Chapter 17 Late Night Appointment
◎Where the palace once stood, only a layer of dilapidated foundation remained.◎
Late at night, moonlight shines into the spacious room.
Muala owned more than ten houses in Rome that were large enough to accommodate distinguished guests, and Melia was happy to accommodate the gladiators in one of them.
God knows what tricks Sulla will pull on his last day. To prepare for the worst, it's best not to leave Rome before the funeral is over...
Ani glanced at her master who was lost in thought, and gently took the plate from the slave girl, which was filled with various snacks.
The owner now preferred pink to the original scarlet, so they used pink petals to dye red rice flour, sprinkled it on a mixture of sugar and eggs, and then used molds to form five-petal flowers.
She carried the plate to the bedside, moved the delicate five-petal flowers to the sides of the plate, and rubbed them across the owner's face.
Melia stuffed the five-petal flower into her mouth. The texture was a little sandy, very different from modern cakes, and coarser than what she had eaten a few days ago.
"Hmm, why is it a little hard?"
This comment was light, not really criticism. Ani still straightened up instantly: "Master, do you want to call the cook over?"
According to the master's original temper, she would have yelled at the cook to get out of here, asking how dare he fool the honored young lady. Then she would have dragged the cook out and sold him, and bought a "better" one.
But the current owner didn't react much, just as she expected.
"Huh? It's so late, let's talk about it tomorrow. Everyone needs to sleep." Melia yawned and loosened the pillow with her palm.
Seeing her actions, Taffy and the other slave girls came forward, took away the cushions, pulled up the blankets, and spread them out to make a comfortable nest. This was their master's latest habit, a memory that they must ingrain in their bones.
"No need to bother..."
Before she could finish her words, everything was settled. Melia closed her eyes and lay back on the pillow, signaling everyone to leave and rest.
Huh~ Annie blew out the candle.
After a few seconds, she carefully leaned on the pillow and said, "Master, we don't have enough manpower in the city, and we didn't sift the flour enough times this time."
My fists clenched tighter and tighter. Is this kind of temptation too dangerous?
"Screen enough times...how many times?"
There was no annoyance in his voice, but rather curiosity.
Ani knelt on the carpet, leaning her arms against the bed curtains. "There are twelve slaves in the manor who are responsible for sifting flour. They can sift flour from morning till bedtime, so they won't delay your fresh cake every morning."
“…”
"Master, please punish me. I forgot to bring sifted flour. The slaves here are not very skilled. I sifted all afternoon and could only sift out this..."
"Ani, give the order."
The voice in the darkness was extremely serious: "Starting tomorrow, don't let them make cakes anymore. Make whole wheat bread instead. I can eat it, and so can others."
"…yes."
Melia opened her eyes wide and looked at the invisible dome.
How could she forget? This was ancient Rome, and there were no automatic machines for sifting flour, so slaves had to sift it manually.
The Romans didn't even have bamboo, so they had to use layers of fine gauze to shake them desperately, sifting from morning to night.
A light bulb went off in my head, and my breathing suddenly became heavier.
"Ani! You didn't go out, did you?"
"Yes, I'm here."
"What do you use to grind the mill?"
"slave."
Human-powered mills! It's still the era of human-powered mills!
Melia opened her mouth slightly. "So that's how it is. In ancient Rome, where slaves were in excess, any respectable Roman citizen would buy two or three slaves."
Whether it was washing clothes, cooking, shopping or grinding flour, slaves helped with everything. They never thought of using other things to replace human labor.
Even animal power was not widely used among wealthy families like the Muala family, let alone water mills and wind mills.
The parts required for the mill are not complicated in structure and can now be completely manufactured.
Although she didn't have the blueprints, the principle and appearance were clear to her. As long as the mill was successfully built, a large number of workers would be released.
Even the Muala family doesn't need hundreds of slaves, let alone others?
Sleep, sleep first.
Melia suppressed her excitement and rang the bell: "Ani, you and the others should go back to sleep. Ronnie and Taffy are here to protect me."
"yes."
The sound of footsteps gradually faded away, and the whole room was shrouded in silence again.
Melia raised and lowered her hands. She really wanted to find someone to express her inner feelings, but when her claws touched Ronnie's strong muscles for the third time, she couldn't resist the sleepiness and fell asleep with a meow.
…
“Meow—”
A circle of static electricity appeared on Melia's back, and her hair stood on end.
When she turned around, she realized that it was Elena running a comb through her hair.
"Are you so excited just after arriving?" Elena put down the comb and rubbed the soft cat with her palm.
"Humph, you're playing with my fur right after you get here!"
Melia nudged her palm with her head, found a familiar thigh to step on, and curled up on it with peace of mind.
She sat on the tail, raised her little head and looked around:
Is this supposed to be Elena's boudoir? It looks very—simple.
If it weren't for the gold wolf-head and eagle-wing emblems, it would have looked like the gladiator's room in the arena: small, cramped, and filled with weapons.
Counting from the door, walk no more than ten steps.
The bed and the chest were pressed against the stone wall, against which lay a row of weapons: knives, guns, and at least five swords of various shapes.
The short sword and dagger were closest to hand, and a quiver and longbow hung at the end of the bed. Even when he turned over, he could see the half-exposed shoulder armor.
Not to mention compared with Muala's bedroom, even compared with the bathroom, the meager jewelry decorations here cannot compare.
The same thief who broke in and went to Muala's toilet could get two golden incense boxes by just raising his hand, but if he went to Elena's bedroom... he could only get the most beloved slap in the face and the big knife.
She jumped onto the table and poked around, but there wasn't even a glass, only ceramic bowls.
There was still half a dry biscuit in the middle bowl, which showed that the servants didn't pay much attention. In Melia's house, the servants were quicker than she was and would never leave leftovers on the table.
"Sniff, don't you have any meat to eat tonight?"
The dry biscuits had the distinct aroma of wild vegetables, and seemed to have little oil in them. The dish next to them contained water, but no juice or wine.
"Want some meat?"
Elena didn't mind the kitten crawling around on the table. She opened the low cabinet beside her and took out a roll of cloth.
The cloth was untied, and a piece of smoked and spiced dried meat rolled in front of Melia.
"Ah." The pink little mouth opened woodenly.
Elena used a knife to cut off some meat scraps and threw them on the kitten's tongue.
The meat scraps have a strong salty aroma. Although not as delicious as the grilled lamb chops for dinner, the smoked meat also has its own unique flavor.
Melia chewed and wagged her tail in satisfaction.
"Are you here to eat something today? Do you want to eat fish?"
"Oh, no, I almost forgot!" Melia quickly jumped onto her lap. "You heard it yesterday, too, right? That bad old man was trying to poison the city!"
"Oh, this matter? Melia will take care of it, right? The poison was placed at her father's funeral."
That makes sense—but Melia is me! The cat leaned in close: "What if she can't handle it? Innocent people will be implicated!"
The emerald eyes sparkled and were filled with watery light.
Maybe that's how fairies are, completely unaware of the filthiness of humans.
Elena touched her head with emotion: "It's okay, I would have brought people there anyway."
As a princess, how could she do nothing? Although she was only a princess of the lower rank, she had her own power and the right to mobilize some of the guards.
"Is that so? Then I feel relieved. I'm in a hurry, so I'll go back first, meow~" The kitten wagged its tail contentedly and jumped out of the windowsill.
Elena looked at her pure white back and smiled:
Of course I will go, to see how tragically Melia died. Well, don't let the goblin hear this, she'll be sad.
…
Melia jumped out of the window. This was the first time she didn't fall asleep in front of Elena.
Yawn~ Let’s take this opportunity to check out the castle!
Put your little paws on the stone slabs, being careful not to step on any bugs.
She quickly passed through the side halls and gardens and arrived at the tranquil lake. Both sides were covered in wet mud. The cat wagged its tail in disdain, then swung its paws and jumped onto a broken stone pillar.
Wait, why is there a broken stone pillar here? And... there's fog around. The fog is an unnatural lavender, and I can vaguely see the shadow of a broken stone.
“Meow…”
Her meow was trembling.
I wanted to fall asleep quickly, or just fly back to Elena's room and snuggle into her warm thighs.
With a snap, she landed lightly on the ground and was about to leave when she was blinded by a flash of light.
Pure golden light poured out from the stone pillar, outlining the emblem of two dragons and snakes devouring each other, forming a graceful pattern that was almost spiral.
She happened to have seen this pattern on the gold coin that Muala solemnly put into her hand!
The cat's pupils constricted violently and its tail twitched restlessly.
Her strong curiosity made her look forward to the effect of this gold coin, but she said indifferently: "Oh, it's a good thing I didn't bring it..."
As soon as the words left my mouth, it was as if another pair of eyes opened in my mind.
Those eyes looked down from the sky and quickly locked onto Melia lying on the bed.
The girl was wearing a light gauze pajamas and was sleeping soundly with Ronnie beside her pillow in the posture of holding a baby bear.
I, I saw myself!
Melia's eyes quickly locked onto the pillow, under which lay the gold coins.
The sleeping girl suddenly loosened her left hand. The hand seemed to have a mind of its own, sliding under the pillow and grasping the smooth gold coin.
Sizzle——
The moment he grasped the gold coin, the extra vision was instantly shattered.
The kitten stepped on the gold coin that suddenly appeared and looked up at the emblem that was shining with golden light.
The earth and sky trembled simultaneously, yet there was no sound. The world crumbled before her eyes, yet the ground beneath her feet remained as steady as a rock, motionless.
After about twenty breaths, the space that had been shaking in silence finally stabilized.
The kitten looked back and was stunned: Where is the castle? Where is such a big castle like mine?
Where the palace once stood, only a ruined foundation remained.
The author has something to say:
Thanks to Luo Mu Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei from Zheng Xiao Hua's girlfriend. Thanks to An, 52849317, 56615547, Yun Zhong Fei Xiang, and Zhi Bai for their nutrient solution.
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