The first day.
"Good morning, Madam."
"You're late, Claude." Maria put down the book in her hand and looked at Claude sternly.
Claude looked at the sky. It wasn't even nine yet.
He left early in the morning and his father personally drove him to the foot of the mountain. He didn't even dare to go up the mountain path, so it took him more than ten minutes to reach the manor.
"It'll take a lot of time for you to go back and forth like this. How about this? You can stay here tonight. I'll get Ludian to arrange a room for you.
I'll send someone to talk to your father. Is there a problem? "Maria was considerate as she made arrangements.
"No problem. I'll be at your service."
Claude recalled the conversation his father had in the study last night and the details of Maria's background. He decided that it was best to just obey. It was just a couple of weeks. He'd suffered far more in his previous life than that. He'd just have to bear with it for a while.
"Alright. Put down your gun. I'm not asking you to be my guard. You'll be my assistant for the time being. Help me deal with the niros crocodile specimen.
Come with me and change into your clothes. "
The clothes were similar to the white coats of doctors in his previous life, except that they were made of fine linen and were grey in color.
After entering the herbalism lab, Marian began teaching Claude how to deal with the niros crocodile specimen. "Use Magus' Hands to remove the extraneous parts. Then, use Precise Control to turn Magus' Hands into a knife. Then, separate the skin and the inner membrane of the crocodile."
"Yes, Madam." There were no outsiders there, so Claude could cast his magic without worry.
Ludian, the steward, brought tea and refreshments to Lady Maria.
So, Maria sipped her tea as she watched Claude deal with the crocodile specimen. From time to time, she would remind Claude to be careful and what he should do.
Claude, on the other hand, stood there without moving.
The crocodile specimen, on the other hand, seemed to be alive. It flipped around and stood up on its hind legs. Its skin kept peeling off and it looked rather creepy.
Claude had only finished a third of the work in the morning. It seemed that he would have to spend the rest of the day on the skin of the crocodile.
"Alright, let's have lunch first, then I'll take a nap. We'll continue in the afternoon.
You can read here if you don't want to take a nap.
By the way, Claude, the food you made last night was delicious. I really admire your cooking.
That's why I've decided to leave dinner to you. Write down a list of ingredients and give it to Ludian. He'll fulfill your request … "
Claude smiled bitterly. "Alright, Madam. I'll do as you say."
It was Morssen's fault. The evening before, Madame Maria called on us to talk about Claude.
Morssen agreed without hesitation to have Claude guard Maria's wood so that he wouldn't let any boars or other people disturb her peace.
When the matter was settled, Lady Maria naturally took her leave with the steward. Mr. Morssen, however, politely asked Lady Maria to stay for dinner.
Regardless of whether it was fake or not, Lady Maria could only politely refuse.
However, Morssen insisted that Claude was a great cook and often made delicacies that couldn't be found outside, leaving people craving more after tasting them.
So, Lady Maria decided to stay and have a taste of Claude's cooking. Thus, Claude was promoted from a boar butcher to a kitchen chef.
Claude didn't disappoint his father and made a table full of dishes from his previous life.
The way he saw it, the dishes weren't as good as the ones he made in his previous life. Most of the ingredients and seasonings couldn't be found in this world and he used substitutes, so the taste was much worse.
However, that was enough to surprise Lady Maria and Ludian. Most of the dishes on the table were unheard of in the royal capital. The moment they tasted it, they almost swallowed their own tongues. It was simply too delicious.
In the end, Lady Maria felt rather embarrassed. She almost stuffed herself with food, which was rather embarrassing for a noble lady.
Morssen was both delighted and regretful at the same time. Perhaps he shouldn't have arranged for Claude to enlist under his godfather in Nubissia after graduation. Instead, he should have followed Lady Maria as a cook instead.
As expected, when Claude reported to Lady Maria that day, he was arranged to make dinner.
He recalled how Morssen called Claude to his study after sending off Maria's party and asked him about all the details of his acquaintance with Maria. In the end, he couldn't contain his joy.
Claude, on the other hand, was rather confused. Wasn't it just a baroness? It wasn't that big of a deal.
Morssen was rather disappointed. Who was this Lady Maria? She was a member of the Fon Normanley family, someone who could listen to the heavens. Her words carried more weight in the palace than those of the ministers.
Morssen began to tell Claude about the history of the Fon Normanley family. At the same time, he felt rather regretful. Whenever that happened, he would hate his father, Hasby. He believed that if his father hadn't been a watchdog guarding the red brick house in Whitestag and had followed Stellin IX to war, his family might not have been any worse than the Fon Normanley family.
The founder of the Fon Normanley family was a shoemaker in Whitestag called Afis Normanley.
Like Hasby, Claude's grandfather, he joined Stellin IX's army.
However, after Hasby was rewarded with the red brick house, he stayed behind in the name of recuperating from his injuries. Afis Normanley, on the other hand, followed Stellin IX to the end of the war.
He gained Stellin IX's favor due to his loyalty, honesty, bravery, and responsibility. As the king's most trusted guard, he was made a hereditary baron and given the courtesy name Fon.
"Back then, among the new recruits who followed Stellin IX from Whitestag and the soldiers from the flintlock barracks at the stone outpost, he was the only one who was made a hereditary baron. Even though the others were made nobles, they didn't get a courtesy name after three generations.
Afis Normanley saved Stellin IX three times. It's said that he should have been made a viscount, but he was demoted due to his lowly birth. "
Morssen was quite familiar with the nobles from the three southwestern prefectures, not to mention that Afis Fon Normanley was a native of Whitestag.
"After Stellin IX ascended to the throne, he trusted Afis Fon Normanley a lot and appointed him as the head of the royal guards.
However, during the second expedition to the Nasri Kingdom, Afiz was gravely injured and died. Stellin IX adopted his son and daughter and kept them company in the palace with his son, the current Stellin X. "
"Lady Maria is the daughter of Baron Afis. She and Stellin X call each other brother and sister. Her brother inherited his father's position and is now the head of the royal guards.
Maria's husband was Viscount Carter, the deputy commander of the King's Imperial Guard Corps.
"Originally, Lady Maria should be addressed as a viscountess, but after Stellin X promoted her brother to a viscount in Colst, he gave her the hereditary title that their father left behind. That's why she prefers to be addressed as baroness.
"Apart from that, she's also a famous mid-rank herbalist in the royal capital. Almost all the patients in the palace are treated by her.
She wields great influence among the nobles in the royal capital. Even the prime minister doesn't dare to offend her for no good reason, lest he be punished to kneel when he gets home. "
Morssen told Claude about the prime minister's fear of his wife in what he thought was humor. "Lady Maria has always kept a low profile and doesn't like to get involved in politics. She doesn't like to ask for favors either.
It's said that her favorite hobby is herbalism research and she often stays in her lab for days at a time.
The wood in Whitestag was purchased by her father after he made his fortune. However, they rarely returned. The few times they did, they were always in a hurry and they basically didn't interact with the upper class of Whitestag. Only a few people were allowed to visit the wood.
"Claude, it's a good thing to gain Lady Maria's favor, but you must remember not to offend her. If she needs anything, you must do your best to fulfill it.
Father has been planning something big recently and he's close to success.
As long as this matter succeeds, our family won't have to worry about not having enough money to spend in the future. Perhaps we can even add a noble title to our family. At that time, we might even need this madam to put in a few good words for us in the royal capital.
So, remember what I told you when you go to the wood tomorrow. Don't anger her, got it? "
It was only then that Claude realized how powerful Lady Maria was. He remembered how he wanted to silence her when they first met, but he was thankful that he didn't do it.
Otherwise, once news of Lady Maria's death spread, all the police in the kingdom would be mobilized and wouldn't rest until the murderer was caught.
No matter how good his disguise was, he wouldn't be able to hide from the eyes of the police. At the very least, many people saw him leave the house with his gun and hail a carriage. The coachman didn't leave until he reached the foot of the mountain.
If he really had to silence her, he would have to kill a lot of people and the number of people he would have to kill would only increase.
So, Claude had no choice but to obediently listen to his orders.
In the afternoon, he skinned the crocodile and in the evening, he became a chef.
The next day.
"Claude, we're going to scrape off the inner layer of the crocodile's skin today. Turn Magus's Hands into a scraper with Precise Control."
"Madam, why don't we use Magus's Hands to do it with a scraper? It'll be easier for me that way and I'll be able to cast fewer spells."
"That won't do. The skin used to make the rune parchment has to come in contact with metal as much as possible. Metal will affect the magic quality of the skin and might even scratch it.
I used to use a bamboo knife to do that in the royal capital.
Use Precise Control to turn Magus's Hands into a scraper. That's the only way to ensure the best magic effect after the skin is made into rune parchment. "
"Alright, Madam. I'll start right away."
"Wait, Claude. The big plate of fried noodles we had at your place two nights ago was pretty good. Let's have it for dinner too."
"Alright, as you wish, Madam."
The third day.
"Claude, we're going to cut this membrane into pages today. We'll need to make magic scrolls as big as two pages.
After that, soak it in the Celestial Star potion for 24 hours before drying it.
You'll also have to use Precise Control to transform Magus's Hands into a cutting knife. Understood? "
"Madam, what's this Celestial Star potion?"
"That book has the recipe and description of this potion. You can take a look.
It's mainly used to increase the mana absorption of the skin. That way, when the rune parchment is made into rune parchment, the spell won't lose its effectiveness due to the lack of mana. "
"I see. Thank you for your guidance, Madam."
"Alright. Since you want to thank me, I won't stand on ceremony. Make some more dishes for dinner."
"Yes, Madam."
The fourth day.
"Claude, the skin is still drying today. There's nothing else to do. I think you should take your gun to the wood for a stroll.
The stir-fried pork liver I had at your place was pretty good. I didn't think you'd be able to make it into such a delicacy.
Hmm, if you can hunt another boar today, make another stir-fried pork liver. You even said that pork liver improves my eyesight. I've been so busy the past two days that I'm starting to feel dizzy. "
"Madam, I'm the one who's been busy. You've only been watching me while sipping your tea."
"It's exactly because I'm watching you. I need to eat some pork liver to replenish my energy."
Claude protested, "Madam, you asked me to be your lab assistant, not your chef."
"Alright, Claude. To be honest, I don't think you should become a magus or learn herbalism.
You should be a chef. If you keep doing that, you'll definitely become a famous chef on the continent. "
"Madam!"