The news about the free wheat porridge provided by the young master stirred up the citizens of Blackstone Town. According to the servants he sent, the noble from the Marcus Family was going to distribute free food to everyone in the town. All they need to do was go to the mansion and receive it personally.

When Loevar heard of this, he immediately dismissed the news. That young master was an arrogant and condescending noble, even worse than the merchants that would occasionally drop by the town. Three months ago, when the Black Famine hit the entire Kingdom, Loevar went towards the mansion to ask for food. He was willing to take even the scraps, for his younger brother was dying of hunger that time.

Loevar would have understood if the young master was unable to spare them any food, since the Black Famine affected everyone regardless of the status. But instead of simply rejecting his pleas for help, Loevar was beaten up by the guards of the young master. If not for the butler stopping the noble, Loevar would have died from that encounter.

From then on, the hatred within Loevar grew. He knew that there was no way the mansion was giving out free food. There was no way that devil incarnate would care about common people like them.

Luckily for Loevar, his younger brother survived that famine. Although right now both of them were skin and bones from constant hunger, at least they were still alive. During the freezing winter, they would tear off the bark of trees and eat them. If the Gods were benevolent, a frog or a mouse would be available for dinner.

“Anthony,” said Loevar. He grabbed his wooden bow and the quiver. “I’ll try hunting for food outside. Don’t go out. Understood?”

It was freezing outside and the chances of successfully hunting a rabbit or other small animals in the nearby forest was close to none, but Loevar still wanted to try. He needed to find a way to procure food for the two of them, otherwise, they would die this winter.

“Anthony?” said Loevar. There was no response.

He pushed aside the ragged cloth that served as partition between the bed and the kitchen. He found out that his supposedly still sleeping brother was not there.

Loevar furrowed his brows. “Where did that kid go?”

Hurriedly, he wore his tattered coat then went outside. Snow continued falling down the heavens, piling up above the roofs and the streets. A steam would come out every time he breathed.

Usually, there would be very few people outside in this weather. Even the homeless ones would try to find a shelter from this cold. But right now, there were numerous people outside.

‘What’s happening?’ he thought.

He approached the tailor walking in front of him. After grabbing her shoulder, the old woman turned around. “Ah, Loevar. What is it?”

Since it was a small town, everyone knew almost everyone by name.

“Why are there so many people outside?” said Loevar. It was literally freezingly cold right now.

“You didn’t hear about the free wheat porridge by the Young Master?” said the old tailor, raising a brow.

“You mean that crappy news about the noble from the Marcus Family?” said Loevar gloomily. He never believed the news even for a second.

The tailor looked around nervously. “Shh! What if someone from the mansion hears you?!”

“So what?” said Loevar. “They’ll kill me, right? Those guys are demons. Granny, you shouldn’t trust those guys. It’ll be better for you to stay inside. You’ll just catch a cold here. There’s no way those arrogant bastards will open the granary for us common people.”

Although the tailor clearly heard his warning, it seemed that she had not the slightest intention of going back. Loevar sighed in his heart. He could see that more and more people were going out of their houses, probably going towards the mansion.

“By the way, have you seen Anthony?” said Loevar.

The tailor tightened the thin scarf around her heck. “I’ve seen him pass through my shop some time ago. He’s probably headed to the mansion right now.”

Loevar groaned. The kid probably didn’t tell him because he knew that he would refuse.

“I see,” said Loevar. “Thank you.”

Loevar walked along with the other residents towards the mansion. Upon arrival, he saw the excited faces of the people. He could see some of them holding large bowls of soups in their hands, excitedly sipping it.

For a moment, Loevar was stunned that the news was actually true. So, the young master was really trying to feed the starving residents? Loevar could not believe it. In normal circumstances wherein the granary was full, it would have been a miracle for the nobles to feed the common people. But now that the Kingdom was under a state of famine, it was even more preposterous.

How did they gain so much food to feed all these people?

‘Don’t tell me, the young master used his own pocket money to import food from the Lion City? Impossible. A devil’s not that generous.’

“Listen up! Once you’re finished with the food, put back the bowls so that others can use them!” shouted a young man with silver hair. Loevar stared at him in wonder. There was no doubt about it – that was the second son of Lord Drakus.

The servants of the noble would fill the bowls to the brim then hand it towards the ones in line. The queue was long, but Loevar was sure that to the starving residents, it did not matter how long they had to fall in line for. They were just grateful that they would be able to eat at all.

“Anthony!” shouted Loevar. He finally saw his little brother, right at the front of the line.

As he was about to approach the kid, he was stopped by the servants. The butler from the Marcus Family shook his head twice. “No skipping in line. Get to the back.”

A bit helpless, Loevar simply waited for his younger brother to finish the queue. After receiving his share of food, the young master stumped a charcoal mark on the kid’s nail.

“Why did you suddenly leave without telling me?” reprimanded Loevar the moment his brother went to him. Right now, the kid was carrying a large bowl filled with soup.

“You hate the Young Master, right? If I told you, you wouldn’t let me come,” said Anthony.

The voice of the kid was loud, and the Young Master stared at Loevar upon hearing it. Seeing this, Loevar panicked and immediately hushed his younger brother.

“Shhh! Not too loud!” breathed Loevar. He could not help but stare at the bowl his little brother was holding.

“Big brother, you should get a bowl of porridge too,” said Anthony. He scooped the bottom and showed Loevar the contents. “Look. They’ve added a lot of wheat in it.”

Loevar could not help but salivate. His stomach started grumbling. If he fell in line, it would probably take an hour or two before his turn, but the temptation of the wheat porridge was too enticing. A single bowl would probably be enough for them to survive through an entire day.

“Listen!” The Young Master clapped his hands once. Despite the falling snow, he stood outside the manor, as though he was not afraid of catching a cold. “I want all of you to pass the news to everyone. Every day, until the next harvest, we will be giving out two bowls of wheat porridge to each resident! One in the morning and one in the evening!”

The declaration stirred up everyone. Murmurs filled the mansion’s grounds.

“I-Is that true, young master?” asked one of the residents.

The young master nodded and smiled confidently. “Of course. I, Lark Marcus, never lies. You have my word.”

Although Loevar was doubting the credibility of the promise, he could not help but get excited. The news regarding free food for today was, after all, proven true.

“But it is not free!” declared the young master. The residents panicked upon hearing it. This town was among the poorest in the entire region. If the young master started asking silvers for food, then they would have no means to pay up.

“For each bowl of soup, an individual has to pay with three Poison Clouds!” said the young master. He took out a weed from his pocket and showed it to everyone. “You’ll have to give three of this in order to get your share of food. That is the rule!”

“J-Just that?” asked a resident.

“If… If it’s just Poison Cloud… I have many of those growing around my house!”

“Me too!”

The crowd began to get excited. Loevar felt that the payment for a wheat soup was too cheap. After all, it was possible to get Poison Clouds by simply walking through the streets.

The young master was grinning. “I declare that from now on, no one shall starve during the freezing winter under my rule! This is the promise of Lark Marcus!"