Chapter 431

Chapter 431: Outside the Wind Chant Palace

Early morning, birds chirped joyfully, and a light mist carried a hint of coolness.

Lolan Hill wore a white dress, walking on the stone path in the courtyard. The dew on the blades of grass beside her occasionally brushed against her legs, bringing a slight tickling and chill.

Since this palace was located at the edge and was relatively quiet, she did not need to cover herself with an extra coat and simply wore a veil.

Her silver hair was pulled back behind her ears, two strands crossing at the back and tied with a red hairband into a simple bow, cascading like silk down to her waist, gently swaying as she walked.

When she reached the gatehouse of Scarlet Jujube Palace, two maids were already waiting there.

“Good morning, my lady.” The two sword-wielding maids bowed their heads. They did not know the girl’s exact name but had been instructed that this was a very important guest who needed special attention.

“Mm.” The girl nodded. It was still early, and she wanted to tour and understand how the administrative institutions of Clancia worked today.

“Understood.” The two maids nodded, then led the way in front and behind Lolan Hill.

“The headquarters of Clancia’s administrative institutions are mostly within the palace for easier communication,” they explained.

“In the center of the palace is the Golden Breeze Palace, which is currently the highest council hall. Important national decisions are usually made there, but it is not accessible at present.”

“Mm, there’s no rush. Let’s look at other departments first; I’m more interested in those,” the girl nodded.

“On either side of the Golden Breeze Palace are the Wind Rest Palace, the Wind Roar Palace, the Wind Ripple Palace, and the Wind Chant Palace, corresponding respectively to agriculture, military affairs, trade, and education. From these four palaces, other smaller departments such as justice, construction, manufacturing, etc., branch out.”

As the two maids introduced, Lolan Hill quickly grasped the general layout of the palace. Then, the group arrived at the outer perimeter of the Wind Chant Palace.

Watching the scholars in academic robes coming and going, Lolan Hill stopped in her tracks. She saw many young people with rabbit ears. At this moment, she suddenly recalled a question: she seemed to have supported many teachers from the rabbit-eared clan to come to Clancia.

Ah, it seems that quite a few people here are currently working at the Wind-Singing Palace.

It’s better to take a detour. If we get recognized, it would be troublesome.

The two maids, seeing the young lady suddenly stop and prepare to turn around, felt a bit puzzled, but didn’t dare to ask. They could only continue following behind her.

Unfortunately, just as Lolan希尔 turned back, a man in white robes with a feather hat walked over, chatting with someone beside him.

“In your opinion, how many more middle school teachers do we need to recruit domestically?”

“Lord Toran, according to our experience in the Tixil Mountain Range, the minimum standard for the student-teacher ratio is 1:100; anything lower wouldn’t maintain much teaching effectiveness. The ideal ratio is 1:25,” replied the young man with rabbit ears, holding books as he walked.

This was not good. That rabbit-eared guy seemed to be one of my first batch of students. For some reason, Lolan希尔 suddenly recalled some of those middle school declarations she had made in the past.

Seeing the two getting closer, Lolan希尔 blinked and changed direction, turning her body towards the corridor’s exterior, then stood still as if admiring the scenery.

Fortunately, the two remained focused on their discussion and did not stop. Listening to the footsteps passing behind her, the young lady gradually relaxed.

“Then let’s end it here, Lord Toran. I’ll report to you later about the progress in training this year’s teachers.”

“Alright, thank you for your hard work, Zelian.”

“It’s nothing, following the steps of the Sage is my greatest wish in life, and it is also our rabbit-eared tribe’s mission.” He bowed and parted ways with Toran, heading in another direction.

Watching the young man walk away, Toran sighed.

“I really want to meet that Sage. How did she manage to cultivate such ambitious people? Sometimes I feel I’m not quite qualified for this position.”

Before the uprising, Toran was merely a wandering bard traveling through various countries. Although he had some talent and decent swordsmanship, he was still far from being a true master. It was the circumstances that led him to become the head of education in Clancia. Though he performed well, sometimes he felt that many of his subordinates were actually more capable than he was.

“Your Excellency shouldn’t belittle yourself.”

“Well, actually, you’ve done a great job. Many people in the department admire you. Under your improvements, those dull textbooks have become much more interesting and engaging, reducing the children’s resistance significantly,” a retainer beside him consoled.

“Haha, this is probably just a bit of instinct for a troubadour. Stories need to be interesting and captivating for people to want to listen.”

Toland shook his head, turned a corner, and prepared to enter the Wind Singing Palace. Unintentionally, he glanced to the side, revealing a slight look of surprise, and thus he stopped.

The person behind him felt something was amiss and also stopped, looking back curiously.

All they saw was a veiled young lady walking away with two maidservants.

“Who is that?” Toland couldn’t recall seeing this young lady in the palace. Considering the maidservants following her, she must be of high status.

“This… I don’t know either. Shall we ask Miss Palinsa?”

“Forget it, things aren’t what they used to be.”

Toland waved his hand. In the past, whenever he arrived at a new place, he would always inquire about any beautiful young ladies there, using their stories to create poetry. After joining Pullman’s team, such leisure time became scarce. Now that Clancia has been established, he has been even busier with affairs, leaving no room for such distractions.

Moreover, given how far he has come, he must pay attention to his image. He isn’t one to be overly preoccupied with women; achieving his life’s ideals is more appealing to him.

“Let’s go. As the sage said, the reform is not yet complete, so we cannot afford to slack off or be careless.”

—

Lolan Hill gently exhaled, the faint redness on her face fading.

Just now, she seemed to hear some casual words she had spoken before. How did the students manage to remember everything? She didn’t feel anything when listening to great men’s words before, but now, hearing others repeat her own words made her wish she could find somewhere to hide.

Wait, why is the head of the education department also saying those words? Could they have included them in the textbooks?

A terrifying thought suddenly occurred to Lolan Hill. The idea of encountering someone who would awkwardly praise her everywhere she went, quoting the wise sage’s words, made her ears turn red again.

— End of Chapter —