NOVEL NEXT Chapter 213: Farming, what farming?
Cassiopeia showed no hesitation or awkwardness, using her matter-of-fact manner to reduce her patient’s unease.
She could still tell that Lady Luna Alizarin was nervous, but that didn’t hinder her work.
Cassiopeia carefully magically scanned the specific areas in her patient and her reference. Mentally, she could vaguely envision the transformation that would be required, with the skin here moving, the flesh here changing shape, the nerves shortened, the other nerves redirected…
Cassiopeia wrote down a few short notes first, re-iterated what she was going to do, and before her healing magic entered Lady Luna Alizarin once more. She magically directed the young noblewoman’s body to break down unwanted cells here and adjusted the surrounding tissue to settle into their new position.
For a moment, she felt that she could complete the entire healing process in one go. But she restrained herself, and after applying a general healing spell to heal the ‘wounded’ area, Cassiopeia pulled out her magic.
“How do you feel? Is it painful? Does it feel different?” Cassiopeia asked.
Lady Luna Alizarin looked a little tense. “I feel fine.”
Cassiopeia pursed her lips. “Are you sure? Would you like another healing spell?”
At that moment, Cassiopeia realised a weakness in her healing—she couldn’t magically detect if someone was feeling pain. How would she determine that? Inflammation was one matter, but the sensation of pain also involved nerves. If she could sense pain, then she could automatically adjust. Even better, she could cast some anaesthetic spell before intense healing operations. She filed these thoughts for later.
“I don’t need it, it just feels a bit different,” Lady Luna Alizarin said.
Cassiopeia nodded. “Please tell me if anything feels wrong and please tell me if you’re unhappy with anything, including the direction your body is changing.”
Lady Luna Alizarin nodded.
After the two women left, Cassiopeia let out a sigh of relief—both that the session went well, and that she really now had a patient. Going forward, Lady Luna Alizarin and her sister wanted to come into the clinic weekly.
Cassiopeia took the time to write down her thoughts and reflections. She had ideas about what she wanted to do next, and what she could do better. She made some notes about pain sensing, and how she could turn what she did with the direct healing magic into an automated spell.
Meanwhile, Hadrian settled on an academic supervisor at the University—a senior researcher, Mage Oskar Firebrick who was a fire-earth mage who worked on molten earth.
Although Mage Firebrick didn’t have a position as high as Assistant Professor Lady Ciara Iron, he had more time, more relevant expertise, and more interest in Hadrian’s glass-making and the float-glass process. In fact, part of his family was from the Hraun Nation.
After a month of administrative procedures, Hadrian was formally accepted, and his first official day at the University arrived.
In the morning, he and Prince Pollux had breakfast together. Afterwards, Hadrian carried a briefcase and followed Prince Pollux onto his carriage.
“Do you want to have lunch later today?” Prince Pollux asked casually.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness, my new supervisor has organised a lunch for me and the rest of his research group,” Hadrian said.
“That’s good,” Prince Pollux said.
“Yes, I’ve meet most of his research group, and they all seem like nice people,” Hadrian said. He looked out the window, watching the scenery with anticipation. He had seen it all before, but it felt different today, fresher and more exciting.
Prince Pollux glanced at him for a quiet moment, and then followed his gaze outside.
It didn’t take long for the carriage to arrive at the university. Prince Pollux’s carriage was easily recognisable and other carriages gave way.
As it turned out, Prince Pollux’s morning lecture was located in the opposite direction that Hadrian needed to go, so they parted ways after stepping through the university’s main gates.
Mage Oskar Firebrick’s work required a lot of working space, so his office and labs were in a large building on the far end of the university campus. The big building was deceptive: it was even deeper and bigger under the ground, to contain all the labs of the numerous researchers. Unfortunately, it was hard for the university to expand sideways, so they could only expand down and up.
Mage Firebrick met Hadrian outside the building and showed him inside.
Hadrian’s first day had no research content. It was all about meeting new people and being shown around the university.
Hadrian was also assigned a laboratory space, which meant he needed to move his laboratory setup from the Rosewood house to the university.
Rather than moving everything over exactly, he and Mage Firebrick took this opportunity to improve his laboratory setup, setting up an experimental area and a small production area that was their first small-scale mock-up of what the final commercial glass factory could require.
Hadrian felt re-invigorated and became busier than expected. He planned out his new set up with the help of Mage Firebrick and his father Marquis Terra. After that, he didn’t even go to the University at the same time as Prince Pollux, as he needed a cart to move his laboratory equipment back and forth and because he needed to go out and purchase new components and bits and pieces.
And with Hadrian and Prince Pollux away during the day, the staff and servants had to take turns looking the cats. It was surely a huge burden if they were luckily enough to win that shift.
Winter passed and spring arrived.
Unfortunately, Ren Xiyang didn’t have much time to farm. He had to go to the clinic once a week, he had Rosewood Group meetings and administration and projects, he had his academy research with Lady Anya Rose, and he also had his ‘romantic life’ with Rian, and all the morning duelling practices that entailed.
It had taken several months for the word to start spreading about the clinic, i.e., after the first set of patients were fully healed and the results were proven, but now that work was picking up too. One day a week was starting to look insufficient. However, Ren Xiyang didn’t want to increase his time at the clinic, which meant he needed to spend more time hiring more healer mages and training them.
He could only spare some time to garden in the small greenhouse and field at the academy. Even the microgreens growing was handed over to a different Rosewood staff member.
He hoped he’d have more time later in the year, but he suspected he’d be just as busy.
The arrival of spring also meant the arrival of Rian’s (physical) 17th birthday.
Rian had been planning his 17th birthday for several months. From decorations, to music, food, and schedule, he wanted to outdo himself every year, while still appearing appropriately restrained.
Every day of his schedule was full: he was no less busy than Ren Xiyang. When Ren Xiyang had meetings, he would schedule his meetings too. When Ren Xiyang was free, he would be free to spend time with Ren Xiyang.
Every weekend, while Ren Xiyang returned to the Rosewood fief, Rian would take his new ultra-fast carriage out to visit another fief. During the weekdays, Rian worked on his academy research project and spoke with a vast array of people.
During this winter, his Imperial Father mobilised a fraction of the standing army to conduct natural disaster relief, defend off bandit attacks, and distribute food relief. This gave time for Rian to focus on other matters.
In his study in the Imperial Palace, he had a large map of the kingdom. On this map, he marked out where the Royal Healers’ Association had expanded to, where the Royal Agricultural Development and Food Security Program was now active, and which fiefs had children in the association of future leaders. In general, a fief that had one had the others too.
Rian wasn’t aiming for complete coverage of the kingdom. He wasn’t king, yet, after all. He wasn’t in a hurry. No, what he wanted was the fiefs who resisted him to be bordered by another fief that didn’t. It wouldn’t be easy for the common people to migrate across the kingdom to the Rosewood fief for a better life. But migrating one fief over? That was much less onerous.
His Imperial Father had been putting more attention into upkeep and expansion of roads around the kingdom these days, so that would make travel increasingly easy in the future.
Rian’s busyness didn’t stop. Soon, it was the evening before his 17th birthday, and he still had work to attend to.
In his study in the Imperial Palace, one of his agents knelt and respectfully reported, “Viscountess Venenum has caught all personnel involved in the underground tower. They are on their way back to the Angio capital for punishment.”
“All involved? What about their families and friends?” Rian asked.
“Your Highness, all those who knew of the tower, or were involved in human and body trafficking have been apprehended by the Viscountess.”
“Double check for me and continue surveillance.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After one agent left, another agent arrived.
“Reporting to Your Highness, we have found an artist willing to paint a landscape with two women kissing in the middle ground. Unfortunately, no artist has been willing to include two romantically involved men.”
“Continue.” This wasn’t a big problem for Rian. Once he and Ren Xiyang’s marriage was announced, he’d have dozens of paintings of them made.
“No actor troupes have agreed to act out a romantic play with two women or two men as the couple.”
“Quietly release the news that any acting group of four members or more can receive five gold per person if they agree.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Continuing, two new manuscripts have been written.” The agent handed them over.
Rian flipped through them briefly. They were both stories about trans men, one of which was also erotica. “I’ll read them first before sending them to print.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Finally, one of the authors requested to write the following story, and wanted to know if their benefactor was agreeable.”
Rian received the papers with some interest. On it, an author had summarised an enemies-to-lovers romance between two enemy princes, full of tension, battle, blood, and bed scenes. “Agreeable. Set up an appropriate contract.”
“Yes, Your Highness. My report is done.”
“Good work, dismissed.”
Not long after that agent left, one of Rian’s secretaries came in.
Rian put down his work. “Go ahead.”
“Your Highness, I’m here to report on today’s news. Today, three nobles had an audience with His Majesty complaining about Your Highness…”
Rian listened, writing the names of the nobles down. But a part of him was feeling generous. Perhaps because he was in a good mood—he could sense Ren Xiyang moving through the Capital streets towards the Imperial Palace!
After his work was done for the day, Ren Xiyang came over to the Imperial Palace with a briefcase.
Ren Xiyang greeted the Royal Guards standing outside Rian’s quarters, before he opened the door himself and headed inside.
Rian emerged from his study. “Are you going to make me work on the evening before my birthday?” he asked, his lips curling up.
“You’re already working,” Ren Xiyang said. “I wanted to give you an early birthday present.” He leaned in and kissed Rian lightly on the lips.
Rian’s eyes brightened. “But you also want me to work.”
“We could do some work, if you have time,” Ren Xiyang admitted.
“Gift first.” Rian held his hands out shameless, waiting to receive the gift.
Ren Xiyang pulled out a slim, small box from his coat pocket. “Here you go. I hope you like it.”
Rian carefully opened it. Inside was a tiny oval portrait of Ren Xiyang, infused with Ren Xiyang’s magic.
“I thought you could replace the portrait of me in your locket with this updated one,” Ren Xiyang said.
“This is perfect,” Rian said. Right then and there, he carefully took out the older portrait and put the new portrait in. Of course, he would never throw away the old portrait. “Look how young you were! I remember when you were so cute when we first met…”
Ren Xiyang glanced at Rian. “We’ve both changed a lot.”
“Hm,” Rian hummed in agreement. He put the old portrait away into his ultra-high security box, before turning to Ren Xiyang. “That said, I do like your older self.”
Ren Xiyang merely looked at him, before walking into Rian’s study.
Rian had to follow behind him like a big puppy.
_(:3」∠)_
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