Krinhild's second day in Fengtao Village began.
As a princess, unlike Roland and Catalina, she wasn't driven by Siegfried to help the villagers with their work. Siegfried was very aware of who he could bully and who he had to cater to; the princess was clearly the latter.
However, Krinhild herself was very dissatisfied with this arrangement. Watching the two knights being dragged around by Siegfried, she puffed out her cheeks. She felt excluded.
So, when Siegfried finished his farm work at noon and returned to the kitchen for lunch, he saw Krinhild, dressed in a peasant girl's attire, grabbing a still-flopping fish and throwing it directly into the pot.
Siegfried was scared out of his wits and immediately pulled out the greenhorn in charge of cooking that day to scold him.
"What the hell? How could you let the noble princess into the kitchen? What if something happens to her?"
Is what this lady cooks even edible?
"What? The princess requested it herself? That's still not allowed! She absolutely cannot be allowed in the kitchen from now on!"
It could be fatal!
During lunch, Krinhild pouted, not saying a word except for occasionally picking at her food. Even a blind person could see that the princess was in a bad mood.
As a seasoned veteran in the workplace, Siegfried keenly sensed his boss's displeasure, but he couldn't figure out why. The leaders in his company loved to eat for free without doing anything, so Siegfried often took on extra work to leave a good impression on them. This trick always worked, and he always got a raise and promotion. Why didn't it work in another world?
Although he couldn't understand it, it didn't stop Siegfried from starting his afternoon work. The work was essentially re-interrogating the several undercover agents. However, what these people said yesterday seemed to be all they knew; no matter how much Siegfried bluffed, he couldn't get any more information. His various skill levels did increase quite a bit, though.
[Specialization: Cold Reading 79% (Expert) Acting 75% (Expert) Intimidation 41% (Advanced) Swordsmanship 19% (Beginner)...]
Besides these, Siegfried actually had about thirty other specializations, including cooking, sketching, tango, hunting, etc., which we'll skip for now. Some of these miscellaneous specializations were learned from his time working in the real world, while others were inherited from this body. If it was just a superficial understanding, it wouldn't be counted as a specialization by the travel manual.
Human energy is limited after all. Normally, a person only has three to four specializations at most. The fact that Siegfried has so many specializations shows his exceptional talent. Unfortunately, none of these specializations could help him appease the angry Krinhild.
After lunch, Roland and Catalina led a team to familiarize themselves with the terrain of the ambush location for the next day. Siegfried didn't treat them as outsiders at all; he practically used them as oxen and horses all morning, throwing all the heavy and tiring work at them. The two knights lived up to expectations, performing far beyond the capabilities of oxen and horses.
Roland was reluctant. Although he was from a peasant background and often helped with farm work as a child, he was now a golden knight, a close attendant to the princess, so how could he do such rough work? But considering that their forty-plus people were eating, drinking, and living here for free, if they didn't help with the work, Melando, who loved the village, would probably draw his sword and kill all these disgusting freeloaders.
Catalina, this tomboy, was very diligent. This girl carried dozens of large logs to the processing plant in the morning, with village children occasionally sitting on the ends of the logs. Having grown up in the palace, she had never done this kind of work before, and she found it quite novel.
A peaceful day ended like this.
In the evening, when Siegfried went to call Krinhild for dinner, he couldn't find her in her room. With the villagers' guidance, Siegfried came to the woodshed. The princess was still wearing the old peasant clothes, chopping firewood with an axe. Some dust was stuck on her face, and sweat ran down her snow-white neck. A large number of similarly shaped and sized pieces of firewood were scattered at her feet, clearly showing she had been there for a long time.
Even if Siegfried was a straight man, he now understood why Krinhild was unhappy. He knocked on the door, reminding Krinhild, who was working diligently and hadn't noticed anyone at the door.
"Your Highness, it's dinner time."
Krinhild realized it was already evening.
She put down the axe and said somewhat embarrassedly:
"Uh, I lost track of time while chopping."
The girl's cheeks were a little red; she was still concerned about her sweaty appearance.
Siegfried leaned against the door, gesturing for her to come out:
"Let's go, everyone's waiting for you."
The two walked along the village path, the setting sun casting colorful rays of light, leaving two long shadows on the ground.
"Roland and the others will be participating in the operation tomorrow, and the village might be a little busy. Could you please help out, Your Highness?" Siegfried asked carefully.
Krinhild froze, then burst out laughing. She put her hands on her hips and glared at Siegfried:
"Okay, you actually made a princess do farm work for you. I'm a princess, the first heir to the throne!"
Siegfried shrugged: "You chopped enough firewood for us to use until summer."
Hearing this, the girl covered her mouth and laughed uncontrollably.
Siegfried then discovered that this always elegant and dignified princess also had the side of an ordinary girl.
After a long time, the girl stopped laughing.
She tilted her head, her emerald eyes looking straight at Siegfried:
"Mr. Siegfried, in the past six months, everywhere I've been, I've only seen hungry and suffering commoners, deserted ruins. No matter where I go, I only feel negative emotions."
"But in this village, everything is so peaceful, I can feel every villager's love for life, their longing for the future. It's wonderful, the kingdom still has such a place."
In the midst of the ongoing war, Fengtao Village not only had enough food and clothing but also supported dozens of outsiders. It's undeniably a paradise.
"It's all because you're here."
Their eyes met.
Those emerald eyes contained heartfelt joy and deep expectation.
Siegfried suddenly felt anxious and waved his hand: "No, I'm just a passerby…"
"Mr. Siegfried," the girl interrupted, "Thank you."
The setting sun shone on Krinhild's snow-white side face, the girl's smiling face was as beautiful as a painting.
Krinhild must be a gentle and righteous person; it is this quality that has supported her through these six months. Even after experiencing so much pain and facing so much hardship, she remains unchanged.
Siegfried looked at the girl's smile, which eclipsed even the sunset, but he couldn't feel any resonance. After all, if noble character was truly useful, this little princess wouldn't have fallen to this point.
After a while, he twitched the corner of his mouth, responding with an equally bright smile:
"You're welcome."
......
......
The next morning, Roland, carrying his polished greatsword and riding his beloved nightmare steed, set off with Catalina and a group of soldiers, full of fighting spirit.
Glorious Era 526, Fengyue 18th (February 18th)
Today, Princess Krinhild launches her counterattack against her two brothers.
Today, Queen Krinhild takes her first step towards the throne.