Chapter 133 The Maiden'S Tower And Chaos
The group, who had decided to return to Grandchester Castle, ended up heading towards the Secret Garden instead of the main residence, thanks to Rebecca's proposal. The reason was that this castle had the highest concentration of fairies within its walls.
Along the way, Sara spoke to Marquis.
"Did Grandfather visit Paracelsus's laboratory?"
"I'm the one who sealed the tower when I was young."
"Did you also know about the library?"
"I was annoyed by the sheer number of useless books. The cost of those books was equivalent to 3 years' worth of income for the entire territory. So, I sold them off, making it seem like Grandchester was struggling financially. It was quite frustrating."
'I wonder if it's because of his rebellious streak towards his predecessor. Grandfather is quite extreme, isn't he?'
"At what age did you become a Marquis, Grandfather?"
"I was 24 years old. That was about 30 years ago."
"You were very young, weren't you? Uncle Edward is already 35 years old."
"I'm not the eldest son, after all."
"Is that so?"
"I had 2 older brothers who died in succession due to an epidemic. My younger siblings and I were safe in Grandchester territory. "That winter, many people died in the capital. Many nobles lost their lives, but the damage was even more severe among the commoners."
"What kind of disease was it?"
"A high fever. People suddenly fell ill with high temperatures and kept dying."
'Was it something like influenza?'
"Because of that, I was suddenly promoted to Marquis at the age of 17. I was about to graduate from the Academy's Knight Course and was supposed to join the Imperial Guard, but I had to decline."
"Grandfather wanted to become a knight, didn't he?"
"I used to love swords. I even asked Jeffrey about your sword skills, but now I want to see them for myself. I'm not too old yet, you know."
"Sure, I'd be happy to."
'Grandfather really had a sturdy build, didn't he? He would have looked great in the Imperial Guard's uniform.'
"Grandfather, weren't you interested in alchemy at all?"
"Honestly, I thought it was a bunch of nonsense. At the academy, there were all these big-headed scholars coming up with complicated theories, and then there were these weirdos who would do crazy experiments and blow the roof off the building."
"Haha, that's extreme."
"A few years before I inherited the title, Paracelsus suddenly disappeared. My father seemed to know why, but he didn't bother looking for him. I thought my father was too obsessed with him, and when I found out how much money he had spent on his research, I felt it was irresponsible. So when I became the Marquis, I shut down the tower. It was a waste, anyway."
The Marquis let out a deep sigh, remembering the past.
"That's a shame. But thanks to that, I feel like I got an amazing treasure chest."
"Well, I'm glad I got to drink that Elma brandy. I even found a new appreciation for that tower."
"That liquor is just a bonus. If I teach people how to make it, anyone can do it, not just alchemists. It could start a new industry in the Grandchester territory."
"Really? That's great."
Originally, liquor is something that requires a long time to experiment and repeat trials, seeking its own unique flavor that suits the local climate. For a while, she might have Mike's help, but eventually, they'll have to part ways with Sara and Mike, and each of them will create their own Elma liquor or Elma brandy in our respective places. In other words, it's the lord's job to nurture the industry carefully, so that it can grow and flourish.
"But, Grandfather, the tower and the garden have values beyond that. I think our great-grandfather must have conducted research with Paracelsus-san in that place to create the future town and industry of Grandchester."
"Wasn't he trying to create the Philosopher's Stone?"
"I don't know what Mr. Paracelsus's goal was. But from the lord's perspective, looking at that tower, I think even the Philosopher's Stone was just a means to an end. It doesn't seem like great-grandfather wasted the budget foolishly."
Marquis's face turned pale at Sara's words, and he looked down.
"Is that so... I was a foolish lord. I didn't understand the previous lord's intentions, and I cut off the funding, thinking it was a waste."
"A lord is not a god. They don't have eyes that can see through everything, nor do they have hands that can grasp everything. Who can blame someone who did their best within their own abilities?"
"But the tower was right in front of us. The books, the documents, everything..."
"Then, please think that the time just hasn't come yet. We didn't destroy the tower, nor did we scatter the documents. We just carefully preserved them until the maidens and I arrived. Thank you for waiting for us, Grandfather."
Sara was grateful to Marquis from the bottom of her heart. That's why she thought that the industries born from the Maiden's Tower and the Secret Garden should be returned to Grandchester as much as possible.
'Don't monopolize the profits. Nurture the industries, and let the money circulate. That's true development.'
* * *
When they arrived at the Maiden's Tower, not only Alicia the Alchemist Girl and Amelia the Pharmacist Girl, but also Thomas came out to the entrance.
"Ah, Mister Thomas was here after all. I heard you were taking a break today, so I thought you'd come to read books."
"Haha, I got caught."
"Are you a persistent librarian?"
"No, I'm just a regular user today. I thought this library was biased towards alchemy, but it's broader than I thought. There are rare books that are hard to find, and some duplicates too. If we auction them off, we might be able to get new, valuable books."
"Ugh, I really want to make Mister Thomas a librarian."
"Sometime, Scott and Blaze will enter the Academy, so please keep that in mind."
Thomas cleverly made an appeal for re-employment. Indeed, if things go as they are, the two of them will enter the Academy in a few years.
"By the way, what brings you here today? I thought you'd be spending the evening at the ranch, Ms. Sara."
"There are various circumstances..."
Sara's words trailed off, and Rebecca started talking to Thomas.
"Mr. Thomas, you're not from the Grandchester territory, are you? Do you have anyone you've sworn loyalty to?"
"No, I'm not a knight, and I haven't sworn loyalty to anyone. Well, I did swear loyalty to you, Miss Sara, but you rejected me."
Thomas smiled wryly.
"I mean, you swore loyalty as soon as I saw the tower's library. But that's not loyalty to me, it's loyalty to the library, right?"
"I understand the situation. Let me ask you again, Mr. Thomas. Are you willing to swear loyalty to Miss Sara from the bottom of your heart?"
Thomas's expression turned serious.
"Of course. Miss Sara has wisdom that's beyond compare, and she shares her overflowing knowledge with everyone around her, creating new industries. And most of all, she doesn't get caught up in appearances and tries to see the true nature of people. If I can serve someone as excellent as her, I'd like to devote my entire life to her."
Everyone, including Sara, was surprised by this. No one had expected Thomas, who had just met Sara, to be so devoted to her.
"I thought Mr. Thomas was thinking of making Sara his future wife."
"What? No way, that's not it. I'm more than 10 years older than her."
Scott jumped in, flustered.
"To be honest, if I said I didn't have such feelings, it would be a lie. Although I'm still young, Miss Sara is an extremely intelligent and charming person. If I were to make her my wife, I promise to devote myself to her with all my might."
Thomas immediately responded with a straight face, leaving Scott's tease in a state of utter confusion.
However, Sara couldn't bear the embarrassment.
"Ahem, Mister Thomas. I'm not someone who deserves to be spoken to in such a way..."
"Your self-evaluation is not important, Miss Sara. My heart and body cannot help but hold you in high esteem. If you would allow it, I would like to pledge my loyalty to you. Of course, if you were to accept my love, it would be the greatest happiness, but I understand that's not possible at this stage."
Thomas knelt down before Sara and extended his right hand. Seeing this, Rebecca let out a sigh and spoke to Sara.
"Ms. Sara, Mister Thomas is making a formal pledge of loyalty to you. As a noble lady, you can't refuse unless you have a very good reason. Of course, it's not like he's asking for your love. Do you remember the response to this pledge?"
"Yes, Miss Rebecca."
Sara elegantly curtsied and placed her right hand on top of Thomas's.
"I'm delighted by your sincerity, and I accept. Please protect me for a long time."
Thomas took Sara's hand and pressed it to his forehead, then brought his lips to the back of her hand.
"I dedicate everything to you."
Sara took back her right hand, which she had entrusted to Thomas, and walked up to him, giving him a light peck on the forehead.
"With my heartfelt gratitude and love, I present this to you."
Sara handed Thomas the embroidered handkerchief (with a design drawn by Rebecca, so it was really something) she had been holding. Thomas received it with both hands, pressing it to his forehead.
This was the moment when Sara obtained Thomas, her most loyal and faithful attendant for life.
...But the moment this exchange ended, the surroundings suddenly became noisy.
"Mister Thomas, that's what I wanted to do first! I was going to do it as soon as I was knighted!"
Scott glared at him with envy, but he had enough sense not to disrupt the ceremony.
"Ms. Sara is charming, after all. The early bird gets the worm."
Thomas, with a beautiful smile on his face, showed no mercy even to his student.
"If Rob hears about this, he'll cause a huge commotion."
"Let him be, he's too foolish. No, I mean, he's too much of a father. Anyway, if Sara's father (Robert) doesn't rejoice at her obtaining an excellent attendant, I'll make sure to tell him to give up on the adoption talk."
"Hehe, that's right. Father-in-law."
"Ah, I see. It's nice to be called that for the first time."
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Alicia the Alchemist Girl and Amelia the Pharmacist Girl were in awe of the noble ceremony they had just witnessed, and they couldn't wait to tell Teresa the Blacksmith Girl about it.
And Blaze was whispering secretly to Sara's ear.
"So, did Sara decide to be ridden by Mister Thomas?"
Looking over, Blaze was laughing and clearly teasing Sara. For now, Sara showed Blaze a nice smile, and then she threw a sharp punch at his stomach. Of course, Blaze had anticipated the attack, so he moved his body to dodge it. However, Sara's attack was faster than expected, and he couldn't dodge it completely, so he was blown backward.
Naturally, everyone around them froze and stared at Sara and Blaze, but Sara just smiled elegantly and said to Blaze:
"You shouldn't say rude things to a girl. That's not very gentlemanly."
Everyone thought, "But isn't it also not very ladylike to punch a boy and send him flying?" However, no one said anything to scold Sara.
Meanwhile, Scott helped Blaze up and said, "Hey Blaze... are you stupid? Sara is evenly matched with me. If you're going to pick a fight, you should get stronger first." He was giving some kind of incomprehensible advice.
It was a really chaotic situation.
By the way, at that moment, Fran was diligently distilling Elma liquor inside the tower.
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