Imperial Crown.

Chapter 118 Raven Style
Raven accepted Jenny's invitation.

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

Miss Nancy has been in a bad mood these days, and Jenny is also in a bad mood.

Although Miss Nancy still loses her temper as easily as before after returning from the Bloody Heights, she rarely hits people or lets people slap themselves, and she even rarely throws things.

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

Especially recently, Nancy has invited Raven again and again.

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

Maybe the young lady is too bored recently? Baron Raven is the same. Apart from that press conference, he has not even organized a cocktail party. He is really a country aristocrat.

Jenny complained inwardly as she took Raven all the way to the third floor.

Nancy requisitioned two rooms for herself, one as a bedroom and the other as a dining room.

Originally, Nancy was sitting at the dining table with her head down, swinging her little feet boredly. The moment she saw Raven come in, her eyes suddenly lit up, but she maintained the reserve of a lady and sat up straight.

Nancy changed her clothes again. Although it was still Lolita style, the overall color scheme was completely different. It was pink as the base color and decorated with simple lace, giving a light feeling like peach blossoms in spring.

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

Nancy's lips curled up: "Please sit down."

This was the first time Raven had socialized so formally with a noblewoman.

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 quite exhausting both mentally and physically.

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

Soon, the first dish was served.

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

A glimmer of anticipation flashed across Raven's eyes, but when he saw what was on the plate, that anticipation popped like a soap bubble.

On the plate, which was as big as a human face, there were only three thumb-sized snacks.

"The first appetizer is Bavarian apricot shortbread." Nancy blinked her eyes and said, "Try it!"

Raven smacked his lips. "...Excuse me, how many dishes are there on this menu?"

"Ten dishes!" Nancy answered immediately, "Because many ingredients are hard to find right now, otherwise there would have to be at least thirteen dishes!"

It would have been better if he hadn't heard it. After hearing it, Raven became even hungrier - ten dishes, which had to be served one by one and tasted one by one. It would probably take more than two hours to finish them.

I definitely won’t be hungry by then. After sitting for two hours, my stomach would be numb from hunger!

Seeing that Raven was hesitant to move, Nancy asked, "Why, you don't like it?"

"No." After all, it was Nancy's idea, so Raven was not picky about it. He picked up the fork, picked up one of the desserts and put it into his mouth.

The taste was unexpectedly good.

The first thing you taste is the aroma of apricots, followed by just the right amount of sweetness. The milky flavor neutralizes the apricot aroma and sweetness very well, reminding Raven of the almond-flavored candies in his previous life.

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

It was delicious, but after taking a bite of the candy in this state, Raven felt his stomach acid churning even more violently.

After patiently chatting with Nancy about random things, the appetizers were finally finished and the second course was served seamlessly.

This time, Raven didn't have any expectations, but the dishes served actually lived up to his expectations.

"The second dish, appetizer, Capricorn milk maple cold dew."

The appearance of this dish is like a large ball of cream that has been trimmed into a ball. When you scoop a spoonful and put it into your mouth, the actual taste is similar, light and fluffy.

But how can it be so sweet!

It was even more outrageous than eating a piece of cotton candy sold on the street. Raven felt like his throat was going to get sore. If he hadn't seen Nancy enjoying the cotton candy, he would have almost thought it was a prank on him.

"I had this appetizer on my fifteenth birthday." Nancy licked a small piece of butter on the corner of her mouth: "Since then, it has always been on my menu..."

It was obvious that he hadn't finished speaking. Under normal circumstances, Raven would have been able to grasp this detail and continue asking questions, but now he had no intention of doing so.

It took more than half an hour to prepare these two dishes alone. Raven predicted with some despair that it would take until evening to finish the meal!
At this moment, Volaf's voice came along with the knock on the door: "Baron, there is something important that needs your attention."

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

Although he felt that Nancy's kindness was a bit wasted, the meal was really uncomfortable to eat, and Raven did have a lot of important things to do.

I couldn't help but let out an apologetic smile: "I'm sorry, there have been too many things going on lately."

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

"It's okay." Although she was a little unhappy, Nancy showed enough magnanimity at this moment: "Go ahead."

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

As the footsteps faded away, Jenny whispered, "Miss, why did you let Baron Raven go? You prepared this menu carefully!"

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

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

In the study, Fiona lowered her head, and the confidence she had when she accepted the task was no longer on her face.

Just five days ago, Raven gave her three days to come up with a plan for the monument. She worked so hard that she forgot to eat and sleep, and finished it in two days. But when she handed it over to Raven, he rejected it immediately.

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

Raven walked around Fiona and sat down behind the desk, then picked up the plan and started reading it.

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

After a while, Raven sighed and shattered all of Fiona's fantasies with one sentence:
"Otherwise...why not change to the first version?"

Fiona felt that her breathing was becoming difficult. If the person sitting opposite her was not Raven, she would definitely ask for an explanation, but now, she didn't dare to do so.

If you want the first edition, you should have told me earlier!
It’s not that Raven intends to be an unscrupulous client, but these three versions of the plan all have more or less problems.

The first version was completed very quickly, and Fiona worked very hard and attentively, but perhaps she worked too hard and ended up with a giant sculpture that was ten meters high and five meters wide. Not to mention the cost, with the productivity of that era, the construction period alone would have taken at least two or three years.

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

Today, this third version, although the overall size is relatively suitable, has no spirit at all. It is no different from ordinary sculptures that can be seen everywhere and does not look aesthetically pleasing at all.

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

"No rush, let me think about it..." Raven waved his hand, pondering, thinking about a suitable solution.

Not to mention that Fiona's spiritual energy has been worn out due to repeated revisions, and her hair has started to fall out. 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 and comparing them, Raven's eyes finally fell on the first version.

If we ignore the problem of its large scale, the sculpture is very well designed.

The three soldiers stood back to back, facing different directions, one holding a spear, one holding a sword and shield, and the other holding a crossbow, guarding the Griffith family's battle flag together. Although their armor was damaged, they all had a firm and regretless look on their faces.

On this basis...do some subtraction?
Raven moved his feet hesitantly, his eyes falling through the window on the outside of Eagle Castle. Now a layer of scaffolding has been set up there, and as long as the drawings are delivered, construction can begin at any time.

Looking at the orderly scaffolding, a thought suddenly flashed through Raven's mind. He thought of a sculpture design he had seen when he was slacking off at work in his previous life.

The image of a worker was constructed purely using rusty steel bars, and the layers of stacked steel bars also look like a construction site.

Most importantly, the subject, and the outline.

Catching a flash of inspiration, Raven pulled out 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 over quietly and suddenly let out a breath. She managed to hold back her smile with great difficulty.

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

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

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

Of course Raven wouldn't refuse.

Fiona compared Raven's draft with her own initial design and quickly drew a concept drawing.

The base is made of stone and the theme of the statue is made of bronze. The outlines of the three soldiers are made of 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 after seeing it, but before he could praise Fiona, Fiona spoke first: "My Lord 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 definitely be called 'Raven style'!"

"That's a good name." Raven laughed. "But let's make the product first. Find a few craftsmen, give them the design data, and start work immediately!"

"This kind of design is quite complicated. Since you are in charge of it, you should try to keep an eye on the site for a while to avoid making a weird product."

Fiona nodded excitedly: "Understood, Baron!"

Even if Raven didn't say it, she would personally supervise the construction of the sculpture. After all, this was the first important task that Baron Raven entrusted to her after the Gray Bread!
Fiona left excitedly. Raven rubbed his shriveled stomach and shouted, "Volaf! Go to the kitchen and get me some food!"

Fortunately, Raven didn't feel as hungry as he did 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 guards were running to Eagle Castle, which could be considered a shift change, but they couldn't pull all the horses into the basement, could they?
If people saw this, those war horses would look completely different after coming in and coming out, full of energy and very strong. God knows what kind of rumors would spread.

The Baron provided good service to the horses? The Baron injected a lot of energy into the horses?
No matter how you put it, it doesn't sound good.

So during this period, Raven spent most of his time in the stable, running back and forth between Eagle Castle and the stable.

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

On this day, when Raven returned to Eagle Castle, it was already completely dark. Raven went back to the bedroom and began to change his clothes with the help of Patty.

"My Lord Baron, should we continue the activities of the gray dwarves?" asked Petty.

Raven was stunned for a moment: "The gray dwarves are causing trouble again?"

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

"Oh!" Raven slapped his forehead and stood up immediately: "Today is January 1st?"

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

"Why didn't you tell me earlier!" Raven spoke faster: "I'll change my clothes by myself, go to the cabinet under my desk and get the box, quick!"

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

Why is the Baron so anxious?
……

(End of this chapter)