The Black Iron Glory
Wood Supervisor

Chapter 97

Wood Supervisor

Claude's life was supposed to return to normal after the baroness' departure to the capital, but it wasn't. He accuses her of keeping an eye on his estate, even placing Sioris under him. He thought about it for a few hours after his departure, and decided to go home first to tell his parents.

He found two horses in the stable. The older one was Tonny, she had a gentle demeanor and a patient temperament. The younger one, Jemmy, who was not kept away by Claude from the street, was more excited. He was originally the butler of choice, he was the one who would bring the baroness from the capital. Rodan decided to leave it in the countryside for a while this time. He hoped it would calm him down.

Manor has a train and a coach. The coach was for baroness and Rodan's exclusive use, but the carriage could be used by the servants to carry out their duties; the Sioris family used it to go to town when they needed to buy supplies.

The coach was small, only big enough to fit two people in two small chairs. That's what was tethered to Jemmy when Claude met the baroness. Rodan liked it more than a car for his trip to an old shop. The baroness also used it occasionally for undercover trips to the city. Claude has been added to a short list of people with permission to use it.

He originally planned to drive Jemmy home, but he had to bring the luggage back to the manor with him, so it would be best to take the carriage. He made sure to tell Sioris that he would use the carriage before leaving.

His mother, his younger brother, and the snow dog were at home. The little pig almost choked on his snot that was soaking wet when he finally saw Claude again and refused to let go until his mother let him go for a nap. Claude could only talk to his mother after the little pig fell asleep. The conversion was bitter, but short, and he headed to the attic to pack his things.

He does not have many treasures; several sets of clothes, towels, some personal hygiene products – how few things like that in this world – diaries and Landes notebooks, <TAG1>, stone chest and shaliun. Claude had considered leaving magic-related matters behind, but after considering the possible dangers, especially from his mother decided to give his room a thorough clean up in his absence, he decided it would be best to take everything with him.

He was heading downstairs with his bag when he remembered the three magical items he had bought from Wakri's shop. He kicked himself lightly. Shit, he should have asked Lady Maria what she thought of them! However it was too late for regrets, so he put those thoughts aside, picked up the items, and brought them all into the dining room.

He wanted to leave immediately, but his mother insisted he stay for dinner. He had to run to the city before that, so he left his belongings in the dining room and took the train to the city. He stopped at the market to buy wheat, black beans, and some eggs for horses. He took her to the river, gave her washing and brushing, then took her home where he fed her before dinner.

Morssen returned just as Claude was cleaning the table after dinner. Claude arranged a place for his father, and opened his mouth to speak, but was stopped by his father's hand.

"I know" said his father.

How could he know when no one had told him?

"Lady Maria sent me a letter this morning. He said he was very happy with your performance so far and has decided to make you more permanent. He'll pay you three thales a month" His father shook his head bitterly. "–I get three thales a month to be the chief secretary of the city, but you get it for being a guard. I also had to work almost a decade for a promotion, while you got it with your first job before you even graduated! I really don't know … "

His eyes wandered into the dining room for a long time, then sat in a bag behind the door.

"That's yours?" He asked .

"Yes. My clothes, some personal items, and my textbooks."

His father took out his pipe and packed it while his son spoke. He lit it up and sucked a few times until a satisfying wisp of smoke came out with a breath.

"Lady Maria sent me an envelope with details of one of her local bank accounts. He opened it specifically to save your salary money. He won't be here for a while to pay your own salary, so I'll withdraw the money from the account and pay it for you on the 15th of every month. By the way, you have to buy your own luggage. "

Claude had to fight so that his hand wouldn't slap him in the face. Sure was! Why didn't he think of getting the baggage? He was even in the market an hour ago! Ugh, he really has to sharpen his wits. He shook his head and scolded himself again.

Well, at least no one will see him with his little sack tonight. But he really should get the proboscis as soon as possible. Not before his father gave him his first paycheque, otherwise he might realize he had other money stashed away somewhere.

Claude nodded obediently. Her mother had to hold back tears as they said goodbye, and she would stop at nothing to remind her to eat right and wear warm enough clothes. Arbeit slipped in the corner, unable to hide the jealousy and envy in his eyes.

"Lady Maria has taught me herbal medicine. He said I had a knack for it," Claude added to every would-be rumour squash.

"I see," Morssen murmured, his eyes shining, "I regret to have arranged to send you to the military. If you can stick with the baroness and get her help, you might not even need to serve at all. And if you can become a pharmacist, then, even if you have to serve, you will not be in danger. You're starting late, I'm worried. The test is already in its 11th month, so I doubt you will be ready for time. "

Certification exams are only conducted once a year. They are very difficult and the markers are very tight. Not to mention people have to learn material that is almost unrealistic for them.

Many apply for the exam, but usually only couples qualify each time. Although the failure rate was incredible, people kept coming, and many took the exam several times. The benefits that the crown gave to the pharmacist were simply too valuable. One of the great ones is the exemption of the draft in all but the most dire situations, and a comfortable position in the army if one volunteered. Even if they did not join the army itself, but worked for it as a personal healer, they would still earn a pretty tidy income from the maintenance costs.

But it was too late, even for Claude. There was no way he would be ready for the exam in time, even if he did nothing but study and sleep. He may be ready for next year's exam, but this year is unlikely.

Claude said goodbye in a moment, glared at his mother not to bother him anymore, and left. Arbeit ignored him completely and Claude was too happy to take part. Unfortunately, his sisters were not so obedient. It took quite a lot of entertainment and bribes to calm them down and free them enough to get started. Even the snow dogs make a fuss.

He returned to the manor late that night, and found Sioris waiting for him at the front gate. Claude felt bad for making them wait there for so long – he initially told them that he would come back at sunset and asked them to wait for him at the front gate.

Siori took the horse reign from him and started taking him to the stables.

"Wait, Mr. Siori. I wanted to bring some stuff onto the train from the living room," Claude stopped him.

"Are you not going to sleep there?" Siori asked.

"No. There is no point in living in a house this big alone. I'll stay out of the building in the back."

Normanley Manor was one of the country houses and housing estates in the kingdom. The main house was built in the high Droman style that was popular a century earlier. The exterior is a complicated interaction between the white stone pair, and the black brick wall and tiles. The manor house had two main rooms, six living rooms, a maid room, a large room, a large basement kitchen, a separate dining room, and two in-house storage rooms.

Claude doesn't like the idea of haunting the corridors and corridors of the waiter – for him – big residence, so he decides to move to one of the buildings behind the main manor.

The main base stretched nearly a hundred meters in all directions from the main manor. The back contains several outer buildings, among which are cages, laboratories, and the residence of the plantation servants. Only the servants who served in the manor itself were stationed inside the building, those who were responsible for taking care of other things like horses, land, and so on, and the farm and wood were placed in the outer building. Sioris thus domiciled there, like Wien, before she returned to the capital with her master.

Claude chose to stay in a small cottage on the edge of the main land, far up the hill behind the manor. It was the original domicile from back when the manor was still only a rural villa for a noble who spent most of their time in the prefectural capital. It had been damaged during the war, but the baroness' father, despite having the noble house built for his residence, fixed it up and used it as a guest inn when the manor was full. It had been maintained ever since, although it had not been used since the baroness took over because she rarely, if ever, had any guests, and never had enough to fill the castle.

Claude had been ordered to clean the place as an exercise using the Magus Hand before he was assigned to work on the more complicated parts of the parchment-making procedure, and he liked the place. It was still conspicuous, like all the things that nobles had, it seemed, but it was far inferior to anything in the main house. Most importantly, it has a small roof arbor that gives it unlimited access, and is not suspicious to moonlight. He wanted to move there from the beginning. But the baroness insisted she keep accompanying him in the main house while he was still there.

"You want to stay here, Mr Claude?" Siori asked.

"Yes," Claude nodded, "And please, just call me Claude. I'm an ordinary person, and a waitress to baroness like yourself, not to mention I'm much younger than you. Speaking of which, I must still be in school, so I will leave the normal daily care of the estate in your hands, please continue as usual. You can contact me if anything comes up that requires my attention. "

"Alright, Mr. Claude," said Siori, her tone was still the same as the reference.