"We understood that but..."

"But..."

"If we were to use four fields, then the soil would erode and eventually be useless. I think it would be unwise for us to use four fields instead of three." said another man in a low voice & everyone nodded as if accepting the fact.

They didn't want to out-voice Leonhart, but were also not going to agree on his stupid idea.

Hearing this, a smile appeared on James's face. These weren't just farmers who learned what their forefathers taught and did not understand the underlying principles of why it was so. At least in terms of their profession, they were all educated farmer, who clearly understood why one should not do as he had suggested.

"So, If I were to tell you to create a four-field rotation separated into the category wheat, turnips, barley, and clover. Would it not solve that issue of yours?"

After Leonhart's words, the entire group sank into deep thoughts. It was already well known that legumes could enhance the soil of the fields they were planted in. Thus, they were already used in the three-field system.

However, the more they thought about his words, the more they realized the young Lord was correct. If they used these four crops as the staple of their agricultural system, they could maintain or possibly increase the fertility of the soil while growing food year-round and sustaining the breeding of livestock throughout the year.

"Hey that can work," murmured a short guy & soon they all started discussing among themselves, leaving James alone who was looking at them like a teacher who explained some complex stuff & the students were grasping it.

"What you guys think? Will it work?" asked Leonhart, knowing these people would definitely agree.

"Yes Lord, it will work. It can work even better than we thought." Answered the tall man who was working as a spokesman for this little farmer's association.

"Told ya."

"It's just how come we didn't know this simple stuff. If we had known it a little earlier, then things could have turned out much better. We could have made more profits."

"Like they say, better late than never. So it's fine for you guys to learn now."

"You are right, Lord."

"Explain it to me, then?"

"What?"

"Explain me? How are you going to implement what I told you?"

"Yes Lord. So what we are going to do is..."

The spokesman of the group explained everything to the young Lord about how he was planning to carry out his farming from now on, as it was a perfectly plausible idea for everyone to use. They could even gain more profits by using this.

"All of you also want to do things like this, right?"

"Yes, we can do this." said another man enthusiastically.

"It really can work."

And soon, the entire group started chatting among themselves about how to take things from here.

"Hey whose land is that?" asked Leon pointing towards a certain area.

"That Land is mine Lord." replied the short man, moving forward with a brave face.

"And what's your name?"

"My name is Tobias."

"Very well Tobias, now show me what you will do after my departure." said James. He had to make sure everything would move as he had planned or, in the end, nothing would work.

"Now?"

"Yes, now & you people will help. Let's get going."

Soon after that, the whole group moved towards the fields where Tobias did what they already discussed, with no issues at all. Still, James gave him some pointers & others just watched carefully as they had to repeat the same thing in their fields.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Both Lucas & Hans had also joined the team directly overlooking what Leon was doing & honestly they were amazed by this. Despite being a duke's son and a prideful young master, Leonhart didn't hesitate to go to the field or to do dirty works.

By the end of the hard day's worth of labor, the four-field system was implemented on this single farm, and James was exhausted beyond his limits by just talking & walking across the field. So he sat down on the borderline of the field where water was brought for him by the guard.

"Leon, how did you know all this?" asked Lucas in a suspicion tone as it wasn't something the Leon the knew would know. He was a prideful man who hated doing manual labor or talking to peasants, but this one was the complete opposite of him. When did he change so much?

"When you spend too much time inside library, it just happens automatically." replied James, finishing drinking. He was not going to explain them everything about how or why he knew all this stuff as it would cause more problems & they won't even understand most of it.

"You read all these in the library." said the man Lucas in a surprised tone as it was impossible for Leon to visit the library let alone read books & gain knowledge.

"Or how do you think I will know it? Anyone can do this if they read books."

"Yeah, but..."

"Lord Leon, it's time for us to leave." added Hansh to the conversation as they had to reach the town before evening. There were far more dangerous things present at night than day & poor visibility could very much lead to a disaster.

"Should we?" asked James, looking towards the field where Tobias was showing others with a brave face as if he had learned something new & was teaching his students. Also, it was nearly 4 pm. The sun hadn't even set, so there was no need to hurry.

"Yes Lord, we have to reach Nortion before evening."

"What about that bad feeling of yours?" spoke Lucas with a wary smile on his face. He had to adjust the entire plan for this guy. If he hadn't brought 20 soldiers, then things would have been much easier.

"It's still there Lord, it's still there." Replied the captain, looking towards a certain man who was avoiding his gaze the entire time. "And may I ask who that fellow is ?"

"That...?" following his direction Lucas also looked towards the man & suddenly his face stiffened. Just why was this guy so obsessed with pointing out each & everyone of his members? Even before this journey, he was asking many questions to the guards accompanying them.

If this plan had to succeed, then this Hansh guy had to leave the field, otherwise things won't go as instructed.

"Yeah. I havn't seen him before & he doesn't look like one of ours."

The duchy had provided & maintained soldiers in every part of the region for safekeeping & stopping unforeseen betrayal by the nobles. Because of their presence, many revolts against the Espers were crushed within days.

The local lord could use them, but they had to provide valid reasons for it.

But this guy didn't look like someone from the forces of the duchy. His character & attitude also didn't match of a disciplined soldier. And this one was not alone as there were many similar to him roaming around the vicinity.

This was one of many reasons for Hansh's instinct to tell him something was wrong, but he couldn't just tell Leon about it. What if his speculation proved incorrect & their relationship with the count fell apart? But if he won't do anything & something happened to Leon then? This entire region would collapse under the Duke's rage.

He had to do something & the result was this security enhancement about which no one knew. 20 guards were present here with signaling equipment & one of many soldiers were present in various places to intercept that signal as to let the checkpoint know. From where other soldiers would be dispatched only if needed.

And by seeing the current state of the situation, something was telling Hansh that he would need it, that's for sure.

"He is... one of our people." said Lucas in a shuddering tone. Droplets of sweat could be seen forming on his forehead.

"Does your house hiring mercenaries, Lord Lucas?"

"Ye... No, we are not hiring them."

"Then..."

"Honestly, I don't know these things. There are other people back home who handle those, so... you know, I can't tell you how those people look like mercenaries." answered the man in not so convincing tone, wiping off the sweat.

"Right. I am sorry for troubling you, Lord." responded the captain by bowing down, but deep down his skepticisms was getting the best of him.

Soon after the little talk again, the carriage rolled towards the town Nortion carrying the same passengers as before. But now there was a difference in arrangement, as the 20 soldiers were divided into 2 groups surrounding the carriage & soldiers from the count's house were on the front.

Hansh had ordered them to stay vigilant & they were fulfilling their duties with utmost care, which was something neither Lucas nor his members had taken into consideration. Things were now looking bleak for their plan, as the captain hadn't moved his hand from the hilt of his sword since the trip began.

Thousands of thoughts were exploding Lucas's brain about how to make things no matter the cost. He had come too far with instructions, and backing down wasn't an option anymore.

Couple of days ago, had received a letter from a very trusted source containing necessary information & instruction to make Leonhart disappear from the face of this land. Honestly, the plan was pretty plausible & easy to execute with guaranteed outcome, but the condition was him getting involved.

He took the risk because of his hatred towards Leonhart & love towards Lina. From the very day he first met her, she told his heart like. She became a goddess whom he worshipped every day. He even went out of his way to collect unwashed / used clothes of her to which he would smell & hug every day.

It would seem creepy for anyone to see this, but for a devotee like him, it was one step closer to her. In his eyes, he was worshipping his goddess, his one & only love.

To satisfy her need, Lucas sent gifts, ornaments, many beautiful dresses, but she never accepted those. No matter what he tried, there was no effect. Soon her brother paid him a visit, advising him to wait couple days and let her prepare mentally.