Chapter 167

Duke Architel, or rather… now Count Architel, I, Marcel, a mere serf from the village of Poitiers, which is one of the lands of the esteemed lord, was dragged out to the plaza with the remaining villagers.

Since we didn’t actively resist, the commander or soldiers wouldn’t likely engage in a massacre unless they were total madmen.

After all, as the village head said, even if the high-ranking lords of the army win the war and divide the land, if there are no lowly beings like us to work the land, they won’t be able to collect taxes…

So, unless the esteemed ones or the soldiers have a hobby of killing humble folks like us, there shouldn’t be any murder. I hope that’s the case…

If I die, the right to cultivate that has been given to my family will be revoked, and in an already difficult situation to survive, Sophia and my children like rabbits will all end up on the streets.

Then my wife will have to go sell herself in the city, and the rest of the children will either starve to death or become bandits…

As I trembled in fear, Marco, who was standing next to me, spoke in a voice barely audible to the soldiers watching us.

“Damn it, if I knew it would be like this, I should have followed that guy from the village of Linz when he ran away. Shit… seeing how they’ve gathered us like this, I might end up dead…”

“Don’t say such unlucky things. And what use would it be for the esteemed ones to kill us? Just in case, the village head sent the women to a remote cave… Surely, they’ll just raid the barley hidden for spring planting and take food or things that could be used as weapons. Even if we’re unlucky enough to be killed, I can save my wife and children.”

Hearing my words, Marco sighed and replied.

“Well, if we were to run away from here, we’d have to run to the Marquisate of Linz next door. But I heard from Rick, who got a job in the upper echelon, that the situation there is messier than here. Even if we do escape, who knows if we’d be able to get land to cultivate…”

“Being a bandit isn’t something just anyone can do…”

While we were having this idle talk, the soldiers watching us shouted as they turned to the front of the village plaza.

“Lieutenant Yabor has come to convey your fate! Everyone, listen carefully!”

Moments later, unlike the shabby soldiers, a knight appeared from a narrow alley leading to the village plaza, adorned in a splendid cloak and armor.

And that knight wore armor engraved with the crest of the Croilet family, which I had seen during the last battle at the Waine Plains.

Damn it, of all people, why did the soldiers under that terrifying gray reaper who was as scary as a demon come here…

The horrors that unfolded at the Waine Plains crossed my mind, and my legs began to tremble.

No, if I let my guard down even a little, I might soil myself.

After a while, the knight took out a leather scroll from his bosom and began to read.

“Listen, serfs of the village of Marcel! His Excellency, Duke Joseph von Orleans of the great Eraline Empire, and commander of the Eastern Expeditionary Force, has shown you mercy and forbidden any cowardly acts such as plundering, rape, murder, and theft against the village. Furthermore, upon hearing that the circumstances of the serfs are difficult… Normally, in exchange for preserving your lives and accepting you as subjects of our Empire, all food would be requisitioned, but upon learning of your hardships, if there is surplus food in the village, he has decided to purchase it with money. Therefore, all serfs must cooperate with us.”

As the knight finished reading the unexpectedly generous terms, the villagers stood in stunned silence, unable to believe what they had just heard.

They simply stared blankly at each other, wearing expressions that questioned whether we had misheard.

“Are you daring to not believe the words of His Excellency the Duke? Do you not trust me, a vassal of the Croilet Marquis family? You lowly serfs!”

At the knight’s urging, the village head was the first to regain his composure, kneeling down to speak.

“No, no. We humble folks were so astonished by such generous words… that we failed to express our gratitude. Please forgive us.”

“Having only lived among nobles like Count Architel and the dishonorable Marquis of Romania beside him, it must have been difficult to accept such a benevolent measure… Very well, I will forgive you this time.”

“Oh, thank you, kind knight… Then we will humbly offer food in return for your protection.”

Now, we only barely hidden the barley seeds we planned to sow in spring.

Even so, offering them our seeds means we promise to not go against the military that holds our lives in their hands.

It’s pitiful that it has come to this, but on the other hand, there’s relief in knowing I will still be able to see my family alive.

However, the knight called lieutenant spoke with an irritated face.

“There are mountains of other villages we need to check before this one! And I know full well that your situation as future subjects of the Empire is dire. Therefore, we have been instructed to receive no banquets or hospitality. Dammit…”

As the knight left us, filled with irritation, he ordered in a tired voice.

“Sergeant Plot! Find out if there is any food we can purchase in this village.”

“Yes, Lieutenant Yabor. Everyone disperse and buy food from the serfs at a fair price! If caught taking bribes or threatening them, it will be execution according to military law!! And absolutely do not touch the seeds meant for spring planting! If caught, you will die immediately!”

A few hours later, soldiers partnered into pairs searched all the houses in the village to see if there was any surplus food and reported back to the knight.

“Occasionally, there were some barley seeds and a bit of wheat secretly hidden for spring planting found… but judging by the fact they were all unprocessed, it seems they were only saved for use as seeds for the next harvest.”

“I’m going crazy. But, the military order is absolute.”

“Yes, understood. I will prepare to return to the main camp with the soldiers.”

“Do that. Ah… We’ll leave the hardtack here except for the food needed until we return to the main camp. It’ll probably mold soon anyway.”

Given that they’ll definitely die if they also take away the seeds meant for planting, it was hidden… and yet, finding that they considered it merely as seeds for planting is quite surprising.

Normally, in another army, they wouldn’t kill those who hid the grains, but they would undoubtedly torture them to grab all the seeds hidden under the storeroom…

Who exactly commands this army? No, who is this Duke Orleans that shows such mercy…

Even more surprising is that the soldiers who had led an invincible army that could easily slaughter us were this generous?

The nobles I had encountered throughout my life showed a completely different demeanor from them, and I couldn’t comprehend it at all.

Eventually, they left, saying they’d thrown away the ‘hardtack’ that resembled hard clumps of dirt.

Hungry, we brought a knife used to slice bread to share even that… but it didn’t cut at all, and we ultimately shattered it with an axe and hammer.

The result of breaking it was not rotten inside, but rather, small brown bugs, like beans, crawled madly around inside.

That sight seemed like an army made up of bugs wearing tattered brown cloth.

The bugs too seemed startled, quickly escaping from the hardtack, but upon seeing them, we couldn’t conceal our shock.

“Is this bread…? And for something said to be rotting, the outside and inside are perfectly fine… Aaaah!! Bugs!!”

“Boil it and they’ll all die, you lunatic! We must eat this to survive…”

“Right, anyway, we got this from that Croilet guy, but even barley porridge or wheat porridge often has bugs in it!! Bring some water!”

And we soon boiled water, adding the hardtack given by the Croilet’s army to make a porridge-like meal.

Fortunately, in the porridge, only the taste of pure flour was felt, not the taste of bugs.

Thus, we managed to alleviate our hunger by making porridge out of the bread left by the soldiers.

As a side note, a few days later, I heard stories from other villages…

Although the soldiers from other noble factions hadn’t mistreated those they had passed through, I heard there wasn’t a single unit that left food behind as we did…

The amount of hardtack left might just barely last us until the barley harvest season if we ration it properly, so the worry of starving to death has lessened.

Thus, my fellow villagers and I, while filling our hungry bellies, swallowed the porridge with growing animosity toward the Croilet soldiers who had committed massacre at the Waine Plains.

Because our dead family and friends wouldn’t come back, what we now needed was food to survive until the barley harvest, not enmity.

Slowly, instead of hostility, gratitude towards the benefactor who saved us from starvation began to build up.

**

Croilet Marquisate, Deputy Commander’s Tent.

“Yes, you’ve worked hard. In our house, none of the ones who were trained have plundered, and while some of the smaller units from other houses did engage in plundering, they were all executed or severely punished by the Duke, who wants to make a bloodless entry… Naturally, the Duke must have enforced this out in front of the village gathering, right?”

“Yes, Your Excellency. Thanks to that, the reputation of His Excellency Duke Orleans and the other nobles has increased significantly, and the serfs have started to actively cooperate.”

“Very good, Captain Short. Given the current momentum, we should be able to safely conquer the Count Architel’s territory in about two weeks.”

Of course, both the Duke and I know this is a scheme to lure them deeper by giving up the Count Architel territory they can’t protect anyway.

The actual goal of this expedition is to conquer the Marquisate of Simon, so while we know that, we have no choice but to fall for their trick…

“Furthermore, I received intelligence that His Excellency Duke Orleans is angry that we carried out unapproved aid for them. It seems he will complain about the large amount of hardtack left in the Count’s territory; what should we do?”

“In preparation for this, didn’t we assign one of our logistics officers as that ‘guy caught trying to embezzle a large amount of military supplies months ago but I instructed to overlook’? Given the prior crime alone, he should have faced property confiscation and execution by wheel, so it wouldn’t be unjust to pin the blame of accidentally providing spoiled hardtack on him. Since there’s already a charge against him, we’ll execute him for mismanagement of supplies, and his family will not be held accountable. His son is hardworking and capable, unlike his father.”

“Wise thinking. And Your Excellency… when our expedition force enters the territory of Count Iris in a month, we have received orders to transport food for serfs suffering from hunger in Count Architel’s territory.”

If this is arranged, then unless Duke Orleans miraculously succeeds in perfectly capturing Simon…

The groundwork has been laid for me to safely absorb the territory of Count Iris.

Then, I must lead this war in the manner I desire and take along a Count’s territory as a gift for my son, Luke, whom Irina gave birth to…

Since upon my retirement, all lands I have captured will be inherited by my son.

For now, he has just started to walk and is already calling me ‘dad’; that cute little kid will grow into an adult soon.

Since I acquired Windheim at the age of 15, I must let him gain experience ruling over a Count’s territory at the age of 15 so that he can maintain and develop the lands safely even after I retire.