Morssen received word from his wife that a guest of honor had arrived and asked him to hurry back.
He looked at the time and saw that there was still half an hour before he got off work. He decided to head home early, though he didn't know who the guest was. Perhaps it was his wife's brother who came to visit his relatives and wanted him to help them out a little.
As the chief administrator of Whitestag, Morssen naturally had the right to leave early.
Usually, he liked to drag a few of his colleagues to the tavern for a drink after work. That way, he could get closer to his colleagues and they could look out for each other in the future.
Secondly, he could get some basic information about the town hall through the mouths of his colleagues. For example, Baron Robert had gone to the finance department with a request for reimbursement only to be rejected by the treasurer.
Passing through the town-hall gates, Mr. Morssen drove home, as usual, one of the town-hall chaise-chaises, and bade the driver in charge to fetch it to the town-hall from the red brick house after dinner.
Along the way, people greeted Morssen and some even took off their hats in greeting.
Morssen nodded at them in a friendly manner and joked loudly with those he was familiar with.
That was something Morssen was very proud of. He had a high reputation and good relations with the townsfolk in Whitestag.
Basically, whenever something happened in the neighborhood, the first thing they would think of was to look for Morssen and see what he said.
When he reached home, Morssen was surprised to find a huge crowd gathered in front of his house as if they were watching a show.
After Morssen parked his carriage and squeezed into the crowd, he realized that the person they were looking at was his second son. Claude was currently in the form of a butcher, holding a sharp knife and cutting open a boar's stomach under the guidance of a few bystanders.
With the crowd around, Claude couldn't use Magus' Hands to dissect the huge boar that weighed more than 150 kilograms. He had no choice but to do it himself and painstakingly dissect the boar's flesh with a sharp knife.
Coupled with the provocation of the irresponsible busybodies, the entire wild boar's fur was cut into palm-sized pieces.
Although a wild boar's skin was the least valuable, it was rare to see a wild boar's skin being ruined into pieces like this. This was no longer skinning, but cutting. No wonder the onlookers were making such a ruckus.
He really wanted to curse out loud. Come at me if you think you can! You're all talk and no action. Why don't you think about how much mud and turpentine the wild boar's fur is covered in? It's already hardened to the size of a palm. Do you really think it's that easy to peel it off?
He looked at the wild boar and asked, "Claude, did you hunt this?"
Claude nodded. "Yes, Father. You're back."
"You're pretty lucky today. You've finally hunted a big guy. It's much better than when you brought home a rabbit or a pheasant. You've improved."
Morssen praised, "By the way, who's the guest your mother mentioned? It can't be this fellow, right?"
Morssen pointed at the wild boar on the ground as he said that. He thought his words were rather humorous and even laughed heartily.
Fortunately, Maria and Luan were enjoying his mother's hospitality in the room. Coachman Wayne was scared of blood and wasn't around to watch Claude butchering the wild boar.
Otherwise, if his father's words reached Maria's ears, his father would be in deep trouble.
She was a lady that even Sir Fux wouldn't dare to reject.
Claude solemnly pointed at the carriage parked at the side and gestured for his father to take a look.
Morssen wasn't like Claude, who didn't know much about noble emblems. The moment he saw the rose insignia and the crown of thorns around the ordinary-looking carriage, he froze for a moment and put on a solemn expression. He even tidied his clothes up and down to make sure he didn't make any mistakes before heading home.
When Claude first saw Maria's carriage on the mountain path and was invited to the wood, he did notice the rose insignia on the carriage. He only knew that Maria was a noble, but he didn't notice the crown of thorns around the rose insignia. He thought it was just a decoration.
Morssen was different. As the chief administrator of Whitestag, he naturally understood the meaning of the emblems on noble emblems.
There was only one meaning to having a crown of thorns. Only a noble who shared the fate of life and death with the royal family could have a crown of thorns.
Maria and Ludian had been invited to the study on the second floor by her mother. Angelina was playing the role of a little maid, running up and down to serve tea and snacks.
Bloweyk, on the other hand, was quiet for once and looked curiously at Maria and Luthien with his snowhound.
He had never seen a lady and a steward with such grace, so much so that when Lady Maria and his mother spoke of him, he became shy.
Morssen went up to the second floor and entered the study. He was quickly stunned by Maria's regal aura.
He was a true noble of the kingdom, unlike Mayor Robert, who was on the verge of decline. Be it his speech or behavior, he displayed the cultured and condescending aura unique to nobles, causing Mr. Morssen to involuntarily become reserved.
"Greetings, Mister Morssen Ferd."
After her mother introduced Mr. Morssen, Lady Maria got up and bowed to him. This was the etiquette of the court ladies. She then introduced herself. "I'm Baron Maria Fon Normanley. I'm sorry to disturb you by visiting you so abruptly."
Fen Normanley. Hearing the name, Mr. Morssen immediately knew who this noble lady was. He couldn't help but feel flattered. He quickly bowed in return. "Baroness, your presence brings light to my humble abode. It is an honor for the Felds.
However, may I know the purpose of your visit? If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know. "
Morssen thought that the noble baroness had something to entrust him with. Perhaps she felt that there were too many eyes in the town hall and decided to pay him a visit in private.
It was obvious that it was a personal matter of the baroness. If he could use this opportunity to form a connection with the baroness, he would have someone to look after him in the court.
Maria smiled and said, "Mister Morssen, I'm here for your son."
"Arbeit?"
Mr. Morssen was very excited. "Baroness, you really have a good eye for talent. My eldest son graduated with the first place in the liberal arts, and is now Sir Fux's personal secretary. He is often praised by Sir Fux for his brilliance, meticulousness, and responsibility.
By the way, you said you're here for him. Do you want him to follow you? "
Lady Maria and Rodian looked at each other. It was rude of Mr. Morssen to interrupt Lady Maria's speech, but he was only an inexperienced magistrate, so they could forgive him for his rudeness.
However, he misunderstood Maria's words and even brought his eldest son into the conversation. This made things a little awkward.
Ludian stood up and said, "Mister Morssen, your second son, Mister Claude, stopped the horse that was pulling the carriage when it was startled and prevented an accident from happening.
At the same time, he helped us kill a herd of wild boars that caused trouble in our wood. That's why my lady is here. It's to express her gratitude. "
Morssen's face reddened immediately. The baroness was only here to express her gratitude, yet he thought it was to help his son. He even targeted the wrong person and made a fool out of himself.
Fortunately, Maria was a reasonable person. She smiled and changed the topic. "I didn't expect Mister Morssen to have such a brave second son and an even more outstanding eldest son. Looks like House Ferd will rise to prominence in the kingdom soon.
It's all thanks to you, Mister Morssen, that you were able to raise two such outstanding children. "
"You flatter me, Baroness," Morssen said humbly.
Mr. Morssen quickly showed his modesty. "I usually just teach them to study hard, to be down-to-earth, and not to bite off more than they can chew.
Fortunately, they didn't disappoint me. Even though Claude is a little mischievous and doesn't do as well as his brother in the humanities, he does well in the physical sciences and is one of the top three in school.
He takes care of his siblings at home and often helps out with the chores.
However, he prefers to hunt, which worries me a little. Sometimes, I wonder if buying him a musket was the right decision. "
Maria nodded with a smile. "Actually, Mister Morssen has made great arrangements for your two children. One is a scholar, the other a warrior. I believe they will complement each other well in the future and make House Ferd a prominent family in the southwest."
Morssen could only nod and smile bitterly inside. Everything else was fine, but the two brothers didn't get along at all. In fact, they seemed more like enemies.
Claude didn't take Arbeit seriously at all. Even Angelina and Borke didn't like him.
Arbeit had learned his lesson recently and didn't provoke Claude on purpose. However, he also ignored Claude's existence.
Even though Morssen saw everything, he couldn't do anything to improve the relationship between the two brothers.
No matter how many times he tried to persuade them, it was the same. Although they agreed on the surface, they still treated each other with hostility.
Sometimes, Morssen worried that House Ferd would split apart if he were to go to God of War's divine kingdom.
After exchanging pleasantries, Maria finally got to the point. "Mr. Morssen, I have another request for my visit this time. I hope that you can fulfill it."
"Tell me what it is, Madam. As long as it's within my power, I'll be at your service."
Morssen breathed a sigh of relief. It's good to have a favor to ask. How else am I supposed to get in touch with you?
"It's like this, Mister Morssen. You should know that my forest is in the outskirts of town, right?"
Morssen nodded.
"I'm planning to stay here for half a month to research some herbs, but there are wild boars roaming around.
My housekeeper wanted to go to town and hire some hunters as guards, but I didn't like rude people, and I was worried that their noise would affect my research on medicine.
So, when I saw your son hunting boars, I wanted to hire him to guard the forest. However, he said that he needs your permission first, so … "
Morssen was overjoyed. "Madam, it's his honor to be able to guard the forest. I'll have him report to you tomorrow."
"But he said that he'll graduate in two months and has to go to school every day …"