Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 106 Young Master Morin Has Changed
Good morning, Master Morin.

The maids quickly bowed in greeting.

Good morning, is there anything to eat?

Morin rubbed his still somewhat empty stomach—he hadn't actually eaten enough last night.

"this."

A maid answered somewhat awkwardly:
"Young Master, Madam usually hasn't gotten up yet at this time, so breakfast preparation will be a little late."

She glanced at Maureen and added, "Besides, you've never gotten up this early before."

The implication is that the kitchen had no idea you'd want to eat at this time.

After saying this, she seemed afraid that Morin would blame her, so she quickly joined the other maids in making assurances.

"We will definitely prepare breakfast in advance next time, please don't blame us."

"fine."

Morin waved his hand. He wasn't some unreasonable bully, and besides, he could easily take care of breakfast himself.

Curious, he wandered into the manor's kitchen.

The kitchen is large and fully equipped with all kinds of kitchen utensils, which are polished to a shine.

Morin opened the freezer containing the food with practiced ease—a device that had only been invented last year and was a product of some kind of magical technology.

He took out some leftover cold cuts of meat, cheese, and a few slices of bread from last night and made himself a simple sandwich.

Normally, the leftover food is consumed by the servants on the estate.

The maids following behind him looked on incredulously when they saw that this young nobleman was actually cooking for himself.

In their minds, a noble young master like Morin shouldn't even know which way the kitchen door faces.

However, one of the more quick-witted maids reacted very quickly.

She immediately ran to the stove, quickly made a cup of hot cocoa for Maureen, and then carefully brought it over.

"Young master, please have some."

"Thank you."

Morin took it naturally and took a sip.

The warm, sweet liquid slid down his throat, making him feel much better.

However, his simple "thank you" left the maids frozen in place.

Having worked under Cecilia for so long, this was the first time they had heard Maureen say "thank you" to them.
The maids dared not stay any longer, and carefully left the kitchen, hiding in a deserted corridor.

"Good heavens, did I just hear that right? Young Master Morin actually said 'thank you'!"

"Wait a minute, isn't it a bad thing to be thanked by the young master?"

The maids had some absurd memories of Morin's past flashing through their minds.

"What should we do?" one of the maids asked, starting to panic.

"Don't be afraid. With Madam here, Young Master shouldn't dare to do anything reckless."

"However, if it's Young Master Morin, it might not be a bad idea."

"?"

“Maritan, something’s wrong with you.”

Morin quickly finished his breakfast.

After finishing his meal, he asked the maid and learned that Cecilia usually didn't get up until nine or ten o'clock.

After thinking about it, he decided to take advantage of this time to do something that should have been done a long time ago.

Captain Hauser's belongings were returned to his family.

Morin had previously obtained information about Captain Hauser from the battalion headquarters; the captain's home happened to be in Zwickau.

Morin returned to his room and took out the wristwatch that belonged to Captain Hauser and the pocket watch that the captain had lent him from his luggage.

Then the maid was asked to find a clean piece of velvet cloth to carefully wrap the two watches.

Having done all this, he walked to the gate of the manor, ready to leave.

Then, he stood there, stunned.

He suddenly realized a very real problem.

There are no ride-hailing services available on demand here, nor are there extensive public transportation networks like buses and subways.

Small towns like Tswickau don't even have trams.

In this era, aside from riding the slow and extremely uncomfortable postal public carriages, people relied on their own two feet, bicycles, or their own horse-drawn carriages for ninety percent of their travel.

The manor was located in a remote suburb, quite a distance from the town where Captain Hauser's family lived.

Just as Morin stood at the door, contemplating whether to simply walk over and use it as part of their morning training,

A groom who was waiting at the door came up with good sense.

"Young Master, are you going out?"

"Mm." Morin nodded.

Would you like a carriage prepared for you?

Upon hearing this, Morin stopped being polite with him.

He gave the groom Captain Hauser's address and asked him to take him there.

The coachman immediately went to prepare the carriage, and soon a small, lightweight two-wheeled carriage stopped in front of Morin.

Morin boarded the carriage and headed towards the town of Tswickau.

Once the carriage entered the town of Tswicao, its speed gradually decreased.

The streets are lined with typical Saxon-style buildings, and pedestrians and bicycles come and go on the cobblestone streets. Occasionally, you can see one or two early cars burning smelt fuel driving by, leaving a trail of black smoke.

As Morin looked out the car window, a question suddenly occurred to him.

Is it a bit impolite to come empty-handed?
Although he was going to return the belongings, bringing something, even just a bouquet of flowers, was a token of his affection. However, at the same time this thought popped into his head, another more practical problem also arose in his mind.

He seems to be broke.

As an officer, his salary had not yet been paid.

The luggage brought back from the camp contained only a few changes of clothes and some personal items, and not even a single penny.

The original owner's allowance used to come from Cecilia; he himself had no habit of saving money.

This is very embarrassing.

Morin looked at the things he had brought. Apart from the captain's belongings, there was only white bread and cheese that he had casually taken from the kitchen that morning, just in case.

The coachman seemed to sense his predicament and kindly suggested, "Young master, there's a flower stall up ahead. You can trade some food for some flowers..."

Morin looked in the direction he pointed and indeed saw a flower stall not far away, although it didn't seem to have a wide variety of flowers.

After getting out of the car, Morin hesitated for a moment before finally steeling himself and walking to the stall.

The stall owner was a kind-looking middle-aged woman.

Morin used the only white bread and cheese he had in his pocket, along with his uniform that represented the honor of an imperial officer, and the general goodwill that Saxon civilians had for soldiers.
I successfully traded a few bouquets of wrapped Christmas roses with the aunt.

This flower, also known as the 'heather flower', is one of the few plants that grow and bloom in the wild in Saxony during winter.

When the woman heard that he was going to visit the family of his fallen comrade, she not only refused his gifts but also gave him an extra bouquet and wished him a safe journey.

"No, ma'am, I can't take your things for free. It's not easy for you to set up your stall in this cold winter."

Morin insisted, and shoved the bread and cheese in his hand into the stall owner's hands.

"These foods may not be expensive, but they are a small token of my appreciation."

Seeing that Morin was so insistent, the stall owner could no longer refuse.

She eventually accepted the food, and then carefully selected a bouquet of Christmas roses for Maureen, wrapping them neatly in clean paper.

"Sir, I hope everything goes well for you." She handed the flowers to Morin and said sincerely.

"Thank you, auntie." Morin accepted the flowers and thanked her again.

Meanwhile, at the manor...

Cecilia slowly awoke with the help of her maid.

She leaned lazily against the headboard, sipping the hot milk the maid had brought her, and casually asked, "Where's Fritz? Has he gotten up yet?"

"Madam, Young Master Morin got up before dawn."

The maid answered respectfully.

"Oh?"

Cecilia snapped out of her daze and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

He ate breakfast alone in the kitchen and then went out.

"He went out?" Cecilia was even more surprised. "Where did he go? Did he say when he would be back?"

"He didn't say anything, he just asked the coachman to take him to an address in the city."

Cecilia pondered for a moment, then a complex smile appeared on her face.

"This child has really changed."

she muttered.

In the past, if he wanted to go out, he would definitely run to his room immediately.

Then they would pester and plead, trying every possible way to get some money from me.
He disappeared without saying a word today.

While this brought Cecilia some comfort, a strange and inexplicable sense of loss welled up deep within her heart.

The carriage eventually stopped in front of a quiet street.

This is the residential area for ordinary citizens of Tswickau, with houses that are mostly two or three stories high and look quite old.

Following the address, Morin found Captain Hauser's house.

He straightened his military uniform, took the flowers, walked forward, and gently knocked on the door.

The person who opened the door was a woman in her thirties.

She wore a simple black dress, her hair was simply pulled back, and her face showed undisguised haggardness and sadness.

When she saw Morin in his officer's uniform, her body visibly stiffened.

"Who are you?"

“Hello, are you Mrs. Hauser?” Morin asked softly. “I am Friedrich Morin, Captain Hauser’s former subordinate.”

Upon hearing the title "Captain Hauser," the woman's tears welled up instantly.

But she forced herself to stay calm, turned aside, and let Morin into the house.

"Please come in."

The furnishings inside were simple, but the room was spotless.

Maureen placed the flowers on the table by the door, then handed the wristwatch and pocket watch, wrapped in velvet, to Mrs. Hauser.

“These are the captain’s belongings. His last wish was to give these things to his wife, so I’ve come to return them.”

Mrs. Hauser took the two watches with trembling hands.

When her fingertips touched the cold metal, the tears she had been holding back finally burst forth.

She clutched her husband's belongings tightly, squatted on the ground, and sobbed in suppressed sobs.

Maureen stood to the side without saying a word, simply waiting quietly for her to calm down.

After a long while, Mrs. Hauser finally stopped crying.

She wiped away her tears, stood up, and forced a smile at Maureen.

"I'm sorry to have made you laugh."

(End of this chapter)