After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

Inside the Duke's private office, firewood crackled and popped in the fireplace, but it did nothing to dispel the cold atmosphere between the three.

Oswald had been ignoring the two men for half an hour, toying with the cigar in his hand, yet he still wouldn't give them a second glance.

It was as if the cigar in his hand was some kind of extraordinary treasure.

Standing ramrod straight on his left is Commander Red, a veteran who rose through the ranks and someone he had given up on cultivating last time.

This man was not only cowardly in battle and glib-tongued, but also fond of private fights, greedy, and lecherous. Although he appeared tall and strong, he was utterly useless except for a bit of blind loyalty.

As for the other red-haired girl, Elene, dressed as a maid...

This person claimed to be Oswald's personal maid, but in reality, she was his secretary who assisted him in governing the territory.

Eleanor was talented, and not just ordinary talented. No one expected that she could stir up such a massive internal strife after Oswald's death.

So, whether out of curiosity or speechlessness, Oswald had no choice but to look up and face the ambitious man he had always ignored.

In short, because he knew the two of them too well, Oswald couldn't help but give them a dressing down.

"Secretary-General, I have heard that our Northern Territory is now filled with starving people, and everyone is starving; and right here in Ice City, right at my feet, people are lying dead in the snow."

"Even in the capital, things are like this. Why haven't you reported this to me?"

Elena was stunned for a moment, then her whole body trembled with excitement. She quickly bowed her head and said, "Your Grace, there is indeed no food left in the territory. We are helpless now."

Upon hearing this, Oswald gave a cold look and said in a harsh voice, "After winter comes spring planting. If the people starve to death, will we all have to beg for food next year?!"

"Duke, please calm down."

Alene quickly knelt down, and Red reacted just as fast, kneeling down with a thud, not daring to even breathe.

"What could I possibly be angry about?" Oswald suddenly chuckled, then his smile quickly faded. "Only the hungry are truly angry!"

Upon hearing this, Red was trembling with fear, cold sweat pouring down his face.

Good heavens! When did this young duke change his ways and start caring about the lives of ordinary people?

After a moment, Oswald lit the last remaining cigar and said as if to dismiss the two men, "Go, both of you go and do two things for me."

Reid was immediately invigorated and listened attentively. "Good job! Getting things done means I'm still useful."

"Secretary General, go and sell the Duke's jewelry and luxury goods, exchange them for some grain from the grain merchants, and distribute it to the people in the city. Also, contact the Duke's ranch and have them personally send two thousand sheep to Ice City to help the disaster victims recover."

Elena stood up, smiled, and bowed slightly. "Yes."

Oswald nodded, confident in Elene's abilities. However, he quickly changed the subject, his gaze drifting towards Reid.

"As for Reid, go and arrest my fiancée's family in Ice City. Take enough troops and imprison them in the Marquis's mansion. Be quick and don't alert anyone else."

"After you've finished, immediately lead your troops to the Marquis's territory and escort all the grain from their granaries and the treasures from their treasuries to Ice City. But remember, do not engage in conflict with the soldiers in the territory."

"Yes." Reid responded almost instinctively, his head buzzing.

He quickly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his mind reeling as he stood up. Everyone said the young duke was ruthless, but he never expected him to turn on his fiancée's family so soon after taking power.

But when he met those cold, sinister eyes, he didn't dare to breathe. The two of them hurriedly accepted the order and rushed out of the Duke's mansion.

After the two left, Oswald's expression remained uncertain as he exhaled a deep puff of smoke.

Could his cheap fiancée be someone who can travel back in time?

In short, as the female lead who is closest to him, he needs to meet her and test her reaction.

If Oswald is not mistaken, those who travel back in time will also retain memories of their past lives!

Now, if she takes any further action to bully the Marquis's family as described in the plot, it will be tantamount to exposing his identity. What should he do then...?

The current situation is still unclear, and the system is busy checking the timeline and doesn't have time to deal with it.

There was no point in thinking about it. With the weather clearing up for the past few days, Oswald, having nothing better to do, rode his horse around the city.

It can only be said that some people have lost their loved ones, and others see only desolation.

People in the upper circles were worried that the Duke might continue his banditry, since the entire Marquis's mansion had been emptied out, with not only the precious trees in the garden being taken but even the weeds by the roadside being uprooted.

Those in the lower classes, having finally filled their stomachs, remained oblivious to the strange atmosphere in the city and began to feel a sense of anticipation.

As for Oswald, after only a cursory glance at the row of collapsed houses and ragged residents along the street, he felt a terrible headache coming on.

Fortunately, he had some experience in governance, so after confirming that the disaster victims had been settled and inspecting the city's defenses, he whipped his whip and returned to the equally empty Duke's mansion.

The old housekeeper still had a bitter face. This former art student's greatest wish was to realize his aesthetic ideals.

That is, to decorate the historic ducal palace with gold jewelry, art and antiques.

But Oswald didn't have the money to do such a shady business. According to his simple values, people were the most important thing. With people, you have everything. He would be willing to do even a ridiculous deal like exchanging a gold coin for a able-bodied adult.

However, the old butler's gaze was so resentful that Oswald had to avoid him every day and sneak into his office through a side door.

Elena, who considered herself Oswald's personal maid, had already prepared a cup of tea for him. After handing it to Oswald to warm him up, she then showed him the latest government documents.

After warming his hands by rubbing them together and glancing at them briefly, Oswald stamped his seal and then silently looked up to examine a certain maid.

In the game, Elene is used as a tool to prove Oswald's absurd actions.

She was originally a beautiful and graceful young lady from a baron family, a graduate of a prestigious imperial university. She was beautiful and graceful, and came to the Duke's mansion only to apply for a high-paying secretary job.

Oswald, however, said that her long red hair was rare, and that the cold and monotonous Duke's mansion was too boring. He suggested that she become his personal maid so that he could see more colors every day...

Then, he forced her to actually become his personal maid.

It's important to understand that in this world, it's illegal for any nobleman, except for members of the royal family, to enslave other nobles.

Fortunately, Oswald in the game is just a rebellious lackey and doesn't do anything else bad.

In his previous life, Oswald tried to get her to relinquish her maid status and settle down as secretary-general, but she thought he was going to fire her and cried her heart out... so the matter was eventually dropped.

Although the reason is unknown, this guy seems genuinely short of money, and is exceptionally satisfied with working one job and receiving double the salary...

Enough said. It's just being a dog, right? Oswald felt a deep empathy. Even though he was just a student in his previous life, he understood what it meant to be a working-class person.

"It's not good for these disaster victims to just sit around doing nothing all day," Oswald said to Alene, rolling a cigarette.

"I plan to establish a coal mining company in the name of the Duke's mansion."

To be fair, the Northern Territory has abundant coal resources, including large open-pit coal mines, all of which are owned by the Duke.

Just because other time travelers can make money from coal mines doesn't mean he can.

First, the Northern Territory has a sparse population, and most people are extremely poor; second, the forestry resources of the northern snowfields are completely saturated, with tall, straight coniferous forests everywhere, so people prefer to cut down trees rather than buy coal...

Even in the freezing cold, they would gather wood to save a few copper coins.

But coal is, after all, a highly efficient energy source, a strategic resource, and the foundation for future development. Even if it means operating at a loss, Oswald had to grit his teeth and fill the warehouses with coal.

However, they couldn't just stop mining coal because of the costs of mining and desulfurization, so Oswald decided to boil water.

Of course, this is not a small step for industrial civilization, and Oswald doesn't have the energy to do steampunk in the magical world.

Goddesses can reverse time, and you call that punk? Can you be as punk as her?

He simply set up a few paid hot water facilities in the city, commonly known as hot water rooms, which also serve as bathing facilities.

Having received the lord's appointment, Elene dared not slack off. While Oswald was still smoking, she was already on her way out of the ducal mansion, conceiving the entire plan.

It's often said that those above have only one mouth, while those below run themselves ragged – and that's absolutely true.

Of course she knew where the coal-producing area was. There was a large open-pit coal mine that had been abandoned for many years, about 30 kilometers southwest of Bingcheng. But now there was nothing there except a few dilapidated wooden houses.

So her first step was to go to the military camp to mobilize troops.

Arriving at the military camp alone, Reid dared not underestimate Elene, who was dressed as a maid. To put it bluntly, even if he wasn't seeing things, the white mink coat Elene was wearing was clearly a former Duchess's private collection.

Although he was about to become penniless, Oswald still rewarded his diligent subordinates.

As for why he took the blame and seized the Marquis's treasures passed down through generations, yet only received a reward of two gold coins, while Elena received a coat worth no less than a hundred gold coins simply for comforting the disaster victims...

Red couldn't understand this question. Everyone said he had a bad reputation, but how good could Elena's reputation for being greedy be?

I'm greedy too, and I can bribe people with money!

Without dismounting, Elena spoke directly: "The Duke instructed me to do this. I need to temporarily requisition one hundred military tents and some supplies, and I also need thirty cavalrymen to be under my command."

Upon hearing this, Reid only offered a fawning smile. "Understood, understood, I'll arrange it right away."

As soon as he turned around, he cursed the treacherous minister in his heart and began to feel that his mission as a loyal minister was arduous and far-reaching.

Regardless of Red's inner turmoil, after acquiring the supplies, Elene led her cavalry on a non-stop journey. After requisitioning a batch of grain and money from the treasury, she went to the gathering place of disaster victims in the east of the city to recruit miners.

One cavalry unit maintained order at the scene, while another unit went to retrieve the tools needed for mining. Elena put up a sign on the street and sat down quietly after her servants brought over tables and chairs.

When the disaster victims saw that it was the female official who had previously distributed free food recruiting workers, they had no more doubts and rushed over enthusiastically, causing a moment of chaos, before forming a long queue under the cavalry's shouts.

According to the lord's arrangement, this recruitment should not delay the spring planting next year, so those who own land should be given priority to be eliminated.

We can't hire older workers either; miners need to be strong.

"A settlement allowance of one silver coin, including room and board, and a monthly salary of thirty copper coins... Women are also welcome. Not only miners, but also purchasing agents and cooks are being recruited..."

"You're a blacksmith? Wait, let me write you a new contract. Sixty copper coins a month, is that acceptable?"

"No, children aren't allowed... Can they drive a carriage? Hmm, let's sign a temporary contract first and see how it goes."

The recruitment event was more popular than Elena had imagined. It wasn't until dark that she dispersed the remaining disaster victims who were unwilling to leave and announced that the recruitment was over.

Those who got jobs were naturally overjoyed, while those who didn't get job opportunities sighed deeply.

Winter is still long, and I don't know if I can make it through...

The next day, with the newly recruited refugees, braving the wind and snow, Elena spurred her horse, and the group followed her out of the city, slowly heading southwest.

After walking only two kilometers, Elena had to order a halt to the advance. She instructed the cook to prepare lunch while leading the disaster victims, who had already received their tools, to clear a path.

That's right, the road to the mine used to be abandoned. Their first job was to rebuild the road, at least to the point where horse-drawn carriages could run on it.

For a time, the woods were bustling with activity.

Some were cutting down trees, some were digging stones, some were ramming earth, and some were patrolling.

Under Alini's methodical command, the disaster victims, who were once again able to earn food through labor, appeared very enthusiastic.

Elena simply looked up at the thick, dark clouds to the north, her expression slightly furrowed, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, in Ice City, the capital of the Northern Territory, Oswald had already begun planning the second round of recruitment. With the Marquis's estate as his initial source of wealth, he didn't need to worry about money for the time being.

However, from a long-term perspective, money alone is far from enough for the Northern Territory to revive.

According to statistics from the previous life, the population of the Northern Territory was about three million six years later. Oswald used this to support 80,000 infantrymen and 10,000 cavalrymen. Even so, it almost broke the economy of the entire Northern Territory.

In short, it was too bitter; the country suffered because of the war, and the people suffered because of the war.

Other time travelers flocked to this frontier region, saying that this journey was like a bird soaring into the sky or a trapped dragon entering the sea, and that they would never be bound by anything again.

But Oswald just wanted to say that what kind of bullshit Northern Grand Duke was he? He was just someone else's leftovers. Even if there were only 30,000 iron cavalry, let alone 100,000, he would dare to twist the king's head off and kick it like a ball.

After all, this place couldn't support 30,000 iron cavalry; they couldn't launch a counterattack against the demon army, nor could they overturn the emperor's table...

It's stuck in a limbo, and one wrong move could lead to its demise.

Not to mention the chosen one in the south, and his five wives who possess the power of goddesses.

"We need to find a way to plunder the land and people of the south..."

Oswald, who was shredding tobacco, muttered to himself, "If others dare to do the first thing, why can't I do the fifteenth?"

He no longer wants to go back, since even the system hasn't found a solution yet.

Since that damned hentai heroine dared to reverse time and block his way home, then don't blame him for waiting until the ninth day of the ninth lunar month when my flowers bloom and all other flowers wither.

The most recent opportunity will be the nationwide epidemic that will sweep across the country next September.

According to the system's intelligence, the Prayer Star cannot be used again after it has been used. Therefore, the plague that was quelled by the Holy Maiden of the Church using the Prayer Star last time will surely ravage the country this time.

This time, it will be I, Oswald Khonorda, who will save the people from this calamity!