Since the conversation had been laid bare, Felix had completely transformed into a man of action.
Every day, he would send Wei Wei flowers, carefully selecting the most beautiful bloom from the garden himself. After meals, he would invite her for walks in the garden, and when the mood struck, he would even serenade her with a lute, occasionally preparing gifts to win her favor.
It was the standard courtship routine of a nobleman pursuing a lady during this era.
Of course, this wasn't particularly novel for Wei Wei. During her school days, she had seen all sorts of extravagant courting methods.
Moreover, Felix's gifts were all expensive jewelry, which seemed to be the norm among the upper class of this time. They believed that the more precious the gift, the more it proved their love for the other person, while also demonstrating their wealth and ability to provide a comfortable life.
If it were any other noble lady, she might have already been swayed by Felix. After all, he was not only wealthy but also handsome. He had been quite popular in the capital before, and now, with the title of Earl, he would only become even more sought after.
But Wei Wei wasn't the type to be moved by gifts. The more valuable the gift, the less inclined she was to accept it.
However, she did accept the flowers Felix sent, as they were truly beautiful.
After realizing that she didn't care for the jewelry he had dug out from the Earl's treasury—belonging to previous Countesses—Felix promptly abandoned the idea of gifting her such items. Instead, he began sending her a bouquet every day.
Wei Wei gladly accepted them and turned them into herbal tea, brewing a pot while working in the study and sharing it with the siblings.
"It smells wonderful. What's the blend today?" Dolores sniffed the faint floral aroma wafting from her cup, which also carried a hint of sweetness. She loved this scent.
In fact, before Wei Wei arrived, they had also been accustomed to drinking herbal concoctions brewed from medicinal plants. However, those were more for maintaining health, so their taste was far from pleasant, and people would force themselves to swallow them.
But Wei Wei's herbal tea was different. It had a light, refreshing flavor, and a delightful fragrance. Sometimes, Wei Wei would even add honey or other sweeteners, making it a favorite of the young girl.
"Calendula, verbena, lemon balm, and some other herbs. It's quite refreshing," Wei Wei explained, taking a sip. "Lemon balm has a natural sweetness, so I didn't add honey this time. But if you'd like, you can add some separately."
At this time, Europe didn't yet have tea, nor the tools for brewing it. So, Wei Wei used the smallest pot she could find to steep the herbs, and the "teacups" were coffee cups from the two sets of tableware the system had provided.
Of course, since there were only two sets of tableware, there were only two coffee cups. Following the principle of ladies first, Wei Wei and Dolores used the cups, while Felix had to make do with his usual wine goblet.
Felix was quite resentful about this, but he couldn't bring himself to argue with his younger sister over a cup. Instead, he ordered a set of tea utensils from a potter. While they couldn't replicate the pure, beautiful porcelain cups Wei Wei had, they could at least make ceramic ones.
Wei Wei: "Could you also find me an alchemist?"
"Those charlatans?" Felix frowned. "What do you need them for? All they do is babble about turning lead into gold or achieving immortality. Everyone knows it's nonsense."
"I'm not interested in turning lead into gold or immortality. I just need an alchemist to help me make something."
"What?"
"Essential oils, or maybe some skincare products."
Wei Wei had recently learned from her reading that distillation equipment existed in Europe as early as the 10th century. Although it was quite different from modern equipment, since the tools were already available, why bother creating them from scratch?
So, why not just hire an alchemist?
Of course, given that Sardinson was a remote border county with little prosperity, there were no alchemists here. Finding a suitable candidate would likely take a considerable amount of time, and Wei Wei didn't want to sit around waiting for Felix to find someone for her.
She was utterly fed up with using olive oil to moisturize her skin after washing with soap. While olive oil had some hydrating properties, it was difficult for the skin to absorb, and overuse could lead to excessive oiliness and even the formation of milia.
The fact that Wei Wei hadn't experienced such issues and still maintained flawless, fair skin was solely due to her extravagant use of natural ingredients like eggs, milk, and honey for skincare.
But these ingredients were precious food items at this time, and using them felt like a waste of resources—far too luxurious.
Now that a batch of flowers suitable for making essential oils had bloomed in the garden, Wei Wei was eager to start experimenting.
Waiting for Felix to find an alchemist? That would take too long!
Of course, she didn't plan to use the flowers from the castle garden just yet. Instead, she intended to use wildflowers and weeds that were considered useless at this time.
Flowers like daisies, cornflowers, pansies, and even dandelions could be used to make essential oils.
So, on a bright and sunny morning, as the three of them—who had been forced to wake up early due to work—sat together enjoying a delicious breakfast, Wei Wei specifically asked Felix for a day off to visit the pastures.
Hearing that she was going out, Felix immediately declared that he would join her.
His reasoning was sound: "We've been working too hard lately, so I've decided to give everyone a break today. Let's take Dolores and have a picnic at the pastures. What do you think?"
Knowing that Wei Wei wouldn't agree to spend time alone with him outside of work (such as during walks), Felix had grown accustomed to using Dolores as a shield when necessary.
After all, with the recent overtime work, the account books were nearly sorted out, and Felix wanted a break too. Constantly staring at numbers had given him nightmares of being buried under mountains of figures, leaving him paralyzed—a true nightmare.
Hearing about the picnic, the young girl, who had been quietly eating her egg sandwich, immediately looked at Wei Wei with shining eyes, her anticipation clear.
Wei Wei was powerless against such a gaze and could only agree to Felix's plan.
Seeing her consent, both siblings were visibly delighted. Felix quickly instructed the butler to make the necessary arrangements, while Dolores hesitated for a moment before asking, "Can we bring Caroline along?"
Caroline was the daughter of Felix and Dolores's eldest brother, Eric. Wei Wei had only seen the infant once since arriving at the castle.
It was shortly after Wei Wei had arrived. While strolling in the garden, she had encountered Nancy, the butler's wife, who was holding Caroline—a one-and-a-half-year-old who looked even less healthy than a modern one-year-old.
After that, Wei Wei didn't see Caroline again, as the baby had shown signs of a fever, and Nancy no longer dared to bring her outside.
If Dolores hadn't mentioned her, Wei Wei might have completely forgotten about the little girl.
Even Felix had nearly forgotten about his little niece.
But when Caroline was brought up, his first concern was her fragile health.
"I'm afraid not. Her body is too weak. Even a slight breeze could make her sick. Taking her on a picnic would be too risky."
It wasn't that Felix was overreacting. The mortality rate for children at this time was extremely high, and Caroline, being a premature baby, was even more fragile than most. She couldn't withstand any mishaps.
So, in the end, he didn't agree to Dolores's request, which he deemed entirely impractical.
When the castle's masters decided to go on a picnic, they couldn't possibly go alone. The three maids, who had been given the day off, refused to rest and insisted on accompanying them to serve. Along with Felix's servant, the picnic group totaled eight people. One carriage couldn't accommodate everyone, so the masters rode in one, the male servants sat with the coachman, and the four maids rode in another carriage.
In addition to the food and picnic blankets, Wei Wei also brought several baskets and crates to collect plants.
The picnic spot was one Wei Wei had chosen earlier—a small slope in the estate's pastures, covered in colorful wildflowers, which were her target for the day.
As the carriage bumped along the road, Wei Wei looked out the window and noticed that the farmers working in the fields were also eyeing the carriage. Unlike before, their gazes now held fear—a change from the past.
Perhaps news of Felix's decision to execute the embezzlers had spread.
Although the executions hadn't yet taken place, the confiscation of property and the arrest of the culprits' families had already occurred. Since those involved lived in the surrounding villages, the entire county of Sardinson was likely aware of the events.
If the people of Sardinson had previously held a subconscious disdain for their lord, they now fully understood that the second son of the Earl's family, who had risen from a knight to a nobleman through his efforts, was now the master of their fates.
From this point on, Felix had truly completed his transformation in the eyes of the people. They realized that this young Earl, despite his gentle appearance, was not to be trifled with. When angered, he could be deadly.
Wei Wei glanced at Felix, who was sitting across from her, and when he met her gaze with a questioning look, she turned back to the window.
Well, it made no difference to her.
The carriage bypassed the castle and headed toward the pastures, passing by Wei Wei's land along the way. She took a moment to observe her serfs digging irrigation channels in the fields.
This task had been assigned by Wei Wei. The land she had purchased was leased to serfs, and aside from the fallow fields, only one plot had been intended for cultivation but remained unused. The serfs were obligated to perform labor for their landowner; otherwise, they would have to pay more in grain and coins at the end of the year. However, they had no extra grain or money to give to Wei Wei. If they didn't perform labor to offset their taxes, they might starve during the winter due to insufficient food stores.
So, when the serfs noticed that Wei Wei hadn't assigned them the usual three days of labor per week, they anxiously approached the steward, George, asking him to inquire if Wei Wei had any work for them.
Wei Wei, who had been busy and lacked the feudal lord mentality, only realized she had forgotten about this when George came to ask.