Chapter 6

The Florentine city might be at the border of the enchanted forest, but it is also located beside the sea and sits at the top of a hill and monsters rarely roam this place.

Despite this, the city itself has a wall that surrounds the entire territory and has a small population of more than 4000 people.

All the people in this city are the descendants of the servants and soldiers who came along with our ancestors when they establish the city. It was known that during the peak of its power, Florentine city had a boasting population of more than 9000.

When the city was established, we could still consider our family as a powerful force in the kingdom and still have a lot of influence, but due to the location of the place and the disposition of the noble family against us, the city has continuously declined till to this day.

Due to the distance needed to travel by the people to reach the city from the capital, we rarely received visitors from merchants and travelers. Sometimes, merchants will visit us twice or four times a year, depending on the demands they need from us. From this, I can also say that you can even consider the city as an independent kingdom, though we don't really talk about it to anyone because of the problem that we might face the accusation of mutiny.

I also read that the city was named after a flower. That might be the reason why does it sounds feminine, even though it was led by a man since its establishment.

The book goes like this- there's a flower here in this city that solely blooms in this place. It's called Florentia, a flower that has five petals with a mix of colors.

It was very rare and could only be cultivated within this land. This flower was the city's symbol which the city was named after.

I don't know if it's because of me not being accustomed to the new language or it's just the literal translation, but I felt like there was something weird about this passage.

Anyway, Florentia is known for its beauty during the night of its bloom, where the tip of its stamens shines with a dim glow of light. Every time the flower blooms, the whole city would be covered by a smell of an intoxicating aroma of fresh grassy fragrance with a slight hint of sweetness.

The Florentine city is surrounded by such flowers but people need edible crops that can feed the populace not flowers like this.

But this flower even grows at the entrance of the enchanted forest, but for some unknown reason, no flower will germinate outside this area.

Most of the common diet in this era is fish that were caught from the lake and sea. We have an abundant supply of it, while vegetables and some fruits are grown on a few plots of land, while wheat and bran are one of the basic crops that feed the population, and meat is considered as a luxury. As you can only buy it from the market unless you grow it yourself or hunt it in the forest.

Stew, boiled, and grilled, is the most common way to cook food in this era, while frying isn't popular yet, since oil is expensive and hard to come by.

Bread is also a staple food but can be divided into two categories. The bread that was served for the nobility and a normal bread that was hard as a brick for the common people.

Bread that was served at a noble's house was baked by their own cook it has a soft texture and is tastier compared to the other ones. Which you could even use as a weapon, and in order to eat this bread, you must soak it first with water or soup to soften it because if you don't it could break your teeth upon bitting to it.

While thinking of bread, I suddenly remember something from my past life.

I immediately pulled the string that was connected to a bell to call out the attention of anyone of our attendants.

A few moments passed by before the door to my room opened and Melissa came in.

"You called me Young Master?"

"Yes, I want you to ask Michael to accompany me outside. I want to explore the city." I eagerly said while fixing my clothes.

Michael is one of the knights that worked under my father and was responsible for my safety.

"Also prepare the carriage, I will take a stroll outside." I added before Melissa leaves my room.

I decided to venture out into the city to see the current situation of my people and also to explore the periphery of the enchanted forest.

Melissa instantly walked outside my room and, despite her age, she walked really fast. That was unexpected.

"Did you call for me, Master Lucas?" asked by Michael as he comes in.

Despite his age of 16 years old, Michael had already passed the requirements to become an official Junior knight and one of Lucas Idol and friend.

Michael is also known for his golden hair, sharp jawline, pointy nose, and sharp blue eyes covered by his silver armor. And I can assure you that everyone would be blinded when they try to look at him, as his armor shines greatly under the sun.

He was tall for his age and looking up at his face strained my neck. Nevertheless, this golden knight is a good friend of mine.

Michael is quite bizarre for me as he gave off this vibe of refreshing aura that can attract bees and butterflies. Anyone who meets him would have a good impression of him regardless of their gender.

He becomes an official knight at such a young age, a person that Lucas admires.

"Yes, I plan to go outside to check the situation inside the territory and at the same time, explore the edge of the enchanted forest."

I don't know why, but I felt like the temperature have suddenly gone up.

I can't really understand how such a human exists in this world. I thought my new look is already perfect, but damn, if looks could kill this knight would be slaying it, particularly on modern earth.

"It's spring now and monsters will likely roam the depths of the enchanted forest when food is most abundant. Therefore, I can only allow you to explore the edge of the forest. We might see some small monsters but fear not, as for they are harmless against me." He valiantly said as he put his tight hand on his chest as a sign of salute.

"That's good to hear, I might also have the chance to observe some of the creatures living inside the enchanted forest," I said as I stand to go out of my room.

Authors note: This is a bonus side-story alongside this chapter but it doesn't affect the main story line.

Meanwhile, in a certain corner of the room, Melissa the head maid had watched the whole thing unfold in front of her and now had a troubled expression on her face.

Melissa's POV.

I was outside the room cleaning and talking with the others when the bell connected to the young master's place had suddenly rung that interrupt us.

I immediately went inside his room to ask if he needed anything.

"You called me young master?" I said.

"Yes, I want you to ask Michael to accompany me outside. I want to explore the city." He said while looking at some documents with a serious expression.

I was about to go outside when he issued another order.

"Also, prepare the carriage, I will take a stroll outside." I immediately followed his order but I had worries in my heart.

Every time Master Lucas talked to Michael, I couldn't avoid the feeling that he was too enthusiastic and happy, contrary to the way he talked with his father. This got me thinking that our young lord might have taken a liking to our golden knight.

I know that the young master already expressed that he only admires Michael for being a gallant knight, but I still can't help myself questioning the reason why do they want to go to the edge of the enchanted forest, a place where people rarely go.

As I went back to Master Lucas room with Michael in tow, I stepped aside, waiting for more instructions while listening to their conversation.

Michael immediately asked the reason for why he was called, which Master Lucas answered with a very normal tone, but he couldn't hide how his ears had turned red.

I don't really want to go into details, but there are only a few people who can have a normal conversation with Michael without having any abnormal reaction. Even I sometimes need to avoid his gaze as it affects my thinking.

Which Michael answered "It's spring now and monsters will likely roam the depths of the enchanted forest when food is most abundant. Therefore, I can only allow you to explore the edge of the forest. We might see some small monsters but fear not as for they are harmless against me."

This is a very normal response as a knight that was assigned to protect our young master, he won't allow him to go into danger, but I also have my own little secret.

It started when I accidentally saw those stories that were forbidden everywhere, but some maids in nobles' houses have this copy that serves as our little secret in our little organization and those copies are the books about forbidden love between men.

Yes it was weird and widely frown upon but what I can do, I personally think the story behind them is more romantic compared to normal relationship.

Oh, how awesome it is to read those stories. You might wonder how is it possible for us to know how to read. It's because every noble house must hire an educated servant. It's a tradition in this land and I don't know where it even begun but this is a strict requirement.

Hiring someone who doesn't know how to read is an insult to their family name. Such educated people also have their own privilege in looking for a new job.

That's why hidden organizations were formed by groups and they always exist in every place; a group for noblemen, noblewomen, merchants, and even a group for servants like us.

I've been working in this family for 25 years now and, at the age of 45, I have already seen and heard a lot of things in regards to different relationship scandals in this kingdom. There is no such thing as a secret in our organization when it comes to issues about mens romance, but we don't have proof and all we have is gossip we got from different places and from other servants as well.

I know that it's wrong to think about this, but I can't help it forbidden love is the greatest love of all from the time that I learned to read. The forbidden door has opened its path to me.

As they walked outside the room, I looked at them with a troubled expression on my face.

Thinking if I should talk about this with Master Hubert, I don't know what he would feel, but since I don't have any evidence to prove myself, I just gave up. I mean all of this is just my presumption.

I take one last glance at their back as they vanish from my sight. I'm too old for this I might just enjoy my life. With this thought, I left the room with peace of mind.

Authors note again:

Okay, that's all. This is a side story and I just want to put it together with the official story but don't let it confuse you since this is all just inside Melissa's mind. The goal here is to build up her character not just putting her in my story to be a simple mob.