"I will allow you to stay with me but in another room. You will help me with everything needed & tell me what your family is planning next. Don't break my trust & nothing will happen. And if you ever thought about breaking it, then I swear it won't end well for you."

"Really..." asked the girl in an anticipating tone. If Leon agreed, then she won't have to live that life anymore. She could be free from many things.

"Yes."

"You promise."

"Yes, I promise."

"Thank you." Hearing the words, Lina jumped from the bed joyfully & hugged James, who was taken by surprise from this sudden movement. Still, he didn't hate it. If she was happy with these little things, then let her be.

After hugging him for a moment, Lina let him go. Her cheeks were completely red from embarrassment, as she didn't think of anything in excitement. But why did Leon say nothing? Did he like it? There were many questions, but it was not the right time to answer.

Still, she was more than happy with this outcome, as she could finally say no to her family for something she never wanted to do.

"We should sleep for now. It's getting midnight & I have a lot of things to do tomorrow." Said James, getting up from his seat & made his way towards the bed.

"This bed is big enough for both of us to sleep comfortably. But don't cross this pillow line." added James, placing two pillows in the middle of the bed dividing it into two partitions.

It was night & even if he wanted to change the room, it would take the servants the whole night to arrange it fully. Also, he didn't want to cause problems for other people, so he just devised this plan.

"Ok." replied Lina, seeing the arrangement.

"Good Night then."

Saying that, James got into the bed & lay down like a bear. And within a couple of minuted he was asleep. He was both physically & mentally tired after this enormous discussion.

As for Lina, she also got into the bed following Leon, but for her sleep didn't come quick. Her heart was beating like crazy after he agreed to accept her to stay with him. With he took her first step towards a life she always desired but never got the chance.

But now she had a chance & she was going to use it fully to make her world a little more brightly. And soon after a couple of moments & getting comfortable in the bed, sleep came slowly and before she knew it, she was asleep in the same bed as Leon.

***

A carriage was moving along the road outside town, Nortion leading to a certain village. 20 guards with full steel clad armor were following the carriage on their respective horses. And inside it were 3 people randomly chatting with each other.

"Isn't this arrangement seems a little overkill?"

"Yes Hansh. We are just going to a village, just to overlook how things are going. There is no need for 20 soldiers to be there."

"I understand your concerns, Lord. But I just can't shake this weird feeling I am having since yesterday."

"And What's that weird feeling?"

"It's not something I can put in words, but something is off. I can't say what it is, but something is not right." replied Hansh with a grim look on his face.

He was seeing too many unfamiliar faces in the vicinity, which was not some random occurrence. He had been in this town for many times & had known each & every soldier assigned here. New recruits could enter, but certainly they won't look like some mercenary guys.

"Are you doubting our arrangement, Captain?"

"I doubt nothing, Lord Lucas, but it's my duty to protect both of you & I can't ignore my instincts."

"Nothing will happen captain, just tell your people to go back. We are not going to some war." said the man named Lucas with a forced smile, but was freaking out internally. There was no mention of 20 guards accompanying them & his grand plan would fail if things kept moving, like this.

"I am deeply sorry Lord, but I can't do that. And for your general knowledge, no war has ever woned by 20 people."

Hearing the words of Hansh, Leon let out a chuckle, which was embarrassing for Lucas, who was talking like a child. So he fixed his demeanor & tried to say something but Leon spoke in the men time.

"And another thing is why the village was changed. You told me we are going to another one just now, but the planning was done already."

It was really strange that they were jumping between villages for mere inspection. James had requested some farmers from nearby villages to discuss the four field system & the count gave him the name of the village where he could find them as their field was necessary for practical purpose.

So the planning for security was done in the night for safeguarding him, but suddenly Lucas changed the whole thing out of the blue, which was a bit odd as he was not in the place to decide & the count agreed, giving no apparent reasons.

"Oh that. We changed it because that village had no adequate farmers or fields for you to see." replied Lucas with a fake grin plastered on his face.

"Then who planned it in the first place?"

"Listen Leon, it doesn't matter where you go. As long as you see things getting done, there won't be an issue."

"It matters, Lord Lucas. It matters because anything can happen at any moment." added the captain in a grim voice as things seemed too good to be true.

"You are being paranoid, Captain. Nothing will happen."

"If you say so."

***

After reaching the small village which was an hour's ride from the town, the group got out from the carriage & made their way towards a certain area where some soldiers & people were standing, waiting for them.

The group of people greeted Leon & Lucas with smile gave them the seat they deserved. For relieving their tiredness, some drinks were also made available, but James was in no mood to for all that.

He was here to fix things & he would do it quick. It was already getting noon & if they would waste time goofing around then there won't be much time left for him to show these people the demonstration.

So he made his way out of the makeshift tent & went towards the group of people who looked like farmers.

"You guys do farming here?"

"Yes Lord." replied the people in unison.

When the entire village was alerted about the Duke's son's arrival to overlook farming issues, they were all shocked. The man named Leonhart was known in every part of the empire as someone who never listen to reasoning or had any concerns for this region as the future duke.

Things got more confusing when only farmers were asked to meet him. Just what did he want to do with the farmers? Was he going to punish them for not doing their wok properly? They were paying their taxes & selling grown food items to the authorities. So why was he here?

There were countless question & the man who could answer all that was standing before them but they were too afraid to ask anything, fearing his reputation.

"So, what crops are you guys planning this year?"

The group explained what they were planning to grow this year or was already grown. Most of were the same with a couple of changes here & there. Still, it didn't matter as what James was planning could be used anywhere.

"... That is all, milord."

"Good. So I have a question? You guys can surely answer that, right?"

"Sure."

"Excellent. Now my question is, have you guys ever thought about changing things a bit?"

Hearing this question, all of them looked at Leon with a dumbfounded expression. What did he mean by changing things? Things were already good enough for everyone to grow necessary food & what's the reason to change things?

"I think you guys didn't understand my question? Let me rephrase that a bit. You people use 3 fields to rotate & harvest your crops according to seasons, right?"

"Yes."

"So my question is, have you guys ever thought about modifying or improving that a little?"

"No Lord. It is more than enough for us to grow our food. I use that, he uses that, everyone uses that. So there is no pointy in changing things if everything is working as we want." said a tall middle-aged man.

"You are right, but will you believe me if I tell you I have something which can help you even grow more food at the same time using the same thing you are doing for ages. It just needs a little tweak." replied James with a casual smile, to which the group of farmers were more shocked.

Just when did this obnoxious brat became so friendly & wanted to help them in farming?

"So wanna hear what that plan is?"

"Yes Lord." answered the group all together. There was no harm in hearing what this man had to say about the stuff they had been doing for as long as they could remember. Also, did he even know what he was going to say?

Leon was a duke's son & they were all farmers. He certainly did not know about these things like them. So whatever he was going to say would be useless & they were sure of it.

'Ahem' James fixed his attitude & tone a bit before speaking. "Have you fellows ever thought of using four fields instead of three?"

"What?" said a man involuntarily in a loud voice.

"I asked, have you guys ever thought of using four fields instead of three?" said James, once again thinking they hadn't heard correctly. He knew they were underestimating him to which he could do nothing.

People easily underestimated one another before knowing their real potency & it applied everywhere. These farmers were no exception to this phenomenon either.

"We understood that but..." said the tall man, looking around the entire group as no one spoke anything & he had to step in, otherwise it would seem rude.

"But..."