“Lark Marcus,” he mumbled. Evander liked the sound of his new name. At the very least, his parents had good taste.

Lark was in a carriage heading to his mansion. Through the window, he saw the small town. The mud houses were haphazardly built in all directions. The streets were covered with snow, creating a white background.

In the Magic Empire, this place would hardly be called a town. It would be more appropriate to call it a village. He estimated there were probably only a hundred houses.

Still peeking through the window, his eyes landed on the residents shivering on the streets. They were skin and bone, as though they had not eaten for several days.

“Why are you letting the residents starve to death in this weather?” asked Lark.

Gaston, sitting beside him, was surprised by this question. He had known the young master since he was small, and knew he did not have the slightest care about the residents.

The old butler cleared his throat. “Young Master, you don’t remember the black famine?”

Under the watchful gaze of the butler, Lark replied, “Don’t really bother to remember the small stuff. What of it?”

Gaston sighed. “Three months ago, the black famine hit the kingdom, right before harvest. As a result, all the crops withered. Only root crops remained. Right now, wheat is weighed in gold. The nobles themselves are hardly getting by. We can’t afford to feed those residents.”

Gaston explained the black famine was caused by numerous small insects that ate the crops. Although they did not linger for long, their bites caused crops to die and wither in a few days. These insects had infested the kingdom for such a long time that the king had tasked the Ministry of Research to find a way to annihilate the pests.

Judging by his description, those insects were probably Kelnup flies. Lark had encountered them in his previous life.

And based on his knowledge, it would be simple to take care of those pests.

If those are really Kelnup flies, the plants... They’re the same.

The possibility that this was the very same world as he had just left was high. But right now, he hadn’t enough evidence to prove that. If possible, he wanted to go to a library and learn more about this world. But that would have to wait for now. First, he needed to address the immediate problems.

Lark furrowed his brow. “But I don’t understand. There’s so much food growing on the ground. There’s no reason for the residents to die of hunger, right?”

Gaston also peeked through the window. “What do you mean, Young Master?”

Lark pointed at the weeds growing on the snow-covered ground; there were quite a lot of them. “Those are edible,” said Lark.

Gaston looked at him with eyes filled with understanding. “Young Master, they are poisonous—”

“If eaten raw, yes,” said Lark. He shouted to the coachman. “Stop the carriage!”

The carriage halted. Lark opened the door and was assaulted by the freezing snow.

Gaston quickly followed behind him. “Young Master! You’ll catch a cold! Please go back inside the carriage.”

Lark ignored the old butler. He bent down and pulled handfuls of weeds out of the ground. “What do you call these here?” said Lark.

Although hesitant, the butler replied, “Poison Cloud. It helps melt the snow during winter, that’s why the residents don’t pull them out. But, Young Master, as I said before, they are proven to be poisonous.”

Lark smiled. “Have you heard of commoner’s wheat before?”

There was a small pause before Gaston shook his head. He wanted to drag away the young master from this freezing street.

“Tell the other servants to pull as much Poison Cloud as they can and place it inside the carts,” said Lark. When he saw Gaston was about to object, he added, “That’s an order.”

The old man simply sighed and bowed. “As you wish, Young Master.”

Soon, the servants from the next carriages climbed down one after another. Wearing nothing but tunics and wooden sandals, they trembled from cold. After receiving instructions from the butler, they began pulling out the weeds and placed them inside the cart.

“Gaston, how many residents are there in this town?” said Lark.

“Around five hundred, Young Master.”

As expected, this place was almost desolate. It should not even be called a town with such a meager population.

Once he learned the population of his territory, Lark instructed the servants to gather enough weeds to fill two carts. Some of the residents walking through the snow stopped to stare as they pulled the weeds from the ground.

Gaston could not help shaking his head. He knew they were wasting time, but had no choice since it was the young master’s orders.

“That should be enough,” said Lark. He clapped his hands once. “Let’s go.”

After filling two carts with weeds, the group continued traveling to the mansion, in the middle of the town. According to Gaston, before the House of Marcus gained this territory, it was home to a wealthy merchant from another country. The mansion’s interior was good enough for Lark to give it a passing mark.

After changing his clothes, Lark asked Gaston to summon the servants. Soon, eleven men and women gathered in the hall.

“Listen,” said Lark, holding a Poison Cloud in his hand. “As the lord of this territory, I do not wish for my subjects to starve to death.”

The servants were confused, but they remained silent.

“We will be distributing food to all the residents. After that we will teach them how to gather their own food during this freezing winter.”

One of the servants timidly asked, “But, Young Master, the reserves in the granary are almost empty. We might even have to import some wheat before winter ends. Forgive me for saying this, but it’ll be impossible to feed all of the residents.”

“We have a solution for that,” said Lark, confidently. He raised his hand holding the weed, showing the Poison Cloud. “We’ve gathered two carts full of these. You call it Poison Cloud, correct?”

The servants were baffled.

“Young Master, they are poisonous!”

“The residents will die if we feed them those!”

Lark found it amusing. In his previous life, this plant was a highly valued crop. The weeds were easy to cultivate and hardly needed any sun or water to grow. The only downside was that they were not as delicious as wheat. For a starving person, however, the taste of food was trivial.

“Silence!” said Lark. Everyone immediately shut their lips. “These weeds are not poisonous if cooked properly. First, you will burn it until it turns into dust. Gather all the remnants and boil it. Understood?”

The servants hesitated. After a fierce glare from Lark, they all bowed their heads. “Yes, Young Master.”

Lark clapped his hands. “Remember the instructions. Now, get to work!”

The servants dispersed and began working. Under Lark’s supervision, they cleared the hearth and used it to burn the weeds. After turning it into crisp and dust, they gathered the remnants and boiled it in water. To their surprise, the small black particles turned pale brown and bloated. They resembled caryopsis.

Gaston was speechless. He looked at the young master and noticed he was grinning.

“T-This…” Gaston’s voice trailed off.

“Commoner’s Wheat,” said Lark. “It’s not tasty, but it’s edible. During burning, the poison within the weed is destroyed by the heat. Tastes a bit nasty, actually, but it should do for now.”

“I-I see…” said Gaston. “But, Young Master, are you sure it’s safe to eat? If the residents die because of this, your father—”

“It’s absolutely safe,” said Lark. He scooped out a caryopsis and placed it in his mouth.

Gaston’s jaw hung open when he saw the young master eat something he had always thought to be poisonous.

“See?”

After another minute, Gaston was convinced. The young master ate the Poison Cloud but was fine. The burning process must have indeed destroyed the poison.

“Disseminate the news to the residents. The mansion will give free food to everyone.”

Gaston felt that something was different in the young master. His arrogant, unpleasant demeanor was gone. Instead, the butler could see a different light within his eyes. The old butler could not define what exactly it was, but he could not help but tremble in excitement. This was, after all, the first time the young master showed compassion for the common people.

Gaston bowed. “As you wish.”