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She had worked for the castle for a full year and was supposed to be promoted to a formal maid.

But she loved the kitchen and wished to stay there.

Thus, she became a formal kitchen maid, with her wages rising from one to two copper coins per day, the same as Mrs. Abbie’s three kitchen assistants.

Of the ten manservants, five were manservant assistants: Isido, Morris, Harris, Sam, and Alger—they were given all the heavy and rough tasks in the castle.

The other five were handed over to One-Eyed Barton, the coachman, to be trained to tend to the castle’s horses, dogs, forests, gardens, and cordyceps.

Altogether, there were forty servants, and the castle could no longer accommodate them all.

Therefore, the newly arrived male and female servants were all arranged to stay in a corner of the town’s civilian residential area, specifically designated as the castle servants’ living quarters, separated by a wall.

In addition, the castle also had forty intern girls and boys.

Once they grew up, by which time the castle with Liszt’s name should be completed, they would become qualified servants. Just like the development of the town, the training of servants was an integral part of the nobility’s upbringing.

Seeing the contented smile on Little Lily’s face.

Liszt felt the same satisfaction.

All these people were living life around him, and being able to bring stability and happiness to those close to him was naturally a very fulfilling matter.

“Little Lily, go inform Butler Carter to lead the manservants to move the piano to the Worm Room,” he said.

“Yes, Master,” she replied.

Little Lily hurried down the stairs, leaving behind a graceful figure. Liszt watched as she disappeared around the stairwell corner and chuckled softly: “The beauty of youth in her prime, I wonder if she will choose to stay in the castle like Mrs. Morson, remaining unmarried for life, or decide to get married and have children at some point?”

Although manservants and maids were servants of the castle, they could still get married.

However, many maids did not wish to choose marriage; marrying meant having children, and having children meant losing their jobs. It was very hard to return to work in the castle once they had children. Manservants, on the other hand, had no such concerns; their earnings were enough to support a wife and children, and by leveraging relationships, they could even arrange for their children to work at the castle.

Landlords usually trusted the offspring of the castle’s old folks more.

There were also many manservants who remained single, Butler Carter being one of them. Sometimes, Liszt found it difficult to understand their way of thinking, dedicating their whole lives to the noble landlords.

As of the latest information reported by Butler Carter, there had yet been no development of private affairs between any of the manservants and maids in the castle.

When Liszt initially discussed with Butler Carter and established the castle’s regulations, there was no prohibition against manservants and maids dating; it was just that they were not allowed to let their relationships interfere with their work, nor were they permitted to commit lewd acts within the castle.

Soon.

Butler Carter led the manservants to move the upright piano into the Worm Room.

The room most suitable for the placement of the piano was actually the entertainment room, which could be converted into a practice room with a little renovation. But Liszt didn’t want a separate practice room, as a practice room without grand pianos would seem too shabby.

He placed the piano in the Worm Room.

Playing the piano without an audience was a lonely affair; not only were there numerous Elf Bugs in the Worm Room, but there was also the Thorn Minor Elf Jela and the Sea Serpent Ake who truly understood music.

The Sea Serpent was more commonly known as the Siren because of her enchanting voice.

Ake had once hummed a ballad from the Duchy of Sapphire into Li Si Te’s ear on a lazy afternoon, that nightingale-like melodious singing made him linger on, and he almost felt as though he had entered the world described by the song, half-awake, half-dreaming, not knowing where he was.

“Brother, is this the piano?” the sea sprite hovered in front of the piano, her ankles connected to the seawater, as the seawater buoyed her in midair.

A few strands of water obstructed the view into the mysterious area, further provoking the imagination, making one want to peer into the secrets.

He momentarily gathered his wits before shifting his gaze to the piano, “This is an upright piano, if you wish to learn, I can teach you how to play.”

“Mhm, Ake wants to learn,” she quickly nodded, but then hesitated, “Let’s not learn now, Ake still has to study magic, so many spells await exploration, hoping Ake can become a Grand Magician one day sooner.”

Ake had her own ideas,

Li Si Te had no intention of insisting.

He was just practicing piano nearby, repeatedly playing “For Alice” and “With You”, trying to regain the playing technique left by his predecessor as soon as possible.

Perhaps it was his exceptional talent, just like his rapid progress in practicing the Dou Qi Manuscript, his piano proficiency was also improving swiftly.

The memory of his fingers, called out by music.

Before he knew it, Ake’s singing had already begun, softly, as if accompanying the piano.

“Look, how beautiful the ocean is! How thrilling the emotions! Look, the scenery of nature, how intoxicating!”

“Look, the berry farm beside the hillside, filled with lipstick-red raspberries, fragrance spreading everywhere, warmth filling every corner.”

“But you said ‘goodbye’ to me, abandoning your lover forever, leaving your homeland forever, do you really have the heart not to return? Please don’t abandon me, don’t let me suffer again!”

“Return to River Fort, come back!”

This was a very widely circulated folk song from the Steel Ridge Kingdom, the story described the berry farm workers in a region called River Fort, hoping their lovers who had left their hometown would return.

The author was already unknown.

Some say it was the berry farm workers, their husbands off to war, singing out of longing; some say it was a minstrel collecting local tales, who abandoned a heartbroken girl and penned this poem; others say it was the landlord of River Fort, whose wife ran off with someone else, and in immense pain, he created this “Return to River Fort”.

The Duchy of Sapphire was a vassal to the Steel Ridge Kingdom; basically, whatever was popular in the Steel Ridge Kingdom would eventually become popular here as well.

“Return to River Fort” was no exception.

In Ake’s singing, Li Si Te gradually felt that his piano playing was not powerful enough to accompany her. The sea sprite’s singing belonged to the ocean, not to a small room, not to be accompanied by an amateur-level piano player on an upright piano. However, Li Si Te still tried hard to maintain it.

Even under the pressure of the sea sprite’s singing, his playing technique gained a noticeable, epiphany-like growth.

He poured his emotions into the piano playing, his fingers linked with his ears, his body swaying with the rhythm.

Bang!

Bang bang!

With the last note struck, Ake’s singing also happened to stop.

His mood was exhilarated, his playing skill skyrocketed, as if he had already become a master.

He couldn’t help but grasp Ake’s slender fingers and kissed the back of her snow-white, delicate hand passionately yet gracefully, “This was a wonderful collaboration, Ake.”

Ake blushed, her eyes like pools of water, she responded softly through her nose, “Mhm.”