10th July 1574"It sure was a busy day."
Sitting in front of an extravagantly filled table, stocked with at least four types of dinner along with three sets of different drinks, I couldn"t help but compare the hospitality of this expensive tavern to what I could expect back in my own lands.
Despite all the development that I caused both in Tarnowian area and at the mining town, it was impossible for me to provide everyone with this kind of food on a daily basis. Even though everyone"s earning and the level of living drastically increased ever since they entered my employment, it didn"t mean that the food became any less scarce!
"But you went through it all. Now, I will have you take proper rest. Don"t you dare attempt doing anything else. I can"t have you collapsing due to overworking now!"
Just as quickly I started forming the plans to either increase the output of the farms or at least introduce new kinds of highly potent food that would enrich one"s diet, Elia forced me to drop those ideas and focus on the food.
Grabbing a silver spoon that came with the set provided by the tavern where we were staying at, I sank it into the thick ma.s.s compromised of huge chunks of meat and some vegetables. Yet rather than putting the content on the spoon into my mouth, I just moved it around just like some kid refusing to eat a specific product at the family dinner would.
"I"m sorry. It"s just that whenever I see one aspect of our life that I didn"t bother to improve yet, I can"t help but have those ideas popping up in my head how could I change it. Like, just look at this food. Even with our spice, it can easily beat almost anything that I could come up with… Yet we will never reach the level where the meat will be as cheap as for the commoners to enjoy it just like that. And how else can we encourage them to spend their wages back in our investments if we won"t start with food?"
Despite all my efforts to aim my developments at the items that would either improve the efficiency of the work in all fields or at least allow rich n.o.bles to use them for their own sake, it all boiled down to the single fact. Until I will establish a proper market for my merchandise, all the merit, trust and rent papers will be simply worthless!
But even if a lot of people knew how useful the steam horses were, with the current chaos in the country and tension between me and the Ostros household, I doubted that anyone would dare to risk doing any business with me, if that could bring the wrath of the Ostros on their heads just as well!
"Like I said, how about you stop thinking about this, and just enjoy the meal?"
With her face twisting in annoyance, Elia moved up to the table, sat on the lap and took over the spoon from my hand. As she raised it up from the bowl, her eyes filled with sparkles as she aimed it at my mouth.
"Say, aaaah…"
Feeling the softness of my wife"s thighs squis.h.i.+ng against my own legs as she cutely attempted to feed me, I couldn"t help but finally get distracted. Opening my mouth along with her obvious wish, I allowed Elia to delicately stuff the spoon full of thick soup into my mouth.
"I"m pregnant."
Only thanks to my miraculous wits did I manage to at least turn my head to the side before I spewed out all the content from my mouth. That was so like her, to drop such a bomb on me when my mouth was full and without any prior notice, hint or warning!
"Are you sure?"
Cleaning my mouth with a swipe of my arm, without caring about dirtying my expensive clothes, I turned my head back to my dearest.
"Yeah. My time of the month is missing for almost two weeks already."
Hearing the news, I grabbed Elia by her arms before pulling her out from my lap and standing up myself… Only to grab her in a tight hug!
"G.o.d, I"m so happy!"
I could react in such a relatively calm manner only due to the fact that it wasn"t the first time when we discussed or even brough up this topic. With the earlier mistake that we made when taking her symptoms of anxiety for the first signs of pregnancy, I had the time to condition myself for the opportunity of becoming a father.
Yet in the end, it didn"t change the fact that as this information sank into deeper parts of my mind, I felt more and more anxious about the entire situation!
With the kingdom in its current chaotic state, there was no telling where something drastic or tragic would happen, making it all the more important for me to find allies powerful enough to make their presence alone deter any forms of attack on me on my family!
After all, as soon as the news about Elia"s pregnancy would spread, she would become the main target for any form of attacks towards me! In the end, a n.o.ble without a successor meant that his lands would be up for grabbing the moment he would die!
"Hey… I heard that…"
With her face still tightly pressed against my chest, Elia had some troubles freeing her mouth to the point where she could speak.
"Yes, dear?"
Noticing her attempts to say something, I relaxed my arms, allowing her to raise her head and look me in the eyes while licking her lips up.
"Well… I heard that when a female turns pregnant… Doing it will be safe for only the first few weeks… And considering how I don"t know the exact date…"
As her eyes wandered between my chest and my own pupils with a nice tinge of reddness appearing of her cheeks, her words were more than enough to ignite the spark in me!
"I think I know what you mean."
Any further discussion was cut due to how hard it was to speak while having one"s mouth blocked by the lips and tongue of the other party.