Session 6 Cocktail Party

"How come a famous general like him hasn't taught a few...... Excellent disciple coming?"

"Disciple, I'm half of his disciple. However, he said that he could not teach me the art of war. Even if you teach me, it doesn't make any sense. Leo sighed regretfully. "I remember what he said to me: 'Leo, I don't want to hide it. But there is nothing special about my strategy, and it has long been clearly recorded in the textbooks of the noble academy. Anything is simple in theory, but it is difficult to put it into practice. These things are not so much the result of learning as they are talents. ’”

"But I seem to have heard him say that Ryan was his disciple. ”

"His father is a relative of His Majesty's Majesty. That kid kowtows to the back door of the gift-give-get-tie-should-face, and must worship under the door of Master Thomas to learn. But he's in a similar situation to me. Thomas has long said that he can teach without reservation, but we can't really learn it. However, this kid Ryan did not suffer, at least with the hat of 'Thomas's disciple', his future is much smoother than others. Besides, Master Thomas has no children, and the barony that his next generation enjoys may fall directly to that boy. That's a good speculation. ”

"But, Ashrufat, we're the latest guests in the tavern. I think it's better for us to leave with William Daley. ”

The two of them left their seats. William Dary was heavy, but Eshurufat alone carried him on his shoulders without much effort, and walked out of the coffin.

There was a small accident that night. The stables collapsed for some reason, leaving the horses running around. It took a while for the grooms to gather their horses again. The only unfortunate person in this accident was Ashrufat, whose tall steed was frightened and ran away without a trace. For this, Thomas had to comfort him and give him another horse as compensation.

For the next few days, Ashrufat stayed by Thomas's side. He had thought the old knight was unusual at first, but now he realized that Thomas was anything but ordinary. He wielded great prestige among the other knights, and was undoubtedly the supreme commander. Although there was no authorization from anyone, every knight who joined the camp rightly saw him as the commander of the army. His orders were always clear, clear, and easy to execute, so his men were happy to obey him and execute them quickly.

Thomas hardly gets angry and is always smiling. But no one will disobey his commands. He eats and lives like the most ordinary militiamen, so the militia also loves him. When it comes to reconciling conflicts between his subordinates, Thomas is always fair and skillful. No one can ever accuse Thomas of selfishness, and those who have done wrong or even been punished are convinced that they are not being treated unfairly.

He did the same with Ashrufat. He never regarded Ashruphat as an outsider, and was very kind to him. When Ashrufat followed him to make suggestions, Thomas would never simply refuse or ignore them. No matter how ridiculous this suggestion turned out to be in hindsight. The way he looked at Ashrufat was similar to that of a loving father looking at a child, and every time he could make Ashrufat feel inexplicably moved.

At first, Ashrufat was only in the mood of "observation", but after a few days, like everyone else, he saw himself as Thomas's rightful subordinate and acted as a matter of course according to Thomas's orders. When he messed up some of the things Thomas had told him to do, he always looked back with the same apprehension as a child who had done something wrong. Although Thomas never reprimanded him (for it was trivial), Ashrufat blamed himself.

He also gets along well with the other knights. Ever since he had defeated William Daley at the wine table, who had slept in bed for a whole day and a night, he had become good friends with William Daly and Leo. These two were knights under the direct command of Count Thomas. So as soon as Thomas began to prepare for war, they accepted the conscription and came to the camp.

Now there are two new pieces of news – one good news and one bad news. The good news was that a vanguard of the Greyhound Knights, numbering two or three hundred, recklessly rushed into Thomas's carefully laid trap, met with a head-on attack, and most of them were annihilated. With such a lesson from the past, the Greyhound Knights may not dare to attack for a while and a half until they have gathered enough men.

The bad news is that the Greyhound Knights have received a lot of support from the Paro people. Due to the continuous rain, it affected the combat readiness of other border lords. Now gathered in Berleon were only ten knights (even Thomas himself) and less than two thousand militiamen.

Before Thomas gathers an army, if the Greyhound Knights can gather a large enough army to attack, it can be said that it is quite a dangerous situation.

Thomas didn't seem to care, though. Tonight, a large cocktail party will be held in the castle. In principle, this was an aristocratic activity, but in view of the fact that there were now only ten knights, all the militia captains were invited to attend (according to Thomas, all of whom were knights' alternates). In this way, there were fifty or sixty people at the reception, and it didn't look too cold.

At dusk, Thomas arrived at Ashrufat's quarters. He was not surprised to see that Ashrufat was getting ready to sleep.

"Young man, have you forgotten the cocktail party at the castle in the evening?" Thomas reminded.

"No, I'm not interested. Ashrufat replied politely.

"It's not a good habit. You should understand that the phrase 'do as the locals do' is not something to be said casually. If you want to be part of a new community, you should learn new customs. At St. Jean, this reception is an important event to introduce ourselves to society. I know that you come from the Seven Central Kingdoms, and there may not be such customs there, but since you are here, you should follow the customs here. ”

"Host, I strongly advise you not to go. You don't have the right dress, and attending a cocktail party will only make you more humiliated. In the back of her mind, Carrie reminded again. But it's actually unnecessary. Because Ashorufat himself understands his reality. In the afternoon, he had already seen that Leo had put on his gown in high spirits. He understands that if he attends in casual clothes, he will only become the laughing stock of others.

"I'm sorry, Mistress Thomas. But I don't feel well today, and it's really not appropriate for me to attend this kind of meeting. "Ashruphat took out the magic weapon that would normally be tried and tested. "Being unwell" is always the reason that can shirk most invitations.

Thomas smiled.

"Young man, do you know the way, seeing you reminds me of an incident when I was young. At that time, a kind of gift-giving entertainment was popular among the trainee knights. It's not uncommon for someone to give a gift to a friend, and if that recipient doesn't feel like it matches the gift, they will give it to someone who is more suitable. Until the last day, the gift can always fall to the most suitable person. But if someone doesn't give it properly, they will be ridiculed and seen as a person who lacks vision. ”

"Someone gave me a set of clothes, a set of clothes that didn't match my body type, to trick me. I wanted to give it away, but I couldn't find a suitable target for it. Because everyone in the military usually wears armor - armor is always a thing that hides the true size of a person. As a result, I couldn't find a suitable partner for most of the month, and my partners gave me the nickname 'Thomas the Unassertive'. I wasn't able to give away the dress until I was promoted to knight and left, and the nickname never broke. I've always thought it was a pity. But then there were many things, and I gradually forgot about it. It wasn't until recently when I was packing up my gear that I unexpectedly found the little gift from that year. ”

"However, when I saw you, I realized that I had a chance to get rid of that disgraceful nickname once and for all. Young man, would you like to accept this gift to make up for an old man's little regret?"

Thomas took out a neatly folded gown from his body and placed it on the table. Ashrufat was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses, and by this time Thomas had already left.

When the afterglow of the last ray of the sunset also faded, the world fell into darkness. At this time, the candles of the castle are lit. In the castle hall where the reception was held, most of the people had already arrived. Everyone who attended the reception, including the knights and militia captains, knew very well that this was not a mere drinking party, but an important thing to be announced.

"Ser Aerufaat has arrived!"

With the roll call of the master of ceremonies, Ashruphat walked into the hall. William Daley, who was nearby, greeted him, and the others just nodded in salute. This is normal, the dress he wears is neither particularly luxurious nor particularly austere, and it is decent. And the princess that everyone was expecting has not yet appeared, so no one pays much attention to him.

"Count Thomas has arrived!"

Thomas walked in. He wore a golden-red gown, simple but not tacky. Everyone, including the knights, saluted him, and Thomas bowed his head one by one. Then stand at the front of the crowd and wait for the most important people to attend.

"Princess Irina has arrived!"

With this voice, a figure walked in from the entrance.

The clothes Irina wore were almost pure white. The skirt was not particularly long, and the whole outfit was joined together, only to be interrupted in the middle by a brilliant silver silk belt that reflected the candlelight. There are no common laces and ribbons, no patterns or colors on the clothes, and they completely set off the girl's youthful and sweet face, as well as her immature figure, so she looks delicate and petite. The whole outfit is simple and elegant. Entering the hall, Irina paused, her legs folded together gracefully like a queen.

In Irina's body, there is a kind of pity that matches her identity as a princess in distress. This kind of elegance and luxury, but also endearing, makes people want to protect her temperament, and unconsciously attracts all the men in the field.

Her gaze scanned the audience, and finally stopped at Ashrufat, revealing a smile that seemed to be crying.

Suddenly, Ashrufat had a gut feeling that the princess and her grandfather were not getting along well. But he immediately drove this stupid imagination out of his mind.

He didn't notice Ryan next to him at all. The latter noticed Irina's smile at Ashrufat, and his face turned blue unconsciously.

The band began to play. Although it's actually just a patchwork band, the tunes are all okay. Besides, almost no one in the room paid attention to the music thing. People were talking about the sake as they enjoyed it. Her Royal Highness will announce the official start of the army against Paro today. Although there is no disagreement about the choice of commander - it must be the Earl of Thomas - the identity of the lieutenant is still in suspense. The captains of the militia tried to inquire what the princess was promised of a reward.