goods.

Even a War Knight with over a thousand mu of land earned only ten to twenty Gold Coins a year on average, including profits from war and plunder, and that was without counting daily expenses.

Being able to save one Gold Coin a year meant living quite well. Most knights without land struggled even to support themselves, unable to repair their equipment when it broke.

Romain said to them, "Listen, Germann, Hans. I need you to teach those children every day. Use the methods your teachers used on you. Be patient with them. Start with arithmetic, then literacy and writing..."

Germann suddenly said, "My Lord, I followed you to this land not to become a teacher."

Germann hoped to obtain a position equal to that of the Agricultural Officer, such as judicial officer or household officer, and then manage the manor.

Not lead a group of filthy farmers' children in word-guessing games.

"Do you feel the same way?" Romain noticed that the two were standing side by side, and turned his gaze toward Hans.

The somewhat thin young man nodded lightly. His grandfather had been a judicial officer under a great Lord, helping nobles draft laws, legally punish any farmers who violated them, and strengthen their authority.

Yet since coming to Romain's side, all they had done was conduct a population census.

That was nothing but a boring arithmetic game. They had no opportunity to display their abilities at all.

They came from the middle class, so they were eager to advance and obtain positions that could benefit their descendants. That was why they had accepted Romain's invitation and come to this place far removed from society.

Before they came, Romain had promised that they would work in a land flowing with milk and honey, and said their social standing would rise greatly in the future—he had practically designated them as the manor's future managers.

From another perspective, they believed that as people employed by a noble, they were elites from the city, wholly different from farmers' children.

Yet now Romain had kicked them straight into the mud, forcing them to mingle with the poor, with no hope of rising in class.

"So you intend to defy my orders?" Romain's voice turned cold.

Hans swallowed, took a deep breath, and, finding courage from nowhere, puffed out his chest. "We have the right not to carry out unreasonable orders. If Lord Romain insists, I will file suit with the Royal Court. The King's judicial authority is above your judicial authority as a Lord..."

Under Romain's increasingly terrifying gaze, his voice grew softer and softer. By the time all his protests had vanished, the light gathering in Romain's eyes had become unprecedentedly blazing, as if flames were burning within them. It carried a dreadful sharpness. Whenever Romain stared at either of them, the one being watched felt as though needles were pricking his back.

Romain said, "I hired you at a price above the market rate. Do not speak to me of any rights you have. Your pay is enough for me to order you to do these things."

Within those calm words, the two deeply sensed a quiet power, like the sea before a storm. Its surface was still, yet that omen alone made their legs tremble.

Even if they died in this godforsaken place, their families would not receive any news for three or five years.

"You signed the contracts, so you will work for me. You are to obey your master, are you not?"

Seeing the two nodding repeatedly in terror, Romain's expression softened slightly.

"Do not think too highly of yourselves. Do not overestimate my patience. And do not attempt to question my decisions, or I will execute you outright!"

Romain walked straight between them. As he passed, the final words he spoke seemed to have blood clinging between his teeth. This was no empty threat.

Romain arrived at Sigg Town.

He saw that the farmers collecting manure had returned at this time and were lining up to receive food.

Romain glanced at the pile of dung.

In one morning, they had likely gathered more than a dozen tons. More had yet to be transported over.

It included not only human waste, but also dung from cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, and more. A full-grown Draft Cattle could produce twenty to thirty jin of dung each day.

Once composted, this manure was highly effective at improving the soil.

But it was still far from enough. Romain needed at least one hundred tons of fertilizer to meet the most basic demand.

Before it decomposed, however, manure reeked to high heaven.

Romain was very satisfied with Mol's efficiency.

Mol could also handle many minor details that Romain had not arranged himself.

On the common land stood tableware, tables, chairs, and benches scavenged from the farmhouses of Sigg Town, all used collectively. Otherwise, there would have been no way to feed so many people at once. Behind them was a simple firepit piled from stones, with pottery pots still boiling atop it.

After dismounting, Romain walked over directly. As soon as he drew near, he smelled the heavy stench—the farmers who had spent all morning collecting dung were covered in the odor as well, making this open-air dining area resemble a public latrine.

But Romain's expression remained unchanged.

This was nothing. In a while, he would personally deal with that mountain of dung.

Wherever he passed, farmers kept yielding a broad path for him, their eyes filled with fear.

This newly appointed Lord had neither redistributed their land, nor said he would raise taxes, nor told them when they would begin planting.

That made them uneasy and deeply anxious. It was the best time to plow, and they could not afford to delay.

But Romain's attitude was firm. They had no choice for now but to wait and see.

Still, the quality of the lunch they were provided shocked them.

Could this be the legendary last meal before execution?

Under normal circumstances, this food would have been enough for their entire families to enjoy for a day when paired with other side dishes.