Chapter 193: The Changing Girl’s Heart

"Sir is a true noble!"

In the kitchen, the kitchen maid Irene Four-Fingers said proudly to Maggie, who was following her for training: "Little Maggie, you'll fall in love with this castle. I've never seen a more noble lord than him. His nobility is innate, something we can only admire."

"Yes, Sister Irene." Maggie nodded earnestly.

In truth, Irene spoke too quickly, and Maggie only understood part of what she said—mainly that the lord was noble.

"Do not add too much flour; otherwise, the pineapple buns will not taste good," Irene stopped Maggie from pouring the flour. "We have many new types of bread in our kitchen, all invented through collaboration between Lady Abby and Master Renard. The lord enjoys these new breads."

She suddenly leaned close to Maggie's ear and whispered, "Every day, Lady Abby makes various flavors of bread. If the lord doesn't eat them, we get to enjoy some."

Maggie exclaimed, "Ah, the lord, servants eat, good bread?" Her snake language was broken, and she had to use gestures to make herself understood by Irene.

"Hmm, you'll understand the lord's kindness and generosity soon."

Indeed, Maggie understood that evening, as during dinner in the kitchen, she received a small piece of pineapple bun. That night, the lord hosted two guests and had the kitchen prepare many breads, leaving plenty leftover, which each servant got to share.

Compared to black bread, this white bread with its unique flavor was the best food Maggie had ever tasted in her life.

"Little maids and little pages, follow closely. Be careful of snakes on the road after dark," the patrol guard shouted loudly. They were responsible for escorting these young trainee servants back to their respective foster homes at night.

Following behind the patrol guards, Maggie felt incredibly safe.

She knew that the mention of snakes was just to scare the children.

Savoring the delicious pineapple bun, she kept whispering "Praise the lord" in her heart. Then, she suddenly remembered that she had eaten the pineapple bun without saving any for the Harriet family. Although the foster arrangement was mandatory by the town administration, the Harriet family had been genuinely kind to her.

"Should I form a foster mother-daughter relationship with Mrs. Harriet?" She thought about the dilemma that had troubled her for days.

As a nine-year-old girl whose parents were killed by mercenaries, it was natural for her to long for a new family amidst her sorrow.

But deep down, she still thought about her older sister, ten years her senior, tall and with curly hair. She always remembered her sister's words when she left home: "Maggie, wait for me to come back. I'll teach you magic, and we'll become mages together, mages who can cast fireballs!"

At that time, her sister was fifteen, and her parents forced her to marry a crippled old man in the village.

The next day, she left home decisively.

Her sister had always been her greatest idol.

"Maggie, you're back." Unconsciously, Maggie had returned to the town, where the kind Mrs. Harriet stood at the door to welcome her.

"Oh, yes, Mrs. Harriet, you don't need to greet me every day."

"It's no trouble. Come in first."

At night.

The moon formed a crescent in the sky. Lying in bed, Maggie thought about the kindness of the Harriet family and the delicious food at the castle. For some reason, the image of her sister from childhood became blurry and distant, and certain decisions began to emerge in her mind.

"If Mrs. Harriet asks me again, I'll agree... she's like my mother."

...

The morning air was fresh, and Liszt greedily took a few deep breaths.

He then began his daily practice and walked his dog, followed by inspecting his domain—he disliked socializing. Several nobles in North Valley City had invited him to birthday parties and other gatherings, but he sent gifts instead of attending in person—a sign of his low profile.

After all, the designated heir of Coral Island was his brother Levis.

He couldn't afford to be too close to other nobles.

The Black Dragon horse held its head high as it trotted along the gravel path, unaware that its status was about to crumble. Perhaps it would only realize when Black Horse Island emerged—that a king is a king, whether yesterday or tomorrow.

"The town lacks stonemasons, so we cannot carve and polish stones. Otherwise, we could pave the roads in town and the castle with stone slabs."

Accompanying Liszt was Isaiah, who reported on the progress of various projects in Flower Town in his capacity as an administrative officer.

"Paving the roads is a major project. The labor should be used for more urgent tasks."

"Yes, sir. Autumn harvest is complete, and road construction and house building are finished. I am organizing the serfs to cultivate the wastelands around the town. Once the next batch of a thousand serfs arrives, they can take over these fields and start planting in spring next year."

"How is the expansion of the flame mushroom greenhouses?"

"It has expanded by twenty acres, reaching a total of fifty acres. The serfs' skills in growing flame mushrooms have improved significantly, doubling the yield compared to before. In another month, the new greenhouses will increase production even further," Isaiah replied happily.

However, he also raised a question: "But sir, shouldn't the income from the flame mushroom workshop's potions go through the town administration?"

"No, it does not go through the town administration. However, the tax and welfare issues of the serfs working with the mushrooms are handled by the town administration, and the castle will provide subsidies later." Flame mushroom potions had all gone into Liszt's stomach, and no one had yet discovered that he had become an elite Earth Knight.

Isaiah did not press further, as it was normal for the lord to handle matters involving potions himself.

Unknowingly, they arrived at the Thorns Garden.

The thorn cordyceps had grown into a four-meter-tall thorn tree, lush and eye-catching. Two-thirds of the surrounding area was filled with fast-growing magic thorns, while the remaining third was fast-growing iron thorns. Only a small section was reserved for ordinary fast-growing thorns, as a reminder.

There might be new variants of thorns in the future, who knows?

Without waiting for Liszt to ask, Isaiah said, "Sir, the original 180 acres of the Thorns Garden have been expanded. With Jie La's emergence, I have allocated 800 acres for the garden's expansion. Following the current ratio, one-third will be fast-growing iron thorns and one-third fast-growing magic thorns."

He pointed towards Thorns Ridge: "Fast-growing spike thorns and fast-growing poison thorns have started being transplanted to the edges of Thorns Ridge. Due to a shortage of serfs, only fifty are currently responsible for transplanting the thorns. I estimate that by winter, they will complete one-third of the transplanting."

"Don't rush the work on the spike thorns and poison thorns. Just plant as many as possible." With iron thorns and magic thorns, Liszt had lost interest in spike thorns and poison thorns.

Especially the spike thorns.

They were practically useless, only good for preventing chickens, ducks, and geese from intruding.

Poison thorns, however, were highly toxic and could be extracted to make poison, which could be applied to weapons or arrows for warfare.