Chapter 207: The Thief Who Spied on the Lord

Looking at the content of the smoke snake's message, 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 thief who spies on 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 there would always be hunters willing to catch and sell them.

However, the reward puzzled him: "A thief who spies on the lord—what does this mean?"

He had always believed that Flower Town on Coral Island was a paradise, protected by the bloodline of the Tulip family, with no one daring to 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 cause trouble?" Liszt shook his head, disbelieving such a possibility. "Clearly, the smoke mission wouldn't be so straightforward. Perhaps, like the invisible dragon chain mission, it appears to reward the invasion of an invisible dragon but actually rewards me with a spatial gem."

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

"Regardless, security and defense within the territory must be strengthened. Although the essence of the smoke mission is to reward me, if a thief really does strike, I'll bear the losses myself... The smoke mission is just a choice of fate. Without proper preparation, things could go wrong."

He instructed the merchant caravan to purchase monkeys while also summoning Karl and Rom to strengthen the management of the patrol and pest control teams, closely monitoring all activities within the territory.

Marcus was overseeing work on Black Horse Island, so he temporarily assigned Philip and Xavier, two attendant 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, and to report any suspicious individuals immediately.

"Sir, have you sensed something?" Carter appeared nervous and confused by Liszt's orders.

Liszt nodded. "Flower Town has developed rapidly; less than a year, and its appearance has changed completely. If it were another territory, I might have some improper intentions. Winter is approaching, and I don't want any unpleasant incidents at this crucial moment."

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

"Yes."

Liszt responded absentmindedly, walking to the window and looking out at the gloomy sky.

The temperature had already begun to drop, and the cold front had arrived. The sunny days of Flower Town were about to end, giving way to over two months of snow-covered winter.

His gaze drifted further, to 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 significant architectural expertise and considerable expense.

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

For this purpose, 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, building the ice cellar will be much easier and faster. These are natural supports for the cellar."

Now, Hiddleston's rock spikes reached heights of two and a half meters, tapering from thick bases to sharp points, with diameters up to 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 daily.

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

"This year, we'll construct three ice rooms for your cellar, which should be sufficient. If you wish to expand further, wait until next year. With enough money, any size of ice cellar can be built. Tulip Castle's ice cellar has twenty-five ice rooms." Mbappe Crushstone did not consider this a major project.

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

An ice room was a chamber within the ice cellar used to store ice blocks. A standard ice room could 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 a bit of nitre left over, 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 responded playfully, "I think squirrels are very clever little animals. While other animals starve during winter, they can hide in their burrows, eating a little of the food they worked hard to gather each day. Such a life is what the townsfolk aspire to."

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

Liszt enjoyed such flattery.

Although he was no longer purely altruistic, acting from a place of personal and noble interests, he believed he genuinely improved the lives of Flower Town's commoners.

Their gratitude, respect, and admiration 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, no pity for others, only the nobility expected of a true aristocrat.

In the case of an ugly noble, such nobility might be insignificant, but with Liszt's handsome face, it exuded immense charisma.

Carter became emotionally 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 red tulip flag were plowing through the waves.

Inside the ship's hold, the air was foul and thick with the stench of ragged, emaciated serfs crammed together. These serfs seemed to have lost all vitality, lying limply on the wooden planks, barely moving for hours on end.

"Food is ready! Food is ready!" The sailor's shout approached from a distance.

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

A young girl slave, around ten years old, lost her balance and was knocked over by another serf, falling to the ground and unable to get back up.

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

Suddenly,

a hand, rough yet delicate, touched her face.