With the arrival of autumn, the first rains finally came. There had already been several days of sudden showers, and people were beginning to prepare for the harvest.
Edmund leaned over his desk and looked out the window. The wind drove the rain against the glass, creating rippling patterns. Beneath the reflection of those waves, the image of the small town was distorted. The houses and streets warped into irregular shapes. Due to the lack of an effective drainage system, the cobbled roads were flooded by small streams that, from a distance, resembled clear, crystalline brooks.
The distant mountains and forests were shrouded in mist and barely visible. Beyond those mountains lay the territories of the greatest empire of humanity.
If such a landscape had been transported to the modern era, it would undoubtedly have been a tourist attraction. But what Edmund wanted to see was a jungle of concrete and steel—one capable of protecting this place from every danger. He had some ideas about how to achieve that, but he lacked capable people he could trust with certain tasks.
"You just said that the air around us is composed of many different types of gases, is that true?"
Eliza's clear voice interrupted Edmund's thoughts. When he looked at her, she blinked her beautiful blue eyes, displaying some uncertainty.
"Eliza, you should refer to Edmund as 'my lord,'" Barov warned from the side.
"Don't worry so much," Edmund said. "My sisters have the privilege of calling me whatever they want."
During the rain, he had called Carter and the two witches to attend his own class. Yes, he had decided to begin teaching a course in natural sciences. His sisters had received the best education their mother could afford, but it was still inferior not only to that of the Empire, but certainly to the modern education of his previous world. They were the only two people in this place whom he could trust blindly, and soon he would not have the time to personally oversee all the experiments he had planned for the territory.
Originally, he had also wanted to invite his commander, but Jhon had declined because he was busy preparing the others for the expedition against the bandits. Edmund did not know why, but ever since he had declared himself much stronger than everyone else, Jhon seemed unusually enthusiastic about his duties and responsibilities.
When Edmund told his mother that he intended to teach his two sisters, her eyes lit up with interest. She cleared her daughters' schedules and insisted that the lessons be held whenever Edmund had time to teach them.
Annie's gaze also drifted into the distance, staring fixedly at the words "Natural Sciences" with a dazed expression. Although Eliza did not seem to understand everything, she was making an effort to remember it all. Edmund had to interrupt his lesson for a moment to give the three of them time to absorb the explanation.
Upon hearing Annie's question, he smiled and nodded.
"Returning to the question, yes. From oxygen, which is what we breathe, to carbon dioxide, which is what we exhale, although they may appear similar and occupy the same space, they are very different."
"My lord, I don't understand. Since all gases look the same, how can you know that different gases exist?" Barov asked, expressing his doubts.
"I can even demonstrate it."
Edmund knew that, even with such easy-to-understand explanations, most people would become confused by the theories.
He decided to conduct a simple experiment to awaken everyone's interest.
A candle, a glass, a container, and a bowl of limewater—all of these had been prepared in advance. Although the glass available to them at the time was only light brown and far less transparent than the glass from his previous era, it was still transparent enough for this purpose. After all, this simple test did not require anyone to observe the entire process of change.
Edmund had already conducted many experiments years earlier. The results had demonstrated that, although magic existed and the Winds of Magic altered reality, the laws of nature remained the same as those on Earth. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
He asked Annie to light the candles and then placed them inside the container.
"When something burns, it needs to consume gas. This gas is closely connected to every living thing. If we stop breathing, we will end up like this candle. Watch."
Edmund placed the glass over the candle, and after a couple of flickers, the flame quickly went out.
"That exhausts the air, my lord. That's hardly surprising," the vice minister said disapprovingly. "Of course we would die without air. For example, if we fell into the water."
Eliza nodded as well.
"Then, do you think there is absolutely nothing inside the glass?" Edmund asked.
He then poured the limewater into the container. The limewater soon flooded into the glass, but eventually stopped when the glass was only half full.
This experiment was so classic that most primary-school teachers used it to awaken children's interest in the natural sciences. Edmund still remembered the impression it had made on him when his own teacher demonstrated it. From that moment onward, he had embarked on the path of science and engineering, with no possibility of turning back.
Carefully, he lifted one edge of the glass. After a few moments, bubbles of air could be seen emerging from the limewater.
Then, the transparent limewater appeared to become slightly cloudy, and a small white cloud slowly spread through the glass.
"If there had been nothing inside the glass, we would not have seen the changes in the limewater or the air bubbles. This proves that air contains at least two different types of gas. In fact, when a candle burns, it only consumes part of the air, while the other part remains unburned. Although it is colorless and odorless, just like the first gas, its nature is completely different."
"Well… It seems that is the case," Barov thought for a long while, trying to understand the relationship between the two. "But knowing this, what use is it?"
"If you obtain the first gas, you can make a flame burn for longer. And when you obtain the other, you can extinguish flames quickly!" Annie suddenly said.
She was simply a genius, Edmund thought. Although there was a small fallacy in her reasoning, as soon as she heard about the different properties of gases, several possible uses had immediately occurred to her. That was undoubtedly a stroke of genius.
Edmund knew she had not received a modern education, yet she had reached that conclusion so quickly, demonstrating an extraordinary capacity for logic. At the very least, she was far more capable than this knight.
It was true, one could say that ever since humans learned to use fire, they had separated themselves from animals, even though obtaining it had been a matter of coincidence. Perhaps lightning had struck a tree and set it ablaze. Perhaps one rock had struck another and produced a spark. But if no one had noticed, no one would have tried to use it. Humanity would still be no different from the animals. Get faster updates on novelping.com.
Edmund patiently and systematically guided them in the direction he wanted.
"The purpose of this experiment was to show you that curiosity and thought were the driving forces behind human progress. There are many similar potential forces in nature, waiting for us to discover and utilize them. Humanity has become so accustomed to magic that every advancement has become intertwined with it, but it does not have to be that way."
After his speech, Barov still wore a doubtful expression. He had never been fond of magic, but everyone knew that the Empire was a technological power because of it.
Eliza was one of those people who no longer knew whether she was awake or asleep. She merely stared at Edmund with wide, unfocused eyes. Only Annie tilted her head, as though she were thinking about something.
Well, Edmund sighed. Teaching concepts that went far beyond their understanding would not enlighten them. It would only leave them perplexed. Their limited knowledge prevented them from understanding the powerful forces of nature unless those forces were placed directly in front of them. Only then would they comprehend the astonishing nature of the hidden forces governing the world.
At that moment, the kettle hanging from the fireplace mantel made a metallic sound. It was the sound of steam striking the lid.
"Ah, the water is boiling."
Barov approached to remove the kettle with a fork, and soon the noise stopped. He took a piece of cloth, wrapped it around the handle, and filled everyone's cups with water.
Edmund was reminded once again of his plans for the steam engine he was designing. The Empire had managed to create machines decades earlier, but they had only used them for weapons, like the barbarians they were, when their potential lay in far greater things.
Anyone could develop a steam engine within a few years.
But Edmund was different. This world also had magic. Using magic to fight in a battle? That was something barbarians would do. With the magic available to him, he could replace some of the key technologies needed to accelerate human development, and it would take him only days to build one.
That was the proper way to use magic—and his weapons were an example of it.
They talked until sunset, and after dinner, Edmund went to his room.
At that time, nightlife was practically nonexistent. There was not even a word to describe it, and everyone went to bed early. He had also considered using his authority as a baron to recruit a maid who practiced that particular sport, but in the end, he could not bring himself to do it because he was too susceptible to expressing his opinion.
Just as he lit the candle in his room, he heard the sound of applause behind him. Then someone spoke to Edmund.
"That was a spectacular lecture. I never imagined that His Lordship, the Baron of Graymont, was such an educated man."
It was the voice of an unfamiliar woman.
But instead of fear, a smile appeared on Edmund's face.