“How much?!”
Ludwig was completely dumbfounded, frozen in place, his eyes wide as brass bells.
The next second, he abruptly raised his hand, reaching for Morin’s forehead.
“Were you hit and went silly in Aragon? Are you talking nonsense with a fever?”
Morin slapped his hand away with a wry smile: “I don’t have a fever, and I’m not talking nonsense. It’s true.”
“Really?” Ludwig still couldn’t believe it. “Twenty million Marks? Do you know what kind of concept that is? Has the Imperial Patent Office gone mad? Or have you?”
“Perhaps His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince has gone mad then.”
“The Crown Prince? How did the Crown Prince get involved?”
Looking at Ludwig’s ghost-seeing expression, Morin knew the matter was truly unbelievable.
He had no choice but to recount the Crown Prince Georg’s promise to Ludwig in its entirety.
After listening to Morin’s account, Ludwig’s mouth hung open, unable to close for a long time.
He stared blankly at Morin, his eyes filled with shock… and a hint of envy.
“You rogue.”
It took a long moment before Ludwig spoke blankly:
“You are going straight to the top!”
To receive such favor and importance from His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince was a dream opportunity for the vast majority of Saxon officers.
“It seems your future is truly limitless, Friedrich…” Ludwig sincerely sighed.
He patted Morin’s shoulder, his expression having shifted from shock to sincere congratulation.
“Oh, come on, I’ll worry when the money is actually in hand… who knows what else could go wrong.”
Although Morin said this, he was ecstatic internally, while also realizing one thing—he absolutely couldn’t let the money only buy 40 loaves of bread!
Just then, the young woman Morin had met in the room also walked out of the Patent Office.
She looked somewhat disappointed, tightly clutching the file folder, and hurried away with her head lowered.
When she reached the doorway, she seemed to notice Morin’s gaze and instinctively looked up.
The two made eye contact.
The girl paused, then politely nodded to Morin and Ludwig, and hurried away, quickly disappearing around the street corner.
Ludwig watched Morin staring at the girl’s retreating back, his face instantly twisting into an ‘I know you’re up to something’ grin.
“Truly worthy of being the ‘Famous Playboy of Dresden,’ you really haven’t changed one bit. You still can’t move when you see a beautiful woman.”
“It’s not what you think.”
Morin quickly averted his gaze, explaining earnestly.
“When I was in the room earlier, I accidentally overheard that the girl seems to be a firearms designer.”
“A firearms designer?”
Ludwig sneered disbelievingly.
“A firearms designer that young? Friedrich, please find a more plausible lie!”
“I’m really not lying to you.” Morin sighed helplessly. “I think I even heard the words ‘air-cooled light machine gun.’”
“Alright, alright, you don’t need to explain to me. Don’t worry, what are we? Friends who have faced death together! I promise I won’t tell Patricia any of this.”
Morin: “…”
Soon, Ludwig drove Morin back to Cecilia’s manor.
Before leaving, he repeatedly urged Morin that once the patent was finalized and the Knight Order began testing, Morin absolutely had to find time to come and observe.
Morin readily agreed, while also thinking that if he formed the assault team in the future, maybe he could arrange joint training with the Teutonic Knights?
After seeing Ludwig off, Morin had planned to find Cecilia for a chat.
He had a feeling that his sister had seemed a little unhappy since yesterday.
And from the moment she picked Morin up at the garrison, she had shown him genuine concern. That thoughtfulness and care could not be faked.
However, when he returned to the manor and inquired of the maids, he was told that Cecilia had gone to the factory early that morning and was not currently at the manor.
Morin had no choice but to give up.
But with Cecilia gone, he felt utterly listless alone in the massive manor.
Staying in that ridiculously large room was truly boring.
And he couldn’t quite appreciate the multitude of glittering treasures and oil paintings filling the house…
Bored, he simply began wandering around the manor… and curiously observed the maids at work.
After all, before his transmigration, his understanding of the ‘maid’ profession came mostly from certain student-era comics or games.
Thus, he was genuinely curious about the reality of a maid’s daily work.
And through the brief contacts yesterday and this morning, the maids in the manor seemed to realize that the supposedly naughty Young Master Morin had changed since returning from the battlefield.
He no longer looked at them with the aggressive stare of the past, nor did he make strange demands.
So now, the maids in the manor were no longer filled with the initial fear and tension when facing him.
Morin did not disturb them, simply standing by, quietly observing their work like an outsider.
He watched them meticulously wipe every piece of furniture with damp cloths; watched them iron the washed clothes perfectly flat; watched them carefully prune every flower and plant in the garden…
When occasionally curious, he would actively step forward and ask one or two questions.
“Why do you use two different mops for the floor?”
“Well… Young Master, the dark one is for wiping the wooden floors, and the light one is for cleaning the outer stone paths.”
“Do you have to clean the entire manor every day?”
“Yes, Young Master. Those are the Head Maid’s rules.”
As the conversation unfolded, the maids gradually realized that the Young Master seemed genuinely curious and had no other intentions.
They were no longer so reserved, and would even initiate conversations with Morin.
After a period of observation, Morin realized that real maids did not seem as idle as depicted in comics, nor did they have plenty of time to pursue romance with the protagonist.
In fact, the maids in this manor had strict distinctions in their daily work content and arduousness, based on their own ranks.
The highest rank was naturally Luna, the Head Maid.
She was a woman from a middle-class background who had received a good education.
Besides serving as Head Maid, she was also Cecilia’s private secretary, responsible for handling daily clerical work and scheduling.
Next were the personal maids.
They exclusively handled Cecilia’s personal affairs, including assisting with her grooming, tidying her room, and accompanying her when she went out.
Following that were the cleaning maids, who aligned more closely with Morin’s previous understanding of the ‘maid’ profession.
They were the regular maids of the manor, the largest group, primarily responsible for cleaning and tidying various areas.
And the lowest rank, with the most arduous work, were the laundry maids and kitchen assistants.
They were usually new or more clumsy maids who had to deal with a lot of physical labor every day…
By the end of the day, Morin, relying on the inherent charm buff of the ‘Famous Playboy of Dresden,’ coupled with his current approachable demeanor, got along very well with the maids in the manor.
Especially some of the younger, less worldly maids who had recently arrived at the manor were much less reserved when facing this handsome and easygoing young master.
In the afternoon, while resting in the garden, a bored Morin simply pulled a few maids who came to serve tea and snacks into the gazebo to chat.
Morin didn’t know why, but he felt very relaxed when interacting with these simple-minded young maids.
The mouth that used to flirt with socialites at parties was ‘activated,’ and he quickly had the young maids giggling, the atmosphere completely joyous.
Before long, many maids showed up in the garden, ostensibly ‘working.’
Some made excuses to water the flowers, others claimed they were there to wipe the gazebo railings.
Morin had only taken a sip of water from his teacup, and someone would immediately rush over to refill it.
The plate of snacks in front of him was always kept full.
The gazebo in the garden was spotless, yet several maids lingered, wiping the railings repeatedly.
In a short time, the entire garden was bustling with women, a lively scene.
To be honest, the situation had exceeded Morin’s control. He had genuinely just been bored and wanted to talk to a living person, but he never expected things to escalate like this.
“Decadent, truly too decadent…”
While internally criticizing himself, he listened to the maids recounting the gossip circulating among them.
This lively scene continued until evening.
The atmosphere in the garden only changed when a black automobile slowly drove into the manor.
Cecilia and Luna, the Head Maid, got out of the car.
When she saw the scene in the garden—a cluster of maids giggling around Morin—she clearly paused in her steps.
And the maids who had been surrounding Morin instantly scattered like frightened rabbits upon noticing their mistress return.
In the blink of an eye, the previously bustling gazebo was left with only Morin.
Cecilia walked over expressionlessly. Her gaze lingered on Morin for a moment, then scanned the table, noting the snacks and tea that were virtually untouched.
“It seems Fritz is very comfortable here. That is a relief to me.”
Her tone was flat, but Morin acutely detected an unusual emotion.
Reflecting on the past few days, there had been a barrier between them, and they hadn’t had a proper conversation.
Morin actively stood up, his face displaying a placating smile, and walked toward her.
“Big Sister Cecilia, you’re back. Are things at the factory settled?”
He proactively walked with Cecilia toward the manor’s main building.
Luna, the Head Maid following behind, smiled knowingly. She wisely chose not to follow, excusing herself to arrange dinner.
(End of this Chapter)