I Become a Landlady in the Game World

Barnes Village.

"Cough, cough, cough..." After suffering an acute attack and vomiting blood, Viscount Robin only revived on the following day after receiving Healing from the territory's Doctor. However, his coughing was still unavoidable.

Anger harms the body.

Though Viscount Robin's physical functions had recovered, his condition had not yet improved.

The officials below listened to this coughing, and they all felt an ominous premonition.

People had fled, and the Lord had fallen, the entire territory was in a state of panic.

Did their territory still have hope?

"Lord..." Foster hesitated from below, unsure of what to say at this moment.

Was it right to be angry with their Lord for not listening to him, not expelling the people from Hope Village at the first opportunity?

He thought if Barnes Village was targeted by Hope Village, even if people were expelled immediately, the other side had thousands of ways to infiltrate Barnes Village, and with their capacity to bewitch, the result for Barnes Village would have been the same.

Barnes Village had problems long ago; when people were shifting out of Barnes Village and the territory forcibly prevented them from leaving; later, when they were allowed to leave but were forced to give up certain assets, the demise of Barnes Village was sealed.

The blame lay with their Lord who never considered the residents of the territory, believing that as long as they belonged to the territory, they were at his mercy to exploit.

Maybe that was feasible in the past, but after the emergence of Hope Village, things were different.

Foster's thoughts diverged within his mind, already certain of Barnes Village's future.

"Did they catch up with them?" Viscount Robin asked, his gaze grim.

"The people sent out to surveil afterwards haven't sent back any news; I fear they met with misfortune on the way," Foster spoke helplessly.

The desertion of over a thousand soldiers was truly a devastating blow to the territory. When they sent out squads after that, they had no hope left at all.

Whether they were captured or had deserted, the bottom line was, they were not coming back.

Now, they dared not easily send people out.

Because if they sent more, there would be no one left to guard the city gates.

By then, who could stop the remaining residents of the territory?

He knew well that the remaining Professionals and residents were all watching and waiting, especially the remaining Mercenary Team, who had lost faith in the strength of Barnes Village.

"What about Hudson? Has he returned?" After a moment, Viscount Robin continued to enquire.

At this question, the room fell silent, and some officials revealed signs of dissatisfaction in their eyes.

Among the personnel who defected yesterday, the most unbelievable for them was Pavel.

He was the highest Level Professional in the soldier team.

Because of his strong abilities, his prestige in the soldier team was substantial.

Yet, such a man had also defected, and even led away most of the soldiers in response to his call.

They were well aware that, while Pavel was strong, he was not the most valued in the territory—the most esteemed was Hudson.

Although Hudson was also very formidable, his temperament was troubled, and he often used his power to pressure others, his popularity within the soldier team indeed not as great as Pavel's.

In short, it was the Lord's overt favoritism towards Hudson that caused Pavel's discontent.

Pavel's escape was definitely influenced by Hudson.

The Lord was still concerned about him???

"Captain Hudson has not yet returned," Foster replied with hidden dissatisfaction, showing no trace of it outwardly, and after answering, he continued, "Lord, you should now step forward to reassure the residents of the territory. Everyone outside is discussing this matter, and morale is unstable."

The best they, as officials, could do was to try and reassure the population.

But no matter how they reassured, the effect would certainly not be as good as the Lord personally doing so.

Viscount Robin listened, his expression becoming colder.

"I provided these residents with shelter in my territory, and they even dared to betray me; I will certainly not let them off. As for the residents of the territory..."

As he thought about it, Viscount Robin's expression became somewhat complex.

He had not expected so many people to betray him this time. Although he was furious, what he understood even more clearly was that his failure as a Lord was the reason he couldn't retain his people.

"Do you have any suggestions?" After recovering, Viscount Robin directly asked for Foster and the others' opinions.

If it were up to him, he felt sure that all the people would definitely run away.

Foster was instantly invigorated when he heard Viscount Robin speak like that.

It was a good sign that the Lord was willing to listen to them.

What he feared most was that the Lord might act stubbornly on his own accord.

"First, Lord, you directly grant certain rewards to the residents of the territory, making them willingly stay in the territory; second, Lord, you cease the behavior of requiring a deposit for leaving; and lastly, Lord, you assure that, after the Territory War, the Task Center will be open and they will be free to come and go to Hope Village," Foster quickly offered three suggestions.

With each suggestion, Viscount Robin's face grew a shade darker.

Foster of course noticed, but didn't say anything more, for all that needed to be said had been spoken. If the Lord was willing to listen, he naturally would act; if not, more words would be useless.

The atmosphere solidified in this manner.

Viscount Robin weighed his options in his mind.

Not knowing how much time had passed, Viscount Robin finally spoke, "Do as you've suggested! As for how many Gold Coins it specifically requires, let me know after you have calculated it."

Since taking office as a Lord, it was the first time he had faced such a situation, and his pride had been severely wounded.

Having received a positive response, Foster could not help but feel elated.

That was great! The Lord was still open to advice.

The next moment, Foster immediately took many officials to start discussing the details of welfare for the residents.

**

While they were discussing remedies, Yun Juncai, who had left his backup in Barnes Village, was also preparing to start their move.

"Those officials have gathered at Viscount Robin's estate, I'm afraid they're indeed discussing how to appease the residents," Yun Juncai spoke to another Companion, Milovan, whom he had temporarily found in Hope Village.

Both men had left Barnes Village and, upon arriving in Hope Village, had never acquired the residency of its inhabitants; they had always lived as tourists.

After all, the two were Professionals and solitary figures at that; paying tourist fees daily was really nothing to them.

By chance, they had taken on a few missions with Yun Juncai's Mercenary Team before.

For this trip to Barnes Village, Yun Juncai sought them out to help with some tasks in Barnes Village.

During this time, they had come to view Hope Village as their future territory to develop. Now that they had a chance to serve the territory, they were more than eager.

Right after the main forces left, the two of them stayed in the territory, waiting for the right moment to act.

Speaking of which, the episode of Viscount Robin fainting last night was an opportunity for them, but they had not expected that after Viscount Robin fainted, the officials of the Lord Mansion acted swiftly and stabilized the situation and increased their search efforts in the territory, so naturally, they dared not act rashly.

But today, hearing that many officials had gone to the estate, and that a few more had been called in, including those who managed the residents, matched some of the words Yun Juncai had left for them.

There, the two involuntarily marveled at Yun Juncai's prescience.

They really didn't know how his mind worked.

He was not present in the territory, yet his predictions were so accurate.

No wonder he could make a stand in Hope Village with so much talent and establish his own enterprise.

They truly envied him.

They wondered when they could achieve the same level as him.

"We two should act separately right away," Rete hurriedly said to Milovan upon hearing this.

They had to send out the news before the territory's appeasement policies took effect, which might cause the opposite effect to the other party's appeasement.

"Understood," Milovan nodded.

The next moment, the two unobtrusively went their separate ways.

One headed towards the Mercenary Center, the other went to the Tavern.

Their targets had long since not been the ordinary residents of the territory.

Having urged them once before, those who had not left were either too reluctant or unable to leave, so saying more was of no use.

Thus, their target was the remaining Professional teams of the territory.

Grasping their sentiments was key; afterwards, all they needed to do was hide in the shadows and act together with other Professionals.

This meant they had to make a hit with a single strike.

At the moment of action, their hearts were pounding wildly.

Victory or defeat was on their lips.