"The master is a true nobleman!"
In the kitchen, the kitchen maid Erin Four Fingers, said smugly to Maggie, who was following her on her apprenticeship, "Little Maggie, you'll love this castle. I've never seen a nobleman more noble than the master. His nobility is innate; it's a nobility we can only look up to!"
"Yes, Sister Erin." Maggie nodded earnestly.
Actually, Erin spoke too fast, and she only understood part of it, which was that the master was noble.
"Don't add too much flour, or the pineapple buns won't taste good." Erin stopped Maggie from pouring out the flour. "We have many kinds of new breads in our kitchen, all invented by Mrs. Abby and Mr. Renard. The master likes these new breads."
She suddenly leaned close to Maggie's ear and said, " Mrs. Abby makes bread of various flavors every day. If the master doesn't eat any, we can have some."
Maggie exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, sir, do the servants eat... good bread?" Her Snake Script was halting, and she had to use gestures to make sure Erin understood.
"Hmph, you'll understand the master's kindness and generosity later."
In fact, Maggie understood that evening because she had been given a small piece of pineapple bun while eating in the kitchen. That evening, the lord had hosted two guests and had the kitchen make a lot of bread, which ended up being left over. So each servant was given a small piece.
Compared to black bread, this unique white bread was simply the best food Maggie had ever eaten in her life.
"Little maids and little servants, follow me! Be careful of snakes on the road as it gets dark!" the patrolmen shouted. They were responsible for escorting these young trainee servants back to their respective host families at night.
Maggie followed behind the patrol team, feeling incredibly safe.
She knew that the snakes were just a way to scare the children.
Savoring the delicious pineapple bun, she kept whispering "Praise be to the master" to herself. Then, she suddenly realized that she had eaten the pineapple bun but forgotten to leave some for Mrs. Harriet and her family. Although the boarding was arranged by the town government, Mrs. Harriet and her family were genuinely kind to her.
"Should I... form a contract with Mrs. Harriet as her mother and daughter?" She thought of the matter that had been troubling her for the past few days.
As a nine-year-old girl, whose parents were killed by mercenaries, she naturally longed for a new family amidst her grief.
But deep in her heart, she still missed her older sister, the one ten years her senior, tall and with curly hair. She always remembered what her sister had said when she left home, " Maggie, wait for me to come back. I'll teach you magic, and we'll become magicians together, magicians who can cast fireballs!"
At that time, my sister was fifteen years old, and her parents forced her to marry a lame old man in the village.
The next day, she simply and decisively left home.
Her older sister has always been her most admired idol.
" Maggie, you're back." Before she knew it, Maggie had returned to town, where the kind Mrs. Harriet was standing at the door to greet her.
"Oh, yes, Mrs. Harriet, you don't need to pick me up every day."
"It's alright, come in first."
night.
The moon formed a crescent in the sky. Maggie lay in bed, thinking about how kind Mrs. Harriet and her family had been to her, and about the delicious food at the castle. Somehow, her sister's appearance from her childhood suddenly became blurry and distant, and certain decisions quietly surfaced in her mind.
"If Mrs. Harriet asks me again, I'll say yes...she's like my mother."
The morning air was fresh, Liszt greedily took a few more breaths.
Then he began his daily training and dog walking, followed by inspecting his territory. He didn't like making friends. Several nobles from North Valley City sent him invitations to birthday banquets, noble gatherings, and so on, but he would at most send someone with some gifts instead of going in person. This was a way of keeping a low profile.
After all, the designated heir of Coral Island was his Levis.
He found it inconvenient to associate too closely with other nobles.
The Li Dragon Horse held its head high, treading on the gravel road, unaware that its status was about to crumble. Perhaps only when Black Horse Island came into being would it understand that a king is a king, regardless of yesterday or tomorrow—your grandpa will always be your grandpa.
"The town lacks stonemasons to carve and polish the stones; otherwise, the town's roads could be paved with stone slabs, just as the castle's roads could be paved with stone slabs."
Liszt accompanied Isaiah, who, in his capacity as a government official, reported on the progress of various projects in Flower Town.
"Building a cobblestone road is a huge project; the town's manpower should be used for more urgent tasks."
"Yes, sir. The autumn harvest is now complete, as are the road and housing construction. I am currently arranging for the serfs to cultivate the wasteland in each village. Once the next batch of one thousand serfs arrives, we can smoothly take over these fields and begin sowing next spring."
"How's the expansion of the Flame Mushroom greenhouse going?"
"We've expanded by 20 mu, bringing the total to 50 mu. The serfs have become proficient in cultivating Flame Mushroom, and the current yield is double what it was before. We expect that in a month, with the new greenhouses in operation, the yield will double again," Isaiah replied happily.
But he also raised a question, "Sir, is the potion revenue from the Flame Mushroom Processing Workshop directly credited to the castle, without going through the town government?"
"No, but the town government will make unified arrangements for the taxes and welfare of the mushroom serfs, and the castle will provide subsidies at that time." The Flame Mushroom Magic Power Potion has all entered Liszt's stomach, and no one has discovered it yet. He has become an elite Earth Knight.
Isaiah did not ask any further questions. It was normal for a lord not to want others to interfere when it came to potions.
Unbeknownst to them, the group had arrived at the Garden of Thorns.
That Thorn Bug had grown into a four-meter-tall Bramble tree, with lush branches and leaves, making it quite eye-catching. Two-thirds of the surrounding area was composed of Fast-Growing Magic Thorns, and the remaining third was composed of Fast-Growing Iron Thorns. Only a small patch was reserved for ordinary Fast-Growing Thorns, as a memento.
It is possible that new mutated Bramble may emerge.
Before Liszt could ask, Isaiah said, "My lord, the Garden of Thorns originally covered 180 acres. With the birth of Zyra, I have had 800 acres designated as expansion land for the Garden of Thorns. The current ratio is one-third Fast-Growing Iron Thorns and two-thirds Fast-Growing Magic Thorns."
He then pointed towards Thorn Ridge: " The Fast-Growing Thorn and Fast-Growing Poison Thorn have already begun to be transplanted, planted on the edge of Thorn Ridge. There aren't enough serfs; currently, only fifty serfs are responsible for transplanting the Bramble. I've calculated their workload, and they should be able to complete the transplanting of about one-third of the Bramble before winter."
"Don't rush the planting of Bramble and poisonous Bramble; plant as many as you can." With Iron Bramble and Magic Bramble already in hand, Liszt no longer cared much for Bramble and poisonous Bramble.
Especially Bramble.
It's not very useful; it can only prevent chickens, ducks, and geese from invading.
The poisonous Bramble is highly toxic, and its venom can be extracted and made into a poison that can be applied to swords, spears, halberds, or arrows for use in warfare.