Why did he say “I suppose you are a young noblewoman”? Is that meant to be a put-down? Well, I’ll choose to take it as a compliment.
“No, I actually think cow manure is a good fertilizer, and I’d like to use anything that is well regarded by farmers, but...”
Yes, manure is good fertilizer. In fact, my grandma in my past life used to use manure she bought from some relatives who lived in our neighborhood and kept cattle. I used to help them mix it up. However...
“If I scattered fertilizer made from manure in the gardens of Claes Manor, then mother... Um, my mom would get really angry with me...”
As mother had once put it while lecturing me in a seriously menacing tone, “I have already given up on the appearance of the garden. But this stench is more than I can stand. I cannot allow an odor like this to hang over the gardens of the House of Duke Claes!” By the way, several of the servants had also complained that the smell was hard to be around, so using cow manure as fertilizer on my field at Claes Manor was forbidden from that day forth.
After I told Cyrus the whole story, he spoke again.
“I see. Come to think of it, the vegetable patch you have at home does lie within the gardens of a duke. This plot I have here, at the Magical Ministry, is out of the way and downwind, so any smell it makes won’t end up bothering anyone at the Ministry. But a duke’s manor really is a different story. Even if you took countermeasures to curtail the smell, you couldn’t eliminate it entirely.”
It seemed like Cyrus did have some countermeasures in mind, but in the end, we agreed that it would be too hard for me to make cow manure work at home, so I would have to give up on the idea. However, I did ask him to keep an eye out for manure with a less strong odor, and to tell me if he came up with any promising ways to counteract the smell. I decided I’d try looking around myself as well. After seeing how well his potatoes had grown, I couldn’t help but be drawn to the cow manure.
I seemed to remember my grandma in my past life telling me that you just needed to mix the fertilizer well. But I really tried hard to mix the fertilizer I used at Claes Manor, and people still complained that it smelled.
What if, alongside the fertilizer, I try scattering something that has a pleasant aroma, stronger than the smell of cow manure? If I mix in something like lavender, maybe even cow manure would smell nice? It might be worth experimenting with that.
While I was thinking about cow manure, and busily digging up more potatoes, Cyrus called out to us.
“It’s about time we took a break.”
Since Cyrus had been put to work on farms ever since he was a kid, he naturally knew how to take efficient breaks in between periods of work. He’d suggested this break at the perfect time.
Cyrus brought out some tea and pickles to go with it, so we enjoyed those as we took a short break.
“Ah... We harvested a lot of good potatoes, didn’t we?”
“Yes, indeed. I’m amazed by how many there were. Will these be donated to the orphanage as well?” asked Maria.
“I think so,” answered Cyrus, who’d finally learned to speak normally while working with her in the field. “That’s my intention.” Though his cheeks were definitely a bit redder than they were when he spoke to me.
“The children will be delighted. They were certainly pleased to see the last batch of vegetables we brought,” said Maria with a smile.
“Yeah. What were the last vegetables you took to the orphanage?”
When I asked what kind of vegetables she had delivered when Cezar and I met her, she told me those were potatoes too.
Just how many potatoes have you grown, Cyrus?
“This plot covers quite a wide area, so I felt like growing a lot of varieties,” said Cyrus, noticing the odd look I was giving him and seeming a little embarrassed.
Oh no, there’s nothing wrong with that.
“He gave me a lot of potatoes as well, more than I could eat myself. So I sent some home, and my mother sent back a letter saying they were absolutely delicious.”
Oho, so Cyrus gave Maria her own share, and even Maria’s mom tried some? Though they’re moving really slowly, I’m glad to see their relationship progressing. However, there was one point that bothered me.
“You sent the potatoes home? Maria, haven’t you been back home? I haven’t heard you talk about going back lately.”
Since entering employment at the Magical Ministry, Maria had been living in a dormitory at the Ministry. There were a lot of workers there who did the same, but a lot of them apparently went home on their days off, provided their family homes weren’t too far away. I thought that Maria used to go home pretty frequently, but I hadn’t heard her mention doing so recently, so I felt like asking.
“I’ve been busy with a lot of commitments recently, and haven’t been able to visit. But I have a day off tomorrow and intend to go home then,” answered Maria with a smile.
“I see. So you’re going home tomorrow? I’m sure your mom will be pleased. Enjoy your day off.”
“I shall,” said Maria, smiling again.
I asked her to let me come and visit with her again some other time, as our break finished and we returned to work digging up potatoes. Before long, we had dug up all the potatoes in the part of the field we had planned to harvest, placing them in baskets, and our work was finished for the day.
Maria and Cyrus both lived in Ministry dorms, whereas I had to return home by carriage, so this was when we normally parted ways. However, today Cyrus said he wanted to walk me to the gates.