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

Currently, Lark was inside a carriage heading towards his mansion. Through the window, he was able to see the small town. The houses resembling mud clays 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. By sight alone, he estimated that there were probably only a hundred houses in this place.

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

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

Gaston, who was sitting beside him, was surprised by this question. He had known the young master since he was young, and the old man knew that 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 entire Kingdom, just right before the 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 further explained to him that the Black Famine was caused by numerous small insects that ate the crops. Although they did not linger for long, their bites cause crops to die and wither in a few days. The Kingdom had been infested by these insects for such a long time that the King had even tasked the Ministry of Research to find a way to annihilate the pests.

Judging by the description of the butler, those insects were probably Kelnup Flies. Lark had encountered them before in his previous life. And based on his knowledge, it was actually really easy to take care of those pests.

If those are really Kelnup Flies. And the plants growing in this place... They’re the same.

The possibility that this was the very same world was high. But right now, he had not enough evidence to prove that. If possible, he wanted to go to a National Library and learn more about this world. But that have to wait for now. First, he needed to address the immediate problems.

Lark furrowed his brows. “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 that grew on the snow-covered ground. If one were to look at the sides, there were actually a lot of them.

“Those things are edible,” said Lark.

Gaston looked at the young master with eyes filled with understanding. “Young Master, those things are poisonous—”

“—if eaten raw, yes,” said Lark. He shouted towards the coachman. “Stop the carriage!”

Immediately, the carriage halted to a stop. Lark opened the door and was immediately assaulted by the freezing snow.

Gaston quickly followed behind him. “Young Master! You’re going to catch a cold! Please go back inside the cart!”

Lark simply ignored the old butler. He bent down and pulled numerous weeds off the ground.

“What do you call these here?” said Lark.

Although hesitant, the butler replied, “Poison Cloud, Young Master. It helps melt the snow during winter, that’s why the residents didn’t pull them out. But Young Master, as I’ve said before, those things 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. He was worried that he would catch a cold from this weather.

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

Unable to object, the old man simply sighed and bowed, “As you wish, Young Master.”

Soon, the servants in the next carriages went down one after another. Wearing nothing but tunics and wooden sandals, they trembled from the assault of snow. 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 half a thousand, Young Master,” said the old man.

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

After knowing 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 would stop and stare at them as they pulled the weeds off the ground.

Gaston could not help shaking his head. What they were doing was a waste of time, he knew, but he could not do anything 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 full with weeds, the group went back towards the mansion. It was a place located 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. He was 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 clearly confused, but they remained silent regardless. “We will be distributing food to all of the residents in this place. 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 before everyone’s eyes. “We’ve gathered two carts of these things. You call it poison cloud, correct?”

The servants were baffled.

“Young master, those are poisonous!”

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

Lark found it amusing. In his previous life, these things were highly-valued crops. They were easy to cultivate and hardly needed sun and water to grow. The only downside was that they were not as delicious as wheat, but for a starving person, 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 turned into dust. Gather all the remnants and boil it. Understood?”

The servants were clearly hesitant. 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 the supervision of Lark, 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 somehow resembled caryopsis.

Gaston was speechless upon seeing it. He looked at the young master and noticed that Lark was grinning.

“T-This…” Gaston’s voice trailed off.

“Commoner’s Wheat,” said Lark. “They aren’t tasty at all, but they’re edible. After burning, the poison within the weed is destroyed by the heat. Tastes a bit nasty, actually, but this 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 on his mouth. Gaston’s jaw hanged when he suddenly saw the young master eat food that was supposedly poisonous. “See?”

After a few more minutes, Gaston was finally convinced. The young master ate the poison cloud but was still fine. Therefore, 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 from the young master. His arrogant and invidious demeanor was gone. Instead, he could see a different kind of light within those 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.