Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence - Chapter 535 - 325: Bradley’s Day (Part 3)
Chapter 535: Chapter 325: Bradley’s Day (Part 3)
“We’ve designed a new ’snow race’, adding obstacle sections with vine jumps, net climbs, and ice slope climbs.”
Bradley took note of every item, occasionally annotating, sometimes nodding.
He waited until everyone finished their reports before closing his notebook: “Lord Louis… unfortunately, will not be able to attend the festival performance part.
But remember, make it the brightest festival in the entire Northern Territory, not for the sake of appearance, but to let everyone know that Red Tide Territory will be better this year.”
The hall was silent, followed by applause from everyone in unison.
……
It was late at night, and the fireplace in the Red Tide Lord’s Mansion was burning brightly, with the flames casting dancing shadows on the stone walls.
Louis sat in a chair, cradling the baby gently in one arm.
The child had not been born long, their features not yet fully developed, only occasionally clicking their lips, softly humming, and then falling back into a deep sleep.
The carpet by the fireplace was soft and thick, making the room so warm that one could almost forget it was a snowy, frigid Northern night outside the window.
Bradley stood to the side, turning page after page of a briefing:
“In terms of distribution, everything in the storage area is stable, and the coal supply will last until the end of the month without major issues. The medical center has completed influenza isolation, and medicines on Maryna’s side are plentiful.
The Spring Festival preparations are going smoothly, with positive reports from each district, the evaluation system remains unchanged…
He paused for a moment and closed the briefing scroll: “There are no major hazards, everything is under control.”
Louis looked up, gazed beyond the briefing, and smiled at him: “When you handle things, I’m at ease.”
Bradley bowed slightly, his voice lowered a few degrees: “It’s my duty.”
The daily report should have ended here.
But Louis gently patted the sleeping child in his arms, looking up at Bradley: “For most of next year, I might not be in Red Tide City.”
Bradley was taken aback.
Louis continued, “Over there at Dawn Port, the basic mapping has been completed. As soon as the snow melts, the first phase of piling and harbor excavation must begin.
So the matters here, I’ll leave them to you. I hope that when I’m not around, Red Tide can stay the same.”
Bradley nodded, “Rest assured, my Lord, I’ll arrange everything properly.”
He glanced at the child in Louis’s arms, suddenly speaking softly: “When the little master grows up and knows he was born in such a winter, he should be proud of you.”
Louis smiled and said nothing, gently swaying the sleeping child in his arms.
And before Bradley left the room, he couldn’t help but look back at that warm scene.
Louis was still looking down at the child in his arms, his gaze soft like the fire on a winter night.
A wonderful warmth surged in his heart.
……
It was already late when Bradley left the Earth Tower Castle.
Bradley walked into the public bathhouse, feeling as if the day’s chill was about to completely melt away at this moment, one of his few daily times of rest.
The young attendant saw him and immediately came up, smiling and saying, “Master Bradley, your room is ready.”
It was a small, inner room, with warm stones embedded in the walls, and hot spring water flowing continuously.
Beside the pool, there was a polished wooden tray, complete with a teapot, towels, and fresh clothes.
Bradley took off his cloak and slowly settled into the hot spring water, feeling as though his whole being had sunk into a certain warm tranquility.
In the mist, he let out a long breath, leaned his head against the stone wall, and closed his eyes.
“When I left the Southeast back then…” Bradley murmured to himself, “I thought it was going to be a tough assignment.”
In the Calvin Clan, he was just a dutiful old steward, a tool that could be discarded at any time.
But here, in this snow-locked yet spring-like warm Red Tide City.
He was the Chief Steward, the deputy of the entire city’s governance, known by the children as “Master Bradley.”
His decisions determined how many families could keep warm on winter nights, whether they could have a bowl of stew on snowy nights.
His judgment affected whether the entire territory could still run orderly amidst snowstorms.
And more importantly, people expressed their respect for what he did, not for who he was.
Bradley opened his eyes, looking at the slightly yellowish light in the steam.
“Being in this land of ice and snow, and building Red Tide to what it is today with Lord Louis…” he said softly, “perhaps it is the best decision of my life.”
When Bradley stepped out of the bath, the snow was still falling.
Yet he felt that every bit of warmth in the city, every light, seemed to echo that little, unspoken pride in his heart.
