Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 863 Will the heirs of the nobility also be short of money?
"It's been a while since we've taken a walk together, Brandi." Xino led his good friend out of the stable, then gently stroked the thick mane on her neck and said with a smile: "Come on, let's take the guests to visit the manor together today. But it's just a short walk, you're not allowed to run too fast, okay?"

"Hey!"

Brandi cried softly. Although she was a little disappointed that she couldn't run at full speed, she was generally happy.

"Good horse." Xinuo rubbed her head. "When I'm not so busy, I'll take you to the stables... No, I'll take you to the fields for a good run!"

Brandi's originally languid ponytail immediately swung excitedly, and her pair of bright and moist big eyes stared at Xino without blinking, as if to say: Then it's a deal, you can't go back on your word.

"Don't worry." Xino said seriously: "One of the knight's creeds is to keep promises. Do you think I am a qualified knight, Brandi?"

This was beyond doubt, so Brandi immediately put aside her worries and bit the corner of Xinuo's clothes to pull her out, looking a little impatient. Xinuo didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and hurriedly comforted her. After all, there were guests here, so she couldn't be too rude.

"What a wonderful relationship." Meidian looked at this scene and felt a little envious for some reason: "I also want to have a pet, like Sister Xiaoxia's lamb, or Sister Gloria's Xiaobai."

Alice glanced at her and muttered, "You already have two very human pets."

"Really?" The pink-haired little girl opened her eyes wide when she heard that: "How could I not know that?"

Alice didn't answer, but thought to herself that they probably didn't know either.

"Ah, yes."

Although this was said in jest, the Chateau Lisboa Manor was indeed very large, with a complex network of avenues, paths, and courtyard corridors. If one rushed in without a familiar guide, one might get lost.

Everyone followed closely behind Xino and continued to visit the manor. After leaving the horse farm, they walked along a road planted with white city sycamores and oriental sycamores. The buildings along the way were short and delicate, built with a kind of brick called mead stone. It is said that after the construction is completed, mead must be poured from the pointed bluestone tile roof, and not a drop of wine can leak into the gaps between the bricks. Only in this way can it be considered qualified. To this day, from those heavy bricks and tiles full of ancient atmosphere, you can still vaguely smell the faint aroma of wine from that era.

The lamb did not follow its owner to the manor, but stayed on the island to sleep in. Gloria, on the other hand, was inseparable from her gray falcon named Xiaobai. She listened to the conversation between the two and smiled slightly. She stroked the feathers of the falcon in her arms and looked around at the empty but very neatly cleaned stable. She asked, "Miss Heno, is Brandy the only horse here?"

"Except Brandi." At this point, Xinuo gently patted the white horse beside her, and the horse rubbed its head against her shoulder affectionately: "She refused to leave and insisted on staying with me. It made me prepare fodder for her every month. To be honest, she is a bit willful."

These buildings come from different eras and have different purposes. Some of them have even been handed down from ten centuries ago. They basically witness the historical process of Grangenia from barrenness to prosperity.

Xino led the way with Brandi in front, and introduced their origins to everyone.

Xino turned around, and the snow-white horse tail swung in the air, drawing a graceful arc. "In fact, we used to raise a lot of horses, so the stable was built so big. After all, the Gustaf family is a family of knights, and horses are the best companions of knights. Although there is no room for knights to play in modern wars, our love for horses has not diminished. But later, due to lack of manpower, I alone could not take care of so many horses, so I sent them all to the Gustaf family's horse farms in other places, where someone would be responsible for taking care of them."

But aren’t you a wind flower ball player? Everyone looked at him sideways.

Having said that, her tone was not one of complaint, but rather a hint of teasing.

"If there is a chance, I can take Miss Gloria to experience it." Xino said with a smile, and then took Brandi's reins: "Let's go, everyone. There is still some distance to the stadium. Don't get lost."

"I see." Gloria looked a little regretful. "If possible, I would like to try horseback riding. I heard that polo is also very popular in the White City Republic."

"That's the wool warehouse. Our ancestor once mixed the Cowarts sheep he brought from the inland with the local long-wool sheep, and eventually bred a new breed with huge bodies and thick wool like a lion's mane. In the following centuries, the wool trade and related dyes, cloth, and mutton trade once became the economic support of this area until the rise of the grape industry replaced it. This row of houses was the warehouse used to store wool when the Gustaf family purchased wool from local residents and sold it to foreign merchants. Because these soft and weak creatures played a vital role in the local economic prosperity, the locals also affectionately called them "Lions of Grangenia." To this day, you can still see them on the fields of Grindelwald, but this business no longer needs our Gustaf family as a middleman, so these warehouses are no longer useful. When there were enough people, there were people responsible for taking care of them, but now they are on the verge of being abandoned."

"Those are beehives and apiaries. As early as the Middle Ages, Northenweg's Crown Peak honey was already a best-seller in the Western Continent. Our ancestors wanted to emulate their experience and find a new way out for the residents of Grangenia, so they built them and tried beekeeping here. However, this attempt ultimately failed due to the lack of high-yield honey sources in the local area. However, the apiary and beehives were preserved. In the past, our Gustaf family would hire people to raise bees and produce honey and beeswax for daily use. During festivals, we would also give honey to nearby residents to celebrate with them. This not only provides jobs for people, but also allows the manor to be self-sufficient."

"That's the Longdel River and the Chalon Stone Bridge. They have existed longer than this manor. The huge water-powered mill by the river was the largest mill in Grangenia at the time. It has been open since its construction and provides free services to all residents. Although it is rarely used now, the Gustave family still regularly maintains and repairs it. Well, it used to be done by craftsmen employed by the manor, but now it's done by me." That's right, there is even a river running through the Chadoly Manor. It should originate from the Emerald Lake and directly divide the manor into two parts, north and south. An old three-hole stone bridge quietly crosses the river and connects the two banks. The old blue-gray bricks are covered with mottled moss marks and covered with new moss. Standing on the bridge and looking down, the river water is so clear that you can see the mud and sand at the bottom, as well as one or two silver chain fish swimming and playing among the water plants.

The old willow trees hung their heads by the river, their shadows reflected in the river were as hazy as if through the mist. The drooping branches gently touched the surface of the river in the wind, creating ripples. The scene was so beautiful that Metien couldn't help but exclaimed, "How beautiful!"

Xinuo smiled and said to her, "If you like, I'll go and see if the boat and oars are still in the warehouse. I used to take a boat to play on the Longdel River. Sometimes when the weather was good, I would take a nap on the boat. When I woke up, I found that I had drifted downstream."

It sounds like Xino's childhood and teenage life were a typical pastoral idyll, carefree and particularly desirable.

However, the young man had already noticed the qualifiers in every sentence she said: before, past, and at that time.

"It sounds like things are different now." He raised his head and looked across the river to the scenery on the opposite bank. A straight avenue led to a complex of buildings shaded by branches and leaves. Behind the prosperity was a deep loneliness: the dusty corners, the eaves covered with cobwebs, and every leaf that kept falling in the wind. They had just been cleaned up in the morning and now piled up again, almost like a colorful blanket, covering the stone bricks of the street. People's footsteps made a crackling sound on it, which further highlighted the surrounding emptiness and silence.

Although the scenery is beautiful, it lacks a kind of temperament that can make its beauty lively, or in layman's terms, popularity. This manor is lonely. When it no longer lives for anyone, all the scenery is just a solidified oil painting - the flowers and woods that were once carefully cared for by the gardener, the warehouse where workers came and went to unload wool and cloth, and the river where the boatman rowed and took the little girl to spend that sunny afternoon leisurely... Now they are all dead.

Lingge had noticed this a long time ago, but the others were still immersed in the past described by Xino and had not come to their senses.

"Yes." The girl herself did not shy away from this and nodded frankly: "Since I dismissed the servants and hired workers of the manor, no one has taken care of them for a long time, which is why they have become like this now. Although I have tried my best to make up for it, I can only take care of a small part, so it is still my responsibility."

She smiled, revealing a sense of relief, as if she had never regretted this decision.

The young man remained silent and did not continue to ask questions, because he knew that not every question in the world must be answered. However, not everyone can stop abruptly in front of a secret like him and keep a proper distance. Curiosity always drives them to explore, without realizing that it is something that has nothing to do with them.

"So," Alice was a person driven by curiosity. She asked without thinking, "Why did you dismiss those people? Could it be that the Gustave family has no money and can't afford to support so many servants?"

When she said this reason, even she herself did not believe it, because Shino had said long ago that the Gustaf family not only had the ancestral manor of Chardolly Manor, but also had a large number of vineyards, fields, forests and horse farms on the Grindelwald Plain. Although it was impossible to return to the glorious picture of the kingdom era, it was more than enough to hire some servants and maintain the dignity of the nobility.

Then she had a new association: Could it be that the Gustaf family treated their servants too harshly, and even the kind-hearted Shino couldn't stand it, so they decided to dismiss them as the heir?

It doesn't seem like that. Since ancient times, the Whitethorn Flower family has always been known for its kind and friendly image, and is also loved by the people. The wool warehouse, bee farm and beehive in the manor, and the water mill built specifically for the residents can prove this. If the owner was really cold and harsh, how could those children play with Shino when he was young?
Oh, I understand. It must be that Xino is worried about the money.

It makes sense. Although the Gustaf family is wealthy, its expenses are also not small. In addition to the daily expenses of the manor, they also have to support a large group of aliens in the Forest of Loser. It is reasonable for Xino to bear such a heavy burden at such a young age and become frugal.

Alice, who was also short of money and stingy, thought she had seen through the truth, so she looked at Xino with a little more sympathy, which made the girl a little confused, but she didn't ask further. She just shook her head and tactfully avoided the question: "That's not the case. There are some personal factors involved. Please forgive me for not explaining it in detail."

That’s right!
Alice was very discerning and insisted on the fact without allowing any arguments. Then she smiled and was about to go up to Xino and say, "I'll give you half of the prize money when I win the championship to help you relieve your financial pressure." But then she thought, wouldn't half be too much? Xino and I just met, and she would be embarrassed to take such a large sum of money? How about a quarter? No, it won't make it an integer, how about a fifth? Or how about a more auspicious number, a sixth or an eighth?

Hehe, maybe she will be so moved that she will pledge herself to me? Don't get me wrong, I, Alice, am a gentleman. What I am saying here is that she is willing to join the Whale Island and fight against the Witch Society together, not other messy aspects. All of you guys who have wrong ideas, take them out and shoot them for three minutes!

This plan is feasible, but the amount needs to be discussed. The golden maid fell into deep thought about how much money she should give to support Xino, and she didn't realize that the money didn't actually belong to her. But she didn't have time to think about this question to the end, because Metien's voice interrupted her thoughts: "Hey, Sister Alice! What are you doing there?"

"what?"

The talented ballroom player looked up in bewilderment, only to find that the others had crossed the bridge without her noticing and were standing on the other side waiting for her. She quickly threw all those random thoughts behind her and ran after them: "Wait, wait for me!"

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)