Now, it was deep into the night, and in an hour or two, the first light of dawn would start to appear in the sky. The entire castle had quieted down, with most of the lights extinguished. Only the torches in the hands of patrolling guards provided some illumination.
Gwendys stood by the window of his second-floor study, looking down at the dark courtyard below. He couldn't see anyone, feeling only the gradually cooling night breeze of early autumn and a sense of solitude.
Sighing, he closed the window and returned to his desk to start processing documents. They were all minor issues, as well as routine reports from the castle and the manor. The room was quiet, with the candlelight remaining steady, undisturbed by any draft.
After an indeterminate amount of time, Gwendys stretched and listened attentively. Occasionally, he could hear the footsteps of patrolling guards outside his door.
After some contemplation, he stood up and opened the door to peek outside. The corridor was dimly lit by a single lamp, with no sign of any movement.
Gwendys felt a twinge of disappointment. Perhaps he had overestimated her. For a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl, it might be too difficult to bypass the guards' tight security and find someone in unfamiliar terrain. This task would not be easy even for a professionally trained assassin.
As these random thoughts flitted through his mind, he closed the door and returned to his seat. Suddenly, the candlelight flickered.
He glanced at the firmly closed door, frowning slightly. Then, turning to look at the window behind him, he noticed a crack had appeared. A slight breeze was entering through it.
Hmm? Did I forget to close it properly?
But no, he was sure he had closed it. Someone must have opened it just now.
Was it Phyllis? Was she outside?
Gwendys got up, approached the window, and looked out. It was still pitch dark outside. There was nothing unusual in the yard, on the walls, anywhere.
Suddenly, he had an unsettling thought. Wasn't it risky to lean out of the window like this? If someone were behind him and gave a gentle push...
A shiver ran down his spine. He quickly grabbed the window frame with both hands and spun around to look behind him.
Phyllis stood quietly two meters behind him, silently watching him.
...
Gwendys felt goosebumps all over his body. This girl was like a ghost.
"When did you come in? Why didn't you say anything?" he asked sternly.
He was somewhat displeased. His unguarded moment had been witnessed by someone, and that someone was just a kid.
Hearing Gwendys's question, Phyllis opened her mouth but said nothing.
Then Gwendys remembered – she was mute. And even now, she still held the cold piece of roasted meat in her hands.
...
"Alright, you win," Gwendys conceded.
"I keep my word. Today, you and your friend can eat as much roast meat as you want."
Gwendys rubbed his temples, revealing a slight smile.
Hearing his words, Phyllis's expression brightened somewhat.
"Go on, then. Go back to Rowena and enjoy it together."
...
Moments later, when Phyllis left the castle, she held a large bowl filled with freshly roasted, steaming meat. Baldwin accompanied her, helping her pack and bring along her friend.
"You'll be moving into the castle soon. Remember to listen to the Baron's words and not disappoint him, alright?" Baldwin instructed gently.
Phyllis nodded obediently, a glimmer of hope shining in her eyes for the first time.
In the days to come, she would undergo training under Jervis. Initially, it would involve learning to use daggers and short swords. Later, Gwendys planned to have her study the weak points of various armors, including leather, chainmail, and lamellar, and how to exploit these vulnerabilities to maximize damage to the enemy.
Baldwin would also teach her to read and learn basic courtly manners. Gwendys even selected a few maids who had served Sofia and Yuliana to educate Phyllis on different types of clothing and their cultural and symbolic meanings.
Of course, Gwendys had verified Phyllis's background as a common vagrant with no strange entanglements before arranging all this. As for Rowena, she was just an add-on for Gwendys, a means to bind Phyllis to him, not expecting her to be of much use.
In Gwendys's plan, Phyllis would become his sharpest hidden blade, ready to strike at the throats of enemies and opponents from behind him.
However, this would be a long process. After all, Phyllis was currently just a sixteen-year-old girl who had never even killed a chicken.
...
"I'm curious, you don't have a tongue, right? So why do you love roast meat so much? Can you even taste it?"
"Open your mouth."
Phyllis, with her mouth full of roast meat, obediently opened her mouth. Since she had no tongue and thus lacked the largest concentration of taste buds in her mouth, she could only experience the taste of food through contact with the inside of her lips.
However, this area had few taste buds, so it was difficult to fully experience the deliciousness of the roast meat. Phyllis's most common approach was to chew and then carefully move the food to the throat area, pausing there to savor the goodness of the food.
But keeping food in the throat for too long often resulted in swallowing it inadvertently. Therefore, Phyllis often cried because she swallowed too quickly without fully enjoying the food, and then hopelessly begged Gwendys for more.
...
Now it was Gwendys's turn to be troubled. He initially meant that eating roast meat every day was a metaphor for a life of material abundance.
But to his surprise, she actually came to him every day, gesturing that she had worked hard in training and asking Gwendys to reward her and Rowena with roast meat.
Where could he find so much roast meat in the castle?
It was manageable for a day or two, but as time passed and the fresh meat supply in the castle ran out, where would he find so much venison and mutton?
As a lord, it was not good to immediately go back on his word.
Left with no choice, he had the manor slaughter a chicken every day and turn it into roast meat to barely satisfy the two girls. Fortunately, there were hundreds of chickens in the manor, and they could lay eggs and reproduce chickens, so they wouldn't run out of chickens to eat anytime soon. Gwendys just hoped their appetites wouldn't grow too much.
...