Chapter 134: Recruiting Maids

"Fuel is something you’ll only ever find too little of, never too much." Phield snapped his fingers cheerfully. "In a couple of days, I’ll give you new blueprints. I want bricks fired. And once we start mining iron ore, the charcoal can also be used to smelt pig iron."

"My lord, but we’ve run into a problem," one craftsman said timidly.

Phield nodded calmly. "If there were no problems, that would be the biggest problem. Go ahead."

"We don’t have enough manpower. If we start firing... um... what was it... right, bricks—then what about the charcoal?"

"You can teach some apprentices."

Phield answered instinctively. But when he saw the troubled looks on their faces, he immediately understood the root of the problem.

In this era, there were craftsmen’s guilds. The guilds would recruit children from poor families and then sign contracts with professional masters—mutually beneficial arrangements. Masters generally would not bypass the guild and teach privately.

After thinking for a moment, Phield said mysteriously, "It’s about time we started paying attention to the future of the territory. I’ll inform you in a couple of days."

After returning to the great winery, the first thing Phield did was summon Kaor and Tate.

"Do you know how many children there are in the territory?"

Phield glanced across the bookshelves. The existing records didn’t even clearly list the population. Fortunately, the lord’s interface kept track of it.

"My lord, we simply don’t have enough clerical staff to conduct very detailed statistics," Tate replied. "But we do know the general numbers."

"I intend to gather the children of the territory."

Before Phield could finish speaking, Kaor suddenly looked terrified and nearly stumbled. He quickly stammered, trembling,

"M-my lord, that might not be a good idea... it wouldn’t be good for your physical or mental health."

"Ahem. I’m planning to cultivate highly educated talents, not gather them for amusement."

Phield’s face darkened. Was he really such a strange pervert in their eyes?

"Oh... I see." Kaor laughed awkwardly.

"I suggest we only teach the children of freemen," Tate said after tilting his head in thought. "If freemen and slaves receive the same treatment, the freemen will become dissatisfied. And the slaves might grow complacent with their situation."

Phield had already considered this point, but he deliberately didn’t say it himself. Teaching his subordinates to think was something a lord should do.

"You’re absolutely right. Kaor, you’ll handle this matter. Tate, you’re doing very well lately. Keep it up—I’ll reward you. As for the reclamation of the other half of the manor, that will still be your responsibility."

"Thank you, my lord. Here, I can truly feel my own value."

Tate spoke seriously, and he meant it sincerely. At the very least, here he didn’t have to deal with complicated social relationships or worry about threats from gangs. Every day he could take part in building something.

"Very good. Does anyone have anything else to add?"

Kaor immediately raised his hand, speaking in an energetic tone.

"My lord, there are far too few servants in the castle. It doesn’t match your status. I suggest expanding the number of servants—especially maids. At the very least, the Divine Chosen should have personal maids, particularly Lady Charlotte."

"That’s true. We do need to expand the servants."

As a baron, he had fewer servants than even a knight. And Starnight Castle was far larger than the winery. Once he moved there, the current number of servants wouldn’t even be enough to clean it once a day.

Ever since Charlotte arrived, Kaor and the others had been extremely pleased. With a Divine Chosen of their own race backing them, they instantly felt more confident in front of the demi-humans. Their backs seemed straighter than before. Though there had never been any conflicts between the two sides, the sense of security was undeniable. Phield could understand that well.

"Don’t forget to recruit some beast-eared maid girls too—uh, I mean demi-humans, you know."

Rabbit girls, cat-eared girls—having a few of them around the castle would certainly be delightful.

"As you wish."

Soon, the news that the castle was recruiting servants spread throughout the territory.

For such a small domain, the lord’s affairs were the biggest matters of all. If the lord happened to stumble one day, the children of the territory might lose sleep over it that night.

"Have you heard? Baron Phield is recruiting servants."

A woman spoke while loosening the soil, chatting as she worked. She even sneaked a glance toward the overseer in the distance—those overseers were usually guards assigned on rotation.

"Of course! The entire Nightfall Domain knows about it."

"If only I could become a maid. Then I could live happily in the castle, just like a noble lady. Do you know Nina? She only has to clean rooms twice a day and wash some clothes, yet she receives high pay. And during breaks, she can even eat good food."

More importantly, castle servants enjoyed invisible benefits.

"Too bad only those between sixteen and eighteen are eligible. Otherwise I’d want to apply too."

An older woman who was stirring fermenting manure fertilizer leaned over and whispered quietly.

"Forget it. I bet only that Lily—who’s always surrounded by a bunch of smelly men—will get chosen. Tch. Just because she’s a little prettier."

"No way. She’s always unhappy. If the lord saw her, his mood would turn bad."

The more they talked, the more animated they became. Eventually, they disturbed the overseer and were sharply scolded before reluctantly stopping their chatter.

On the day of the interviews, every eligible young woman in Nightfall Domain showed up. The selection took place in the open space in front of the great winery.

The scene was far from glamorous. One couldn’t expect freemen or slaves to look as elegant as noble ladies. Most of them were dirty, with sallow faces and thin bodies. They chattered excitedly in the hall, creating a noise no different from a marketplace.

Phield himself would not personally select them. He only needed to appear at the final stage and give them a brief inspection. After all, he wasn’t choosing a wife—married women were also eligible to apply.

The key requirements for this job were diligence, proper appearance, and good character. Those who were skilled at cooking might even enter the highly coveted castle kitchen.

"Quiet down! Line up and follow me. I’ll check each of your appearances and physical conditions one by one!" Nina shouted at the crowd with her hands on her hips. When a few people continued talking, she simply glared sharply at them, and they immediately fell silent. "I will not allow anyone to bring filthy diseases into the castle. No one will slip through my inspection."

"Nina’s presence is so intimidating," Mick whispered, taking a fearful step back.

Meg said casually, "She might become the head housekeeper."

Meanwhile, Kaor was constantly conducting his inspections.

"Your bed-making is terrible. Eliminated."

"Good heavens, is that how you sweep? You’re practically tickling Mother Earth. Eliminated."

"Waaaah—"

Rejected candidates ran out with tears in their eyes.

When steward Kaor demonstrated his professional abilities, he instantly became extremely reliable. Rigid and merciless, he rejected one candidate after another. His primary focus was on speech, personality, and professional skills.

The selection lasted half a day. In the end, only four people were chosen—one dog-eared demi-human, and the rest were human.