After Jasmine finished distributing the barley beer, she paid no attention to whether the guards drank it immediately or saved it for later use.
Traveling along the bumpy, uneven road meant that she had not been able to rest properly; her entire body was aching and sore. Furthermore, after sitting and listening to gossip and idle chatter within the noisy, boisterous tavern for more than half the day, she was now completely exhausted, her body falling apart, and her eyes were heavy with uncontrollable sleepiness.
She gave everyone a command, telling them to rest early and to arrange a rotating sentry duty among themselves, then she went upstairs to return to her own room.
Angus originally intended to stand guard immediately right in front of the door for Jasmine, but he was firmly refused by her.
Although Ankera Town was said to be a mixture of gold and brass - where both good and bad people mingled together - in reality, it could be considered quite safe and had its own set of laws and order.
Do not look at this small inn and think it looks old and inconspicuous; the old innkeeper who spent all day nodding off at the reception counter downstairs was also a powerful adventurer in his youth, one who had once single-handedly defeated an entire pack of monsters.
If there were truly a problem regarding security, the cautious old Butler would not have introduced such a place for her to stay and seek shelter.
Therefore, Jasmine was not overly worried about the safety issues here.
Moreover, all along this journey, Angus had to carry heavy burdens and perform strenuous labor, which was not light work at all. Instead of arriving at a safe place and still forcing Angus to stay up all night keeping watch, it would be better to let Angus rest properly.
Once his spirit was well-nourished and his health recovered, only then could he continue to help her accomplish more important tasks in the future.
Compared to the other guards who were still clumsy and awkward, Jasmine found using Angus to be much more convenient and smooth.
He possessed the immense strength of a Minotaur, knew how to fight, and was also honest, listening to every order obediently.
If she taught him properly and cultivated more combat knowledge in him, in the future, it was not impossible that she could promote him to be her personal close knight.
Jasmine was truly far too short of talented personnel; she still highly valued and wanted to make better use of the more than three hundred slaves currently residing in the castle.
The slaves were very serious and dedicated; taking advantage of the time when she was away, they had swept and cleaned Jasmine's room until it was spotless. Even the cracks in the window and the space under the bed had been wiped meticulously, without a single speck of dust remaining.
The luggage moved down from the horse carriage was arranged neatly and orderly in the corner of the wall. The single bed in the room had been spread with the soft mattress and blankets that Jasmine was accustomed to using, brought along from the castle, wafting with a familiar scent.
No longer having to curl up and huddle within the cramped and rigid space of the horse carriage to sleep, Jasmine's long, slender, and numb legs could finally stretch out straight on the soft mattress.
Although she was in an unfamiliar environment, in this place, she would not hear the rustling, noisy sounds of small animals crawling in the grass bushes in the middle of the night, nor would there be the sounds of ferocious beasts roaring threateningly from afar.
This sleep could be said to be the most comfortable and deepest sleep Jasmine had experienced after arriving in this world; a night without dreams, strangely peaceful and tranquil.
The Goblin Darius was a quick-witted person who knew how to observe. The next day, when the first ray of sunlight had just shone into the window and Jasmine had just woken up, Darius had already carried a basin of warm water, steaming with heat and prepared in advance, up the stairs, standing and waiting ready at the door.
Jasmine finished washing her face in the room, feeling her spirit refreshed. She hugged the Dragon egg and continued to lead her people outside.
Ever since the Dragon egg displayed its power to scare away the pack of ferocious wolves, Jasmine valued this silent "mate" of hers a few degrees more.
She personally used velvet cloth to remake a sturdy crossbody cloth bag; wherever she went, she had to carry the Dragon egg with her. It seemed that the heat radiating from it would make her feel a little safer amidst the crowded place.
Perhaps precisely because she always wore precious personal items, added to her confident demeanor, even though Jasmine wore noble attire that was somewhat simple, the people here only considered her a fallen noble who had come from somewhere to do business in order to make a living.
Except for Evelina at the tavern who was attracted by her beautiful face and distinct temperament, the other people on the street would at most look a few more times with curious eyes, then turn away to do their own work; they would not actively approach to strike up a conversation and cause trouble.
After all, fallen nobles in Ankera Town were not few; it was a common occurrence in the district. Many wandering adventurers here were also the youngest sons of large noble families; because they had no way to inherit titles and assets, they had to go out and break through on their own, seeking opportunities to change their lives.
This unintentionally helped Jasmine resolve quite a few unnecessary troubles.
She temporarily did not want to have too much contact with those rough adventurers. Her goal for going out this time was very clear and urgent: it was to go and buy food reserves, and conveniently buy a few farming tools or seeds to bring back for cultivation. It would be best to see if she could find any work that could earn gold coins.
The gold coins in the bag on her person could not be counted as many; spending had to be calculated carefully. Inside the empty castle, she also could not take out anything valuable that could be exchanged for gold coins. Jasmine could only rely on herself to think of other ways.
The guards had woken up early to boil water; kitchen smoke rose from the backyard.
Jasmine filled her leather water skin; since she did not want to drink alcohol instead of water here, she could only carry clean water with her.
The three people following her yesterday also learned from her appearance, filling their own water cups. They knew their place and status; they could not expect the Lord to continue spending money to reward them with barley beer forever.
If the strict old Butler at home knew that lowly slaves like them drank expensive barley beer, while the noble Lord drank ordinary plain water, he would certainly fly into a thunderous rage and punish them severely—whipping was a certainty. It was even possible that next time, he would not allow them to follow the Lord out again.