Through the power of this dinner, the noble daughter finally stabilized the people's hearts. She promised that as long as they stayed on the construction site, everyone could eat such food every day.
This promise almost caused a sensation among the crowd. Although the workers were half-believing and half-doubting, most of them were willing to stay and see for themselves—let alone, even if they didn't want to stay, those fierce rcenaries would help them make the decision.
But their doubts were soon dispelled. That 'Miss Demon' indeed fulfilled her promise, letting them have a white bread and a small plate of stew 'thick' soup every night.
The direct result was the rapid decrease of at reserves in the warehouse—already scarce—the at in the warehouse ca from a small amount of dostic animals in the territory, mostly mutton or pork, so of which had been salted for a long ti.
This at was previously reserved for Gruding and his n, but now it had to supply the daily consumption of hundreds of people, naturally falling short of demand.
Furlo ntioned more than once to Antitina, complaining that if this consumption continued, by the ti Brand returned, their Lord wouldn't even have a al of at to eat.
This argunt almost moved Antitina. On one side was her young Lord, whom she admired from the bottom of her heart, and on the other were rely workers from the refugees. The noble lady almost didn't need to consider before choosing the forr.
But after careful consideration, she stuck to her approach. She asked the rcenaries to hunt in the forest as much as possible—even setting aside their daily training, just to supplent the at consumption.
This approach brought unexpected benefits. The workers gradually learned about 'Miss Demon' arranging for people to hunt in the forest outside the city to ensure their dinner—hunting in the Lord's private hunting grounds of the past!
This practice moved everyone at one point. So even secretly asked the rcenaries to tell her that it wasn't necessary to spend so much, that just having white bread every day was good enough.
The workers began to worry that the young Lord might punish the kind and gentle noble lady because of this.
But this response only strengthened Antitina's resolve. Not only that, she then told the workers—it wasn't her, but the Lord who arranged everything, so they needn't worry at all.
Using this small explanation, Antitina attributed all the credit to Brand. Coupled with the young Lord's previous tax reduction asures, he gained a high reputation among the lower-class subjects.
Of course, Brand was completely unaware at that ti, as he was dealing with the mine affairs in Shafelund, oblivious to everything happening in the territory.
In fact, Antitina initially didn't realize her actions would succeed—she had no experience managing a territory, only a few brief discussions with Brand during their travels.
But soon she realized that she had done nothing wrong.
Within a week of implenting the asures, soone indirectly inquired via the rcenaries—whether the Lord needed more manpower.
This was clearly a signal that her construction site had started attracting more labor. But more than that, it indicated that between the lingering influence of the old nobles and the young new Lord's prestige, so people had begun to waver.
This was undoubtedly a good sign.
The only regret for Antitina was that this good on couldn't save them from construction delays—partly because they wasted too much ti initially, and also because no one among them was proficient in construction and engineering.
The addition of Master Bai Lu perhaps sowhat redied their manpower allocation mistakes, but this kingdom's master forger was not truly a professional—he might have unique insights in crafting a piece of magic armor.
But definitely not in repairing a section of the city walls—
This predicant was finally resolved with the arrival of the old dwarf Odem from the Shafren Mine. Despite his unreliability, he had at least learned sothing from his High Mountain Dwarf kin.
After correcting so previous misconceptions, the repair process quickly accelerated. By the end of the month, it was finally announced complete.
On the morning of the completion day, Antitina invited Brand, disha, Char, and all of the young man's close subordinates. She stood with Qian and Romantic in the morning mist, quietly looking at the newly erected city wall, faintly visible in the early winter haze, and could not help but let out a long sigh of relief.
But then she gently frowned and turned to Brand, who was also looking in that direction, and said apologetically, "Sorry, my Lord, for wasting so much ti—"
Brand looked at his advisor, his eyes full of appreciation.
He rembered feeling lucky in Brags for finding a subordinate capable of creating a magic conduit device—it was undoubtedly more joyful than picking up gold by the roadside.
But not until today did he truly realize he had found not just a treasure—but an invaluable one.
Antitina was a very quiet girl but also had her own persistence—Brand could see her commitnt to her ideals and beliefs—he wondered how he, with his limited qualities, could earn the wholehearted service of such an outstanding girl.
Upon returning to the territory, he had thoroughly understood all of this noble daughter's work. He had been worried that the inexperienced Antitina would encounter nurous troubles in managing the territory—he even expected the city wall wouldn't be finished until next month.
That would be by mid-Sleeping Moon month, and while it wouldn't be a major issue, it might still bring so inconvenience if dragged until the first snow.
But Antitina gave him a big surprise. The noble daughter completed the task beyond his expectations with her usual ticulousness and dedication.
Moreover, Bai Lu and Odem's performances also satisfied him—except for that old dwarf, who often seed a bit hesitant.
He looked at Antitina, nodded approvingly, and gave a slight smile.
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