Maria

Frederick had seen countless beautiful women in his previous life, and even more since coming here. There were the blonde, blue-eyed maids in the castle, Katie from the south with the traditional appearance of the First Pulan Empire, dark-skinned pagan merchants who came to do business, and Psyche with her Aegean Sea charm, among others. He thought he would never again be moved by beauty in this life.

However, when he saw Philip's six-year-old daughter, Maria, run out of the castle, "thump, thump, thump," across the drawbridge and towards Philip... standing beside him, he felt his heart rate soar.

Maria's skin was as white as winter snow, her features were more exquisite than a doll, her rosy cheeks were like ripe apples, her laughter was like the sound of nature, and her hair and eyes were as black as charcoal. Like Katie, she had the style of the First Pulan Empire.

Philip happily picked up his daughter, not noticing the pig that had appeared beside him.

A glance made Frederick start, and he immediately snapped back to reality.

A noblewoman walked out of the castle gate. Like Maria, she had black hair and eyes, and was looking at Frederick with a half-smile.

Philip's wife, Sophia, walked over to the carriage and said to her daughter, "Hurry and greet our guest."

The father and daughter, who were just expressing how much they missed each other, then noticed there was someone else next to them.

After introductions, Maria slightly lifted the hem of her dress with both hands, bowed, and said, "Baron Weissen, greetings. Welcome to Lohr."

After speaking, her big watery eyes curiously examined the peer in front of her wearing strange clothes.

Frederick regained his composure and said with a smile, "Miss Eltar, greetings. It's a pleasure to meet you."

He then greeted Sophia, and was surprised to find that the lady's complexion was pale, and her eye sockets were a bit sunken. She must have been ill.

After exchanging greetings, Sophia took Frederick's hand and said, "Please make yourself at home here. Think of it as your own."

Frederick immediately replied, "I'm truly sorry to trouble you, madam."

"It's no trouble," Sophia said, pulling him towards the castle. "Our hiking trails in the mountains are famous. They're enjoyable in every season. Come and visit more often when you have time."

"It's very hot this summer, but it's cool in the mountains. If you're interested, you can go climb them soon."

Philip walked behind with his daughter, and after only a few steps, he noticed something in his wife's words.

Yesterday, someone had ridden back quickly to report the news, and today Sophia had already prepared accommodation for Frederick and his servants in the castle.

Considering the tiring journey, lunch was not extravagant, but the portions were generous.

Upon arriving at the dining room, Frederick saw many Wessen Buns on the table.

Wessen Buns had spread here, but the filling between the two pieces of bread had been changed to local specialties.

Furthermore, because the method of eating them by taking large bites looked very unrefined, these buns were not made large; you could finish one in two or three bites.

Frederick, at the hostess's invitation, picked up a small Wessen Bun. After one bite, his eyes immediately lit up.

He didn't know what spices were added to the pan-fried beef patty; after being sliced and fried, the taste was rich and mellow, different from those in Wessen Territory.

The green sauce was made from chervil, sorrel, borage, anise, chives, curly parsley, and dill. Its flavor was light and uniquely fragrant. If Gul'dan had made that pot of stuff taste like this, Hellscream could have drunk two more bowls.

There was also cheese with a slight yogurt flavor and fresh vegetable leaves. The combination of flavors felt not bad.

Frederick's appetite was starting to grow now. A small Wessen Bun naturally couldn't fill him up. Seeing Sophia chatting with Philip, he reached out and took another one himself.

By the time he ate the fourth one, he suddenly noticed Maria across the table looking at him and snickering. So he asked her, "What's so funny?"

Maria replied, "You're eating so much!"

Frederick said, "Because it's delicious."

To his surprise, the little girl pouted and said, "You're eating so much, Father won't have any left."

Frederick was speechless and immediately changed the subject. "I brought you a toy. How about I teach you how to play with it later?"

As soon as she heard about playing with a toy, Maria immediately forgot whether her father would have enough to eat and asked curiously, "What kind of toy is it? Is it fun?"

It turned out that in this era with a lack of toys, Chinese Checkers was very appealing to children.

Especially since Frederick let her win two games and lose one, the result was that the little girl dragged him to play Chinese Checkers all afternoon.

In the study, Philip began to deal with the work that had accumulated during his visit after finishing lunch.

Sophia came to the study and said reproachfully, "You were so tired from the journey, why don't you rest?"

Philip was looking at a letter of appointment from the Grand Duke of Mainz appointing him as the governor of the glass mirror workshop. He put it down and said, "Baron Weissen's carriage is very special. It's fast and not bumpy, so I wasn't tired sitting in it."

"When I'm done with this matter, I'll buy you one from him so you can go out more."

Sophia sat down in the chair in front of the desk and waved for the maid to leave. Only she and her husband were left in the study.

"What do you think of Baron Weissen?" Sophia asked.

Philip replied, "He was a very smart child since he was young, and he has a good reputation in his territory. His vassals are loyal to him, and now he is being taught by Sword Saint Lord Richardnal and an unknown teacher. His future is immeasurable."

Sophia asked again, "Is he engaged?"

"I haven't heard," Philip suddenly froze. "Do you mean..."

Sophia didn't answer immediately. Instead, she walked to the bookshelf, took a thick booklet, and placed it in front of her husband.

"You've been busy outside, so I've been worrying about Maria," she said. "Here are suitable candidates within a three-hundred-kilometer radius. Take a look."

The expression on Philip's face changed several times within a breath. He didn't flip through the booklet but asked, "Where did this come from?"

Sophia replied, "I heard about them at the salon and had people verify them."

Philip had nothing to say. Noblewomen had their own social circles. Not to mention national affairs, all sorts of gossip and family matters spread quickly and accurately. Perhaps information about his own daughter was also on file in other people's homes.

"There's no need to rush," he said softly to his wife. "Maria is only six years old. It's too early to discuss marriage."

A helpless, bitter smile appeared on Sophia's pale face. She sighed and said, "I know my own body. I'm afraid I won't live to see that day."

Philip stood up, walked behind his wife, placed his hands on her shoulders, and said softly, "Don't worry, we'll find a way."

"Baron Weissen has quite a few scholars from Constantinople in the First Pulan Empire visiting. I'll go ask them in a while; maybe they have a solution."

Sophia simply smiled faintly, reached up with her right hand to gently pat her husband's hand on her left shoulder, and then held it tightly.

Over the years, she had heard similar words from her husband many times and had consulted many doctors and apothecaries. The result was always the same: eat well, drink well, tough it out, and take some symptomatic medication with no real cure.

Sophia tilted her head, resting her face on the back of her husband's hand on her right shoulder, and whispered, "The only one I'm worried about is Maria. I'm very concerned that someone will bully her after I'm gone."

"I think Baron Weissen is quite good. You say he's smart, and he has a Sword Saint as a master. No matter what, he wouldn't let Maria suffer."

At this point, Philip wouldn't directly contradict his wife. He said softly, "They're still young now. Let's talk about it in a few years."

Just then, Maria felt that winning against Frederick at Chinese Checkers was no longer challenging, so she took out her own toys to play with.

She took a cylindrical object out of her box and pulled Frederick to the highest observation tower in the castle.

Lohr was surrounded by mountains, with birds occasionally taking flight.

"Look!" Maria proudly handed the Monocular Telescope to Frederick. "You can see the little birds in the mountains from here with this, and you can even see the little lambs in the fields!"