Chapter 84: The Troublesome Child Fan

With a “plop” sound of entering the water, George submerged his entire body except for his head into the hot water. Unlike the wooden bathtubs used for bathing in the Territory, there was a stone bathroom here.

Square marble slabs were joined together with great precision, making one marvel at the craftsmanship of the craftsmen in this world. The gaps between those marble slabs were so tight that even the sewing needles from before he transmigrated would probably not fit in.

Most importantly, not only were the surfaces of those stones polished to be very smooth, but even their abrupt edges had become rounded and delicate. This thoughtful detail processing gave George a special sense of comfort. Somehow, an environment custom-made like this felt much more pleasant than mass-produced designs.

“I never thought that changing the mind of that child fan would be such a tiring task.” While speaking, George pressed his temples and rested his head on a special stone pillow, enjoying the impact of the water gushing from the mouth of the stone lion.

Just half an hour ago, George was in the side hall of the Manor working with Sir Val to persuade Sir Bart. Unfortunately, the two of them had underestimated Sir Bart’s stubbornness or his protective nature over his son. What they thought would be a relatively easy explanation and persuasion turned into a long and exhausting tug-of-war.

George felt that neither the struggles with the merchants of the Earth Journey Merchant Guild nor the recent probing with the old fox High Priest Virginia of the Church of the Just Lord had consumed as much energy as this persuasion of Sir Bart. To put it in a phrase from before his transmigration, George didn’t even know how many brain cells he had died.

Knights are stubborn, but they are not unable to adapt. Their stubbornness is reflected in their firmness regarding their own path. Any behavior or object that affects their own path, they will resist to the end. Because once they deviate from the path, it will create a flaw in their soul, which could very well mean a regression in strength. In serious cases, it could even cause a drop in Rank, making them warriors who possess only physical strength without corresponding supernatural abilities.

Of course, true strong ones would never completely fall into despair. They would either remove all obstacles that had shaken them before, or they would revise their own path through relentless effort to step back onto their former height. Of course, which method to use is decided based on the specific situation and personal subjective feelings; there is no superiority or inferiority between the two.

If Sir Bart’s spoiling of Craig was truly related to his own Knight path, George would give up on any interference. In any case, trading a future possible Knight for a ready-made Knight is not a profitable deal. Moreover, judging by the current situation, the possibility of Craig becoming a Knight is not very high. Even if Sir Bart changes his attitude towards him from now on, what kind of change it will bring is still unknown. From the perspective of the Territory or George himself, he cannot afford this risk. Not to mention that the shadow of war might soon loom over Nohan. If it really comes to that, George can only silently say to Craig in his heart, “Sorry! You might only be able to be a Squire with a worry-free life in this lifetime. But everyone will raise your children well.”

Fortunately, Sir Bart was not so brain-dead as to include controlling his son into his Knight path. Even so, his stubborn attitude on this matter truly surprised both George and Sir Val. Whether appealing to emotions or explaining reason seemed to have little effect on him. George even racked his brains and, after localizing his memories, cited several examples: like Zhong Yong, who was clever as a child but not necessarily great as an adult, or Nezha, the Silver Spear Little Tyrant who bullied the weak, and so on, as a series of negative examples. After two hours of verbal bombardment back and forth, finally, under the strong pressure of the two, Sir Bart seemed to compromise. He promised to discipline Craig strictly in the future.

However, George and Sir Val did not want to change Craig’s nature; otherwise, it would be overcorrecting, which would also be no benefit to Craig’s future development. After pointing out Craig’s slow improvement in strength and several problems that easily invite trouble, the two let Sir Bart consider what to do next on his own. After all, children ultimately have to be disciplined by their own parents.

“This is somewhat like the feeling of a jacuzzi from before my transmigration, but without the threat of electric shock.” Letting the warm water constantly wash over George’s body, as if a pair of big hands were constantly stroking his skin, George sighed. But this seemed to have a hint of making the best of a bad situation.

In a real jacuzzi, the walls and bottom are distributed with spray nozzles, ranging from at least two pairs to more than ten pairs. It achieves a massage effect through the impact of water flow. This bathroom with only one water outlet could not compare with it at all. Most importantly, every time it was used, one had to arrange for heating water about half an hour in advance. In a sense, this was also a luxurious enjoyment.

After feeling that all his muscle tissues had become somewhat relaxed, George began the reverse abdominal breathing technique. At the same time, by controlling the contact between his nasal cavity and sinuses with the airflow during exhalation, he produced a unique echo-like sound.

This sound resonated with George’s bones all over his body. After this resonance continued for a while, George felt a tingling sensation spreading through his bones, getting stronger and stronger. When this sensation reached a certain peak, George stopped this special breathing rhythm. He started again only after this tingling sensation completely disappeared. After repeating this nine times, George finally stopped the entire process.

“As expected, practicing this cultivation while still growing is the most effective! But one must be careful not to overdo it.” Floating on the water surface, George muttered to himself. After undergoing this bone-shaking and marrow-changing practice, George could be said to have started a thorough relaxation.

After soaking for about a quarter of an hour, George got up, took a bathrobe from the nearby purple copper tray, and wrapped himself in it. Then he pulled the thin rope next to the tray, signaling the servant who was heating the water to stop. The tray was mounted on the upraised hands of a marble statue, which was carved in the shape of a kneeling girl.

Although it was a kneeling statue, the artist’s unique carving technique made her posture appear very light. It seemed to rise along a diagonal line, as if she were about to leave the earth. The sculptor’s exquisite artistic skill even endowed the stone body with a moist and tender feeling, and a seductive gaze flashed in her eyes.

Although it could not, like a true artistic classic, blend the elegance of classicism with the movement and vitality of emerging Freudianism, its clever design not only gave life to the marble. At the same time, the thin rope George had just pulled was like the tassel used as decoration on the girl’s hair.

In short, this statue was carved specifically for the bathroom in the Manor. From George’s perspective, although he could not accurately evaluate the technique and the author of this artwork, he could still know its approximate price.

“Placing a statue worth 200 Gold Coins in the bathroom as decoration is something only the Inner City of Cardala in the Duchy of Nohan could do. Wouldn’t it be better to spend that money on Territory construction and the army? It’s really vanity at work!” While tying his belt, George made such a comment and casually picked up a towel to dry his hair.

No one knew when this extravagance had become a trend and spread throughout Karada. When a behavior becomes the mainstream, even if an individual resists it as much as possible, if they still want to blend into society without a trace, they have no choice but to accept it. In order not to appear out of place among the crowd, following the trend is also a matter of no choice.

Two generations ago, the House Bolerum officially joined the ranks of art collectors. Although they were not the last, they could be considered one of the families that resisted for the longest time. Fortunately, although the members of House Bolerum had no talent for art, they were very good at understanding human hearts. Although they did not receive many true masterpieces, at least they were not treated as fools to be cheated. The few times they made big moves were still considered worth the money.

Looking at this statue and thinking of the 200 Gold Coins spent on it, George felt heartache. Whether people called him unromantic or anything else, those 200 Gold Coins were enough to buy a high-quality Longsword. Adding to this, George recalled the records of his family and the words of the elders, and muttered in his heart: “Eight out of ten, the ones who started this trend were those Exiled Nobles from The South. Those guys, during their escape, besides cash, carried the most valuable items were those artworks. After settling down in the Duchy of Nohan, in order to exchange the artworks in their hands for other more useful things, promoting such a trend was a necessary process.”

George’s understanding could not be said to be completely correct, but it was close enough. At that time, the Duchy of Nohan had already experienced a relatively long period of peace. When material life was gradually satisfied and survival was no longer threatened at every moment, if the human soul had no sustenance, it would feel empty. From this point of view, Human indeed seems to be a somewhat greedy creature. Even without the push from the Exiled Nobles during that period, the Duchy of Nohan would have seen a trend in humanistic thought; as for whether it was artworks, operas, or something else, that was hard to say.

“Ilena! Is the clothes ready?” George, wrapped only in a bathrobe, pulled aside the curtain between the bathhouse and the changing room.

Ilena lowered her head and said, “Everything is ready, Young Master! So, your request this time is for casual home wear.”

Seeing that Ilena no longer had the liveliness she had when in Bolerum Territory, George didn’t know whether to be happy or unhappy for a moment. During this time in Karada, because Ilena had been spoiled by him in the Territory, her behavior and demeanor were far from that of a qualified Maid, and she had been punished many times by Head Maid Sarah. But seeing her like this now was indeed inappropriate, so George had to scold her: “Look up! How can you do anything if you keep your head down like that!”

“Yes, Young Master George!” Ilena shivered like a frightened bird, hurriedly raised her head, and began to help George change clothes.

For a moment, there was only the sound of “rustle, rustle, rustle” from the fabric in the changing room.

This overly quiet atmosphere made George feel very uncomfortable, so he asked, “Ilena, how long have you been with me?”

“Ilena was arranged to be by your side when you were ten years old, so it has been over four years, almost five years now,” Ilena said carefully.

George touched the bridge of his nose with the tip of his right index finger, feeling a bit embarrassed, and said, “These years, I seem to have let you down, Ilena.”

“No! No! Young Master, you have been really good to Ilena! Ilena has never known a Noble who is so good to his own servants. And after coming to Karada, Ilena has met and talked with other Nobles’ Maids about their experiences. From then on, Ilena knew how lucky it was to follow Young Master.” While speaking, Ilena’s voice gradually became more open, and her face turned a bit red. At the same time, she did not stop her work, skillfully and gently helped George put on a half-open outer robe.

When George turned around to let Ilena tie the buttonhole for him, he reached out and touched Ilena’s hair, saying, “To be honest, for the past few years, because of my personal interests, you haven’t even learned the basic skills of being a Maid. From this aspect, I indeed let you down. So, for the next while, you will follow Head Maid Sarah. I will talk to her, and let her give you a proper catch-up course in these two months. Try your best to pick up what you missed.”

Hearing George’s words, tears immediately welled up in Ilena’s eyes. She stopped the action of tying the buttonhole for George, grabbed George’s lapels tightly with both hands, and cried, “Don’t drive me away! Young Master, don’t drive me away. I don’t want to leave Young Master’s side. I will learn those things well; just let me stay by your side.”

“How could I bear to drive Ilena away! If I drove away such a lovely Maid, it would be hard to find a second one. I’m just asking you to focus on learning the skills you should have learned but didn’t for this period. When we set off to return to the Territory, I will let you come back to my side.” While speaking, George rubbed Ilena’s head hard to scare her, “If you don’t listen, I might really change my personal Maid!”

“I will listen! I will listen! Ilena will definitely listen and learn well. Young Master, you must let Ilena stay by your side!” Ilena said with tears in her eyes.

George shook his head gently: “When have you ever seen me say something and not keep my word?”