Evelyn's Resolution
Evelyn's Resolution
"You think five years is a long time?" Agatha frowned and said, "The timing was accurate at the first and the second Battle of the Divine Will. I don't know why the timing of the battle has been quickened and… it might come sooner yet."
"I thought you were about to say the Bloody Moon would come this very winter," Roland shrugged in reply. According to the current research and development plan, he would be able to universalize the use of new firearms throughout the whole army in one year. As long as the enemies were not impervious to blades and spears, they still had a chance to win the war. The only thing he needed to pay attention to was that the construction and development of the territory. It should be developed to the extent of supporting a lasting war. This required the land, population, and resources to all be at a high level of sustainability. That meant the territory must have sufficient foxholes and retreats where people could recover in the face of possible defeat.
Therefore, the primary difficulty did not lie in arms manufacturing itself, but in the establishment of enough industrial cities to be able to consistently provide population, ammunition, and food during a war. Logistics guaranteed a victory, while staff guaranteed logistics. In the end, he found what he needed most was reliable leaders, governors, and clerks. Without these, even if he unified the Kingdom of Graycastle, he would not be able to consolidate it into a war machine, and the nobility would probably drag him down.
It's indeed true that a country capable of waging a war always has a high level of educated populace.
"What's this weapon called?" Agatha suddenly changed the topic, "Back then, I remember you called it 152mm Stronghold... "
"Stronghold Standard Artillery," Roland added, "There will be naval artilleries in the future."
"If you can fit the city wall with weapons like this prior to the arrival of the Bloody Moon, we probably can resist the attacks from the demons. According to Kyle Sichi, what I made in the chemistry lab is also a part of the cannon, right?" Agatha seemed to be determined and said, "I'll try my best to produce liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen, as long as you can... "
"Don't worry." He comforted her. "We'll defeat the demons."
*******************
"Was this all that I needed to do today?" Evelyn dipped her finger into the wine and then touched it to her tongue. The spicy flavor appeared to be more intense. According to His Highness' requirements, the purer the white liquor was, the better it would taste. The best spirits did not contain any water, and every drop of it was mellow and rich. Although she felt the white liquor she had made was increasingly close to what His Highness described, it became increasingly further from what could be considered "tasty".
"Yes, good work." The manager of the brewery said while labeling the wine jars. He nodded at her, "Remember me when you are speaking to His Highness."
"Can you... really sell these?" Evelyn asked, confused. From her past experience of running a tavern, she was afraid that only a few people could tolerate such a bold flavor.
"This wine? I don't know," the manager smiled and said, "But, there is someone coming to ship the liquor every now and then, so I think there are still some people who like it."
Evelyn was relieved instantly. If nobody was willing to drink this, not only did His Highness fail, but she herself would become useless as well... It was fortunate that things turned out not to be what she thought it was, and it appeared that His Highness was a true great noble who knew the tastes of nobility very well. She smiled, "I'll take off then."
Evelyn left the brewery and crossed streets that were filled with a bitter and cold wind. Upon returning to the castle, she could feel the warm air greeting her. The world inside the castle was totally different from the one outside. She took a deep breath and removed her coat so she could be closer to the warmth.
This kind of comfortable life was unimaginable in the past. In winter, she used to either sit tightly with her family by a brazier, or curled up beneath a blanket. "What's the difference between castle life and the Kingdom of God which the church has alleged to be like spring all year round? Besides, His Highness has said that he would popularize the central heating system throughout the residential area, and enable all of his subjects to stay away from the piercing coldness of the Months of the Demons." She had no idea how many believers of the church had arrived at the Kingdom of God, but in here, witches who were considered as Devil's minions, and ordinary civilians were the first to enjoy this privilege. If this fact had reached the ears of the believers, they would probably grit their teeth out of envy.
His Royal Highness is truly capable of everything.
Across the hall, Andrea, Ashes, and Shavi were playing poker.
"Pair of eights!"
"Pass."
"Pair of twos! I win," Andrea smiled proudly and said, "Ashes has the most cards, a total of six. Hand over the IOU for ice cream!" Then she turned around and waived at Evelyn, "Hey, do you want to play with us?"
Out of curiosity, Evelyn could not help asking, "What's an IOU for ice cream?"
"It’s a bet," Ashes waived her hand and continued, "Whoever has the most IOUs will have to give up her next ice cream bread to the winner. How does that sound? Do you want to give it a shot?"
Evelyn was very hesitant. "This was a rare chance for her to make conversation with combat witches. If it was on the Sleeping Island, both Andrea and Ashes would be figures only next to Lady Tilly, who was rarely ever seen, and they would certainly not invite her to join in their activities voluntarily. Besides, Fighting the Landlord is indeed very interesting, it has simple rules but numerous variations, and it also requires teamwork. One can easily spend the whole day just playing it. However..."
"Um, it'll be the final exam soon. Don’t you need to review?"
"Do you mean the exam for that basic course this evening?" Andrea pouted and said, "It's very simple. I can probably pass without much studying."
The other two agreed with a nod.
Right... Andrea is nobility, so, her insight and knowledge is greater than that of ordinary people. Both Ashes and Shavi can read and write. It appears now that she's the one that falls behind.
"I... I might as well not play," she hesitated for a moment and then said, "I'd better get back to my room and do some reading. You guys please continue without me."
Leaving the three people who were a little surprised behind, Evelyn rushed to Witch House. She pushed the wooden door open and found Candle sitting at the table in the living room practicing the arithmetic exercises in the back of the textbook.
"You're back?"
"Yes." Seeing Candle hard at work, she felt a lot of relief at once. "How did your revision go?"
"Not bad. Nature and arithmetic are a little hard to understand," Candle smiled and said. "How about you?"
"Me too," Evelyn nodded and said, "Let's make a list of all the things that we don't understand and ask Miss Anna in the evening."
"Sounds good."
According to Miss Scroll, these books were written by the Royal Highness himself, and they were based on his existing knowledge. If she mastered them, did that mean she would also possess one part of his almightiness? Evelyn thought in secret that although she couldn't change the ability she was born with, at least she could progress in this regard by working hard. Even if the nobles no longer liked to drink spicy white liquor, she could still work as a teacher in the territory rather than being useless. To this end, she pretty much read her textbook and studied those difficult phrases and equations whenever she had time. This had made her a frequent visitor to Anna', Scroll' and Wendy's rooms.
She had the lowest score during the last test, but she firmly believed that that would not be the case this time.
"Let me set an achievable goal first—I want to exceed Maggie!" she thought to herself.