There wasn't much to do in the wood and Claude was quite idle.
Apart from asking the Sioris about their whereabouts after school every day, he would spend most of his free time in his herbalism lab.
Sometimes, he would go into the mountains to gather some herbs for his experiments. He would usually make something for dinner alone. Occasionally, he would join the Sioris and cook a few dishes for everyone to try.
The Sioris were quite busy as well, but they weren't busy with their work as foresters. Instead, they were busy with their own personal affairs.
For example, the couple opened up five or six acres of farmland on the hillside and planted potatoes, rye, and other crops. They also surrounded a large circle of land in the forest and raised dozens of chickens. They laid twenty to thirty eggs every day …
However, the Sioris had gotten Maria's permission to do that. Technically, the couple could be considered part of the Normanley family.
The couple had a son and a daughter who were both adults. They signed a servant contract with the Normanley family and worked as servants in the viscount's manor in the royal capital.
The elder brother was the viscount's personal servant and the younger sister was the viscount's personal maid. The Sioris were only working as foresters in the wood so that they could retire.
The wood in Whitestag had two uses for the Normanley family. First, it was the family's birthplace. Even though he was a shoemaker in Whitestag, his father was the forester of the wood.
Second, it was a place for vacation.
Maria liked the peace and quiet there and even built a herbalism lab for herself. Every year, she would come to the wood to relax for a while.
She could focus on her experiments there, unlike in the royal capital where she often had to stop her experiments to welcome visitors.
The wood spanned seventy-three hectares. In Aueras, a hectare was a hundred hectares. The three hills near the manor were all privately owned by the Normanley family.
In the past fifty years, the wood hadn't been harvested or harvested at all. As a result, the trees were lush and overgrown with weeds, showing signs of developing into a primeval forest.
Sioris and his wife were the only ones guarding the forest. Their main responsibility was to patrol the forest every once in a while. As long as they didn't see anyone trying to cut down the trees, they would be safe.
Now that Claude was in charge of the wood, the task of patrolling was handed over to him.
Patrolling the wood was a simple task for him. All he had to do was carry his gun and ride Jemmy along the mountain path. It didn't take him more than an hour.
Unless he saw wild pheasants, rabbits, and other game, or picked some medicinal herbs. Besides, he didn't need to patrol every day. Every two or three days, he would run to the top of the mountain and look down.
It was easy to tell if any of the trees had been secretly felled, and even if someone had come to do it, they wouldn't be able to move out without following the mountain path …
When Sioris and his wife patrolled the forest, they would bring a big rattan basket with them. They would pick some mushrooms and other mountain products along the mountain road, dry them, and sell them at the open-air market to earn some pocket money for themselves.
Claude, on the other hand, didn't have such a need. He spent most of his time in the lab reading or processing medicinal ingredients.
He went to school during the day and returned to patrol the forest after school. Occasionally, he would go home to chat with his parents and play with his siblings and the little snowhound for a while before returning to the forest.
At night, he would stay in the lab and read books to learn herbalism. When he had time, he would go to the forest and the nearby mountains to pick medicinal ingredients to process. Claude's days were simple and fulfilling.
Knowing that he had important matters to attend to, his three companions rarely came to the forest to look for him.
Borkal was busy learning how to do business from his father and would go to his father's shop every day after school.
On the other hand, Eriksson and Welikro hung out together, either fishing or casting nets on Lake Balinga. Every now and then, they would bring back a few fish for Claude to eat at the wood before going back.
Currently, apart from meditating, Claude spent the rest of his time researching elementary healing concoctions. He would basically conduct a concoction experiment every time he gathered a batch of medicinal ingredients.
Unfortunately, the concoction wasn't an easy task. After more than ten experiments, he only managed to successfully concoct three concoctions, and he couldn't even guarantee that they would have any healing effects.
Claude planned to set up some traps in the bushes in the depths of the forest and catch a few live wild pheasants and rabbits for his experiments.
He wanted to see if the concoction he concocted would have any effects.
According to the books, superior-grade elementary healing concoctions could be distinguished by their color, which was clear with a hint of green.
When Claude looked at the three concoctions he concocted, he felt that the color was a little murky.
That was also the main reason he didn't dare to make a cut on his arm to test the effects of the three concoctions.
The next day, Claude caught three fat rabbits and two wild pheasants at the area where he set his traps.
It seemed that there weren't many people going to Normanley Forest and there were quite a lot of small prey. He could catch them a few more times.
It was nearing the end of October and winter was coming. The rabbits and pheasants looked rather plump and Claude felt that it would be a waste to use them for his experiments.
When he returned to the lab, he picked up one of the rabbits and cut it open with his knife, causing blood to gush out.
He removed the pine cork on the glass tube and poured the concoction on the wound before throwing the rabbit into a cage and watching it struggle.
Half an hour later, Claude noticed that the wound had stopped bleeding. However, the rabbit had stiffened up and stopped breathing.
It was obvious that the three concoctions he concocted weren't up to standard.
It was no wonder Maria always warned him that he had to be meticulous and meticulous in every step of his experiments. Otherwise, the concoction's lack of effects was a small matter. What he was most afraid of was the concoction turning into poison and causing harm instead of healing.
Perhaps there was a problem with the processing of the medicinal ingredients, such as the separation or filtration?
It had to be said that the process of processing medicinal ingredients was far too complicated.
Claude recalled that Landes' diary also recorded the steps to concoct a concoction. He said that it was the simplest alchemical experiment and that a first-ring rune magus could easily concoct a perfect-grade concoction in an alchemical formation.
Claude recalled the address Maria gave him before she left. It was the underground magic market's shop in Whitestag.
It was still early and he wanted to look around to see if there were any suitable magic items for sale. If he was lucky, he might be able to buy some materials to set up an alchemical formation.
Claude felt that the biggest difference between him and Maria was that she treated him as a herbalist and didn't really care about being recognized as a magus.
Claude, on the other hand, treated magic as his first choice. He didn't think that he had to use magic to conduct his experiments like Maria did.
As long as he could set up an alchemical formation, he would be able to conduct his experiments in the alchemical formation. It wouldn't be as troublesome as processing medicinal ingredients, which could cause all his efforts to go to waste if he wasn't careful.
He tossed a plump hare to Sioris and told him that he was going back to his mother's for dinner. Then, he pulled Jemmy out of the stable and got him into the carriage. He tossed a pheasant and a hare onto it before setting off.
When he got home, it was just in time for his mother to start preparing dinner. The rabbit and pheasant he brought became a side dish.
The rabbit was braised and the pheasant was stewed. Claude spent half a day slaughtering the pheasant and rabbit. When he was done, he was pestered by his younger brother to play with the snowhound for half a day. Soon, it was time for dinner.
During dinner, Morssen asked about the wood as usual and told Claude to work hard so that he wouldn't betray the trust Baroness had placed in him.
Arbeit sat at the side and only cared about eating. When he was done, he left without saying a word.
Claude thought that he ate the most of the rabbit and pheasant he brought, but he wasn't like the snowhound that would wag its tail at him when it ate a bone. He was even worse than a dog.
His mother asked him if he was going back after dinner, but he shook his head and said that he still had to buy some things for his experiments.
Morssen reminded him not to waste his money and to return early.
Claude didn't drive the carriage. The address Maria gave him was in the slums and it wasn't safe to go there at night.
He didn't want to expose his identity either. It would be easier for him to escape if anything happened.
The sky was already dark and most of the shops on the street were closed. Only the candlelight from the windows of the houses on the side of the road could barely illuminate the ground.
The closer he got to the slums, the fewer candlelight there were. Most of the people on the street were in a hurry. On the other hand, the old street was bustling with activity and was brightly lit.
Claude put on a black robe to protect himself from the rain and looked like a raincoat from his previous world.
Then, he covered his face with a grey linen scarf, revealing only his eyes.
While such attire would be rather eye-catching during the day, four out of ten people on the street were dressed like that.
Regardless of whether they were there for fun or if they had other motives, such attire was the best way to hide their true identities.
Claude had heard from Eriksson and Borkal that the old street had become a brothel in Whitestag.
Back then, when Claude passed by Wakri's shop, Monke's fishing gear and boat accessories store, he felt that the old street was rather bleak.
The dilapidated wooden and stone houses on both sides of the road were all closed and there weren't many people on the street.
Claude didn't think that the old street would become so lively at night. Almost all the doors on both sides of the street were open. Women who were either scantily clad or dressed to the nines stood or sat in front of them. There were old and young, fat and skinny, beautiful and ugly. There were even some two-storey houses with women peeking out from the windows, trying to attract customers.
Many people on the street would turn their heads every few steps they took. Some would approach the women and discuss the price in whispers with them. They would either be pulled into the house by the women or regret their decision after failing to reach an agreement on the price, causing the women to curse and the men to flee in panic.
There were also some women who stood boldly on the street and tried to attract customers. The passersby didn't mind it and even took the opportunity to grope them, causing them to tease and scold each other.
Claude looked at the sky. It wasn't even eight yet and there were already so many people around. He thought it was still early and there wouldn't be many people around.
Just as he avoided the tug of a woman with white powder on her face, he heard a familiar voice. Looking ahead, he saw Arbeit bargaining with another woman under the eaves of a house not too far away.
The woman was rather shrewish and loud. She was trying to tell him not to come if he didn't have the money. She wouldn't agree to pay for a single penny less.
Claude really wanted to laugh, but he quickly remembered that he was also on the old street. Fortunately, he was wearing a hood to cover his body and face, so even people he knew wouldn't be able to recognize him.
So, he walked past Arbeit and watched as he was mocked by a bunch of women.
No. 17, Granite Lane, Old Street. Such was the address written on the slip of paper which the Lady Maria had given him.
Granite Alley wasn't big and was just big enough for a carriage to pass through.
The alley was pitch-black without a trace of light. It was a completely different world compared to the candlelight outside.
Claude noticed that there were four ruffians standing not too far away from the entrance of the old street. They were probably the law enforcers of the old street.
The strange thing was that the four men clearly saw him loitering at the entrance of the alley. He was out of place with the pedestrians on the street, but they only glanced at him a few times and did not come over to question him. It was as if this alley did not belong to them.