The Crayfish Delicacy and a Stranger’s Solitude

Auetland, the southeastern commercial hub of the Norman Empire, was also a major agricultural county. Its landscape predominantly consisted of vast plains, stretching from east to west, bordered by the River Doom, and flanked to the south by the Ancient Zhi Forest.

From the very founding of the Norman Empire, this land had been bestowed upon the Cavendish family by the First Covenant Emperor, a legacy that now spanned nearly a century.

For convenience, traveling merchants often simply referred to the ducal territory as “Lanburg County.”

It was common knowledge among the local populace of Lanburg County that the ducal household harbored an extraordinary young lady. This fact was further substantiated by a new book, directly published by the Cavendish family’s own printing press on Monday.

Crayfish Cooking Methods (Practical Edition)

This year, blessed with favorable weather, local farmers had eagerly anticipated a bountiful harvest. However, to their dismay, crayfish, drifting downstream from the upper reaches of the River Doom, had unexpectedly invaded their rice paddies!

Not only did they lack natural predators, but they brazenly dug holes and built nests in the fields, leaving the land riddled with countless perforations. This loosened the rice roots, halving the yield and making the villagers yearn to devour them alive, yet they found themselves utterly helpless against the infestation.

Was this their chance? And it was the duke’s young lady who had spearheaded the initiative.

In any era, there is no shortage of idle vagrants. These loafers eagerly followed current events, adhering to the principle of ‘if it doesn’t kill you, eat it until you’re stuffed,’ they eagerly spread the word, vying to be among the first to try.

The observing farmers naturally welcomed this development, but the outcome was beyond anyone’s wildest expectations.

The cooked crayfish were indeed as succulent and reddish-brown as described in the cookbook, truly a delicacy fit for mortals.

With the first batch came the second, then the third. The clamor for crayfish grew louder and more insistent, each voice surpassing the last, and soon crayfish became a highly sought-after commodity.

By the time the ducal manor learned of this matter, two days had already passed.

Initially, many remained skeptical, until platters of tender, reddish crayfish were presented as tributes to Audrey. Only after the duke’s personal gourmet had sampled them did the entire household reluctantly accept the truth.

‘What? No way! That flimsy little booklet actually worked?’

Once crayfish became widely known as an ‘edible’ ingredient throughout the territory, various chefs immediately began researching cooking methods beyond Audrey’s original recipes.

Steamed, braised, boiled, minced into paste…

Indeed, upon its publication, Crayfish Cooking Methods captivated all who encountered it. It not only successfully resolved the rice paddy infestation but also pioneered a thriving crayfish farming industry, an immense political achievement.

Coincidentally, an unknown ‘first youth to eat crayfish’ also became a legendary figure, recorded in future local folktales, and was even, for a time, hailed as an educational paragon, inspiring the saying, ‘May your son be as mighty as the Crayfish King.’

However, when the vast number of villagers went to the ducal manor, attempting to ascertain from the young lady the true identity of this mysterious youth, she cunningly remained silent.

“Secret.”

Of course, such behavior, which would typically invite academic condemnation for plagiarism and fabrication, did not apply to Audrey.

‘You claim others had proven crayfish edible before? Oh, where’s the evidence?’ In any case, the entire population of Lanburg County now spoke for Audrey. You were welcome to clarify and debate; a single spit from each person would be enough to drown you.

‘You accuse Audrey of academic plagiarism? Weigh your own worth before you speak. Dare to challenge the Cavendish family’s young lady? Aren’t you afraid of simply vanishing in a few days?’

As for the other individual at the center of the storm, he was currently enjoying a rather leisurely time.

As afternoon arrived, his Tea Ceremony Instructor watched, dumbfounded, as Rhine swiftly completed the standard procedures for green tea, black tea, and gardenia tea three times in a row, without repetition. While the flavor and concentration might not possess the ‘divine charm’ of a master tea artist, they consistently maintained a superior standard, achieving a delicate balance where ‘everything was just right.’

“You have graduated. I have never had a student as exceptionally gifted as you. It’s truly difficult to imagine you had no prior experience with tea ceremony.”

After a brief exchange of mutual praise and humility, Rhine’s afternoons were now his own to command.

Though the ducal manor was vast, staying confined within it made it difficult to scout enemy intelligence. Rhine wished to grasp as much as possible about the surrounding military situation.

Thus, under the pretext of purchasing produce (primarily crayfish), he successfully obtained permission to leave from the head maid.

‘How long has it been since I last strolled through streets like this?’

‘I can’t recall.’

‘The current state of commerce, the cost of goods, currency exchange rates, how to make purchases, how to order food… I’ve completely forgotten it all.’

Rhine gazed blankly at the unfamiliar new buildings lining the streets, the bustling energy of the commercial district making him particularly uneasy.

Men in grey leather caps bustled past.

Ladies in mink coats pointed and whispered.

Peddlers in coarse linen hawked their wares.

A line of brightly dressed children chased and tumbled, their laughter echoing.

These were all sights he had never witnessed from the high tower. Although he could vaguely observe Lanburg County’s city walls from afar through a telescope, it truly lacked the visceral reality of experiencing it firsthand.

Yet, to Rhine, every passerby seemed to cast dark glances his way, intentionally or not, and a strange malice whispered in his ears.

He felt a profound sense of unreality, as if he fundamentally did not belong here.

The solitude of the high tower was, in the end, a solitude of one, but the loneliness amidst the crowd made him feel as though the world was cruelly mocking him.

‘You deserve this.’

“Shut up!”

When he came to, a plainly dressed woman stood before him, looking down at him with concern.

“Are you lost, little one?”

After being called twice, Rhine’s unfocused eyes finally regained their clarity.

“Ugh… No, truly no, no, no…”

“Don’t rush, speak slowly. You look like a new face, likely a merchant’s child. I am not a kidnapper; I wouldn’t snatch you away. Kidnappers are the worst kind of people, and pretty little ones like you must always protect themselves when out alone.”

“I… I really am fine.”

“Mm, just be careful of your surroundings. Never go into secluded alleyways without an adult, alright?”

The woman said softly, then quickly departed.

Rhine watched in the direction she left, seeing her child, barely five years old, running towards her with a bright smile, leaping into her embrace.

At that moment, he finally recaptured a sliver of reality. Perhaps with the passage of time, the goodwill of peaceful eras outweighed their malice.

‘But do I really look like a girl?’ Rhine couldn’t help but purse his lips, pinching his soft, elastic cheeks.

Sighing, he at last found the courage to continue forward.

‘The Golden Koller bore the likeness of the Norman Empire’s First Covenant Emperor on its obverse, and the First Empress on its reverse. Along its rim, the Covenant’s oath, ‘All are equal,’ was meticulously engraved in Norman script.’

‘Through my alchemical analysis, its composition is seven parts gold, with one part each of three different minerals unique to the north. It also contains an alchemical phosphorescent powder that even I cannot identify, essentially eliminating the possibility of counterfeiting.’

‘Gold, silver, and copper, at a convenient exchange rate of one to ten.’

‘The monthly average wage for commoners ranges from four to six silver coins, a significant increase compared to twenty years ago. This reflects the standard of living within the duke’s direct territory, where basic sustenance is generally not an issue, though living standards in other regions of the empire should likely be adjusted downwards based on local conditions.’

Rhine’s excursion was certainly not solely for buying groceries. Traversing the main thoroughfares, he had deliberately circled nearly half the city, systematically noting the locations of various defensive structures and garrisons.

Before sunset, there was one final, crucial task.

Clutching the most precious Golden Koller he possessed in his palm, he mustered what little courage he had, then steeled himself and stepped into an alchemical workshop tucked away on a street corner.