Chapter 304 Return to River Fort

The castle has added ten maids and ten footmen.

Eight of the maids are responsible for cleaning the outer areas of the castle: Omira, Lucy, Ropa, Rose, Wina, Glemi, Monica, and Berucci. Additionally, there are two kitchen maids, Jessica and Anna. It's worth noting that Irene, who once had four fingers, has been promoted, although she still works in the kitchen.

She has worked for the castle for a full year and was due for a promotion to a regular maid.

However, she loves the kitchen and chose to stay there.

Thus, she became a regular kitchen maid, with her daily wage increasing from one copper coin to two. This is the same as the wages of Mrs. Abby's three kitchen assistants.

Among the ten footmen, five are footman assistants: Isidore, Morris, Harris, Sam, and Alger. All the heavy and rough work in the castle is assigned to them.

The remaining five are under the supervision of the one-eyed stablemaster, Barton, who trains them to take care of the horses, dogs, forests, gardens, and insect plants.

With a total of forty servants, the castle can no longer accommodate everyone.

Therefore, the newly arrived footmen and maids have all been arranged to live in a designated area in the town's commoner residential district, specifically set aside for the castle's servants and enclosed by a wall.

Moreover, the castle also has forty apprentice girls and boys.

When they grow up, around the time Liszt’s named castle is completed, they will directly become qualified servants. Just like the development of the town, the training of servants is an essential part of a noble's upbringing.

Seeing the content smile on little Lily's face,

Liszt felt equally satisfied.

These people are living their lives centered around him, and it is indeed a great sense of achievement to bring stability and happiness to those around him.

"Little Lily, go inform Butler Carter to have the footmen move the piano to the insect room."

"Yes, Lord Liszt."

Little Lily walked quickly down the stairs, leaving a graceful figure behind, with Liszt watching her disappear around the staircase corner. He let out a soft chuckle: "The beauty of youth... I wonder if she'll choose to stay in the castle like Mrs. Mossen, never marrying, or if, at some point, she'll decide to marry and have children."

Although the male and female servants were castle servants, they were permitted to marry.

However, many of the female servants did not want to marry. Marriage meant having children, which meant losing their jobs. It was very difficult to return to work in the castle after that.

Male servants, however, had no such worries. Their wages were enough to support their families, and with certain connections, they might even arrange for their children to work in the castle.

Lords typically placed more trust in the descendants of long-serving castle servants.

There were also many male servants who did not marry. Butler Carter had never been married. Liszt sometimes found it hard to understand what drove them to devote their entire lives to serving the noble lord.

So far, according to the information reported by Butler Carter, no romantic relationships had developed between the male and female servants in the castle.

After discussing with Butler Carter, Liszt established rules for the castle that did not prohibit relationships between male and female servants. However, they were not allowed to let romance interfere with their work, nor were they permitted to engage in inappropriate activities within the castle.

Soon after, Butler Carter directed the footmen to move the upright piano into the insect room.

In fact, the most suitable room for the piano would have been the entertainment room. With a few modifications, it could have been transformed into a practice room. But Liszt did not want a separate practice room, as a room without a grand piano would seem rather shabby.

He had the piano placed in the insect room.

Playing the piano without an audience is a lonely experience. However, the insect room housed numerous spirit bugs, along with the thorn sprite Jie La, and most importantly, the mermaid Acheronides, who genuinely understood music.

Mermaids were often referred to as sirens because of their enchanting voices.

On a lazy afternoon, Acheronides had once lazily hummed a song from the Sapphire Duchy into Liszt's ear. The nightingale-like beauty of the melody left Liszt entranced, as if he had entered the world depicted by the song, half-dreaming and unaware of his surroundings.

"Brother, is this the piano?" The mermaid hovered in front of the piano, her ankles connected to the sea, which held her aloft.

A few strands of water obscured her intimate areas, adding to the allure and inviting further curiosity.

He collected his thoughts before shifting his gaze to the piano. "This is an upright piano. If you'd like to learn, I can teach you how to play the piano."

"Yes, yes, Acheronides would like to learn." She nodded eagerly but soon hesitated. "Never mind, I should concentrate on studying magic. There are many spells that require deep exploration. I hope Acheronides can become a great magician soon."

Acheronides had her own thoughts.

Liszt had no intention of forcing her.

He simply practiced the piano nearby, continuously playing "Für Elise" and "Along with You," trying to regain the piano skills of his former self.

Perhaps due to his exceptional talent, just as he quickly mastered combat skills, his piano proficiency also came swiftly.

The muscle memory in his fingers was awakened by the music.

Soon, Acheronides began to sing softly, her voice blending with the piano.

"Look, how beautiful this ocean is! How stirring to the heart! Look at the hillside orchard, filled with raspberries red as lipstick, everywhere fragrant, everywhere warm."

"But you said 'goodbye,' abandoning your lover, forsaking your homeland forever. How can you bear not to return? Please, do not abandon me, do not let me suffer again!"

"Return to Riverfort, come back to me!"

This was a widely circulated folk song of the Steel Ridge Kingdom, describing workers in a raspberry orchard in Riverfort, hoping their beloved would return to them.

The author is unknown.

Some say it was the orchard workers, whose husbands had gone to war, singing out of longing; others say it was a wandering bard who abandoned a heartbroken maiden and penned the verses; still others claim it was the lord of Riverfort, who, in deep pain after his wife ran away with another, created "Return to Riverfort."

The Sapphire Duchy was a dependent state of the Steel Ridge Kingdom.

Essentially, whatever became popular in the Steel Ridge Kingdom would eventually gain popularity here.

"Return to Riverfort" was no exception.

As Acheronides sang, Liszt gradually felt that his piano playing was no longer sufficient to accompany her. The mermaid's voice belonged to the ocean, not to a small room where an amateur pianist played an upright piano. Yet Liszt continued to persevere.

Under the pressure of the mermaid's singing, his piano skills experienced a noticeable and epiphanic improvement.

Pouring his emotions into the piano, his ten fingers connected with his ears, his body moving with the rhythm.

Clang!

Clang! Clang!

The final note was struck, and Acheronides' singing also stopped.

His heart was thoroughly exhilarated, his playing skills soared, as if he had become a master.

He couldn't help but take Acheronides' slender fingers and kiss the back of her white, tender hand, passionate yet courteous. "That was a wonderful collaboration, Acheronides."

Acheronides' face turned red, her eyes like pools of water, and she softly hummed in response, "Mm."