Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 856: An ordinary lunch?
At noon, the scorching sun made the stone slabs underfoot a little hot. The sycamore trees on both sides of the road stood tall and straight, casting a shadow. The fallen leaves that had just been swept in the morning began to float and fall again, as if to lay a colorful blanket for the road that passed through the courtyard. Xinuo walked alone on the road, and the gentle footsteps echoed in the large and somewhat empty courtyard, but they dissipated before they could reach too far, as if there was a monster that devoured sounds hidden in this manor, turning the popularity accumulated over the years into a silent silence.

After walking along this road for about ten minutes, the girl stopped in front of a forest of upright yew trees and yellow poplars with small yellow flowers. In the forest stood an old mansion. It was three stories high and had an elegant shape. It had a delicate porch and protruding lattice windows. The walls were still painted white and bright despite the years. The red tile roof was faintly visible in the green shade of the trees. It was obvious that the owner took great care of it. But for some reason, it was located in a place where it could not be illuminated by sunlight. Therefore, both the mansion and the forest seemed to be shrouded in a deep twilight, staring at the pedestrians under their feet deeply and silently, reflecting a kind of majesty and solemnity born from an aristocratic mansion.

The history of the Chardolly Manor standing here is the history of the Grindelwald Fields becoming prosperous, and the history of this mansion in front of us is even older than that. It existed before Chardolly Manor and the Grindelwald Fields today. It is said that the first thing the great pioneer knight did when he came to the territory was to mobilize manpower and build this mansion for himself. At that time, the natives of this land thought that a ruler who was arrogant and extravagant had come here, and they all lamented.

But then, the knight planted the white thorn flower flag that he never left on the roof of the mansion, swearing the Gustave family's legal and moral protection of the land under their feet. Then he led 3,000 followers to open up the barren land and did not return home for three years. It was not until the fields began to be harvested, the fruit trees began to bear branches, and the people's lives gradually became prosperous that he returned to the mansion for the first time and took down the flag with his own hands.

Today, ten centuries have passed since that period of history. Do the descendants of the Gustaf family still keep their ancestors' teachings in mind?
Xinuo looked up and vaguely saw the shadow of the whitethorn flag fluttering on the red roof, but when she came to her senses, she found nothing in front of her. She was silent for a while, then retracted her gaze and walked towards the main door of the mansion. The old butler of the manor, Mr. Weber, had been waiting at the door. Although he was old, he was still energetic. He was wearing a dark black tuxedo and his silver-gray hair was meticulously groomed. He bowed respectfully to the girl and said, "Welcome back, Miss Xinuo. The master has been waiting for you in the restaurant for a long time."

"I see, Weber, thank you for your hard work." Xino nodded gently, put the broom in his hand on the porch, and asked again: "How is Grandfather today? Is there anything wrong?"

"The master is in good health, but he keeps thinking about that incident, so he feels a little..." Weber stopped talking and did not continue.

Hearing this, Xinuo sighed imperceptibly: "I understand. I will go talk to him."

She was about to go in when she suddenly remembered something and paused: "By the way, Weber, are you going into town soon?"

The old housekeeper thought for a moment and replied, "In the afternoon, or perhaps tomorrow, I will go to the vineyards of Elkason and Mindley to inspect the business conditions there and check the account books. Miss Heno, do you have any instructions?"

After saying goodbye to him, Xino pushed the door and entered the mansion. After passing through a corridor displaying portraits of the ancestors of the Gustave family, he came to the restaurant. This was a long house that followed the ancient Grangenia style, built with a mixture of logs and square bricks. From the style to the furnishings, it was extremely simple, without any of the classical luxury that a traditional aristocratic family should have.

Sitting opposite was Xino's grandfather, half lying in a wheelchair, with a weathered and haggard figure. The light from the long house cast a grayish-white shadow on him, and from this angle he looked like a statue carved out of stone. Even in such a hot summer, he was still wrapped in a thick sheepskin blanket. Behind him, in the red brick fireplace, charcoal was burning, releasing endless heat, scorching the entire restaurant like a big furnace. If you close your eyes, you will definitely think you are still outside, not in the house.

"Oh? Miss Xinuo made new friends? We have to treat them well. Isn't a jar of Northensvig Crown Honey enough? How about I go buy some desserts made in Tousend? I heard that young people nowadays like to eat this. The manor still has some raisins made last year, but the jasmine tea is not enough..."

A dark beam passed through the top of the head, supporting the overall structure of the roof. On the brass candlestick hanging from the top beam, the long white candle inserted half a month ago has not yet burned out, and the candlelight has smoked the side of the beam into a black color similar to ink; on the wall near the right hand side is a whole row of floor-to-ceiling windows. At this time, the curtains are drawn, and one can clearly see the rustling grass and trees in the garden through the glass; facing this row of floor-to-ceiling windows, a basswood rectangular table that is several years older than Xino is quietly placed in the middle of the long house, covered with a white tablecloth, and twelve high-backed mahogany chairs are neatly arranged along the table, their postures and positions seem to have never changed in the past ten centuries, and they are still the same as when the people who first lived in this house sat down.

The old butler then stopped nagging, but there was still a look of regret on his face.

If one has a rich imagination, one might be able to see how those people laugh and chat in the light of the fireplace and candlelight, share a sumptuous dinner, and celebrate the joy of the harvest season together - it is the tradition of the Gustaf family that every year during the harvest season, a group of subjects are invited to the manor to have dinner with the lord.

Weber started to talk like an elder who cares about his granddaughter. For this old butler who has served the Gustaf family diligently for more than 50 years, Xinuo, who grew up under his care, is indeed as close to him as his granddaughter. However, this kind of care from the elders will make young people today feel uncomfortable without exception. Therefore, Xinuo was a little amused and said, "The people haven't arrived yet. It's too early for you to think about it. Besides, I don't think they are the kind of people who care about such things. Just receive them according to normal standards."

"No." Xinuo shook his head: "It's another guest. If everything goes well, you will be able to see them soon."

"It's not a big deal, it's just..." A face with no scheming and only a silly smile appeared in Xino's mind, and the corners of his mouth could not help but outline a curve: "If you want to go into the city, please go to Mason's Department Store and buy a can of Northensvig Crown Honey. I want to use it to entertain guests."

Xino walked towards the long table. Her tableware had been laid out at the end of the table, along with some simple dishes: a plate of stewed peas, a piece of smoked ham with black pepper gravy, a bowl of vegetable salad and a small milkshake. This was her lunch.

"Guest?" Weber asked, "Will Miss's classmates come to visit us soon?"

Old people are usually afraid of cold, and Xino's grandfather still has an old injury, so he needs to rely on the fireplace for heating all year round. Sometimes he sleeps too deeply at night, and the girl and the old butler Weber need to take care of him all night and take turns to replace the charcoal in the fireplace to prevent too much carbon dioxide from accumulating in the closed room and causing poisoning. But Xino has long been accustomed to this, so even though a layer of sweat has seeped out of the back of his neck, his face is still calm. He walked up to his grandfather and saluted and greeted him: "Good afternoon, grandfather, I wonder if you slept well last night? This morning I went to the Loser Forest to clean the road, so I was a little late, and I'm sorry to have worried you."

The grandfather, half lying in a wheelchair, slowly raised his head and glanced at Xino. He had a face that made people feel stubborn and rigid at first glance, with wrinkles left by the years on his pale skin, and sparse hair, with only a few stubborn white hairs growing out from the cracks, as bleak and lonely as the withered grass in the fields after the autumn harvest, dotted with dry lips and deeply sunken eye sockets.

"I dreamed of Reynard again last night." The old man said word by word. Contrary to his appearance, his tone was calm but very steady and powerful, not like the voice of an old man who was about to die. Xino was slightly stunned, because Reynard was her deceased father. Before the girl could think of how to respond, the old man cast his eyes on the lunch on the table and said, "But it's good that you're here. Let's eat first." The turn of the topic was a bit abrupt, but after Xino came to his senses, he just nodded, pulled out a chair and sat down, and picked up the knife and fork on the table. The grandfather and grandson did not speak again. Just like the past ten years, they began to eat in silence. For a while, the atmosphere in the restaurant was a bit dull. Except for the occasional sound of the knife and fork hitting the dishes, there was no other sound. One of the ancestral precepts of the Gustaf family was to remain silent and restrained when eating.

The old man's lunch was as simple as Heno's, except that the smoked ham with black pepper gravy was replaced with soft potato soup, because his teeth could no longer support his master to bite off his favorite food as boldly as when he was young. One of the few pastimes for the rest of his life was to secretly eat one or two frosted candies when his granddaughter Heno and the old butler Weber were not paying attention. It was the kind of candy that was like a layer of frost, with only a faint sweetness in the mouth. It was the most delicious snack in the old man's memory, but now, even the youngest children in Grindelwald's countryside have disliked their taste.

The girl felt complicated when she thought of this. Despite this, she still strictly followed the dining etiquette of the Gustaf family. She was elegant, restrained and precise. Her every move revealed a demeanor that other noble heirs could hardly match. This was the result of eighteen years of hard training since she could remember, and it has now become an instinct.

In five minutes, Xinuo finished her lunch, and the bowls and plates were all clean, without any waste. But the girl did not put down her knife and fork, because at the other end of the table, her grandfather was tremblingly forking a piece of potato and putting it into his mouth. The old man, who was a little stubborn in his bones, refused the request of his granddaughter and the housekeeper to serve him a meal, and insisted on completing this most important ceremony of land reclamation and pioneering by himself to prove that he had never forgotten the teachings of his ancestors.

Young people should not act without permission before the elders leave the table, so after each meal, Xinuo would wait for a while until her grandfather finished eating before getting up to clear the tableware. This young girl had an extraordinary patience and never complained, perhaps because she knew she was used to waiting and had always been waiting.

When the old man finished his meal and put down his knife and fork, twenty minutes had passed. According to convention, it was now up to Xino to clean up and wash the dishes, while the old man would go back to his room to take a nap under the care of the housekeeper Weber and would not wake up until the evening. But today, Xino had one more thing to report to him.

"Grandfather, this morning when I went to clean the road in the Forest of Loser, I found a group of..." She considered her tone and thought about how to describe it: "rather special guests."

"Guest?" The old man raised his eyelids.

"Yes, and they also mentioned some incredible things to me."

Xino told her grandfather about her experiences in the morning, as well as the historical secrets that Lingge and the others had mentioned. However, for some reason, she omitted the part about her possible being the Maiden King, and only mentioned things about Joan of Arc and the secret society. At the end, she asked hesitantly, "Grandfather, do you think what they said is credible? Lady Saint, is it true that you are pushing for the Republican War for other purposes?"

The old man closed his eyes, as if he was lost in thought. After a few minutes, he slowly said, "It is rumored that the handwriting of our ancestors... may not have left traces, but it is so old that it cannot be verified. Besides, it is not important."

The girl was stunned for a moment, as if she didn't expect her grandfather to comment like this: "Not important?"

This concerns the reputation of the Hibernian ancestors and the Saint Lady, how could it not be important?

"Yes." He opened his eyes and looked at his granddaughter deeply with those eyes that were already a little dim and old, like dying stars. "What's important is not what you want to do, but what you do. Just like you, Xinuo, have you thought about what you want to do and what you should do? If you think about these problems until you can't avoid them anymore, it will be too late."

He hinted at something. The girl subconsciously pursed her lips and did not answer. Perhaps she was afraid to answer.

"You are still confused and at a loss, which is normal. But don't be afraid, child. These are just small forks in your life. On the road ahead of you, the glorious ancestors of the Gustave family have already pointed out the direction for you."

The old man slowly raised his head and looked up at the wooden roof. The dim candlelight cast a little light into his old eyes, reminding him of the faces and smiles of every ancestor of the Gustave family on the corridor leading to the restaurant. He had watched them walk through the corridor since he was a child. After him, it was Reynard, and now it was Shino's turn.

He looked away and said to Xinuo meaningfully: "Descendants with the blood of white thorn flowers have never been afraid of sacrifice."

After saying that, he closed his eyes again. The old butler, Weber, who had been waiting outside the restaurant for a long time, immediately stepped forward, pushed the wheelchair for him, and left the restaurant. Before leaving, he nodded to Xinuo, but the girl was still in a daze and didn't notice. The old butler sighed and turned around, and his footsteps quickly disappeared at the end of the corridor.

After a long time, the sound of clearing dishes was heard in the restaurant, bang bang, and it seemed a little impatient.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)