Wizard Farming Guide

Chapter 12 Leave the Dog Behind

In the open space outside the castle.

As she got closer, Lily's cheerful steps gradually slowed down.

Especially after seeing those strong, fully armed soldiers, she, who had never seen such a sight before, couldn't help but swallow hard, nervously clutching the white bread to her chest and shrinking back.

"It's not convenient to enter here right now, please go back." Two soldiers saw her standing outside as if she wanted to come in, and stepped forward to stop her.

Seeing that the soldier's attitude was not fierce, but rather a polite warning, Lily mustered her courage and held up the white bread.

"This is what that knight wanted, and I need to deliver it to him personally!" Lily lied, suppressing her racing heart from excessive nervousness.

The two soldiers glanced at her, and after a moment, they made way for her.

"Go inside, but don't cause trouble."

"Yes, yes, absolutely not." Lily nodded repeatedly, then quickly lowered her head and ran inside.

After running to the castle, she patted her flat chest and couldn't help but smile broadly.

"Yay, I really got in! I'll have a chance to be alone with him soon! White Bread, you're awesome!"

Lily happily rubbed the little wolfhound's head, making it whimper.

Turning her head to look behind her, and standing at the castle from this angle, looking at the well-organized and well-trained soldiers in the camp, Lily suddenly had a special feeling.

A unique kind of pleasure in becoming the mistress of this place.

Lily blushed as she couldn't help but recall the figure of the knight who had saved her not long ago, riding a warhorse and shooting an arrow.

"White Bread, do you know? I'm fed up with this stinky life next to the pigsty. He's a powerful knight leading his soldiers, and I should be lying in his arms, riding across the fields."

She secretly prayed that the knight wasn't too old.

Only in this way can she have a chance to hold on tightly to the other party and not get tired of him because he is willing but unable to.

Inside the castle, Rhodes was sitting in his study, flipping through documents.

While cleaning the castle, the soldiers discovered a secret room where they found many sheepskin scrolls, which were then sorted and presented to him.

After reviewing the contents and combining them with the letters he found on the rogue knight Peggy, Rhodes realized that he was probably involved in some big trouble.

"So that's how grain smuggling works."

Rod opened the letter and compared it to get a general understanding of the situation.

Peggy's attack on the village was not accidental, but rather on orders from an unknown person.

The purpose was to resolve the scroll files in the Baron and the castle.

The reason, as it was, was that the local Baron Morton was involved in a smuggling operation that transported grain from the southern plains to the northern barbarian territories.

The northern border is vast and boundless, dotted with numerous barbarian tribes, and the biggest factor limiting the barbarians is the lack of sufficient food.

This prevented the northern barbarians from ever uniting, leaving them perpetually in a state of division and conflict, and hindering the growth and expansion of individual barbarian tribes.

Smuggling grain to the North is a serious crime that is strictly prohibited by the kingdom's laws.

But enormous profits can blind people.

The kingdom's grain is mainly produced in the southern and western plains, and must pass through Sword Ridge to be transported to the north.

Rod knew very well from his father’s past discussions at the castle.

Within the kingdom lies a vast, well-established smuggling route with a clear division of labor and lucrative profits.

Pinecone Village, located at the entrance to the Cold Wind Corridor on the border between Golden Sword Territory and the Duchy of Northern Frost, is a small link in this smuggling route.

These documents clearly record how much grain and how much gold coins this baron smuggled annually for his superior, Viscount Denis.

However, not long ago, due to the issuance of the Royal Expansion Order, Viscount Denis was afraid that the matter would be exposed and prepared to stop smuggling.

But Baron Morton was unwilling to give up his interests and was preparing to find other partners.

then.

Then he died, and the rogue knight Peggy broke in and killed his whole family.

Then Rhodes broke in and killed Peggy.

"This stuff is a bit too hot to handle," Rhodes said, shaking his head as he tossed the pile of documents onto the table.

Based on his understanding of nobles, when Viscount Denis hired Peggy to take action, he would certainly have arranged for his own men to wait several kilometers away.

They've probably realized something's wrong by now.

Although his situation seemed a bit precarious, Rod was honestly not worried.

Viscount Denis, cornered, decided to silence him.

It's unnecessary.

Baron Morton of Pinecone Village was knighted by Viscount Dennis of Ice Valley, and Viscount Dennis was knighted by Earl Balk of Scream Harbor.

The Earl of Balk's title was Duke Bert of Swordhill.

My own father!

This place, strictly speaking, still belongs to his father's territory.

Given Jianling's strategic location, if his father claimed he wasn't involved in something as serious as grain smuggling, he could only write his own name backwards.

Rhodes was also helpless; it was truly a mess caused by his own people.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Rod put the file away and set it aside.

Then he looked towards the doorway.

"Come in."

The door slowly opened, and Rod was somewhat surprised to see that a girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old had entered.

She looked about the same age as him, wearing a clean and tidy linen dress, and her long brown hair was tied up with a wooden hairpin, which looked like it had been carefully woven.

He kept his head down after opening the door, behaving very respectfully.

"Don't be so tense, relax. What do you need?"

After taking a deep breath, the girl slowly raised her head.

She wasn't particularly beautiful, but her features were well-proportioned and made her easy to look at.

She looked somewhat familiar. Rod looked at her and remembered that she was the village chief's daughter, named Lily.

In contrast to his calmness, Lily froze on the spot when she opened her eyes and stared at the figure in front of her.

It was different from the weathered, middle-aged face she had imagined.

Beneath his dazzling golden hair was a handsome face that seemed to have been meticulously sculpted by the gods. His flawless sapphire-blue eyes made Lily involuntarily avert her gaze, feeling guilty and unable to meet his eyes.

This was a handsome man she couldn't describe, and the familiar armor and sword placed beside him proved that he was the same knight from before.

Upon seeing this result, Lily felt no joy whatsoever; instead, she felt a tightness in her chest.

Facing this man of similar age, she looked at herself, her simple apron contrasting sharply with his exquisite clothes.

The immense sense of disparity rendered all the seductive words she had prepared stuck in her throat, leaving her frozen in place like a puppet.

Seeing her suddenly start to space out, Rod was full of questions.

However, upon seeing the little wolfhound in her arms, he understood her purpose.

"Is this your pet?" The wolfhound was being held tightly in her arms, so Rod couldn't just take it from her.

So I changed the subject, hoping she would hand it over herself.

"Hmm!" Lily snapped out of her daze and nodded quickly. "Her name is White Bread, and she's very obedient!"

After seeing the other person speak to her gently, Lily's mood gradually calmed down.

"White bread?" Rod found the name quite interesting. "That's good. I like white bread too. It's a nice name."

To be honest, after eating dry rations and bread with the soldiers for a while, he did start to miss the white bread from Jianling.

Although it can't compare to the high-end baking of my previous life, it's at least soft and sweet.

Lily was taken aback by his words and gave a somewhat forced smile.

She had never actually eaten white bread; she had only heard about it in her father's stories.

"My lord," Lily took several deep breaths, finally mustering her courage, "my name is Lily. You saved me, and I'm so grateful. May I stay by your side? I'll be very good, I promise! I'll do whatever you say!"

"Do you know swordsmanship?"

Faced with Rod's question, Lily didn't know how to answer.

Having grown up in a village, how could she possibly know swordsmanship?

"I'm afraid that won't work." Rhodes shook his head. "I'm going to the North to expand, not to inherit a peaceful territory. Slaughter and war are the main themes there, and you can't help me."

He politely declined, saying that he hadn't secured any territory yet.

If a soldier were to bring a maidservant along for his own enjoyment while leading his troops on a march, all the military discipline he had worked so hard to establish would be wasted.

If those above set an example for those below, and you, as a leader, only care about enjoying yourself, then don't expect those below to obediently follow the rules.

Lily sniffed and bit her lip tightly to keep her tears from falling.

Even though the other person might not have meant it that way, she still felt rejected and deeply ashamed, and wanted to turn around and run away.

"I'm sorry to bother you." Lily lowered her head and walked stiffly out.

At that moment, Rod suddenly called out to her.

"You changed your mind?" she asked, somewhat surprised.

But Rod simply pointed to the wolfhound in her arms.

"Could you leave the white bread with me? I've already paid for it."

"Woof?"

(End of this chapter)