1.12
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Really? He took a sip questioningly. Well, the flavor was there, the slight bitter undertone, almost absent; hint of clove, jasmine, and cinnamon profile, intermixing; and as the finisher, a subtle menthol aftertaste, blossoming on his throat.
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All in all, it was a nice tea.
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Although, the astringency could do some toning down. Then again it looked like the leaves were only dried, not roasted.
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Which left the erwee, he took another sip. Hmm, it indeed ..rich? Creamy with sweet quality. But only very slightly. It wasn't that overpowering. He didnât have sugar after all.
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So how it sweet?
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âCrombe?â
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âItâs delicious, Lady.â
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The gnome arced her eyes. Her lips pursing. As if were saying she didnât buy her silly lies.
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âIâitâs has taste of a good meil, yes? But this milk. Erwee isnât it, sir?â she looked at him, to which he responded by nodding. âItâs âItâs so sweet! Sweeter than even what the Olâ Ghalk sell, Ladyâ
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ââalso, pardon sir. But thereâs a bit of different sweet, yes? Not just the milk-sweet. There is also the sweet when me roasted red pip.â
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âAnd itâs richer, Lady. And smooth. Very smooth.â
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Nodding, the young gnome turned toward him. Sipping the remaining of her half-filled cup. âAlmost made for us waiting in that cold,â she jabbed again. This woman! âSo where did you get the milk?â
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âThe same place you told me,â he replied, his hand held out offering her to refill the cup. Unsurprisingly, she thrusted her saucer in a second.
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âReally?â breaking a bit of the offered Koshi. She munched it questioningly. âI donât know Porweis started to sell such a good Erwee. When did that happen, Crombe?â
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âIâI donât know, Lady.â
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âHmmâŠâ receiving another cup from him. She took another sip, dipping the Koshi bit âWhen did you last buy from him then?â
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âYes âyesterday, Lady.â
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âPerhaps because itâs evaporated milk?â he offered. As a rule, evaporated milk was indeed sweeter than the fresh once since their water content had been reduced by half. But it wasn't like sweetened condensed milk. That thing basically a half-sugar slurry.
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âEvaporated milk? Whatâs that?â
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âHmm? You boiled three cups of milk in a pan until it reduced to halfââ
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âEhm, Lady!â
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âRight, sorry. Edward. Old habit die hard.â The gnome replied. Oddly though, she sounded ...sheepish? What was that? It just reducing. Surely they knew that. It was so basic.
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âLetâs talk contract, shall we?â
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âOh, okay...â he nodded, shelving that train of thought for later date. âBut before that, do you mind if we have a bit of interview?â
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âInterview?â her voice rose, as if she was offended. âEuca! This is the best staff I know!â she glared at him.
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âI believe you,â he said, looking at Mr.Edward and Mrs.Crombe. Nodding, trying to reassure them. âBut at the very least we need to know each other before working together right?â
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At least that what he said.
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His heart though, was screaming. Really, woman? Did you think he'd just hire them without making sure that they're capable. There was no way. Not after what happened last time.
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"Fine." the gnome harrumphed.
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âSo, Mr. Edward right?â he prompted before that damn merchant could interrupt further. âCould you tell me what did you do before?â
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âYes sir.â he said. âI served at the Master Oliveck estate before.â
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âAnd why did you leave your last job, if I might ask?â
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âThe late master was ...called to Ladyâs embrace.â he paused. âAnd since young master Peter ventured to Silphan, lady Doris decided to dissolve the estate altogether. Moving to her husbandâs hometown.â
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âOh. IâIâm sorry for your loss, Sirâ Euca said. âIt might be a bit disrespectful but â could you tell me what your typical day like?â
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âOf course, Sir. We began early, just before the first bell. First we did a round on the lamps.â he glanced at the magical fixtures. âAnd if the weather were clear, snuff it out as to preserve the remaining mana.â
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âThen we do a check on the pebble. Sometimes they need to be changed if they had grown too small or a crack or two had started showing. Otherwise, we would just give it a light polish.â
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âWe also would open all the shutters to let the morning light in. If it were particularly chilly, we would instructâ clean up the soot. And light the fireplace until around tenth bell when the weather was a bit warmer.â
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âThen we would clean sir boots and prepare your garment for the day.â
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âAt the same time, we would ask the cooâ housekeeper whether she had finished preparing for your meal and bring it to the dining haâ room side chamber and wake you up,â
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âThen if sir desired, we would check on the bath and help you dress. Which then we would serve the breakfast.â
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âFor the noon â â
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âThank you, sir Edward. Thatâs enough. Itâs very thorough. â he said nodding
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âAnd what about you maâamâ
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âSir. Yes, I usually wake up early mornâ like the butler âere. However this Iâd tell you first, yes? This house a wee bit big. And Iâd need two maids for the cleaning alone.â
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He turned his head toward the gnome, to which she replied by nodding.
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âThe maid would start to cleaninâ the kitchen, yes. Scrubbinâ the floors, throwinâ yesterday soot, and tendinâ stove fire. Theyâd need to draw the water too from the back well too for the kitchen and sirâs bath.â
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âThen theyâd prepare a light breakfast for us staff, yes. Just a Koshi, some yesterdayâs vegetables, and milk. Then Iâd prepare your meal.â
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âAfter that, Iâd have to check with the merchant, yes. To make sure they did a round to sir âouse, makinâ sure they send us good vegetables and meat. Then Iâd do checkinâ on the grain while the maid would start to clean the rest of the house. Scrubbinâ the tables, the chairs, sweepinâ the floor, and dustinâ the tables, the vases, sir had. â
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âThank you maâam.â he nodded. âIâd make sure to hire the maids. Thank you for the reminder.â
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The woman blossomed to a smile. She was nodding, looking satisfied.
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âCrombe, Edward, if you please.â
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âYes, Lady.â
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âLady.â
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Both of Mr. Edward and Mrs. Crombe stood, bowing at him and Restia before they went out of the room, closing the door behind them.
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âTheyâre good right?â
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âYes.â They seemed like decent workers. But how much was their pay? Could he afford it?
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â300 golds.â
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âWhaââ
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âPer season. Just for the butler.â
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âThe housekeeper also 300 golds. But the maid only 70 golds.â
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Doing some mental calculation, he frowned. Per season, that were six months? So 670 golds per half-year. Well more like 700, he needed to count their bonuses too. That was a lot. With expense heâd need around ...let just double it. 2,800 golds per year? His stash of money let see 25,000 divided by 2,800. Err⊠24,000 divided by 3,000, 8 years give or take if he kept his current lifestyle, 4 if he accounted for the research expense.
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Well, it wasn't like he wouldnât start a business in this place for a whole four years. That much was given⊠Well, heâd brainstorm later. Perhaps visiting this town tavern or something. Getting the feel what people need.
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âFine, but I want a trial period.â he finally muttered.
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âHow long?â
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âThree monthsâ
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âNo, canât do. Minimum employment of household staffs were two season.â
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âWhaââ
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âNot my rule, Euca. Itâs the guild. You could check it yourself if you donât believe me.â
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âFine,â he muttered. âAt least you didnât charge any fee.â
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âDonât remind me.â she sighed. Giving him eight sheets of sheaves, detailing the contract of each employee.
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Duty to protect, Duty to provide living expense; meal three times a day, clothes, and basic grooming. One day holiday each month. Independent post-interview by the overseer branchâŠ
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Acceptable, acceptable, of course, thatâs interesting.
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Same, only different in gold. Huh, she already had the trial period down. Was that a skill?
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Seeing that everything seemed to be in order, he stood. Walking to the right-side drawer, pulling a sharpened quill and a bottle of ink.
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With a dip, he signed the contract.
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âTell them that they could start tomorrow.â
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8
thanks for the chapter