After lunch.
Maggie diligently cleared away the dishes; her petite frame moved like a busy Little Elf.
"Let me do it, Maggie. You go take a nap. You have training with Rom this afternoon, so remember to do well in training class." Mrs. Harriet liked little Maggie very much. She didn't have a daughter of her own, and she truly treated little Maggie, who was staying at their house, as her own daughter.
Because Mrs. Harriet spoke so fast, Maggie could only understand a few Snake Script, such as "nap," "Lord Rom," and "training."
But she was clever and guessed what Mrs. Harriet meant, quickly replying in Snake Script: " Rom Rom's training is easy, Maggie is happy, three meals a day! Flower Town, great!"
Using a combination of words and gestures, the communication was completed smoothly.
Mrs. Harriet smiled, her eyes gazing wistfully. " Flower Town wasn't like this before. Back then, we could only eat two meals a day, and in winter, only one. It was the Lord who brought everything and made Flower Town great. Now we can eat three meals a day."
In an era of scarcity, two meals a day were the norm for commoners, while three meals a day were the standard for nobles.
When Maggie was in the Eagle Kingdom, she lived in the countryside and ate only two meals a day with her family. After arriving in Flower Town, being able to eat three meals a day was a great blessing.
She was still young and wasn't assigned farm work. Her daily tasks consisted of training classes and needlework classes. The training classes taught her martial arts techniques to build strength, while the needlework classes involved dyers and spinners from the serfs who taught her dyeing and weaving skills.
Maggie studied very hard.
Because she knew that skills were very precious; in her hometown, it cost a lot of money to find someone willing to teach a skill.
Compared to the vague prospect of honing her physical strength and developing fighting spirit, she preferred to become a textile worker.
When she finished her needlework lesson and returned to Mrs. Harriet's house where she was staying, dinner was just beginning. However, the atmosphere at home seemed a little serious compared to usual.
Harriet's husband sat on the bench with a somber expression.
Mrs. Harriet's son and daughter-in-law, who had already separated from the family, also rushed over.
It wasn't until the bread and seafood were served that Maggie learned, through Harriet's daughter-in-law's gestures, what day it was—the anniversary of Harriet's daughter's death.
Harriet and her husband had a young daughter, but she fell ill in the winter and, coupled with malnutrition, died three years ago. She was only slightly older than Maggie when she died.
This is also why Harriet and her husband were willing to let Maggie stay at their place.
The next day, Harriet and her husband even invited Lord Grandet from town to their home. Through Grandet, they communicated with Maggie: " Maggie, Mrs. Harriet, wish to form a contractual mother-daughter relationship with you."
"Ah..."
Caught off guard, Maggie stammered and didn't know how to reply.
Old Grandet said gently, "What's past is past, don't dwell on it. Now that you've come to Flower Town, your family is all dead. Why not form a contract with Mrs. Harriet as mother and daughter? That way, you'll have someone to look after you, and they can help you redeem your serf contract and regain your free citizenship."
This is fantastic news.
Harriet's family runs the town's general store and is well-off, belonging to the wealthy class. Maggie knows that forming a contractual relationship with them will give her a bright future.
But for some reason, she felt a vague resistance. "Lord Grandet, I have family... I have an older sister."
Old Grandet frowned. He checked Maggie's identity information but found no relatives among the serfs. According to Maggie's own account, her parents had been killed by mercenaries.
"You have an older sister? Where is she? Why didn't you tell me before?"
"I... my sister left home several years ago. She said she would come back to find me once she learned magic... my sister will come back to find me."
Learn magic?
Could it be that she was chosen by some Mr. Truth to become a magic apprentice?
The thought flashed through his mind, but Old Grandet didn't pay it any mind. Even if Maggie's sister became a sorceress, it would be almost impossible for her to come all the way to the Coral Island to find her sister.
Moreover...
They might have already died in some explosion; the probability of an explosion is quite high in the magic profession.
He assumed Maggie was just shy and embarrassed, so he told her to think about it for a few days. Harriet and her family didn't bring it up again and maintained the previous atmosphere.
Maggie, however, remained unsettled for a long time.
at the same time.
In the distant Eagle Kingdom, war rages on.
The Iron Ridge Kingdom launched a massive invasion, forcing the Eagle Kingdom to resist. Dragon Knights roamed the battlefield, providing support. Meanwhile, in the heart of the Eagle Kingdom, the army of the Sapphire Grand Duchy, like a swarm of locusts, relentlessly plundered the coastal castles, seizing all kinds of wealth and minerals.
Against this backdrop of war, a warship flying a red Tulip flag slowly approached the harbor. The harbor's lighthouse also flew a red Tulip flag.
Needless to say.
This is naturally the bridgehead occupied by the Tulip Family on the coastline of the Eagle Kingdom.
Tulip Family servants had already joined the fleet's servants to sort the goods, all of which were specialties of the Sapphire Grand Duchy. They were fighting and plundering while simultaneously trading and smuggling, managing to do both without any delay. The entire harbor was bustling with people loading, unloading, and transporting goods, all working non-stop.
"Is this the Tulip Family's ship?" In a dilapidated tavern at the dock, a female mercenary wearing a face mask held a wine glass and looked out the window, asking.
She was speaking in the Wind Speech.
Opposite her stood a shifty-eyed fellow who greedily glanced at the mercenary's bulging chest, constricted by her leather armor, and lewdly replied, "Of course, this dock and most of the castles around here have been occupied by the Wave Sword Saint, William Lee. The Red Tulip has become a nightmare for many nobles."
" Leewilliam's fleet has been involved in the slave trade?"
"Heh heh, the Sapphire people are all slave traders; it would be strange if they didn't trade slaves."
When will the fleet return?
"That depends on how quickly your mercenaries can capture serfs. If you're fast, you might be able to sell a batch of serfs back this month."
"Here's a reward for you." The female mercenary flicked her finger lightly into the air, and a gleaming silver coin spun in mid-air before landing smoothly on the table.
She got up and left without looking back.
The shifty-eyed fellow reached out and grabbed the silver coin, licked his lips, greedily picked it up, held it in his palm, and grinned broadly. "Mercenary sir, if you need more information, just come to Old Fort Tavern and find me, Three-Eared Jinli... Wait, how come he suddenly disappeared?"
When he looked up, the female mercenary was nowhere to be found in the tavern.
But he didn't care. He proudly touched the silver coin in his palm. He could earn a silver coin with just a few words. This business was really something.