Chương 64: Chapter 2.2: Hot and Cold

The dozen metallic strips were united by a single feature. One half was made from one metal, the other from another. All were split along the long axis. Favius took out the latest attempt, ignoring his first attempts at a bimetallic strip structure. He sighed. I wish tin, copper, or lead could have worked, but— He glanced at the warped remnants where he had tried using soft metals. They just deform once and get stuck in the new form. In his hands he held a thirty-centimeter strip of copper and iron.

Between boiling water and ice it bent by about two centimeters. Yes, it is a basic thermometer. But it is useless for measuring weather changes. Brutus snorted as he saw the object, and Marius leaned in.

"Still on that strange idea to develop a thermal measuring device?" Favius let out a long breath.

"Well, this one works at least." Brutus laughed.

"Yeah, though I suspect that if you ever show your face at the coppersmith's smithy again, the man just might attempt suicide." His older siblings chuckled alongside Brutus while Lia and Marius studied them.

"What happened?" asked Marius. Favius groaned, leaned back, and ran his fingers over the piece of metal. Brutus had donated an iron dagger, and it had been riveted to the piece of copper. He shuddered and explained, "I made the coppersmith forge the iron dagger into this. He wasn't enthusiastic about that job."

"Why not?" asked Marius. Favius sighed, and Brutus answered.

"Only Lithii Magi have the right to work iron in the Republic." Urania sniffed.

"No, we looked it up. As an estate smith, he was perfectly alright and even obliged to follow our orders." Favius looked at Marius, who was getting ever more confused.

"Smiths are very superstitious. Even if it's not directly banned, no smith feels good about working iron without the permission of the Tower of Metal." Caliga giggled.

"And you kind of ruined his forge." Favius groaned.

"That was just material exhaustion. It's—" Marius punched him gently.

"Explain! What happened?" He exchanged a look with Brutus and explained, "The man uses a block of basalt with a cap of bronze as an anvil. And when he forged the dagger after I'd convinced him—" Favius's lips curled up and he spat out the final words like a curse.

"The fucking stone split in two." Urania giggled.

"And Favius told him to keep working." Brutus chuckled.

"I had to menace the man into finishing the job. All the while he was cursing and crying about bad omens." Favius ground his teeth. Yeah, not my proudest moment, but— He shook his head. It's just so frustrating seeing someone who can clearly do something refuse to do it because of superstitious nonsense. Caliga snorted.

"So what's your next idea? I mean, it doesn't even work, right?"

"What's it supposed to do?" asked Marius. Urania patted his arm.

"It's supposed to bend and show how hot something is." Marius wrinkled his nose.

"Can't you just feel how hot something is?" Urania shook her head, and Caliga gave Marius a smug look.

"That's not enough. We need to put numbers to it, and then we can make it better. Just like in the workshops." Marius perked up.

"The workshops? You're going to show me once I've done my reading?"

"Well, exactly," replied Caliga with a smile.

"If you can ever do it well enough, that is."

"I'll show you," he proclaimed, thrusting his chest forward, which lasted precisely until Urania poked him in the side. He yelped, and they all laughed. Favius gave one last look at his latest attempt at a bimetallic thermometer. First, the metals. I've tried everything except for zinc, silver, and gold, but those are— He looked at the one-centimeter diameter, thirty-centimeter long rod. Not feasible for financial reasons. If I remember correctly, a bimetallic strip should be a spiral to work best.

Hell, if they only had transparent glass here, I could simply use a fluid thermometer. He handed the riveted strip of iron and copper over to his youngest brother, who inspected it with a concentrated expression. Well, at some point I'm going to have to figure out how to make proper glass. And I'm not even sure what they are doing wrong, but it surely can't be that complicated. He sniffed. Yeah, I should really stop thinking stupid stuff like that.

Before he could think further, Marius suddenly left his seat and returned with a scroll and a serious expression.

"Alright, alright. Can I read it now?" Favius gave him a smile.

"Now?" he asked and tipped his chin.

"Not sure. Maybe I want another potato pancake." He allowed himself an evil chuckle. Marius stuck out his tongue.

"You are stupid!" You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," repeated Lia until Urania slapped her lightly.

"Don't say that." She glared at all her other siblings until both Brutus and Caliga failed to hold back their laughter. She huffed, then looked at Marius.

"Of course. We are all ready." She raised her cup of tea and took a sip.

"They're just waiting for you to show what you learned." Marius grinned proudly and began.

"The Story of the Three Cities, a mythologized account of the founding of the Republic." He looked from side to side as if daring anyone to challenge his pronunciation, but all the siblings, Favius included, gave him an encouraging nod. A quarter of an hour passed quickly as the soon-to-be-six-year-old kept reading with ever greater confidence. At some words he still stumbled a bit, yet he quickly rallied and corrected himself.

"And thus the Kings of the Sea and Mountains melted their crowns and forged the brazier of the Sacred Flame in Cindrath, becoming Onarchs." Marius finished. Silence settled onto the room, and his little brother kept shifting nervously from side to side. He swallowed, but before he could do anything, Urania jumped forward and hugged him.

"That was amazing." Favius grinned and joined his sisters in praising him. He handed his brother his cup of honeyed tea, and after Marius had gulped down a few greedy swallows, he waved the praise of his siblings aside.

"Yes, yes, I know I'm good. Uncle Cassian wouldn't have said I was ready otherwise." He smirked, and Favius's smile grew brittle for a moment. Yes, Cassian. The tutor had held occasional lessons, especially after Hesnia departed shortly after the party, leaving the two younger siblings behind at the main estate alongside Cassian. But even that had stopped quickly. The man— Favius rubbed his chin.

I guess he's technically in dereliction of his duty as he hasn't shown his face in a while, but— He looked over at Brutus and recalled their last interaction with Cassian. Not that I blame him for avoiding us. But still, at some point I'll have to get rid of him. But for now... He joined his sisters in the fussing over Marius. The boy was jumping up and down.

"So will you show me what you are doing now?" He paused for a second and observed his smiling older siblings.

"Please," he tried, drawing out the word. Favius snorted.

"Very well. There's just—" He heard a knock on the door, and Brutus and Favius called out for the man to enter. As expected, Serran had arrived. He had become a rather regular guest at their family dinners, and Favius smiled fondly at the majordomo. He cares for the estate above everything else. But honestly, after Brutus and my sisters, he's my most important ally. Favius smiled. And maybe even a bit of a friend. Marius pouted, but remained silent as the siblings greeted the majordomo.

Another collection of foods, small cakes baked with various preserved fruits, were brought in after Serran. The middle-aged man settled down at the table beside Brutus, and Lia was taken away by her nursemaid. Favius gave the woman a nod. At least Brutus arranged for nursemaids of our own that are loyal to his branch family and not Hesnia. He swallowed. Still, as per our agreement, my Mother might return any day now from her vacation.

Favius chewed on a warm apple cake, then on one with cherries, before Serran began to speak.

"Am I right in assuming that the Youngest Master will soon be introduced to more of the mysteries of his family?" He smiled while gnawing at a fig cake. Favius snorted.

"You make it sound as if I'm doing magic." Serran shrugged.

"There's always something magical about creation, isn't there?" Favius glanced at the bag containing the failed bimetallic thermometers.

"There's something magical about succeeding at creating something," he murmured, and the others chuckled. Marius was shifting from side to side, but Urania poked him before whispering in his ear. He settled his hands on the table and straightened with a serious expression. Favius couldn't help but chuckle. Haven't heard what she said, but she probably threatened him. I guess she said that we'll show him the things tomorrow if he doesn't behave. Older sisters are such mean creatures.

Serran nodded and folded his fingers.

"Very well. To business then. The Lady and Lord shall return shortly. Most likely as soon as"—he gestured to the covered garden in the center of the room—"this last fury of winter has died down." Urania rolled her eyes.

"Why can't Hesnia stay away longer? Winter was so fun." Marius sniffed.

"I still don't get why you hate Aunt Hesnia. She's always nice to me." Dark looks were exchanged between the three older siblings until Serran cleared his throat and continued.

"Before this last snowfall, I received a letter from the Dominus in Cindrath. He informed me to make preparations for the expansion of certain estate industries." He smiled, and Favius couldn't help but mirror the expression.

"Sounds great. Did he say anything specific?" Serran waved a hand.

"Just his intent and some of the basics. Nothing you should concern yourself with." Favius frowned.

"Well, in that case." Serran smiled and nodded at him.

"If you wouldn't mind, Young Master, could I get an overview of your more recent activities before my Dominus returns?" Favius nodded. But... even if our experiments turn into bigger industries... He looked at Urania and Caliga.

"My sisters' involvement in management and production is non-negotiable." The majordomo smiled.

"I never would have thought otherwise. And truly, I believe your Father is also most pleased about having such industrious children that he wouldn't think to remove you from such positions of learning and responsibility." Favius couldn't help but snort and shake his head. The thought of letting ten-year-olds play around with what's essentially a small company. It's still a bit absurd.

"Very well. Caliga, can you give us an overview of how the beehives are going?" Caliga nodded and took on a serious expression.

"Over the winter, we've managed to produce one hundred thirty extra hives." She looked at Serran and narrowed her eyes.

"If I remember correctly, that's still not enough for all our peripheral estates?" Serran nodded.

"Correct. In total, the holdings I manage directly for the family have almost five hundred hives." Caliga grinned.

"In that case, we will likely have enough hives after another cycle of seasons has turned. Especially if my Father wants to expand the workshops."

"Yes, yes, he explicitly mentioned all the industries. And while the soap has certainly outshone the beehives, he is as aware of the numbers as I am." Caliga cleared her throat and looked around the room.

"Other than that, it's just a question of skilled craftsmen. The hive design—" She shrugged.

"We haven't made many changes, so..." She gave them a short overview of the ongoing hive production. Favius smiled gently at her.

"Thank you." He turned to Urania.

"And the soap?" Urania cleared her throat and looked around the room until Marius gently squeezed her arm. She gave him a smile, and Favius gave an encouraging nod.

"To begin, we've continued improving the recipe, but still we've made a lot of soap. The only thing that's been a problem"—she frowned at Serran—"is your and Father's insistence on the difficulties of transporting it during winter. Apart from the one batch that we got out when there was almost no snow." The others nodded, and Urania described some of the experiments, but Favius reflected on his part. Soap and beehives are established.

My paper, on the other hand— As Urania finished up, everyone looked at him, and he cleared his throat.

"Our papermaking—" He reached into the satchel and took out a sheet with some ink markings.

"It's been going well. I think we got it almost all figured out in terms of the recipe and process." He gestured.

"I taught some of the workers"—he put emphasis on the word and saw a slight darkening in Brutus's expression—"how to try variations of the pulping process." Serran nodded.

"Very well. I might tag along if you show your youngest brother the workshop then. I am most curious if your last order of horsetail hair resulted in meaningful benefits." Favius smiled.

"We'll have to see, won't we?" Serran and his sisters continued the discussion, but Favius sank into thought again, picking up the bimetallic strip and playing with it. The workshops, the weather station. I'm still not certain about my path to make money and getting into trading before trying to trigger any bigger changes in this world. He picked up a peach cake this time and chewed on it, barely noticing the spiced wine flavor of the fruit.

I think I know enough about agriculture and some basic farming improvements to make our estate much better. But those technologies can be adopted by everyone else and are unlikely to make me as rich as trading. Not that I won't introduce them because of that. He recalled his last encounter with the entity and his quest to print books. Well, and then there is the quest. I still have seven seasons left to print a thousand books, so I think we're making good progress on that.

Before his thoughts spiraled down deeper, Marius poked him in the side and stood up.

"Okay, okay. Are we done? Please, can you show me your projects now?" Serran was the first to laugh.

"Very well, Youngest Master. I must admit, I myself am quite curious to see this collection of devices the Young Dominus claims will allow us to divine the changing weather."