After Daphne left, that feeling of warmth in the study seemed to still be pulsing in the air.
Sophia sat alone in her high-backed chair, her fingertips rubbing the spot where Daphne had just held her.
That vitality surging into her body like a spring was absolutely not an illusion brought about by alcohol.
"It seems this feeling isn't just one-way."
Sophia calculated silently in her heart.
"Could it be that because this little girl completely entrusted her soul to me, it triggered some sort of contract-like two-way feedback?
"No wonder she was always clinging to me before. This comfort that makes every cell in the body cheer is indeed addictive."
She gently let out a breath of stale air, pressing down her chaotic thoughts, and called out toward the shadows:
"Willow."
Willow, who had been waiting closely by the side, quietly revealed herself.
She still maintained that unshakably proper appearance, though a faint trace of weariness lingered between her brows. However, it transformed into a gentle smile when she looked at Sophia.
"Your Majesty, it is late into the night.
"The gifts for the various Lords have all been delivered. Even City Lord Vasha far away in the City of Hill has likely received the congratulatory gifts urgently delivered by the soldiers by now."
As Willow spoke, she skillfully walked to the table and swapped Sophia's cup for a warm cup of soothing tea.
"This minister has also dispatched people to deliver Lord Valery and Lord Victor's portions to their lodgings.
"Aside from that, there shouldn't be any omissions.
"Your Majesty... shall this minister attend to your bath and rest now?"
Sophia picked up the teacup but did not drink. Her pale golden eyes merely gazed quietly at Willow, until this normally composed personal female official began to look a little flustered.
"There is one more."
Sophia set the teacup down, her voice sounding exceptionally certain in the silent night.
Willow was slightly taken aback, tilting her head in confusion.
"One more? Could it be that envoy from the Kingdom of Leighton?
"But Your Majesty, that kind of person doesn't seem worthy of you personally preparing it..."
"It's you."
These two brief words made Willow freeze entirely in place.
"Me?"
On Willow's face, which always wore a polite smile, a near-sluggish astonishment was revealed for the first time.
This surprise was far greater than the emotion of being rewarded. To her, being able to stand behind Sophia and watch her conquer the world was already the greatest compensation.
Sophia didn't speak, merely raising an eyebrow toward a long ebony box on the bottom shelf of the bookcase.
"Open it."
Walking over somewhat stiffly, Willow pressed the latch with trembling fingers.
With a 'click'.
Inside the box were not the gold, silver, and jewels an ordinary person would imagine, but rather a complete set of top-tier, heavy-duty gold-wire inlaid kitchenware.
It was designed with Irene's personal participation and forged using Mason's most resilient metal.
The edge of every silver bowl was inlaid with fine gold wire, with the hidden patterns of the Black Rose carved into the hollowed-out sections. The ends of the soup spoons and dining knives were even dotted with tiny spirit stones capable of maintaining a constant temperature.
"I know your only hobby is cooking.
"I had Irene rush to make this set privately.
"The style was designed by me, and Irene modified a small portion of it."
Sophia rested her chin on one hand, the corners of her mouth curling into an imperceptible arc.
"From now on, in This Queen's Bedchamber, this set of kitchenware belongs only to you. No one else is allowed to touch it."
Before Willow could recover from the shock of this dream-like kitchenware, a heavy golden token, engraved with the four large words 'Chief Steward of the Palace', landed steadily in front of her.
On the back of the token, Sophia Mason's private golden seal was extremely eye-catching.
"This token represents the supreme will of Mason's inner court."
Sophia stood up and walked in front of Willow.
Due to the alcohol, her movements were a bit sluggish, yet they carried an oppressive intimacy.
She extended her slender, fair fingers, absentmindedly adjusting Willow's already perfectly neat collar.
"Victor will be responsible for historical compilation and diplomatic documents in the future. This Queen is not at ease handing over the trivial administrative tasks under him to outsiders."
Sophia's fingertips traced along the edge of the collar past the side of Willow's neck, raising a patch of fine goosebumps.
"From today onward, you are not only This Queen's maid, but also the Chief Steward of this entire Palace.
"All servants, inner attendants, accounts, and even those arrogant generals—after entering these Palace gates, they must all submit to your management.
"Willow... are you willing to take over this shackle for This Queen?"
Willow jerked her head up. Those eyes, normally calm and rational, were now filled with surging tears and extreme shock.
This was not merely a delegation of power.
This was Sophia completely handing over her 'home'—her most secret, most vulnerable, and most relaxing territory—into her hands.
"This minister..."
Willow's voice choked up.
She didn't kneel, but instead, as if guided by ghosts and gods, took a step forward, both hands tightly gripping Sophia's hand that was still lingering at the side of her neck.
She could feel the faint scent of alcohol on Sophia's fingertips, as well as that unquestionable trust belonging to a ruler.
"This minister does not find it tiring, nor does this minister find it complicated."
Willow gently pressed her forehead against the back of Sophia's hand, feeling that genuinely existing warmth.
"As long as I can guard this door well for Your Majesty, this minister is willing to be the sharpest abacus in Your Majesty's hands, and also willing to be the most loyal dirt beneath Your Majesty's feet."
Inside the study, the lamplight stretched the shadows of the two very long.
Sophia reversed her grip to hold Willow's hand, gently pulling her in, allowing this always restrained, calm girl to rest against her shoulder.
Sophia closed her eyes somewhat contentedly, feeling the faint scent of soap on Willow.
Sophia merely felt that she had given her employees some year-end bonuses on the night of the New Year.
But what she didn't know was that on this Year-End Festival night in this alternate world, she was surrounded by a group of madmen willing to die for her, willing to do everything for her.
The first ray of sunlight of the new year pierced through the thin morning mist of the Royal City. Last night's smoke and the scent of alcohol had already been washed clean by the crisp air.
For Sophia, this was nothing more than the first workday after handing out year-end bonuses.
But in the entire Mason Royal City, and even in the hearts of those subjects still immersed in the shock of the Black Rose fireworks, this day was the beginning of a new era for Mason.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!
"Major discovery! Major proposal!"
Before the study door was completely pushed open by Willow, Irene's signature, energetic voice bounded in a step ahead.
Sophia set down the official documents in her hands, looking at this young girl who had been hauled away like a sack of potatoes by Delilah last night, yet was currently as lively as if she had eaten several pounds of stimulants.
Irene's twin-tails still stuck up high. In her hands, she tightly gripped several soot-stained sketches drawn overnight.
"Irene, I thought you would sleep until noon."
Sophia rubbed her temples, her tone carrying a trace of helpless indulgence.
"Oh my, that smelly woman Delilah's method of carrying people was too rough. I woke up halfway, and then my inspiration just exploded with a 'bang'!"
Irene waved her hand dismissively, completely uncaring of Delilah's pig-carrying-like attitude.
She rushed straight to Sophia's desk and spread out the sketches.
"Your Majesty, while spring hasn't arrived and the ice and snow haven't melted, we must quickly dig a giant underground cold storage!"
Sophia raised an eyebrow, looking at those complex structural designs on the sketches.
"Cold storage? Do you mean a cellar?"
"No, no, no, that's a crude plaything of the old era!"
Irene extended a finger and wagged it with a serious face, entering 'expert lecture' mode.
"Your Majesty, think about it. After spring begins, we are going to promote 'greenhouses' and hybrid crops on a massive scale.
"Furthermore, now that we've taken down the City of Hill, there's also a large amount of plains with good soil for planting over there.
"So when that time comes, the vegetable and fruit production of the City of Hill and Roland Village will experience explosive growth!"
Irene pointed at the layered structure on the sketch, her eyes burning.
"If they are just piled up in an ordinary warehouse, once summer arrives, those delicate fruits and vegetables will rot into mud in less than seven days. That is simply a crime against life!
"My design is to utilize the underground's constant temperature characteristics, plus multiple layers of saltpeter insulation materials, as well as the large natural ice blocks that we can see everywhere right now.
"As long as the depth is sufficient, combined with Daphne's freezing magic...
"We can even create a permafrost space capable of preserving fresh produce even in the height of summer!"
"Your Majesty, this is called an experiment to counter the Second Law of Thermodynamics!
"We must establish a low-entropy environment, using dirt and rock layers as natural thermal insulation layers.
"As long as we store enough ice blocks before spring arrives, we'll be able to eat grapes with ice shavings all summer long!
"And there will also be iced drinks, smoothies, and so on.
"If it weren't for the fact that current materials and technologies can't produce refrigerators, I would be prepared to just make a refrigerator directly.
"But for now, cold storage is also quite sufficient. With my technology paired with Daphne's magic, we'll use this large cold storage like this first until we have the suitable technology to make refrigerators."
Listening to Irene's bizarre theories, a glint flashed through Sophia's pale golden eyes.
This girl had hit the nail on the head this time.
In this era, a bountiful harvest was often accompanied by massive rotting waste.
If she could master the most advanced cold-chain storage technology in the entire territory, then Mason could not only solve its food shortage, but even monopolize the high-end fresh produce market of the entire Northern border.
Most importantly... the rotting of fruits and vegetables would result in too much loss.
And everything saved after building the cold storage would be pure gold and silver.
"Approved."
Sophia closed the sketches, her tone decisive.
"Valery, tell that group of sinner nobles in the labor camp to stop hauling bricks. Have them all go to the northern city highlands to dig a pit.
"Irene, you are responsible for technical guidance.
"I want to see this large cold storage put into use before the ice and snow melt."
Beside her, Victor, who was taking notes, had his pen tip begin to tremble once more:
What profound foresight!
While other kings are still worrying about surplus grain for the winter, our Your Majesty has already begun plotting to conquer time.
Your Majesty establishing cold storage is not for the desires of the palate, but to protect every single fruit of civilization in a year of abundant harvest!
This method of countering the laws of nature and forcibly retaining vitality is precisely another multidimensional strike by Your Majesty as the Master of Civilization.
Those ice blocks that are about to be placed in the cold storage are not freezing food, but Your Majesty's eternally undying ambition to rule!
"Your Majesty is the best!"
Irene cheered. Suddenly leaning close to Sophia, she mysteriously lowered her voice.
"Actually... I also want to leave a small private room at the deepest part of the cold storage, specifically used for experimenting with mixed iced desserts of cheese and fruit.
"Or maybe other iced small desserts. When the time comes, Your Majesty absolutely must be the first to taste them!"
Sophia looked at Irene's expectant little face and lightly flicked her forehead with her fingertip.
"Dig the pit out first, my Chief Inventor."
Just as the Royal City was still immersed in the lingering charm of the New Year, the tranquility of the wasteland in the northern city highlands—which was covered in wild grass and snow year-round—was thoroughly broken by a single decree from Sophia.
Irene, having heard the decree a step ahead, had already run off to direct the work.
Inside the study, Daphne, who had just pushed the door open and entered, happened to hear the words 'dig a pit'.
She was still holding that pink pentagram staff in her hands, her jade-green almond eyes full of innocent confusion.
"Your Majesty, why did you summon so many people to go dig a pit in the northern city?"
Daphne sidled up next to Sophia and naturally linked her arm, feeling that reassuring body temperature, and muttered softly:
"Could it be that those 'sinner nobles' angered you again, and you are preparing to bury them... all at once?"
Sophia's tea-drinking hand shook slightly. Turning her head, she looked at Daphne's serious expression that seemed to say, 'If we are burying people, I can also help add some Holy Light,' and let out a helpless sigh.
"That is to build a cold storage.
"During the summer, we will need a large amount of ice blocks to preserve the fresh seafood delivered from the City of Hill and the fruits and vegetables from our 'greenhouses'."
"Cold storage?"
Daphne blinked. Although she didn't quite understand thermodynamics, she heard 'summer' and 'ice blocks'.
"Let's go. The official documents are mostly approved for now anyway."
Sophia stood up, her black fox fur tracing an elegant arc.
"Willow, go prepare the carriage.
"Delilah, bring a squad of Close Guards, let's head to the northern highlands to check on Irene's progress."
At the northern city highlands, the cold wind was like a knife.
When Sophia's carriage stopped at the top of the slope, what entered their sights was an extremely spectacular and bizarre scene.
Hundreds of old nobles, with the purple words 'Mason Sinner' carved on their foreheads and the backs of their hands, had taken off their luxurious silk coats. Wearing coarse linen clothes, they were currently frantically excavating the frozen soil while wielding heavy iron shovels.
"Hurry! That person, I'm talking about you! Haven't you eaten?! Dig faster!"
"And that person over there, stop slacking off."
"You over there, what are you muttering about? You'll have plenty of time to chat when you return to the prison tonight."
Irene was standing atop a high dirt mound, a wrench tucked into her waist, holding a large rolled-up bundle of sketches in her hand.
Due to her excitement and busyness, a smudge of dark mud was stuck to the tip of her nose. Her appearance of dictating the landscape made her look exactly like a construction foreman from an alternate world.
"Her Majesty arrives—!"
Following Delilah's sharp shout, the originally noisy excavation site instantly fell silent.
Those old nobles, whose ten fingers typically never touched spring water, one after another stopped their movements and knelt on the ground in extreme fear and trepidation.
"Your Majesty! You're here!"
Irene hopped down from the dirt mound like a little rabbit and charged straight in front of Sophia.
"Look! We've already pushed down three meters!"
Sophia walked to the edge of the pit.
This was not just a pit, but the prototype of a precisely planned underground fortress.
"Your Majesty, the soil temperature at this depth is very stable."
Irene pointed at the deep pit, her eyes glinting with the light of a tech otaku.
"Once we dig down to fifteen meters, we'll line the bottom with the saltpeter transported from Roland Village.
"As long as Daphne injects freezing Holy Light into those reserved grooves, this place will be a perfect giant underground refrigerator!"
Delilah looked at those sweat-soaked, formerly high and mighty nobles, her eyes revealing a ruthless satisfaction.
"Although these trash lack brains, they're working quite hard at this kind of physical labor.
"Your Majesty, you were right.
"Compared to chopping off their heads, having them sweat for Mason here is indeed more valuable."
Otherwise, Delilah had initially wanted to eliminate all these hidden dangers.
Hiding in the shadows of the carriage, Victor's pen tip flew rapidly across the parchment scroll, his eyes revealing a near-manic worship:
A Divine Miracle-like pruning! Your Majesty is not merely building a cold storage; she is reshaping souls!
Look at those remnants of the old era! They are using the hands that once exploited the subjects to dig the immortal foundation for the new civilization.
Your Majesty transforming freezing ice blocks into eternal gifts is a declaration of war against nature.
That massive deep pit swallows the decay of the old era and incubates Mason's eternal, unshakable abundance.
When the summer ice blocks are distributed in the Royal City, every subject will understand that Your Majesty's authority has long since transcended the shackles of the seasons!
Looking at Irene's dirt-covered yet radiant appearance, Sophia extended a slender finger and gently wiped away the mud and dust on the tip of Irene's nose.
"Well done, Irene."
Sophia's voice carried a touch of warmth amidst the cold wind.
"Once this cold storage is built, This Queen will reward you heavily."
Feeling the touch of Sophia's fingertips, Irene's cheeks instantly turned even redder than her nose, and she chuckled foolishly.
"Then I want Your Majesty to personally feed me cold drinks!"
Seeing this, Daphne beside them immediately squeezed over vigilantly, hugging Sophia's other arm.
"I want that too! I want that too!
"Besides, the magic array of the cold storage still needs to be activated by me; I'm the biggest refrigerator!"
Sophia silently turned her head away, placing her gaze on the people currently digging the pit, and sighed:
"Ah, the weather is quite nice today."
The cold wind of the northern highlands still scraped across the ground like sharp blades, but the excavation site at this moment was steaming with heat.
The soil at the very bottom was frozen harder than raw iron. Every strike of the shovel could only splash up a few specks of white ice shavings.
Those old nobles, who once lived lives of luxury, were currently mechanically swinging their iron pickaxes. Blood from the split webbing between their thumbs and forefingers slid down the wooden handles, yet they didn't dare stop for even a moment.
Because Delilah was standing at the mouth of the pit holding that ruby longsword like a god of slaughter. Any slacking off would be met with a cold snort capable of freezing them to the bone.
After a full five days of alternating day and night shifts, this massive pit finally successfully broke through to the predetermined position of fifteen meters deep, after scrapping hundreds of iron shovels.
"Hurry! Make your movements sharper! Clean up the crushed stone at the bottom!"
Irene practically lived by the construction site these past few days.
Her exquisite clothes were already covered in dust. The wrench hanging at her waist clinked and clattered. Having used Daphne's magic to amplify her voice, she was currently yelling loudly toward the bottom of the deep pit.
Sophia sat on the carriage in a sheltered spot, looking at that bottomless black hole, her fingertips absentmindedly tapping the armrest.
"Your Majesty, the soil layer at the bottom of the pit is no longer hard, and even carries a trace of moisture.
"This is the most ideal ground temperature environment."
Irene ran over covered in sweat. Although her face was frozen red, her eyes were completely filled with the hyper-excitement of an 'infrastructure maniac'.
Under Sophia's gaze, the 'labor force' of the City of Hill began the second phase of their torture—constructing the main body of the cold storage.
The first step was damp-proofing and insulation.
"Spread the slaked lime and dry moss evenly!
"If anyone dares to leave a gap, I'll stuff them into the foundation!"
Irene directed the manpower to lay down a layer of rammed earth thirty centimeters thick at the bottom of the pit, which was then covered with a thermal insulation layer mixed from peat and sawdust.
This heat preservation method utilizing natural materials was practically Witchcraft in the eyes of those nobles, but from Irene's mouth, this was the optimal solution for thermal conduction blockage.
Massive granite blocks were lowered into the bottom of the pit one by one using a pulley system.
These stone blocks required extremely tight interlocking.
"Point the joints! Use that bucket of adhesive mixed with glutinous rice juice and lime!
"Once this adhesive dries, it's harder than bone! And Cement too!"
Irene personally went down into the pit, holding a charcoal pencil to draw precise marks on the stone walls.
"Here, and here, leave fist-sized empty holes. Those are the magic nodes reserved for Daphne!"
What followed was also a crucial step.
The cold storage was not a simple stone chamber.
Irene had designed a structure similar to nesting dolls.
The outermost layer was a waterproof rock layer, the middle was a hollow thermal insulation layer stuffed full of wool and dry charcoal, and the innermost layer was the storage room used to pile up the ice blocks and supplies.
As the underground main structure closed up, the most critical connection project—the construction of the vertical transport stairs—officially entered the assault phase.
This was not merely a path, but the thermal insulation throat of the entire cold storage.
"Stop! The angle of that granite block is wrong! Grind it again!"
Holding a right-angle ruler forged from refined steel, Irene was repeatedly checking against the edge of the stair step.
Her small hands, which were originally covered in mud, were now rapidly pointing out locations on the blueprint.
"Your Majesty, the design of these stairs adopts a spiral descending style. Not only does it save space, but more importantly, it utilizes the principle of sinking cold air to form a natural air pressure buffer layer here."
Irene turned her head and blinked at Sophia behind her as if claiming credit.
"Moreover, I have precisely set the height of every step at eighteen centimeters, with a tread width of thirty centimeters.
"This is called ergonomics. It guarantees that when you walk down, your knees won't feel even the slightest bit of burden!"
Looking at that bottomless rotating passageway, Sophia silently complained in her heart:
I'm not exactly worried about my knees. I'm more worried about missing a step in this pitch-black place and rolling straight down fifteen meters to the bottom of the ground.
Thus, Sophia had people embed a few more spots on the wall capable of holding lit lamps.
On the stairs below, a few Earls—who in the past wouldn't even tie their own shoelaces in the Orr Palace—were currently kneeling on the rough stone surface, using small carving knives to bit by bit grind away the gaps between the stone bricks.
"Put your backs into it! Didn't you hear the Great Inventor's words?
"The gaps must be perfectly tight! Lime slurry mixed with magic powder will be poured inside!"
Delilah stood in the middle section of the stairs. The ruby longsword at her waist glinted with a terrifying light.
An old Baron's hand trembled, causing him to scratch crooked by an inch. Delilah's scabbard mercilessly struck his spine.
"If Your Majesty's boot soles feel even a trace of unevenness, I'll peel your skin off and lay it on top!"
The old Baron let out a miserable shriek. How could he dare spout any nonsense? He practically pressed his face against the stone bricks, using his trembling fingers to guide the embedding of the stone material.
"Clang—clang—"
The heavy stone materials slowly descended under the traction of the pulley system.
In order to guarantee the thermal insulation performance of the stairs, a composite layer of cork and charcoal, as requested by Irene, was laid out beneath every stone step.
Daphne, linking her arm with Sophia's, suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
She raised that pink pentagram staff and gently swiped it across the first few already-laid stair steps.
Buzz—!
The originally cold, clear bluestone surface was surprisingly branded with a layer of extremely fine, extremely dense, nearly invisible hidden Rose patterns.
"I applied micro-friction and temperature neutralization magic to the surface of the steps."
Daphne smugly raised her little face.
"This way, even if the cold air from underground rises up, the surface of the steps won't freeze and become slippery. Furthermore, stepping on them will have a slight rebounding sensation, like walking on clouds!"
Sophia looked down at the overly exquisite steps, feeling satisfied inwardly.
Where were these cold storage stairs? This was practically a VIP passageway leading to the basement of a five-star hotel!
At this moment, Victor was squatting in the shadows of the cold storage entrance. Because of excessive force, his pen tip was nearly piercing through the parchment scroll:
A Divine Miracle-like paving! Your Majesty has not simply dug a pit; she is using the precision of civilization to regulate chaotic nature!
Look at those stairs spiraling downwards. That is the sense of ritual leading from the mortal world to the eternal freeze.
The error of every single step is strictly eliminated, symbolizing the absolute Order under Your Majesty's rule. Saint Daphne's emblem is the kiss of the gods upon the land.
These are not stairs; this is the long flight of steps paved by Your Majesty for her subjects, leading to immortal abundance!
As the nobles of the old era grind it smooth with their flesh and blood, the citizens of the new era will step upon it to welcome that miracle capable of transcending the seasons!
As the final finishing stone, carved with the Black Rose family crest, was steadily embedded into the main entrance of the cold storage, this fifteen-meter-long underground staircase was finally declared completed.
Irene held Sophia's hand, her eyes full of expectation:
"Your Majesty, please be the first to experience these magnificent, era-spanning stairs!"
Under the gazes of those hundreds of pairs of eyes—trembling, yet carrying extreme reverence and worship—Sophia slowly took a step forward.
The moment her boot sole touched the stone step, it wasn't as icy cold as she imagined. Instead, there really was a soft and sturdy sense of support, just as Daphne had said.
As she ventured deeper, the surrounding temperature presented a steady and silky drop under Irene's designed air pressure buffering.
Standing at the very bottom of the cold storage, she looked up toward the exit diagonally above. That ray of sunlight, partially hidden by the spiral stairs, appeared sacred and distant.
"Very good."
Sophia turned around, facing the group of noble laborers who were already paralyzed with exhaustion on the stairs. Her tone was flat, yet resounded loudly.
"From today onward, your prison sentences are shortened by one month because of these perfect stairs."
Those nobles were momentarily stunned, before immediately erupting into a bout of crying and shouting even more frantic than the soldiers':
"Your Majesty is wise! Thank you for Your Majesty's mercy!"
"Long live the Black Rose!"
With the stairs in place, more details in the cold storage needed to be sorted out.
When the main framework was nearing completion about a week later, Daphne, who had originally been dozing off to the side, finally perked up.
"Your Majesty, it's my turn to take the stage now, right?"
Daphne raised that shining pink pentagram staff like a little girl waiting to perform on stage.
Sophia nodded slightly:
"Go on.
"Let this group of pit-diggers see just what kind of miracle they've been bustling about for so long to support."
Daphne leaped lightly into the pit tunnel. That staff emitted a soft and holy pink radiance within the dark, deep pit.
She accurately pressed the star crystal at the top of the staff against the first node Irene had reserved.
"In the name of the Holy Light—Breath of Permafrost!"
Buzz—!
A surge of white, visible frost rapidly spread along the staff, like a blue silk ribbon swiftly roaming through those complex stone wall patterns.
In the originally damp and gloomy bottom of the pit, the temperature instantly plummeted. One could even hear the faint creaking sounds on the stone walls produced by extreme thermal contraction.
When the final stone cover, half a meter thick, was heavily closed—leaving only an exit with multi-layered sealed doors—the entire northern highlands erupted with thunderous cheers.
"It's done! Your Majesty!"
Irene excitedly yanked open the first protective door. A blast of cold air that made one's teeth chatter instantly washed over their faces.
"The temperature inside is now maintained at least around negative ten degrees!
"Wait until a couple days later, when we fill the outermost ice troughs with those thick natural ice blocks from the moat outside the city, the temperature will drop even further.
"This here is the greatest Divine Miracle on the entire continent!"
Sophia walked down the stone steps into the cold storage's buffer room.
Due to the solidification of the Holy Light, the surrounding stone walls presented a semi-transparent texture akin to ice crystals. The white breaths exhaled could even condense directly on one's eyelashes.
Although the process was a bit primitive and brutal, a cold storage of this scale is enough to support my high-profit fresh produce strategy for next year.
Sophia curled the corners of her lips in satisfaction.
The day after the cold storage stairs were completed, the faint pre-dawn light had just pierced the sky.
The Valer River outside Mason Royal City was currently in its deepest freezing period of the year. The half-meter-thick ice layer, resembling a massive, blue-grey mirror, tormented every inch of the air amidst the cold wind.
As the heavy city gates opened, a grand and mighty procession stamped deep prints onto the snow.
Walking at the very front were the elite black musketeers led by Delilah. They rode cold-resistant, tall steeds, their fiery red cloaks exceptionally eye-catching amidst the white snow.
Following closely behind were those hundreds of old nobles. Although they appeared much sturdier due to days of hard labor, they still bore the 'Mason Sinner' marks.
They pushed specially-made flatbed longcarts, the wheels producing piercing friction sounds against the ice.
Sophia's carved carriage moved slowly in the center of the procession.
Inside the carriage, Irene was excitedly fiddling with her newly developed ice-harvesting divine artifact—an alloy giant saw designed with a long, serrated handle that utilized the principle of leverage.
Upon arriving at the riverbank, the originally silent wilderness instantly boiled.
Some subjects watched from afar, unaware of what was happening.
"Listen up! Do not hack and smash randomly!"
Irene hopped off the carriage, directing the soldiers to pull out several long ink lines across the ice surface.
"Every ice block must be a standard cube with exact side lengths!
"Only in this way can they fit together seamlessly when entering the storage, reducing the thermal loss brought by air circulation!"
She personally picked up a giant saw, demonstrating to the group of trembling nobles.
"First use a chisel to break an opening, then use the saw to cut along the ink line.
"This is called standardized operation! If anyone cuts them into triangular pieces, or fragments the ice too much, you will only receive half a piece of Black Bread for dinner!"
Irene didn't feel the slightest bit that she was abusing them. After all, for sinners like them, being allowed to keep their lowly lives by Your Majesty was already the result of their ancestors burning high incense.
It was only because of Your Majesty; if this were any other country, even if these people didn't die, they would live worse than livestock.
Hearing this, how could those Earls dare slack off?
In groups of two, they straddled the freezing river surface, forcefully pulling the giant saws.
"Screech—screech—"
The piercing cutting sounds echoed through the empty river valley.
With every crisp 'crack', giant, crystal-clear ice bricks emitting a faint, cold light were pried out of the water.
"Hey! Give a pull! This piece is too heavy!"
A former Orr Viscount, failing in physical strength, slipped. He was about to be dragged into the freezing river water by the heavy ice brick.
A pair of thick, powerful hands violently grabbed his collar.
It was the Mason Captain leading the squad.
"Stand steady, sinner."
The Captain spat into his palm, using one hand to help him steady the ice hook.
"These are items Your Majesty needs to save lives and store grain. Drowning in the river is a small matter, but you can't afford to compensate for ruining the ice block!"
The old Viscount froze. Looking at those callus-covered hands that felt exceptionally warm in this bitter winter, for the first time, he didn't feel humiliated. Instead, gritting his teeth, he gripped the hook once again.
From Sophia's perspective, however, the scene before her felt quite amusing.
She initially just wanted to find some free labor, yet she didn't expect that high-intensity physical labor could actually make this group of arrogant old men become so obedient.
Watching the nobles and soldiers lifting ice together in the muddy water, this blurring of class barriers actually made Mason's rule even more stable.
This was probably the principle of abuse breeding loyalty.
Daphne, linking her arm with Sophia's, stood on the riverbank, looking at those ice bricks that had been pulled ashore and were emitting wisps of cold air.
She raised that pink pentagram staff and drew an arc in the empty air.
"Let me help them."
Daphne chanted an incantation. A burst of fine golden powder drifted down onto those ice blocks like stardust.
Buzz—!
The originally transparent ice block surfaces were instantly covered with a thin, barely discernible magic film.
"I applied melting-delay and hardness-enhancement magic."
Daphne smugly leaned on Sophia's shoulder.
"This way, even during transport, they won't shatter due to collisions, and it guarantees that when brought into the cold storage, every piece is the freshest large ice!"
Daphne chuckled, before her foot slipped.
Sophia smoothly wrapped her arm around Daphne's waist, preventing her from falling on the slippery, icy riverbank.
Looking down, Sophia saw Daphne smiling until her eyes curved into crescents, resembling a cat that had successfully stolen a fish.
Thus, in the next second, Sophia let go.
"Ah! Your Majesty, you're a bad person!"
Listening to the cries from behind her, Sophia curled her lips into a smile, in a rather good mood.
Victor was currently squatting on the roof of the carriage, his pen tip dancing wildly across the parchment scroll, his face flushed red with excitement.
Why don't I just go learn how to paint afterwards, Victor thought to himself.
He truly wanted to record all of this in even greater detail, even more completely.
The laborers' workforce was insufficient, so the soldiers quickly joined in as well.
According to Mason's past weather, the ice and snow would begin to melt just a little over a month after the Year-End Festival.
Which meant that there was a risk of the temperature rising at any time during this recent period.
And after the temperature rose, the ice blocks in the river would no longer be this thick and solid; they would become thinner and more brittle.
When that time came, whether it was harvesting or transporting, it would be even more troublesome than it was now.
Many subjects saw that it was Your Majesty who wanted to harvest ice. Although they didn't know what Your Majesty wanted the ice for, they all very proactively came over to ask if help was needed.
Just as Sophia waved her hand, planning to have Victor distribute some benefits to those helping subjects, those subjects instead chimed in one after another, stating that they were merely working for their beloved Queen and did not need compensation.
Your Majesty had already given them too much.
Whether it was their lives or the food they ate this entire winter, without exception, it had all been given by Your Majesty.
"Your Majesty! Please permit us to help!"
"Please let us help, only then will we feel more at ease."
"We are willing to give our all for our beloved Queen, what does mere ice-transporting amount to?"
With a few people taking the lead, even more subjects quickly joined in.
However, these subjects did not know how to harvest ice, and thus did not participate in the ice harvesting, but rather helped with the transporting.
They placed all these harvested ice blocks onto the flatbed carts pushed out from within the Palace.
Hey, we might not have the skills, but don't we have the strength?
Thus, the ice-harvesting team grew increasingly massive.
Looking from afar, one could see that more than half of the residents in Mason Royal City had all gathered beside the moat.
When the sun set in the west, over a thousand giant ice bricks had already been neatly stacked by the river.
Dozens of flatbed carts connected together, carrying these glistening blue treasures. They formed a crystal dragon hundreds of meters long on the snow, advancing mightily toward the cold storage in the northern city highlands.
It was impossible to transport it all back in one trip. With so many ice blocks, the entire team had to transport them five or six times before they were all hauled back.
Sitting on the first cart, grasping a piece of crushed ice in her hand, Irene's face was full of smiles.
"Your Majesty! With these, next year's smoothies, dried scallop cold noodles... we can make them all a reality!
"These subjects sure know how to repay kindness with gratitude, though. None of them are secretly calling Your Majesty a Tyrant behind your back like before."
Sophia raised her hand and flicked Irene's little braid, a hint of laughter rippling within her golden pupils.
"Hehe, just joking, Your Majesty!
"If you are a Tyrant, then I am the number one treacherous minister under the Tyrant."
Hearing this, Delilah, who was riding a horse at the very front, turned her head and said seriously, "Then I am the sharpest sword under the Tyrant."
"What about me, what about me?" Daphne thought for a moment, then said, "Thinking carefully about it, a Tyrant and a Witch actually pair together quite well."
"Can't This Queen just not be a Tyrant?"
The volume of the few people speaking was neither loud nor quiet, but the ice-transporting team was extremely silent at this moment.
No one dared to interrupt, and no one dared to utter a sound.
The several Lords could joke around with Your Majesty like this, but they were afraid their heads would fall to the ground before they could even finish a single sentence.
Didn't dare to speak, didn't dare to speak.
Sophia looked at the line of ice bricks flashing with magnificent light under the sunset's reflection, and let out a long sigh of relief.
During her first New Year in this alternate world, she was finally no longer just destroying, but genuinely building something capable of transcending the seasons.
____
________________________________________
🌸 Help Love Bloom!
Our girls need a little push... and you can help!
💖 Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 50 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter to warm your hearts.
🚀 Community Reward: If we reach 20 supporting members, we'll have a +5 chapter marathon across all stories! The romance won't stop.
👻 Come to our secret corner: Search for GirlsLove on (P). You know that's where the magic happens... 😉