As April arrived, five days after Art and Lottie's wedding, the lively Valley Wood Fort finally quieted down as Baron Galvin and his relatives left the valley and returned to Sap Fort.
That morning, Art, who had been busy for nearly a month, finally enjoyed a rare lie-in. It wasn't until Lottie's maid, Oly, knocked on the bedroom door and brought a sumptuous breakfast to the wooden table in the bedroom that Art opened his groggy eyes.
Lottie, who was newly a wife, had already gotten up and was writing and drawing at a table next to the wooden bed.
Art motioned for Oly to put down the breakfast and leave, then he got up, put on his clothes, walked behind Lottie, and kneaded her shoulders, asking, "My dear, what are you writing?"
Lottie, who had been engrossed in her writing, put down her quill, turned her head to look up at the recently awakened Art, and with a smile, replied, "My dear, I am calculating the expenses of the wedding in terms of money and supplies. This paper is the supply consumption list that Uncle Cooper sent this morning. I calculated that, including the supplies my father brought from Sap Fort to prepare for the wedding, we spent nearly three fenny in the past half month."
Then Lottie picked up another gift list and said, "The list of gifts brought by the guests who attended the wedding is also ready. Aside from the various pearls and agates, which can only be roughly estimated, the combined value of the fabrics, wine, velvet, gold and silver utensils, and farm tools is approximately 15,000 fenni. Additionally, Uncle Cooper said that Baron Antayas and Viscount Pierre also gifted a batch of weapons and equipment and a warhorse. These items were directly allocated to the army, so I did not include them in my calculation."
Art took the two lists from Lottie's hand. The wedding expenses exceeded his budget because wars were frequent everywhere now, and most of the items needed for the wedding were rather luxurious, so the cost of purchasing them through merchant caravans was quite a bit higher. Moreover, to reduce Art's burden, Baron Galvin also brought many supplies from Sap Fort. The guests who attended the wedding ate and drank well, and after the wedding, it was Art and Lottie's turn to feel the pinch of the financial consumption.
However, looking at the list of gifts brought by the guests, Art's heavy and complicated feelings lightened considerably. Except for Lord Deputy of the Court Count Baldwin, who only symbolically presented an exquisite short sword, the other invited guests truly brought generous gifts to the Valley Land. Bishop Olov sent his personal guard, Knight William, to Art with gifts worth six bolts of velvet, six bolts of raw silk, four sets of high-quality brocade everyday clothes, and two sets of exquisitely made silver tableware. These gifts combined were worth nearly 4,000 fenni. Next were the gifts from Baron Antayas and Knight Croy. Baron Antayas sent Art a plow ox, ten sheep, a warhorse, and several weapons and armor (cotton armor), while Knight Croy brought Art five pigs, six hundred pounds of hulled wheat, and a bucket helmet made of fine iron. Viscount Herries of Glarus, in the Eastern Territory, entrusted someone to bring Art fabrics and jewelry worth 500 fenni. Viscount Pierre of Tinietz County brought five broadswords, ten battle axes, heavy hammers, and flails, two short bows, two sets of cotton armor, five sets of armed clothing, and 600 fenni in cash. Art knew that Viscount Pierre's gift of these weapons and armor was a reminder to Art not to forget his mission of eradicating bandits and maintaining public order. As for the gifts from the guests who came from Sap Fort to the Valley Land for the wedding, Art did not examine them one by one. They ranged from cooking utensils and iron pots to emeralds and agates, with a wide variety of items. There was even a minor gentry from Sap Fort who gifted Art an elderly herdsman...
Art put down the two parchments, gently stroked Lottie's forehead, and said, "Lottie, you've worked hard. As you can see, compared to the fertile Sap Fort, my knight's territory is more like a dilapidated slum. From now on, you'll have to suffer with me."
Lottie raised her hand and held Art's palm, saying, "My dear husband, what I am devoting my life to is not money or wealth. When I fell in love with you at first sight, you were just a common Patrol Officer. When I married you, you had already become a knight with a title and territory. I married a heart that is striving upwards, resilient, and courageous. My father is very wealthy, but he is too obsessed with money and wealth, and he has lost a brave heart. That is why I swore to marry a true warrior. I think my vow has been fulfilled."
Even as a person who had lived two lives, Art was moved by Lottie's words. If a noble daughter like Lottie, from a prestigious family with countless wealth, hadn't remained unmarried for so long due to being "too old," how could she have become part of Art's destiny?
"If you do not fail me, I will not fail you ~" Art inadvertently whispered.
"My dear, what did you say?" Lottie didn't understand Art's affectionate words just now.
Art realized his slip of the tongue and changed his words, "Nothing, I said thank you for your trust in me."
"By the way, I also want to discuss something with you..." Art sat down to discuss with Lottie something he had been considering for many days.
"Let me go to the school to teach the children?" Lottie was incredibly surprised by Art's words. As someone born and raised in this society, Lottie had never imagined that secular women could teach children in a church school.
Lottie had been in Wood Fort for over half a month, and she knew that there was a parish school next to the small chapel in Wood Fort. Art had told others that it was a church school that Father Hamish had actively requested to establish, specifically to teach a group of orphans rescued from outside. These school apprentices had also served in the choir at the wedding. But now, Art told Lottie that these orphans were actually recruited by him specifically from outside, and they were not only receiving theological education; literacy, medicine, and even military training were all part of what these apprentices learned. Now Art wanted Lottie to personally teach the children business arithmetic... The ideological impact on Lottie was too great, and she hadn't been able to accept it yet.
Art knew that young noblewomen like Lottie, who had grown up in high society and received a traditional education, were different from people like Cooper and Odo. They would instinctively reject new things that had not gained widespread acceptance.
"Lottie, think about it, I let these orphans receive comprehensive training from a young age. When they grow up, they can serve God as clergy, become learned scholars, and even the brave children can become Commanders in the army, expelling demons and protecting their homeland. What's wrong with that? God created humans to build a beautiful and peaceful Eden. And these children, who possess knowledge, skills, strength, and courage, have both the most devout faith in God and the power to benefit mankind and defend justice. What's wrong with that?"
"My dear, this—" Lottie couldn't refute him for a moment, but she still felt it was somehow inappropriate.
Art also knew that such matters could not be rushed, so he stopped trying to persuade Lottie with grand principles. "Lottie, think about it, you grew up learning from your father, acquiring a lot of knowledge, especially many essential arithmetic skills for business. You can't go around doing business like a man, so wouldn't it be a pity if these skills couldn't be passed on to others? Moreover, do you still want to sit in the inner chambers all day like before? Don't you want to find something enjoyable to do for yourself?"
Art's words resonated with Lottie. Before she was married, her parents kept her confined to the inner chambers all day, not allowing her to go out. And now, her husband was offering her something that would allow her to leave the inner chambers and also share the heavy burden with her husband. Lottie was somewhat tempted.
"But—but for a secular woman to teach church apprentices—this—" Lottie was still a bit worried.
Art gently patted Lottie's shoulder and affirmed, "It's alright. I can't say for other places, but here, anything is possible! And from now on, as my wife, the mistress of this territory, as long as you are willing, all internal affairs can be managed by you."
Lottie was even more surprised, opening her eyes wide and asking, "I can also manage the territory?"
"Yes, why not? Uh, but I'm talking about the territory's Civil Affairs—"
"For example?" Lottie began to be interested in Art's proposal.
"Uh, for example, managing the marriages of the common people, handling the accounts of my personal treasury, managing the three shops your father gave me, assisting Cooper in managing taxes, auditing accounts, and distributing the monthly salaries of Civil Affairs officials."
Lottie blinked and stared at Art, smiling, "You're just making me an assistant to Uncle Cooper, aren't you? You're quite clever, marrying a wife who will work for you for free."
Art rubbed his nose and smiled.
Lottie lightly punched Art's shoulder and said, "I want to tell you something. There's a lot of food left over from this wedding banquet. I want to take the food that the guests didn't finish and distribute it to the common people in Valley Land. Many of them couldn't attend this wedding, and I think we should share with them."
To make space for the guests and also to conceal the strength of his territory, Art only allowed a small number of common people's representatives to attend the banquet. Most others were forbidden from leaving Valley Land, so they hadn't been able to share in the joyful atmosphere of their lord's wedding celebration. Now that Lottie, as the mistress, could consider distributing food to the common people, Art naturally agreed. This would both win the hearts of the common people and establish the image of a benevolent and kind mistress.
"Of course, I fully agree. I'll have Cooper make arrangements, and we'll go to Valley Land this afternoon to share the food with the common people."
