Meanwhile, the scene outside the cow shed presented a completely different picture.
Delilah, having heard the commotion at some point, had also rushed over.
She stood at the doorway, looking at Sophia's face under the firelight—a face that remained entirely unruffled and calm to a degree that neared divinity. Her entire being fell into a state of extreme worship.
This posture of controlling everything...
Delilah murmured low in her heart.
Her Majesty not only controls the gunpowder of destruction and the code for governing the country, but she even controls the laws of life's arrival?
Faced with an accident of life, she showed not a trace of panic. This wisdom to foresee the future and calmly deal with all variables... Your Majesty Sophia, are you truly a god who has descended upon the Kingdom of Mason?
Hailey knelt directly in the haystack. She looked at the living little calf, then looked at Sophia.
In her small heart, that Big Sister had not only saved her but had also, right in front of her, used that cold, divine power to pull a new life back from the edge of death.
"You may leave a bit more milk for the calf these next few days."
"Yes! Your Majesty," Willow responded.
"Ma... Majesty?" Hailey stared blankly at the Big Sister's profile.
She had never dreamed that the Big Sister who saved her was the Queen of the Kingdom of Mason, the master of this city.
In an instant, Hailey's eyes became unconsciously moist.
Her Majesty... she is completely unlike the terrifying figure I had heard about. Instead, she makes people unable to resist believing in her, relying on her, as if just one more look would compel one to become her saint.
"Hailey."
Sophia put her cloak back on and looked down at the little girl.
"From today on, you must take good care of these small animals. If you encounter anything you don't know, go find Irene.
"If you disturb me again for something like animals giving birth..."
Sophia deliberately dragged out her tone, her eyes turning slightly cold.
"Then you can go plant the fields with Earl Barrett."
Hailey was not scared to tears; instead, her small face flushed red with excitement:
"Yes! Hailey will definitely take good care of the little calf!
"Hailey will protect Your Majesty's property with her life!"
Sophia turned and left, leaving everyone with a silhouette that was solitary, proud, and profound.
The little girl clenched her small fists, secretly swearing that she must do more for Her Majesty.
----------
The deep autumn sun grazed the uneven stone bricks of the West Tower, projecting onto the clearing below, outlining a vivid picture that had long vanished from the Kingdom of Mason.
Sophia was currently holding onto the stone railing at the highest point of the West Tower. Overlooking the view from this angle, the originally desolate and decaying Palace rear garden had now transformed into a strategic core filled with a sense of order and vitality.
Wherever her line of sight reached, there were several trial fields forcibly partitioned out by Irene.
Those fertile black soils transported back from Kree Village had been leveled to look like blocks of giant chocolate. Under the care of Irene and a few of her most loyal apprentices, the field ridges presented an extremely healing geometric aesthetic.
The batch of improved wheat seedlings planted earlier, having received sufficient base fertilizer and precise irrigation, was now holding up their tender green waists, swaying slightly in the cold wind.
This vitality, which did not conform to the season, made this patch of land look exceptionally special.
Meanwhile, the other batch of ordinary wheat seedlings still maintained a sallow and emaciated appearance.
What made Sophia's gaze linger even more were the livestock areas filled with the breath of life.
The two robust Leighton milk cows were resting peacefully on the newly laid haystacks, chewing their cud.
That little calf, born not long ago and milk-white all over, was frolicking and jumping around the mother cow, its immature mooing resounding through the garden.
In the wooden pen not far away, the two piglets sent as gifts by the Leighton people were grunting as they rooted through Irene's specially made fermented feed.
Their figures were a whole circle rounder than when they had first arrived, and their pink tails spun like small electric fans.
There were also the flocks of chickens, ducks, and geese. Under Hailey's careful watch, they were queuing up to peck at the pests attempting to disturb the wheat seedlings at the edge of the trial fields.
Sophia took a deep breath of the air carrying the fragrance of soil and dry grass.
So nice. This is the taste of protein. This is the fragrance of fat.
On Sophia's face, which was frozen in paralysis all year round, a trace of genuine warmth rarely seen floated within her pale golden pupils.
Watching these little lives grow up day by day, I can even hear the sound of red braised pork stewing in a clay pot, and smell the aroma of butter being spread on fresh mashed potatoes.
Mmm... just thinking about it makes me drool.
The Kingdom of Mason was indeed getting better. At least in Sophia's vision, it had changed from a lifeless ruin into a grand farm filled with hope.
Not far behind her, Delilah was hugging her longsword, her gaze torch-like as she stared at the Queen's back.
In Delilah's eyes, Sophia's gaze at this moment was filled with a kind of sacred compassion.
Look, Her Majesty is scrutinizing her creation.
Delilah felt a thousand emotions in her heart.
She clearly could have used these materials to expand a massive army, to build a more luxurious palace, yet she chose to protect these most basic lives.
Those seeds struggling in the soil, those carefully fed poultry and livestock—in Her Majesty's eyes, they are likely the sparks for the Kingdom of Mason's future rise.
This kind of breadth of mind that remains hidden in the city, this kind of ultimate control over the laws of all things... is she really just looking at cows?
No, she is looking at the destiny of this land.
Sophia retracted her gaze and turned around.
"Victor, how is the inventory?"
Victor, who had been guarding the stairway entrance the whole time, hurriedly bowed, his fingers pinching the scroll of the list that made him wake up laughing even in his dreams at night.
"Your Majesty, the first final payment from the Leighton side has been settled.
"Aside from those leathers, cattle, and sheep, we have additionally stored thirty gold coins and two hundred silver coins.
"The most critical thing is that the batch of raw iron has all been sent to Miss Irene's workshop."
Sophia nodded slightly.
"Enough? Still not enough."
Sophia walked to the stone table, where a huge map of the neighboring countries was spread out.
"Although Leighton's leather is good, their mineral reserves are too few.
"Irene complained to me yesterday that she wants to try manufacturing new things and needs a large amount of high-strength manganese iron and brass.
"If we rely only on Leighton, Mason's industrialization process will be dragged down."
Sophia's slender finger tapped on another marked point on the map—the Kingdom of Qubi.
"Tell Victor to organize two more caravans."
Sophia's cold and clear voice echoed on the top floor of the tower.
"The first one will take the highest specification Black Rose Shampoo Gift Set and go on a mission to the Kingdom of Qubi.
"The King there is a famous mineral maniac, but his Queen has always worried about rough hair quality and dull skin.
"Tell them we don't accept money; we only want ore from the eastern mining area of the Kingdom of Qubi.
"Of course, if there are other good things, we can also conduct trades."
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