Chapter 381 The Mistress of This Territory
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Leaving the Spirit World, Hobert said to Fors, "You don't need to be so nervous. Look how beautiful the scenery is here. Just think of it as a vacation."
Fors took a deep breath. "This is the first time I've been in such close contact with a man. How can I not be nervous?"
By "close contact," she meant holding Hobert's arm.
Hobert thought for a moment that a girl would naturally be nervous coming to an unfamiliar environment. There was no need to demand too much composure from her.
On the way back to the mansion, everyone respectfully saluted Hobert, calling him "Lord" and secretly sizing up the beautiful lady holding his arm.
Only then did Fors truly feel that she had arrived in Hobert's territory.
Reaching the entrance of the Lord's manor, Hobert loudly announced to the busy people, "This is Miss Fors, my fiancée! She has just arrived from afar!"
"From today on, Miss Fors is the mistress of this territory!"
The people who were repairing the mansion stopped their work and paid their respects to Fors.
Philip breathed a sigh of relief. Although this lady's attire didn't look local, her clothing and grooming showed she had good upbringing.
He just hoped the Lord wouldn't be blinded by beauty. He was truly afraid that one day the Lord would openly marry that seductive woman he kept in the courtyard into the baronial manor.
Helen, who came out to watch the excitement, curled her lips and said, "Holding arms? What's there to be shy about?"
After the two made an appearance at the door, Philip stepped forward to invite Fors to the room prepared for her.
The room prepared for Fors had been cleaned up overnight. It was in the same courtyard as Hobert's room, separated by a study.
Hobert's residence and the main hall had already been repaired, and most of the Lord's manor's renovation was complete.
As soon as she entered the room, Fors felt a wave of heat engulf her. She didn't see a fireplace, but the room was very warm.
The room's decor wasn't very luxurious, but it was very elegant. All the furniture and supplies were new. There were no complicated etiquette or the need to maintain her composure at all times, which made Fors feel much better.
After letting Philip leave, Hobert took out a paper bag. "This is the deposit I promised you yesterday."
Fors smiled and said, "To be honest, I just planned to come and help. Besides, it feels weird to take your money."
"No, this money represents my respect for you," Hobert said seriously. "I know how much determination it takes for an unmarried lady to offer this kind of help."
"It represents both my respect and our friendship. You must accept it, or I'll feel bad."
Fors then accepted the paper bag. "Then, what do you need me to do?"
"Rest first," Hobert said with a smile. "What I need you to do has already been done, which is to make an appearance in front of everyone. I think by tomorrow at the latest, everyone in town will know that the Lord's fiancée has arrived."
"Oh, right, Helen will still be dining with us at the same table for lunch."
"That's your first test. Don't give her a friendly face. You have to show some of the presence of a… the Baroness."
"Don't worry, I'll help suppress her. Don't be nervous."
Fors took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll work up the emotion."
Then, Hobert let Fors rest. He first looked at the progress of the forms and then called Philip to start working on serious matters. "Hire another forty or fifty people. Starting tomorrow, build a tomb for the Wright family."
Philip said, "Lord, we don't need that many people. Twenty or thirty people can finish it in three or four days."
Hobert was stunned and, after inquiring, learned that the nobles of the Feynapotter Kingdom, or rather the nobles of the entire Northern Continent, did not have the tradition of elaborate burials.
The tombs they built weren't very luxurious or spacious, only a few times larger than ordinary people's graves, with a stone tablet and a thicker coffin.
At most, they would bury some of the deceased's favorite toys, jewelry, utensils, etc., or whatever the deceased requested to be buried with them.
Hobert recalled his previous tomb raiding experience. The tomb of that Viscount of the Antigonus family was indeed not large. If it weren't for those traps, the tomb passage wouldn't have been so long.
Moreover, there weren't many treasures in the tomb, and many of the things buried were of little value at the time.
It's just that these things are now antiques after being dug up.
"Then find thirty people and start building a tomb for the Wright family tomorrow," Hobert said. "Have your son Roy help out. You still need to keep an eye on the Lord's manor here."
Philip nodded. "Yes!"
Hobert then said to Seel, "Find some helpers and notify everyone in town to come to the Lord's manor tomorrow to register their household."
"Tell them that after registering, each person will receive 10 nea of grain."
Nega was a common unit of measurement in the Feynapotter Kingdom. Hobert had tested it by hand and found that 1 nea was not much different from his impression of 1 jin (approximately 0.5 kg) in weight.
Currently, Feynapotter only had two units of measurement: 1000 neg was 1 fanea.
Philip estimated that the grain seized from the bandits was at least several hundred fanea.
Hobert certainly wouldn't let this grain sit in the warehouse and rot. In addition to being food for the workers of the Lord's manor, it had a greater use for Hobert.
He instructed Seel, "I don't care what method you use, make sure everyone in town registers tomorrow. You can scare them by saying that if they don't register at the Lord's manor, they'll be considered unregistered and will be taxed double in the future."
"Go to the steward to get the fees for hiring helpers!"
This was the first time the Lord had given him a task, and Seel took it very seriously. "Don't worry, Lord, I will definitely get it done for you!"
Hobert nodded. "Tomorrow, go to the surrounding villages to notify them, dividing them into two groups, and have them come to register the day after tomorrow and the day after the day after tomorrow. In short, the household registration must be completed within three days. You decide how to divide them."
Then he instructed Philip, "Tomorrow, prepare fifteen tables in the front yard. In addition to the repair workers, have all the male servants, gardeners, and grooms put down their work and maintain order in the front yard."
"Prepare enough grain to distribute, and have trusted people distribute it, don't be shortchanging. Also, only give grain to those who have seen in person and have completed registration."
Finally, Hobert instructed, "Find two younger maids to help the future Baroness clean up the room every day, but unless the Baroness allows it, it's best not to have the maids follow her around. You can have the maids take the Baroness to tour the territory."
Hobert increasingly found that the lazy Fors was very suitable for the "job" of Baroness. He had heard Xio say that Fors could go a month without cleaning her room.
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