Chapter 60: Gao Ertai’s Psychological Struggle

Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

“Li Si Te’s actions are becoming more and more frequent, and there isn’t a moment of rest throughout the day, Isaiah, I haven’t had a good night’s sleep for a week now.”

Goltai, in the town’s administrative housing, fanned himself vigorously with thick parchment to cool himself down: “I originally thought that coming to Fresh Flower Town would be an easy job, but it has nearly exhausted me.”

“Clearly, officials without ambition are not what Li Si Te expects,” Isaiah, busy with his fingers calculating this quarter’s taxes and without looking up, said, “Goltai, you should make yourself more diligent, a comfortable life will erode a knight’s fighting spirit.”

“It seems that you’ve grown to like life in Fresh Flower Town just like Blair, I remember when you first arrived, you had endless complaints.”

“I was indeed very disappointed when I first arrived, it was dilapidated, crude, and there were hardly any people,” Isaiah moved his fingers, which had gone somewhat numb from doing arithmetic, “But after getting used to it, I find that Fresh Flower Town has an unprecedented vitality. I’ve talked to Marcus about it; he says that Li Si Te is a noble unlike any other.”

“Indeed, he is unlike any other,” Goltai spread his hands.

“So I think, Marcus’s aspiration to become a noble lies with Li Si Te, and perhaps here is also where I can revive my family’s hopes.”

“It looks like you’re serious.”

“I can’t keep being mediocre. For the sake of my foolish son, I must pull myself together.”

“Well, it’s about time to pull yourself together. I’m going to check on the construction progress of the houses in Oyster Village. The entire town is short-staffed now, I need to rack my brains on how to organize a Lumberjack Team.”

Despite his words, Goltai did not head to Oyster Village after leaving the administration; instead, he returned to his residence in the town.

It was a two-story building, formerly the residence of the Tax Knight—the Castle could only be inhabited by the landlord, and even if it was vacant, ordinary people could not move in.

“My Lord, you’re back. Is work over for the day?” A young girl dressed in a coarse linen dress hurried over to help Goltai take off his coat.

Goltai’s hands inappropriately touched the girl’s buttocks: “Work is never done, but life goes on.”

The girl’s face flushed red: “If you don’t go to work, won’t Lord Landlord blame you?”

“I was Li Si Te’s teacher, the town’s administrative officer, I have the right to give myself a half-day off… Freya, I’ve missed you, I can’t focus on my work.” Saying so, Goltai embraced Freya, kissing her cheek, and then pushed the girl toward the bedroom.

Freya quickly wrestled free, panicking, “My, my Lord, it’s still daytime.”

“What’s wrong with daytime? Recently, there’s been too much oyster-eating, not enough time at night,” Goltai selectively forgot that every evening, he could still only last once, and not more than thirty seconds at a time.

Freya looked somewhat panicked, seemingly searching for a topic to divert the conversation: “You seem to be in a bad mood, is it because of the advisor issue?”

“Of course I’m not in a good mood, he’s the landlord, he has the right to command me to work for him, even if it’s from morning to night, non-stop. But I’ve been in Fresh Flower Town for three months now, and I still haven’t been given the position of advisor. Damn it, who else here is qualified to be an advisor besides me?”

Goltai hit the wall of the house hard, his tone filled with indignation: “I’m starting to regret coming to Fresh Flower Town!”

Freya’s expression changed: “My Lord, do you, do you intend to leave here?”

“Not for now, Freya, it is you who make me linger, unwilling to leave.” Goltai embraced Freya again, kissing her.

Freya pushed him away forcefully.

Goltai’s face suddenly darkened: “Freya, what do you mean by that!”

Freya took a deep breath, allowing herself to smile again: “I know you’re unhappy, you’ve been preoccupied these past few days, I guess you want to return to Coral City, a much larger city than Fresh Flower Town, countless times more prosperous… I want to tell you, my Lord, that Freya will stay in Fresh Flower Town, to raise your child. Please don’t worry.”

“What do you mean?” Goltai’s face changed and changed again.

“I’m pregnant.”

With a soft utterance, all of Goltai’s expressions froze on his face. It took him a long while to come to his senses, “You’re pregnant?”

“Mhm.” Freya touched her own stomach, and even though it was still flat, she could feel a strong little heartbeat throbbing within.

During the conversation, she suddenly started to retch.

No longer doubting, Goltai knew that Freya was indeed pregnant, but he didn’t know whether to be thrilled or shocked—he had a wife and children in Coral City, his children were grown and married, and he even had a grandson who was born the year before last—he was only here seeking an affair to fill his loneliness.

He had never thought such a day would come.

“Oh heavens, Freya, I mean, I’m very confused right now, sorry, I don’t know how to face this news.” Goltai stammered.

Freya just smiled, “It’s alright, my Lord, I know that as a serf like me, there is no better tomorrow. I am very grateful to you for giving me some fairly happy memories, and I will raise him on my own, he will grow up healthy and strong… I just hope, when you leave, can you grant him freeman status?”

“Freeman?”

Goltai fell into hesitation and conflict, while Freya just smiled at him.

After a moment, he took a deep breath and finally made a decision, “I’m sorry, Freya, I have let you down…”

Freya’s smile quickly faded.

But the next thing Goltai said brought a brighter smile to her face.

“I hesitated just now, which I shouldn’t have—I promise you, I will not, at least not now, leave Fresh Flower Town. I want to see him born, to tell him his father’s name, Goltai Mast… I think I know what to do now, I’ve never really immersed myself in Fresh Flower Town.”

Goltai drew Freya into his arms, with warmth and not lust, “Because I’ve been a noble, accustomed to comfort rather than struggle, I complained about Liszt not offering me a consultant position, yet I never worked hard. But now, I must work hard and earn back some noble glory, for our child!”

“Is this true, my Lord?” Freya’s eyes widened.

“Of course, I promise it, by my knight’s honor!”

A moment of tenderness.

Goltai broke free from the tender trap and donned his own Flack Abaie, striding out of the house—this time he was truly inspecting the housing construction in Oyster Village.

At night, another small feast was being held in the castle.

Before the feast started, Marcus, Blair, and Isaiah were idly chatting, while in the study, Goltai was reporting his work progress to Liszt.

“The main road from Thorn Ridge to the town is now half-built, we have plenty of sand, but we’re running short on stones. I’ve started drafting robust serfs to form a Lumberjack Team and will also break up the stones from Thorn Ridge to transport for road construction. If the stone supply from Thorn Ridge is ample, the sandy roads between the villages could also be paved with gravel.”

“That’s an excellent plan, carry it out just like that, Teacher Goltai,” Liszt nodded in approval.

It wasn’t just the plan that was appealing but also Goltai’s attitude. In the past, Goltai would attend each feast only in body to eat and drink and to crack witty remarks, never taking the initiative to talk about work.

Today was a bit unexpected, as he proactively reported on his work.

As the landlord, of course, he favored subordinates who were keen on their jobs, rather than those who only mooched food and drink.