When they entered the dining room, Mirella was already waiting.
Dinner had been laid out on the long wooden table.
Bread.
Vegetables.
A piece of meat.
And a bowl of hot soup whose fragrant steam curled into the air.
After eating a few bites, she set down her knife and fork.
“Grandma Mirella,” she said.
Mirella looked up immediately. “Yes, Young Miss?”
Sienna folded her napkin and placed it beside her plate. “I’ve been thinking. Tomorrow, we should not improve the black soil near the castle.”
Mirella blinked.
For a moment, she did not understand. Then concern flashed across her face. “Why does Young Miss say that? If we do not improve the land, then what shall we do?”
Sienna shook her head. “You misunderstand me.”
She leaned back slightly, her fingers interlaced before her. “The land must be improved. But not here.”
She gestured toward the window, where darkness lay beyond the stone walls. “If a jewel is placed in the middle of a road, even a blind man will stumble upon it. But if the same jewel is hidden beneath the roots of a tree, only the one who planted it will know where to dig.”
Her eyes grew serious.
“Our strength is too weak. If those nobles discover that House Vale can turn this dead land into fertile soil, do you think they will sit quietly and let us prosper?”
Mirella’s expression changed. The excitement that had filled her heart earlier cooled instantly, like boiling water doused with snow.
She understood.
The agreement with the Arcana Empire guaranteed this territory to the heiress of House Vale.
But if there were no heiress, the land would return to the crown.
And dead heirs were often easier to deal with than legal documents.
A common man carrying an empty basket is ignored.
The moment the basket is filled with gold, thieves begin to circle.
Mirella slowly set down her utensils. “What Young Miss says is correct.”
She exhaled deeply. “Even if all we desire is to survive, those old wolves would not let us keep a field of grain if they thought they could seize the harvest.”
Then she looked at Sienna. “So what should we do?”
Sienna wiped her mouth with her napkin and spoke calmly. “We improve the land, but in a hidden location, somewhere far enough from the castle that it cannot be seen at a glance, and subtle enough that no one would notice it unless they were specifically looking for it.”
She paused and then added as an afterthought. “We do not need much at first. One thousand acres will be enough to feed everyone here.”
Mirella nodded. “That makes sense.”
After thinking for a moment, she added, “Tomorrow I will take some slaves and search the surrounding area for a suitable location.”
Then she asked, “And what about the blue-eyed rabbits and the scaleless fish? Shall we continue with those plans?”
Sienna smiled faintly. “Yes.”
She picked up her cup and took a sip before continuing. “Especially the fish.”
She set the cup down. “If someone sees us raising rabbits and fish, they will only think we are trying to survive like any other desperate family cast into this wasteland. It will not draw much attention.”
Mirella agreed, but she frowned slightly. “Then the main issue is still the water. The moat and the underground lake are both strangely empty. There are no fish at all.”
Sienna tapped her finger lightly against the table. “That is what troubles me as well.”
She looked toward Mirella. “The Spatial Farm confirmed that the water quality is excellent. It is not poisonous. So why is there no fish?”
Mirella thought for a long moment before answering. “When water contains no fish, there are generally two possibilities.”
She raised two fingers.
“First, the water is poisonous.”
She lowered one finger.
“Second, there is a powerful magical beast living within it, one that has eaten everything else.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“If Young Miss is certain the water is not poisonous, then only the second explanation remains.”
Sienna’s brows knit together.
A magical beast.
In her previous life, she had seen news stories about lakes where invasive predators wiped out every fish in sight.
If a single dangerous creature inhabited the water, it could ruin their entire plan.
Mirella noticed the concern on Sienna’s face and offered reassurance.
“Young Miss need not worry.”
Her voice carried the calm confidence of a veteran mage. “If there is a magical beast, we simply find it and remove it.”
Sienna frowned as soon as Mirella finished speaking.
Her fingers, which had been resting on the edge of the dining table, tightened slightly against the polished wood.
“Will it be dangerous, Grandma Mirella?” she asked, her voice low but earnest, carrying none of the commanding tone she used when discussing plans and strategy. “If there is real danger, then we can abandon the idea of raising fish. Fish are useful, yes, but they are not worth risking your life.”
For a brief moment, the room became very quiet.
The warm scent of bread and vegetable soup still lingered in the air. Outside, the wind brushed softly against the stone walls of the castle, producing a faint, hollow murmur, as though the Black Soil Wasteland itself were listening to their conversation.
Mirella looked at Sienna, and a gentle smile slowly spread across her face.
There was affection in that smile, and pride as well.
The child who once stumbled through life without looking where she was going now worried first about the safety of others.
That alone was enough to warm the heart of an old servant.
“Young Miss may rest assured,” Mirella said, her voice calm and steady, like a seasoned general discussing a familiar battlefield. “This old woman is still an eighth-level water mage. Dealing with a magical beast in the water is not much more troublesome than pulling a weed from the garden.”
Her words were spoken simply, but they carried a confidence that came from decades of experience.
Sienna studied Mirella’s face carefully.
The older woman’s expression did not contain even a trace of hesitation.
It was the look of someone who had weathered countless storms and no longer trembled at the sound of thunder.
After a moment, Sienna let out a slow breath and nodded.
“Very well,” she said. “Then we will set that matter aside for now. Tomorrow, our first task is still to organize the slaves and search for a suitable piece of land to improve.”
Mirella nodded in agreement.
To nobles like those of House Vale, land was life itself.
Gold could be spent.
Food could be eaten.
But fertile land was like a mother’s lap. As long as it remained in your hands, it would continue to nourish generation after generation.
Throughout the discussion, Tiara remained silent.
She sat with her hands folded neatly in her lap, her posture straight and graceful, and listened attentively as Sienna and Mirella exchanged plans.
Though she was intelligent and perceptive, she was still young.
Sienna, on the other hand, carried memories from an entirely different world, a world of information, strategy, and constant calculation.
As for Wood and Stone, they stood like faithful stone pillars near the wall, saying nothing.
Neither man was particularly gifted with words.
If they were asked for advice, their contribution would likely be as useful as asking the moon why it shines.
*
Sienna finished her meal quickly.
After drinking a cup of warm tea, whose faint bitterness helped clear her thoughts, she rose and returned to her room.
Night had fully settled by then.
There were no games, no books to browse idly, no glowing screens to distract her mind.
In her previous life, she had often stayed awake deep into the night, surfing the internet or tending to her farm game.
But life in this world was different.
Every day was filled with planning, labor, and constant tension.
By nightfall, exhaustion usually dragged her into sleep.
Today, however, she had slept during the afternoon, and her mind remained too alert to rest.
So after closing the door behind her, she entered the Spatial Farm.
The familiar white light embraced her, and in the next moment, she stood once more within the quiet world of the farm.
The air here always felt clean and fresh, carrying the scent of moist soil and growing plants.
The corn seedlings stood upright in neat rows, their green leaves rustling softly as though whispering to one another.
The radish sprouts had grown quickly, their broad leaves stretching toward the sky with vigorous vitality.
Most importantly, there were no insects.
No weeds.
No signs of disease.
Everything was orderly.
Everything was thriving.
As Sienna looked over the crops, a small thrill stirred within her chest.
These tender green shoots were more than plants.
They were her future.
Her foundation.
Her hope.