Chapter 51: We Dig Together (1)

“Haha. Son, what brings you here at such an early hour?”

They were eating breakfast as usual. There was nothing particularly special about the menu either. A loaf of whole-wheat bread and a chunk of homemade sausage. A tiny portion of salad, a fried egg, and a chunk of goat cheese.

The baron and baroness were having a modest breakfast for a noble. They were looking at him, all smiles. But their smiles were a bit different from usual. They were beaming, but there was a shadow overcast on their faces. If their smiles were composed of 100 percent happiness on any other day, right now, they were composed of 90 percent happiness and 10 percent pain.

Lloyd spotted that tiny but significant difference. Without beating around the bush, he went straight to the point.

“Are you,” Lloyd asked, “suffering from a headache?”

“Huh?” The baron flinched.

Surprise washed over him. His gaze lingered, wondering how Lloyd had found out.

The baron let out a soft laugh and answered, “Haha. How did you know that? My headache has been bothering me since early morning. Isn’t that so, my love?”

“Yes. Maybe we need to change our pillow, seeing as how we both have a headache.”

“Hmm…I have a feeling the problem isn’t just our pillow,” the baron said seriously.

“Then what do you think is causing it?”

“Perhaps,” the baron said, “it is because we are a couple.”

“Are you saying that couples become like one another?”

“Haha, why, I certainly am. How do you understand me so well? We get sick at the same time because I think about you, and you care for me.”

“My, dear, you embarrass me,” said the baroness, her cheeks growing red.

Even in sickness, the baron and baroness showered—no, bombarded—each other with love and affection.

Looking at them, Lloyd couldn’t help but smile wryly. The conversation made one thing clear for Lloyd.

Looks like all the people in the estate somehow got a headache.

Lloyd had suffered from a massive headache since he woke up that morning. At first, he thought he was the only one. However, that wasn’t the case. Javier had it, and so did the maid who brought in lunch. The three of them had the same symptoms. A severe, throbbing pain on both sides of their temple.

That’s when the possibility hit Lloyd that there was something more to this. He told himself that this may not be a simple headache. So he skipped his breakfast and came to this place. On the way to meet the baron and baroness, Lloyd checked on the health of the maids and servants he met.

Every single one of them was frowning. Lloyd stopped them and asked if their heads ached.

Everyone gave the same answer. They had a crushing headache ever since they woke up this morning. Now, the baron and the baroness were showing the same symptoms.

There is something behind this.

This situation, where everyone in the house was suffering from the same headache… something was definitely wrong. But Lloyd smiled instead.

“Haha, all right. Please excuse me.”

“Hmm? Leaving so soon?”

“Yes. I was just stopping by. I still have a lot of things to get done,” Lloyd said.

“Don’t overwork yourself. Make sure to take breaks.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Lloyd left as the baroness walked out with him. Even then, he didn’t remove the beaming smile on his face. He didn’t feel it was necessary yet to inform them about the current situation. It was too early to report to them.

Right now, nothing would change even if he told them about the headache. It’s not like they can give me the solution.

Not only wouldn’t they be able to come up with any solutions right now. The moment he shared the current situation with them, all hell would break loose, and everything would descend into chaos.

First, he needed to determine the cause.

He had to know the cause to find a solution. He would tell the baron and baroness afterward.

Thinking that, Lloyd walked out to the hallway.

Javier, who was waiting outside, looked at Lloyd with a sharp gaze.

“How are they both?”

“It’s just as we suspected. The same.”

“Are they suffering from a headache as well?” Javier asked.

“Yes.”

Javier’s expression became darkened.

Lloyd tapped his shoulder.

“Don’t droop your shoulders like a sad puppy.”

“Excuse me? I am not a puppy…”

“Let’s go. We have a lot to do.”

“Yes.”

Lloyd led the way, the two exiting the estate. It was early morning, and the weather was getting ready for fall. They walked down along the paved road that led downtown. The place bustled with people as it had the biggest traffic in the fiefdom. A farmer passed by them to do his morning chores. A woman hauled the goat milk she had milked early in the morning.

A young boy chopped down the firewood for the day. A lively morning view stretched in front of Lloyd and Javier.

However, aside from this, there was a commonality in all of them. A slight frown on their faces.

Hmm…

Lloyd frowned, his forehead wrinkling. They were clearly enduring throbbing headaches.

Lloyd walked closer to a farmer working in the field.

“Hey there, mighty fine morning to you.”

“Oh! Young Master Lloyd?”

The farmer stopped for a moment when he realized who it was. His face instantly lit up. Grabbing Lloyd’s hand right away, the man beamed and said,

“Pray, what brings you here so early in the morning, Young Master? How have you been?”

“How have you been? Lloyd retorted. “We met yesterday. We signed the contract for the reclaimed Maritz Wetland.”

“Oh, yes, we did. Right.”

“So, will you please let go of my hands? Thank you for greeting me, but I’m a bit overwhelmed.”

“Oh? Ah! Whoopsie-daisy!” The farmer jerked his hand away.

Lloyd looked at the farmer with a loaded gaze.

“By the way, do you have any complaints against me?”

“Excuse me? Oh my… Why… I don’t.”

“Then, why are you smiling and frowning at the same time?”

“What? Me?” The farmer’s eyes widened.

“Yes.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah, I am very serious.”

“My goodness…It’s just that this terrible headache has been bugging me all morning…I am sorry, Young Master.”

“You’ve had a headache all morning?”

“Yes.” The farmer nodded.

“It’s not just me. My wife and kids, too. Everyone started complaining as soon as they woke up about a headache. But what can we do? It’s no wonder I had a nightmare last night.”

“Aha, you think it has something to do with your nightmares?”

“Yes. I am thinking of praying tonight before going to sleep.”

“Good. Make sure you do that,” assured Lloyd.

“Yes, Young Master. Please excuse me now. I should go.”

“Alright. Hang in there.”

“Yes!” The farmer bowed down before hurrying away.

Lloyd smiled and waved at the farmer, but his expression turned icy a second later. Lloyd turned to Javier.

“It must be the same thing, don’t you think?”

“Yes, Young Master. It appears so.”

Javier’s face was serious as well.

“Since it’s not just the farmer but the entire family too, I presume…”

“The same symptom is being experienced not just by the people in the estate but also by the people in the fiefdom.”

Something was definitely wrong.

Even after that, Lloyd and Javier went to meet more people. Lloyd carefully framed his questions so as not to arouse suspicion or fear. The investigation led to one conclusion: everyone was suffering from the same condition. The same headache. That is, everyone in the fiefdom showed the same symptoms. Both Lloyd and Javier’s expressions grew grave.

“This is serious. What do you think is the cause?”

“An infectious disease?” Javier speculated.

“Hmm, perhaps. Or it could be something environmental.”

“By environmental, you mean…”

“The only environmental factors that could affect the whole fiefdom would be air or water.”

Lloyd had already been considering the possibility that something in the environment was responsible. He was right to speculate so. The two of them became convinced when they heard from a shepherd boy.

“Yes, my head hurts. But that is not the problem,” the shepherd boy grunted.

“What do you mean by that?” Lloyd asked back.

The boy frowned as if he didn’t know how to explain himself. “My peeps haven’t been drinking water since yesterday.”

“Peeps?”

“Sheep and dogs.”

“Aha, your animals refuse to drink water?” asked Lloyd.

“Yes, but I don’t know why. They have been like that since yesterday. I tried forcing them, but they kept turning away.”

“Is that so…? That happens with not just one or two animals but every single one of them?”

“Yes, and it’s driving me nuts. What’s their problem? My goodness,” the boy huffed.

“Okay, I get it now. Thank you.”

“What?” The shepherd boy cocked his head to the side.

Lloyd left the boy and hurried his steps. Walking next to Javier, Lloyd drew in a slow breath.

“Whew. I found it.”

“The cause, Young Master?”

“Yeah, seriously, that viscount’s a bastard, really!”

“Excuse me?”

“I mean Viscount Lacona. That man with a goatee who demanded half of the Maritz wetland because he used to rule the southern part of it.”

Lloyd gritted his teeth as he turned back to return home.

“This is his doing.”

“What makes you presume so?”

“Presume, my foot. It’s obviously him with this much evidence,” Lloyd snorted.

He had learned of this information while reading The Knight of Blood and Iron. Remembering what he learned from the book, he began to speak what he deduced out loud.

“Let me ask you one thing. What was the specialty of the Lacona viscounty?” asked Lloyd.

“Uhm, I believe it’s their beautifully dyed fabrics.”

“That’s right. The fabric possesses a deep, eye-catching color, which doesn’t get washed away easily. But how does the viscounty dye their special fabric?”

“I think I heard it used the Ladona berry.”

“Correct. More precisely, they concentrate the juice of the Ladona berries to dye the fabric.”

“But what does that have anything…”

“Those berries. They induce headaches as they are toxic. The one we are all experiencing at the moment.”

Javier’s eyes widened slightly.

Lloyd continued to explain. “And the Prona River that crosses the fiefdom from north to south. You know how this river passes the viscounty from the south to flow into our fiefdom, right?”

“Yes.”

“There is our answer. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Yes, though I hate to believe it…” Javier trailed.

“There’s no other explanation. The dye workshop uses the Ladona berries, and they dumped the wastewater into the Prona River.”

“Do you mean on purpose, Young Master?”

“Yes.”

“But why…?”

“To threaten us. And what’s more, this threat is extremely effective. No other fiefdom sits to the north of our fiefdom, where the water passes by. It’s just a rugged valley. So by the time the water reaches other fiefdoms far away from here, the toxins are diluted already. This means that we’re the only ones who are directly impacted. So first, we need to head back to the estate as soon as possible.”

Lloyd hurried his steps. Was he hurrying to inform the baron? No. He hurried, assuming that someone sent by the viscount had already arrived at the estate, should his speculation be right.

And his hunches were never wrong in times like these.

So Lloyd speed walked back to the estate.

At the same time in the baron’s office. The situation was unfolding exactly as Lloyd predicted.

There was a visitor who had come to see the baron. It was a knight sent by Viscount Lacona. He was not large but had a muscular build. stable posture and sharp eyes. It was Sir Curno. The senior knight of the viscounty, the guy who blabbered his mouth on behalf of the viscount when they came looking for Lloyd the last time. Sir Curno was arrogantly flapping his lips again, just like before, but at the baron this time.

“My master, the viscount, demands only one thing. It is for you to return half of the Maritz Wetland, which your family has developed without our permission, to the viscounty.”

The baron grimaced. “Without your permission? Nonsense. I imagine my son explained it to you the other day. The Maritz Wetland was abandoned for several generations, and we have especially used our funds and workers to renovate it. In that case, the developer gets to own the land by law. Does this still not make sense to you?”

“The viscount does not care much to understand it. Therefore, he ordered us to dispose of the concentrated juice of the Ladona berries from the dye workshop into the river.”

“What…?”

“It is just as I said. Have you not been suffering from a splitting headache since this morning? I think this clearly sends the viscount’s message.

“What is that supposed…”

“Listen carefully. I will spell it out for you. The viscount declared that he would not stop dumping the Ladona berry concentration until you forfeited half of the Maritz Wetland. I am sure the baron must know very well, given your status. What side effects the toxins from the Ladona berry can cause, that is.”

“What do you say? Are you starting to think about giving us half the land?”

“Sir Curno. Let me ask you one question. Could you possibly be blackmailing us right now?”

“Yes.” Sir Curno nodded explicitly.

The baron became speechless and a second later, he gritted his teeth and said, “This is such a pathetic threat. It appears that your master has no fear of the law. Did you think that this would make us succumb and give you half of the land my son has worked so hard to restore?”

“You will have to eventually,” the knight said coolly.

“I shall file a complaint to the Royal Court before that happens.”

“By all means.”

“What?”

“Do it, I said.” A sneer escaped from Sir Curno. “You can sue us. Fine, it is fine. You may win at the end of the day.”

“And yet you are not scared of it?”

“Not at all. You will not be able to hold on for that long.”

“What…”

“It is going to be at least a year until the trial comes to an end. And the Royal Court is notorious for being expensive. Are you still confident that you will be able to hold on all those months?”

“I reckon your financial situation is not very bright at the moment.”

There was explicit contempt in Sir Curno’s gaze. The baron unknowingly bit his lips.

What is this… He wondered if this was what it felt like to be smacked in the head with a hammer. He was enraged but he couldn’t think of anything to respond with.

The only available recourse was to sue them and bring the matter to the Royal Court.

But as though they had seen it already, the knight was mocking him over it.

What should I do? The baron felt stuck. Come to think of it, the knight was speaking the truth. His financial stability was at rock bottom. Even though Lloyd had been resorting to various means and helping him pay off the interest, the future was still bleak for the fiefdom.

If they had to shoulder the fees for suing the viscounty at the Royal Court on top of everything? We won’t last. The baron strove his best to make the most objective judgment.

However, the only conclusion seemed to be that a lawsuit would be too much. His barony wouldn’t be able to last a long and tedious legal fight. It is not like we can keep drinking toxic water. Enduring the headache was far from possible. Right now, the residents in the fiefdom probably thought that this was just an ordinary headache.

Once the cause for their headache was revealed over time…It’s impossible to live without drinking water from the river. People won’t just put up with these painful headaches. Eventually, they will migrate to another fiefdom one by one. He knew where they would go, the viscounty. So right now, his fiefdom was left helpless to fight back. Therefore, the baron thought there was only one way to avoid the worst scenario. Is succumbing the only option I have? His train of thoughts arrived at one destination which was to give what they wanted, half of the Maritz land.

The baron found himself clenching his teeth. If he could, he wanted to throw a punch at Sir Curno in front of him. However, he couldn’t as he was the weak one. He was in the position to give what they wanted. He had no other choice, given that the life of the people and the stability of the fiefdom were at stake.

Fine. It was originally a useless piece of land anyway. I should be thankful that we get to use even half of it.

Rage rose in him, but he could not do anything about it. I must be content with this. He controlled his boiling emotions. He lifted his head and looked at Sir Curno, who was still sneering at him. After hesitating a few times, he finally opened his mouth.

“Whew. Okay, I will give…”

“You the middle finger. Scram!”

Just then, the door of the office room slammed open. The baron and Sir Curno jerked up and gazed at the door. There they saw…

“I am sorry. I was a bit in a hurry. I was talking to that man over there.”

Lloyd was panting and sweating as if he had run all the way home. He plastered a wry smile and pointed at Sir Curno. He spoke aloud the plan he had prepared on his run to the estate.

“There is a way where we won’t have to hand over the land to those pests. I will walk you through it slowly, so why don’t you kick out that haughty troll first? Better if you beat him before he leaves.”