Head Butler of the Fallen Villainess-Chapter 53 - 11th Days (1) | Sowing the Future (3)

A new day had arrived, and with it came the sun, rising at the edge of the horizon and basking its light on the (mostly) restored field.

And the sun’s appearance itself was the starting mark where the real farming work began.

Gathered once again at the farm were the four rag-tag individuals—one master and her three servants.

Anastasia, Bella, and Martha had changed once again into their easy-to-move work clothing, with the two formers wearing the same color-coded outfits while the knight simply stuck to her usual tank top.

Sebas? The only man in the group? He’d just discarded his butler’s coat as usual.

"Alright, ladies~!" Sebas clapped his hands together before raising one hand to the air—his voice brimming with enthusiasm. "Let’s turn this patch of land into a farm worthy of Lady Ana’s name!!!"

"Yeah~!" Bella joined the cheers, similarly imitating his hand-raising gesture in a burst of excitement.

"Y-yeah..." Anastasia also joined in their spirit, albeit rather shyly, with a small, hesitant smile and a weakly raised fist.

This young noblewoman had not yet gotten used to the rowdy spirit that her two servants were sharing.

And Martha? She just let out a sigh, shaking her head at the usual antics these two were up and about.

"Is this going to be the same routine for them...?" the knight muttered under her breath.

Now that their cheer was done, with sleeves rolled up and hoes and shovels in each of their hands...

"Sir Sebas, please be mindful of your strength and hold back properly," the mistress cautioned her butler sternly, reminding him of yesterday’s mishap before they began with anything.

"Ahaha, sure thing, my lady," he replied, a sheepish smile tugging at his lips. His nonchalant answer only elicited another sigh from Anastasia—and even Martha—while Bella let out a small giggle at his silly attitude.

And with that warning set in stone... they finally began.

The process itself... went smoothly—smoother than expected, in fact!

It seemed, in a strange twist of fate, the result of yesterday’s mishap and also the fixing of that mishap itself did them a favor...!

Because of the butler destroying most of the hard earth and all of them cleaning up much of the debris, the soil had already been loosened enough to work with!

With just a bit more effort, it was tilled and cleared, leaving behind soft, workable rows of earth.

Sebas (in extra cautious mode) and Martha took the lead in marking and sectioning out the plots—neatly dividing the field into long, even rows. Each plot was carefully measured, ensuring space for everything they planned to plant.

Anastasia and Bella followed closely behind, spreading a mix of soil enhancers and fertilizer across the freshly dug earth.

"I did not think farming required such meticulous care..." the redhead noblewoman commented, shoving another scoop of soil enhancer from the burlap bag.

Behind her, Bella was also working diligently, scooping out another burlap bag—but this one was filled with the pungent-smelling fertilizer.

"I-Indeed so, my lady. My cousin’s family runs a farm, so I’ve once helped out a little before in the past," she admitted, her tone dry as she adjusted the cloth that blocked the smell from her face. "They do a lot of things, like crop rotations, pest management, producing manure for livestock, and so much more."

"I see..." the upstart lord absorbed the knowledge well, but... she couldn’t help but notice the pained expression her maid was showing. "...Bella, are you well? Is there something wrong with the fertilizer?"

Anastasia herself couldn’t help but scrunch her nose. Even when she was standing a few paces back from it, the smell of this one was quite the pungent one.

"I-I’ll manage, my lady..." Bella reassured her. However, she hesitated, "...I would not lie to you because this particular fertilizer is somewhat... different."

"D-different...?"

"Y-yeah... compared to the manure my cousin’s farm has been using, this one has a much, MUCH worse stench," she groaned through the muffler, "even with this thick cloth, it’s like the smell seeps straight through it."

Anastasia was starting to worry if this was actually normal or not, so... she looked for an answer to the one who brought this fertilizer—Sebas.

"Sir Sebas, a moment, if you will?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah! What’s up, my lady?" he responded, stopping his hoe from striking the next row.

"...Something’s odd about the fertilizer according to Bella."

"Hmm...? Oh, right! I almost forgot to mention this," he realized his blunder with yet another sheepish smile. "This is a special fertilizer~."

Both women paused, exchanging glances before Anastasia raised an eyebrow.

"...Special?"

"Yup~, rare, premium quality product," the butler nodded cheerfully, with an innocent smile plastering his face, "crafted specifically from monster dung~."

Silence...

...

...

"Monster dung—!?"

"Yup~," he replied back; seemingly rather pleased with himself, "I got it from a friend of mine who specializes in weird alchemy stuff. Said that it works really damn well and all, but couldn’t come up with a way to remove the distinct smell."

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

"’Distinct’ is an understatement, Sir Sebas..." Anastasia muttered, looking back at the smelly burlap bag that the poor Bella had to carry around.

Bella herself... had a bit of tears running down her eyes. "The smell’s going to be stuck with me forever..."

"Ahaha, don’t worry, Miss Maid~. I also got a special soap that could get rid of even the smelliest smell in the world—courtesy of another friend of mine~."

"You sure seem to know a lot of people, Sir Sebas," Anastasia remarked, eyeing the butler’s ever-casual demeanor.

"I know a variety of people, my lady," he replied with an amused glint in his eyes.

"Is that so..."

His answer didn’t exactly satisfy her curiosity. If anything, it only left her wondering what other peculiar acquaintances her eccentric butler had...

Though either way, she was more interested in whether this ’special’ fertilizer he bought was really that special.

’We’ll just have to see, I guess...’

And soon, by midday, the farm had taken shape—a neat and orderly expanse, row after row of freshly prepared soil stretching across approximately 1/5 of a hectare of land.