Chapter 186 (1/2)

Chapter 186 The Star of the Theater (Part 2)

The moment May spotted him, she immediately put away all thoughts of returning to the stronghold.

“My God, M-May!” When May came over, Irene exclaimed in disbelief. Irene grabbed her hands and pulled her towards the knight, “Darling, do you know who she is? She is the most famous actress of the Longsong Theater, Miss May! Whenever she performs, the people who want to see her play line-up from the theater’s lobby and into the streets!”

Although the phrase “darling” caused May’s heart jump, her perennial acting habits allowed her to reflexively smile and give a little nod, “Hello.”

“Ah, of course I know about her. You’ve even told me about her being one of the most famous actress in the West, there aren’t any nobles who do not know the name for the star of theater,” he sighed, then spoke in an apologetic tone to May, “My wife is a little lacking in her some manners. I’m Ferlin, welcome.”

He didn’t announce his name or his status, and even concealed his family name. May’s heart was filled with sadness, but on the surface she maintained her utmost elegant expression, “I’m familiar with you. Everyone in the West knows of the First Knight of the Western Territory, ‘Morning Light’, Sir Eltek. I must apologize, because of the stress of theater work, I was unable to attend your and Irene’s wedding.”

“That’s a thing of the past,” the knight said with a smile as he shook his head. “Nowadays, I’m just a teacher, and I no longer belong to the Eltek Family, so you really don’t have to be so polite to me.”

He then waved in the direction of the others and continued. “Let’s go back. We can talk later, but first you have to finish your application for temporary residence.”

Teacher? May was startled, does that mean he’s now a court tutor? The town’s Lord is indeed a prince, but the Prince would never lower himself to find a knight to take on such a role, ha. And what’s all this about applying for temporary residence? Shouldn’t Irene be taking the group of us to a local reliable, and safe inn to stay at?

“I really did not expect you to come here. If you were to play Cinderella, it would certainly cause a sensation!”

“Is that so?” May had some doubt about that. She had never heard the name of that drama, which indicated that it had probably been written by a new playwright. Moreover, it wasn’t like she had spare time for rehearsal, she’d only come here… because she wanted to see how Morning Light was doing, and if there was some way she could help him.

After entering town, May realised that there was definitely something wrong in this place. The town was located on the border of the kingdom and the only role it served was to be an outpost for the stronghold, so why did it now look like a newly built city? The road everyone was walking on was covered with dark gray gravel, and there was no mud to be seen anywhere on the whole road. Furthermore, the streets were too wide, practically allowing two carriages to pass each other side to side.

“What kind of road is this?” Sam asked the question that was in her mind aloud. “It looks strangely flat.”

“Hehe,” Irene smirked, “When I first arrived here it was still made of mud, but now it’s become like this. Furthermore, the road still isn’t finished yet; the masons have said that this is only the foundation for the actual road.”

“Then they’ve fooled you,” Rosia retorted, “Everyone knows, only houses need a foundation. Things that are already lying on the ground can’t collapse, so why should they need one ~ah?”

“Really, they mix a kind of fine, grayish powder together with stones and then they spread it out. Afterward, they sprinkle water on it and compress it with a stone roller until the road has become flat and smooth. In the beginning, I also thought this was the new sort of road, but the mason said that this was a practice developed by His Highness, it seems to be called… water whatever layer. In short, this is still only the foundation!” Irene turned around and continued leading the way, allowing her long plait to swing with each step, “In the future when more people and carriages start using it, the ground will be paved with slate. Only then will the true road be finished.”

Paved roads? May coldly laughed inside her heart. Other than the inner city of King’s City, which other city in this kingdom could cover its roads with slate? Having such a broad and flat road was already good enough. There were still many mud roads in Longsong Stronghold.

Along the way through the town, she saw how many houses on both sides of the road were being demolished, regardless of whether it was a clay-tile roofed house or a wooden house. Although they were clearly not new houses, they still a far cry from being called uninhabitable. “Did the Lord drive them away because they were blocking the road?”

“No, they’ve all moved to another district.”

“District?” May asked.

“It is the new residential area, where everyone gets exactly the same brick house to stay in,” Irene explained. “All the original residents had been assigned one, that means there will be no leaking or broken houses in town.

Everyone can be allocated to a brick house? May could not believe her ears, this was even more exaggerated than paved streets. Does she have any idea how much such an idea will cost? But since she was in front of Ferlin, she still had to swallow her words.

There were a lot of other pedestrians on the street, so they would occasionally be stopped by people who wanted to greet Irene or Ferlin. Thanks to this, May found out that Irene was also one of those so-called teachers.