The Black Iron Glory
94

Chapter 94

Morssen received word from his wife that an important figure was coming to visit, so he rushed home and arrived just in time. He checked the grandfather clock in the dining room as he stormed into the house and there was still half an hour until the time he was told that visitors would come. She dressed herself, washed and dried her hair, and changed her best clothes.

No one said anything when he left the office early. Few people were senior enough to complain, but he had the right to take a few days early to meet an important guest or guest, especially if they were nobles or visiting officials. He did not know how great his guest was, but he was a wise man; he was unwilling to take any risks. The fact that visitors have the guts to show up in such a short amount of time also tells him that, whoever they are, they are not someone he should wait for, so he stormed out of the town hall and rode on a public carriage, often buried at home.

Despite his haste, he still made sure to return every greeting he received, and answered, albeit only in passing, every question after his health or family. He has been doing this for years, and it pays off by making him one of the most famous and most beloved figures of the municipality. Important visitor or not, he will not break away from the tradition today.

She found herself standing right inside her front door impatiently a few minutes before the arrival of her mysterious guest, and forced herself to go back to the bedroom and check her hair again. He fell asleep for a minute or two, but was awakened again by the commotion outside. He opened the front door to find the crowd outside. He followed their gaze to the wall towards his son. The boy turned into a butcher and was carving a large wild boar. The first one or two rows of the crowd, if identifiable in that mass, shout the part they want to buy and wave pockets of money.

Claude sweating. He could not use the Magus Hand in front of so many people, so he had to rely on the meat appendages and clumsier bones to do the job. He found it hard to concentrate with so many people shouting instructions to him, and ended up cutting the boar's skin a few times. The hides of wild boars are not that valuable, but they are still worth a few coins, and no one is happy to see them cut. He was on the verge of yelling at them to shut up or come do it himself but he was against that urge.

"Are you hunting him?" he heard his father's voice ask.

He lifted his gaze from the butcher shop in front of him for a moment to see his father standing beside him, his neat clothes falling apart from encouraging an unwilling crowd.

"Yes . "

"You're lucky, fox! So big!" her father exclaimed, "Your mother told me that we have guests? Is he this guy?" he asked, pointing at the mutilated corpse.

Thankfully his mother took care of Maria and Rodan, and the coachman asked to stay away from the blood. If any of them heard what his father said, his career would be over. Even Sir Fux was unable to offend him.

Claude did not answer his father, instead he thrust his knife at the coach. Morssen was well versed in the coat of arms of the local nobility, and paled. He took a few deep breaths, put his emotions back under control and some color returned to his face, then turned his gaze back to his son. The boy had already slaughtered again, so he pushed back into the crowd and walked into the house.

Claude had seen the emblem of Mary on the carriage when he calmed the horse, but he did not recognize it. He just thought it was a decoration. His father knew better, of course. Kingdoms had countless peaks, but they were all divided into two categories based on one motive. The countless nobles of honor were all also entitled to the emblem, but there was one motive they were forbidden in their emblem: the thorny rose. Only hereditary nobles were allowed, and in fact were required to include, that theme. The coat of arms of Lady Mary has it.

Maria and Rodan are accompanied by Claude's mother in Morssen's study while they wait for her. Angelina was playing maid, as usual. Bloweyk has unusual behavior. He was sitting in one corner, half hidden behind his mother and a snow-hound.

Morssen knocked on the wall beside the door that opened politely, then stepped into his study. But he stopped half a step, and looked at the baroness. Half of it was the realization that her home, her study, had been awarded by a worthy nobleman, a woman at the time, and the other half was by the woman herself. The baroness was a born and raised noble, who spent most of her life in the capital, not half a noble like Baron Robert, and her attitude and speech showed that.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Ferd," said the baron as he floated off the chair and saluted her, "I'm Baroness Maria Fen Normanley. Apologies for my sudden visit."

Fen Normanley. . . Morssen rolled the surname on his tongue, then consciousness realized it.

His heart was pounding faster, half due to excitement, and the other half due to absolute terror. He immediately bowed, bowing his head as low as his hips in the stiffest, most formal bow his body could muster, and he let his head be lowered to his chest even after returning upright.

"Mrs Baroness, it's our honor to accept you. May I know the purpose of your visit, Madam?"

No noble would visit his little shack if they did not have a good reason for it, Morssen knew better than most, so he cut right into the chase. The fact that the baroness came to see him at his house, not at his office in the town hall, meant that it had to be a personal matter, which was getting more confusing and made him even more frightened.

The baroness smiled at him for a long time, then replied with almost heavenly grace.

"I came because of your son–"

"Arbeit?" Morssen asked, not hearing anything from what he was trying to say, "You really do have intelligent eyes, Madam. My oldest son graduated first year in high school. He currently serves under Sir Fux as his personal secretary. "He often praised my son. Did you come to hire him as one of your servants?"

Rodan took a queue from his master and stepped forward.

"Mr Ferd, we're here today in connection with your second son, Claude Ferd. He saved my mistress when his coach horse panicked and threatened to run off the road with the coach and him in tow. He also helped solve our problems." - boar lice. We are here to thank his parents for raising such an amazing young man. "

Morssen's face melted. The baroness came to express her gratitude with regards to her son, but she assumed he was here to recruit a son, and that was wrong at that!

The baroness saved him with a forgiving smile and a change of subject.

"I didn't expect Mr. Ferd to have a more talented son. I expect to hear a lot about Ferds in the capital soon, if that's the case. Good parents raise good children. You've done well, Mr. Ferd, Mrs Ferd."

"It's nothing, Madam. You're too good. I just teach them to learn and act with a strong determination. I am so lucky that my two sons have lived up to my expectations. Claude was the rougher type than his brother, and had less inclination for scholars, but excelled in physical matters. More importantly at home, he is an excellent older brother to Angelina and Bloweyk. I worry about him sometimes. He had an uncontrollable fascination with hunting many months ago to practice, but now I sometimes wonder if it was the right decision. "

The Baroness replied with another forgiving smile.

"They're a complementary couple, Mister Ferd. One excelled in academia, and did well in government, while the other was excellent in physical terms, and would no doubt do well in the military."

Morssen nodded, but he could only hope for the two to be a good match. They are a pair like heroes and villains in a story. None of his younger children respected his eldest son. Thankfully the boy finally realized that he should not mess with Claude and now ended up behaving well in the place concerned.

If only he could fix their relationship, but he didn't have the foggiest clue where to start dealing with the problem. They said they would try to hang out whenever he faced them, but it usually only lasted a week before they were in each other's hair again.

The warm smile faded from the baroness face, instead being replaced by a serious expression into business.

"Mr Ferd, I'm not here today to mince words alone, as you know for sure. I came with a request."

"Please, Madam," Morssen replied with the same earnestness, "If it's something I can do, I won't dare to reject you."

He was relieved as well as depressed by his seriousness. Relieved because he finally had the opportunity to build a good relationship with the baroness, and stressed because this was also an opportunity to fail and ruin not only a potential relationship with her, but also a potential one, but his entire career in all possibilities.

"You know, of course, about my people in the countryside, and about my wood."

Morssen.

"I'm here for the next two weeks to conduct some experiments in my lab before returning to the capital. My timber and my small farm have been plagued by wild boars lately, and I am looking for a solution. My butler suggested I hire hunters to deal with them, or guards just in case. I was actually on my way to the city to do just that when my horse panicked and your son saved me. I brought your son back to my house to thank him, but when he heard about my problem with the boar he offered to help me, and that's what he did. He had far better upbringing than any hunter, and I felt I could trust him not to damage the materials I had grown on my farm or on my wood, so I wanted to hire him to be my housekeeper instead. He's still underage, if not longer, and so I came to talk to you about this. "

Morssen's head was almost halved from his smile.

"It is an absolute honor if my son serves you, Madam, and I know my son will feel the same way. I'll have him report to your house tomorrow morning."

"Is he still in school, Mister Ferd?" ask the baroness carefully.

"That won't be a problem, ma'am. His grades are good and he is more than ready for the final test. He would not be affected by the loss of the last few weeks of school, as long as he could still go to write the exam, of course. "

Maria was half shocked that Claude's father seemed so eager to give his son away.