After the dock inspection was completed, they didn't linger and headed straight back to Fort Sardinson.
Wei Wei had originally wanted to bring little Anthony along, but Felix felt that since Anthony was already one year old, it wasn't good for him to be so clingy with his mother.
It wasn't that he was jealous of his own son, but a boy being overly attached to his mother might grow up to be one of those "mama's boys" Wei Wei always talked about—how could that be acceptable?
So, he figured it was time to start fostering the child's independence and help him be less reliant on others.
Wei Wei thought Felix had a bit of a point—but also felt it didn't seem quite right. After all, isn't cultivating independence something that begins after the child can at least talk or walk properly?
Shouldn't it start around three or four years old?
But Felix was unusually firm about it this time. He insisted Anthony wouldn't go. He shoved the child into Dolores's arms and practically dragged Wei Wei along.
Wei Wei was deeply conflicted as they left. She couldn't stop wondering what would happen when their son noticed both his parents had disappeared—would he cry his heart out? Hopefully, Dolores would be able to comfort him.
Still, perhaps it was better not to bring him. The whole trip was spent in carriages, without much time to rest. Bringing Anthony along would've made preparing baby food a hassle.
So once the dock inspection was finished, Wei Wei was more than ready to head home.
They didn't take the same route back, though. Instead, they traveled from south to north along a different path, passing through Slot County to check on the construction of the new city.
The architects traveled with them as well. They had only been temporarily brought in for the dock project, and now that their work was done, they naturally needed to return to the new city construction site.
Though they already had a good grasp of the city's progress, the couple still asked Pierre to brief them on the situation again as they traveled.
The new city was an immense and labor-intensive project, with over ten thousand workers stationed there. Even so, the first construction phase had taken over a year and was still incomplete.
This first phase included the city hall and two residential zones—one for nobles and one for commoners. But "residential zone" was a broad term; in reality, the areas surrounding the city hall had already prioritized the construction of banks, schools, libraries, hotels, hospitals, and parks according to the blueprint. Notably, the Chinese-style garden meant to connect the noble and commoner zones was one of the key features—planned to be completed even before the horse park located in the nobles' district.
It was a well-discussed consensus: if they wanted to attract people to live and settle here, the city's supporting infrastructure was crucial. The presence of various convenient public facilities could draw many free citizens with decent living standards. As for the unique, one-of-a-kind Chinese garden—the only one of its kind in all of Europe—if promoted properly, it could become a major tourist attraction and lure in scores of wealthy travelers.
As of now, only the commoner residential district has been completed. This section was the simplest in terms of design: the buildings were small, similar in structure, and easy for the workers to build once they got the hang of it. These standalone three-story townhouses could be completed in batches over just a few days, so this part of the project was finished first.
Though called a residential area, all the houses faced the streets and had ground floors that could be used as shops, with the second and third floors serving as living quarters. This design made day-to-day shopping very convenient for the residents.
Within the residential zone, there was also a school that was nearly complete. This would be one of the future public schools. While there wasn't a large hospital built here, a small clinic had been included, situated beside the police station and firehouse—ensuring the safety and stability of the neighborhood.
"There are five hundred houses in this district, and the streets have all been landscaped according to your specifications," Pierre reported.
Because this was the only fully constructed section so far, it was the first place they visited. All the houses were uniformly built, and the roads were spacious, interconnected, and orderly. Though the landscaping plants hadn't been planted yet, the planter boxes on the windowsills and sidewalks had already been built. One could easily imagine how beautiful the medieval-style streets would look once the greenery was added.
The noble district, on the other hand, looked far less complete. Unlike the commoner housing, the noble homes were all freestanding villas with large gardens. Surrounded by iron fences, the buildings themselves were modeled after Wei Wei's villa, with very similar layouts. Currently, they are still working on the exterior finishes, and none of the doors or windows have been installed. The open spaces reserved for gardens hadn't even been sodded yet, making the whole place resemble a construction wasteland.
This side of the city also had a small clinic, police station, and fire station, though the clinic here was designed with more luxurious aesthetics in mind to suit noble tastes—though the general layout was much the same.
After that, they went to inspect other public buildings. Many of the large structures like the city hall were only halfway done. According to Pierre, the earliest these could be finished would be next year.
The Chinese-style park was progressing the slowest. In terms of scale and construction difficulty, it wasn't especially complex. However, the all-wood construction and distinctive foreign style posed quite a challenge for the workers. Even with detailed concept drawings provided by Wei Wei, achieving an authentic reproduction wasn't easy.
Fortunately, Pierre was skilled at building models. Before actual construction began, he made a miniature version to work out potential problems ahead of time.
Even so, the construction remained difficult. So far, only a covered walkway and a few small linked pavilions have been completed. A planned three-story viewing tower had just its first level built, with the remaining two floors underway. The artificial lake had been excavated, and the arched bridges spanning it were in place, linking the walkways on either side. But it hadn't been filled with water yet and still looked like a giant pit. The rock garden and lotus flowers were nowhere to be seen, and of course, the greenery hadn't been planted either.
In short—everything was still in preparation. Anyone wanting to see the final product would need to wait until next year.
After seeing the park, Wei Wei had serious doubts about whether it could be completed next year.
But Pierre was confident. "Of course we can! Once the other construction sites wrap up, more workers will be assigned here. The pace will only pick up. If we don't finish before next summer, you can punish us however you want!"
With a promise like that, it was clear he had solid confidence.
"Well, since you're that sure, I'll look forward to seeing the finished project next year."
Since Phase One was guaranteed to be done by next year, it was time to start planning promotional campaigns—but there was no rush. They could deal with that after returning home.
After touring the entire new city construction site, they set off on the return journey again. At Wei Wei's urging, the carriages moved at their fastest possible speed—if not for the fact that many of their servants didn't know how to ride, she would've preferred they all return on horseback.
They had been away for eight days. Wei Wei couldn't even imagine how little Anthony was doing. Every day, the pigeon-post letters they received mentioned things like, "Young Master cried again."
Each report was a fresh stab to the heart. If they didn't return soon, she would seriously start blaming Felix for refusing to let her bring the child along.
Felix had his reasons. While he did have a touch of selfishness in the matter, he truly believed Anthony was too clingy. For a boy—especially one who would one day be the heir of the Williams family—this was not a good trait. Look at the sons of other noble families—were any of them this clingy? Of course not!
If Wei Wei knew what he was thinking, she'd shoot back: the children of those other noble families that Felix had seen were all several years old by the time he met them. At that age, kids are naturally more playful and less attached—it's normal. And were they not clingy? In her opinion, those kids were just as reliant—but on their wet nurses and nannies, not their parents. It was just that this side of them wasn't shown in public. As noble children, they still had to maintain appearances and be well-mannered.
Besides, what nanny would dare let the lady of the house find out that her child preferred the nanny over her? None would. If discovered, they'd surely be fired on the spot.
"I'm not against letting Anthony grow up to be independent," Wei Wei told her husband seriously, "but he's only one year old. This is exactly the time when he should be attached to his parents. Teaching him independence this early is too much. If we don't even build an emotional connection now, what happens if he grows up and feels distant from you?"
She didn't think her own relationship with Anthony would suffer, but with Felix's current parenting method, his bond with their son might.
Seeing that he remained silent, Wei Wei added with emphasis, "Think about your relationship with your father, and your brother's relationship with him—what do you think? Do you want things to be like that between you and Anthony too?"
Wei Wei had never met her father-in-law, but that didn't stop her from learning about his relationship with his sons. The older staff in the castle, especially Butler Barton and his wife, loved to talk about the past.
She had heard enough to conclude that while there was deep affection between father and sons, their relationship itself wasn't close. It was that classic case of being the most familiar strangers.
Felix certainly loved his father—but having been sent away to study at a young age, they had spent too little time together. Though he respected his father deeply, there wasn't much intimacy there. This was something Felix regretted—but the nature of their relationship had long since been set in stone. It couldn't be changed.
As for his brother Eric, his relationship with their father wasn't very close either. Their father had successfully trained Eric to be a capable heir, but their dynamic felt more like boss and employee. Everything was structured and formal. Their father hadn't even been a particularly strict man, yet no warmth seemed to pass between them.
If it came down to him and Anthony, Felix had to admit—he didn't want their relationship to turn out that distant.
He still didn't say anything, but he did start to reflect on Wei Wei's words. Maybe he had been a little too eager, too hasty.
That thought stayed with him all the way home. And when they finally returned to the castle and saw their tearful son fling himself into his mother's arms, sobbing with snot and tears streaking down his face—and when Felix noticed that his once-chubby cheeks had even thinned a little—he had to admit, maybe this time, he had made the wrong call.