Chapter 12: Full Production
The month finally came to an end, and Rose had spent most of that time exercising, eating more healthily, and actively interacting with the townsfolk. By the time the deadline Ludwig had given him to complete his designs arrived, the people of Kufstein were already fully aware of the far more humble and fair character of the young heir.
He dedicated much of his free time to helping the villagers with small requests within his ability, and every day he had lunch alongside common folk at the local bakery. It was there that, under his expert—if at times intensely demanding—guidance, the town's baker and butcher joined forces to create the world's first sandwich restaurant, which quickly became incredibly popular.
And although it was far from the first food he wanted to introduce into his territory's culture, he had to admit it had been one of his best ideas: they were inexpensive, healthy depending on the filling, and above all portable, allowing people to eat them even during the workday.
Of course, he had introduced many more dishes from his time into Kufstein's culinary culture. He instructed the chefs in the preparation of schnitzels, Spätzle, and other German dishes that would later become iconic to their land. He had even "borrowed" the occasional Italian and French recipe that, in this era, did not yet exist.
After all, no matter how much technological progress he made, he also needed to advance cultural and social development if he wanted things to turn out as well as possible.
During this period, Rose had also earned the trust of each and every servant in the castle and of the people in town. And almost without meaning to, he had established a small spy network within his own lands, one he used exclusively to counter Lambert's attempts to kill him. Seriously, the guy was unbelievably stupid if he hadn't realized that the count had abandoned him the moment he failed to kill Rose the first time.
The point was that, by now, certain commoners had already noticed the true… and frankly idiotic… nature of the baron's second son. Lambert was terrible at hiding. Even Rose, calm as he was, had a temper; his patience wasn't infinite, and he had moments when he snapped. He never tried to pass himself off as perfect. And it was precisely that sincerity that made people notice what Lambert truly was: a ridiculously fake person.
Naturally, Lambert was so stupid he didn't understand that all his movements were being observed by the commoners he habitually looked down on, unaware that his older brother now had their full support. And although he still enjoyed some backing among the local nobility—and even among a few viscounts gullible enough not to understand that the count had discarded him long ago… his actual ability to act was extremely limited. The people would protect Rose.
He could no longer poison the food, since the chefs admired the passion with which the eldest son shared his new recipes. They were the ones who personally brought the dishes straight to his table, eager to hear his critiques and learn from him.
The reason for his culinary skill? Well, when one has many younger siblings, someone has to take care of them while the parents work; as a result, he had ended up becoming a fairly competent cook. He freely admitted that his father's cooks were more talented than he was, yes… but talent meant nothing without the recipes and spice knowledge that Rose mastered better than anyone.
Setting that aside, he periodically supervised Gunther's and Ludwig's progress, and he was truly satisfied with both. He had no doubt that every project Ludwig had been working on would be fully completed by the end of the month.
The same could be said of the four-field system, which progressed smoothly thanks to Gunther's support and Rose's growing reputation. By the time harvest season arrived, he had no doubt the fields would produce far more than in previous years.
By the time the month finally came to an end, he already felt almost completely healthy. The lines of malnutrition had vanished: he was no longer a sack of skin and bones. His cheeks had filled out, restoring a much sharper and cleaner face than the gaunt look he had worn weeks before.
He was, of course, fully aware that his recovery was not due only to a diet rich and varied in vitamins and minerals, nor merely to the genetics of his current body. The real reason was that his soul had been slowly transforming this body.
His skin was still pale, yes, but it was no longer the sickly pallor of a walking corpse; instead, it resembled the natural tone he'd had in his previous life, now with a healthy glow. Even so, despite all the improvements, he was still far from regaining his true strength—but he was satisfied enough with his appearance for the time being. So much so that he was convinced he could already wield a spear again with the same skill with which he had once brandished Desmos.
However… considering what he had planned for his future military revolution, swords, spears, and arrows would soon reach the end of their usefulness.
After finishing his morning bath, the young heir entered the dining hall to have breakfast with his beloved family… yes, his beloved family, for Lambert had traveled to Innsbruck to visit his fiancée, granting Rose a more than welcome break from his younger brother's constant intrigues. Not that those intrigues were particularly effective, but they were certainly incredibly annoying.
On the other hand, if that pompous little idiot somehow managed to obtain the count's help in his schemes—unlikely at the moment, though not impossible—Rose would have no choice but to meet his own fiancée and secure the support of her father, the Count of Steiermark. It was something he had postponed for quite a while, mainly because he was a bit vain and didn't want his betrothed to see him looking like a walking skeleton.
He hadn't seen Adela since she was a little girl, and therefore, their first meeting would also be the first time she saw him as a man. And he wanted to make a good impression, of course; it was crucial, especially since he needed to convince the young woman's father that he was no longer the sickly and completely idiotic youth the rumors described. He needed to prove that he was healthy… and infinitely more cunning than his brother. The latter wasn't particularly hard.
The point was that if he secured the backing of a noble of equal rank, the Count of Tyrol would have to think twice before attempting to kill him. And as long as he managed to limit—or rather, completely nullify—Lambert's crude attempts, he was certain he could thwart any assassination attempt against his life without major complications.
Of course, he was fully aware that the definitive solution to his brother's troublemaking would be simply to kill him. It wouldn't be the first time he had done something like that; he had had to kill Sukuna in his time, when his brother became a true threat. Well, he hadn't been able to kill him entirely, but he did manage to divide his essence into twenty fingers.
Putting the matter aside, breakfast conversation was far more peaceful now that he didn't have to worry about Lambert's snide comments, always attempting—crudely and uselessly—to make the family lose the good opinion they now had of Rose.
His father, for instance, was proud of the progress Rose had made with his training. His mother couldn't help but smile radiantly every time she saw him healthier than ever before in his life. Henrietta, meanwhile, was simply a happy little girl enjoying her sandwich as if nothing else in the world mattered.
Rose was no different. He was eating his favorite sandwich: sourdough bread, sausage, fried egg, bacon, ham, and cheese. He knew that combination had a name, but he couldn't remember it at the moment; nor did he care, because it tasted just as delicious as it had in his previous life.
His parents had no idea where so many culinary ideas came from, but they certainly enjoyed them ever since he started scolding the chefs into experimenting with new recipes.
After finishing the sandwich—accompanied by a cup of milk that, unfortunately, lacked cocoa, a detail he had completely forgotten because it had not yet been brought from the Americas—Rose decided it was time to begin the next phase of his plan.
"Father, I think it's time for me to meet Adela. We've been officially engaged for almost a month and I still haven't seen her face," he declared. If his intention was to secure allies among the nobility, this was the first step.
Sieghard simply smiled at him. He already knew his son would ask about this sooner or later, and that the only reason he hadn't done so earlier was the same reason he had avoided writing to his brother-in-law: Rose's former appearance, which until recently had still been that of a walking skeleton.
Fortunately, that was no longer a major concern—something for which Rose was genuinely grateful. In the last letter from his brother-in-law, the man had made it clear that he preferred to give Rose all the time he needed to recover his health.
Apparently, the young fiancée had grown tired of waiting for Rose to accept her requests to meet and had taken a carriage toward Kufstein to force the encounter. Sieghard had not yet told his son, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to do so without the boy becoming indignant with him again.
"As for that matter… it seems your cousin was eager to meet you and is already on her way here. She should arrive tomorrow morning," Sieghard informed him, bracing himself for a possible outburst.
It was a surprising piece of news, certainly, but Rose remained calm. At least the girl was determined, and perhaps they could get along once they met. He wasn't entirely sure what they might have in common—he was twenty years old, and she would barely be turning fifteen—but he was glad to know he wouldn't have to wait too long to meet her… nor travel all the way to Graz, which would probably have ended in yet another assassination attempt if Lambert ever found out.
"Well, that disrupts my plans a bit, but it's nothing I can't handle," he declared calmly.
That response was enough to make Sieghard's shoulders relax. He was deeply relieved that the boy hadn't taken offense; after all, Rose's reaction when he found himself engaged without his consent, while not explosive, had been strong enough to fear he might attempt something foolish to break the engagement. Not that Rose wanted to—it was always his plan to marry eventually. He had only been indignant because he wasn't allowed to choose his partner, because he'd been tricked into agreeing to the engagement, and similar grievances.
However, what neither of them knew was that the young girl had, in fact, received help from a certain idiotic fallen angel, who found the idea of watching his nephew deal with romance immensely entertaining. Because of that, the girl was already very close to the borders of Kufstein… and it wouldn't be long before the first meeting took place.
Since they had no way of imagining such divine interference, Rose simply continued with the day's plans. Ludwig had sent him a letter the previous day announcing that the project was finished, so after lunch—once his father excused him—Rose headed to town to visit what would soon become the industrial district.
The moment he arrived, he noticed a series of beehive ovens blazing, turning the coal extracted from the mountains into coke. The sight drew a grin from ear to ear on the young heir's face. As he watched the future industrial district, Ludwig approached quietly and gave him a light tap on the shoulder.
"My lord, as you can see, we have completed each of your designs and have already begun the process of creating the first batch of steel," the old engineer reported, fortunate that Rose's "fight-or-die" instincts didn't activate from not immediately recognizing him as a threat.
Rose continued observing the small district built beside the river: the blast furnace powered by a waterwheel, producing pig iron; the beehive ovens generating the coke that would fuel the furnace; and the molten metal being sent directly to the Bessemer converter to be transformed into steel.
Everything was proceeding perfectly. It wouldn't take long before they produced the first batch of steel, which they could sell to Innsbruck for a small fortune. And once he obtained those profits, Rose would invest them into the barony's mining sector to begin large-scale production.
"Ludwig, my friend… you've truly outdone yourself," he finally said.
End of chapter.