The Beginning

Edward truly possessed a stunning physique.

When he wore his usual well-tailored clothes, his tall, muscular frame was barely concealed, giving the impression of mere strength. But as the garments were stripped away one by one, and Tang Feiliu saw his powerfully defined muscles laid bare—the perfect eight-pack abs, the V-line, the thick thigh muscles... Tang Feiliu felt his breath catch in his throat!

Yet Edward himself remained utterly oblivious. After shedding his clothes, he simply looked at Tang Feiliu, waiting for instructions on what to do next, his entire demeanor open and unguarded.

Tang Feiliu could only force his gaze to avoid wandering to inappropriate places. He lifted his chin, concentrating solely on Edward's face as he reached for the specially reserved, upgraded milk soap—one of his more successful creations—from the silver tray beside him and handed it to Edward.

Fortunately, nobles of this era had little concept of privacy. Some, overly obese or lazy, even had their personal servants support them and hold their... thing while urinating... But Edward wasn't your typical noble of this era. Having grown up alone, he was accustomed to handling all his affairs independently. Except during his illness, when his personal valet, Evans, had to bring the duke's breakfast to bed for him, Evans's duties within the room were so minimal compared to other nobles' valets that he might as well have been idle.

So Edward was telling the truth—when he asked Tang Feiliu to teach him how to bathe, it really was just about bathing.

"... Since it's his first time using soap, it'll be like this at first. After scrubbing a few more times, it'll start foaming up..." Tang Feiliu had relaxed considerably by now. He felt he'd been too dirty-minded. Edward was a straight guy through and through. Just because he was gay didn't mean he should find two men sharing a bathroom strange. To a straight man, grown men bathing together was perfectly normal—let alone just being in the bathroom together!

Tang Feiliu quickly talked himself into this mindset. Meanwhile, Edward squinted his eyes, scrubbing his body meticulously. This was his very first bath—others had been bathed in holy water after birth, but as the son of a demon, Edward hadn't even experienced that baptism. Yet humans were born to enjoy the pleasure of warm water washing over their skin. The warm water washed away sweat and fatigue. Edward scrubbed himself three times over, and Tang Feiliu, having let go of her reservations, scrubbed his back clean for him.

Finally, Edward stepped into the wooden tub specially prepared that day. As the warm water enveloped his entire body, he couldn't help but let out an uncontrollable soft sigh: "So comfortable..."

"Right? Right?" Tang Feiliu beamed with satisfaction, his pride evident as he chuckled. "After a hearty dinner tonight, another soak would be perfect!"

"You're absolutely right." Edward felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. His pores opened comfortably for the first time. In the misty steam, he looked at the pleased young doctor and instructed, "Build the bath you described in my living quarters. I grant you the same authority as mine. You have my full permission to proceed."

"But, as I mentioned before, constructing a bathroom upstairs in the castle would be a major undertaking..." Tang Feiliu hesitated despite the authorization. He certainly wanted to build the bath properly—it would at least make his own bathing more convenient and comfortable in the future. but the castle lacked any internal drainage system. Edward currently bathed on the ground floor precisely because that room, though paved with stone and coated with expensive Roman mortar, allowed water to drain through gaps between stones when two corner tiles were removed. This worked on the ground floor, but installing a bathroom upstairs would be disastrous—there was simply nowhere for the water to go.

Tang Feiliu explained in detail. By the time he finished, Edward had already finished his bath. He pondered for a moment before saying softly, "Then let's first lay the sewer system you mentioned. The bathroom can stay on the ground floor."

After speaking, Edward glanced at Tang Feiliu and graciously added, "As the major undertaking for this project, I grant you the privilege of having a private bathroom, just like mine."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Unlike the meat chop from dinner, Tang Feiliu was genuinely overjoyed. An independent bathroom meant no more scrubbing himself with a basin of water—he could soak in a bath, and it would be his alone, no need to share with others... Though the project was massive, Tang Feiliu felt it was worth every effort!

Tang Feiliu's face beamed with joy, his bright blue doe eyes sparkling with delight. Edward changed into his nightgown and retired upstairs to rest. Though Tang Feiliu was cleaner than anyone in this era, he'd mostly relied on sponge baths these past two months and hadn't had a proper wash in ages. Suddenly unconcerned about the late hour, he had servants bring water to the adjacent room. Though there was no bathtub, he hummed a tune as he stripped and took a hot shower, feeling his entire body grow lighter. That night, he drifted off to sleep enveloped in the scent of milk soap, resolved to try letting go more freely starting tomorrow. The current situation was favorable—at least he had gained the approval of the domain's highest authority and resolved his bathing and dining issues... But would Tang Feiliu be satisfied with just that?!

As if! Someone who'd lived in the modern world could never be satisfied with just that!

Tang Feiliu's ambitions certainly extended far beyond this. Though the castle was built with imposing grandeur and formidable fortifications—enough to make any medieval architecture enthusiast drool—it was constructed to military standards. Its imposing, colossal appearance resembled a dark beast perched atop a mountain ravine. When enemies attacked, such a massive fortress could stand virtually invincible.

Yet, those residing within found it exceedingly uncomfortable.

Surrounding the mountain fortress lay vast, untamed grasslands, seemingly unused for any purpose. Within the castle walls, knights trained in designated areas, while stables housed horses, cattle pens contained oxen, and other livestock roamed freely.

The knights guarding the castle resided on its western side, while the lord himself lived in the central main residence. From his bedroom, he could survey his domain, the village nestled below the cliffs, and the orchards.

Servants occupied the eastern wing, lighting lamps before dawn to prepare for the day's work. Even so, the castle's population seemed sparse—which was normal. While an ancient castle could once house thousands, the current arrangement represented a concerted effort to maintain a viable population within its walls.

Tang Feiliu was assigned to the fourth floor on the castle's eastern wing.

The first floor housed the kitchens, the second floor was for the lower servants, the third floor for the higher servants, and the fourth floor was occupied by Tang Feiliu, the butler Old Dave, and his personal valet, Ivan.

The duke's quarters, however, occupied a separate, elevated section—a towering main residence encircled by four tiers of rooms. Upon entering, one found a grand hall large enough for banquets. Turning left or right led to reception rooms for guests to relax. During banquets, these typically served as ladies' lounges and gentlemen's smoking rooms. The second floor housed accommodations for visitors, the third floor contained study rooms, and the fourth floor held the master bedroom with its own sitting area.

The entire castle was square in shape, with four-story black brick and stone structures encircling a massive central tower. The buildings flanking the main tower featured exceptionally high roofs extending into enormous watchtowers, typically used for spotting enemies. These spire-topped towers encircled three sides of the main residence, lending it a distinctly Gothic feel. As Tang Feiliu surveyed the scene, he couldn't shake the feeling that vampires might emerge from within any moment.

However, living inside himself, he realized vampires weren't just pitiful creatures who could only suck blood—residing in such an ancient castle was a double tragedy. Though the castle was reasonably secure, its vast, hollow interior made it bitterly cold. He imagined needing quilts even in summer, and with his frail constitution, Tang Feiliu froze through the night despite layers of blankets in winter.

Such drawbacks were countless. Thus, Tang Feiliu had silently resolved to keep trying. The divine force that had brought him to this world surely hadn't intended for him to become some kind of ascetic monk!

The one thing Tang Feiliu could quietly be thankful for was that the current Lotte Empire was in the midst of the Age of Exploration—a time when ancient knowledge collided with new ideas, and people's minds were most open to change... Of course, he hadn't reached the more inland regions like York yet, but at least this spared him a lot of trouble.

With this thought, Tang Feiliu cheerfully threw himself into his new job, just as he would enthusiastically tackle crafts or cleaning his room back home.

However, working on the sewer system proved challenging. While other aspects were manageable—Edward had even granted special permission to excavate the entire ground floor—the drainage pipes themselves presented a major problem.

As far back as ancient Rome, there had been remarkably sophisticated underground drainage systems. typically employing concrete, lead pipes, and copper pipes as primary drainage materials. Yet in the Lott Empire, a precursor to concrete existed—Roman mortar. This substance was, strictly speaking, similar to cement, though thinner than modern varieties. While effective, its production was low-yield and costly. Worse still for York, it required sun-drying, severely hampering its output.

Fortunately, adapting it for their upcoming task proved straightforward. The good news was that a production facility for this mortar existed nearby—one of the Duke's private holdings. Tang Feiliu took this matter particularly seriously, intensively training Aunt Lai Li. After all, Edward had left him in charge of kitchen and castle logistics not to cook every meal himself, but to train the entire kitchen staff—only now Tang Feiliu was accelerating that process.

Originally, Tang Feiliu planned to tackle the problem at its root by changing the kitchen staff's mindset. People in the Lotte Empire believed food possessed inherent properties, and seasonings were, to some extent, medicinal ingredients. Thus, in their quest to make food beneficial for health, they added ingredients indiscriminately, convinced that food losing its original flavor was actually a sign of deliciousness...

This mindset was the root cause of the empire's notoriously terrible cuisine. But Tang Feiliu had no time to spare; he had to cram all the knowledge into Aunt Lai Li as quickly as possible. What surprised Tang Feiliu most was that his cooking won over not only Duke Edward but the entire castle staff. Especially the kitchen crew who tasted his dishes—they eagerly devoured every lesson. This made Tang Feiliu's task far easier. For a time, the castle filled with unheard-of aromas. Tang Feiliu presented all his demonstration dishes to Edward, while the servants received the duke's gracious gift: sharing the successful—and failed—creations among themselves. It was said the knights marveled at the garlic sauce and buttered bread, though they smacked their lips, remarking it was just a bit lacking.

In this era of meager agricultural yields, only a wealthy duke could afford to reward his servants with fragrant wheat bread free of sand or wood shavings.

Tang Feiliu had previously lived in York City, and before that, his memories were of life as the young master of a small estate. In other words, though he'd heard tales of hardship, before venturing deep into the countryside, he hadn't truly grasped that whether it was York City's laborers or the castle's lower-ranking servants... they all belonged to the middle class and above in this society.

It was like modern society: office workers constantly lamenting low pay, heavy workloads, demanding bosses, and fear of getting sick... Yet outside the skyscrapers, there were always laborers who toiled for a year without pay, uneducated souls stuck washing dishes twelve hours a day in steamy kitchens for meager wages, and street vendors pushing carts, their hopes pinned on passing pedestrians deciding whether they'd eat that day...

They all dwell in the shadows below the middle class, invisible to others because they lack even the right to speak. They can only endure silently, gritting their teeth to survive, working harder than anyone else. Yet, having lost the battle at the very front lines, they are forced into constant retreat. Except for a few fortunate souls, the rest will inevitably become the soil of the city.

This journey marked Tang Feiliu's first true awakening within the empire.

This allowed Tang Feiliu, raised in an era of peace, to witness this beautiful yet brutal medieval world. It also began to awaken him to the terrifying and awe-inspiring nature of this alien realm.