114 – The Worm Stalk"s Protection Task
As the count was very busy, Liszt only said h.e.l.lo and gave his well wishes before leaving the Tulip Castle and returning to the Flower Town.
When Liszt was about to leave, the count said solemnly: “The Flower Town"s development is very good. I"m paying particular attention to the training of your knight squad. Come next year"s expedition order, I hope that you and Levis can fight side by side.”
“I"m also looking forward to it.”
Although this was Liszt"s response on the outside, but on the inside, he was noncommittal. It was impossible to fight all your life. If flattery wouldn"t do, then only farming would keep you alive.
However, the future was not set in stone.
He was not intent on holing up in the Flower Town as a countryside baron for the rest of his life. Riding a dragon was his big goal in life, while possessing an island of his own was a small goal of his. It took some effort to have an island as one"s fief. For that, one would have to at least be a viscount.
Blackdragon went into gallop on the way back.
While on horseback, Liszt was slightly distracted.
At the banquet, the aristocrats" excitement regarding the exploration decree had also infected him. Although aristocrats might be a bunch of parasites, but their thirst for glory was very pure.
They wanted to battle, wanted to charge, wanted to vie over wealth while putting their lives at stake.
“Am I really not going to the battlefield? How can I be promoted in t.i.tle without going to the battlefield? Rebel? Without the strength to fight a dragon, rebellion is tantamount to seeking death.”
The Sapphire Family"s sapphire dragon was no ornament. Dragons were this world"s first-rate power, equivalent to nuclear weapons. Best not to probe them.
“Performing meritorious service on the battlefield is the most effective way to be promoted… As a lord, I don"t have to take the lead in a charge. To ensure my safety, I can just let the knights do all the fighting and killing. In the worst case scenario, although being captured and then redeemed by others would be somewhat humiliating, but keeping my life is the most important thing.”
“Or I could tread the common path of an aristocratic second son and vie over prominent aristocratic gentlewomen?”
Some aristocrats only gave birth to daughters. Therefore, their t.i.tles were bound to be inherited by their daughters. The grand duchy recognized hereditary peer dames. Such prominent aristocratic gentlewomen were the best marriage targets for aristocratic second sons.
Some prominent aristocratic gentlewomen who were favored by their parents, just like Lvera, would themselves get enfeoffed and become hereditary peers. Such prominent aristocratic gentlewomen were also optimal marriage partners for aristocratic second sons.
“Unfortunately, the number of suitable prominent aristocratic gentlewomen in the Sapphire Grand Duchy… There are many chevalier or baron prominent aristocratic gentlewomen, yet there are very few viscount or count prominent aristocratic gentlewomen. The archipelago state itself is not that big, it only has seven marquises and over twenty counts.”
Besides, there was another serious issue – prominent aristocratic gentlewomen aspired to marry up.
“I am very handsome, my father is a count, my grandfather is a marquis, I myself was enfeoffed as a baron. Among aristocratic second sons, I am probably a very compet.i.tive marriage prospect. Thinking about it, are there any single, marriageable viscount gentlewomen in the grand duchy…” After thinking it over, he didn"t came up with a single one.
Aristocrats wanted to give birth to a boy to inherit their t.i.tle. Therefore, very few aristocrats only had daughters.
As the battlefield was too dangerous and hereditary peer dames were too rare, Liszt thought of a third method to get an upgrade in t.i.tle – to make a great contribution. If he were to contribute the technology of papermaking to the Sapphire Grand Duchy, he might get a count or even a marquis t.i.tle.
“But t.i.tles granted by virtue of contributions were all life peer t.i.tles without a fief. This method is simply not worthwhile.”
After thinking it over, he came to the conclusion that all these methods were faulty.
He gave a self-mocking smile and sighed inwardly: “It"s too much trouble, it"s better to wait until the count and Levis… Halt, I feel like I shouldn"t entertain such thoughts. After all, they are my relatives.”
……
After returning to the Flower Town, Liszt sank into a leisurely pace.
As the count was pressed for time to go to war, he couldn"t even hold his birthday party, on the 14th of September, on the Coral Island. Therefore, there was no need to worry about having to be diplomatic for now; he could continue to develop his fief in peace.
The black nightshade was still half dead. However, as long as it didn"t die, it meant that the sprite worm had a desire to survive, that there was still hope.
What brought him joy was the fragrant coconut tree. The fruit farmer Giggs came to report that the fragrant coconut cracked open, yet instead of coconut milk, what emerged was a milky white, plump sprite worm.
With jade powder and jade box in hand, Liszt hurried to the oyster settlement. He climbed the tens of meters tall fragrant coconut tree himself, where he saw the long-awaited fragrant coconut sprite worm. It was very plump, plumper than all the other sprite worms in his possession, and it"s body was particularly white. It seemed to be covered in a faint glow, looking as if it had just bathed in milk.
“Little fellow, come, eat some jade powder, it"s my treat.”
He sprinkled some jade powder on the fragrant coconut to lure the sprite worm. Acting on instinct, the newborn sprite worm was quickly attracted towards the jade powder containing magic power.
It dug into the jade powder.
Next, Liszt only had to put a bit of jade powder on his finger and reach out to the sprite worm"s mouth.
With a bite, the contract was completed.
The connection brought along a pleasant feeling. Now that Liszt and the fragrant sprite worm were connected, they shared a great range of feelings.
After putting the fragrant coconut sprite worm into the jade box, Liszt rewarded the fruit farmers, who had been patiently looking after the fragrant coconut sprite worm, with one silver coin each: “Giggs, you guys still have to look after the worm stalk, understood?”
“Understood, Sir Lord.”
Upon returning to the castle, he handed the fragrant coconut sprite worm to Carter to put in the worm house.
Carter was very glad, but he also voiced his concern: “Master, we already have eight sprite worms, I"m afraid that the castle"s servants might not be capable of meticulously tending to all of the worm stalks. Do you want to hire more servants to take care of the worm stalks?”
This reminded Liszt of an issue.
Admittedly, no one in the Flower Town dared to disobey him, let alone to damage his worm stalks. However, if by chance, a commoner were to go mad and destroy a worm stalk, or if a domestic animal were to accidentally eat a worm stalk – he could not expect a fence to stop everything.
“Your concern is very reasonable. However, I"m not going to recruit servants to look after the worm stalks. Instead, I"m going to establish a regular team to watch over the worm stalks.
After he decided on it, he immediately called for Gort, Marcus, and Karl Eisenhammer.
“Sir.”
“Teacher Gort, Teacher Marcus, Karl, I called you here because there are more and more sprite worms in my possession. The various places with the worm stalks, which are dispersed across the fief, need better protection.”
“You want the patrol team to frequently patrol the worm stalks, Sir?”
“Just patrolling won"t do. What I want is a long-term, focused protection. Do you have any good ideas?” Liszt had already come up with an idea, but he didn"t reveal it.
Don"t show your hand – this was the principle people with authority followed while managing their inferiors.
Gort thought for a moment before saying: “At present, the protection of the worm stalks is mainly reliant on the care provided by the castle"s servingmen, the monitoring of the local serfs, and the patrol of the patrolmen as well as the isolation from the fences. Perhaps we could train more patrolmen and let them patrol the worm stalks.”
Marcus suggestion was more straightforward: “We can have the knight squad do the patrolling.”
Karl lastly said: “Sir, I think we could arrange some patrolmen to keep watch in the surroundings of the worm stalks. At present, we have twenty patrolmen. However, to patrol the fief, we don"t need that many. We could a.s.sign eight patrolmen to keep watch over the worm stalks. Thus, they would be guarded at all times.”
“Karl"s suggestion is more in line with my thinking. However, there is no need for the patrolmen to keep watch. That would be too wasteful in terms of the human resources. Choose some able-bodied serfs from each settlements and arrange them to watch over the worm stalks in shifts. They shall be paid one copper coin a day by the fief"s administrative office.”
He paused for a moment and then continued: “In addition, Teacher Marcus, arrange for the knight squad to teach the serfs some simple fighting skills.”