***

The estates in the eastern region, including Viscount Doan’s, relied mainly on timber for income.

There were dozens of species of timber trees, but each estate usually grew only a handful – five or six at most.

They usually grew a mix of high-profit furniture timber and easy-growing timber for construction.

After more than a century of repeated planting and cultivation of a few selected species, the surrounding mountains were dominated by just five or six tree species.

Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but when a pest broke out, the situation quickly became dire.

“You’re telling me that one estate has already been wiped out and it’s spreading to the neighbouring area? When did this happen?”

She asked, her face showing disbelief. The butler delivering the report looked grim.

“It is a recent development, but as the trees involved were redwoods, no one thought much of it at first. There were no visible signs until the trees started to die.

Unless you cut them open and looked inside, there was no way of knowing. That’s why it took so long to discover it.

Martian furrowed his brow. If a forest was densely packed with a single species, an outbreak of pests targeting that species could wipe it out completely.

In a naturally mixed forest, a pest outbreak wouldn’t wipe out the whole area at once. But in forests where species have been artificially controlled, a single pest outbreak could easily destroy everything.

That’s why it was common practice to mix different species when managing a forest.

“But redwoods are supposed to be resistant to pests.”

Redwood was a high-grade wood used for furniture – resistant to pests and admired for its beautiful grain.

Its slow growth meant it wasn’t harvested quickly, but compared to other types of furniture wood, which were typically weak against pests, redwood was considered almost risk-free.

A species that guaranteed a profit once planted. Many eastern aristocratic families, including the Doan family, had filled more than half of their forests with redwood to ensure a stable cash flow.

“And the state of our forest?”

“After inspecting several sections by cutting into the trees, we have yet to find any signs of infestation. However, given how quickly it spreads, it’s probably only a matter of time…”

In other words, their trees would soon be infected as well.

Martian sighed heavily.

Although the forests were divided into plots for management purposes, in reality they were all part of the same forest and the mountain range was a single range.

Once a pest outbreak started, it was natural for neighbouring trees of the same species to fall one after the other.

If they couldn’t contain the pest quickly, the standard response was to cut down the target trees before the infection could spread.

Especially if the pest was unknown.

If the infection persisted and managed to jump to other species, the devastation would be even greater.

So the best course of action was to cut down the infected redwoods.

“It looks like we’ll have no choice but to cut down the redwoods. How mature are they? Are they marketable?”

“They’re still a bit small to meet lumber standards. Normally they would have taken another five years to grow. Even if we give priority to the faster growing ones…”

Martian sighed again.

The redwoods under the viscount’s management had just passed their tenth year of growth.

They weren’t profitable yet, but in four or five more years they would have yielded substantial returns.

Cutting them now would be like wiping out years of investment and effort in an instant.

“It looks like we’re going to be eating potatoes for a few years. Redwoods were a safe investment – resistant to disease, easy to manage and requiring only patience for their slow growth. In fact, it was common practice in the region to use redwood forests as collateral for loans. Now that these precious trees have been damaged, this is not an easy problem to solve.”

“The real problem is yet to come. Managing the forest from now on will be even more difficult.”

The financial loss from cutting down the redwoods was significant, but the more fundamental problem was that there were no other stable, profitable tree species to replace them.

They could no longer rely blindly on redwoods. This meant a fundamental change in the way they managed the forest was needed.

“Come on, it’s been over a hundred years without a problem. Why does it have to happen in my time?”

At Martian’s lament, the butler bowed deeply with a sombre expression, as if to say it was his fault.

Martian waved her hand to signal that she didn’t mean that, but it was hard to hide her frustration and gloom.

The damage had to be severe. Trying to calm herself, she looked again at the documents the butler had organised. They contained detailed records of the symptoms of the redwood blight.

They were helpful in understanding the situation – but offered no solutions.

Another sigh escaped her lips.

“Viscount, this is a petition to be sent to the capital, drafted jointly with the neighbouring estates.”

The butler said, handing her a new sheet of paper.

Unlike the previous documents, this one was printed on high-quality paper with a gold border.

“Looks like everyone’s in a mess too, huh?”

“After all, many areas in the east rely heavily on redwoods.”

The petition urged the central government to recognise the seriousness of the situation and help fight the pest.

Martian read it carefully, then paused at one point. It claimed that more than half the furniture industry relied on redwood, and warned that if the problem wasn’t solved, there could be a major economic crisis.

“That’s a bit of an exaggeration.”

“Sure, the east produces a lot of redwood, but it’s not like it only grows here.”

“Still, if the same problem shows up in redwoods in other regions, it could spread. I think they’re just desperate to get the capital involved, whatever it takes.”

“True. Whatever happens, the central government will be more effective than we are – more manpower, more money, more expertise. Whether they’re interested in something like this, though, is another story…”

Martian added her signature at the end of the document.

There was no problem that couldn’t be solved with enough time, money and manpower – but out in a remote mountainous region, they had none of those luxuries.

Right now, they would be struggling to survive the immediate financial hit from the loss of the redwoods.

Investing money and time in researching the disease was an impossible luxury.

“How long would it take to cut down all the redwoods in the forest?”

“At least two weeks, even if we hurry.”

“And if we don’t sell the timber immediately, but try to store it?”

“That depends on how much of the wood meets commercial standards… Even if we clear as much space as possible, we’ll only be able to store about half of it.”

Typically, timber was sold immediately after harvest in the autumn.

Keeping it over the winter risked damage from snow and rain if it wasn’t managed properly, and they didn’t have enough storage space to begin with.

Martian sipped her tea, trying to calm her seething insides.

“Because of the blight, there’s about to be a huge surge of redwood on the market. If we want to get even a halfway decent price, we need to hold off selling for as long as we can. Clear out every bit of space available—even if it means piling the wood inside the manor itself. Just do whatever it takes to store as much redwood as possible.”

“Understood, Viscount.”

“And all the small trees that can’t be sold – stack them for firewood.

We’ll need them to get through the winter and to keep the stock in the warehouse from rotting.”

The old butler carefully wrote down each of her instructions. His face was sombre, but he didn’t look completely defeated. This expression was strangely comforting to Martian.

After all, he had been with the Doan family twice as long as she had. For him, this crisis was probably just one more hardship among many. That thought gave her strength.

“I’m really glad I have you.”

“Then… would you grant this old butler a little wish?”

“What wish?”

“To go to the capital during the upcoming Blessing Festival.”

“What are you talking about? We’ll be eating nothing but potatoes for the next three years!”

“The real hardships will come later. Right now we’re doing well.”

“But this year leads to next year. How can you say such an irresponsible thing?”

“Is this the first crisis we’ve ever faced? When things get tough, having someone to share the burden with makes all the difference.”

“That’s true.”

When she agreed, the butler’s face lit up with joy. In the midst of such a serious crisis, the sudden brightness of his expression felt almost surreal. His sincerity was moving—but even so, the idea of traveling all the way to the capital felt exhausting and ultimately pointless. The odds of finding a suitable match and actually bringing them back were painfully low. After a moment of thought, Martian offered the butler a soft, reassuring smile.

“Then you must live a long time, Butler. I want to share all these hardships with you as we go.”