Struggle in the Steam Age

Just as Lawrence and Nora repeatedly chatted and guessed through the spiritual connection, the carriage gradually left the city and drove towards the suburbs. After all, no matter what reason Viscount Doropia invited Lawrence to be a guest, the public excuse he gave was to hold a hunting, so he must go to a hunting manor in the suburbs.

Unexpectedly, this journey seemed a bit long. After leaving the city, it took a whole hour for the carriage to reach the final destination. Along the way, Lawrence and the others saw many beautiful and well-run manors on both sides of the road, or on the contrary, dilapidated manors that had been abandoned for various reasons.

According to the appearance of these manors, Lawrence and the others felt that this should be the first piece of farmland built by the first pioneers after they settled down. But with the development of the times, this land has slowly changed its use, becoming a manor for nobles, a winery or other places where they can relax a little away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

"Okay, here we are." Soon the carriage stopped, and then the butler jumped out of the carriage first, opened the door for them and made a gesture of invitation. Seeing this scene, Lawrence stretched out his left arm to let the puppet put his right hand on it, and then walked out of the car in a rather elegant posture.

What appeared in front of them was a wild garden near a big mountain. Through the iron gate of the garden, Lawrence could see a path extending from the gate to a small two-story building. The building walls covered with various climbing vines and the gardens full of flowers of various colors make this building very distinctive.

It's just that when Mr. Steward walked into the creaking iron gate, Lawrence found some slightly dilapidated places, such as the iron gate with some mottled rust spots, or under the cover of a series of plants. The paint is peeling off, and even the various wooden components are beginning to become decayed and damaged.

"I can basically confirm that there is indeed a problem with the family's economy." Through the soul connection, Lawrence said to Nora, "But it's not serious, at least they can afford the hunting manor and Carriage, so it shouldn’t be the kind of family that is completely dilapidated, just using this method to hint something to us.”

At the beginning, Lawrence thought that the other party was a particularly down-and-out aristocrat, and wanted to find himself a good time. But now it seems that should not be the case. According to what he heard from other nobles during the training phase of the Heraldry Academy before being knighted, the real dilapidated nobles often start by selling their own hunting manors. That is to say, if there is a hunting manor, it means that the Even if the aristocrat's economy is a little bit of a turnaround for a while, the foundation is still there.

With doubts, Lawrence followed the butler into the door of the room. Although this small two-story building doesn't look very big from the outside, it unexpectedly has a large foyer. A lot of sunlight came in through the windows to brighten the place. With the golden sunlight, Lawrence and the others found that the inside of the room was completely different from the dilapidated outside. It was luxuriously furnished, and a luxurious Aurora-style silk carpet covered almost the entire stone floor.

"I think there may be a little deviation in our understanding." Nora said to Lawrence through the soul connection, "Although the Viscount Doropia is not very rich, it should not be difficult financially. As for the carriage and construction The problem should be that it is too close to the sea, and the air is not only humid but also high in salinity. So everything obviously goes bad faster."

But in this way, it is difficult to guess why the viscount sent an invitation letter to him to invite him to come and hunt. At least Lawrence couldn't figure out, apart from a distant relative, what connection did the viscount have with him that required him to send a special invitation letter.

According to the etiquette of the Elysian noble family that he made up for yesterday, this kind of invitation is between a formal invitation and an informal invitation. Although according to tradition, Lawrence did not take the initiative to send invitations to other people in the region, and it was not appropriate for others to send invitations to him. But in theory, exceptions can be made if there is a relationship.

However, if the invitation is based on kinship, then this can be regarded as an internal invitation between the same family. Nothing about nobles will be involved. In this case, both parties are free to send invitation letters to each other, but in this way, the invitees are limited to the other party, and it is not allowed to invite two at a time.

Although they communicate with each other through the connection of the soul, Lawrence and Nora behave very normally to the outside world, and it is impossible to see that the two are communicating. In this silence, they walked along the magnificent corridor just now to the heavy door at the end, and then the butler turned the bronze doorknob to open the door, and then bowed slightly to say hello. The action invites the two of them to go in.

At this time, Lawrence found that the room was a living room, and there was an old couple and a middle-aged man sitting beside a well-decorated coffee table. In addition to them, there are two servants, a man and a woman, standing against the wall of the room, ready to serve these family members at any time.

"Hello! Viscount Doropia, thank you very much for your invitation." On the way here, the previous butler had already introduced the Viscount's family members to Lawrence, so he quickly confirmed the people in the room after entering the door Then she took off her hat and bowed to the older man sitting on the main seat. Beside him, Nora also fell to the ground and raised her skirt.

"You are welcome to accept my invitation to be a guest here." Viscount Doropia and everyone at the coffee table stood up to return the greeting, and then invited Lawrence and Nora to sit down. For these aristocratic families with a relatively long history, it is natural to know what the constructed life of the caster means. So it is very polite to give the little doll and Lawrence the same treatment.

After everyone sat down in their seats, the two servants delivered various drinks and snacks. Then the five people gathered around the tea table and tasted refreshments and drinks, while saying some polite words.

The content of this type of chat is actually extremely boring, but it is essential for nobles. Fortunately, Lawrence had received some training in this area before, and at the same time, he was able to exchange information with Nora through the soul connection. So it is natural to chat with the three masters.

During the chat, Lawrence found that the other party was using some kind of words to kill his patience. However, considering that whoever asks the question first at this time will be at a disadvantage in the conversation, he continued to chat along the other side's topic. After all, looking at the situation now, it should be that they have something they want to ask of themselves, so Lawrence is not in a hurry.

"It's too presumptuous to invite you here today, but we do hope to get some help from you." After chatting politely for more than half an hour, Viscount Doropia's family finally couldn't hold back. . So he simply clarified the purpose of inviting him today.

"Help?" Lawrence nodded, feeling slightly relieved. In any case, the straightforward words of the heir to the Viscount explained the reason why the other party invited him, and for him, as long as he figured out the reason for inviting him, he could always solve these problems successfully.

"Yes, we need your help." Aunt Mia said on the side, "I am a devout believer of the Agricultural Church. I happened to meet Priest Octavia when I went to pray in the church yesterday. She told Your presence and your views on agriculture have been given to me. That's why I sent someone to invite you last night."