NOVEL NEXT Chapter 93: Sedaverians are very odd!
The Sedaverian convoy prepared to leave the next morning. After breakfast, Lord Hadrian Terra and Lady Julia Terra convened at the front doors of the castle, overlooking the hustle and bustle of all the carriages and carts being readied for departure. Many of the members of the Sedaverian convoy were also outside, arranging luggage or waiting for departure.
Hadrian saw the Terra carriage being prepared and spotted a servant carrying out his suitcase. The depressed air around him deepened.
Julia, his younger sister, gave him an annoyed look.
“At the very least, appear expressionless like Earl Rosewood,” she muttered.
The mention of Earl Rosewood only made Hadrian more depressed.
Yesterday, Lady Sage of Sedaveria taught him and his siblings some plant spells, saying how some of the new ones had been developed with Earl Rosewood’s help. Hadrian learnt the spells quickly, but his spells were the weakest compared to his younger siblings.
Even though Hadrian was an earth mage, he was still worse than a fire mage at casting plant magic. And Earl Rosewood was just an earl not a marquis like his father.
His parents were staying back at the fief instead of accompanying the Sedaverian convoy because they needed to keep an eye on the captured bandits and recovery efforts. He had obliviously been told to go instead because he was useless, yet had some default reputation as the eldest son…
But what was the point of being the eldest son anymore? Julia may as well inherit the fief. The reality was that Hadrian was the weakest mage in the family. He wasn’t even the quickest learner—that was his youngest brother.
Julia slapped Hadrian’s back, snapping him out of his ruminations. “Straighten up, Father is coming.”
Hadrian pulled a smile that was half a grimace.
The core group of the Sedaverian convoy came out of the castle last. Marquis Terra accompanied Prince Rian, Earl Rosewood, Duke Mauveine and Count Aegean.
“—Before we leave, I would like to present you with a gift, to thank you for hosting us and for accompanying us,” Prince Rian said.
On cue, one of the Royal Guards stepped forward and held out a beautifully crafted wooden box. After Prince Rian’s nod, the guard opened the lid, revealing the contents.
There was a matching gold necklace and bracelet with inlaid magical gems.
“The necklace and bracelet have been enchanted. It will slowly absorb light and convert it to magical energy. The colour of the jewels can also change by configuring how much light is absorbed. The use of the stored magical energy is at your digression,” Prince Rian said.
“How beautiful, I’ll put it into use,” Marquis Terra said. He motioned for one of his servants to step forward and take the box.
“I would also like to present you with a gift. I had an enjoyable time in Sedaveria, and it was my pleasure to have you here at the Terra castle.”
Two Terra servants came forward, one of them carrying a box. The one not carrying the box lifted the top half of the box, revealing a miniature tree made out of metal and precious colourful stones. The metal formed the trunks and branches, and the precious stones were the tiny little fruit.
“This is very lovely, thank you. I’ll put it on display when I return,” Prince Rian said.
Marquis Terra smiled and turned to Hadrian and Julia.
Hadrian blinked, not understanding what his father wanted.
Julia gave her brother a look and stepped forward first. “Prince Rian, Earl Rosewood, Duke Mauveine, Count Aegean, my brother and I will be accompanying you to our capital. I am grateful for the opportunity to travel with you.”
“As am I,” Hadrian finally said.
“Hadrian and Julia will take you down our planned path,” Marquis Terra said. “If there is any problem, please don’t hesitate to request their aid.”
“I look forward to our travels together,” Prince Rian said.
Julia, Hadrian and Marquis Terra waited for the four Sedaverians to enter their carriages before heading to the Terra carriage.
Marquis Terra looked carefully at Julia and Hadrian. “You will both be fine.”
Julia and Hadrian nodded. “Yes, Father.” They climbed onto the Terra carriage and the convoy departed.
As the convoy travelled down the countryside roads, farmers in the fields stopped and watched cautiously from the distance.
Hadrian spent the trip staring out of the window in a lifeless manner, internally paralysed with whether or not he should cede inheritance. There was internal resistance, but there was also cold rationality. But if he didn’t become Marquis Terra in the future, what would he do?
Julia asked him if he wanted to look over the itinerary together or whether he wanted to practice some magic. After he didn’t respond, she did those things by herself.
The first fief they stopped at belonged to the Petrus family.
The Petrus family members were waiting for them outside their castle. While the Terra family were tall, the Petrus family were more stocky. Each family had their own style of earth magic and had been good friends for many generations. A hundred years ago, a member of the Terra family had married into the Petrus family, so they were also cousins now.
Julia disembarked from the Terra carriage first. Hadrian followed her.
“Good afternoon all,” Julia greeted.
Earl Petrus blinked in surprise. “—Julia? Hadrian? Where’s your father?”
“We had bandit attacks recently, so my father is remaining at home,” Julia said with an apologetic tone. “Hadrian and I are accompanying the Sedaverian convoy instead.”
Lady Lara Petrus laughed. “Well, I’m more happy to see you than your father!” She was Earl Petrus’ daughter and Julia’s good friend
Julia allowed a faint smile which quickly disappeared again as the floating Sedaverian carriages pulled up and their doors opened.
Julia introduced the members of the Sedaverian convoy to the Petrus family.
“—After some refreshment, we have provided some musical entertainment before dinner,” Earl Petrus said.
Earl Petrus personally led some members of the convoy—Prime Minister Duke Mauveine, Count Aegean, Crown Prince Rian, and Earl Rosewood—to their rooms, while his wife Countess Petrus and daughter Lady Lara Petrus took other members of the convoy.
While the Sedaverian convoy was resting in their rooms, Julia and Hadrian joined the Petrus family in their private study room.
Earl Petrus’s genial smile dropped. “It’s terrible to hear that bandits attacked,” he said with true worry. They never had bandit activity down here before. “The times are changing again…” He glanced at his wife.
Hadrian gave a heavy sigh.
“There were over a dozen coordinated raids,” Julia said.
“A dozen?” Earl Petrus’s worry deepened. That meant the raids were well coordinated.
Julia nodded. “We would have lost a significant fraction of our remaining farmers if it weren’t for Prince Rian’s and Earl Rosewood’s timely help.”
“Don’t be coy, tell us clearly what happen,” Lara said, boldly poking Julia.
Hadrian lowered his eyes as Julia told them how the bandits had attacked while their father was away.
“…Prince Rian and Earl Rosewood are truly powerful and skilled,” Julia concluded.
“Wow, I didn’t expect that,” Lara said, surprised. “We heard your message to the court, but I didn’t expect…”
“Your father must be very thankful,” Earl Petrus said.
Countess Petrus pursed her lips. “Have the two Sedaverians been difficult?”
Julia shook her head. “Far from it.”
Earl Petrus and Countess Petrus exchanged another look. That had its own meaning.
“Well.” Earl Petrus slapped his thigh. “The raids are over and your father has a good recovery plan. Let’s not dwell on these matters and put on a lively face for the Sedaverians.”
Lara brightened. “Julia, Julia, tell me, I didn’t know that the Sedaverians had flying carriages!”
“Yes, I was wondering about that,” Countess Petrus said.
Julia smiled wryly. “The flying carriages were developed by Prince Rian and Earl Rosewood. My father said he had ordered some wholesale to resell in Angio.”
Earl Petrus slapped his thigh and laughed. “As expected of your father!”
“So, I assume you’d like to place an order?” Julia asked.
“Is there a family discount?”
“You’ll have to ask my father.”
Earl Petrus rubbed his beard. “I’ll ask him after the Sedaverians leave.”
“Tell us what happened while the Sedaverians visited you,” Countess Petrus said.
Julia nodded. “They arrived in the afternoon, after which Father spoke with Prince Rian and Earl Rosewood. After that…”
“—Ah, so that’s why your father wanted our healers to gather!—”
“—Farming? Is Earl Rosewood a plant mage?—”
“—He’s not a plant mage? Sedaverians are very odd! Are they all like this?—”
Hadrian sat there gloomily. He had barely spoken aside from the greetings, and he felt like an outsider while everyone else enjoyed themselves. He couldn’t speak well, like his sister. How could he be a good Marquis?
After the important gossip session, Earl Petrus gathered his family, Julia, and Hadrian to the main hall for the musical entertainment and dinner. He was shocked when Earl Rosewood asked him if he could take a look at the local farms to see how farming was done here.
Earl Petrus had set tomorrow morning as free time for a reason, but even though Julia had ‘forewarned’ him, he didn’t expect Earl Rosewood to want to see more farms. While Earl Rosewood had a vested interested in the Terra fields due to the use of his new seeds, Earl Rosewood had nothing to do with the Petrus fields!
“I would like to see too,” Prince Rian added. “I believe we have some time in the morning before the healers’ meeting.”
Earl Petrus hesitantly asked, “Does anyone else want to see?”
“I do,” Lady Sage said.
Duke Mauveine and Count Aegean subtly shook their heads. That made Earl Petrus feel like the world was normal again.
“In that case, I will arrange for someone to show you around,” Earl Petrus said.
“Thank you,” Earl Rosewood said.
Earl Petrus turned to the senior men near him. “Is there anything you’d like to do here, Duke Mauevine? Count Aegean?”
Much to Earl Petrus’s relief, Duke Mauveine and Count Aegean said more reasonable things like going to see some famous sights in the Petrus fief. Earl Petrus clapped his hands. “Yes, this can also be arranged!”
The head of agriculture in the Petrus household was a middle-aged steward named Mrs Fadia Manius.
Fadia Manius had been notified about her sudden new task late in the night, and she had woken up early from the nerves. She couldn’t speak Sedaverian! Could the convoy understand Angian? Why did they want to see the farms? Was this a secret inspection? But there wasn’t any time to change anything! She must have misheard that the Crown Prince of Sedaveria wanted to come along, right?
Well.
The Crown Prince of Sedaveria really came.
Thankfully, they could all understand and speak Angian.
Fadia led Prince Rian, Earl Rosewood, Lady Sage, and all their servants and guards, on a tour of the Petrus farms.
The farmers were even more shocked than her, too surprised to even bow until she loudly introduced the Sedaverians.
The three foreign nobles all asked her questions, about the kinds of crops they were growing, about the growing methods, fertiliser use and so forth. To hear words like “manure” coming out of a nobleman’s mouth was quite an experience.
Fadia did her best to explain. “Princess Aurelia Lūpiter sent messengers to tell us new techniques we could try to improve crop yields. Marquis Terra provided these new ploughs that are easier to use.”
“Your lands are managed well,” Earl Rosewood said.
Lady Sage nodded. “The plants are very healthy.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting Princess Aurelia,” Prince Rian said.
Fadia lowered her head. “Thank you. This would not be possible without Princess Aurelia’s charity and care.”
She then continued to lead the Sedaverians, feeling like she had fallen into a weird dream. Talking to nobles about the details of farming! How did the commoners in their fiefs feel?
After the tour of the farms was over, Mrs Manius led them back to the castle and then quickly escaped.
Rian leaned in close to Ren Xiyang as they headed towards the dining room for lunch. “I think your questions shocked her,” he said in a lowered voice into Ren Xiyang’s ear.
Ren Xiyang suppressed the tickling sensation. “I think your existence scared her,” he deadpanned.
Rian huffed a laugh.
“And you’re not repentant at all,” Ren Xiyang said.
“It was interesting to see that they’ve adopted the four-crop rotation method too.” He nudged Ren Xiyang. “Quite the influential earl.”
“Or they could have discovered it independently.” He nudged Rian back to a more appropriate distance.
Florence, walking behind them, felt a little helpless. She had the very distinct feeling of being a third wheel as the two boys in front of her ‘subtly’ pushed each other. Ayden was a very calm and mature person unless he was in the close vicinity of Prince Rian. Florence had heard other people say that Earl Rosewood was a bad influence on Prince Rian, but she felt it was probably the other way around…
The rest of the stay at the Petrus castle went smoothly, much to Earl Petrus’s relief.
The Sedaverian healers had a friendly meeting with the Petrus fief healers (it was much less confrontational than the previous meeting). The two sides taught each other their new or favourite healing spells.
The morning after, Prince Rian and Earl Petrus exchanged gifts. Knowing Earl Petrus’s love of music, Prince Rian gifted him a violin made by the premier luthier in Sedaveria. Earl Petrus in turn gifted Prince Rian a delicate porcelain tea set, based on Prince Rian’s known interest in food.
After farewells on both sides, the Terra carriage led the Sedaverian convoy toward their next destination.
Count Aegean: Can I pretend that I don’t know Prince Rian and Earl Rosewood???
_(┐「ε:)_
Let me lie down facing a different direction instead…
Thank you for the support from kaiehowell6, Loxodon_dendle and Turducken!!!! Your support and everyone’s comments helps keep me going!
I thought it would be a fun change to see Ren Xiyang and Rian from outsiders’ perspectives~ But what would the dear readers like to see more of?