Although matters at Villa Manor had not yet been fully resolved, Theresa was no longer prepared to stay any longer.
It was currently the spring planting season. Besides Villa Manor, the remaining Denok Manor and even Golden Manor still required her return to oversee the farming activities. She did not have much time to waste here waiting for them to thoroughly investigate the manor.
However, the distances between the manors were not far. After inspecting her territories, she could return here again. By then, she believed they would provide her with an explanation.
Of course, before leaving, Theresa also arranged the spring planting affairs for the manor.
The farmland in Goldenburg had been cultivated for many years without timely replenishment of nutrients, leading to a severe decline in soil fertility that required proper restoration.
But given the current timing, there was clearly no time to restore the land. Therefore, Theresa still allowed the serfs to continue planting according to their original plans and did not excessively interfere with their farming methods.
—As a newly appointed lord, and one easily underestimated by the masses as a female lord, Theresa was well aware that most people did not truly respect her. Doing too much at this point, even if those below did not openly say anything, would likely result in them ignoring her instructions in their hearts, merely feigning compliance.
However, while she could not control the leased land, she had full authority over the lord’s reserved land. Thus, she had people plant beans on all these reserved plots.
“Power and Roses,” as a game set in a medieval background, did not strictly adhere to the era’s context. Not only was the timeline ambiguous, but many elements were also loosely interpreted. In real medieval times, people mostly ate chickpeas, but in “Power and Roses,” chickpeas existed alongside soybeans, black beans, red beans, and even other legumes. Moreover, soybeans and chickpeas were the most commonly consumed beans among the lower classes.
Therefore, although Villa Manor had originally planned to plant wheat and had not prepared many bean seeds, after Theresa’s order, they quickly retrieved enough soybeans from the storehouse and began germinating them according to her requirements.
This was also a novelty for the working serfs. In the past, when they planted beans, they simply scattered the seeds directly onto the farmland. But this time, their new lord insisted on germinating the seeds first.
Moreover, in their view, this germination method was somewhat troublesome.
First, they had to select plump, disease-free beans using saltwater, then wash the cleaned beans and sun them for two to three hours daily for three consecutive days.
After sufficient sun exposure, these beans were not immediately sown. Instead, they had to be soaked in warm water for about ten hours, then scooped out, washed clean, and only then taken for sowing.
This was far more troublesome than their previous method of simply grabbing a handful of beans and scattering them onto the farmland.
Not to mention, they also had to spread wood ash in the farmland beforehand, and thoroughly water the soil before sowing.
Moreover, this sowing method differed from their previous practice of scattering seeds on the ground. They had to dig holes for spot sowing, with clear specifications for the distance and depth of each hole, as well as the number of seeds to place in each.
The serfs had never felt farming to be such a troublesome task as they did now. There were so many rules that they could not remember them all. Several overseers had to record the instructions on paper and then assign the serfs to carry them out step by step.
The overseers were also quite helpless. This increased their workload, but it was the new lord’s order. Moreover, with the recent incident at the manor, a thorough investigation of everyone was underway. The overseers below had all engaged in some degree of embezzlement or misuse of authority, and their guilty consciences made them dare not cause trouble at this time. Instead, they were all striving to prove their diligence.
Although troublesome, the serfs did not harbor much dissatisfaction. While these tasks were bothersome, most were relatively light. Moreover, the new lord did not treat them unfairly. Although their workload increased, the lord promised that as long as they diligently planted beans according to her requirements, each serf could rent the new plow for free from the overseers for two days, with priority given to those who performed well.
The effectiveness of this new plow was evident to all. Anyone involved in farming couldn’t help but be drawn to it, and the prospect of free use only fueled their enthusiasm.
They also knew that the carpenters and blacksmiths in the manor were working overtime to produce more of these new plows, but this took time. Although the manor had only a little over three hundred people, producing enough plows for all the serfs required considerable effort. Since everyone wanted to be among the first to use the new plow, they were all motivated to perform their best.
These matters were left to the overseers. Once Theresa was confident they could carry out their duties properly, she set off with her original entourage and two newly made curved-shaft plows.
One of these curved-shaft plows was to be sent to the town for demonstration. As for Golden Manor and Derlock Manor, Theresa had already dispatched the first two plows made as soon as the second one was completed. By now, both sides had likely produced several new plows.
Only the situation in the town differed from that of the manor.
Although Capoli Town was Theresa’s territory, its internal affairs were managed by the town mayor. Most lords rarely interfered in the daily affairs of towns, caring only about whether taxes were paid promptly and in full. Managing commoners was not within their considerations, nor did they deign to handle such tasks. They preferred spending their time attending banquets or hosting noble events.
Thus, most lords would sell the administrative rights of their towns. Mayors could acquire these rights by paying a substantial sum, and under normal circumstances, lords were not permitted to interfere in their governance.
Of course, Capoli Town was only a small, sparsely populated, and not particularly prosperous settlement. No one was interested in purchasing its administrative rights. The town mayor’s ancestors had obtained the position through distant relations with the Gordon Family, and the title of town mayor, much like a noble title, had been passed down through generations. By now, although the current mayor still prided himself on having Gordon blood, it was no longer legally recognized and certainly did not grant him any claim to Count Golden’s inheritance.
The parties involved were well aware of this, so Mayor Lewis harbored no resentment toward Theresa’s succession to the title. On the contrary, he was quite pleased.
After all, if Goldenburg were no longer the territory of the Gordon Family, whether he could retain his position as town mayor would become uncertain.
He did not mind that the new Countess was a woman either. He himself had an outstanding daughter, and compared to his troublesome younger son, the mayor even doted more on his intelligent and steady eldest daughter. Knowing that the new lord was about the same age as his eldest daughter, the mayor inevitably felt some affection by association and did not share the common sentiment of “what can a woman possibly see?”
Thus, he truly did not understand what those knights who wanted to intimidate the new Countess, Miss Theresa, were thinking. They were loyal to the Gorden Family. If they were not recognized by the family’s new master, Miss Theresa even had the right to revoke their fiefs and knightly titles. In that case, unless another noble was willing to accept their allegiance, these arrogant knights would have to descend from quasi-nobles to ordinary commoners.
Moreover, during this period when the new lord had not yet fully taken control of the territory, wouldn’t actively offering assistance and gaining Miss Theresa’s trust make it easier to obtain benefits?
Mayor Lewis did not understand, nor could he comprehend. He simply felt fortunate that he did not have such knightly children in his own family. If his own children acted that way, he would surely break their legs. Failing to seize such a golden opportunity—those knights were indeed all brawn and no brains.
The group from Capoli Town, who had received the news early and prepared to welcome the new Countess, waited several days before the belated lord’s procession finally arrived.
Villa Manor was not far from Capoli Town, so the events that had occurred there over the past few days had long since reached the town. They had also heard some rumors about the new lord, Miss Theresa.
Thus, when a woman in leather armor rode a horse, leading a carriage procession along the only main road into and out of the town, everyone’s gaze focused on her.
The weather today was splendid—sunny and bright, with not a cloud in the sky. The plants and trees along the roadside silently sprouted and grew, while early spring wildflowers quietly bloomed among the grass. Several butterflies danced gracefully, painting a scene of radiant spring and flourishing life.
Both inside and outside Capoli Town, there were only dirt roads. On hot days, carriages traveling these roads would kick up clouds of dust. However, a light rain had fallen last night, preventing the roads from turning muddy and instead settling the dust. Hooves stepping on the ground only splashed up slight specks of mud.
The woman on horseback appeared very young, dressed unmistakably as a female knight. Her strikingly handsome, almost androgynous appearance and demeanor were entirely different from the fashionable ladies of the time, causing many to secretly frown, though some watched with starry eyes, revealing a hint of admiration.
All of this was suppressed as the carriage procession drew closer. Everyone respectfully lowered their heads, no longer daring to boldly scrutinize their new lord.
As the procession neared, Mayor Lewis, at the head of the group, stepped forward. “Welcome to Capoli Town, esteemed Countess.”
“Perhaps you could use a different form of address. I do not particularly care for being called ‘Miss.'”
Theresa dismounted smoothly, seemingly hearing a faint gasp. Turning to look, she saw several young girls—likely brought by adults to welcome her—covering their mouths as they stared at her.
Perhaps her dismount had startled them. People these days were so easily astonished.
Unconcerned, she withdrew her gaze and handed the horse’s reins to a servant who approached.
“Very well, Your Lordship.”
Mayor Lewis quickly corrected himself, then followed her into the town.
They had all arrived by carriage, but since the new Countess wished to walk, they naturally had to accompany her.
Greg stepped down from the carriage behind and walked over to Theresa’s side, taking on the responsibility of introducing the local gentry to her.
Once he had finished the introductions, Mayor Lewis chimed in at the appropriate moment, “Knowing of your arrival, we have specially prepared a banquet in your honor. We sincerely hope you will grace us with your presence.”