Chapter 99 – I Should Have Gone When They Offered (3)


    “Ugh! What the—?!”


    ude jumped back in surprise as Kaor charged at him without warning.


    He hadn’t expected him to actually attack.


    ‘There’s not a single sane person in this estate.’


    It wasn’t just Ghiin; even his subordinates werepletely out of their minds.


    Kaor’s sword flew at ude with enough force to sever one of his arms in a single blow.


    ng!


    But before the sword could reach him, Gillian’s axe intercepted it, blocking the strike.


    “What the hell! Old man, you’re not gonna move? I need to teach this bastard some manners! Or do you want a taste of my fist too?”


    “Don’t be ridiculous. Drawing your sword in front of the Lord—do you have a death wish?”


    “Oh, and using an axe is fine?”


    “It’s fine because I’m stopping you.”


    The two began to growl at each other.


    Belinda, covering her mouth with her hand, pretended to be shocked, though her eyes were clearlyughing.


    ude, watching the scene unfold, let out a hollowugh.


    They had already forgotten about him and were now bickering among themselves.


    “Enough.”


    Ghiin quietly uttered the word and threw a sword toward the two.


    Thud!


    Both of them simultaneously leapt back without a word.


    The sword buried itself deep into the spot where they had stood.


    “There are a lot of people here, aren’t there? If you want to fight, take it outside and do itter.”


    Despite reprimanding them, Ghiin couldn’t hide his smile.


    As the Lord, he had to maintain his authority, so he intervened, but in truth, he loved the current atmosphere.


    It reminded him of the mercenary group he had spent time with in his previous life.


    Ghiin nced over at ude.


    ‘It seems like his true nature is starting to show. In our past life, how many times did I punch him when he cursed me with his finger?’


    ude took great pride in his abilities.


    As much as he was confident in his skills, he was also reckless with his words.


    He had shed with the foul-tempered and crude mercenaries countless times.


    ‘Ah, those were good times.’


    ude used to provoke the mercenaries with his snide remarks, and people like Kaor, who couldn’t stand it, would charge at him.


    Soon enough, other members of the group would join in, escting into a brawl, and before long, they’d be downing drinks together as if nothing had happened.


    Ghiin used to watch the chaos from the back,ughing and drinking. Sometimes, when his body itched for action, he would jump into the fray himself.


    There was no sense of order or decorum, but back then, it was the only time he couldugh freely without a care in the world.


    ‘But I suppose things can’t be like that anymore.’


    Feeling a tinge of bitterness, Ghiin shook his head.


    While he reminisced in silence, the officials who worked in the Fenris estate were not as rxed.


    ‘What… What is this madness? Drawing swords and fighting in front of the Lord?!’


    ‘Are all his subordinates mercenaries? How utterly vulgar.’


    ‘And the Lord justughs it off? He must be mad too!’


    The officials, who had always lived bound by rigid etiquette, couldn’tprehend the free-spirited attitude that Ghiin and his subordinates disyed.


    The previous lord had squeezed the life out of the estate’s residents, but at least he had maintained a certain level of decorum.


    The other retainers had engaged in polite verbal disputes when dealing with the lord. No one had ever acted so disgracefully as these people.


    ‘It’s like a gang of bandits has taken over. The lord is no better than a mercenary scum.’


    ‘This estate is truly finished now.’


    They all bowed their heads and pretended not to see anything, sweat dripping down their faces.


    No one had the courage to bring up etiquette to a lord who had already decapitated several people.


    Ghiin misunderstood the reason for the officials’ unease and calmly continued speaking.


    “I understand your concern about entrusting so many responsibilities to someone whose abilities haven’t been fully proven yet. But he’ll do just fine, so there’s no need to worry. Right, ude?”


    “Ugh…”


    ude stood up, dusting off his pants, and nced around.


    Everyone in the hall was sneaking nces at him, pretending not to.


    Feeling overwhelmed, he squeezed his eyes shut.


    Where had it all gone wrong?


    Ghiin had certainly said something impressive.


    — Come to the Fenris Estate of Ritania. I’ll give you wings so you can fully showcase your abilities.


    He had indeed given him wings—just that they were a bit too heavy.


    ‘Damn it, there’s no backing out now.’


    He had already been called a gambling addict, a fool, even someone whose mind had rotted. Backing out at this point would only make him look ridiculous.


    It was true he owed Ghiin a debt for life, so all he could do now was try his hardest.


    With a miserable look, ude lowered his head.


    “I’ll… do my best…”


    For now, there wasn’t much he could do, but as time passed, he figured he could slowly offload some of the work and manage somehow.


    Seeing this, Ghiin smiled and added a final remark.


    “Right, it seems like a lot of work now, but it’s only because it’s the beginning. You can definitely handle it.”


    He meant it sincerely.


    In their past life, ude had handled this level of workload daily. At times, he’d even taken on more difficult tasks.


    The estate was in such disarray that everything needed to be meticulously reviewed and nurtured. There weren’t many people who could fill in the details of therger n Ghiin had in mind, or make quick decisions to handle unexpected situations on their own.


    “You’ve got the ability, don’t you? Isn’t that right?”


    ude seemed a bit overwhelmed at the moment, but Ghiin was sure he’d adapt soon enough.


    With a rxed smile, Ghiin looked at ude.


    In the end, ude let out a deep sigh and nodded.


    With the lord saying all this, half-hearted work would just wound his pride.


    “Well, I’ll give it a shot, and if it bes too much, I’ll let you know.”


    “Good. Do you need anything else?”


    “No. Please, just stay still. Don’t try to pile on anything else.”


    ude frantically waved his hands, looking horrified. Ghiin, meanwhile, turned to the estate’s existing administrator to inquire about the estate’s current condition.


    “How many knights are left?”


    “Most of them died during the war, and the few who survived have left the estate.”


    Those who were freed after their sworn lord’s death had no reason to remain in such a barren estate.


    It was unfortunate, but Ghiin had already anticipated this, so he simply nodded without saying much.


    “What about the soldiers?”


    “Most of them were dragged off to war. Only thirty-two remain.”


    Ghiin pondered for a moment before letting out a sigh.


    “We’re severelycking in manpower, so I’ll appoint someone to lead the militaryter. Belinda, you’ll take the position of head steward and manage the servants. As for a tutor… I think it’s best to drop that role for now.”


    “Understood.”


    Belinda responded with a bright smile.


    ‘It’s a bit disappointing to stop teaching, but managing those who serve the lord is important too.’


    Ghiin also assigned Gillian and Kaor to continue managing and training the mercenaries for the time being.


    He had something else in mind for themter.


    After tending to his close subordinates, Ghiin turned to ude.


    “Then, let’s get started right away.”


    “What? Already? But I haven’t even gotten a grasp of the estate’s situation yet.”


    “You can figure it out as you work.”


    “But… don’t I need to know something before I start…?”


    Before ude could say anything more, Ghiin gave his orders.


    “Start with a poption survey. Since the estate has been piged for so long, many of the people will have fled to the mountains as sh-and-burn farmers. Find every single one of them and bring them back to the viges.”


    “Ah, okay…”


    “The estate’s people are starving, so we need to import food inrge quantities. Prepare enough to feed them for at least six months.”


    “But we won’t know how much is needed for six months until the survey isplete… How much should I buy?”


    “That’s for you to figure out.”


    “Me?”


    “Who else, me?”


    “…….”


    With Ghiin speaking like that, ude couldn’t argue. Administrative tasks were his responsibility now.


    Ghiin’s role was only to provide the overall direction.


    Since these were all things that needed to be done eventually, ude sighed and nodded in agreement.


    But it didn’t stop there.


    Orders continued to pour out of Ghiin’s mouth like a flood.


    “We also need to improve the food supply. Assess the farnd and see if we can secure more.”


    “Identify the outdated facilities and prioritize which needs repairs first…”


    “Reinforce the walls and gates. From what I saw on the way in, they’re aplete mess. Start with the soldiers’ ess routes…”


    “Repair the roads that connect the towns and viges within the estate. Extend them to the Forest of Beasts near Ferdium…”


    “Take stock of the military supplies and rece any worn-out equipment…”


    “Determine how many functioning wells we have, and we’ll build waterways. Fill the reservoirs…”


    “We also need to improve the estate’s sanitation. Redo all the toilets and check the drainage. Set specific standards for the pits and ensure they’re only built in designated areas…”


    “Construct warehouses and secure Runestones, medicinal herbs, minerals, and building materials…”


    “And do this… and that…”


    As the list of tasks grew endlessly, ude’s face turned pale.


    The other administrators who were listening didn’t fare much better.


    Fearing that the workload might spill over onto them, they kept their heads down.


    Ghiin was essentially ordering them to overhaul the entire estate from top to bottom.


    And all of this was being given to ude alone.


    Ghiin showed no signs of stopping his barrage of tasks. Acting out of sheer survival instinct, ude abruptly raised his hand, interrupting the lord.


    Better to get hit now than to be crushed by all that work!


    “This is way too much for me to handle alone!”


    Ghiin raised an eyebrow, bewildered.


    “I gave you authority over personnel, didn’t I? Hire people and delegate.”


    “Oh.”


    ude looked around.


    Moments ago, everyone had been looking at him as if he were trash, but now, they were all avoiding his gaze.


    He randomly pointed to someone and asked, “What’s your job?”


    “I-I just manage the warhorses…”


    “Oh, really? Then you will be able to handle the military supplies too! Come work with—”


    “I-I’m suffering from an illness… I was just about to retire… cough, cough!”


    ude shook his head as he scanned the others.


    Ghiin had told him to hire the people he needed, but there wasn’t anyone to hire.


    The higher-ranking officials had already been executed for their crimes of participating in the war.


    As for the lower-ranking ones, there was no point in promoting them into roles they couldn’t handle. Giving them responsibilities they didn’t understand wouldn’t help.


    And besides, the positions they vacated would still need to be filled by someone else anyway.


    ‘Well, if there had beenpetent people here, they wouldn’t have dragged me all the way to this ce!’


    ude had expected there to be a lot of work when Ghiin piled on the titles.


    But this was beyond his wildest imagination.


    Even the chancellor of a kingdom wouldn’t be able to handle the tasks Ghiin had assigned.


    Finally, ude couldn’t hold it in anymore and shouted in frustration.


    “Damn it! You’re leaving everything to me! I can’t do this!”


    Ghiin smiled warmly and responded.


    “Oh,e on. Have you tried? You’ll be fine. Just try it first, thenin.”


    “There are way too many tasks that need to be done all at the same time! Give them to me one at a time! I’m only human!”


    “No, we don’t have that kind of time.”


    Ghiin cut him off firmly.


    With the Delfine Duchy focusing on the royal family, he needed to strengthen his power as quickly as possible.


    However, ude, not knowing the underlying urgency, lost thest of his motivation to even try.


    “I can’t either! I don’t want to die buried in work! If you’re going to kill me, just behead me and make it quick!”


    ude shouted with bravado. Ghiin squinted at him before gesturing toward Kaor.


    Kaor, clearly excited, started twirling his sword around.


    “W-wait! You’re seriously going to behead me?!”


    ude began to stumble backward, panic setting in. He frantically nced around for help, but the officials averted their eyes, while the mercenaries even blocked his escape routes.


    ‘He’s not kidding! Is this guy even human?’


    ude had already marveled at how insane Ghiin was several times, but this was beyond madness.


    To owe a debt to someone like this—it was as if his life was already over.


    He was destined to die in this wretched estate, ving away until the end.


    Thud!


    That thought triggered something to snap inside ude’s mind.


    ‘This estate is hopeless. My life is ruined.’


    Confronted with the crushing reality, ude fainted on the spot.