The fields of the Season of Fire are full of life, and the fertile land is full of lush bushes and endless green sedges, dotted with small flowers like stars, decorating the field into a sea of colorful flowers.

"Epicarpus, fire, green。。。。。。 Damn, why are there so few blue sunflowers?"

Lucien straightened up, threw the wildflowers and weeds in his hand into the basket, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and rubbed his sore waist. The soothing beauty could not make the boy stretch the corners of his brows, and if he didn't collect enough blue sunflowers, he wouldn't be able to win the favor of Cousin Lillella. This meant defeat for Lucien under the fence.

Lucien is 17 years old and the second son of a family of lords. Two years ago, when he had just turned 15, he was sent to Thorn Manor by his brother, who had inherited the family business, to be the object of his cousin's choice of a mate, Lord Lillera.

This is consistent with the situation of most of the second sons of broken nobles.

The meager income of the small family cannot support too many children, and the second sons and daughters other than the heirs need to find another way, and some of them will be fostered by the family to the door of the in-law family and become the alternative partner of the children of the in-law family. If they can't succeed in joining the family of their in-laws, they can only accept the fate of being displaced. Therefore, these noble children will do everything in their power to please each other, even at the cost of bending their knees.

Lucien was not humiliated by this, and the first time he saw Lérilah, he fell in love with her beautiful and melancholy eyes. Lucien tried his best to win the heart of the beautiful woman, but all efforts were in vain, the burden of the family weighed on Lérila's weak shoulders, and flowers, love poems, chess, and paintings could not dispel her sorrows. Lucien felt a pang in his heart when he saw Lélila casually put down his freshly picked flowers and turn to take care of the farrowing ewes.

Lucien knew that only by helping Lellila hold up the territory would she be able to stop her busy pace and enjoy the beauty of life. Lucien began to learn how to repair houses, grow vegetables and raise geese, harvest pasture, take care of livestock, and make wood, and his efforts earned the respect of the people, but he still could not get rid of Lerira's arms.

Covering more than 400 square kilometres, the land is fertile and lush with vegetation, but the land that can be cultivated is limited due to the low thorn trees and green sedges, and the lord's main income depends on two lumberyards close to the dark forest.

The redwood in the dark forest is high-quality timber, but the Schultz family issued a forest rotation order, and the barony's lumberyard had to stop working for seven years for each forest mined to allow the redwood forest to recover. The two lumber yards in Leilila take turns to cut timber for four years every 10 years, and these four years of worship are deducted from the six years of logging income, and the rest is enough to sustain the livelihood of more than 700 people.

No matter how hard Lucien worked, he couldn't change the embarrassing situation of the Lordship, and in the eyes of Lérila, he was just one more lord, and how could she feel gratified. Lucien came from an aristocratic family, and soon realized the problem, and he began to try to find a new source of income for the estate, setting his sights on the thorny bushes.

The thorn tree is more than a man tall, the branches are thick and thin, the vitality is extremely tenacious, the wood is crunchy, and it can only be used as firewood, and its bark can be made into hemp rope, and it can also grow edible berries in the windy season. The farmer of the manor was well aware of the properties of the thorns, but Lucien devoted his energies to the beautiful and useless flowers of the thorn trees.

After much experimentation and experimentation, Lucien finally concocted a new dye from wildflowers and weeds, and when he took the dyed linen out to dry, the people were amazed and Lilla looked delighted.

Inspired, Lucien continued his efforts and began experimenting with more colors and less fading plant dyes. He now wanted to concoct the purple dye that was most popular with noble ladies, and that required the use of blue sunflowers.

The boy took his basket on his back and walked forward through the thorns, and he decided to go a little further to see if he could find Blue Kui, who was eager to see the smile on Cousin Lérila's face.

"Lucian!"

There was a call in the field, and a middle-aged man dressed as a farmer ran panting, grabbed Lucien and ran back.

"Uncle Matt, what's going on?" Lucien asked as he ran.

"Whew。。。。。 Call..... The farmer gasped and said, "Something is wrong。。。。。 The lord's butler is here。。。。。 Brought a lot of people。。。。。。 The eldest lady told you to go back immediately。。。。。。 The manor has a distinguished guest coming。。。。。 Be quick!"

Farmer Matt's incoherent words didn't make it clear, but his excited look made Lucien put his mind down again, which should not be a bad thing.

Running back to Thorn Manor as fast as he could, Lucien's tired legs trembled, but he was surprised to find that the manor was full of people, not only familiar lords, but also many well-dressed strangers, who kept moving out the old furniture of the Lord's mansion, and kept taking out new furniture, gold candlesticks, silver cutlery, red carpets, cashmere curtains, oil paintings, and moved into the house one by one.

"Let's go in, the eldest lady is still waiting for you. ”

Matt lowered his voice and beckoned Lucien to hurry into the house, but was stopped by two strangers.

"Who is he?"

An old man walked over, his butler's uniform was straight and ironed, and his silver hair was meticulously combed, looking serious and old-fashioned. Farmer Matt bent down and smiled, "Master Fidro, this is the cousin of the eldest lady, Young Master Lucien. The eldest lady asked me to take him in. ”

Fidero's butler's suspicious gaze fell on Lucian's thick linen robe and the basket around his waist. Lucien settled down and gave a noble salute.

"I am Lucien Clauck of the House of Crowk, and my father, Lord Syphus Crowker, is the uncle of Lord Lélila Schultz. It's a pleasure to meet you, Fidro butler. ”

Lucien's standard salutation made Butler Fidro's face slightly pale, and he returned the salute, "Young Master Crowk, you don't have to salute me. But you dress for the sake of who you are。。。。。。 Butler Fidero turned his head and ordered, "Come, take Master Crowk to freshen up, and prepare a decent set of clothes for him." ”

Two young Peugeot maids led Lucien into the Lord's Palace, while Farmer Matt was kept out.

The Lord's House is a three-storey civil engineering building that occupies a large area and is very spacious inside. Lucien entered the main house, and was surprised to find that it had completely changed, with a red carpet on the floor, beautifully carved mahogany furniture replacing the old furniture, gold candlesticks in all corners of the hall, covered with snow-white candles, coarse linen curtains replaced with new cashmere curtains, oil paintings and horns hanging on the walls, strange attendants placing silver cutlery on long wooden tables, and Lucian's familiar servants were all gone.

Lucien was a little uncomfortable with the luxurious and unfamiliar living room, and before he had time to think about it, he was taken to the bathroom by the maid.

It was the first time Lucien had bathed in the service of a young maid, and the whole time he was at a loss for words. After some tossing, when Lucien walked out of the bathroom, he had become a personable aristocratic young man, but his delicate face was flushed.

Amid the maid's chuckle, Lucien climbed to the second floor in embarrassment.

Walking to Lélila's study, Lucien straightened the collar of his fine linen shirt, and he couldn't wait to show Léllella his new look.

Just as Lucien was about to knock on the door, a strange man's voice came from the study, causing his fingers to freeze on the door.

"Leila, Viscount Randall's going to spend the night at Thorn Manor is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you! You must take advantage of it! Viscount Randall is completely different from the nobles we know, he is a real big man! Do you know those people who accompanied him? The second son of the Solim family, the Knight of Cleaveton! The ruling knight of the Church, the master of Solotto! These are all characters we can't even see。。。。。 It is said that Viscount Randall's personal maids are all probationary knights!"

"As long as Viscount Randall says a word!No, no, no, as long as he is satisfied with Thorn Manor, Lord Lord will definitely give you another forest farm, so that you will have three lumberyards in rotation to harvest mahogany in the future。。。。。。 ”

"But。。。。。。 James, what should I do?"

"First of all, don't be ru。。。。。。de! Who's out there?!"

Lucien froze, tapped his finger on the wooden door, and said, "Cousin Lalleyra, it's me, Lucian. ”

The door opened from the inside, Lucian's eyes lit up, and he saw that Lilla was already dressed up, the red fine linen dress and the long blue belt matched her fair skin very well, the coiled hair bun set off the round and slender neck, and the face was lightly powdered, making the slightly profound facial features soft and moving, and the brown eyes were full of joy.

Lucien knew it wasn't because of himself.

In the room sat a young man, his delicate scale armor and long sword leaning against a chair indicating his status as an apprentice knight. For that alone, Lucien had to look up to him.

Lucien learns from the villagers that the Lélila siblings have a childhood sweetheart, the second son of another lord of the Schultz family, the apprentice knight James. Lillilla likes James very much, but James has no intention of marrying her, he just follows his friend's instructions and takes care of Lillella as a sister. Lillilla has been working for him until now.

Reason tells Lucien that he should be grateful to James, or Lillilla won't be his turn to pursue him. But seeing with his own eyes a brilliance that his sweetheart had never seen before, Lucien still developed a strong hostility towards James.

"Cousin Lillera, do you want to see me?" Lucien lowered his head, hiding his anger and reluctance deep in his eyes.

Lillilla didn't answer Lucian, but turned to James and said, "This is my uncle's child, Lucian Crowker. ”

"Oh. James stepped forward with interest and looked Lucien up and down, "You're Lucian Leila's marriage partner?"

Lucian's favor for James immediately skyrocketed, and he said gratefully, "Good day, James Knight." I have heard of your reputation and it is my pleasure to meet you. ”

"Alright. Lillilla gave James a blank look and said to Lucian, "Lucian, you have a distinguished guest at home. You must not be rude, and you must go to Fidro's butler to review all the etiquette. Also, your room is to be vacated, and you're staying at Uncle Matt's tonight. ”

"Yes, Cousin Lillera. I'm going to go to Fidro's butler. Lucien said earnestly, nodding at James and turning to leave.

"Wait!"

James stopped Lucian and asked solemnly, "What's the matter with your hand?"

Lucien looked at the colorful dye on his finger and said helplessly: "It's not dirty, it's dye, and it can't be washed off no matter how you wash it." ”

"That's right。。。。。 James touched his chin and shook his head and said, "It's the most basic etiquette for family members to meet guests, but your hands don't look clean。。。。。。 When you go to see Fidero, ask him to prepare a pair of white gloves for you. ”

Lucien nodded in resignation, and he walked downstairs, faintly overhearing the conversation between James and Lillera.

"This boy is good, when are you going to get married?" your brother has been talking about it. ”

"What nonsense? I 。。。。。 Just treat him as a younger brother。。。。。 ”

"No! he's a man. I can see that。。。。。。 You..... ”

At this moment, Lucien's heart was like ashes.

The tearing pain put Lucian in a state of confusion, and he didn't ease his composure until he sat down at the table, but Lucian was sure that he was absolutely not rude, his etiquette was instinctive, and he couldn't find any flaws at all, as for Viscount Randall and the big people around him, Lucian had no impression.

The long table was filled with delicacies, including roasted golden brown lamb shanks sprinkled with spices, fragrant red mushroom steaked goose, grilled salmon more than a meter long, a selection of fruits, and of course, the most popular "appreciative dish", a cooked eagle, which the chef re-covered with feathers and inserted an iron rod so that it could stand on a plate with its wings outstretched, and the eagle's beak stuffed with wool and amber, which, when lit, could "spit fire and spread its wings to the table".

"Appreciating the dishes" was served, and the banquet also entered a climax, and the guests and hosts were no longer busy eating, and began to greet each other affectionately.

"Miss Schultz, are you and your cousin the only ones in your family?" asked Viscount Randall, putting down his golden wine glass, with a smile.

"Lord Randall, you can call me by my first name, Lérila. Lélila tried to maintain the most graceful manners and said, "I also have a brother, three sisters, and a younger brother. My brother has relinquished his position as heir and now works for the Solim family, taking my brother and my sisters married. So, I inherited the title of Lord. ”

"Oh?!" asked Cliveton Solim in surprise, "Miss Lélila, what is your brother's name?"

"Russa Schulz, no, his name is now Russa Solim. ”

"It turned out to be Rusa, I know him. He is a sheriff of our House of Solim. Rusa is a trainee knight of natural awakening, 26 years old this year, and has already resonated with 22 elemental positions, only two short of being promoted to knight. I have high hopes for Rusa. As he spoke, Cliveton glanced contemptuously at Knight Krouse Schulz.

Sure enough, Cruther and his apprentice knights all looked ugly, and James suddenly secretly complained. The knights and apprentice knights of the Schultz family were promoted by potions, and it was because of Russa's defection to the Solimm family that Baron Schultz took back the three lumberyards of Thorn Manor, which also put Lilla in a difficult situation. If this continues, Lérila's title and domain will be withdrawn by the baron for not being able to pay the tribute.

James has the heart to help Lérila, but his strength is meager, and Thorn Manor is able to maintain its current situation only thanks to the face of his teacher Crusser. Crifton's sarcasm of Cruther pushes Lilla to a dead end.

Lyra, the only one who can help you now is Lord Randall!, James sighed inwardly.

"Miss Lérila, I noticed that the peasants of Thorn Manor wore brightly colored clothes that were not seen anywhere else. I'm curious about this, can you tell me about it?" asked Viscount Randall gently.

"Lord Randall, we made a dye out of weeds and flowers, and most of the people's clothes were dyed to see if the dye would fade. ”

"Whose invention was it to use plants as dyes?" asked Viscount Randall with some interest.

"It's my cousin Lucian. ”

James gently kicked Lucian under the table, and Lucian woke up and was startled to find everyone looking at him.

"Lucian, you invented the plant dye, and you studied in the White Tower?" asked Viscount Randall softly.

Lucien hurriedly said, "Lord Randall, I invented the plant dye, but I haven't been to the White Tower. This..... This is something I groped for myself. ”

Viscount Randall nodded, and suddenly said, "Lucien, I noticed that you are wearing gloves, can you show me your hands?"

Lucien hesitated, originally wanting to excuse himself from the injury according to Fidero's butler's arrangement, but when he thought that Lillilla had never regarded him as his future partner, a feeling of self-abandonment arose, and he simply took off his gloves.

It was a pair of rough hands, and the fingers were stained with red, red, green, and green patches of paint, which were particularly dazzling in the bright candlelight. Lillilla looked flustered, but there was a hint of emotion in her eyes, which Lucien didn't notice.

"Industriousness is a virtue. Kid, you don't need to hide it. ”

It was the middle-aged man sitting across from Viscount Randall who spoke, and Lucien remembered him as the adjudicating warrior of the Church, Master Soloto. Lucien gave Master Solotto a grateful look, and Solotto nodded to him in encouragement.

"I now believe that vegetable dyes were invented by you. It's a great feat. Viscount Randall nodded and said in a loud voice: "Ladies and gentlemen, our current dyes are all mineral dyes, mainly red, blue and black, and yellow mineral dyes are very rare and very precious. Among the vegetable dyes invented by Lucian was yellow dye, so his invention was very valuable. ”

"Lucian, I admire your intelligence and diligence, would you like to follow me to Randall? Or, you make a bid and sell me the recipe. ”

Everyone was amazed at Lucien's luck. Viscount Randall's appreciation was an opportunity to change his fate for this noble child under the fence. The Centaur Hills hadn't even recruited knights from outside, and now with Lucien's nod, he could live a good life in the Centaur Hills, and maybe even a future.

He's going to go! It's so poor here that even my brother doesn't want to stay。。。。。

At this moment, Lérila's heart felt a twitch as if it had been bitten by the fangs of a beast. The irresponsible brother took refuge in the Solim family, leaving Lérila to support the entire territory, she was so desperate for someone to rely on, and Lucien had been silently supporting her, but she never took Lucian's efforts to heart. When it was time to lose, Lélira realized that Lucien had already entered her heart.

"Lucian, thank you Lord Randall!" Lelila said with a smile on her face.

Lucien was silent for a moment, he raised his head and looked into Viscount Randall's eyes, and said, "Your Excellency, I am willing to give you the recipe, but can I make a request?"

"Tell me about it. ”

"I want a refining potion. Lucian's voice trembled with nervousness, but it was very firm.

"Do you want to be a cadet knight?

Viscount Randall's brow furrowed, his voice was as warm as ever, but it put a lot of pressure on Lucian, he took a deep breath and said loudly, "I want to fight for Cousin Lillilla a chance." There are only two forest farms in this territory, and there are useless thorn trees everywhere. Cousin Lélila has worked too hard to support this place, and if she becomes a trainee knight, she will at least be able to serve under the lord and receive a stipend to improve the lives of her lords. ”

Lerilla's tears flowed uncontrollably, and she covered her mouth to keep herself from sobbing, but her trembling shoulders were visible to all.

The emotions between the two could not impress the guests present, after all, they were just humble little nobles, and even Master Solotto was expressionless at the moment.

Viscount Randall tapped his fingers on the table and smiled, "I'm already full, Master Soloto, do you need to continue eating?"

"No, but please give this food to those who need it. Solotto said lightly.

Butler Fidero bowed slightly, and the trained attendant quickly removed the food from the table. No one asked Lélila's opinion, and she didn't care, she was surrounded by great happiness, but Butler Fidro was standing right behind her. Despite the impeccable demeanor of the lord's butler, Lérila still felt a cold aura in him.

Things have been messed up!How to face the lord's reproach later, Leilila couldn't help but feel a sense of weakness and bitterness.

"I think you're mistaken. ”

Viscount Randall did not leave the table, he took a goose-yellow silk handkerchief from the handmaid beside him, put it on the table, and said, "Vegetable dyes have already been invented by our Randall family. As we all know, our Randall family invented the breeding methods of snow sugar, coffee, purple cane wine, jaggery sugar, ground lizards, the cultivation methods of sweet potatoes, of course, plant dyes, and even many more inventions. I didn't invent it, I created it by my family. I am influenced by Master Edwin and have a strong focus on the wisdom of my people, and I will reward them for their inventions. So, what I value is your ability, and I'm willing to encourage you to create, not for the dye recipe!"

Lucien's face turned pale, and everyone shook their heads and sighed, they regretted that the boy had missed a precious opportunity. Viscount Randall said, "You said that this territory is trapped because of the thorn trees, and these are immeasurable riches in my opinion!"

"Miss Lelila, do your people know how to make charcoal?"

Lérila's newly lit eyes dimmed again, and she whispered, "Yes." It's just that the price of charcoal is low, and the profit from selling charcoal is not enough to pay for freight, and the price is too high to sell, because there are wild bushes in each family's territory. ”

Viscount Randall smiled and said, "If you transport the finished charcoal to Yeliu City, you can exchange it for green bricks." For every 5 carts of charcoal, you will get 3 carts of third-class bricks, or 2 carts of second-class bricks, or 1 cart of first-class bricks. Now, the price of a third-class brick is 15 bricks for 1 copper sol, 8 bricks for 1 copper sol for a second-class brick, and 3 bricks for 1 copper cable for a first-class brick. You can sell these bricks at your own price. As long as you can't cut down the thorn tree, you can change it all the way to the green bricks, this is my promise!"

"Thank you so much, Dear Lord Randall. Lelila stood up excitedly, and said in embarrassment, "But I don't have enough carriages." ”

"You don't have a carriage, but someone else does. I always believe that it is not advisable to monopolize all the benefits, and only by allowing more people to benefit can we achieve sustainable development. Viscount Randall smiled at the knight of the Schultz family: "Your Excellency Crusser, what do you think?"

Kruther shook his head with a wry smile and said, "Okay, I'll solve the transportation problem, but I'm going to take 6 percent of the green bricks, and 3 percent of them will be for the lord." What do you say, Lérila?"

"I couldn't agree more!" Lerilla curtsied at Cruther as she lifted her skirt and said sincerely, "Thank you, Uncle Cruther." ”

Lord Randall was not angry, and Fidro was secretly relieved, and he glanced at the smiling Lucien covertly, determined to get this unknown boy out of the Barony of Schultz. The prosperity of Thorn Manor is just around the corner, and it may be possible to make his own kid and Lérilah a partner.

At this moment, Viscount Randall clapped his hands, and his guard took out two delicate leather boxes from his pockets, each of which contained 10 crystal bottles neatly inserted, and the turquoise potion shone dazzlingly in the candlelight. The eyes of the apprentice knights of the Schultz family are straight, these are all refining potions!

"This is the refining potion. Viscount Randall said to Lucian: "These potions are gifts from Archduke Williams to me, and they are all special potions for the royal family. Ordinary refining potions are worth 2,000 gold soles each, and royal potions are worth 3,000 gold soles. ”

Lucien looked away from the refining potion with difficulty, and then he realized how reckless he was, his recipe was worth 2,000 gold soles.

Viscount Randall shook his head and sighed, "One Refining Potion may not make a trainee knight, but each nobleman can use a maximum of 10 Refining Elixirs. ”

"My lord, I apologize to you most sincerely for my ignorance. Lucien bowed deeply and bowed his head in shame.

"Lucien, I am touched by your sincere affection for Miss Lillera. I would like to give each of you a chance to become a trainee knight. You can use these potions as you like, and whether or not you can become a trainee knight depends on the will of the High Lord. ”

Lucien and Lélira couldn't believe their ears, everyone on the scene was moved by Viscount Randall's generous gift, which was a refining potion worth 60,000 gold soles! Even Master Solotto gave Viscount Randall a deep look.

"The potion of refining is extremely precious, and each one you take will make you sleep for a day. Truth be told, these potions can bring disaster to you, and to keep you safe, I'll be staying at Thorn Manor for a maximum of 10 days. ”

Lucien and Lérila wept with joy, and he said excitedly, "Great 。。。。。 My lord.... How can I repay your kindness?"

Viscount Randall smiled and said, "The sooner you are promoted, the sooner I can visit the Marquis of Solim." You can go and take the potion now. These potions are in the custody of my guards for the time being, and if they don't run out, I'll take the rest with them. ”

Lillilla and Lucien saluted Viscount Randall again, each taking a potion and walking hand in hand to the second floor.

The host departed, and the feast ended, and the guests took their leave, leaving only Viscount Randall and Knight Cliveton in the drawing-room.

Cliveton shook his head and said, "Your Excellency Randall, I'm afraid this will be delayed for many more days. ”

"It's going to take some time. Viscount Randall nodded and said apologetically: "Why don't we take this time to go hunting in the Dark Forest!"

"Yes, I've wanted to hunt in the Dark Forest for a long time. Clifton shouted in surprise, realizing his gaffe, and added, "Your Excellency Randall, you are really generous. The affection between Miss Lillilla and Lucien changes their fate. ”

Viscount Randall said in a relaxed tone: "I am here to make up for the regret of Baron Victor Wimbledon!