Imperial Crown

Raven agreed to Jenny's invitation.

A trace of relief flashed across the maid's face, and she hurriedly walked ahead: "Please follow me!"

Miss Nancy has been depressed these days, which puts Jenny in a bad mood.

Although after returning from the bloody highlands, Miss Nancy would still lose her temper as easily as before, but she would rarely hit others, let others slap herself, or even throw things.

But the more this happened, the more Jenny felt abnormal.

Especially recently, Nancy has been inviting Raven over and over again.

Jenny even began to feel a little worried in her heart, because she had never seen her young lady care so much about anyone.

Maybe the lady has been too bored recently? The same goes for Baron Raven. Apart from that press conference, he didn't even organize a cocktail party. It was really the behavior of a country noble.

Jenny cursed and led Raven all the way to the third floor.

Nancy commandeered two rooms by herself, one as a bedroom and the other as a dining room.

Originally, Nancy was sitting at the dining table with her head lowered and her little feet swaying boredly. The moment she saw Raven come in, her eyes suddenly lit up, but she maintained the reserve that a lady should have and remained calm. He stood up and sat up.

Nancy changed her clothes again. Although it was still Lolita style, the overall color scheme was completely different. It was based on pink and decorated with uncomplicated lace, giving it a lightness like peach blossoms in spring.

Raven stepped forward, took Nancy's hand in an extremely gentlemanly manner, and kissed the back of her hand gently: "It's an honor to meet you, beautiful lady."

Nancy raised the corners of her mouth: "Please sit down."

This was the first time that Raven had such a formal social interaction with a noble woman.

As soon as he sat down opposite Nancy, Raven's stomach rumbled, and a hint of embarrassment suddenly appeared on his face.

Today's intrigue with Angel was very tiring both mentally and physically.

Nancy showed a smile and covered her lips with one hand: "Jenny, serve the food quickly, Baron Raven is starving."

Soon, the first dish was served.

The silver plate was covered with a golden bell and was delivered to Nancy and Raven respectively. Jenny opened the bell and a faint fragrance filled the air.

A trace of expectation flashed in Raven's eyes, but when he saw what was on the plate, that expectation was shattered like a soap bubble.

There were only three thumb-sized snacks on a plate that was as big as a human face.

"The first appetizing dessert, Bavarian-style apricot velvet shortbread." Nancy blinked: "Try it!"

Raven smacked his lips: "...I would like to ask, how many dishes are there in this menu?"

"Ten courses!" Nancy immediately replied: "Because there are a lot of ingredients that can't be found right now, otherwise it would have been at least thirteen courses!"

It was okay if he didn't listen, but Raven became even hungrier when he heard it - there were ten dishes, and he had to taste them one by one. It would take two hours to finish them all.

I will definitely not be hungry anymore by then. After sitting for two hours, my stomach will be numb from hunger!

Seeing Raven's hesitation, Nancy asked, "What, you don't like it?"

"No." It was Nancy's wish anyway, and Raven wasn't picky about it. He picked up the fork, pulled one of the snacks up and put it into his mouth.

It tastes surprisingly good.

The aroma of apricots first hits the entrance, followed by just the right amount of sweetness. The milky taste nicely balances out the apricot aroma and sweetness, reminding Raven of the almond-flavored halva from his previous life.

Seeing Raven's satisfied expression, Nancy was also quite happy: "Is it delicious? I knew you would like it!"

It was delicious, but after taking a bite of halva in this state, Raven felt his stomach acid surging even more.

After patiently chatting with Nancy, the pre-dinner dessert was finally consumed, and the second course was served seamlessly.

Raven didn't have any expectations this time, and the dishes actually presented were indeed worthy of his mentality.

"Second course, appetizer, Capricorn milk maple cold dew."

The shape of this dish is like a large ball of butter that has been shaped into a ball. Take a spoonful and put it in your mouth. The actual taste is similar and light.

But how can it be so sweet!

It was even worse than taking a bite of marshmallows sold on the street. Raven felt that his throat was going to be lumpy. If he hadn't seen Nancy eating happily, he would have almost thought that this was a prank aimed at him.

"This appetizer was served to me on my fifteenth birthday." Nancy licked off a small piece of cream stuck to the corner of her mouth: "Since then, it has been on my menu..."

This sentence was obviously not finished. If it was a normal Raven, he would definitely be able to grasp this detail and continue to ask, but now he has no such intention at all.

It took more than half an hour to cook these two dishes alone. Raven was a little desperate and expected that he might not have to wait until evening after finishing this meal!

At this moment, Volaf's voice came along with the knock on the door: "Lord Baron, there is something important that you need to deal with."

Nancy's brows immediately frowned: "Raven...!"

Although I felt that Nancy's efforts were wasted, this meal was really uncomfortable to eat, and Raven did have a lot of serious things to do.

He couldn't help but show an apologetic smile: "I'm sorry, there have been too many things recently."

Jenny was a little excited: "But, Lord Baron..."

"It's okay." Although she was a little depressed, Nancy showed enough generosity at this moment: "You go."

"Thank you for the hospitality." Raven stood up, bowed slightly to Nancy, and then walked out the door.

As the footsteps gradually faded away, Jenny whispered: "Miss, why did you let Baron Raven go? This menu was obviously prepared by you carefully!"

"Raven is a baron, he has a lot of things to do." Nancy was more open-minded: "Besides, besides me, which woman would he spend so much time on?"

But this time, it was indeed a woman who made Raven spend time.

In the study, Fiona lowered her head, and her face was no longer full of confidence when she just accepted the task.

Just five days ago, Raven gave her three days to make a plan for the monument. She worked day and night and forgot to eat and work hard, and it came out in two days.

As a result, when it was handed to Raven, it was rejected at the time.

The second version was given to Raven the day before yesterday, and then it was rejected again. Now it is the third version.

Walking around Fiona and sitting behind the desk, Raven picked up the plan and started to read it.

As Raven's eyes swept across the lines, Fiona became more and more nervous, and even her breathing began to quicken. This time she really exhausted all her energy.

After a while, Raven sighed and shattered all of Fiona's fantasies with one sentence:

"Otherwise... let's change to the first version?"

Fiona felt that her breathing began to become uncomfortable. If it wasn't Raven sitting opposite her, she would definitely ask for an explanation, but now, she didn't dare.

You should have said it earlier if you wanted the first version!

It's not that Raven intended to be an unscrupulous client, but the planning of these three versions had more or less problems.

The first version was very fast, and Fiona was also very attentive and hard, but maybe too hard, she directly made a giant sculpture that was ten meters high and five meters wide. Not to mention the cost, with the productivity of this era, the construction period alone would take at least two or three years.

The second version took the construction period into consideration and designed a four-meter-high portrait, but it looked too shabby and too sad.

Now, although the overall size of the third version is more appropriate, it has no spirit at all. It is no different from ordinary sculptures that can be seen everywhere, and it looks without any aesthetic feeling.

As a "worker", Fiona quickly adjusted her mentality and secretly glanced at Raven: "Baron, how about I make another version?"

"No hurry, let me think about it..." Raven waved his hand, pondered, and thought about the appropriate solution.

Not to mention that Fiona's spirit has been worn out by repeated revisions, and her hair has begun to fall off. If this continues, she may not be able to finalize the plan before leaving.

After placing the three versions of the design side by side, Raven's eyes finally fell on the first version.

If the problem of too large scale is excluded, this sculpture is very well designed.

Three soldiers stood back to back, facing different directions. One held a spear, one held a sword and shield, and the other held a crossbow. Together, they guarded the Griffith family's battle flag. Although their armor was damaged, they all had a resolute and unrepentant look on their faces.

On this basis... do a subtraction?

Raven moved his feet hesitantly, his eyes fell through the window outside the Eagle Castle. Now a layer of scaffolding has been built there. As long as the drawings are delivered, construction can start at any time.

Looking at the orderly appearance of the scaffolding, Raven suddenly had an idea in his mind, thinking of a sculpture design he had seen when he was slacking off at work in his previous life.

The image of a worker was built purely with rusty steel bars, and the layers of steel bars also looked like a construction site.

The most important thing is the theme and outline.

Catching a flash of inspiration, Raven pulled a piece of parchment, stared at the first version of the design, and began to sketch on the blank parchment.

It didn't take long for Raven to stop writing. Fiona looked up quietly and suddenly exhaled from her nose. She finally managed to hold back her smile.

Raven's, uh, "creation" had a kind of beauty that Fiona couldn't appreciate. It looked like a six or seven-year-old child's doodles, with no sense of design. It was obvious that Raven had not received any artistic training in painting.

Sensing Fiona's emotions, Raven's old face turned red, coughed, and turned the parchment to Fiona: "Except for the faces of the three soldiers, their bodies are all outlined with various weapons. What do you think?"

Hearing this, Fiona looked at Raven's manuscript again and felt a special charm: "... Baron, can I start writing now?"

Raven would certainly not refuse.

Fiona compared Raven's draft with her first version of the design and quickly drew the concept map.

The base is made of stone, and the theme of the statue is made of bronze. The outlines of the three soldiers are knight swords, long swords, scimitars, and shields. Fiona even made multi-faceted designs at the same time. From three different angles, you can see three soldiers holding different weapons and in different postures.

Raven's eyes lit up immediately, but before he could praise Fiona, Fiona spoke first: "Baron, your ideas are so... so surprising. I can guarantee that as long as this sculpture is made, it will definitely set off a new aesthetic trend on the continent!"

"This style can be called 'Raven style'!"

"That's a good name." Raven laughed, "But let's make the thing first. Go find a few craftsmen, make the specific design data, and then start work immediately!"

"This design is more complicated. You are in charge of it. Try to stay on site for a while to avoid making a weird one."

Fiona nodded excitedly, "Understood, Baron!"

Even if Raven didn't say it, she would personally supervise the completion of the sculpture. After all, this is the first major thing Baron Raven entrusted to her after the gray bread!

Fiona left excitedly. Raven rubbed his somewhat shriveled stomach and shouted loudly: "Volaf! Go to the kitchen and order some food for me!"

Fortunately, Raven didn't feel as hungry as today in the next few days, because he had too many things to deal with.

The most important thing is to strengthen the warhorse.

The soldiers ran to Eagle Castle, which can be said to be a shift change, but they can't pull every horse to the basement, right?

If people saw this, the horses would be very different after coming in and going out, full of energy and very strong. Who knows what rumors would spread.

Did the Baron provide good services for the horses? Did the Baron inject energy into the horses?

It was not nice to say it.

So during this period, Raven spent most of his time in the stable, running from Eagle Castle to Eagle Castle.

During this period, the Slater family envoy Eberron came once and offered to give Raven 10,000 gold coins as a benefit, but he was politely asked to leave.

On this day, when Raven returned to Eagle Castle, it was completely dark. Raven returned to the bedroom and began to change clothes under the service of Petty.

"Baron, will the activities of the gray dwarves continue?" Petty asked.

Raven was stunned for a moment: "Did the gray dwarves cause trouble again?"

"No." Petty shook her head and combed Raven's hair: "Didn't you arrange for the gray dwarves to do it tonight..."

"Oh!" Raven slapped his forehead and stood up immediately: "Today is January 31st?"

Petty was startled: "...Yes, Lord Baron."

"Why didn't you say so earlier!" Raven immediately sped up his speech: "I'll change my clothes by myself, go to the cabinet under my desk and get the box, hurry up!"

Petty quickly got up and went to Raven's study, still wondering in her heart-

Why is Lord Baron so anxious?

...