The rain stopped the next day, but the sky was still overcast.
Kantland is shrouded in a long cloud, and the last rain before winter is always reluctant to leave. In the next few days, this land should receive several medium-scale rains, and Such abundant rain is extremely beneficial to the specialty potions in the territory.
Most potions will also grow in winter. Although their roots and plants appear dry and dead, spellcasters all know that their "spiritual plants" are still nourished by the magic environment and will grow in the next day. The Moon of Resurrection is back to life, and how much they can grow in winter depends in part on the last rain before the frost and snow.
Gawain had breakfast with Viscount Victor Kant in the dining room of the castle. Since the Viscountess was sick and unable to see the guests, and the only son of the Viscount was not in the territory, they were the only two dining at the huge dining table, even though the tableware was gorgeous , the food was delicious, and the atmosphere of having breakfast made Gao Wen quite uncomfortable.
He prefers the atmosphere of a large group of people sitting around the table lively, rather than like now, he and an old nobleman are facing each other across a long table, and they can't wait for a delay when talking to each other posture.
"I hope you are resting well in this old house," Victor Kant said while cutting the bread in front of him, "This castle is too old, and I plan to renovate it again in my lifetime."
"It's very comfortable here, more comfortable than I imagined," Gao Wen praised somewhat insincerely, "an ancient castle gives people a sense of security."
Victor smiled and looked beside Gao Wen: "It seems that your two followers left early in the morning?"
"They are not used to confinement. I let them go to the town to relax. They are more comfortable in the messy tavern."
"It's understandable. In fact, when I was young, I preferred taverns to this quiet castle," the old Viscount raised his glass of wine. "Of course, I'm just a junior in front of you."
Gao Wen raised his glass to respond, and said casually: "The health of the Viscountess is very worrying. What exactly is she suffering from?"
Victor paused indistinctly, and then a smile appeared on his face: "Have you seen her?"
According to that Lilith Kant, the old Viscount should have arranged for her to say hello to Gao Wen, but at this time Victor acted as if he knew about it for the first time!
Gao Wen concealed his psychological changes and maintained a faint smile: "After yesterday's dinner, she came to say hello to me, but her complexion was very bad."
"My poor Lilith," Viscount Victor sighed, "her physical condition has not been very good, she can't see the sun, and can't bear the noise, so she can only live in the North Tower for a long time, and she can only come out at night. activities. But she is a very kind person. My tolerance towards the people is largely influenced by her. She always advises me to think more about the feelings of those who can’t live in a good house or eat meat. , but her own body is getting worse."
Viscount Kant's kindness and tolerance to the common people in his territory, this point Gawain had heard yesterday when he heard some servants chatting in the castle, and this was also one of the things that surprised him: he had already made a preconceived judgment Victor Kant is very likely to be a cult member of the Eternal Sleep Cult, or at least he has been controlled and bewitched by the cult members, so he did the thing of arresting refugees for evil rituals, but he never expected that he would All the speeches heard after entering Kant's territory were praising the old lord!
He couldn't judge the authenticity of the gossip he heard from the servants of the castle, so he could only follow the trend and say: "It is the duty of every lord to treat the people well. We opened up this kingdom in the first place to protect the people." rather than riding on their heads and domineering."
"Yes, it's a pity that few people still remember this now," Victor sighed as if from the bottom of his heart, "more and more nobles forget why their ancestors took up swords for the first time , We were originally a barrier to protect the common people, a reliance for them to live with peace of mind, and a guide to lead them to prosperity and warmth, but most of the nobles today grew up in castles and manors, and they put others' service Taking it as a matter of course with offerings, and completely forgetting that I should have some responsibilities... Cough cough... "
Victor seemed to be a little excited when he said it, and couldn't help coughing. After finally calming down, he let out a long breath: "I spend a lot of time every year inspecting every farm and medicine field on the territory to know exactly The harvest of the year, to prevent excessive tax pressure from starving the citizens, and to spend a lot of energy dealing with merchants to ensure that the surplus medicinal materials and food in the territory can find buyers, so that my citizens You can have enough money to repair the house and buy fuel for the winter, but because of this, you miss many so-called 'high-class parties', so that you are regarded by those vulgar southern aristocrats as a reclusive weirdo, a mediocre person with no taste... Alas .”
Viscount Victor said a lot in one breath, and after he finished speaking, he smiled embarrassingly: "Sorry, I have a habit of talking too much when I get older, but I think you should understand me because I heard that you He is also very kind to the people.”
"Of course," Gao Wen raised his glass with a smile, "this is the duty of every lord."
…
At the same time, in the town outside the castle, Amber was holding a glass of frothy ale, listening to those idle farmers and craftsmen boasting about their poor and boring daily life, with an expression of interest on her face. He looked like this, but he was planning how many glasses of wine he would need in order to get what he wanted to hear.
The farming work is over, and the weather is not suitable for any outing work, so the rich peasants and craftsmen who still have some spare money will spend their worthless time in the town's taverns. One of the wealthy territories, the commoners living here will naturally visit places such as taverns and casinos more frequently, and for these people, only a few glasses of ale and a few compliments are needed, and Amber can reveal all their secrets .
For Amber, who has been on such occasions since she was a child, this is a very pleasant process.
Especially when you don't have to pay for the wine yourself, this feeling is even more pleasant.
She put on an outfit that fit her identity: black leather armor and a slightly worn cloak, plus a dagger that would stick out from her waist from time to time, and a "lucky stone" tied to her wrist, the appearance of a wandering warrior. The image will be complete, and the common people will be in awe and curiosity of this kind of person, and it will become easy to cliché.
After drinking for three rounds and talking enough about the farmland and the ghost stories in the old house, Amber felt that it was time to talk about the lord, so she looked at the blacksmith sitting at the table and on the territory with a curious expression: "I heard that you Your lord is a person who is very good at managing the territory, is it true?"
"I don't know what it's like to govern a territory," the blacksmith said with a mouth full of alcohol and eyes blurred, "but Master Victor is indeed a very nice guy... Hiccup, with him, everyone can Eat a full stomach, even in winter, you can eat half full, and the territory has not starved to death for more than ten years!"
Further south, there is another place where civilians not only survive starvation, but occasionally have meat to eat.
Amber muttered in her heart, but her face showed admiration: "That's not easy!"
"No, Mr. Victor is really the most charitable lord I have ever met," another elderly drinker took up the conversation, "but I heard from those who sent vegetables and milk to the castle that the castle is quite beautiful. It's gloomy, and there's always a feeling that there's a leak somewhere... "
A slightly fat tavern maid put the wooden cup in front of the drinker with a bang: "Don't talk nonsense! The castle is not your broken thatched house, and the old George who delivered the food was probably drunk and blown himself in the mud puddle." The cold wind is like being in a castle!"
The fat maid told a joke that wasn't funny, but it elicited a roar of laughter.
"It seems that Victor is really a good lord," Amber said shaking her head, "I just don't know how the Viscountess is doing."
As soon as these words were said, the scene was strangely quiet for a moment.
Some people were looking at each other, some were drinking with their heads down, and the elderly people were frowning, as if thinking of something bad. Seeing this, Amber immediately realized that there was something inside, and asked curiously: "What's the matter?" ? Why do you react like this?"
"You're a foreigner, so it's normal if you don't know," said an old man who seemed to be the oldest. He should be a wealthy landowner or a retired craftsman. Among the poor, there are very few people who are not this age. An old man who died from an injury, and such a person not only understands the life of the common people, but also has heard about the affairs of the lord, "The Viscountess... Maybe it has been decades, right? When she died..."
"The Viscountess died? She died decades ago?!" Amber was shocked, "How did she die?"
"That's a poor woman. The whole thing is very miserable. That kind of thing shouldn't happen to a good person." The old man frowned. He seemed unwilling to say more, but the alcohol made it difficult for him to control his words, and beside him Some young people who don't know much about the past are also urging him to speak: "Mr. Sandro, tell me, I have heard people talk about this since I was a child, but I have never heard of it when you are old. In the end what happened."
Amber glanced admiringly at the young man who urged him, and decided to buy him another drink with the money Gao Wen gave her.
The old man who seemed to have experienced the incident of the year sighed, took a sip of wine and said slowly: "That was thirty... about thirty years ago, maybe a little longer, that year was also this month, and it also rained. , but the rain was extraordinarily heavy, and it rained for several days...
"Mr. Victor was young then, and he was then as just and benevolent a good lord as he is now, when he returned from inspecting the barns in the next town, and the Viscountess was with him, and their only son, Belle Master Tom. They drove back from the west road in the wagon, and though it was raining heavily, they got on the road... They really should have stayed in the next town for an extra day, alas.
"If I don't tell you, you can guess that the rain is so heavy and it's so slippery. There must be something wrong with the carriage on the old hillside. The car overturned and slipped from the highest point of the old hillside into the mountain stream. The whole car fell to pieces... The whole night passed, and no one knew that something happened to the lord's family outside. It was not until the sun came out and the rain stopped the next day that the Viscountess was covered in blood. Appearing in the town... She almost crawled into the town, covered in bruises, almost dying from crying, she said she watched the master and the young master being thrown out of the carriage in front of her, and fell to an unknown place, let us Hurry up and save them."
When the old man said this, he couldn't help sighing for a while, and took another sip of wine before continuing: "We escorted the lady back to the castle, and then immediately sent people to the old hillside to find the carriage and the whereabouts of the master and the young master, but after three days Today, apart from some blood and wagon debris, we only found the bodies of two horses.
"The madam sheds tears every day in the castle. Alas, she is a kind and good person. She has always taken care of the poor in the territory. Since the day she married in this place, she has given firewood to the poor every winter. and black bread, but this happened to her. For three days, her husband and son were not found, so she finally went crazy. According to the servant who was working in the castle at that time when she came out, she put herself Shut in the room yelling, and then ran to the dark corners of the castle, talking to her imaginary husband and son, and finally locked herself in the cellar of the north tower of the castle, where she drank Poison, end your own suffering.
"On the fourth day, Master Victor and Master Belm returned to the castle alive, they did not die."