When I woke up, Illya told me it was almost time for lunch, so I went to the bathroom to clean up after my unplanned afternoon nap.
After a quick rinse in the hot water, I put on a simple pair of tight brown pants and a white shirt. Gathering my hair into a simple ponytail at the back of my head and throwing my jacket over my shoulders, I was ready to talk. Oh, and my emotions were almost completely back, so I was almost completely fine now.
— Well girls, are you ready? — I asked them with a slightly strained smile, because the "joy" still hadn't returned.
— Yes, Mistress Irbis. — answered for everyone with a bow.
— Then it's time to go. — I nodded, and followed Miki and Momi.
After a short wandering through the corridors of the fortress, we eventually came to a hall with a huge table, which was already set by the maids, and at which already sat Gralvin.
— Greetings again, Lady Irbis. — He stood up from the table and bowed slightly. — I am glad that despite the events of today you are here at this dinner. And again, I apologize for my guard's rudeness. He had too little opportunity for education.
— Oh, Sir Edmund, such trivialities have no effect on me. Writing a new masterpiece was more exhausting to me than any duel. — I nodded at his bow and sat down at the table on his right side.
— Oh yes, it was really a masterpiece, I don't think I've ever heard anything so beautiful. Can I ask you to record a copy on a memory crystal? I will try to pay a fair price for it, but I don't think I can properly value such a treasure. — Edmund spoke up as we began to eat our light appetizers.
After chewing on something that looked like sashimi, only instead of fish there was some kind of crab meat and instead of rice there was something green, I paused for a moment.
— I don't mind, but are you sure you want this song? — I asked him as I sipped from my wine glass.
— What do you mean? — he asked, though he understood what I meant.
— All the songs I've written resonate with any creature capable of feeling emotion. — I came at it from a distance. — And I have hundreds of such songs, they cause different emotions, their shades or a blend of several emotions at once. And let today I created a masterpiece, but I do not think so negative song want to listen to often.
Having said that, I telekinesis moved the delicious-smelling first dish to me. And the Margrave was in no hurry to answer.
— Let us do so, Sir Edmund. After dinner, and our conversation, we will sit somewhere in soft armchairs in front of the fireplace, cover our feet with a plaid and while enjoying delicious wine we will listen to the songs I have written all evening. And to avoid any misunderstandings, I want to warn you that you, as well as men in general, are not my type. — I smirked slightly as I felt the "naughtiness" return.
— Ha-ha, I'm not at the age to be interested in girls. — He laughed. — And I'll never cheat on my she-wolf. — Gralvin finished a little sadly.
The dinner went on in a more relaxed manner, with a bit of banter with each other. Occasionally we'd get into serious topics, such as the Monster Horde invasion or the civil war in Zantir. Eventually our lunch smoothly turned into a conversation with a little snack now and then, and after 4 hours (in which I got to know everything I needed to know) we went to his office to listen my music.
###
The next day was unremarkable. I woke up in the morning and without waiting for the maids I took a bath and dressed in my training clothes, and after waiting for the maids to arrive I went with them to the officers' training room.
After practicing there for a couple of hours with all the weapons I know how to use, we went for a walk around the fortress, finally reaching the underground botanical garden. Yesterday I had forgotten all about it, but today Gerda reminded me of it and we decided to go there first.
And it was interesting. The whole garden was about a kilometer long, seven hundred meters wide and about thirty meters high. There were lots of glowing crystals, columns supporting the ceiling, and a wide variety of plants. How about a potato bush that grows up to seven meters deep, and from which you can get about a ton of potatoes a month? Or a colony of mushrooms that grow in just a couple hours after they are plucked?
In general, as one of the botanists overseeing the garden told us, most of the plants here are used in alchemy, but some space is taken up by ordinary fruits and vegetables so that in case of a siege they don't have to depend on external food supplies.
Indeed, only about a quarter of the space here is dedicated to edible plants, the rest of the space is occupied by a variety of plants that can be used both in medicine and as poisons. So it's a dual purpose garden.
Further we went even deeper, and reached a huge cave with an underground lake and a lot of bio-luminescent moss and algae. As it turned out, it is impossible to go deeper and this cave, which was found absolutely by accident, serves as the last refuge. The thing is that this cave is almost impossible to detect from the outside even with the help of earth magic, and it is located at a depth of almost a kilometer.
At the end of the day, I talked to the maids and went to bed. Alone again by the way, despite the fact that any of the maids would have wanted to spend the night with me. But unfortunately for them, after that soulful orgasm from the musical trance, I wouldn't be able to get aroused from normal sexual pleasure for at least a week. So, thinking I wanted to watch some funny dog videos, I went to bed.
###
In the morning, after the maids had washed me and we had chosen a blue summer dress, I went to breakfast with the Margrave to get what we had agreed upon and to buy something. We planned this breakfast the night we drank wine, because as I said, I'm not going to be here more than three days.
— Good morning, Lady Irbis. — as soon as I entered the dining room, Gralvin gave me a little bow. — How was your night?
— Good morning to you too, Sir Edmund. I have had a good and restful night's sleep. — I nodded with a smile. — But you look like you've been having trouble sleeping for some time now. Am I the reason you can't sleep?
Catching my joking tone, he replied in the same tone.
— That's right, the lady has been depriving me of sleep since that evening. All the time I was just thinking about you and your request. — he smiled.
— And what have you decided?
— I accept your offer, and I have already prepared everything. — He nodded, and then we started breakfast.
We discussed the weaknesses of different monsters, how best to kill them, the pros and cons of different weapons and other neutral topics. But as breakfast came to an end and I proved that a glaive was better than a two-handed sword, it was time to talk about something else.
— Well, if you agree with my opinion…
— I didn't say I agree! I only said that your theory has a right to exist! — Gralvin was a little indignant.
- And yet if you agree with it, you've run out of arguments. And the fact that you've run out of arguments means that I've won our conversation. - I smiled contentedly, but soon I was looking at the Margrave with a serious expression.
— And so, since breakfast is coming to an end, then I have one more thing to say. I would like to buy the contracts of the maids who were assigned to me while I was staying with you. And I would also like to buy from you a vehicle befitting my status and capable of comfortably carrying at least seven people inside.
A little dazed from the rapid change of mood, he began to think.
— And before you say anything, I've already spoken to the maids and they've agreed to join my service. I'm also going to buy out their contracts for system gold.
So, what's he going to decide? I know him well enough to be about 80% sure he'll agree, but I could be wrong. We drank tea in silence for about five minutes when he finally spoke.
— As long as they agreed, then let them. I understand why Gerda and Illya agreed, the first because she hadn't worked in our house for very long, and the second because she changed owners every time the previous one died. However, I have a hard time understanding why Miki and Momiji agreed.
— Well, it's pretty simple. Miki wanted to leave right after her contract ended because of the harassment of a certain rakshasa, and Momiji is just afraid that a certain "young mistress" will still execute her because of the attempted robbery. — I said calmly.
— Robbery? — Edmund was surprised.
— As the girls told me, when Momi was lost without a mother and was stealing to earn money, she tried to steal from one of your children. But instead of being executed, she was offered to be a maid, and she accepted, but she is still afraid of being killed.
— That's so. — he said, still surprised. — They told me she was picked up on the street out of pity. And I believed it. Well, we've agreed on the maid ransom, but I think transport will be more difficult. I just don't have anything worthy of someone with the title of high aristocrat. Maybe something's come up on the estate while I've been away, but I'm not sure.
— I don't have to show that I'm a high aristocrat, just enough so that when people see the carriage, or whatever transportation you have here, they don't come up to me wanting to make trouble for themselves. Something impressive enough to show my power and authority.
— Oh, I've got an interesting idea, and maybe you'd be interested in it. — he said with a sly squint.
— I'm already interested in you, Sir Edmund, so show me your idea and I'll consider whether to accept it. — I smiled and got up from the table.
Thanks for the chapter
Thanks for reading 〳 ◉ ͜ʖ ◉〵
Thanks for the chapter!
So she is taking all of the maids. Will she be training them? I'm a big fan of the overpowered maid trope.
She will train them, even if not all of them. I like strong warrior maids too, but if all the maids are busy training, then who will do their work?
It's better to hire warriors right away and then train them.
Thanks fo reading ヾ(・ω・ )
🍪🍪🍪 tftr c( ⁰ 〰 ⁰ )੭