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Join the ServerThroughout the night, my hand remained warm from Lia’s touch.
A defiant Lia not only insisted on this but also pressed herself against my face. This led to several nightmares throughout the night, where I felt a crushing weight on my chest, leaving me breathless. Lia’s scent seemed to possess a peculiar magic, keeping me aroused all night and causing an ache that felt almost unbearable.
However, by dawn, Lia seemed to have reverted. The smaller Lia, with a triumphant punch, struck my face, then rolled over in her sleep, straddling me. Since Lia had kept me from sleeping well all night, I was able to get up and make breakfast.
As I descended the stairs, I saw Vilya already seated at the dining table. She appeared to be resting with her eyes closed but opened them upon hearing my footsteps.
She was already fully dressed: a heavy, cold-weather coat and cloak, a leather belt, thick long boots, and gloves placed on the table. Even with the roaring fire in the hearth behind her, Vilya wore no expression, as if she felt no temperature at all.
She looked at me and said, “I want to drink broth.”
“Broth first thing in the morning?”
“Yes.”
Vilya nodded with a serious expression. Honestly, I felt helpless. Vilya still seemed unaware of the town’s current predicament. She had just sold all the grain, leaving the entire town facing the possibility of starvation.
Yet, my Lady Vilya still desired broth first thing in the morning, completely oblivious to the food shortage. I sighed and walked into the kitchen, picking up a few strips of dried meat.
These were simply air-dried meat strips, primarily cured with salt. The jerky tasted decent, but with no other ingredients available, salt was my only seasoning. This made the dish very monotonous and not particularly delicious.
If I could, I would love some spices. However, in such a cold region where even basic food is scarce, spices are likely nonexistent. Indeed, spices have always been a hard currency in trade; I should probably stop thinking about them for now.
Broth made with only salt isn’t very appealing, but for Vilya and Lia, it seemed to be a rare delicacy. I kneaded the dough, which I had proofed the previous night, into steamed buns and placed them in the steamer basket I once used for rice-like grains.
By the time I placed breakfast on the table, Lia yawned and came downstairs. She glanced at Vilya sitting at the table, then looked towards the kitchen with a hint of fear.
I chuckled softly, wiping Lia’s face with a prepared towel. Lia sniffed the air, then happily exclaimed, “Is it broth? Broth for breakfast! This is wonderful!”
“I truly don’t know how you two manage to have such good appetites first thing in the morning.”
I smiled wryly and pinched Lia’s cheek. Lia turned to look at Vilya at the dining table, then instinctively sat down beside her. After six meals together, despite some lingering reservations, Lia had largely accepted the unavoidable reality of eating next to Vilya.
I sat beside them. Lia curiously eyed the steamed buns on the table, asking, “Papa, what are these?”
“These are the kind of bread Papa ate back home.”
Where I came from, these steamed buns cost one yuan for six. But in a place where even white flour is hard to come by, they would cost far more than that. Perhaps one gold coin for six.
To elaborate, Lucia purchased twenty bags of grain from us at 1.5 times the normal price, paying six gold coins and fifty silver coins in total. The exchange rate between gold and silver is roughly 1:60. This totals about seven gold coins, meaning one bag of grain costs approximately twenty-one silver coins.
Normally, the price would be fourteen silver coins per bag, and in truly normal times, it would be ten. If produced in a grain-producing region, the price might be even lower, perhaps only three silver coins.
If I could buy grain at the normal price of ten silver coins, I would make a pure profit of eighty silver coins, which is more than one gold coin.
However, my ambitions extend far beyond this.
I want to live in the royal capital. To do that, I’d need several thousand gold coins as a foundation—first for a house, then for living expenses. Just like Chang’an in ancient times, living in the capital is not easy. Of course, these are just my guesses; it might even be more expensive.
In any case, I’ve secretly kept a portion of the extra money, which Vilya definitely doesn’t know about. Although Vilya seems to want to leave with us, I’m unsure if Lia will accept it later. If not, I still plan to leave with Lia.
Vilya is a hero to all humanity; others would care for her even without me. But Lia is different. Without me, Lia would perish in human society, which would be like a desert to her.
Breakfast was quickly finished, with not a single crumb left, of course. These two alone could consume most of the breakfast. I really need to prepare more food, or I fear they might eat me if they get hungry. I think it’s highly probable they would consume me.
We mounted our horses. Before we set off, I wrapped Lia’s face tightly with a scarf and whispered, “Lia, sit diagonally in my arms, let me hold you. Don’t look around, close your eyes, and don’t speak.”
“Papa, you can hold me?”
Lia happily sat diagonally on the horse’s back, leaning comfortably into my embrace and giggling. I reached out and stroked her head, then called over the record keeper. Although he was a record keeper, I often used him for free labor.
He looked at me curiously and asked, “Is there something you need?”
“You need to spread the word that Lia is sick, and we’re going to the city to find a doctor for her. Also, the grain distribution can be slightly reduced, but it must remain stable until we return, understand? Oh, and some of the meat in the warehouse can also be distributed. This will help keep everyone calm. We absolutely cannot let the townspeople panic at this time.”
“I understand.”
The record keeper nodded.
The record keeper understood my meaning. Since the entire North was experiencing a famine, the townspeople were like startled birds, highly sensitive to us, their lords. If they saw all three of us leave, they might very well assume we intended to flee.
Once such a rumor spread, the entire town could easily be plundered by rioters. However, with this news disseminated, everyone would know we were going to seek medical help for Lia, thus knowing we would return, and morale would remain stable.
This would prevent any major incidents from occurring while we were away.
Vilya walked beside me, dressed in her usual military uniform and carrying a long sword. She was close by as Lia rested comfortably in my arms, her head on my arm, her hands clutching my chest, laughing happily. Perhaps it was envy, but I constantly felt Vilya’s gaze sweep over me.
From here, it was a two-day journey to the nearest city, which marked the farthest reach of Queen Sisi’s control. It was once a small border town for humans, but frequent wars against the demon race brought large armies, along with countless families and merchants. Many artisans also gathered there, offering services to repair weapons and armor for soldiers. The rapid influx of money allowed this border city to develop into the largest metropolis in the region.
Vilya had few memories of this city, known as the Pearl of the Border, Brac. This was expected; Vilya never paid attention to such matters, so I couldn’t glean much information from her.
Truthfully, I wasn’t entirely sure how severe the famine in this vicinity was, but the harvest this season seemed decent. The only issue was the severe plundering caused by the army’s presence. Now that the army had withdrawn without leaving any grain, the local people were unable to survive the winter.
This area was once outside Queen Sisi’s direct administration, and the army had no particular sentiment for these humans. Thus, after taking the food, they didn’t care whether the people here would survive.
Though not a natural disaster, human-made calamities are often far more terrifying. A natural disaster might not cause a complete crop failure, but human folly can indeed lead to utter annihilation.
On the road, to prevent Vilya from discovering Lia’s transformation, I held Lia tightly. Even if Lia transformed, she could only curl up in my embrace. Lia didn’t seem to mind this treatment; in fact, she seemed to enjoy being held so closely. She would even secretly stick out her tongue and lick my chest and throat, and I dared not make a sound, fearing Vilya would hear.
Lia didn’t realize how dangerous her actions were. If it weren’t for me, Lia would be in peril.
No, perhaps it should be said that the one in danger would be the other person. Regardless, Lia is a succubus.
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