31 – Coral City"s Feces Road
The past events regarding Melissa and Madam Penélope were already ancient history in the castle.
Madam Penélope criticized Melissa. She believed that Melissa could not stand her. Backed by the Marquis, Penélope did not dare to provoke her, having no other choice but to move out of the Tulip Castle.
Liszt, however, felt that it was actually Madam Penélope who was too acrid, still complaining more than a decade later.
Moreover, more than a decade after Melissa pa.s.sed away, Madam Penélope still could not move on as she also did not get along with the new Madam Countess.
“You are lucky to have returned today as the daughter of the baron family is not in the castle. Otherwise, I would have turned around and left at first sight. That woman emits some kind of smell, making me uncomfortable. I do not know how your father can put up with her. Now, the whole castle smells of her. I feel uncomfortable just by staying here for a bit.”
Hearing that, Lvera, who had been sitting beside Madam Penélope, winded her arm around her grandmother"s and, unlike her usual strong facade, said in a spoiled tone: “Grandmother, you can come to my Falcon Town if you do not like the Tulip Castle. There is an exceptionally beautifully manor and a hot spring. You would definitely like it there.”
“Little girl, as a aristocratic gentlewoman, seat properly. Look at you, you are already nineteen years old and still have not found your better half. This is not worthy of a gentlewoman.”
“Grandmother is right. Lvera, you have to learn to be a gentlewoman, and not play with swords like us.” Levis teased before saying to Madam Penélope, “Grandmother, if you think that the castle smells bad, then I can add some more freshener.”
“The two women entering the family is not something that could be solved with freshener. I am already weary. If it is not necessary, then I do not want to come to the castle.” Said Madam Penélope, then turned towards the butler, Lewis, standing to the side, saying, “Lewis, you will help me convey these words to the daughter of the baron family, right?”
Words laced with quite the provocation.
Lewis smiled gently: “Old Madam, you know that I prefer to keep my mouth shut.”
“Lewis, you have always been so boring.”
Since Madam Penélope entered the castle, the conversation was centered on her. Of course, 80% of the conversation was her speaking.
Liszt just smiled politely.
Not until the Count returned and declared that dinner could start, that Liszt was freed from this awkward atmosphere.
Dinner in the Tulip Castle was obviously not something to which dinner in the Flower Town"s small castle could compare to.
There was a huge contrast just in the number of people.
At dinner, the castle"s aristocrats consisting of the count family, the teacher, the captain of the knights, as well as a few of the Count"s followers who were guests in the castle were already all seated. Altogether, there were sixteen aristocrats, with chevaliers, barons, viscounts, and counts being all present.
At the dinner, Madam Penélope naturally would not keep quiet, constantly chatting.
Liszt was focused on enjoying his food. Despite him not being used to Western style cuisine, yet compared with the Flower Town"s crude food, the food here could be called delicious. He was not very involved in the discussions, and just like in his predecessor"s memories, he had become invisible in the castle.
However, he previously used to want to interject yet could not.
But now he did not want to interject. After all, he was just a transmigrator inside someone else"s body and could not blend himself into the Tulip Family. He could only watch everything calmly alike a spectator. Being low-key, doing things according with the times, and immerse himself into development. Perhaps one day he might no longer have to be low-key, doing as he pleases.
……
Liszt had gotten up early the following day. The three siblings had to set out with the fleet towards the Red Crab Island to visit their grandfather, Marquis Merlin Longtaro.
“Give my sincere regards on my behalf” The Count had also gotten up early, enjoying the breakfast together with his three children.
As a son-in-law, he should go visit himself, but since he was just a former son-in law, his relationship with the Longtaro Family had become estranged. It would be inconvenient if he were to go visit.
Madam Penélope had already returned from her walk, her tone bleak: “Levis, Lvera, Liszt, give my regards to Marquis Merlin. I recall a handsome and n.o.ble aristocrat who was strong and outstanding, I did not expect that a few years later, he would fall ill to the point of not being capable performing his work and his position as the captain of the court"s fleet being stripped from him.”
“Birth, death, illness, and old age are the rules governing the world. Mother, do not brood over it.”
“You want to tell me that I am also a wretched old woman?”
“Why would you think so, I hope that you can live until one hundred years old.”
“From the two women you have married, one can tell that you are hoping for me to die sooner than later, so keep quiet. No one is bothering you regarding the matters of the Coral Island.”
The Count could only reveal an awkward and polite smile.
Liszt took Marcus along, and there was still a castle"s servingman responsible for his luggage. The three siblings set out together for the wharf. The wharf was part of Coral City. Although it was said to be a city, but Liszt was more willing to call it a ‘large toilet" as the foul stink from fermented feces and urine was ever present.
Because of this, a tulip with a strong aroma produced by the Tulip Family was widely popular among the city residents.
The city residents who went on long journeys trough the city would have such tulips tied around their neck to dilute the nauseating odor on the streets.
There was no way to get rid of the smell of feces though.
Such a big city like the Coral City was not even as grand as a small county town from Liszt"s birth place.
Without high-rise buildings or mansions, it was just a random agglomeration of wooden and stone houses, with streets of varying width extending into the distance. Along the streets were various shops. The hurrying pedestrians could not avoid stepping into excrement as the city residents liked to dump their feces on the street.
If it was just a piece of dog excrement, then one could of course choose to avoid it.
But if it was the entire street covered in dog excrement, then creasing one"s eyebrows and stepping on it would be the only way to go.
Therefore, after being constantly stepped on, the layers upon layers of feces had already integrated themselves with the pavement, creating the unique ‘feces road" with a natural stench.
Why was sanitation so bad?
It was because the city residents were busy with their livelihoods and did not care about sanitation. Additionally, the aristocrats living in the castle on the verge of the city also did not care about the mess inside the city.
Thankfully, the Coral City was only a city on an island with a limited population, and the scale at which the feces and urine were produced was still bearable as they were being naturally weathered.
If the city were to be larger, it might have been flooded by feces and urine.
“Their horizons were so restricted because of the sprites" abilities that they did not think of using excrement in farming?” When surveying the Coral City, Liszt fantasized, “If I could collect all the excrement on the island, take it all to the Flower Town, and then in the town… No, around the small town construct a few methane-generating pits.
He understood the theory behind the methane-generating pits. However, it would be a bit troublesome to use methane for lighting and cooking.
After a simple fermentation, the quickest way to use excrements would be to fertilize the land. The Flower Town"s barren soil was comparable to yellow earth soil, it was in an urgent need of fertilizer.
“With the inconvenience of transportation, using carriages to transport the feces would be more costly than the feces themselves… Forget it, there is no need to pollute my Flower Town. The small town is self-sufficient in this regard.”