Chapter 117: The Coming (2)

The Norman kings of the Highlands invested an astonishing amount of manpower, material and financial resources for this triumphal ceremony. He entertained the people of the royal capital in a form of bribes, and every populace, whether rich or poor, a merchant, or a soldier, or just a farmer, if you could open your mouth and shout long live the king, you would get a piece of velvet dyed blue, which, though of a rather crude quality, was a windfall for the average family, and there were people distributing bread and ale at every crossroads, and you could eat and drink as much as you liked, and the priests of Flo walked through the streets and alleys, surrounded by prodigal childrenclowns and jugglers, and knights in splendid costumes, their coats and cloaks embroidered with their coats of arms, indicating their surnames, fiefdoms, and allegiances, and their vassals watching over their armor and weapons, which glistened in the sun.

Lords and princes arrived, bringing with them the knights and soldiers they had promised, and the king occasionally glanced at Duke John, who stood absent-mindedly in the shadows, and his brother did not look so pleasant.

Of course, these people were loyal to the king.

Although their allegiance was to be purchased, in order to satisfy the insatiable appetite, the king paid countless gold coins, Hundreds of fiefs have been promised in writing or verbally for all kinds of requests, which in general will be related to the right of territorial jurisdiction, inheritance, and marriage, for example, if an earl asks the king to marry a widow in his neighborhood, even though he is only thirty years old and the widow is nearly sixty years old, but she has five vineyards and three pastures.

Speaking of marriage, the Norman rulers of the Highlands were unconsciously in distress, for Leona and the crown above her head were a decoy that could not have been better, and several powerful and wealthy princes had wanted to marry him, and his courtiers were all ready to do so—to show their sincerity, they had piled up the royal court with gifts for the king, but that was not enough, that the king wanted them to be completely on his side. It's not difficult to make the right choice, you see, only Leona becomes queen and her marriage is worthwhile, if not, a princess without inheritance is really better than a widow with five vineyards and three pastures.

Equally unhappy with Duke John was Princess Diane, who could not disobey the king's orders, and was now shaking her feather fan in irritation, the stone and ruby fan pendant reflecting the magnificent points of light in the sun, and when Baldwin entered the door, she turned her head contemptuously to refuse to meet the shame of this lowly blood, and to her great surprise she saw her niece's red cheeks, a natural and brilliant color that even the most expensive rouge could match, made Diane frown, and Leona lowered her eyes before she could follow her gaze。

Now Princess Diane really felt uneasy.

If it's really nothing, then Leona doesn't need to hide it at all, except for Diane, everyone is looking at the bastard...... Diane slammed the fan in her hand viciously, perhaps she would have to talk to her brother after the feast.

The King stepped forward, embraced him tightly, squeezed his neck vigorously, and called him my dearest friend—and the people exchanged the title, for it was often reserved for earls or marquises, and they were almost certain that Birdwin Donkray would go further.

The feast was already ready, and the people washed their hands with hot water sprinkled with lilacs and took their seats happily.

The King graciously seated Birdwin with him in the highest seat, and though it could only be said to be a tribute to the last, it was already a rare privilege, for at that long table, covered with crimson silk, sat the King, Princess Leona, Duke John, Princess Diane, and her son, Birdwin's titular brother Dylan, the princes, and the high mages of the royal family, and the priests and priests of the Norman royal capital, with gold plates before them, Crystal cup, the king's chief chef stepped forward slowly at the sound of the trumpet, and personally brought bread and butter to the king.

Even the king's most trusted chancellor, Fouquet, sat in the second-class seat, surrounded by lords and knights, who looked at Birdwin with jealousy in his eyes, and a lord who considered himself close to Fouquet toyed with the green-eyed priest when he was close to him, and half-truthfully declared that he would tear the half-breed lowly man off the high table, strip him of his robes, rip off his necklace, confiscate his weapons, and hang him on the walls to dry.

"Not that is not going to work," said Fouquet with a smile, as he remained silent as the servant of the steward brought him bread and butter, and only continued after the latter had gone away: "He is a man loyal to the king." ”

"Aren't we?" said the lord indignantly, "my mother is the daughter of the marquis!"

Perhaps because of this, Fouquet was bored in torn bread, and the wheat flour used in the bread served today had been finely sifted twenty times, and it was soft and golden brown, and the aroma of the cereals was strong and pleasant, and the butter was as delicate as the tip of a girl's tongue.

The King deliberately favored Berdwin, a commoner of unknown origin, who had some real affection for them, who had fought side by side in Thundercastle for many years, but more than that, he was a banner that the King showed his courtiers - look, if you are loyal enough, even the lowest little person can become a little treasure that is trusted and loved by the rulers of this country- This was not without effect, and it was true that some knights were willing to give everything for their king in order to become the second Baldwin, and as far as Fouquet knew, some knights even mortgaged land and houses to the Chamber of Commerce in exchange for soldiers, weapons, and equipment to bolster the king's power.

When the sound of the drum is heard, the wine servants serve wine and mead, the wine is served in large wooden barrels, the strong male servants open the faucet at the bottom of the barrel, and the blood and amber wine is poured into the large gold or silver cups inlaid with jewels, and the guests can drink it directly from the cups, or pour it into the small cups they carry with them, wild boars, deer, Cattle and argali, all sorts of rare beasts and birds are roasted and brought to the table, the bard plays his citara or soltri, and the people are indulged in munching to the sound of music and singing, and only a few people's minds go to other places entirely.

Berdwin was intently capturing Penny's every move, his wife, Penny was not yet qualified to sit with the king, but her position was not too far from Baldwin, the flames in the hearth were blazing, and the seven fist-sized fluorite hanging from the dome made the whole hall as bright as day. She had lost weight, but she had also become beautiful, and perhaps the gifts had done their job, Birdwin thought, and he looked with a little novelty at Penny's long black hair, which was coiled high with flowers and fine hairpins, and her face was pale, and made Birdwin wonder if she was sick or had not rested well- She had been like this for the past few years, tossing and turning for days before he returned, unable to sleep, and her lips were covered with bright rouge, which Baldwin really hoped was made of roses instead of ochre, he had heard from his colleagues that ochre tasted sour and bitter, but because it was stronger and more durable than rouge made of rose juice, many women still used it.

Penny, on the other hand, struggled not to look at her lover, who was arranged to sit across from her by some malicious arrangement, and the two of them only had to look up slightly to meet each other—she noticed that he was coming to the meeting in chain mail, and every glance he gave to Berdwin made her heart twist violently.

As the servant served the dessert of chicken sauce mixed with boiled rice and almonds, Penny cast a pleading glance at her lover, which was unfortunately caught by Berdwin, but the lord of Thundercastle had no idea what would make Penny's panic look - it was just a very ordinary young man, well, if he had to say anything, he had a pretty good face - Birdwin toasted him, and after a momentary hesitation that was almost imperceptible, his enemies raised their shining silver cups to him.

And Penny was about to faint.

Another person who lacked interest in food was probably Princess Diane, who was condescending, searching for her target with her piercing eyes - handsome knights and beautiful boys, there were not a few such people, but unfortunately most of them had been "tasted" by Diane, she glanced slowly, paused for a moment on Carey himself and turned to his right, and then the eldest princess of Norman let out a soft sigh.

"Who do you have your eye on again, mother?" asked Dylan good-naturedly, hoping that it would be one of the "Nightingales" so that he would arrange it much easier.

"The black-haired one," said Diane, "if I'm not mistaken, black-eyed, sitting next to Kerryburn, white-robed - is he a priest?"

"No," Dylan glanced at as he raised his glass, "he's a mage, a half-elf." ”

"Is he strong?" said Diane, pinching a slice of venison sausage with her fingers and eating it with relish, her appetite coming back with her other a**. If the answer is yes, she'll have to stock up more energy for tonight.

"Perhaps," Dylan said with some helplessness, "I can't be sure." ”

"If he had fought a ferocious orc, I believe he wouldn't have been too cowardly in the face of a wonderful **. Diane said.

"Well," said Dylan, "but hopefully you won't have to possess him for too long, he may have angered my uncle." ”

"Your Majesty?"

"No, Duke John, he testified for a thief who escaped torture and beheading, and who was accused of killing the former's son. ”

"Oh," Diane said, taking a bunch of grapes, "that little crumbs born out of wedlock." ”

"The only son of the Duke to date. Dylan said.

"Then one night will be enough," said Diane, "prepare a room for me." ”

"By the way," she thought for a moment, she added, "I like his hair, and his skin, and tell your good uncle that at least these two things should be kept intact for me." ”