As a sigh of relief escaped her lips, Estella finally managed to calm her brother down. She only wanted to sleep peacefully, and it seemed like she wouldn't even get that.
"I asked him to come in after hearing a loud noise, it was just a large bird or something that hit the door to the balcony, it was hard to see. I asked him to take a seat as I looked through my book of beasts on the table." She explained, a perfect excuse, she thought.
Angrily, he put his sword away, Hyre and Ivonne releasing him. Apparently the two also heard the loud noise and heard Aesterix running, chasing after him.
At least he'd make a perceptive knight, she thought before showing him a page in her book. "I was just wondering if it's this, no need to be alarmed, I know to close my door." She sighed, showing her brother the proof she really wasn't having a secret rendezvous with her knight.
Snapping out of his daze, Fenrir's eye twitched from where he was ever so slightly. How dare her brother accuse him? And second off, how can she confidently say to his face she wouldn't leave her door open? He nearly thought she'd been killed.
As Estella shoved out her brother who was still loudly protesting, she bid goodnight to Ivonne and Hyre, who was looking anywhere but at her. "You can take a peek if you want." She whispered to Hyre teasingly as she closed her room door, leaving him slightly stunned at what she said.
Thinking about it, Estella was known to be seductive, so perhaps that was one rumour which would never dispel with her plans of a large harem, she thought as she made her way back to the chair.
"So can I see your doggy form now?" She asked ever so nonchalantly as Fenrir hissed out a no, before standing at her door to guard her.
"A demon doesn't need to sleep if they're still full of magical energy, so I'll just stay here." He huffed while she returned to bed enjoying her sleep. Though she wanted to question how full of energy he was, she let her tiredness take over her once again, letting the soft bed take her to dreamland before the morning arrived.
When the morning finally came, Fenrir was nowhere to be seen as she was rushed into the bathroom by the two maids, stripped down and forced into the bath before she could even wake up completely.
Rubbing her head, she blinked slowly as one of the maids grabbed one of her arms to start scrubbing. "What time is it?" She asked. She had nearly forgotten it was morning routine to do this after riding in a carriage for five days, and only stopping at small hotels.
"Six am." One of the maids answered, making Estella a little grumpy. Couldn't they let her sleep in a little late. She had a rough night of rest, but it was good enough, according to the maids.
As they washed her from head to body, she relaxed and went over her plans for the day. Eat breakfast, look around town with Fenrir, plan some type of architecture, and call it a day. Hopefully, it was that easy.
Although she wasn't an architect, she did watch a lot of home renovation shows and buying houses on television, so she she'd at least have fun.
After three hours, two hours spent getting ready for breakfast and the outing, Estella was finally free to run off with Fenrir. Escaping her brother, who was busy with the king, she managed to head out mainly unnoticed.
As they made their way through the town, the duo received stares from passerbys all over. None knew she was a Von Blackwood, but by the way she carried herself she was surely a noble of high standing. Her knight alone was proof, with the way he heavily guarded her, not to mention they were two gorgeous people.
As they walked around, Estella took mental note of the sizes and material they were made of. So far all they had really passed were businesses or restaurants giving her a rough idea of what things she'd need in a town to start off.
"Something tells me I can't just copy the materials they're using." She commented, causing Fenrir to nod along in agreement. The north was extremely cold, wood and stone wouldn't necessarily cut it alone, she thought.
After walking for another three hours she was thinking back to her shows, it suddenly hit her like a brick. "We can use asphalt." She muttered, speeding up her walk through, paying attention to the ground now.
Confused, Fenrir tilted his head looking at her, while still listening in for any unwanted Vraxians. "What do you mean?" He asked.
If she were correct, likely not, asphalt would be one of the better options against snow, making an asphalt roofing the best option, as she was unsure if she could make an entire town out of metal, at least. "Have you ever seen asphalt?" She asked, hoping her memory was correct.
Nodding, he rolled his eyes. "I know what it is, there are a few large lakes with it, but why do you want it?" He asked, clarifying for her.
Estella nearly wanted to gasp and berate him for being so ignorant over her newly remembered knowledge. Asphalt was exactly what she needed! At least, that's what she'd hope. She didn't exactly know how to make it, after all. She didn't even know if she were using it correctly.
Thinking of any easy way to explain it, "Do you feel hot wearing so much black?" She asked, pointing up and down at his knights uniform as he nodded slightly, agreeing now that she mentioned it.
A sly grin, she turned to face him, "The black absorbs heat, what colour is asphalt?" She asked again, causing him to mutter black.
As she nodded, she placed her hands on her hip. "I have no clue how it works, but if I paired it with bricks and wood?" She asked, as he let out a small oh sound, deadpanning a little bit nderstanding where she was getting at.
"Brick would be better in a cold environment, and if black really does absorb heat then the buildings would be warmer." He slowly got to the conclusion, allowing her to turn on her heel and continue walking.
He also wanted to question just how she'd get a lot of asphalt, but knowing her family's money, she could probably buy the entire lakes he's seen them grow in for three times the original price.
The type of architecture reminded her of medieval France, she quite liked it. Slightly inspired, it'd be nice to include some arches around her own estate. "It's a bit of a shame I won't get any greenery, though." She accidentally said aloud.
Crossing his arms, he thought for a moment. "Isn't that what greenhouses are for?" He asked. Stopping dead in her tracks, she asked him to repeat.
"A greenhouse? You can grow plants all throughout the year." He said. Although it was the most obvious solution she had never considered it. The money spent to acquire glass would be no problem to her, either.
"Instead or just having a greenhouse in my estate, I'm going to build them all over to serve as farms." She concluded, causing him to nearly choke on his spit as he caught up to her, who was already walking towards a restaurant.
"Just how much glass do you intend to use?" He asked, raising a brow. To be exact, he wanted to know just how big these would be, and how many she'd be making.
Humming, she opened the door and told him. "I'll need a large one for my own house, and a large one for the farmers, so I guess at least ten per town?" She gave a rough estimate, causing him to shake his head.
"That's not a town anymore that's a whole city. And secondly, why do you need so many greenhouses per city?" He asked as they took a seat in a corner of the restaurant, waiting for a waitress to talk to them.
"I want fresh fruit and vegetables?" She asked as if it were obvious. Only she would be able to say that without thinking of expense.
"You don't need that many greenhouses." He told her, causing her to shake her head. He really didn't get the luxury of everyday fruits and vegetables.
Resting her hand on her chin, she explained. "Five for fruits, five for vegetables. If they're all large, they can employ multiple farmers and their families at once, giving quite a few people jobs. This is just greenhouse farms, as I intend to have open farms with the natural northern crops as well." She began, tapping on the table a little as she waited for one of the waitresses.
"With the sheer amount of crops we produce and harvest, consider our sea trade. Do you really believe that the other northern islands or countries can afford this many greenhouses for fruits and vegetables? It'd take forever to get them from elsewhere." She smiled, a waitress finally coming to take their order.
After placing her order, Fenrir asked for the same thing as the waitress quickly ran away, likely scared of their presence. "If we can trade fruits and vegetables through ship quickly within one or two days to our neighbors, just how much would they pay?" She asked, making his eyes widen.
"It's true that the north would be too cold to grow other crops, but it's alright with keeping them edible, with the only real access to these crops being from us, you can charge as much as you'd like." He muttered, a hand over his mouth as he soon realised this project would pay for itself, eventually even if it took a few years. Since she built the greenhouses, she was entitled to some of the profit too.
Finally understanding her long term plan, Fenrir chuckled a little, he expected no less from her. If she had ten greenhouses per town, and an abundance for the people and trade, the profit would be evidently abundant.
"I'm still unsure of currency rates, but that can wait until later this week, for now let's focus on architecture." She yawned, tired from all her thinking.
"But what will you do if this doesn't work out how you expect? You'll lose money." He asked while the waitress returned with their items.
Swirling her cup, she took a big gulp. "Simple, it won't. And even if it were, I don't intend to spend money on glass." She admitted ever so casually.