The Villainess Lives Twice

Fall

[My Dearly missed Duchess

The days are getting colder. Are you doing well? You wrote that you are okay in your last letter, but I’m concerned because you are always saying you’re okay.

Since the Grand Duke is by your side, nothing bad will happen.

The wheat is already starting to be harvested here.

This year’s harvest is not very big, even though it is said to be a little better than usual. The wheat fields are endless and spectacular.

Depending on the region, there are places that start in a month or so.

It is said that Sir Forb, an agricultural overseer, deliberately set a time lag between planting so that the harvest could be continued without interruption.

It is said that this is because less areas were damaged by last year’s Monster Wave.

If the area affected by the Monster Wave was large, the wheat would have to be harvested all at once to pay the tax at the first harvest.

However, it is said that this year’s leisurely harvest made it possible for the westerners to consume food non-stop.

There is an association of small grain merchants, which is very cooperative.

Each house has a little something to store, and there are supplies from His Majesty, so it seems that even if we rest in winter, the consumption will not be able to empty the warehouse.

Since you might be interested in Sir Forb’s record, I asked him to write a report. In order not to overburden you, I am sending it to Sir Ansgar instead of Your Grace.

There really isn’t much time left now.

The last time I had received four of the letters at once, as Sister Hayley wrote and sent a series of crying letters.

I think she would be a good fit, too.

After the baby is born, I will go see you. I wish you good health, even from afar.

Lysia.]

Lysia glanced at the letter once more. There were no problematic sentences as she had already written it three times in a practice book and copied it here after checking it.

She wiped off the remaining ink by pressing the letter with a blotter paper.

She lit both the blotting paper and the practice papers. Then she smiled bitterly.

When she was writing, she couldn’t quite remember when she started lighting the candle.

She closed the envelope and sealed it with wax.

Knock, knock.

A knock was heard.

“Come on in.”

“Excuse me, Baron Morten Heir Apparent.”

It was her secretary Ranie.

When she had come here before, she wondered what kind of secretary she would need.

But now her position is a little different.

Lysia wanted to do her best.

She was different from her old days, when she thought that she had to clumsily get supplies and heal the patients. She also knew a little bit about the way the world was going now.

Ranie said.

“Sir Forb has come.”

“Okay.”

Lysia put the letter on a tray and went outside.

Forb was waiting in the parlor. A smile filled his wrinkled face.

“How are you? I heard that you were on a trip, when did you come back?”

“I came back this morning. I brought some news that Baron Morten Heir Apparent might want to know as well.”

Lysia tilted her head.

Forb was a low-ranking official. It was good to hear that he was an agricultural overseer officer, but his original job was to predict the yields of various places and report them to the center.

This was not done to calculate taxes. This was done to identify the causes of poor and bountiful harvests by region.

If the cause of the good harvest was a new farming method, it was studied and spread widely. Education and support were provided to areas with poor yields.

In principle, it was so. In reality, there was no follow-up from the center at all.

So it meant nothing. There was an official position in the Imperial Law, so he was just selected and left alone.

However, Forb did not neglect his role.

For decades, with or without the Monster Wave, with or without warlords in power, he researched, studied, and published statistics on the farmlands of the West.

And finally, those efforts were rewarded.

Thanks to the Monster Wave that was stopped last year, it gave the Western region a breath of fresh air.

The recirculation project began to be overhauled.

Forb thought, as he always did, that the tune would be broken in the middle this time, too.

It was like this every time the central government appointed a new person in charge and sent them down.

They first repair the warehouse and fill it with crops at harvest time. But the grain was never distributed to starving peasants for more than two years.

Most of it turned into money and went into the pocket of the person in charge.

Although the straw-mixed-grain was distributed and milled wheat was harvested, the warehouse did not fill up again.

Sometimes the person in charge tried to do right. Then the grain from the warehouse hid into the houses and temples of middle officials.

Forb used to think that it would be better for the warlords to load the whole thing and put it in their castle’s warehouse.

Then, they’ll at least not have a hungry army confronting the Monster Wave.

But this time it was different.

It was thanks to the Western Army that was overhauled first.

None of the Western Army generals tried to rob the warehouse with the excuse of military supplies.

The same was true for officials and nobles.

It was clear that the Western Army would not stand still if Grand Duchy Evron took charge of the warehouse.

In fact, in the spring, one of the provincial officers took grain from the warehouse and tried to use it, but was caught by western soldiers guarding the area and was hung on the wall.

The person who thought that the person in charge was just a young woman disappeared at once.

It was around that time that Forb was called.

He also met Lysia for the first time at that time.

[“Her Grace has asked me to meet the agricultural overseer officer. Even if we can block the next Monster Wave once more, it will not be easy for the West to become abundant if the current situation is the same.”]

[“That’s right.”]

Forb stuttered.

Even though she was a local baron, she was from a family with a title. She had a higher status than Forb. Needless to say, she was the lady-in-waiting who had been directly ordered by Grand Duchess Evron.

[“So, if there are any agricultural overseers who are competent and have sufficiently thought about ways to improve the crops in the West, I asked them to apply.”]

Lysia smiled softly.

[“And when I came here to look into it, everyone agreed and recommended Sir Forb.”]

That’s how the relationship started.

A significant portion of the manpower and funds invested in the Rebirth Project supported Forb. When it became known that he was supported by Grand Duchy Evron, the local officials were forced to help him.

The Western Grain Merchant Association and the Western Army also contributed.

As a result, after only half a year, the situation became quite manageable.

Wheat yield increased. But that was only a small part.

Eyes, of those who knew everything about the harvest in the area Forb is in charge were watching him, but they found no prospective holes that they could exploit blindly.

Behind him were Grand Duchy Evron and the Western Army. The capital and the Imperial Palace were too far away to play a political trick.

The trading volume of wheat skyrocketed as there was a surplus of food.

The members of the Western Grain Merchant Association, which had been formed by at least a dozen trade associations, were now passing rumors.

Forb did not foresee this situation. But he was able to respond.

He knew every crop that thrived in each region of the West. The old crop was no exception.

Poor peasants who needed money were able to subsist on something else and sell wheat instead.

The warehouse filled up quickly. Considering that the harvest is still going on, the good news is not over yet.

It seemed like it would continue for the next few years.

There was no reason for the smile to leave Forb’s lips.

Lysia smiled, too.

“What is the good news?”

“Aren’t the temples having a harvest festival soon?”

“Yes.”

“I was able to put the Melbon crop on the altar. It is said that the bishop has given an affirmative answer today.”

said Forb. If he had stood, he would have danced.

Lysia smiled brightly as well.

“That’s great.”

“Yes! Because it’s a crop from Monster Land. In order to spread it properly, it is better for the temple to acknowledge it.”

Forb said excitedly.

Melbon was the name of a saint who fed a million people with ten sacks of wheat.

Forb discovered the karam crop and named it after the saint.

This is because he did not wish to be unconditionally hostile in the temple by calling it with a completely new name.

It was a crop that grew well even in that barren and cold area. In the West, just sprinkle it and it will grow quickly in the fall.

Forb quickly recognized that it was an edible plant.

Being able to grow it in winter was an indescribably great advantage. Just plant it and it will grow on its own, so it doesn’t require much labor and doesn’t consume a lot of manpower.

It was easy to guess that it came down from the North considering the growing environment.

Forb thought that it was probably spread through the feces of beasts or buried on the body of monsters by chance in areas infested with monsters.

If they could spread this widely, they wouldn’t have to worry about the winter desolation.

Lysia knew how it spread. Forb had discovered that some of the Western soldiers had either planted them under their walls or secretly planted them in the fields.

But, pretending to know nothing, she smiled mischievously.

“That’s good. Her Grace will be delighted.”

“Praise the chairman of the Western Grain Merchant Association. That friend used a lot of effort.”

“Sure. I need to rewrite the letter. I will praise both of you.”

Having someone like Forb made things easier.

When Artizea told her to look for an agricultural overseer, did she know that this matter would be easily resolved?

At that time, Lysia did not yet fully understand Artizea’s meaning. She was ordered, so she just followed it.

But now that she thought about it, Artizea probably already knew about Forb’s existence.

So did the Western Grain Merchant Association. It must have been made by Artizea, Lysia thought.

If industrial development itself does not follow along, the West cannot escape from hunger no matter how well the system is reorganized.

By developing agriculture, there is a surplus of food. And even if it is managed, if commerce does not grow on its own, it will be robbed by the enterprises of the central and eastern regions.

Only when they are freed from exploitation and starvation can the people stay in their own land. Only then can the land be defended.

All things are interconnected.

The change had just begun. But it started moving.

As long as the Emperor doesn’t take the Rebirth Project out of Artizea’s hands or change the person in charge to remove Cedric’s influence on the Western Army, it’ll continue to be better.

Hopefully, they will be able to survive the next Monster Wave without Cedric.

They may even be able to survive floods and epidemics.

[“What should I do in the West?”]

When she asked, Artizea replied:

[“Believe that people have the power to overcome.”]

Lysia thought that the answer was not enough now.

It needed something other than faith and courage to overcome.

What Artizea saw at that time, she should have been able to see it, too.

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