The Herb King

"Dammit! I'll do it!" A younger engineer said with gritted teeth. He was only an unknown youth with dreams and it was because of Aethelwolf's help that he was able to become a respected engineer.

"Me too! I'll do it! Who cares about the consequences! Sir Aethelwolf and the Lassiter Household will protect us!"

Soon, everyone voiced out their participation in the project, making Rendell's face ease up. He was satisfied by their response so he clapped his hands and said with a smile. "Good! I wasn't wrong to pick you guys! Don't let me down!"

After signing a confidentiality agreement, the engineers and architects started discussing how they could construct the fortress drawn in the blueprint. It was so sophisticated that its design and specifications surpassed even the highly-acclaimed fortresses of the big empires.

Rendell reported their conversation to Aethelwolf.

"I apologize for not asking your opinion Sir Aethelwolf. If it's inconvenient, I'll pay for the Awakening Pellets." Rendell muttered in embarrassment.

Aethelwolf waved his hand and said. "You did a great job in convincing those guys. You don't have to worry about the resources, the Lassiter Household will take care of it. Just make sure that the fortress will be constructed in less than a month. We will be using it to train a new batch of soldiers to prepare for a huge battle."

Hearing this, Rendell could no longer hold back his curiosity and asked in a low voice. "Sir Aethelwolf, are you perhaps planning to rebel against the Imperial Family?"

Aethelwolf laughed at his words. "Of course not! His Majesty and I are friends so how could I do that? I only want to strengthen our force since the Leone Empire is at risk of another war."

Although Aethelwolf said it jokingly, Rendell gasped at his words. He thought that the Leone Empire was already safe since they managed to defeat two invading forces. "How could that be..." He muttered with a hint of anxiety.

Aethelwolf patted his shoulders and said. "Relax. We still have time to make preparations. After those guys are done with their planning, we'll go back to the mansion. I want you to buy a thousand slaves using the Linaza Household's network. Go directly to Brian and tell him about this. He will do his best to help you."

"A thousand slaves?" Rendell stared at Aethelwolf in shock.

Aethelwolf nodded his head. "We can't build the fortress without people and we can't hire a construction company to prevent this news from leaking. Those one thousand slaves will be responsible for constructing the fortress, but we still need to send a hundred of our most capable workers to help in managing them. Can you do it?"

"I will do my best!" Rendell patted his chest confidently.

Aethelwolf and the others had a small feast while the engineers and architects were working.

When the sky darkened, Aethelwolf recalled his promise to Julie Irish. He stood up and said. "Let's go back to the mansion."

The group boarded the floating carriages and they soon flew into the skies.

It was three hours before midnight when they arrived at the mansion.

Aethelwolf searched for Julie Irish and saw her chatting happily with his mother and the others. They seem to be discussing about the matters of the academy.

"You're finally back! I've been waiting for a long time." Julie Irish muttered a hint of annoyance. This guy actually made her wait and left her in the mansion. Luckily, the people here were friendly so she wasn't bored throughout the whole day.

"I'll give you a kilogram of my newly made coffee as an apology." Aethelwolf stared at her apologetically.

"You think one kilogram of your coffee can make up for the time I spent here?" Julie Irish snorted while looking at him.

"Fine! Three kilograms." Aethelwolf could only compromise.

Julie's face brightened upon hearing this. "That's more like it!"

Looking at the veiled beauty, Aethelwolf smiled helplessly as he shook his head. "Follow me to my study. We need to discuss something more important."

Julie's face turned serious when she heard his words. She nodded her head and stood up from her seat. "Alright."

Aethelwolf led her to his study. "Sit down." He said as he pointed at a sofa.

"Aenwyn, please bring three kilograms of my special coffee and tell the servants to bring us some newly brewed coffee." He said to the elven princess who was standing behind him motionlessly.

Aenwyn nodded her head silently and left the room.

"What's your plan now?" Julie Irish asked.

"The awarding ceremony is close by so we have to make a move tomorrow. I'll send five Level 4 Espers to save Chris. That should be enough to infiltrate the Maynard Household." Aethelwolf muttered as he crossed his fingers.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Just send some men to distract the soldiers of the Maynard Household for at least five minutes. That should be enough time for my men to save Chris." Aethelwolf replied after a moment of thinking.

Hearing this, Julie Irish nodded. "I can do that, but are you sure that your men can infiltrate the underground prison of the Maynard Household in such a short amount of time?"

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Before Aethelwolf could answer, there was a series of knocks on the door.

"You may enter."

Aenwyn and another servant entered the room.

"This is three kilograms of your special coffee, Sir Aethelwolf." Aenwyn said as he handed a white cloth sack to Aethelwolf.

The servant who came with Aenwyn poured coffee into two empty cups. After filling the cups with coffee, she stood at the side with a stern look on her face.

Aethelwolf smiled as he handed the cloth sack to Julie Irish. "Here's your coffee."

The latter took it and kept it inside her storage ring.

"Don't worry about my side, my men will take care of it." Aethelwolf muttered in a calm voice before he took a light sip of the coffee.