Apparently, I'm the Infamous Earl's Legendary Bride

Book 1: A Girl in Another World - Chapter 28

Quinn

I watched as Aldric and ten other men left, along with Liam who had volunteered to join the monster subjugation team, and Vincent and Theo. Once they were out of sight, I turned on my heel and went inside the great hall. There, I requested, with the aid of Uncle Colt with his loud, commanding voice, that everyone put on their jackets and head outside. When the hall was cleared of people, I summon my magic circle, and within moments, the glass windows were replaced, this one double-glazed. Done, I dusted my hands and allowed everyone to re-enter. Uncle Colt, Mr. Morton, Allan, and most of the men couldn't stop marveling at the windows.

One of the men, a Mr. Robert Lamont, said, "How do you get two glass windows in like that, my lady."

I chuckled. "Magic?"

About an hour later, Uncle Colt, Mr. Morton, Allan, Mark, Eden, and I were trekking through the snow, headed toward the main storage buildings, which were a ten-minute walk away from the great hall. I saw that one of the building's stone walls were black with soot, undoubtedly from fire, and parts of the walls had crumbled, but not the other.

Mark led us into the damaged one and showed me the inside. The space was large, the same size as a big warehouse, and filled with what could only be ashes, remains, of what once were supplies—wheat and rye and barley, the staples of Norsewood, and vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, onions, and more.

"We salvaged what we could," Mark said. "And have moved those into another storage closer to the kitchen and great hall."

I nodded and then asked, "What about the other building? The one next to this one? Why isn't that one damaged like this one?"

Allan answered that. He said, "That smaller one we used to store the livestock feeds. It has not been touched by the enemy. They saw no benefit in expending time and effort in those when they could destroy our livestock itself."

Was that why I hadn't seen any animals, such as cows or pigs or even chickens, around? A good way to cripple the people of Norsewood, I supposed. Obliterating their supplies and livestock and let them suffer and slowly starve to death. How horrible. I was surprised they didn't think to poison the water wells, too.

I surveyed the area once more, knowing there was nothing more that could be salvaged here. To Mark, I said, "Can you please show me that smaller storage next door?"

He nodded, and we filed out.

Though this storage was smaller, it was still the size of a decent warehouse, and I wondered how much animal feed they had in here. Too bad we couldn't make good use of it until we replenished the livestock, and that'd have to wait until spring when travel was possible.

Mark unlocked and then opened the double door, and the moment I stepped in and eyed what was before me, I thought, holy shit, I spoke too soon.

Piled high from floor to ceiling was a type of grain—very familiar-looking one, and I rushed forward, my heart racing with excitement.

Behind me, Allan said, "It's hard cultivating them, but that part of our land close to the Northern Alps is not much good for the likes of wheat or barely or rye. Considering our circumstances, I think it's good, economically speaking, to try something else when spring comes."

I bent down and gathered a bunch in my cupped hands, chuckling. "Don't! Please don't stop cultivating these."

"But they're not economically sound, my lady," Allan said.

Mr. Morton said, "There's no market for them, lassie. No one would even buy them as chicken feed when they can use corn, which is widely available and cheap."