Chapter 45 Snow Mountain

The Earl and the Garrison did not look for me again, and they seemed to have everything in order

The next day, the washerwoman came and asked for my clothes, and I thought she was going to wash them and return them to me, but she threw them away, and in the afternoon she brought me some neatly folded clothes, a few linen coats and leather coats, and two pairs of leather boots

The two servants, as Christopher had said, vacated a wagon

They took out the furs that were in them, separated them and loaded them into other wagons, and at last some had to be carried on my back, and they laid out a quilt for me, and put stools and simple wooden tables for eating, and some bits and pieces, and when they told me that it was my carriage, I groped my way up into it, and looked at anything I was curious about, and it was not as elaborate as the one of the Messira, nor as good as the carriage of her relatives, but I was satisfied

I lay on top of the blanket made of cashmere, and I felt so warm that I listened to the creaking of the carriage and fell asleep as I listened

When I felt a little uncomfortable, and jumped out of the carriage, I realized that it was not as easy as I thought it would be to stay in the carriage all day and night, like the Messilas, and I asked the coachman to drive my horse over, and when the iron feet came, I found that it was already attached to the beautiful saddle, and I rubbed the smooth leather, and pulled up the fine stirrups, and looked at the patterns, and thought that these were too luxurious

I'm not a horse boy anymore, and I need to get acquainted with the nobility as soon as possible

But these are still different from the aristocratic life in my imagination, I have the impression that the nobles in it are all battle-hardened knights, like hunting and spirits, and hate everything that is too fine, but most of the nobles I see are two-colored pale guys, who think very highly of themselves, and hate to travel, if I become a nobleman, then I might as well be my stableman

"Does the young master want me to help you lead the horse?" The coachman asked flatteringly

"I can ride it myself"

Sure enough, as Kirov said, after getting used to the days without a saddle, I felt that I was in excellent condition after changing into a good saddle, and I only used the old saddle that Krestofo gave me, and now I gave it to Herman, who was very happy, he did not have a horse, and every day he swaggered along the road with the saddle on his back, and loudly told others about the gifts he received

The Count sent me an unbladed sword, a Vecchian longbow, two kugit compound bows, and a pot of arrows

Christopher came to me and said that I was ready to start learning archery and after arriving at the station, we had to go out hunting for a long time to subsidize food, which I really liked It is said that these bows and arrows were originally reserved for the young master of the family, but few of them like to dance and play with swords, just perfunctory family coach, practice archery and fighting and it's over

I tried, but I couldn't pull the longbow at all, and the longbow was too long, I couldn't put it up, so I could only pull the kugit bow diagonally, and it took a lot of effort to pull it away, and I liked the feeling of shooting the arrow out at first, just shooting out aimlessly for more than ten meters, dozens of meters, as long as the arrow was stuck in the stump or mud, I was very happy

After a few days, we were on the snow line

Christopher helped me unstring several bows, apply a layer of wax to the backs of the bows, and then hide them in wooden chests, where the bows and arrows would lose their power in bad weather, and the archers who would have done great damage to their bows if they were forced to use them would not even wind their bows a few times before the battle, and usually only use them when the weather was good

On a platform, we did our last rest, the weather was bad, the mountain wind blew the snow on the mountain, the white wind made me unable to open my eyes, the horses were tired and unusable, a large number of mules were set up in front of the carriage to help pull the cart, most of the people in the carriage had to get off and walk, except for the weakest old and weak women and children, the carriage was no longer a means of transportation, it became a tent for rest, and it was a very lucky thing to be able to sleep on the carriage at night

I left Iron Feet in Herman's care, and I spent most of my time with Alexei

This was arranged by the Earl, and the Count asked Alexei to let me integrate into the family as soon as possible For my identity, Alexei deliberately avoided it, and many times we talked about it unintentionally, and then he would immediately change to another topic, I felt that not only did I find the arrangement a little difficult to accept, but he was the same

Once, I couldn't help but ask him, "Alyosha, is it a shame for you to have an extra illegitimate child?" ”

"That's not true," Alexei shook his head, "You know, I did a lot of ridiculous things when I was young, it's no secret that you know my children, and they will be your brothers and sisters in the future."

"But I don't think you've been very happy lately"

"Okay," Alexei said, "don't think about it, Vidor, I'm just a little emotional, this time I went to Nord, I realized that this world is really so big, powerful characters are everywhere, I used to be just a country master, I saw a lot of things and was not prepared just like this time, if it were me, I wouldn't be able to wait for us to be attacked like the Earl, I don't even know who Nikolai is to tell the truth, I don't know what kind of fate we will have after going to the east"

"I don't know," I wondered if Alexei would say those words, "if I go to the east and be sent into the forest?" "I wanted to change the subject

"That's not it, it's not that early," Alexei said, "the family didn't have the energy to send you there at first, it is estimated that it will take a year or two to settle down, and we will have to train you intensively during this time, to be honest, I don't really want you to go to the forest, do you know what you are doing there?" ”

"Lord?" I thought about it and said

Alexei smiled bitterly, "Vidor, you will be a hostage when you go"

"But, don't those people in the forest obey the orders of the Lepnin family and be loyal to me?"

"The most astute king can be controlled by powerful courtiers, so how much better can you be? I don't ask you to control them, it's enough to learn to protect yourself, the easterners are far more arrogant than the westerners, seeing that you are a child, it is difficult for them to obey you, they obey your orders, it is only expedient, in order to be able to get the Romanov family as an ally, but when you marry Ekateenna in the future, the situation may be better"

I don't know why Alexei wants to say that my prospects are so bleak, I was silent for a while, and then muttered: "What you say is different from what the Count said, the Count said, after I go, if anyone disobeys me, I can deal with them as I like, they are my people"

"I know, Vidor," said Alexei, "I know what the Count has told you, but it doesn't matter what others say, what matters is that you have to listen with your ears, think carefully with your heart, why should those natives obey an unknown man?" However, you are my son after all, and I will try to teach you things before you are sent away."

Every time the Count spoke to me, he instilled in me an optimistic outlook, so much so that I longed for the Eastern Forest, and felt that the time had come for me to show my skills, and I often unconsciously imagined the people of the Eastern Forest as Herman, and as long as I gave orders, they would listen to me and obey my will, and at this time Alexei poured cold water on me, and I was a little unhappy

"Alyosha, every time I listen to the Count's conversation, I feel very confident, but as soon as you come, pour cold water on me," I said in my heart, and I stopped talking as my blood rushed to Alexei's pale cheeks

Alexei's nose snorted softly, "Vidor, I said, you have to think carefully not to be blinded by the promise of others, you have to know what kind of Vidor is ahead, in the eyes of the count, you are just a high-ranking hostage" When speaking of the count, I noticed Alexei's disdainful expression, he seemed to be dissatisfied with the count

I had to stop talking to him about these things

After that, Alexei began to teach me heraldry, two-headed eagles, steppe wolves, vultures, galloping horses, and I had to master dozens of coats of arms of different shapes, and the different colors of the same coat of arms, which made me anxious

I now know that the double-headed eagle of the Romanov family is not the original of the family, this is the coat of arms inherited from the Chanda Empire When the empire collapsed, countless big lords, as long as they thought they had something to do with the empire, added the double-headed eagle to their coat of arms The Romanov family said that when they crossed the snowy mountains, they had married the royal family, and no one knows what the truth of this statement is

The coat of arms of the Salanders is easier to recognize, the very simple star and moon flag, and their vassal Creel Khanate is simple, but the white moon on a black background As for the Berks, it seems to be varied, there are so many of their nobles, and they are all equal in the use of symbols, and there is no exclusive mark that can only be used by the royal family, so it is impossible to write down all the flags of the Berke nobles, but fortunately, for the Berks, I only need to remember the coat of arms of the Pilsudski family: the key and the sword

The mountain wind was getting stronger, and my hands and feet were a little stiff

In addition to reciting heraldic coats of arms every day, I also have to go to Renault's tutor to take classes, after the teacher knows my identity, he no longer makes things difficult for me as in the past, and is faintly polite, but I don't like him anymore, so I often don't go to his classes, the chubby tutor is extremely afraid of the cold, and it is really difficult for him to dare to follow him up the snowy mountain, he curls up in his carriage every day, and wraps himself tightly in a blanket

When Renault and I went to look for him, as soon as I opened the door, he would shout for us to close the door, and the cold we brought in also gave him a headache, but he was very responsible, Swadia spoke fluently, he kept saying that Swadia is the most beautiful language in the world, spelling rules, grammar is rigorous, because I write crookedly, he gave me a wax board, every time I finish writing a board, he will take it to point out the mistakes, and then bake the wax and then apply it evenly, I feel that he helped me paint the wax board mainly to hold a candle to keep warm

I used a stick of wood to write stroke by stroke: 'sky', 'field', 'man', 'woman' and so on

The tutor also had a set of books with a leather puff and a wooden case, published by Winterspring University, with a BSP; 'Ma'am, your bag is off'

'What do you say?' ’

'Your bag is gone'

'Oh, thank you so much'

'It's okay'

This was the first dialogue I could ever write, and since then the texts have become more and more difficult, and the more reluctant I have become, the governess has summoned me several times, but when no one has been seen, Torreno has brought me a wax board, two waxes, and a box of candles, and told me to write it myself when I am fine

By that time, we had already crossed the snow-capped mountains

The top of the snow-capped mountain is cold and lonely, and most of the time it is cloudy and mist, and it is impossible to see the mountains in the distance clearly

But when the sun came out, I could see the sky in the distance and a red patch, and on those mornings I used to run to see the rising sun in the eastern world, and see the earth give birth to a blood-red dawn from the darkness

Tomorrow, we're going to get through the last stone fort, and I'm standing next to a rock to shelter from the wind

There are several abandoned watchtowers here, and for the past few hundred years, there has been a special unit that has been responsible for guarding this place until they were transferred by Haraus, and it is said that that the unit was later transferred to Dehrim, and then to the eastern steppes, many years ago, when the Kugit broke the contract and attacked in a big way, that army was destroyed, and after that, there was no news of that force, and there were still some servants left behind on this mountain, they did not know who the emperor under the mountain was, they became woodcutters and hunters, Live around abandoned watchtowers and peddle firewood and fresh meat to anyone who passes by

The Messiah burned

At first a boy began to cough and burn, and the cold spread as quickly as a rumor, and soon Messira fell ill, her face was first blood-red, then sallow, and her lips were pale and gray, and she looked so pitiful, I often stayed by her side and talked to her, and once I happened to meet Yuri to see her, and she buried her head in Yuri's arms and just cried, I don't know why she cried so much, and after Yuri showed me, she didn't drive me away, but just looked at me thoughtfully

When the cook saw that I had nothing to do, she asked me to help the Messiah boil hot water for the Salander tubers called ginger, which was very effective in curing the cold, but when it was boiled into soup, it was so spicy that the Messira could not drink it, and the Messira covered her jar and forbade me to touch her to get the candy, so I secretly took Tom's bag of candy and made it water for the Messira

I told Messella that after Tom's candy had been stolen, Amy asked him for it, but he couldn't get it, so Amy cried so loudly that Tom was so anxious that he cursed the candy thief

The Messira lay sick on a pillow and burst out laughing, and I saw her eyes in the darkness, bright as pearls

She just looked at me, but I couldn't find the words to say

After a while, I fed her the ginger tea and after she had finished drinking it, I turned and left the carriage

Just the day before we were to spend the last stone fort, I watched the sunrise again, and the wind blew my cloak into the air

At this time, someone tapped me on the shoulder, and as soon as I turned around, the Messiah kissed me on the mouth