Rhett smiled slightly as he pointed in a direction, indicating the north side adjacent to the estate, which was also to his right.
"I plan to build the outer courtyard there. Go ahead and survey the terrain, think about how to best design it, and I'll send someone to discuss the construction details with you later," Rhett said.
Seeing that the area was flat, Tardell thought for a moment and began to form an idea in his mind. He nodded, "Understood, my lord."
Castle's Back Garden
The outer areas of the garden were filled with various types of plants and flowers. If it were spring, the vibrant colors would be on full display. But now, under the harsh winds, countless branches swayed uncontrollably.
After searching elsewhere and not finding the butler, Rhett eventually spotted Swit in the back garden, just as he expected.
"Hey, Swit! Did you plant all these seeds?" Rhett asked, surprised.
He had noticed that the magic plant cultivation field had expanded, corresponding to the over one hundred water-element magic plant seeds he had brought back.
Swit, who had been admiring the flowers, quickly straightened up and turned around with a smile on his face. "Good morning, my lord. Of course, I didn't plant them myself. I happened to see Master Riley out here early this morning, planting some magic plants himself before breakfast."
Swit nodded, "Understood, my lord. I'll make sure the fruit farmers and gardeners are informed to avoid this area."
Although this would mean the family members would have to take care of planting and watering themselves, it was worth it for such precious mid-tier magic plants. Even other nobles often chose to personally tend to valuable magic plants, rather than letting servants near them.
Moreover, tending to magic plants didn't require much effort—watering them once would suffice for many days, even more than a month.
Previously, the estate had only lower-tier magic plants, which were neither rare nor valuable. But now, with higher-tier magic plants being grown, and with the secret of the Snow Sprite's ability to accelerate their growth, more precautions were necessary, and it was best to avoid exposure in the short term.
By preventing others from accessing the area and staggering the planting cycles—such as planting and harvesting in batches throughout the year—Rhett could ensure that the output was consistent each quarter. Even if the output became significant over time, outsiders would find it difficult to detect anything unusual.
Standing beside the magic plant cultivation field, Rhett glanced sideways at the butler and said, "There's one more thing. I need you and Tardell to gather the lumberjacks from Kudin's logging camp and the stonemasons from the territory to focus on building the outer courtyard.
This task must be taken seriously, and during construction, mainly follow the opinions of Tardell and Curls. After all, they will be the ones managing the knights' training ground in the future."
"Understood, my lord. I'll get to it right away," Swit replied with a cheerful nod, quickly leaving. He felt a sense of joy—since the lord's return and recovery, the territory had been undergoing many positive changes.
"Oh, and before you go, notify Riley to come here," Rhett added as Swit turned away.
After Swit left, Rhett gazed at the slightly damp, freshly watered soil at his feet. Counting the magic plants planted during his absence and the new mid-tier water-element plants Riley had just planted this morning, there were a total of 557 plants.
Of these 557 plants, 430 were previously planted lower-tier magic plants of various elements, which Rhett found to be of little value. These included water-element plants like Blue Liquid Grass, earth-element plants like Rock Bull Fruit, and fire-element plants like Three-Leaf Fire Flower. Their growth cycles typically ranged from six to eight months.
In Rhett's view, the decision to plant these lower-tier magic plants was likely driven by their shorter growth cycles, making them easier to rotate.
Now, however, Rhett had brought in precious mid-tier magic plant seeds. In this world, magic potions that enhanced mental strength and battle aura contained more potent energy, and mid-tier magic plants were required as the main ingredients for lower-tier potions of these types.
On the other hand, lower-tier magic plants were generally only used to create healing potions, antidotes, and other similar items, which were less valuable compared to mental strength or battle aura potions of the same tier.
By extension, mid-tier potions required higher-tier magic plants as their main ingredients. Only at the highest tier did Rhett hear of alchemists with exceptional skill crafting high-tier potions from several high-tier magic plants.
Rhett's original plan was to use mid-tier magic plants to slowly build up the family's resources and lay the foundation for their strength. Although his territory didn't currently have an alchemist, that didn't prevent him from trading with others.
Some alchemists preferred bartering, exchanging a certain quantity of magic plants for potions, with a portion of the finished product returned according to the agreed ratio. They were especially willing to trade for mental strength and battle aura potions, as not all alchemists had stable sources of magic plants.
Rhett crouched down and closed his eyes, trying to sense any changes in the magic plant area. After a while, he opened his eyes, a strange look in them.
"I can't feel any changes," Rhett thought, puzzled. He knew that using high-level essence could accelerate the growth of magic plants, but he was curious about how much the Snow Sprite's influence had accelerated these water-element plants.
Shortly after, Riley arrived in a hurry, seeming to guess why his father had called him. A hint of joy flashed in his eyes, but he cautiously scanned the surroundings before speaking up.
"Father, you’re an earth-element mage, right? How about surrounding this area with a wall to increase its security?" Riley suggested.
Rhett glanced at Riley, thought for a moment, and then nodded. He raised his hands, channeling earth-element energy to create walls around the field. The scene was quite dramatic.
However, given his current power level, he couldn't build walls around the entire field in one go, especially since the field wasn’t yet fully planted. He had reserved space for future expansions.
Once this area was filled with plants, he would have to find another location to open a new farm.
After half an hour of work, Rhett finally completed the task. The magic plant field was now surrounded by three-meter-high stone walls on all sides.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Rhett clapped his hands and said, "From now on, only family members will have access to this area. And as for you, a water-element mage, you'll be in charge of watering the plants," he added, pointing at Riley with a smile.