"It's beautiful," said the Baroness, "it must have been sent by Viscount Boldwin, and only the purple-eyed pheasant at Castle Thunder can have such long tail feathers." ”

"There are many more," Penny said, pulling out the box of feathers, "you can pick whatever you like, and it's okay to take them all." ”

The Baroness smiled and shook her fan lazily—though the snow was already falling outside, the aristocratic women who were keen to emulate the royal courts of the South still carried their fans with them, and at most changed the silk into feathers: "You are so generous, my dearest friend," she said in a tone that would make men feel hot, "but wouldn't that break your husband's heart? And we all know that there will be a war going on soon, but he remembers to send you so many lovely gifts, the gods are above, and he loves you so much, and I think he must want to see you dressed up and waiting for him to come back. ”

At this she was deflated, and she grabbed one of her tail feathers and inserted it into her hair, which was coiled up like cow dung, and although she would not starve and freeze again after becoming a viscountess, the after-effects of the severe lack of nutrition in her childhood and adolescent years were irreparable, her hair was the same color as muddy straw, and was thin and dull, her skin was yellow, and her breasts and buttocks were as flat as a child's.

She looked into the mirror, where the woman was dressed in silk, jewels of gold and precious stones, and had beautiful feathers that merchants would be willing to exchange for a well-equipped carriage, but she looked like a serf who was out of step with the king, and everything she had on her was like a theft, ready to be taken back at any moment, and she herself was cut off and hanged.

"No......" she shook her head in frustration, "I'm not suitable...... These. "She's so ordinary, even ugly.

She plucked the feather off and put it in that fine box. Before she closed the box, the Baroness gently pressed her hand: "Trust me," she said softly, "Penny, you are beautiful, there is nothing that you are not suited to." ”

"Don't talk nonsense," Penny pulled back her hand, "I have eyes that can see what I look like. ”

"That's only because you have never dressed yourself well," said the Baroness with confidence, "Do you think that every lady in the royal capital is naturally beautiful? No, dear Penny, most of them are not as good as you, and the reason why one cannot find their wrinkles, their deflated mouths and big noses, their hairy moles and yellow spots, nor smell their sweat and armpits, is all due to ochre, cinnabar, lead white, mercury, and**, myrrh, rose oil, and rose water...... She paused, noting with satisfaction that Penny was listening intently and eagerly, "Oh, I should have told you earlier—poor Penny," she sat closer to Penny as she became a little embarrassed, and reached out to put her arm around her thin shoulders, "Of course, there's a little trick that no one knows, Penny, and we occasionally seek help from the priest......"

"Pastor?" was taken aback to Penny, who knew that only those who were sick, seriously injured, and dying would need a priest.

The Baroness's voice was lowered: "Flo's priest." ”

Penny inhaled softly.

"Many ladies have asked of them," said the Baroness, "and they can make you beautiful and young." ”

"But that's Flo's priest. Penny whispered, tightening her hands. She had never heard of Flo when she was still in the mountains and woods with Birdwin, but since she arrived in the royal capital, although she had little sociality, every year Flo's temple held a celebration, and her cook had complained that every street was occupied by merry-seeking prostitutes and prostitutes, and that she had been touched and almost lost half a pound of butter.

"Everybody does it," said the Baroness, "even for the sake of her husband, a wife should be in good shape and delicate in countenance." She shook Penny's hand and said with seeming sincerity, "There is no husband who would not want to see his wife more pleasing to the eye, and that is also about his honour and pride, and a beautiful wife is as worthy of a man as a brilliant medallion to wear on his body—believe me, the Viscount must have wished so, otherwise why would he send you so many precious clothes and ornaments, Penny...... His love for you can make the whole royal court and even the whole Norman woman of the Highlands jealous, and shouldn't you do anything to repay him for this sincere and deep affection?"

“...... I...... I don't know what to do......"

"Alas, Penny, my poor Penny," said the Baroness, who suddenly let go of her hand, and walked up and down the room as if she were about to make a fateful decision: the peacock-like skirt swept across a carpet of white bear fur, and after repeating it several times, she turned again, as abruptly at the beginning, to the bewildered young woman, and said solemnly, "then," she said, "my friend, my dear Penny, can I trust you?"

"Of course," said Penny, "you can certainly trust me." ”

"Then you must swear to Flo," said the Baroness, "that if you reveal the secret which I am about to tell you, you will lose your husband's love for you." ”

Penny was taken aback: "What kind of words?"

"A little secret party," said the Baroness, "every attendee is a woman of noble blood and high status, and you will be one of them by my introduction." She looked at Penny, and the stupid girl didn't seem to understand what she meant, so she had to make it clearer: "We worship Flo." ”

"The gods are above!"

"It is for our husband, for our marriage, for our children!" rebuked her, "do you want your husband to fall in love with a lowly woman, and to allow the bastards she has raised to inherit his and your property, and her titles, and land?"

"But ......"

"Nothing," said the Baroness, "you should know that, Penny, even if your husband is trusted by the king, and is a lord and a lord, as a stranger, you have no relatives in the king's capital, and no one will invite you, and no one will answer your invitation—how can they know and love you, my dear, though you are wise and lovely, and kind and gentle, but no one wants to come into contact with you?"

Even I, my dear, would not have been friends with you had it not been for the fact that my carriage had toppled at your door, and that you had been willing to help me kindly.

What are you still winching at?Penny, I wouldn't have revealed a word about it if you hadn't saved my life—I'm sure any woman but you would have been ecstatic to trade a whole box of gold for this opportunity. ”

"I ...... I don't know ......."

"Oh," said the baroness disappointed, "well, if you really don't want to," she patted the fan in her hand, "I won't mention it again." ”

"No!" cried Penny, startling herself with the intensity of her emotions, she didn't know if she ought to do it—and the Baroness just stood there, waiting for her final decision—she was in her forties, twice her age, but she looked even younger than Penny, and was unusually beautiful.

If she could be prettier and younger, Baldwin might be willing to see her at Thundercastle instead of ...... What other women...... They can have one child, a lot of children......

"How many horned deer do we have?" asked Priest Oches.

"Not much," said the leader of the Blackblood Tribe, roasting a deer's leg over the unextinguished bonfire, and in their tents, they could still hear the creepy sounds—the gurgling of the stomach and the creak of grinding teeth, and the creaking of claws scratching at the rocks, "the newly-grown cubs were going crazy with hunger, and the slaves who cared for the deer were all eaten by them, and now it was the warriors in chain mail who were watching over the deer, they didn't know how to graze, and many of them died." ”

"Give them the dead deer to eat," said the priest of Ochs, "and the rest will be enough for sixty days—our winter may be spent in Thundercastle, which is full of meat." ”

"What if you can't beat it?"

"Then let's die. Said the priest of Ex.

;