Noel was invited to the house the lady used in this village. It couldn't be said tidy or messy because inside the living room, he could see a few stacks of books. There were even some papers scattered around.
"Ahaha, it might look a bit messy. Please forgive me."
"Do you need my help in cleaning?" Noel chuckled, thinking nothing of this mess.
"How can I trouble Mr. Noel Ardagan with this?" The lady shook her head with a smile as if accepting the thought alone.
"Mhm?" Noel furrowed his eyebrows. He only introduced himself to the village as Noel, not his full name, so it meant that the lady herself was already aware of his name. "Do you know me?"
"Of course, I know you." She smiled. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Jasmine Whitfield."
"Whitfield?" Noel finally understood why she knew his name. She was also a noble.
"That's right. I am the first daughter of Count Whitfield. The last time I've met you was probably at the banquet four years ago."
"I see. You are Count Whitfield's…" Noel nodded in understanding. "Please forgive my rudeness. Thank you for welcoming me here, Miss Jasmine. You can call me Noel as I have lost the right to call myself a noble."
"Then, please call me Jasmine too. After all, I'm indebted to Count Ardagan for sponsoring all my research. He is the one allowing me to escape from political marriage and pursue my own study."
"Ah?!" Noel just realized. Noble's sons would become useless if they were not the first born since the first born was most likely to inherit the family. So, the other sons would most likely either marry to another household or work something they wanted to do.
On the other hand, noble's daughters had a more miserable fate. They wouldn't inherit the family and they couldn't do something they wanted by leaving the house. After all, the noble's daughters would become a political tool to get connection between noble families.
That was why Anna used all her strength to prove that she wouldn't become a tool. And the one in front of him right now managed to escape that fate by getting the protection of his father. With that amount of money, she managed to break free from her family.
Jasmine smiled and explained. "Count Ardagan didn't only help me financially, but also gave some money to my family. That's why I could research things I like. Looking at this case, you can say I'm working for Count Ardagan instead of my family… So, you can call me Jasmine as well."
"I see." Noel closed his eyes for a moment, understanding what his father wanted from her. "But my family has been ruined, so no need to be polite to me just because you once worked for my father."
"No can do." Jasmine shook her head. "I don't know much about financial sector, but I still can get some money from the Count. It seems that he has left a big amount of money for me. If you ever reclaim your position, I'll head to your territory and bring the result of my research. That's the agreement between me and Count Ardagan."
"Well, for now, I'm not a noble, so you can just feel at ease. Who knows about the future." Noel shrugged.
Seeing Noel's expression, Jasmine sighed and agreed to not be too polite. "In that case, do you have any questions about me?"
"Many things. What's about the terraced field? I can see that the farmer seems to be having an easy day."
"Terraced Field is a method to create a farm field in a slope. You know that it's hard to create something in a slope because the water will just continuously flow to the bottom, right?"
"Yes."
"By creating a terraced field, we can create a few flat surfaces while maintaining the slope itself. Also, by using this method, we can trap the water as well, improving the overall irrigation system." She explained before remembering something. "Wait a moment."
She tried to grab all the papers on the ground as if trying to find something before she found a drawing.
"This is the concept." She showed the drawing of the terrace field to Noel. "See these lines? They're used for the irrigation system. There is also one more thing that I have to add… We're not at the foot of any mountain… Instead, this is a volcano!"
"A volcano?" Noel tilted his head in confusion. "Isn't volcano bad for humans? I mean, if it erupts, it can kill you."
"Yes. But the material that volcano spurt out seems to be good for the soil."
"Now that I think about it, the people around the volcano indeed flourish more…"
"That's right. I'm taking advantage of the volcano to create a farm land that is better than any others."
"Are you serious?" Noel was impressed because if this experiment succeeded, they wouldn't have any problems with food anymore.
"Yes. I'm also working in the flatlands, but the progress is a bit too small."
"Well, I can't really sponsor you or anything since I don't have my family anymore. Sorry."
"No, no. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm not troubled with fund, I'm just waiting for the time because the harvest takes months and to prove it, it might take years. Do you know that pigs and cows' feces can be used to fertilize the soils?
"People often thought they were useless and disturbing, but it turned out to be a treasure. I'm working on a plan to create a sustainable farm field. Then…"
Jasmine continued to talk for half an hour. She even showed Noel the proof of research.
With her enthusiasm and smile alone, Noel knew that she was very passionate in this area. Even Noel was impressed by her knowledge because he knew that no one had ever researched this. Everything she had gotten at this step came solely from her experiment.
Despite all the trials and errors, she didn't give up.
In his heart, another small goal appeared. He wanted to be rich, rich enough to sponsor her and other people like her. With enough money, people like her could improve the life in his territory after all.
