Evil dragon has a warm heart
Chapter 189 - 189 188 The Small Castle

Chapter 189: Chapter 188: The Small Castle Chapter 189: Chapter 188: The Small Castle After taking care of the cigar factory, Russell couldn’t wait to embark on another project, that was renovating the house.

At first, he thought the manor’s annex was sufficient, even luxurious with over a dozen servants to attend to his needs, it seemed perfect.

But now, with more money in his purse and even possessing two little sprites.

He started to care more about the quality of life.

He felt that the small manor annex no longer matched his current worth and status, so renovation and expansion became pressing issues to address.

“The manor annex is currently adequate for our needs, especially since your four knight attendants have moved to the small marketplace and freed up two rooms,” Butler Morris laid out the blueprint of the manor annex on Russell’s desk.

This blueprint was drawn by his own hands.

As a butler, one must possess some skills, and knowing that Russell wanted to refurbish the manor annex, he had put in a lot of effort to do just that.

The entire manor annex was a rectangular, inward-facing structure.

There were five rooms, each four meters in length and width, at both the front and the back, with two additional rooms of the same dimensions in the middle, totaling twelve rooms.

Including walls that were half a meter thick, and staircases on both sides that were one and a half meters wide, the whole manor annex measured twenty-six meters in length and fourteen meters in width.

It was divided into two stories.

Additionally, there was a cellar used for storing liquor and pickles that was roughly four meters squared, with its entrance located inside the courtyard garden.

“Hmm, Morris, your drawing skills aren’t bad at all,” Russell complimented.

On this blueprint, many of the large four-meter squared rooms were divided into smaller spaces. Then the purpose of each room, and even who was living in them, was carefully indicated by Butler Morris, making it clear at a glance.

“Thank you for the compliment, Master. It’s my duty,” Butler Morris replied.

“What do you think we should do next to refurbish the manor annex?” Russell asked.

Butler Morris pondered and said, “The main structure of the manor annex is already very complete. The best approach would be to add another story. But if we add a third floor, it would significantly affect the natural light in the courtyard garden, which is a difficult problem to solve.”

Russell nodded, then added, “How about this, we add another story on top of the rear section; that way it won’t affect the lighting of the courtyard garden.”

The manor annex faced south, with its back to the north.

According to Russell’s observations, the sweltering summer season had just passed, and the sun was roughly overhead at midday, with shadows slightly stretching to the north.

So it seemed that the Shadowflame Grand Duchy, like his old home on Earth, was located north of the equator in the Northern Hemisphere. In this case, with the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, no matter how many stories were added to the rear section of the manor annex, it would not block the sunlight.

Butler Morris instantly praised, “Master’s consideration is most prudent.”

Adding another story to the rear would yield an additional five rooms, each four meters squared, and the rooftop would become a large terrace, but Russell was still not satisfied.

So he inquired, “What if we tear down the rear section of rooms, and then make space for five more rooms on both sides, forming a square structure with the courtyard garden in the center, wouldn’t that make the manor annex appear bigger and the courtyard garden larger?”

“Well, Master,” Butler Morris was not a butler who blindly followed orders without any opinion of his own, he cautioned, “If we do that, the construction work would be too extensive. You might as well select a new location and build a small castle from scratch.”

“Is that so…”

“Master, your uncle, Lord Roson, built his own small castle just a few years ago. If Master wishes, he could erect his own small castle as well.”

“Build a small castle?” Russell stroked his chin, pondering.

To be honest, he certainly dreamed of owning his castle, a dream that every knight possessed.

But he did not want to build a small castle at Wuyao Snake Manor.

The reason was simple; he did not consider Wuyao Snake Manor to be his true domain. In the foreseeable future, he would undoubtedly leave this place to carve out his warm enclave and even create a nation of his own.

Wuyao Snake Manor was just a stepping stone.

Since it was a stepping stone, there was no need to spend a substantial amount of wealth to build a new small castle.

“Forget it.” Eventually, Russell shook his head, discarding the idea of lavish indulgence, “Let’s just add another layer to the rear section of the manor annex, and additionally, we’ll erect a fence around the manor annex, tidy up the lawn, and create a training ground. That should suffice.”

He paused.

Russell spoke again, “Take the excess slag earth bricks and use them to build bridges. Demolish the small bridge in front and construct a solid, large bridge. And over by Magic Potion Tun, build a few small bridges that can accommodate carriages to facilitate transportation.”

Wuyao Snake Manor was precisely divided in the middle by the Glowing River, and there was only one stone bridge at the very north of the entire manor.

During the ice period, the surface of the Glowing River would freeze, making it possible to cross at will.

But in the warm season, when the water level of the Glowing River rose sharply, the only option to cross was to make a detour via the stone bridge in the north, which greatly restricted transit efficiency.

“My lord, you truly are an excellent lord, always considering the needs of your territory,” Butler Morris said admirably.

“Since I have become a lord, I naturally need to think about my territory,” Russell stretched lazily, “Alright, that settles it. Next, have Charles recruit stonemasons and carpenters in town, and you will be in charge of overseeing the progress of the work.”

“As you wish, my lord,” Butler Morris bowed in response.

After Butler Morris took his leave, Russell remained in the study, meticulously organizing the books brought back from Bluebird Castle into categories on the bookshelves. Then, he pulled out a geography book that described the customs and cultures of countries beyond the Shadowflame Duchy and started to read it slowly.

The saying goes that one need not step outside to know the world; the secret lies in reading books.

Russell did not yet have the ability to travel far, but that did not prevent him from understanding the Shadowflame Duchy and the nations beyond it.

“The Scorching Torrent Kingdom, Princess Anxia’s homeland… to think they have two great dragons, one named Scorching Dragon and the other Torrential Flood Dragon. Does every country name itself after dragons? Hmm, none of them seem to have names as nice as Shadowflame Dragon,” he mused.

Books hold a myriad of grains, rooms full of gold, and beauty beyond compare; Russell quietly roamed within them.

Elsewhere.

Butler Morris arrived at the servant’s rest room now doubling as the dining room—during meal times it was a dining room, otherwise, it was a rest area.

“Ahem, Leona, go call everyone over.”

“Is there a meeting, alright,” the head maid Leona put down her needlework and went outside to call people in.

Soon enough, the servants gathered around the dining table.

Clearing his throat, Butler Morris said with a serious expression, “The lord has decided to formally renovate the manor’s annex and to build a third floor above the second row of the second level. This involves many aspects, and everyone must take this matter seriously.”

“Oh, just adding another floor?” Maid Olivia expressed some disappointment, “I thought the lord would build a small castle!”

Maid Eileen said, “That’s good too, the annex of the manor is quite big.”

“But it’s certainly not as pretty as a small castle.”

“Yes, maybe we can get separate rooms,” kitchen maid Barbara whispered.

Mrs. Moore immediately scolded her, “Stop daydreaming. There’s never a chance for maids to have their own rooms, not even in Fluorescent Castle, and you’re just a kitchen maid. You should be grateful that Mr. Morris doesn’t make you sleep in the boiler room!”

Barbara pursed her lips, saying no more.

Manservant William then said, “Once the third floor is completed, Mr. Morris, can we have two people per room? I don’t want to share with Fox anymore; his snoring keeps me awake every night.”

Ram nodded in agreement, “Yes, it also keeps me from sleeping well.”

Three manservants shared one room, or rather a large four-meter-square room divided into two smaller rooms, and they slept in one of these smaller rooms.

Fox shrugged, “But it doesn’t bother me.”

“Of course it doesn’t bother you—it’s your own snoring!” William and Ram rolled their eyes at Fox.

Butler Morris coughed and said, “Alright, quiet down. When the stonemasons and carpenters arrive, I will have them help us redesign the rooms. If there are enough rooms, I will allow you to pair up…. but someone has to share a room with Fox.”

“But we only have three manservants; we can’t perfectly pair up. Mr. Morris, does this mean I can have a room to myself?” Fox thought gleefully.

Butler Morris gave him a look, “I will report to the lord and recruit another manservant.”

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(The basic layout is roughly like this~)