The Herb King

232 Sixteenth Company

After receiving Aethelwolf’s command, Ramiel exited his room with a stern look on his face. From the gravity of Aethelwolf’s tone, he could tell that something earthshaking was about to happen.

He went down to the ground floor and searched for Hyacinth. He then found her in the kitchen talking with some maids.

Ramiel walked up to them and because of his loud footsteps, everyone in the kitchen immediately noticed his arrival.

“Greetings, Miss Hyacinth.” Ramiel calmly greeted her.

“Sir Ramiel, what can I do for you?” Hyacinth smiled gently as she looked at the ferocious-looking soldier.

The other maids didn’t dare linger upon seeing his frightening presence. Ramiel was so tall that all of them looked like tiny children compared to him and his stern and cold look made him seem like an unapproachable man.

Ramiel handed her the piece of paper he got from Aethelwolf as he said. “Sir Aethelwolf wants me to give this to you. He said that everything on the list must be sent to him before midnight.”

Hyacinth read the list of herbs written on the paper and she couldn’t help but furrow her eyebrows for a moment. She was responsible for the purchases of materials needed in their businesses so she was familiar with the herbs on the list. Some of them were rare and it would be difficult to purchase them in such a short amount of time. However, since Aethelwolf has already given his command, she could only do her best.

“Thanks for letting me know, Sir Ramiel.” Hyacinth kept the paper as she glanced gratefully at Ramiel.

.....

Ramiel shook his head and replied. “I’m only doing my task. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave first.” He turned around and left without looking back. He was given a deadline of three months to accomplish something ridiculous so he had to move fast in order to complete his mission.

After getting out of the mansion, Ramiel headed to the resting area of the guards to look for some extra hands. When he arrived, the guards who were idling immediately stood up and greeted him.

“Greetings, Sir Ramiel!”

“Greetings, Sir Ramiel!”

With his exploits in the recent war, the guards of the Lassiter Household gained a newfound respect for their scary-looking commander.

Ramiel nodded his head at them. “How many of you are not doing any task?” He asked as he scanned the soldiers.

They thought that Ramiel was going to scold them for being lazy so they immediately lowered their heads when they met his gaze.

“Sir Ramiel, the sixteenth company under me has just completed their training. We are ready to do any task!” The voice of a woman suddenly echoed.

Ramiel turned his head and stared at the woman who had just spoken. It was a woman with bob-cut hair. She looked to be in her late thirties because of her darker skin tone, but he could tell that this woman was still quite young when he saw her clear and pure eyes. “What’s your name?” He asked.

The woman was nervous under his direct stare, but she managed to reply without stuttering. “Sir, my name is Ana, Company Commander of the sixteenth company!”

“How many soldiers do you have under your command, Ana?” Ramiel only needed two hundred to three hundred soldiers to make things more discreet. Having more would only complicate things and there was even a risk of leaking information.

“I have three hundred soldiers under my command, Sir Ramiel!” Ana replied.

Hearing this, Ramiel nodded his head. “That’s good. Gather your troops and tell them to wait for me outside.”

“Yes, Sir Ramiel!”

Now that he has some soldiers, he could finally start planning how to complete Aethelwolf’s task without being discovered.

Ten hours later inside Aethelwolf’s study, there was a gentle knocking on the door.

“You may enter.” Aethelwolf said.

Hyacinth entered the room and bowed to him. “Sir Aethelwolf, I have gathered all the herbs you listed.” She reported to him.

“That was quite fast. Alright. Show them to me.” Aethelwolf was satisfied with her efficiency.

Hyacinth smiled upon hearing this. She then took out more than ten wooden crates from her storage ring and piled them neatly on the floor.

Aethelwolf opened the crates and inspected the herbs. “Not bad. Although some of these herbs are low quality, they can still be of use. Good job, Hyacinth.” Aethelwolf smiled.

“I wanted to look for more high-quality herbs, but because of the lack of time, I can only choose to purchase the lower quality ones. I hope you don’t mind, Sir Aethelwolf.” Hyacinth muttered apologetically.

“It’s fine. My refining method will make up for the quality of the herbs.” He chuckled as he replied confidently. “I will be refining pills in the next few days so don’t let anyone disturb me. You may inform me if there’s anything urgent. Also, please tell Rendell to purchase this entire plot of land.” Aethelwolf said as he pointed at the forested area near Barden City. It was the same location that he told Ramiel earlier.

Hyacinth grabbed the map and kept it inside her storage ring. “I’ll inform him right away.” She said.

“Good. You may take your leave.” Aethelwolf said as he dismissed her.

Hyacinth bowed to Aethelwolf before leaving the room.

Not long after she left, a small figure suddenly appeared on the balcony.

“Olivia?” He looked at her with a smile.

Olivia pouted and ran towards him. “Papa, Kerrin, and Alba are getting impatient. They kept on pestering me about my necklace. They want to ask when are you planning to make one for them.” The little girl muttered as she pursed her lips.

Aethelwolf rubbed his temples when he heard this. He still didn’t have the complete materials to make the Transformation Rune and he had also forgotten about this matter. “We still lack materials right now so I still can’t make one. How about this? I will visit Sir Brian and buy the remaining materials from him.” He could only look for Brian to get the rest of the materials.

Hearing this, Olivia pouted, but she still nodded her head. “Okay.”