Chapter 35 Thirty-five unexpected surprises
After leaving the mess in the kitchen to the cook, Olivia returned to the house smelling of frosted vanilla and cheese.
She took a bath with sea salt and soap, changed into the new clothes, shoes and socks in the suitcase, and did a low-key bun.
It was not until Caesar looked back and forth outside the door countless times that she gave the order to prepare to set off.
The Baroness's birthday party not only invited the wives of these knights, but also the families of the barons from several other towns around.
There will also be many people present, including the Earl's maid and the sheriff who come to bring gifts, as well as other relatives of the Baroness's family.
The news spread everywhere.
The celebration lasts a whole day, with a prayer ceremony and beast fighting performance in the morning, a lunch at noon, a routine tournament among the knights in the afternoon, and a dinner with singing and dancing.
But she didn't go there to enjoy herself, her first purpose was to help with the work.
I heard from my mother Theresa that every year on the Baroness's birthday, hundreds of people would go to the fortress, hoping to take advantage of this day to present gifts to the Baroness openly.
The ladies of the knights were all literate and helped the maids to register the gifts.
People of their status were not even qualified to attend the dinner, and could only come to the buffet to celebrate with the people in the city during lunch.
They took this opportunity to give gifts to the Baroness, which must mean they needed her help with various matters.
Given the Baroness's status, of course she wouldn't receive us in person.
That's why we need someone like her to handle the screening. To put it nicely, it's to help register the gifts. To put it bluntly, it's to filter out spam.
There were many things to do, such as rescuing death row prisoners, arbitrating lawsuits, and inquiring about information. However, anyone whose gift was not generous enough would be turned away when they arrived at the Knight's wife, and they could not even see the Baroness's maid.
This is not a good job for people who are not good at socializing, and there are many immoral things involved, so many knight ladies do not like to help.
Along the way, Caesar rode in front to lead the way, George was responsible for driving the carriage, and Olivia sat safely in the carriage.
She placed a felt mat on the cart, a small clay stove under her feet for warmth, the wrapped box of desserts beside her, and the reliquary she also took with her to give to the Baroness.
Reaching out and pulling the metal latch of the car window, she pushed it open and could see the white heaven all the way outside.
A month ago, you could still see some color on the ground, but now there is only thick snow that makes it difficult to tell the direction and dry forest.
If she went out alone and got lost, she might not be able to get back for three days.
She asked George, who was driving, what dangerous beasts there were in the forest.
George counted on his fingers and said, "Wolf, bear, wild boar, elk."
"Okay, no need to say more."
After hearing this, Olivia never planned to go into the woods alone again in her life.
The carriage moved slowly forward for another half an hour, and they arrived at the avenue along the river bank.
This road is a transportation hub, but it can only be used during the day. It is unsafe at night and is currently covered with heavy snow.
Olivia sat in the car and looked towards the river. She saw a flat ice surface about half a mile wide. There was a lot of soft snow piled on the ice, flying around in the cold wind.
George said that the ice was three feet thick and even a spear could not penetrate it. It would not thaw until March.
As for the other side of the river, she couldn't see it very clearly, it was also a snow-white forest.
Ahead on the road, there were carriages of similar carriages, all of which were from knights and lords and ladies living in various manors, heading to the Baron's mansion.
However, everyone came this way from different directions, and Olivia did not meet some of her neighbors.
On the way, she shared some leftover baked desserts with Caesar and George as snacks, and filled her water bag with hot milk for them to drink as they walked.
Caesar was going to attend a ceremony and a competition today, so he wore a full set of plate armor that tightly covered him from head to toe, leaving only a pair of pale blue eyes exposed. He did look a bit inhuman and intimidating.
However, because he was wearing armor, it was inconvenient to eat and drink, so he always brought the horse to the window and bent down to let Olivia lift up his helmet to feed him.
If I don't bring the leftovers with me, there will probably only be ten of the twelve boxes of dessert left when I get there, just like a picnic.
They walked along the river bank and went out of the city, where they saw many small stalls and wooden houses along the road.
Since it was the Baroness's birthday and it coincided with the opening time of the city's bulk commodity market, the roads several miles outside the city were filled with caravans today.
The self-cultivating farmers living in several villages outside the city took this opportunity to pull carts outside the city to sell things.
They do not enter the city. Civilians need to pay tolls to enter the city, including merchants, and they have to pay this money called suspension bridge maintenance fee.
Each person gets a few souri, a cart of goods gets a few keli, and each animal gets one keli.
This may also be a little advantage of being a screw in the ruling class. At least, the soldiers guarding the city will not check their carriages, the items and goods they carry, nor will they ask for extra tolls, but will let them pass immediately.
When we entered the city, it looked like the market was open.
The closest place to the outside of the city is Ophiuchus, which specializes in trading live cattle and sheep. It is now crowded with sheepherders, but they are very orderly.
They drive the sheep into the auction house opened by the intermediary, negotiate a reserve price with the owner of the auction house, and let the owner of the auction house bring customers in to bid. The owner of the auction house can take a commission for the part above the reserve price.
Compared to the less wealthy farms that buy them one by one, some wealthy businessmen here even trade dozens of them at a time.
These merchants were all self-employed farmers in safe areas far away from the river banks.
Generally, they rely on the money accumulated from several generations of business to buy land, and then raise livestock to sell for money, step by step to get to where they are today. Compared with the landlords, although they do not have as much land, the utilization rate is high.
Olivia was very envious of the lively scene of them herding sheep. If she raised so many sheep on her estate, it would probably be robbed by the enemy thirteen times a year.
However, the merchants on the street frequently cast envious glances at their group and gave way, and the carriage went straight to the fortress of the baron's mansion.
The Baron's mansion is located on a small hill, like a coiled silver snake. In the high stone walls, a huge archway faces the main street.
Behind the gate is the defensive fortress barracks. The first floor of the barracks is a long hall that can accommodate hundreds of people for banquets. The second floor is the soldiers' residence, and the top is a defensive lookout platform with a parapet.
Today the long hall will be used to provide meals to civilians or merchants, so you can no longer take the car here.
A soldier took Caesar to the baron's stables, a maid came to lead Olivia and the gifts she carried into the gate, and George led the horses and cart to the barracks to eat feed.
Olivia's gift was so large that one maid couldn't hold it all.
"Are these gifts of mine heavy? How about I take some myself?" She said a little embarrassedly to the maid who received her with long hair.
The maid with her hair loose shook her head and called another maid for help.
She smiled and led Olivia to the corridor behind the door. Through this corridor and up a flight of stone steps, they could directly enter the ground floor of the mansion built on the hill, which was a shortcut.
Compared to the manor, this fortress is much larger in scale, but compared to the earl's magnificent castle, it focuses more on the defensive function of a fortress.
If the manor outside the city is just an insignificant outpost and it is common for it to be invaded, then this fortress is a real national gate. If it is attacked here, the earl will have to send troops.
Therefore, the architectural style of the Baron's Mansion is very cold and hard, with iron windows everywhere, wide stone walls, watchtowers, gloomy tunnels and narrow passages deliberately built like a maze.
It can be seen that four or five soldiers are lined up in a row, patrolling around the inside of the fortress.
They wore clean chain mail, long boots, and had long swords hanging from their waists. They didn't speak, but walked indifferently like robots.
Seeing Olivia's attention, the maid with long hair turned around and explained:
"The Countess has sent her maid to give her gifts. To ensure her safety, there are an unusually large number of patrolling soldiers today. Please forgive me, Madam."
"Of course."
Olivia answered and couldn't help but open the map. She found that there were more than a hundred guards in the fortress today, a total of twenty groups, distributed in the fortress's corridors, main buildings, basements, cells, watchtowers, ancillary buildings, courtyards, gardens, storage rooms, arenas, stables, and outside the wine cellar.
This fortress is really big. If we can start here, it will take several years just to do the renovation, right?
Olivia walked down the stairs and entered the ground floor of the main building, which was surrounded by barracks and high walls.
This is the kitchen and servants' work area of the main house. Since the Knight's wife is considered half a servant of the Baroness, the maid can take them through this shortcut.
Serious guests should take the more winding but brighter and wider garden passage.
Olivia really didn't dare to have any objections to this troublesome building structure. It was all for the sake of saving lives. Anyone who lived there would know.
Walking through the passage outside the kitchen and looking into the kitchen, I saw several maids busy at the same time, and slaves coming and going, carrying food ingredients.
She followed the maid with her long hair up a curved staircase with light pouring down, climbed three floors, and finally came to a very wide corridor with a row of arched windows.
This is the first floor of the main house.
The maid with long hair brought her to a hall.
The hall was clean and elegant, with marble floor tiles, smooth plaster walls, and all the wooden windows open. Gifts from all over the place were piled on the table at the entrance of the hall.
There was a side hall on the left, and an inner hall at the back, the door of which was closed, which was the Baroness's living room.
There were already a few people in the side hall, and Olivia saw a familiar face.
The Baroness's maids, Catherine and Doris, are here to receive the Knight's wife.
Olivia walked in, greeted them, and was arranged to sit at a long table that could accommodate thirty or forty people.
The maid Catherine said to her, "The Baroness and Mrs. Held, who came from afar, rested together last night and are now washing and burning incense together. Let's wait here for a while. When the lady is done washing, we can have breakfast together here and then go to the church to pray."
Olivia nodded, and Katherine smiled and asked her what gift she had prepared.
“I made this dessert myself.”
Catherine followed her gaze and saw a neatly stacked box outside. She thought for a moment, then walked over and opened one to take a look.
Suddenly, his face was a little surprised, as if he didn't expect Olivia to have such attainments in this area.
She returned and said that since there were so many desserts prepared, it would be better to present them to the Baroness at breakfast so that Mrs. Held and everyone else could taste them.
Catherine looked at the boxes of sweet-smelling desserts and felt a little greedy.
Olivia agreed, thanked Catherine, and said, "If you like it after tasting it, you can come to my manor to eat it."
Catherine nodded, asked the servant to take the dessert to the plate, and said to Olivia:
"You may not know this, Mrs. Held, but she's the Countess's distant cousin. She's her chief maid, and she's also our Baroness's cousin. She's different from a guest, so don't feel awkward when you meet her."
"I see."
Olivia waited for about ten minutes, and then several ladies came one after another, including Mrs. Renault and Olivia's two sisters.
After waiting for a long time, the Baroness and Mrs. Held finished washing up and came out to meet them, ready to have breakfast together.
Olivia sat at the head of the table, closer than her mother, next to the sheriff's wife.
Now, she could clearly see the Baroness and Mrs. Held.
These were two wealthy middle-aged women in velvet robes, without the legendary aristocratic temperament. Olivia could see them more clearly this time than in the last quick encounter in the church.
Their faces were also covered with wrinkles, and there was an unconcealable sadness in their eyebrows and eyes. They tried their best to maintain a dignified look and muster up the energy to answer the greetings and congratulations of the knights and ladies below.
Olivia opens her character card. The Baroness now has a "Favorability: 20"
However, Mrs. Held's impression is "Favorability: 00"
The knight ladies each told what kind of gifts they had prepared for the Baroness and what meanings they held.
Olivia watched and saw that Mrs. Baskin and Mrs. Torkson were indeed secretly plotting something.
Everyone in the audience just brought out some ordinary gifts. Those who were a little more thoughtful made some food or daily necessities themselves. Only these two spent a lot of money.
Just then, the servants began to bring breakfast to the table, attracting everyone's attention. The servants put Olivia's dessert on a silver plate and brought it out.
Olivia had no choice but to tell the Baroness that the desserts on the table were brought by her.
Looking at the food on the silver plate, the Baroness suddenly showed a genuine smile on her face and asked Olivia why she had such good cooking skills.
Olivia modestly said that she was groping in the manor.
When everyone in the house saw these colorful and fragrant things, they knew at a glance that the production process was complicated and good ingredients were used, so they would taste good.
The style is also quite good. It doesn’t look like a biscuit, bread, pudding or sweet porridge.
Most people think that although she looks dexterous, there is no way she could have made all these by herself, they are not stupid!
She must have recruited some skilled cooks from somewhere in her manor, and collected the recipes for the twelve desserts one by one.
However, no one said this publicly. Seeing that the gift seemed to suit the Baroness's taste, they all praised her for her ingenuity.
And they were secretly wondering why they had never met such a great cook.
Only Mrs. Reynolds and Olivia's two sisters remained calm, as they had already received scones made by Olivia herself.
Being able to make these things is natural as long as one studies carefully and is willing to use more ingredients. Moreover, in their somewhat vague memories, Olivia is a person who is clever and dexterous.
After the meal started, everyone tacitly agreed not to choose the meals provided by the Baron's Mansion, but instead asked the servants to serve some desserts.
Anyone can see that the other dishes on the table are all standard classic aristocratic dining sets, which only pay attention to being timely, using balanced and diverse ingredients, and exquisitely presented.
There was king vegetable soup, bread, pancakes with orange sauce, sweet porridge with almond milk, fresh orange slices, candied prunes, ham and creamy white cheese, and pomegranate juice.
How can these things be as strong as sugar and oil mixture desserts?
Olivia ordered a macaron, a cheese scone with berry jam, a honey cake covered with hazelnut crumbs, and a vanilla cream puff that had been frozen into an ice cream puff.
I also gave the Baroness face and asked for a bowl of sweet porridge with almond milk, which was paired with sour and sweet orange slices.
This fresh orange is a rare thing, it must be a special supply and cannot be bought on the street.
She looked up and saw that Mrs. Held, who was silent and serious beside her, seemed to have chosen the same type as her.
Do they taste the same?
Mrs. Held was very reserved, as if she had eaten too many delicacies. She tasted a little of each, but her expression did not change much.
Olivia wondered how this was different from what she had read in the exciting novels she had been slacking off at work in her previous life.
Shouldn't it be that if a time-traveling woman just reaches out and does something, everyone will look at her with admiration, and those in power will admire her so much that their eyebrows will drop in surprise?
It seems that this world does not follow this logic.
She clicked on the character card and saw that the Baroness and Mrs. Held's favorability towards her was only +5
The Baroness could see that her cousin quite liked this dessert.
She looked outside and saw a long row of desserts with many varieties.
The Baroness was very interested in the puffs and cheese scones, which she liked filled.
A bite of puff, crispy on the outside and smooth on the inside, the whole mouth is covered with sweet taste, the scone filling is a little richer.
It tastes like it's made of milk and flour, but it has such a unique texture.
Regardless of whether she made it herself, it seemed like she put a lot of effort into it.
The Baroness thought calmly that she had no shortage of people who cared about her, but it seemed that Olivia didn't have any clear intentions.
How could such an exquisite and laborious gift be given without any intention? The Baroness thought that she must have heard the news about the construction of the monastery, so she came to compliment her.
The Baroness lowered her eyes and thought, since she is so considerate, should she give her a chance?
After everyone tasted it, they praised Olivia again, and this time it sounded more genuine.
Mrs. Held listened for a while and suddenly asked if Olivia's husband was Caesar.
"Does the lady also know Caesar?"
She asked curiously.
Mrs. Held nodded and said, "The Count loves to watch Caesar compete with others. Everyone knows him."
The lady was less serious now.
The Baroness also laughed and said, "I know that when Caesar was jousting, the maids in the Earl's castle would secretly run to the watchtower to watch. This made it difficult for Mrs. Held to control them. Fortunately, he is now married to you, so Mrs. Held can rest assured."
Mrs. Held sighed as she heard this.
Olivia thought, oh, it turns out she married a guy who is a popular young actor.
"So that's how it is." She answered shyly.
Even though Caesar was a popular young actor, the maids in the Earl's castle were at least the daughters of a baron. And in Alta, a baron's daughter, if she was the eldest daughter, could inherit the title and become a baroness.
If the dog is sculpted, it will be a beautiful pastoral dog that is good at fighting. Although nobles like it, they will only bring home purebred dogs with pedigree, otherwise their status will not match.
He could only return to his hometown to guard the border, and was introduced by the baron to marry someone of the same social class and status. But she was too hasty to buy him a house, which was a development destined by the logic of the setting.
Olivia thought that the logic of this game was really sound, and it didn't give people the opportunity to fantasize about becoming a dragon in the sky. It was all strictly hierarchical.
Because of Caesar, everyone continued to talk about the martial arts performance at the racecourse in the afternoon. I heard that the Baron would also participate in the competition, and no one knew what the prize was.
After breakfast, Catherine arranged for everyone to leave the Baron's mansion with the Baroness and go to church to pray.
Halfway through the walk, the maid who came with Mrs. Held came up to Olivia and called her to stop, and the two of them walked behind her.
"My name is Xina, and I'm Mrs. Held's servant. She asked me to ask you about the recipes and methods for the breakfast snacks. She wants to give them as gifts to the Countess."
Olivia opened her mouth and let Xena walk forward with her arm in hers.
"Of course there's no problem. It's rare that Mrs. Held likes it."
A rich scent of lavender wafted from Xina's body. She was wearing a southern-style narrow-waisted long dress with flowing fairy sleeves, golden cloves on her ears, and a wheat-ear-shaped gold bracelet on her wrist.
When Olivia wasn't paying attention, Xina took her hand and put the heavy gold bracelet into her palm.
"Once you've written down the recipe, just give it to the Baroness. Thank you for making the extra trip."
"Remember, be careful."
Hina admonished her.
Olivia nodded and accepted the big gold bracelet without any hesitation. This was their procedure, and making a fuss about it would seem ignorant.
She pursed her lips and smiled, her steps becoming lighter.
Holding this gold bracelet in my hand, I weigh it and estimate that it must have cost six or seven gold coins to make. Including the labor cost, it might cost ten gold coins to buy it. It's a pleasant surprise.
It must be said that although Mrs. Held looks serious, she is actually a nice person.
You know, many nobles asked their vassals for various things but would not give them a penny.
Olivia and Mrs. Held's maid fell behind alone, and everyone saw them.
After leaving the Baron's mansion and being escorted by the guards into the cathedral, everyone noticed the extra item in Olivia's hand.
She pretended not to see the looks and followed Theresa to sit a few rows behind the Baroness.
As for the Baron, he and all the knights sat on the seats on the other side of the hall.
Many civilians gathered at the entrance of the hall to watch and listen. The guards were nervous, fearing that there might be assassins, but they could not stop people from leaving the church. This was the purpose of prayer.
Olivia also felt that all the nobles listening to prayers in public was a performance and a way of ruling.
Looking at this Baroness, she may not really believe in the existence of God, but she has no choice but to do things this way.
The prayer lasted for an hour.
After it was over, Olivia stood up again with the other ladies and, escorted by the soldiers, left the cathedral and returned to the main house of the Baron's residence.
The main road they walked together was on the central axis of the fortress and was a corridor across the sloping garden.
This place is much wider than the path. Although there are few plants due to the snow, you can still see the sculptures in the garden and the stepped spring pools made from hot springs when looking out from both sides of the corridor. Apart from these, there are not many other carvings, and it is still quite simple.
Olivia looked at these buildings and couldn't help but start calculating the baron's income.
Their fiefdoms have to pay a total of two to three hundred gold coins in taxes every year, and the baron's direct territory can also produce two to three hundred gold coins every year.
The city’s taxes and tolls, as well as some miscellaneous income, can bring in at least a thousand gold coins every year.
How much does it add up to?
However, it seems that the Baron's Mansion is also very frugal and not extravagant. Where does the money go?
...
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