Since that training session, every evening when the camp was set up, everyone would gather around to watch Norn's training—or more accurately, his getting beaten up.
Although Norn had grasped the basic principles, knowing something and actually doing it were entirely different matters.
Each time, he ended up with bruises all over his head from Otto's strikes.
On this particular day, Norn prepared to start his training as usual. However, Otto shook his head and stepped aside, revealing William with a mischievous grin on his face. Otto then walked to the side.
"Little Norn!" William's smile looked insincere. "Today, Uncle William will teach you how to be a real man."
"Um... what do you know?"
"Of course, the pride of a man," William deliberately flexed his biceps. "Muscles!"
Despite William's self-satisfaction, in Norn's eyes, William's short stature combined with his big belly made him look like a giant meatball.
"Come on! Act like a man," William took off his shirt, picked up a wooden stick wrapped in thick cotton cloth, and gestured for Norn to attack.
Norn was speechless but still raised the small shield and sword that DeMol had specially made for him, cautiously approaching.
"If you won't come over, then I'll come to you!" William's short and thick legs tensed up, and in an instant, he charged at Norn like an exploding shell.
Before Norn could react, the mountain of flesh named William collided with his shield. Norn felt as if he had been hit by an ox, rolling backward.
"Haha, Little Norn needs to eat more so you can grow taller and stronger!" William stood in Norn's original position, gloating.
"That's not fair! You're so much bigger than me!" Norn stood up and shouted in anger.
"Fair? Who ever talks about fairness?" William still had that insincere smile. "I'm just stronger than you. If you were stronger than me, you could come and hit me too!"
"You're losing your dinner!!"
William's expression froze instantly, and after a while, he put on a ingratiating smile. "This is just training, and I only used one-tenth of my strength just now. You could have blocked it if you knew how."
"So, what should I do?"
"It's simple. Like this." William shifted his body to the side, bent his knees, and placed his hands against his chest.
"You try it."
Norn took the same stance, and William kicked the shield. This time, although the force was still strong, Norn felt his body become a single unit. Although he slid backward a few steps, he remained stable.
"You see! Uncle William didn't lie to you," William leaned in. "As for dinner..."
"There is none," Norn said expressionlessly, ignoring William's wailing. "Unless you teach me something useful."
"There is, there is," William, stimulated by the thought of dinner, quickly agreed and began to teach Norn various things, some about the use of the shield, some about the posture of exerting force, and all sorts of other things.
"This old guy knows so much," Norn thought to himself. "The others must have some skills too."
Sure enough, the next day, the person teaching Norn was Patrick.
"Norn, I don't know much either, and this is about all I can teach you."
Patrick began to swing his longsword, slashing upwards, downwards, and sideways. With each circular motion, Patrick took a step forward.
Norn watched this strange footwork thoughtfully.
"Make the sword a part of your body," Patrick said after his demonstration.
Norn nodded firmly.
On the third day, DeMol took over the teaching. The honest knight simply said, "I'll teach you about sword guards and hilts."
In this way, William, Patrick, and DeMol all joined in Norn's "teaching" sessions.
Day by day, the caravan finally made its way through the mountain roads of Brenner and arrived at the city known as the pearl of the Adriatic Sea: Venice.
From a distance, Venice sat on a lagoon, with a dense network of canals running through it. Sailing boats of all sizes moved continuously on the rivers.
After crossing a floating bridge and paying the city entry tax, Norn finally entered the city. The streets were lined with shops, and merchants haggling over prices could be seen everywhere.
Occasionally, brightly dressed noblewomen could be seen discussing the latest fabrics.
After settling into the inn, Norn eagerly dragged DeMol to go shopping and to find out where he could sell his honey.
Indeed, while in Mainz, Norn had learned that honey, which sold for 20 silver denarii per jar in Mainz, could fetch 40 silver denarii per jar in Venice. So, he had exchanged all his money for honey, planning to transport it to Veneto to make a fortune.
However, reality was far from ideal.
Using his rudimentary Frankish, Norn tried to sell his honey to the owner of a candle shop, but no matter what he said, the owner just kept shaking his head and refusing.
This happened in several shops until a kind-hearted owner finally told Norn that he should deal with the guilds. But when Norn finally found the location of the candlemakers' guild, he was greatly disappointed.
"18 silver denarii per jar? How can that be?!" Norn shouted at the head of the candlemakers' guild. "Honey retails for 40 silver denarii per jar in the market. The purchase price can't possibly be lower than 30 silver coins per jar!"
"I'm sorry, but that's the guild's regulation," the head said calmly. "Since you are not a long-term supplier to our guild, the price has to be lower."
"Moreover," the head tasted the honey Norn had brought. "If I'm not mistaken, this honey is from the southern part of the Holy Roman Empire."
"That's right!"
"That explains it," the head said. "Honey from the empire is too sweet, and compared to Iberian honey, it produces much less wax."
"Perhaps you should try the cooks' guild. They might offer a higher price."
When Norn went to the cooks' guild, the head there was only willing to offer 20 silver coins per jar.
Standing at the entrance of the cooks' guild, Norn cursed the honey merchant who had deceived him in his heart a thousand times, but after the cursing, he could only be troubled.
What should he do? He had gone through all the trouble of transporting a cart of honey, and just breaking even would be too much of a loss.
Norn dipped his finger into the honey and sucked on it. It was smooth, sweet, and just the right amount of sweetness that brought a strong sense of happiness without being cloying.
Norn thought hard. Since his honey couldn't be used for making candles, it could only be eaten. But the price couldn't be much higher if it was just sold as food.
"Ah! I can only go back first."
Back at the inn, Norn looked at his cart of honey. He had previously thought he could make a lot of money, so he had been reluctant to eat any of it.
Now he decided to satisfy his own hunger first.
Then Norn used his last five silver denarii to buy some high-quality fine flour, eggs, and fresh milk from the market. He used fresh beer yeast instead of regular dough to ferment the flour, and then added egg whites, milk, vanilla, and his own fresh honey to the fine flour to make small round breads.
Norn felt that this was still not enough, so he used the leftover egg yolks, milk, and honey to make a liquid center in three separate batches, which he then incorporated into the dough. Finally, he put the dough into the inn's oven to bake.
As the fireplace gradually warmed up, the air began to smell sweet. Norn stood in front of the fireplace and took a deep breath. He had learned how to make liquid center cakes in order to pursue a girlfriend in the past, and he didn't expect to use that skill now.
"Little Norn!" William, who had a nose like a dog, appeared out of nowhere, with drool almost flowing out.
Not only William, but Patrick and DeMol also followed the scent into the room, and even Otto stood outside the door pretending to be indifferent.
The flames of the fireplace gently roasted the small dough, and the exterior of the dough gradually turned golden and crispy. The people standing in front of the fireplace could hear the crisp sound of the bread forming.
"This smell, it's like first love, sweet yet unforgettable," DeMol couldn't help but say.
Of course, the same line from William's mouth was "It smells better than the perfume my wife bought for 10 silver denarii."
"Did you read this in some book?"
"I don't remember, but the Romans used to eat this at their banquets," Norn said, knowing that they were all rough men, and he tried to impress them with his knowledge.
Finally, when the time seemed right, Norn opened the oven.
At that moment, the aroma burst out like a flood, filling everyone's nostrils with a symphony of honey and vanilla, and their ears with the odes of the crispy bread crust.
Without waiting for it to cool, William, who was closest, grabbed one, blew on it twice, and then stuffed the whole thing into his mouth.
The bread seemed like a shy girl who couldn't resist the attack of the teeth, and then revealed its smooth body. But as it was bitten deeper, the hot and molten center, mixed with the flavors of honey and vanilla, overwhelmed the senses.
William stood there in a daze, as if he had turned into a 300-pound child. After a long while, two streams of clear tears flowed down his face.
"I miss my mom," he said.
The others weren't much better off. Patrick took a small bite and closed his eyes to savor the aftertaste of the liquid center; DeMol took a big bite as if he were biting an enemy; Otto took a bite, turned away, and his expression alternated between sadness and happiness.
"Is it really that exaggerated?" Norn looked at the liquid center bread in his hand.
"What's its name?"
"What?"
"The bread."
"Queen's Bread."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Such a noble name was indeed fitting for this bread.
Wait a minute, Norn suddenly realized, "Haven't you guys ever had this before?"
The most experienced Otto said, "I've been fortunate enough to attend the banquets of earls, dukes, and even His Majesty the Emperor, but their bread is not even one-tenth as good as this."
Norn looked at the bread in his hand, and it seemed that his honey would not be hard to sell.
Realizing this, Norn hastily packed two cakes and ran out, leaving the others bewildered.
Norn rushed back to the cooks' guild and almost burst into the president's room.
The president was having a meal with his assistant, and a fleeting look of displeasure crossed his face.
"Good afternoon. I wonder what brings you here in such a hurry?"
Norn took out a still-warm Queen's Cake from the box and handed it to the president.
"President! Please try this!"
Although the aroma was not as rich as when it had just come out of the oven, one whiff was enough to make the president and his assistant never forget it.
The two took the cake. The assistant took a small bite. "Th-this... th-this..." He was too excited to speak.
The president, on the other hand, broke the bread open, revealing the snow-white interior and the slowly flowing filling. He took a bit with his finger and put it in his mouth.
The president could no longer hold back his expression. "How did you do this?"
"I heard that next month, the governor is going to celebrate his daughter's engagement with a grand banquet!" Norn said to himself. "This bread, made with my special honey, will surely leave a deep impression on the guests."
"Name your price! The recipe and your honey!"
Norn revealed a fox-like smile. "Then let's sit down and talk about the price."