Winters' thoughts had already spread to the sky: "There are several pages of conjectures about divine magic in the general's notes. What are they about? Why can't I remember them?! Is divine magic within the general's system? Or is it?

Outside of the general's system? You have to design experiments to verify it! Oh, but you need instruments! Where can I get instruments? Make them myself? What can be built with the conditions in Wolf Town? I..."

Scarlett touched Winters' leg lightly.

Winters woke up from his reverie and realized that he had stirred the soup onto the table.

Mrs. Mitchell's crocheted tablecloth had been stained heavily by him.

Scarlett quietly handed him a napkin.

"Sorry, I was distracted for a moment." Winters smiled wryly and wiped his hands, then wiped the tablecloth.

"It's okay, just leave it alone." Ellen didn't mean to blame: "Just leave it to me to take care of it. But if you don't seriously taste the white soup I made, I will be angry."

…

The dinner ended in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.

Winters held on to the wall and walked to the living room - what the maids of the Mitchell family called "the gentlemen's room" in the past.

The Mitchells' recliner was still in the living room, wiped clean.

In the past, Winters and Girard came here after dinner.

Girard would open the window, make himself comfortable in a chair, and carefully fill his pipe.

He would take a deep breath first, and then exhale the mist comfortably little by little.

Winters doesn't smoke, but he also likes the feeling of lying still after eating.

Sometimes there are other guests: Girard's old friend, two priests from the church, owners of other estates...

After Pierre's name was added to the roster, Girard also began to acquiesce in his son's participation in "Gentlemen's Hour."

But now, the room is empty except for a few lounge chairs and Winters.

Winters sighed, opened the window, and slowly lay down on the chair.

He ate so much that he felt a little guilty.

Because his men were still eating rough black bread - not even full - he had a good meal at the Mitchells'.

Since returning to his old unit, he has been working with the army.

He ate whatever the militiamen ate.

Sharing joys and sorrows is easier said than done.

The initial enthusiasm was quickly smoothed away by the bran residue in the bread, and then it was all about persistence.

But Winters persisted. We are all human beings. If a warrior can eat, there is no reason why he cannot.

He gradually adapted to the true nature of the world, and even after eating a whole piece of bran, he no longer spit it out, but chewed it and swallowed it directly.

However, he still missed Balian very much. The blacksmith had a special ability and could make unpalatable ingredients delicious.

And most people only have the ability to make unpalatable ingredients even more palatable.

Winters couldn't help but think: "Should we set up a separate department to prepare meals?"

But that would make the army's establishment bloated.

One of the major contents of the old marshal's military reforms was to make reductions in the army: abolishing retainers, eliminating all unnecessary auxiliary troops, and reducing the burden on the troops.

Soldiers are responsible for carrying tents, carrying ordnance, and preparing food. Even without auxiliary soldiers, the army will not lose its combat effectiveness.

So Winters couldn't make up his mind either.

"Perhaps we can give it a try." He thought: "Anyway, there are only three arrows now, so if you make a mistake, you can easily correct it."

While he was daydreaming on the couch, Scarlett quietly walked into the living room.

"Are you going to stay tonight?" Ms. Mitchell asked with a slight blush, "The room is all ready."

Winters lived with the troops during this time.

"No need to bother, I'd better go back to the town and stay at the military camp."

Scarlett nodded and didn't force it, but she didn't leave either.

She sat boldly next to Winters, looked him in the eye and said, "Botayun should have her foal in the third or fourth week of August."

"OK."

Scarlett's eyes turned to Winters' body and she chatted casually: "Do you know why it is called Botayun?"

"Why?" Winters suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

Scarlett has gradually grown from the young, timid little Scarlett who didn't even dare to talk to Ms. Mitchell.

He has a brother-like affection for Pierre, and naturally he looks at Scarlett like a little sister, and he can always see the shadow of Ella.

But he suddenly realized that this was not his biological sister after all. Scarlett was not Ella. Her temperament was even more mature, tough, and independent than Ella looked...

Winters' body language betrayed him, and he subconsciously retreated away from Scarlett.

All along, he was actually projecting Ella onto Scarlett.

For siblings who have grown up together freely, even the slightest thought of the desire between men and women can make people feel sick involuntarily.

After realizing that Scarlett had become a woman, Winters suddenly had this sick feeling.

Scarlett looked at Winters' body: "The people of Dussa have a habit of calling horses according to their coat color. Bota is a noble class in ancient times. Bota cloud means a good horse that is as white as a cloud."

"Oh? Call horses by the color of their coats? The same is true for Huds." Winters coughed slightly and backed away: "Where did you know this?"

"The story my father told me..." Scarlett lowered her body gently: "You can stay here tonight."

Winters shook his head desperately.

"Then it's here!" Scarlett bit her teeth and stood up suddenly.

"You...what are you going to do?" There were beads of sweat on Winters' forehead.

"Of course it's for you..." Scarlett grabbed Winters' trouser leg and took off the ruler from his wrist: "...to measure the size."

"Oh..." Winters breathed a sigh of relief, and then exclaimed: "I can't even measure myself!"

Scarlett's eyes blinked.

Winters explained sincerely: "I don't lack clothes. I have already troubled the Mitchell Manor too much, and I really don't have the dignity to trouble you anymore..."

"It's okay, I'm willing to sew clothes for you."

"No, really not."

"I will learn the tailoring trade."

"It's not a question of whether you can..."

No matter what Scarlett said, Winters refused desperately.

Suddenly, Scarlett's nose felt sore and she lay on the recliner and started crying.

If there's anything in the world that scares Winters, it's women's tears.

"What happened to you?"

"Why?" Scarlett cried: "Why do you always reject me? Am I so bad? I..."

"That's not the case." Winters was at a loss, and he tried to reason: "The reason why you are so angry with me... is actually because Wolf Town is too closed-off, and I am a fresh face. When you grow up, when you get out of Wolf Town, you

I will meet more and better men, all of them gentler and more considerate than me..."

Scarlett cried even harder: "Are you saying that I'm not dedicated and like everyone I see? I'm not! I! No! Yes!"

Winters' words not only failed to appease little Ms. Mitchell, but caused more serious harm.

"I have a fiancée." Winters sighed and said softly to Scarlett: "She is still waiting for me."

This is a good reason, but the first half of it is a lie because Anna is not engaged to Winters.

The second half may have been a lie before, but it is even more of a lie now, because Anna will not wait for him anymore, and he has broken Anna's heart.

Scarlett's eyes were swollen from crying: "Your fiancée is in the horizon, but I am right in front of you. I can also be your fiancée, and I am willing to take her away from you."

Winters is at a loss for words.

There was silence for a long time, and the crying gradually became weaker. Winters took out a handkerchief and handed it to Scarlett.

"Do you really have a fiancée?" Scarlett sobbed and asked, "Or are you cheating on me? Prevaricating me?"

"Yes." Winters suddenly felt very sad and his nose was sore: "I'll show you her portrait."

He took off the locket and opened it carefully.

Anna was right there, with a slight smile on her lips.

He hadn't opened the locket for a long time because he didn't dare to look directly into Anna's eyes.

Scarlett took the locket and stared at Anna with eyes red from crying: "She is beautiful."

"Yes, she is beautiful."
To be continued...