Their writing system was complex; it was a kind of pictographic script. Gale had only learned the simplest numbers, and today he officially began learning how to read.
Within the walls, knowledge was firmly controlled by the nobility, and books were extremely expensive and rarely circulated in the market.
Common people rarely learned how to read, even by the time they died. That was because there were very few ways to become literate.
One had to be born into the nobility, enlist in the army and attend military classes, or pay exorbitant tuition to send children to private schools.
For someone like Gale, if he were not of noble birth, he would be receiving something that could not be paid for even with money. However, his predecessor had been a noble, and a small portion of that knowledge had been passed on to him, so he knew most of it.
That helped him understand many things, and thanks to that, he realized that Bob, the steward, was very capable, and his words revealed deep knowledge.
He took special care of Gale, helping Historia review the strokes of the characters and teaching her how to write from the basics.
After that, he began telling some small, interesting stories to spark Historia's interest, and then, when summarizing the stories, he would extract one or two words for Historia to learn.
No wonder Historia liked the lessons so much—they were genuinely fun.
At noon, the steward took out his pocket watch and looked at it for a few seconds before saying, "Miss, that concludes today's lesson."
After leaving, he looked at Gale, who had followed him, and said, "Gale, I'm going out for a bit. Go to the kitchen and bring the young lady's lunch."
"Yes." Gale nodded without making much noise. He took a silver tray from the kitchen and placed it on the table.
Historia's lunch was exceptionally lavish, far better than that of servants like Gale. The chef had prepared a steak in red wine, a vegetable salad, grilled lamb ribs, and a glass of sweetened fresh milk.
The steward was nowhere to be seen; it seemed he had left early.
Gale lifted the tray and said, "Miss, I'll wait outside. Call me when you finish eating."
As a servant, one had to have a basic sense of self-awareness and wait until Historia finished eating before clearing the dishes.
He had a vague feeling that this noon hour was also a test from the steward.
The steward was testing his obedience, observing whether his month of servitude had instilled in him a sense of self-awareness as a servant.
If he passed this test, he would be able to access more important information.
"What's your name?" Historia looked at Gale with curiosity.
"Gale," Gale said with his head lowered.
"Why do you leave? Aren't you going to eat with me?" Historia tilted her head.
"Since you are a young lady and I am a servant, young ladies and servants cannot eat together," Gale replied automatically, as if he already had an answer prepared for that question.
Young Historia seemed confused, but suddenly her eyes lit up. "Alright then, wait for me. I'll call you when I'm done eating!"
Gale let out a sigh of relief and waited outside the door.
After a while, a cheerful voice came from inside. "I'm done eating!"
Gale entered the room and found that Historia had jumped down from the chair.
"Now it's your turn to eat." She pointed to a clean plate with a portion of the steak cut off, mashed potatoes, and lamb ribs, with milk included—all divided in half.
Gale looked calmly at Historia, this young lady who did not understand the situation she was in.
"Let's play a game. You'll be the young master, and I'll be your maid, so you can eat." After saying this, Historia ran out of the room, leaving Gale alone.
"Gale, call me when you finish eating!"
A small head peeked out through the crack in the door, blinking as she looked at the silent Gale standing there watching her.
Gale had mixed feelings. He could understand Historia completely. She probably wanted to make friends.
If Gale did not know her identity, or that he was in a world where Titans existed, he would definitely be happy to play with her.
He knew that feeling—that loneliness of not being able to find people his own age who understood him and played with him.
But no, he could not play with Historia because he was a slave, a mere servant, and he wanted to remain that way until he could protect himself.
The steward must have been watching him from somewhere. Once he crossed a line that a slave could not cross, he would probably be "demoted" back to his old work.
So he simply took a napkin, smiled, walked up to Historia, and wiped her cheek.
"Miss, please go rest. I will collect the dishes now."
Historia stayed still, crouched by the door, hiding and watching his back from afar.
"It seems Gale is no different from the other people on this farm…" Historia was disappointed that Gale did not want to play with her.
She did not understand why everyone, except Bob, avoided talking to her.
Without touching the food, Gale took the utensils to the kitchen and received his own lunch: a baked steak and a glass of wheat beer.
As he was leaving, he ran into the steward.
Bob patted him on the shoulder. "Wait for me at the stables after dinner tonight."
After saying that, Bob left.
That night, Gale arrived at the stables as promised.
Besides Bob, several unfamiliar people arrived. Although they were dressed in plain clothes, they carried weapons and exuded a threatening aura.
They were soldiers in civilian clothing, guiding the horses and preparing the carriage.
The lady of the mansion, elegantly dressed, came down from the upper floor, wearing expensive gold jewelry—earrings and gemstone rings—and looked absolutely dazzling.
She was already a very beautiful woman, but now that she was well dressed, she was even more striking.
From Gale's perspective, someone who had been bombarded with modern information, she could definitely be considered a beauty with a score of around nine out of ten.
"Please, get into the carriage." Bob gestured to the lady of the mansion to enter.
Although she was dressed luxuriously, the lady of the mansion did not dare put on airs and obediently climbed into the carriage.
"Gale, come with me to escort the lady to her destination." Bob led Gale to the carriage, while the other soldiers mounted their own horses.
With a dull rumble, the carriage left the farm under the cover of night, escorted by soldiers.
Once they were far from the mansion, Bob, sitting at the front, said to Gale beside him, "The true owner of this farm is Lord Reiss…"
After revealing that information, he continued, "Miss Historia is Lord Reiss's daughter, and her mother… well, she was originally a servant in the lord's mansion, but now she is his lover."
"When we receive orders, we must send the lady to the lord and then bring her back to the farm at dawn."
"I'll introduce you to the soldiers, and once everyone knows you, you'll be in charge of this matter when I don't have time to do it. You're an obedient child, and I believe you can do it well. As a reward, you'll receive three gold coins every month."
"Understood…" Gale tightened his grip on the reins.
Three gold coins!
Gale, who had spent a month making purchases in the city, had come to understand the purchasing power of gold coins in this world.
Two gold coins could buy a fat pig in this world, but raising livestock within the walls was very expensive.
The value of things here was difficult to compare to his own world. If he had to convert it, Gale would think those three gold coins were equivalent to six thousand dollars.
This was an absolutely top-tier salary in this world!
With money, things could be done!
Moreover, the fact that he was the sole person responsible for this matter meant he had the entire night to himself.
All he had to do was deliver the mistress at night and pick her up during the day.
Once he completed his task, that meant he had the whole night to himself.
Not only that, he also had a network of connections with soldiers, which allowed him to get to know many of them!
At that moment, he felt a sense of excitement he had lost long ago, feeling that his chances of survival had increased.