Chapter 23

At Marianne's feet, many seeds were scattered among the fallen leaves of the trees.

When Marianne picked up one of them and released it at arm's length, the three slanted wings growing on the oval seed caught the air, spinning slowly as it fell.

The two of them had arrived under the seed-launching tree while talking. As its name suggests, the seed-launching tree, when the wind blows, sends its seeds far and wide, allowing for widespread propagation of its offspring.

"I want you to make a larger version of this. Yes, make the seed part round and about this big," she said, forming a circle with her thumb and middle finger.

"Excuse me," Raymond approached to confirm the size. Since Marianne's hands were small, he made a circle with his own fingers to check.

"I think chicken feathers can be used for the wings. If it works well, it might help make up for the slight wheat shortage with a new product."

"I understand. Well, I don't fully grasp your idea, Miss, but I'll do my best."

"Phew," Marianne couldn't help but laugh. Raymond, caught up in her smile, laughed along with her.

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After delivering Marianne to the mansion, Raymond immediately placed the seed-launching seeds on the work table in the gardener's shed and began observing them.

Two moons were side by side in the sky tonight, making it bright enough even without any lights.

The thin wings were spread at a perfect angle, making it easy for them to catch the wind.

Although the seeds were familiar to Raymond, it seemed that Miss Marianne had an idea.

He brought in a few suitable dry branches from the woodshed, cut them into rounds with a saw, and tried to round them off with a knife.

He repeatedly checked the size with his fingers, saying, "Is this about right?" and made a perfectly round ball.

Making it perfectly round was quite difficult. Raymond worked on it late into the night.

The next morning, the foreman came to the work shed and was surprised to see several round balls lined up in a sieve and Raymond sleeping on a makeshift bed.

"Hey, Ray! Did you fall asleep here? What are these balls?"

Raymond rubbed his eyes, got up, and explained the situation. This time, the foreman became enthusiastic.

"Hmm. So this might help make up for the poor harvest. Alright, focus on this for a while. You need to help Miss Marianne!"

"Is that okay? I'll do it after my work."

"No, no. This is your top priority. We'll take care of the other tasks and the garden work."

"Thank you! I'll do my best!" Raymond immediately resumed his work.

Raymond went to the kitchen and asked for large chicken feathers, explaining Miss Marianne's idea. The kitchen staff, eager to help, carefully handled the chickens to avoid damaging the feathers.

Feathers of various sizes were sorted and delivered to Raymond. He inserted three feathers of the right size into holes carved in the wooden ball and secured them with glue.

When Marianne received the ball with the attached feathers, she smiled and thanked him.

"Already done? You work fast! Raymond, you must have put in a lot of effort."

"No, the foremen and the kitchen staff helped me a lot."

Marianne, listening to Raymond's report with a smile, tried throwing the seed imitation.

The wings caught the air, spinning as it floated gently.

"I see, I see. Raymond, can you change the angle of the wings to make it fly a bit further? Like this much," she said, running a few steps and turning back. It was about five steps in Raymond's stride.

"Also, I want you to make a light board, about the size of a plate, with a handle. Make it as thin as possible without breaking. I think it would be fun to hit this ball back and forth with two people."

"I see! I understand your idea now."

Raymond's eyes sparkled as he grasped the results of his work. He hadn't played since he was a child, but this seemed interesting, and his heart raced with excitement.

After many discussions with Marianne, he improved the board and the feathers, and they finally declared, "This is it!"

When Marianne and Raymond immediately started hitting the ball with the round boards, it turned out to be much more fun than they had imagined.

The game involved losing if the ball hit the ground, and hitting it back and forth required quite a bit of movement even in a small area. If they hit the ball downward from a low position, it was impossible to catch it, so Marianne tied a string at her head height.

"This is it, Raymond! This is fun! Let's send it to Catarina and have her price it and apply for a patent. Before that, let's make some rules to make it even more interesting."

"Yes! I'm looking forward to it!"

From then on, Marianne thought about the rules during every break. She set the court to be six steps long and three steps wide in Raymond's stride.

"If the ball hits the ground, the opponent scores. The first to ten points wins. If the ball goes out of bounds, the opponent scores. The first hit alternates!"

The gardeners, cooks, and maids all joined in, causing a big commotion.

"This! You can't win without quick movements!" The maids panted and regretted their loss.

Although the gardeners, who were used to physical labor, seemed to have an advantage, the unexpected winners were the cooks.

"We're always moving heavy pots and standing while working, so we're well-trained!" A young cook won, and his kitchen mates were overjoyed.

This game became a valuable source of income for the village during the winter. Men and women in the village made the wooden balls and adjusted the angle of the feathers to complete the balls.

Finally, the gardeners, led by Raymond, carefully measured and inspected them with a ruler.

When Catarina applied for a patent and put it on the market, despite the high price, it became very popular in the capital and other territories.

The revenue was returned to the territory, used to purchase wheat and buckwheat to make up for the shortage, and the surplus was used to improve education, as Marianne strongly advocated that "the education of the people is the wealth of our territory."