IMYL 16

Chapter: 16

Baron Forman was startled even as the words left his mouth.

But it wasn’t his head—it was his heart that had spoken.

He tried desperately to fix the situation, but a maid shouted furiously.

“How dare you!”

The maid, who had been clearing the dishes, grabbed Baron Forman by the collar.

“Miss, I’ll clear this before the dishes! That ungrateful fool, who doesn’t even know manners, dares to speak nonsense after you carefully fed him!”

“Good heavens, how dare someone say such shameless words to our lady!”

Even one of the knights guarding the kitchen rushed over, shouting gravely:

“Miss, shall we behead him and punish his entire family for this crime?”

Wait, weren’t these knights the northern mercenaries Alphius had brought?

Why were they speaking like the maids?

“You dared to sin against our lady! We cannot just let you go like this!”

I didn’t!

Baron Forman flapped his mouth in panic, but Brisa spoke elegantly.

“Yes, Philip. Of course we can’t just let him go.”

The girl’s face remained calm and composed the entire time.

“We can’t send a guest off empty-handed. Tell the kitchen to pack some potatoes and sprouts for the journey.”

What?

As soon as he heard that, another thought blurted out of Baron Forman’s mouth without going through his brain.

“Please, be my granddaughter-in-law!”

Now the maid and the knight were no longer angry.

They quickly exchanged glances and stepped aside. When he left, he quietly handed over a basket with potatoes, sprouts, and even eggs at the door, saying:

“Our lady is merciful to mad people. Now I understand why you were fed and cared for.”

“She recognized your madness at first sight… Ah, poor young master.”

Baron Forman blinked slowly.

Then he realized—they were treating him like a madman.

He laughed, slapping his knee.

“Ahahaha, what a good joke.”

But he was the only one laughing.

“Ahahaha… huh?”

Even when he tried to laugh again, the maid and the knight’s faces remained serious.

“Huh?”

Baron Forman blinked awkwardly, and the maid sighed heavily, clearly exasperated.

Philip, the burly knight, sighed and spoke.

“In this mansion, no one jokes about someone being mad. Remember that well.”

Baron Forman frowned.

So… did that mean he really was mad?

Philip lowered his voice and whispered.

“At least, if you say that in front of our lady…”

Baron Forman clutched the basket of potatoes, sprouts, and eggs tightly, nervously waiting for the rest.

“…you won’t get any potatoes.”

Heavens.

Baron Forman shivered once at the shoulders.

“So she does have a cruel side.”

Meanwhile, the maid and the knight were talking among themselves.

“But… it would be nice if there were grains, right?”

“Yes. I want some bread.”

“They said our lady will have wheat soon… I just don’t know how she plans to get it.”

Baron Forman perked up his ears.

“Right. You can’t grow wheat now. There’s probably not a single grain left in the central lands. But she’ll manage, won’t she?”

“Of course. She’s the last of the Riente line, fluent in five languages, and second in the academy. She’ll surely succeed.”

Even someone fluent in ten languages might fail at that.

Baron Forman frowned, tilting his head. Wheat, at least, was impossible.

But for some reason…

That calm girl somehow felt like she could actually pull it off…

“Soon?”

Baron Forman swallowed nervously.

He had been longing for warm bread made from wheat for a long time.

Ten days later.

Potatoes were finally in season. Big, thick potatoes were growing one after another.

“Wow… these are as big as my fist!”

They harvested potatoes every day.

Over the next month, there would be enough to feed not only the Forman household but also the local villagers.

‘Thank goodness.’

Brisa let out a sigh of relief. In fact, the people of the Sears Marquisate had not been living in abundance until now.

But with enough potatoes on the table, everything changed. At least no one would go hungry.

News of the potato harvest inevitably reached the people of Baron Harwin’s lands.

Now, the people of Harwin secretly traded with the Erenta people for potatoes.

Increasingly, the Harwin villagers envied those left in Sears.

“Did… Miss Brisa teach them all this?”

“Yes. Their chickens even lay an egg a day.”

Two months into isolation without production, the people of Harwin were now scraping even tree bark to eat.

Meanwhile, black mages from the Sebon Kingdom set up illegal warps across the sea. They connected directly to the port. They said they would trade sacks of wheat for people.

“Good heavens… are they mad?”

Baron Forman clicked his tongue.

“With no magical tower monitoring it, the black mages do this. Using people’s hunger for such schemes?”

But Baron Harwin thought differently.

He didn’t tell Baron Forman, but he was already planning to sell the orphans in his lands to the black mages.

His precious daughter, Dalia, was wasting away.

“Father…”

Dalia murmured in a lifeless voice.

“I’m tired of dried corn… I want fresh vegetables, or meat…”

“Yes, yes. I’ll take it from the villagers. Just give me some salt. Wait.”

Baron Harwin seized supplies from the villagers’ warehouses. The merchants of Jezel Street had quite a stock of preserved foods.

Of course, after two months, the food was running low.

Even the corn stored in the Baron’s warehouse was nearly gone. The dairy cows had eaten most of it.

If they could hold on just one more month, the warp would normalize—but each meal was frightening.

‘There’s no other way.’

The neighboring Yohaim County was relatively abundant, but monsters roamed the mountains and hills along the border.

They couldn’t communicate with that place at all.

So there was only one place they could reach.

“Go to Sears and steal it.”

The Harwin Baron, sharpened by the poor diet, heard the news of the potato harvest and gave the order.

“Steal a few, secretly!”

But they failed before even trying. The knights were guarding the potato field.

Returning empty-handed, the servants were scolded by Baron Harwin.

“…Then at least ruin them before you come back!”

“B-But the knights are guarding them…”

“Nothing we can do.”

Baron Harwin took a deep breath.

“Set fire to them. It’s hard to dig them up, but at least you can do that and escape, right?”

That night.

A few people from Harwin’s lands sneaked into the potato field.

‘Good heavens.’

Baron Forman, hearing the news late, jumped up in shock.

‘Are those even humans?’

He wasn’t staying here because he liked Baron Harwin—just because the Harwin lord was older than Sears’.

But… did that mean he had to remain in the house of such an utterly human monstrosity?

‘They must know the villagers of the barony are smuggling potatoes to survive!’

Burning that potato field meant destroying food from tradeable land.

‘…This guy won’t do.’

He had no plans to intervene in the central lands… but…

Baron Forman’s eyes glinted sharply.

But the glow faded. All his connections and power were in the west.

‘We’ll see in a month. Once the warp works…’

For now, he only had his own body.

Baron Forman changed into shabby clothes, pulled his hat low, and bent his waist skillfully.

Then he started running toward the potato field. He had to warn them somehow.

But no matter how fast he ran, the old man’s body wasn’t quick.

It seemed too late to chase the Harwin servants carrying torches.

Moreover, he had to take a secret path to avoid being seen, which made the journey longer.

“No… no!”

By the time he arrived at the potato field, gasping for breath, the dark night was lit by flickering torches. Among the flames, he saw a familiar cold face.

‘…Brisa Sears?’

Baron Forman froze on the spot.

‘How… on earth?’