Chapter 207: The Thief Who Spied on the Lord

Looking at the content of the smoke snake, Liszt frowned deeply.

"Mission: The female monkeys in the Fruit Monkey Training Ground are about to give birth. The skills summarized by fruit farmers for picking fragrant coconut fruits will come in handy, but natural breeding is not as fast as capturing from the wild. Please expand the monkey population to thirty. Reward: A spy thief targeting the lord."

The mission itself was not problematic, and expanding the monkey population wasn't too difficult. Purchasing monkeys from other regions would be straightforward if enough money was provided, as hunters would always capture and sell them.

However, the reward puzzled him: "A spy thief targeting the lord—what's this all about?"

He had always believed that Flower Town on Coral Island was a paradise, protected by the bloodline of the Tulip family, and no one would dare scheme against it.

But this mission reward directly pointed to Liszt himself.

There was a thief preparing to spy on him.

"Is this a warning that a thief might harm me?" Liszt shook his head, disbelieving such a possibility. "Clearly, the smoke missions wouldn't be so direct. Perhaps this is similar to the Invisible Dragon Chain Mission, where the apparent reward is the invasion of the Invisible Dragon, but in reality, it's a spatial gem for me."

Based on his exploration and understanding of smoke missions, this seemed highly likely.

"Regardless, security and defense within the territory need to be strengthened. Although the essence of the smoke mission is to reward me, if a real thief does appear, I'll bear the losses myself... Smoke missions are merely choices of fate; preparations must be made."

He notified the merchant caravan to acquire monkeys while also summoning Karl and Rom to strengthen the management of the patrol and pest control teams, closely monitoring every movement within the territory.

Marcus was overseeing work on Black Horse Island, so he temporarily assigned Philip and Xavier, two retainer knights, to maintain security patrols around the castle.

He also instructed the steward, Carter, to carefully screen everyone entering and leaving the castle, whether servants or officials, paying close attention.

If anyone suspicious attempted to infiltrate the castle, they were to report it immediately.

"Sir, have you sensed something?" Carter was puzzled and appeared nervous about Liszt's orders.

Liszt nodded: "Flower Town has developed rapidly. In less than a year, its appearance has changed. If it were another territory, I might also develop some unwarranted thoughts. Winter is approaching, and I don't want any unpleasant incidents at this crucial moment."

"I understand. I will strictly instruct the servants to ensure the castle's safety."

"Yes."

Liszt responded absentmindedly.

He walked to the window, looking out at the gloomy sky.

The temperature had already started dropping, and the cold front had arrived. The sunny days of Flower Town were coming to an end, ushering in over two months of snow-covered winter.

His gaze drifted further, towards a field of dragon berries.

At the edge of the dragon berry field, a group of serfs was working enthusiastically, constructing ice cellars. Building ice cellars was not easy; constructing underground storage spaces for ice required advanced building techniques and significant costs.

Liszt dared to build ice cellars because he had a profitable business, giving him confidence.

For this, he contacted Tulip Castle and invited a master-level architect from the island to oversee the construction. This architect, named Mbappe Crushstone, was a distant relative of Viscount Jonas Crushstone of Crushstone Castle, who had built the magnificent Tulip Castle.

Upon arriving in Flower Town, he immediately recognized the potential of Hiddleston's rock spikes.

"Baron Liszt, with Hiddleston's rock spikes, the difficulty of building ice cellars will decrease significantly, and the speed will increase. These are natural supports for the cellars."

Now, Hiddleston's rock spikes reached two and a half meters in height, tapering from thick at the base to sharp at the top, with the thickest diameter around forty centimeters. He could release at least two hundred rock spikes daily, making him akin to a small rock dragon.

Tom Hiddleston Avenue had long been completed, and the rock spikes continued to pile up like mountains.

In the future, when Liszt needed to build a new castle, materials would not be lacking. Besides, the basalt from Black Horse Island was also excellent building material.

"This year, we'll build three ice rooms for your cellar, which should suffice. If you want to expand further, wait until next year. With enough money, any size of ice cellar can be built. Tulip Castle has twenty-five ice rooms." Mbappe Crushstone didn't take this small project seriously.

He only occasionally supervised the work, which was done by serfs and his apprentices.

An ice room is a space within the ice cellar used to store ice blocks. A standard ice room can hold three hundred cubic meters of ice, equivalent to a house of one hundred square meters.

Three ice rooms could store nine hundred cubic meters of ice, plus there was still some nitre left, ensuring Flower Town's ice supply for next summer.

When Carter brought him a cup of coffee, Liszt turned his gaze from the window, sat back down, and smiled self-deprecatingly: "Mr. Carter, do we seem like squirrels preparing for winter, gathering food in autumn to survive the cold months?"

Carter replied playfully: "I think squirrels are very smart little animals. While other animals starve during winter, squirrels can hide in their burrows, eating a little bit of the food they worked hard to gather each day. This is the life the townsfolk aspire to."

He continued: "Your arrival has enriched Flower Town, bringing them the life they desire."

Liszt enjoyed such flattery.

Although he was no longer purely idealistic, acting from a place of noble self-interest, he believed he genuinely improved the lives of Flower Town's commoners.

The gratitude, respect, and admiration of his subjects were well-deserved.

Without these feelings, they would be ungrateful traitors.

"They are my subjects, and as their lord, leading them to a happy life is my duty," Liszt said calmly.

His expression was serene.

There was no arrogance or pity, only the nobility expected of a true aristocrat.

For an ugly noble, such nobility might mean little, but with Liszt's handsome face, it exuded immense charisma.

Carter was moved: "You inherit all the nobility of the Tulip and Longtaro families. May the glory of knighthood forever bless you."

...

The touching performance in the castle continued.

On the boundless sea beyond Coral Island, several sailboats bearing the flag of the red tulip were plowing through the waves.

In the ship's hold, the air was foul and thick with the stench of ragged, emaciated peasants. These peasants, devoid of spirit, lay listlessly on the wooden planks, barely moving for hours on end.

"Mealtime! Mealtime!" The sailor's shout grew louder as he approached.

The peasants, who had seemed lifeless moments before, suddenly sprang into action, scrambling and tumbling out of the hold.

A young girl slave, perhaps ten years old, lost her footing and was knocked to the ground by another peasant, unable to get back up.

She watched helplessly as everyone else pushed their way out of the hold to get food. Tears welled in her eyes and soon rolled down her dirty cheeks.

Suddenly,

a hand, rough yet delicate, touched her face.