About two hours had passed since Marcus sent Joshua on an errand, and his lunch was ready.

  He had some porridge and beef broth to soothe his stomach.

  Though this wasn't a feast, or a meal that a noble would enjoy, Marcus seemed to find no issues with it.

  Bradley had also left the office to dine elsewhere in the mansion.

  Studying the translucent screen before him, Marcus realized something.

  “I see, achievement points can also be used to purchase ideas and blueprints.”

  He scrolled through the information in Agricultural Sciences and encountered numerous concepts.

  And within them, there were ideas for sale, as well as blueprints.

  “The ideas are more expensive than the blueprints, why?” His brows furrowed as he investigated some more.

  [Ideas: The spark of thoughts and processes that can lead you to a whole new world.]

  [Blueprints: Detailed structure and technical designs of tools.]

  All of this fascinated Marcus, making him delve into it some more.

  “What Agard needs isn't just tools for farming, but something that can fix the soil. Magic perhaps?”

  He spoke out loud before taking a sip of the beef broth in front of him.

  Marcus considered searching Arcane Knowledge for something that could assist in farming.

  But to his surprise, there were ideas on the Agricultural Sciences side that could fix it, but he had to purchase them to know what they were.

  Looking through the dozens listed before him, Marcus chose the cheapest, worth 2 Achievement Points.

  [Lime Treatment: Crushing lime stones and mixing them into the soil to reduce soil acidity. Unlock nutrients for crops. Great for Clay or acidic land.]

  Marcus read this with a frown. Though he was equipped with the knowledge of agriculture, he found it hard to believe that limestone could achieve all of this.

  “There are several acres of land next to the river. Perhaps we can test this over there. But if it is successful, can I afford the manpower?”

  This thought propelled Marcus into searching for ideas or blueprints that could alleviate this worry for him.

  And after searching for a while, he came across the cheapest set of blueprints, 5-in-1, which cost 12 Achievement Points.

  He previously had 19 Achievement Points, now he has 7 left.

  The moment the purchase was confirmed, several designs appeared before Marcus.

  Five agricultural tools.

  Each one drawn with precise measurements and annotations.

  Marcus leaned forward as he studied them.

  [Iron Moldboard plow: A heavy iron plow capable of cutting deep into hard soil. Designed to be pulled by a single ox or horse.]

  [Multi-Tube Seed Drill: A device that plants multiple rows of seeds simultaneously while maintaining consistent depth and spacing.]

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  [Horse-Drawn Iron Cultivator: An implement designed to loosen soil and remove weeds between crop rows with minimal manual labor.]

  [Mechanical Grain Reaper: A harvesting tool capable of cutting large swaths of grain while being pulled by draft animals.]

  [Chain Irrigation Pump: A rotating chain mechanism used to lift water continuously from rivers and canals.]

  Marcus slowly exhaled.

  “If these work…”

  He turned his gaze toward the window barren farmlands surrounding the estate stretched toward the horizon.

  “...one farmer could do the work of ten.”

  Just when Marcus was beginning to get excited by what he had just acquired, a knock on the door interrupted his joy.

  It was Bradley.

  “Lord Marcus, Baron Savani is here.”

  Marcus chuckled. “When it rains, it truly pours.”

  With that, he left his office and went down to the guest parlor.

  …

  Edgar tried his best to imagine how things would play out.

  Not because of the situation his son was caught in, but rather, because of the illegality of the iron he was transporting.

  Edgar had only found out that the person Deril was trying to execute publicly was a miner they initially employed.

  If any investigations have been made…

  If the man had spoken, then his life as Baron was coming to an end.

  At this point, Edgar knew that it was already too late. If the location of the mine had been revealed, then it was highly likely that Marcus had reported it to the Royal Court, or gone to take it for himself.

  Either way, things wouldn't play out well for Baron Savani.

  ‘Why did that foolish boy have to run his mouth! I should have sent him to join the Royal Army long ago. Damn it!’

  Baron Savani clenched his fist as he suppressed the urge to kick a stool that was placed next to the vintage leather sofa on which he was seated.

  Standing right behind him were two knights of the Flowing Rank with whom he came with.

  The parlor was moderate, no extravagancy in sight, which was unlike most Viscounts in the kingdom.

  ‘It's a good thing the young governor is poor. Buying my way out shouldn't be too difficult.’ He thought.

  That was when the door opened and four men stepped into the parlor.

  Marcus, Bradley, alongside Brown and Logail.

  Baron Savani quickly got on his feet and bowed to greet Marcus.

  “My lord viscount, it is a pleasure to be in your presence. Please forgive my tardiness, myself, alongside the rest of Agard only got informed of your recovery earlier today.”

  “That is expected, Baron Savani, I made no effort to announce it. It's been years, hasn't it?”

  Edgar raised his gaze to meet a smiling and jovial Marcus, and his heart seemed to calm for a second before a greater feeling of dread washed over him.

  To the majority involved in Agard’s politics, when they first started getting to know Marcus, they had assumed that Bradley and a few others were using him as a puppet, but they soon got to find out that the young man was… unorthodox in a way.

  “It certainly has been over a decade, my lord.”

  “Please, sit.” Marcus gestured with a wave as he too sat on a sofa opposite the Baron.

  “Thank you, my lord. Lord Viscount, I came bearing some gifts and well-wishes. Please accept them.” Edgar said and a guard of his walked forward with a chest.

  Upon opening the chest, the sheen of silver coins hit Marcus's eyes.

  But all he did was to maintain his smile, merely giving it a glance.

  “I accept your gift, Baron.”

  ‘That’s five thousand silver coins, and you dare act like it's nothing in front of me!? Can you afford it, you poor brat?’ Edgar smiled and nodded at Marcus.

  This gift was supposed to help ease things, but now, Edgar was doubting if it had done as intended.

  A few seconds of silent awkwardness went by, or at least, that's what it felt like to Egar.

  “Lord Marcus…”

  “Yes, go ahead, Baron.”

  “My son, Deril. I heard that he was arrested by your command earlier today.”

  “Oh yes, how could I forget. Here I was, thinking that a subject in my territory had come for a friendly visit.”

  “My apologies, my lord. I will surely do that in the near future.” Egar bowed.

  ‘Insolent brat, how dare you mock me this way!’

  “Yes, I had the… unfortunate opportunity to encounter your son today. He not only threatened me, but also insulted my honor. It's already a miracle that his head isn't rolling on the ground by this hour.”

  Egar felt his palms turn sweaty.

  “Lord Baron, how do you suggest we solve this. Because, according to the laws, by right, I can have your son killed for those two offenses.” Marcus’s smile vanished, making it look like he was truly offended.

  “There's no apology I can make that'll make this right, however, I can try and make it up to you.” Egar cleared his throat, hoping Marcus got his gist.

  “Oh, and how will you do that?”

  “How about… I try to buy your mercy, my lord–”

  “Bribery!? Do I look like that type of person to you, Baron!” Marcus glared at the older man and somehow, the mana in the room seemed to move with him, putting an invisible pressure on Egar’s body.

  Though Marcus was oblivious to this.

  “No, no, my lord. You're mistaken, I was just saying that I'd like to make a generous donation while hoping for your mercy.” Baron Savani shivered, unable to understand why his body suddenly got heavier.

  “Oh, then, please go ahead.” Marcus chuckled as he crossed his legs and leaned back.

  “I’d like to donate 10,000-”

  “10,000 gold coins! My word, Baron, I didn't realize you considered my mercy to be that expensive.”

  Marcus feigned shock, making everyone in the room feel uncomfortable.

  He was… shameless, so to speak.

  Bradley shook his head, ‘The young lord still hasn't changed.’ He resisted the urge to palm his face.

  “N-no my lord,” Egar said, feeling his back go cold. ‘10,000 gold coins, that's a million silver coins. Do I look that rich to you?’

  “You definitely weren't about to donate 10,000 silver coins, were you?” Marcus scorned, looking at the Baron with a slight look of disgust on his face.

  “100,000 silver coins, my lord,” Egar said with difficulty.

  “Well, that's less than I thought. But, it's enough to quell my anger. Fine, I'll absolve your son for the crime of threatening a supervisor and insulting a superior.”

  Marcus sighed.

  “Thank you, my lord!” Egar bowed and smiled.

  ‘He’s not so different after all.’ he thought.

  Another episode of silent awkwardness filled the room.

  ‘Why hasn't he sent anyone to fetchy boy?’ Baron Savani thought.

  “Lord Marcus,”

  “Yes?”

  “My son, you still haven't sent anyone to fetch him.”

  “I know, you haven't bought… no, sorry, you still haven't donated to appease his other offense. Daring to carry out a public execution. I alone have that power in Agard.”

  Egar felt his heart drop to his stomach.

  “S-sorry?” He stammered.

  “And then, a donation for his release. I can't possibly ask for bail because that would require me to document his crime, and we both don't want that, do we?”

  Everyone in the room felt a chill run down their spines.

  This young lord… was a wretched and ruthless one.

  One hundred thousand silver coins weren't enough to absolve a noble from his crimes!?

  The only reason Baron Savani agreed to make such a donation was because of cargoes seized, if not, he would not have made such a sizable offer.

  “How about this, another offer of the same price, plus fifty thousand for your son’s release and we can call it a day,” Marcus said.

  Egar was about to negotiate but was stopped.

  “Any word that comes out of your mouth should be synonymous with yes, or else…”

  Egar gulped.

  Has he ever met anyone so young and so ruthless in extortion?