The Greatest Estate Designer - Chapter 48: How to Develop a Land (3)

It hurted.

It wasn’t like he got punched, kicked, nor smacked with a club until his body was battered. However, Viscount Lacona felt sharp pain, numbness, and ache. He had no choice but to feel that way.

Right now, more than 100 people were gathering here, their eyes and ears focused on the onslaught of facts attacking him.

“So, let’s get this straight. The Viscount claimed that the southern half of the Maritz Wetlands is Viscount’s territory, right?”

“Obviously.”

“Therefore, the Viscount is insisting that the southern half of the reclaimed Maritz Wetlands should belong to the Viscount?”

“That is also obvious.”

“However, there is a major loophole in that argument.”

“A loophole?”

“Yes. The loophole is that the Martiz Wetlands have been abandoned for a long time.”

“What makes that a loophole?”

“Because this claim goes against the land acts of the kingdom enacted by Her Highness the Queen.”

“… What?” The Viscount faltered.

Lloyd smirked. “Land Act of The Kingdom Ch. 321. It’s based on this special law regarding the development of barren land.”

“Land Act? Ch. 321?”

“Yes, it is a law that regulates the ownership of an abandoned land that has been reclaimed. Shall we take a closer look at it in order?”

“What are you talking about….”

“Clause 1. Purpose. This act aims to reclaim the barren land that has long been abandoned and to establish ownership of the said land.”

“Now listen here.”

“Clause 2. Definition. In this Act, barren land refers to a land that has been abandoned for over 100 years, nobody has made it their permanent residence for more than one year, and no cultivation activities transpiring on the land.”

“Wait a minute, as I was saying….”

“Clause 3. Eligibility Requirements. A barren land that meets all of the following requirements shall be regarded as a developed land. First, the land must be developed with a clear purpose through investment of capital and labor. Second, the land must be able to support permanent residential buildings. Third, the land must be able to support long-term agricultural activities. Fourth, the lands must have produced at least one harvest of a crop variety specified by the detailed provisions of the law.”

“Look, let me tell you something, first of all…” the Viscount rambled in a hurry. However, his complaint went unnoticed. It was quickly buried under Lloyd’s speech, which flowed without interruption.

“Clause 4. Ownership. If the developed land meets all of the requirements stated in the subparagraphs of Clause 3, the land will be recognized as belonging to the developer of the barren land and will be able to be registered in the Kingdom’s Land Registry by following the procedure.”

“….”

“Clause 5. The Kingdom’s Laws. Details needed for the enforcement of this Act shall be prescribed by the Kingdom’s Laws. That is all. Listen to it once again. There’s no guidance from an advisor, so shut up and accept your defeat.”

“….”

Lloyd smirked, while the Viscount was speechless.

‘Why is there such a bastard like this here?’ the Viscount pondered. Dumbfounded, he stared at Lloyd.

The eldest son of Baron Frontera.

The Barony’s hopeless hooligan.

The Viscount had heard the rumors about him.

He was described as the type of guy who drank heavily everyday, and did all sorts of bad things. According to the recent rumors, the bastard had apparently come to his senses.

So deep down, the Viscount was looking down on him. Even when the ruffian in the rumors stood in his way, and even when the said man started to refute his claim.

He simply assumed he could easily refute this greenhorn’s arguments. He even thought of quickly shutting this irritating bastard’s mouth up and going to meet the Baron.

However, now that he was in this situation, it appeared that he was mistaken.

‘This bastard is not a pushover.’

No, he was far from a pushover. He was young, so shouldn’t it be easy to go at him? It seemed difficult to even get a point back.

The Viscount swallowed dryly.

‘Does such a law exist in the Land Act of the Kingdom? I’ve never heard of it, but given that bastard’s confident attitude, it doesn’t seem like a lie. No way, that bastard, did he prepare for my meddling?’

The Viscount wondered if that was the reason why the bastard studied the law in advance.

Goosebumps.

Suddenly, goosebumps appeared on his forearms. If that speculation was true, then he shouldn’t look down on this guy. What a scary and thorough bastard.

‘Where did this bastard pop out from?’

The Viscount began to arrange his thoughts. He couldn’t withdraw just like this.

The Maritz Wetlands was vast, and so was the southern half of the area. This was a chance to get it for free without spending any money in the development.

The Viscount racked his brain to the best of his ability.

‘Think. Find a loophole in this pale bastard’s argument.’

The Viscount couldn’t even complain about his counterargument…. Ah, that!

Ting! A lightbulb turned on in his head. The Viscount’s face brightened.

Confidently, he looked down to look at Lloyd. “The Land Act of The Kingdom, what an interesting speech.”

“Is that so? Because if we’re talking about it, the law is always fair.”

“Right, I suppose so. It gives people like me a fair opportunity, just like now.”

“What is the Viscount trying to say?”

“What am I trying to say? I mean it literally. Look here, you’ve developed the Maritz Wetlands, but it appears that an important requirement has yet to be met.”

“What important requirement does the Viscount refer to?”

“You see, I’m talking about cultivation. It’s cultivation, hohoho!” The Viscount happily burst out laughing.

It was the laughter of a beast who had discovered the prey’s weakness.

“You’ve clearly stated that while reciting The Land Act of The Kingdom. In order for a barren land to be regarded as a developed land, it has to meet several requirements. Among those, there’s a requirement where the land must have produced at least one harvest of a crop.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Pfft, hahaha! So this is why you’re a mere greenhorn. You, have you harvested the crops?” A broad smile formed on the Viscount’s face. It was the smile of a man who was sure of his victory.

‘I won, you greenhorn bastard!’

The Viscount was proud of himself.

To win against the young greenhorn bastard who tried to fight back by sophisticatedly reciting the law, he used the loophole in that same law to shut him up.

Obviously, the Viscount believed he had already won. He certainly did, up until Lloyd smirked.

“This is really fun. A crop, huh?”

Rather than being bewildered, a genuine joyful laugh came from Lloyd. It was a laugh that conveyed his enjoyment in watching the opposing party struggle to win the battle.

Thus, with a beaming smile adorning his face, Lloyd said, “That’s right, I want to show the Viscount something. May the Viscount please move the horse a little to the side for a brief moment?”

“… What?”

“Two steps will be enough.”

“What now… Huh? Huhhh?”

“That’s right, calm down.”

Amidst the Viscount’s bewilderment, Lloyd reached out his hand and naturally grabbed the reins of the horse, leading it to the side.

The white horse neighed once before moving two steps to the side.

It happened so naturally that they didn’t have time to think about it.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

“Yes, yes. Please wait a minute.”

The Viscount voiced out his complaint, but to no avail.

Lloyd, who had just answered half-heartedly, suddenly bent his waist and reached out his hands towards the ground.

Then, while humming, Lloyd said this, “Whew. Fortunately, it’s safe. The Viscount has no idea how worried I was because he stopped the horse here, just in case he stepped on this.”

“What?”

“This one here, can the Viscount see it?”

Lloyd, who was squatting, pointed to the ground. The Viscount’s gaze that was full of suspicion moved to the spot Lloyd’s finger was pointing at. And soon, he saw-

“Grass?”

“Ddaeng. This is an onion.”

Lloyd pulled a rather long green leaf that rose above the ground. As he pulled, the surrounding ground was being carefully dug.

Pop.

An appetizing massive reddish-brown thing popped out. Feeling joyful, Lloyd was clearly grinning widely.

“Oh dear, this, congratulations! Now you are watching the historic first ever harvest in the Maritz Wetlands that has been reclaimed live. This experience will be free of charge, because I’m not that cold-hearted. Anyway, it is truly fortunate that the crop is strong, hehehe.”

The Viscount’s expression became blank as Lloyd patted the dirt off the onion. Then, he offered it to the Viscount.

“Here. Now that we have successfully harvested the crop, we have fully met the law’s requirements. What does the Viscount think? The Viscount has traveled a long way to come here, so please take this as a souvenir. It would be impolite of me to send the Viscount back empty-handed.”

“….”

The Viscount didn’t receive the onion. No, he couldn’t bear to do so. He just stared blankly at Lloyd, wondering whether all of this was real or not. The same also happened to the Viscount’s knight. He didn’t even have the time to lose his temper.

Lloyd smirked and tied the onion to the viscount’s saddle. As if putting the final nail on the coffin, Lloyd said, “In that case, please carefully take a look at it and go home. Javier?” Cheerfully, he called out to Javier. “He is a valuable guest, please see him home safely.”

“Yes, I will carry out your order.” Javier stepped forward quickly. The silver-haired knight had long thoroughly grasped the situation. He knew better than anyone else that Lloyd had prepared for this situation. After all, the mastermind(?) who planned to plant the onion was him.

‘Phew. Growing onions was pretty hard,’ Javier thought, while sighing lightly.

At the peak of construction that was done by implementing the Vertical Drain method, was it the next morning after all of the holes had been drilled in the designated area, the time when he had finished his role in the construction?

Lloyd had summoned and given him this order out of the blue, ‘Starting from today, you should grow some onions.’

At first, Javier had thought Lloyd was saying some kind of slang, something that had special meaning he couldn’t understand.

But, it wasn’t slang. Lloyd truly ordered him to grow onions. Javier didn’t realize this until he received a hoe and the manure Lloyd had frugally prepared.

Obviously, a will to resist bubbled up within him. Javier had been agreeing to participate in the construction so far because it was for the territory’s development. But, growing mere onions?

‘I was wondering why you were making me do this.’

It was not a knight’s job; it was a farmer’s. So, why did Lloyd order him to do this?

At the very least, Javier wanted to know the reason why. So, he asked.

In response, Lloyd smirked and nonchalantly answered as if it was nothing. However, the contents of his answer was by no means insignificant.

‘From now on, the onion you’ll grow will protect this Maritz Wetlands we reclaimed.’

‘….’

His answer was full of meaning, and it was not something Javier could simply dismiss. After hearing that, he couldn’t bear to refuse Lloyd’s order.

There must be something behind it. There must be a separate purpose that was hidden.

Thinking so, Javier accepted the hoe and manure. And then, he began to plant an onion there.

Of course, it wasn’t easy. It was his first time planting a crop.

‘I had no idea that growing something on the soil required so much effort.’

Javier was an orphan. He lost his parents in the war when he was five years old. What if it hadn’t been for Baron Frontera extending a helping hand just in time? He would have died of starvation on the road.

Thus, Javier devoted himself to swordsmanship to repay the favor. He was working hard to keep his oath of being a sword to guard his Lord.

Because he concentrated fully in doing that, he didn’t have any experience in farming. The same was true when it came to growing onions.

‘I had to ask for a lot of help from the farmers.’

Javier had received a lot of advice, and heard a fair amount of nagging too. Thanks to the farmers, he was able to successfully grow the onion.

And today, that mere onion truly protected the reclaimed Maritz Wetlands from the Viscount.

‘Did Lloyd-nim truly predict that all of this will happen?’

Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any explanation about his weird order.

The more Javier thought about it, the more he admired Lloyd.

However, now wasn’t the time to dwell in his admiration towards Lloyd. It was time to match Lloyd’s meticulous and brazen response towards the Viscount.

“I am Javier Asrahan, a knight who serves Baron Frontera. I will escort you back from here.”

Javier quickly walked forward. Meanwhile, the Viscount’s mouth continued to open and close repeatedly. Before the Viscount succeeded in forming a coherent counterargument, Javier naturally led the Viscount’s group to leave.

“Let us go. This way,” Javier said.

“Ugh….” Now that the Viscount fully registered the situation, his teeth clattered. However, it was already too late.

Numerous eyes and ears were focused on them, including the Baron’s Construction Team members. In this situation, the Viscount was completely controlled by the greenhorn’s reasoning.

What if the Viscount refused to back down? What if he refused to accept the reasoning and got angry? Only the Viscount’s reputation would take the brunt, his reputation would be tarnished.

‘You’ve raised a good argument,’ the Viscount thought, trying to get over his displeasure. He turned his head to glare at Lloyd one more time.

Escorted by Javier, the Viscount gnashed his teeth the entire way back.

Meanwhile, at the location where the Viscount finally left, stood a proud Lloyd and the Construction Team members who were looking at him while quietly chatting with each other because of the pleasant mood.

“Did you see that? Did you hear that?”

“Of course I saw it. Viscount Lacona’s expression was perfect, oh-ho.”

“He was so angry he didn’t know what to do, keukukuk.”

“Whew. Serves you right!”

“I know right, this place was all muddy before we developed it.”

“Whoa, you’re right. We’ve reclaimed this land by shoveling all day long, how could he want to reap the benefits for free, that Viscount.”

“He really has no conscience at all. Lloyd-nim properly drove that impudent fellow out.”

“Oh, it was really exhilarating. I was really nervous watching it.”

The members of the Construction Team laughed cheerfully.

This entire land was a muddy wetlands. It was an abandoned land that couldn’t be used.

However, who had brought change to this place? It was them.

With a shovel in each of their hands and the endless sweat they let out from shoveling all day long, this was a land that had been reclaimed through their hard work and labor under the scorching sun.

Thus, there was no way that the action of the Viscount, which was asking for half of the area they’d been working on for free would sit well with them. When they were listening to Lloyd and the Viscount’s debate, they came to cheer Lloyd with all of their heart.

Naturally, Lloyd’s victory felt like theirs as well.

‘Our Young Master is the best!’ thought all of the soldiers on the scene with their fists clenched.

They were proud. Their hearts were filled with joy.

Of course, Lloyd, the source of their pride and joy, simply frowned at everyone. “What are you looking at? Is there a good spectacle here?”

Whoot whoot whoot.

As soon as Lloyd rebuked them, the Construction Team members moved in perfect unison. They resumed shoveling at the speed of light, just like before the controversy.

The members of the Construction Team who had worked on numerous construction projects with Lloyd already had a rough grasp of Lloyd’s personality now.

‘Kukuku, we’re going to get bonuses soon!’

Even though his way of speaking was rough when talking to the Construction Team members, they knew Young Master Lloyd genuinely cared about them.

Even when Lloyd nagged them to work like that, he always made sure they all got enough rest.

What was more, they were also thankful to the Young Master who always gave them big bonuses every time they finished a big construction project.

Thinking about the bonus they soon would receive made them laugh while shoveling.

The Barony of Frontera, a rural territory in the eastern corner of the kingdom. The largest construction project in said territory’s history was about to be completed.

Of course, no one knew at the time that the construction would not end here. In fact, this was only the beginning of an even bigger development project.

Lloyd was not going to stop here. If up until now was the time for land reclamation, next would be the time for land pioneering.

Prior to the construction of the water wheel, which was at the end of the reclamation project, Lloyd had proposed a plan to the Baron. The Baron had nodded readily when he heard Lloyd’s plan.

The very next day, the Barony published the so-called ‘The Reclaimed Maritz Wetlands’ Migration Encouragement Book’.

Viscount Lacona, the Barony’s southern neighbor, fully swung the onion he had been fiddling with to his office’s wall after reading the contents of this book.

Author’s note: Viscount, don’t recklessly throw away the onion. Have you ever been a spicy and tasty person even once? (Feat preview Ch 48’s top comment ).

Tl/n: The illustration is so cuuute. Javier is truly kind. No wonder he’s the og MC. p/s: I don’t really understand the author’s joke in the note, the translation might be incorrect. Sorry.