Thirtieth Ceremony

Early the next morning—as Essien had said, Ashruphat had had three days off, but unfortunately this was only theoretical—the head of the court, Skadra, sent a messenger to meet him.

So later in the day, Ashrufat came to Skadra. As mentioned earlier, Skadera gave the first impression of a very conservative and stubborn person, and now Ashrufat fully confirmed this. Because he noticed that Skadra was dressed the same every time he stood in his office. It has not changed since Ashrufat first met him.

"Ashrufat," the court chief was quick to talk this time, and did not waste any extra time. "You may have heard that two days later, there was a public religious ceremony. Skadera seems to be quite disgusted by the Church of the Gods of the Star Field, so he doesn't even mention the name directly. "According to tradition, our queen must carry a torch and light the fire of sacrifice. ”

"Ah, what do you want me to do? The torch is too heavy?"

"Ordinary torches are heavy, but this time I managed to get a small one. Skadera frowned, for he noticed the slightest hint of arrogance in Ashrufat's voice, but he tried to ignore the detail. "It's not the key issue, it's the ...... According to tradition, the king was always accompanied by someone. So this time I arranged for the two of you, you and Essien, to accompany the Queen. ”

"What am I for?" Ashruphat asked.

"Because you're close in size. Skadera replied. "Pharysses is too big to match. ”

"What should I do during this ceremony?"

"Don't do anything. Skadera replied. "Just follow the queen and walk with her for a while. Be careful not to wear armor, not helmets, but to carry a sword, a shield, and by the way, a special uniform......"

Skadera stopped as he saw Essien emerge from the room inside his office, holding a stack of things. It was a small package of clothes, weapons, and shields.

"Alright, Daddy Skadra, I've got things done. Essien greeted Skadra politely. He spoke in a polite tone, but he didn't have the feeling of a subordinate to a superior at all.

"Ah, Ashrufat, you are here too. Essien greeted Ashrufat warmly, seemingly completely oblivious to the unpleasant meeting he had with Ashrufat yesterday. "I've sorted out your stuff for you, too. ”

After saying this, he took his things and left. Skadera watched Essien leave until his figure had completely disappeared, then he turned his gaze back to Ashrufat.

"Let's take a look at the gear you need. Skadera said.

Ashufar did as he was told, and moved into the next room. As mentioned earlier, this room is actually a utility room with various items and can also be used as a temporary dressing room. Essien wasn't lying, Ashrufat needed a complete set of clothes, including uniforms, swords, shields, cloaks, boots, etc., tied into a small but neat package, and placed on top of the shield. The others had been worn twice by Ashrufat, but the uniform was brand new. Instead of unwrapping the baggage, Ashruphat visually examined the width of the uniform's shoulders with his eyes. Based on this, he could see that the outfit fit quite well. Skadera must have found a good tailor to make this dress.

"No problem. Ashrufat walked out of the room and said to Skadra.

Two days later, in the early hours of the morning, I went to the temple in the city to report. I'll be waiting for you there. Skadera said. "I'll bring it for you...... It's just an annual ritual...... Just very simple work, it should be fine. His last sentence was not so much addressed to Ashrufat as to himself.

Not to mention Ashrufat, after Essien walked out of the city, someone came up in front of him. It was the stranger who appeared yesterday and chatted with Essien after negotiations with Essien and Essrubat collapsed.

"Hey, Essien. The stranger offered to say hello. He was dressed in the garb of an internal court official, indicating that he was also a man who served here.

"Ah, Cleo. Essien echoed in the same way. The two sides obviously know each other well and have no sense of alienation.

"How's it going?" asked the man named Cleo, who approached Essien and his side-by-shoulder counterpart, in a soft voice.

"I believe it worked. Essien replied. "But to be honest, is it necessary? Our Skadera Daddy is a good guy anyway, if he does, ......"

"He's a good guy, we all know him. But he was an obstacle to the Duke. Cleo said. "You should think about the good. Anyway, our Lord Skadra is quite old, and it is time to retire and return to his hometown to enjoy the blessings. Rest assured, I will definitely persuade the Duke to arrange a pension position for him, as well as a suitable pension ......"

That's all I can think about. As for Ashrufat......"

"Of course, it's good to let him go. Cleo smiled.

"Didn't you get those ...... yesterday?"

"Oh, to be honest, I'm not a good person. Cleo said. "But it's always a better choice to solve the problem without bloodshed. After all, people cannot be resurrected after death. He said in a tone of half-truth.

......

"You say...... Byron is going to do something to Skadra?" Rafa looked with interest at the men in front of him who had brought new news.

"Well, General, I only heard the news through various channels. I suspect that it was the last Imperial Council that made him more wary of Lord Skaderra, and that is why he wanted to use a conspiracy to get him down. ”

"Let the Grand Director Skadera step down...... It's not an easy thing to do. Rafa replied in a sloquéing tone. "Mmmm, it's difficult unless there's a very perfect excuse. He pondered. "I'd rather have him use some violent means, because then the neutrals will probably move closer to me. But, Byron wasn't stupid, he wouldn't do such a thing. But it's not easy to come up with a perfect excuse...... You go on and say, what is Byron going to do?"

"I'm sorry, General, but the secret over there is well kept. People only know that Byron wants to do something to Scardera, but the specific means and so on are only in the hands of a limited number of people. ”

"Well, anyway, it's a great deal to be able to get the news. Rafa replied. "I heard that you're having a headache over your daughter's dowry, right?"

"Ah...... Shogun, this ......"

"Well, she's a lovely girl......" Rafa picked up a red money bag from the table next to him, the bag itself was small, even if it was full of gold coins, it was not worth much, the point was that there was a large diamond attached to the mouth of the money bag. "This bag of money is a gift from me. ”

Watching the spy he arranged leave happily, Rafa couldn't help but smile smugly. Money, that's a good thing. By any measure, it was a mistake for Byron to relinquish control of this year's budget. At least this year, he can take the initiative to attack, while Byron can only defend passively.

Today's news is actually not particularly important to him, but it has great significance. Because everyone knows that political struggle is, in a sense, a struggle for intelligence. One more qualified spy in your hands is one more chance of winning. As for Skadra...... He certainly wouldn't waste his time trying to save the rigid old man. In fact, if Skadera had made a big mistake and was kicked out of the court, he would have been happy to see it.

The only question is who will replace it. No...... Byron would never do such a thing, he would leave the position vacant...... But now that Byron has relinquished financial power this year, ......

It's strange that for the first time, I have the feeling that I can't see through this old opponent at all. What was on Duke Byron's mind? Forget it, whatever he was thinking, at least for a year, he couldn't make any waves. Needless to say, the same is true for private money. In order to confront him, Byron organized a new army in his powerful south. Building a sizable army was no easy task, and that alone drained Byron and his allies' finances.

The time off always passes quickly. Walk around the city a little more, get a general idea of the surrounding situation, and two days will pass in one fell swoop.

Ashruphat came to the edge of the temple while it was still dark. It must be said that although he felt that he had come early enough, Skadra was actually one step ahead and was already waiting for him here in the temple.

Ashrufat had already known the entire ritual and his duties, but that didn't prevent Skadra from giving him another detailed explanation. In fact, the whole thing is a routine, and it is very simple: before the ceremony begins, Ashrufat also needs to bathe and cleanse himself like the queen. Of course, the "cleansing" ceremony of the guards is far less troublesome, and it doesn't take any three days, just a simple flush with water, and then change into Skadra's ready-to-wear uniform. When the queen was dressed and came out, the two guards followed the queen and walked through the ceremonial square. The guards didn't have to do anything, say anything, just follow the queen. When the queen lit the sacrificial fire, the whole ceremony was completed.

Truth be told, Ashrufat felt that Skadra seemed to have an unnatural nervousness. Such emotions are rare for such a rigid and conservative old man. And because of his age, the old man had participated in this ritual at least twenty times.