Farming in the Magical World

"Master, why are you here?"

Seeing Lanny enter the room, Candy put down the feather duster in her hand, quickly went to greet him, and took the coat that Lanny had taken off.

As was her habit during this period, Lanny would be busy in the study until late at night. Most of the time, she would have finished cleaning and wait for Lanny to return to the bedroom so she could help him change and wash up before leaving.

These past two days, because he was worried about Tiffany's condition, he didn't come back this early, even though he was supposed to.

It was only shortly after dinner time. Tiffany didn't come to the dining hall because she didn't have a good appetite. Lanny had just asked Candy to bring up some food, but he didn't expect that he would follow her up soon after.

"I don't have much to do today, I'd like to rest early!" Lanny nodded and smiled at the maid, then turned to Tiffany with a worried look. "Has Madam still not eaten anything?"

Tiffany wasn't lying in bed, but sitting in front of her dressing table, lost in thought. When she heard Lanny's voice, she turned her head, but her gaze was unfocused. She looked like a porcelain doll whose soul had been hollowed out, her fragile expression heartbreaking to see.

She had been in a bad mood for the past few days, and rarely even touched the food that was brought to her. At this moment, her cheeks were noticeably sunken, her skin was dull and lifeless, her hair was disheveled, her eyes were lifeless, and even her eye sockets had become sunken.

Lanny then realized that it could be so quick to destroy a person's spirit and energy.

How long has it been? The once radiant Tiffany, the lady of the castle, a delicate and vibrant rose, has quickly turned yellow and withered, like a rose in late autumn.

Looking at the haggard Tiffany, Lanny couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.

How can there be such heartless people in the world? How can there be such cruel family members? How can there be such a father who disregards the life and death of his children?

He had only heard of similar things in books or movies before. Some people could disregard family ties and neglect their loved ones for the sake of power and profit, but those were just legends and movies. He, a poor guy living at the bottom of society, had never actually encountered such a thing, let alone experienced it firsthand.

Now that he has actually encountered such a situation, he still can't imagine what these people are thinking. Do they really not care about family ties at all?

Lenny felt that he absolutely could not do it, neither in his past life nor in this one.

"Why don't you eat something?" Lanny gently knelt down in front of the dressing table, tenderly taking Tiffany's small hand in her hands, her heart filled with tenderness.

Looking at her husband squatting in front of her, Tiffany knew he was worried about her and trying to comfort her, and a warm feeling washed over her.

She knew she was not in the right state of mind and shouldn't have been so careless with herself. They were the ones who were wrong, so why punish herself and the people around her, making her husband worry and be troubled by her?

But whenever she thought about how her biological father had treated her, she couldn't help but feel sad and desperate; she couldn't control her emotions at all.

She was sad when her sisters teased her, and she was heartbroken when her brothers ignored her. But no matter how her brothers and sisters bullied her, she still stubbornly believed that her father cared about her, after all, she was his biological daughter.

Although her father wasn't very enthusiastic about her, she still depended on him for survival, and he never lacked food or clothing; even if he had less, he always had something.

I won't live like those vagrants in the city, living without dignity, living cautiously and fearfully, living like a human being.

I remember one winter, during the coldest time of the year, a mother and daughter came to the street behind the castle and shivered as they sought shelter from the cold in an abandoned doorway outside the castle wall.

That day, Tiffany was bullied by her sisters again and felt really sad. She couldn't concentrate on her book, so she quietly left the castle through the back door. As soon as she stepped out, she saw them.

Both of them were disheveled and their faces were obscured. Judging from their figures, the little girl was probably under ten years old, while it was difficult to tell how old the mother was.

Although they were not naked like the male refugees, their clothes were very thin, tattered, and full of holes.

Or rather, it was more like some tattered strips of cloth, loosely draped over the two of them.

They huddled outside the castle walls, shivering and clinging tightly to each other, trying to use their body heat to fight off the biting wind.

But this was not very effective. When a cold wind blew, the two of them would make a clattering sound as their teeth chattered and their bodies would tremble uncontrollably.

Seeing the mother and daughter, Tiffany felt sorry for them. She went back to the castle to get some of her old clothes and a few dark, hard green breads before approaching them again.

It wasn't that she was reluctant to part with the white bread, but this wasn't the first time she'd done something like this, so she was well aware of the situation.

If I give them some green and black bread, they might be able to eat a couple of bites. But if I give them white bread, I'm afraid they'll be snatched up by the refugees who suddenly appear around us before I even leave.

She didn't even know where those suddenly appearing refugees were hiding. They were like rats, gathering and swarming in, then scattering and disappearing without a trace.

"Come on, have something to eat!" Tiffany said softly, rolling up her sleeves and squatting down. She was worried that if she spoke too loudly, she would frighten the mother and daughter.

These migrants, especially the women, are extremely wary of all strangers. I don't want to hurt them, but they don't know that, do they?

When she handed over the bread, her mother turned to look at her, and she realized that the other woman was actually quite pretty. Although she wasn't exactly beautiful, she was a rare good-looking woman among the refugees.

Knowing that their appearance could easily cause trouble, the person deliberately smeared a lot of black ash on their face, making them less noticeable from a distance. This could be considered a form of self-protection.

Looking at this pretty woman, Tiffany thought to herself.

"Thank you so much, kind lady! Thank you so much, and best wishes to you!"

It was clear that this mother was quite shrewd. She swallowed hard, suppressing her hunger, and thanked the woman before taking the bread. She then immediately handed one to the little girl next to her, and then, under the little girl's cover, secretly hid the second bread in her bosom.

The little girl's eyes were fixed on the food in her hand the moment she appeared, her face filled with longing and fear, like a starving fawn.

At this moment, Mom handed him the bread. He couldn't resist any longer and started to devour it, not caring that the bread was hard and cold, until he choked and his eyes rolled back.

"Why aren't you eating?" Tiffany asked curiously, but her mother gave her a stiff smile. "I'm not very hungry. I'll save it for tomorrow."

After saying that, he patted the little girl on the back affectionately to help her catch her breath.

She probably wanted to leave food for the child for tomorrow. Tiffany understood what the mother meant just by looking into her eyes.

She wanted to remind the other person that she could send some more food tomorrow so she could eat it without worry, but after thinking about it, she didn't say it.

Because she knew she couldn't really promise to come out tomorrow.

To prevent Tiffany from contacting her mother, the Count strictly controlled her departure times, specifying what time she could leave in the morning and what time she had to be home in the evening, and requiring her to apply for permission to leave in between.

She was also feeling down this time, and took advantage of the guards' shift change to sneak out, but could she do the same tomorrow? She obviously couldn't guarantee that.

Looking at the mother and daughter in front of her, she couldn't help but think of her own mother.

She lives outside, is she doing well now?

According to the butler, after leaving the castle, she went to Berleman with her grandfather and started a small business with the money given to her by the count. As for the specific address, the butler refused to say another word. Instead, he looked at her with a warning in his eyes, warning her not to have such dangerous thoughts.

Perhaps it was the satisfaction of helping others, or perhaps it was the relief that although she couldn't live with her mother, at least she had a father who was willing to take care of her, that made her resentment towards her sisters' misdeeds less intense for a time.

Unexpectedly, after hearing her father's words a few days ago, she felt as if the sky had collapsed.

In that instant, she truly realized that her father might not care about her at all, and what he probably cared about was that she would marry a commoner and tarnish the family bloodline.

These past few days she's been thinking about whether she would have been happier if she had left the Enoch family with her mother.

She knew she shouldn't be so self-destructive and neglect her health.

The warmth in her hands and the gentle face of her husband reminded her that she was no longer alone. She had not been abandoned by the world; at least Lanny cared about her and loved her.

But she just can't help having wild thoughts, and no matter how hard she tries, she can't stop them.

Tiffany, whose mind was in turmoil, suddenly heard Lanny speak. Her voice was very gentle, just like when she visited the mother and daughter who were seeking shelter from the cold.

Once upon a time, there was a kind and beautiful girl. Her mother died of illness, and her father fell in love with another woman, marrying her a stepmother...

At first she didn’t pay attention. She had heard a lot of comforting words these past few days, and she just couldn’t control her emotions.

But soon, Tiffany realized that Lanny wasn't comforting her; instead, he slowly began to tell her a story.

In Lanny's story, Cinderella is a gentle, kind, and beautiful young girl who should have enjoyed her father's princess-like love, but she fell into endless suffering and torment because of the arrival of her stepmother and stepsisters.

As Lanny's gentle voice and the Cinderella story unfolded, Tiffany was quickly drawn to this story, which was very similar to her own. Even Candy, who was next to her, gradually became engrossed in listening.

As Cinderella, wearing glass slippers, shone brightly at the nobleman's ball, becoming the focus of the entire event, Candy's eyes sparkled with envy, and even Tiffany's usually unchanging gaze began to brighten.

"Wow, crystal shoes! They must be so beautiful!" The little maid's eyes sparkled with anticipation and longing, as if she would beg Lanny to take out a pair to look at her next.

Seeing that Tiffany had reacted, Lanny ignored the little maid's expectant eyes and spoke even more enthusiastically, describing the ball as extremely luxurious, with dazzling crystal chandeliers, a classical and elegant dance floor, luxurious and gorgeous dresses, and all kinds of delicious food. Candy's mouth watered and her eyes lit up as she listened.

“Young master, young master, you’re lying! What kind of lamp is made of crystal? It would be ridiculously expensive!” Just as Lanny was speaking eloquently and getting more and more excited, Candy spoke up to question him, and even Tiffany looked at Lanny with a puzzled expression.

"Uh, a story, do you even understand the story? Do you still want to hear it?" Speechless, Lanny rolled his eyes and glared fiercely at Candy.

Upon hearing the threat, Candy became even more curious about the story and playfully stuck out her tongue.

As the story unfolded, the two listened with even greater fascination.

As midnight approached, both of them seemed to be on tenterhooks, worried about whether Cinderella could escape. The little maid gripped her hand tightly, muttering repeatedly, "Hurry, hurry, we're going to be late!"

When Cinderella finally escaped the castle at midnight, the little maid let go of her clenched hands, which had turned slightly white, and even Tiffany breathed a long sigh of relief.

Lanny also made some changes to the ending. Because of the sisters' interference, the nobleman did not find Cinderella through the glass slipper. Just before Cinderella put on the glass slipper, one of the sisters broke it.

When Candy heard that the glass slipper was broken just before Cinderella's identity was confirmed, she cried out in surprise, and the two listeners looked on with regret.

Seeing the expressions on their faces, Lanny chuckled inwardly. How could they possibly cut off such an important prop?

Although the glass slipper was broken, the nobleman still recognized Cinderella because of his love for her. Afterwards, the two successfully resisted the obstruction of the nobleman's father and the girl's stepmother, escaped the castle with the nobleman, and lived happily ever after.

"Wow, young master, young master, are there really glass slippers?" As the story ended, Candy could no longer contain her curiosity and came over to pester Lenny, staring at him with her big eyes and asking him incessantly about the glass slippers.

Tiffany's reaction was much calmer; she noticed something different halfway through the story.

This story resonated so much with my past life; I suppose it was my husband comforting me.

Yes, just like in the story, even though her own father didn't want her anymore, and Lanny's father was gone, they still had each other. What reason did she have to complain or give up on herself?

Since that man doesn't love her, why should she worry the man in front of her who loves her for his sake?

Let him be! Tiffany breathed a long sigh of relief, and most of her frustration finally dissipated.

Tiffany grasped Lanny's hands in return, and finally revealed a long-lost smile, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Darling, I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry..."