I was an apprentice in Ferren

Chapter 196 The Decaying Feudal System

Comfortable warm water flowed over his body, and soft, delicate hands, lathered with foam, caressed every inch of his skin. DuPont sat back in the bathtub, closing his eyes as if somewhat shy, letting the ethereal breath wash over his body.

Compared to the fiery passion of the previous Tiflin, the elven maid's advances were much more reserved, and her movements were even somewhat stiff, clearly indicating that she didn't do this kind of thing often.

Even if he didn't close his eyes, Jona didn't know how to proceed. She had to remind him twice before she applied more pressure. Otherwise, it would have been more like flirting than helping him clean his body.

However, DuPont was thinking about something else at that moment.

Having been in this world for over three months, DuPont still perceives it as a world where strength reigns supreme.

If a person is powerful enough, then the country, the church, and the local people will all operate according to that person's will.

Just like Lavoisier's power, once he opened the portal, he could go anywhere in the world and do whatever he wanted. Even the highest gods would treat him differently.

But Lavoisier did not choose this freedom. Instead, he accepted the duties and obligations of the state of Harua, wasting his time on something he was not interested in. In the descriptions of Judy and others, he was even a minority marginalized by the parliament.

Why would he be willing to be subject to this constraint?

Is it because Harua can bring him benefits, or because there are people here he can't let go of, or because he hasn't given up his obsession with changing this country and still wants to try to become the uncrowned king of this mage kingdom?

DuPont couldn't think of an answer for the time being, but he didn't like this kind of constraint. Many people had similar thoughts to him. Those people wandered between cities and towns, using their own strength and knowledge to fight against the monsters or bandits who were causing trouble, and reaping the gratitude and bounty of the villagers.

After finishing what interested them here, these people packed their bags and headed to another place, repeating similar tasks. Their figures traversed mountains and seas, growing or dying in the process. They were known as adventurers.

DuPont preferred this lifestyle.

Besides being unrestrained, he could also gain experience points to improve his strength and enjoy the novelty of different loot, instead of obediently copying scrolls in the room.

This might be why the Druid lady criticized him for lacking composure. After all, according to the system panel, he was still in the Chaotic Neutral faction, and sitting there for too long made him incredibly bored.

But most elves are also naturally of mixed alignment. Druids can change alignment through education, but why would this level 10 magic warrior in front of her lower herself to become a handmaiden?

With her abilities and beauty, finding a partner of similar stature shouldn't be difficult for her, so why bother with these servile tasks?

"I didn't feel embarrassed at all."

Faced with DuPont's sudden question, Jona was taken aback, but then she understood when she realized that the other party was not an elf: "Although high elves consider themselves superior, not all high elves are nobles. My sister and I are commoners among the moon elves. We were selected by the queen to become handmaids and have made it this far."

"Although it was indeed very tough during this period, my sister and I are undoubtedly lucky compared to many of our childhood companions. We now have a stable income and a status that the nobles cannot look down on, and after becoming His Highness's maid, we can travel around the world with her."

"Although there are indeed dangers sometimes, most of the time it's quite leisurely. As for the work you mentioned, it's what we maids are supposed to do. On Yongju Island, this is our job. Apart from the autumn hunt, we might not even draw our bows more than a few times a year. These kinds of internal affairs are what we do the most and are the most rigorously assessed."

After listening, DuPont understood somewhat: "So, the maid's job is the primary duty, and the guard's job is secondary?"

"That's right. Of course, not everyone can join the sorority. Our income is several times higher than that of full-time inner court maids. Once we break through to the advanced level and master the technique of spatial slash, Her Majesty the Queen will bestow upon us an honorary title. Although the status is not high, we will still be nobles, and our families will enjoy many privileges. This is a profession that girls on Everlasting Island would fight tooth and nail for!"

"So you mean you have more ties to the court, right?" DuPont understood. "Then wouldn't it be better to go out and be an adventurer?"

"To join the sorority, you have to sign a 200-year work contract. You can only go on adventures if the Queen grants you special permission or when your contract expires. But by then, my savings won't be enough to support me and raise a handsome young man."

Constantly having her profession's sanctity attacked, Jona moved closer, somewhat annoyed. Her slender, white fingers, capable of effortlessly wielding a heavy halberd, moved downwards, causing DuPont to gasp: "Hey, wait..."

“Mr. DuPont, please restrain yourself. A bath is a necessary procedure. You will have a similar process when you meet the Queen on Everlasting Island. The bristle brushes in the hands of those matrons are not something most people can withstand!” Though she said this, Jona's breathing became unsteady as she felt the sudden ferocity of the beast. “Of course, if you can’t hold back, you can release it in this hot soup. In fact, that would be best, to avoid embarrassing yourself when you meet Her Highness.”

"You're still far from good enough," DuPont scoffed dismissively. "Do you have this procedure in the palace?"

"Generally speaking, familiar faces don't need these procedures, but newcomers naturally have more steps, especially a hot-blooded young man like you. However, they usually have their maids do these things before going to the palace. After all, if they really embarrass themselves in public, they'll be laughed at for hundreds of years. There have been cases of people choosing self-exile or even suicide because of this."

“You elves have so many rules.” DuPont thought for a moment, realizing that his place wasn’t so complicated: “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

"Even for minor palace duties, we need over 10 years of training before we can even get an internship in some unimportant positions. Most of you humans are short-lived. Even if you want to learn something in the royal court, you can only learn the basics; you won't learn the substance at all."

"Well, I don't think your skills are that great either," Dupont teased, while Jona, standing behind him, blushed with anger. "I... I'm not one of those married female courtiers; this kind of thing shouldn't be my job!"

"Ah, in the Elven court, is this kind of thing usually done by married female courtiers?" DuPont couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this. No wonder these elves like to eat vegetarian food; their heads are probably all covered in green.

Knowing she had misspoke, Jonawei vaguely replied, "Court maids have a very high status. They might even be the lovers of direct relatives of some nobles. They are always received by special people when they come. Some maids even have unusual relationships with princes. In the past, there were even cases where elven kings returned to their divine kingdom after their queens died and married the queen's personal maids to succeed her as queen."

"Oh, maids get this kind of treatment?" DuPont asked curiously. "Aren't they usually political marriages?"

“It used to be possible, but now that the Queen is in power, that possibility naturally no longer exists. As for political marriages, sometimes which family the royal family dances with first can cause a new wave of speculation. Marrying someone who is understanding and has no family threat is the safest way.”

Jona wiped the sweat from her forehead as she spoke. Wasn't it said that young people generally didn't have much patience? "But these are all things mentioned in the royal library. I'm not really sure if that's true or not. Anyway, nobles' private lives are quite chaotic, so everyone is used to it."

She glanced at DuPont with some annoyance: "Is it ready yet? Your Highness must be getting impatient."

"...If you ask me, you're the ones who're being ridiculous. At first, I only agreed to be her boyfriend to cover for her, but now you're saying he's her fiancé. That's a bit of a breach of contract." DuPont got out of the bathtub and habitually used magic to dry his body: "If your prince's reputation is ruined, I won't give you a refund."

Looking at DuPont's naked body, Jona looked away awkwardly: "Sir, you should use a towel. Look at all these water droplets that have been blown everywhere."

"It's just a matter of a cleaning spell." DuPont fumbled in his spatial bag to put on his bathrobe; he hadn't been home in so long that none of the things in his room were suitable anymore. "By the way, what does Jasmine want to tell me?"

“I don’t know much about His Highness’s affairs. Why would I bother to inquire about such things if His Highness doesn’t tell me? Only that dim-witted sun elf would be so rude.” As she spoke, Jona pointed to DuPont’s indecent area: “But please wait a moment, Your Highness. You can’t go to see His Highness like this, can you?”

"Isn't that all because of you?" DuPont scoffed. "It was nothing to begin with, but you've made things this mess of things."

“This is indeed my dereliction of duty.” Jona gritted her teeth. This little rascal is still putting on an act.

Before she could think of a solution, there was a knock on the door. It was her sister Alice's voice outside: "Joanna, are you and DuPont still in the room?" "Yes," Joanna replied. Then, the voice outside asked softly again, "Would it be alright to open the door?"

Jona looked at DuPont, who was getting impatient: "No, I'm saying, are you guys ever going to stop? Can't a person get any sleep?"

The door opened, and the head maid immediately understood what was happening inside. She glanced at her sister, who looked somewhat aggrieved, and bowed slightly to DuPont: "I apologize, Your Excellency. My sister is not skilled enough and has made a fool of herself in front of you."

DuPont seemed a little embarrassed by this, as he was the type of person who responded better to gentle persuasion than force: "It's not that bad, it's just a bit annoying."

Before DuPont could say anything more, Jona had already left, while Alice came to DuPont's side and knelt on the floor: "Please don't be too nervous, sir, relax."

"I just feel something's off." DuPont's words came from the bottom of his heart: "We haven't really talked much before, and now..."

"Some things take time to get used to. Things with elves are always a bit troublesome, but this is just one of the less bothersome ones."

"If Your Excellency marries His Highness, several of our sisters may accompany us as part of the dowry. We only hope that Your Excellency will not show favoritism."

Upon hearing this, DuPont couldn't help but wipe away the sweat that hadn't even appeared during his shower.

Damn, back then, a half-elf made me weak all the time. If I really accept this, can my body handle it?
This day involved fighting on the bus, on the floor, and in bed—even a person made of iron couldn't take it.

Alice, who was standing to the side, also wiped her face clean, but the blush on her cheeks had not yet faded: "Please come with me, Your Highness. His Highness has been waiting for a long time."

"Ah."

Distracted, DuPont followed the head maid's directions out the door. The guest room was only a few steps away from his own. She opened the door and sent a message: "Your Excellency is not yet married to His Highness. There are many things that cannot be crossed. If you encounter any trouble, you can either come to me or Jonawei. But please be sure to keep yourself pure and do not philander outside."

"Oh." DuPont chuckled and continued to ponder the philosophical questions that were troubling him, completely ignoring the head maid's words.

He and Yuehua had already agreed that it was just a charade, and they would never actually get married.

However, it must be said that this corrupt elven court system does have its own unique features. No wonder those elven nobles are all old-fashioned and unwilling to reform. As long as this feudal system can continue to be passed down, even silver-level or even high-ranking gold-level adventurers will have to serve them when they return home/to the court, even if their strength is far inferior to theirs.

This is indeed incredibly enjoyable, and as long as the system is maintained well, future generations will benefit immensely.

Upon entering the room, one finds that all the furnishings have been replaced with elven-style household items, which look exquisite and elegant. Even the moonlight filtering through the curtains seems exceptionally peaceful.

Moonflower was naturally not asleep. With a face as white as the moon, she lay against the headboard wearing a pure white robe, flipping through books under the magic lamp.

He put down his book when he saw DuPont arrive, and gave him a teasing look: "I didn't expect you to be so late. Are you so obsessed with what happened in that room?"

DuPont glanced around awkwardly after hearing this. The two women's identities were fake, but the maids clearly didn't know that. He realized he had somewhat violated professional ethics: "Next time, you should tell them they don't need to do this. It makes me feel really embarrassed."

"And according to our previous agreement, we don't need to do these things. I'm a man and it doesn't matter, but won't this affect your reputation?"

“Some things can’t be hidden from those who are observant, not to mention that the stupidest thing in the world is probably lying in front of people who know what’s going on, being seen through and still acting like a clown without realizing it.” Moonflower said, looking at the moonlight outside the house: “Although I do feel a little sorry for the Alice sisters, I think you are a very gentle person, and you wouldn’t bully them without a reason, would you?”

"Of course, I'm a gentleman." DuPont made up a story on the spot, which made the Moon Elf laugh: "Alright, alright, you must be tired after a long day, go to sleep."

"Sleep here?" DuPont looked at the only large bed in the room. "This isn't really appropriate."

Although the DuPont family was not very wealthy, even in the servants' quarters of aristocratic homes, the space was only a bit cramped, and there were naturally no extra beds in the rooms.

“I’m not afraid, so what are you afraid of?” Yuehua said, then frowned as if she remembered something. “Of course, if you still can’t calm down, I can call them over to help you resolve this.”

"No need for that, I'm just used to living here by myself." DuPont said, unbuckling his belt, placing the space bag aside, and lying down on the left side of the bed.

He's not the kind of guy who enjoys forcing himself into situations where he's innocent, or sleeping on the floor when he's alone with a woman in a room.

Seeing DuPont lying down casually, Yuehua picked up the book next to her again: "You don't mind if I read here, do you?"

"It doesn't matter, what's the big deal?" DuPont looked up curiously. "What are you looking at?"

"The history of the development of human kingdoms and churches was written by the great human scholar Sura." Moonflower looked at DuPont and picked up the book in her hand. The elven girl, without her makeup, had less of a dignified air and more of a fresh look on her face: "Are you interested in this kind of book?"

"History books? They're alright, I sometimes read them as storybooks." DuPont closed his eyes, the glow of the elf's magic lamp not very strong. "But why would you read books by anthropologists?"

"The elves are declining, but humanity is at its peak. I'm curious to know why." Moonflower opened her book, her tone somewhat bewildered. "But the more I read, the more confused I become. Human kingdoms are far more chaotic than elven kingdoms. The elves have only experienced one major civil war in twenty thousand years, while human city-states wage a major war every hundred years. Some religious wars even involve large-scale massacres and enslavement. There's practically no sign of civilization. How did humanity rise to power?"

"Perhaps it's just enough to live, so that death wouldn't matter?"

“Humans can’t possibly reproduce like goblins. While the intelligence of ordinary humans is 10, compared to 8 for goblins, the average intelligence of high elves is 12.” Moonflower hugged her knees, her voice ethereal: “The more I look, the more I feel that humanity has received too much favor from the gods. This history of rise is simply unbelievable…”

“That’s because your own arrogance has crumbled. There are quite a few humans who like elven civilization now, and there are also many human scholars who study how you declined,” DuPont said, pulling the blanket under him a little sleepily.

This princess doesn't seem like anything special, but all her everyday items have a temperature-regulating function, and this blanket is especially comfortable to cover herself with; I wonder what material it's made of.

Moonflower nodded. In fact, there were quite a few elven scholars who studied this subject, but in the end, most of them attributed the problem to the birth rate.

But is that really the case?

However, just as she was about to delve deeper into this question, she heard DuPont's breathing become even.

Oh, you fell asleep so quickly?
　Publish first, then modify

　　
　
(End of this chapter)