Winter is always something to look forward to. People who have been busy for a year finally have a time to relax, and the joy of the harvest has just passed, and they spend the whole winter in full joy.

Merchants took advantage of this time to hold large bazaars, those who had money in their pockets began to procure food and utensils for the winter, bards patronized the taverns and inns, and jugglers came out.

For the Romans, this time also had a unique significance.

..................

"Catch it!"

In the woods outside Caesarea, a pleasant hunt is underway.

A fat reindeer was galloping desperately, Theodore was dressed in a hunting suit, galloping happily, and more than two dozen knights of the Imperial Guard scattered around, blocking its retreat from both sides.

Theodore was followed not by the "pure-bloods" with a sculptural face, Valense, but by Helena, who was equally excited.

Long black hair fluttered in the air, and his petite body rode on a white pony, clutching the reins and following Theodore, his blue eyes beating incessantly.

Helena, who changed into a brown trench coat and trousers, invisibly added a unique heroic style.

"Valens, block it from the front, turn around!" Diodore shouted with a laugh, "Don't let it run!"

"Driving-!!!"

Valence Pegasus arrived, and several knights followed him, hurrying to the horse.

"Helena!" Diodore beckoned behind him, "Give me the javelin!"

"Theodore catch!" said an excited shout, and threw the javelin lightly and skillfully.

"Haha............" Theodore hahadaxiao, Webber under him quickened his speed in understanding, and soon caught up with the reindeer who were desperate and fleeing in all directions.

"You can't run!" the boy grinned and let out a victory prophecy, raised his javelin, and as soon as he took aim, a sound of breaking the air sounded!

..................

By the river, Theodore and Helena sat by the campfire, drinking wine, and resting with their legs straight, while Valence came by after tying up his horse, and the knights were busy setting up their tents, disemboweling the newly caught reindeer, and washing their faces by the river.

Gently pinching the wine glass, Theodore was extremely relaxed and half-recumbent, shaking the purple gems flowing from the glass, and staring at Helena on the side.

"What's wrong?" asked the girl who noticed that the other party was looking at her.

"No, nothing. It's just a little surprising. Theodore smiled and said, "You are so good at riding, and you seem to be very good at using a javelin?"

"Hmph!" the girl snorted proudly, straightened her dexterous little nose, and had a natural expression: "As a lady, knowing how to ride a horse and shoot is just the most basic etiquette!"

"It seems that my friend is not only a beautiful princess, but also a well-informed lady?" Theodore, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, took a small sip of the wine in his glass.

"............" Helena did not speak, turned her head away from looking at him, and a blush appeared on her face.

"Well, I don't think you're going to turn down an invitation to put on a great show. Theodore handed the glass to her and gently held it in her hand: "Is that right?"

"Wonderful performance?"

"Caesar!" Valence interrupted Helena with a sudden voice, and stretched out his hand to the opposite side: "Someone is coming, it's your Foreign Secretary, Your Excellency Virgil!"

"Frustrated!" Theodore smiled bitterly, "It seems that the venison is not edible." ”

Virgil, dressed in a white robe, galloped in front of Theodore, turned over and dismounted neatly, and quickly stepped forward and bent down: "Salute you, Caesar!"

"Well, my dear Virgil. Dio nodded, "Tell me, what 'good news' did you bring?"

"Your guest, already waiting for you at the castle. Virgil smiled and put his hands forward: "Waiting for the hospitality of the master!"

"Who's coming?" Theodore handed over a glass of wine, "Speak slowly, we're not in a hurry." ”

"Ah, thank you very much!" the elegant young man took the glass with both hands and took a small sip: "We sent out invitations a month ago, and luckily everyone who should have come came. ”

"The lords of Liliang who admired Rome, the nomadic traders from Marions, and our ally, Salald of Salion. Virgil said one by one, "But Archduke Brennus seems to have been unable to come for something, and Aaron, who came in his place, apologizes to you." ”

"Looks like this guy has been busy lately!" said Theodore thoughtfully.

"How are we going to entertain them, then?" said Virgil, "everything that is needed has been prepared, and you are up to you to decide!"

"This banquet is about the image of Rome, so we are going to entertain them with the most haode things. Theodore waved his hand and said with a smile: "Inform down, let's watch the competition!"

"Your will will be perfectly executed!" Virgil leaned over.

"But until then. Theodore patted Virgil on the shoulder: "Let's have a good picnic together, the deer should have been roasted, well, I have brought some nice dried fruit!"

This seemingly childish behavior made him cry and laugh, so he had to sit down behind Theodore, and nodded with a wry smile: "As you wish!"

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"How the hell did they do it?"

In the streets of Caesarea, a young man looked at the arena in the distance, with its white walls and lifelike sculptures, and the entire building was twelve meters high—the height of a city wall.

The bustling streets, straight and clean roads, the layered buildings, and even a small fountain can be seen every other street, which is not only beautiful but also functional.

"How did these Romans do this?" the young man repeated what he had said, "they have only been here for two years. ”

"That's the right thing to do. A middle-aged man rode up and walked up to the young man, looking at everything in front of him with a wistful look: "It's very rich here, and it's richer than we imagined. ”

"Father!" the young man bowed his head respectfully.

"Let's go, don't stay here too long. The middle-aged man tapped the horse's belly: "We haven't seen that adult yet!"

"Will he really agree to our request?" the young man shook his head in disbelief, "It's hard to imagine that he only needs to send his knights to our land, can we still resist him?!"

"There are people on this shijie who can't be guessed with common sense, and such people will always do something jaw-dropping. The middle-aged man thought thoughtfully: "Let's go, since you're here, let's go with the flow." We just need to remember one thing. ”

"Anyway, protect our family. The young man bowed his head and replied: "Even if you sacrifice your wealth for this and let others bully, the family will always come first!"

"It's painful and it's tough. The middle-aged man looked at him expressionlessly: "What would you do if he asked you for your sister?"

"............" The young man bit his lip, slowly raised his head, and trembled his lips:

"I will send her to the castle of the Lord in the most respectful way!"

"My son ............" The middle-aged man touched the young man's head in silence: "Let's go!"

At the same time as the expansion of Caesarea, Theodore's castle also ushered in a round of expansion.

I really don't know how much the architects resented the castle, anyway, the whole building is no longer visible, the castle has been expanded by half from both sides, the original city wall that protected the center has been broken through and become part of the whole "palace", and the vacated new space has been built two new three-story curved buildings to entertain guests, and even have separate water pipes, toilets and two bathrooms.

In short, this thing is less and less like a "castle", much more beautiful, and more refined, but according to the estimation of the architects, the defense power of this thing is basically zero - relying on the thick bluestone foundation to resist a slight earthquake is still no problem, but don't expect to be able to block the trebuchet or something, it is definitely a dozen to wear.

And in this gorgeous palace, a comedy called "Hillbilly" is being staged.

Exotic tableware that has never been seen before, red silk tablecloths with lace, gorgeous silver candlesticks, the entire hall is covered with white marble from ceiling to floor, the floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides are inlaid with stained glass, and the extra-large tapestries tell the myths of Rome from ancient times.

All the little lords stared at everything in sight, some of them had been lucky enough to attend a banquet in Talboa or Haringos, but they had never seen such a lavish setting.

While tiptoeing, for fear of stepping on the velvet carpet on the ground, he muttered to himself: "The glorious cross is above, my God~~~", I didn't know what to say for a long time.

According to this shijie tradition, a super long table made of three tables, extending from the host's seat to two meters in front of the gate, is sorted according to the dignity of the guests, of course, if it is the most honorable guest, they can sit opposite the host as a sign of respect - but everyone is more accustomed to arranging such guests in the front position close to the host, so that they can have space to chat quietly when everyone is eating and drinking, instead of shouting loudly.

The delicate delicacies, served on smooth plates that fill the long table, look so tempting under the beating lights that the guests will have an appetite - according to the so-called "Roman tradition", the guests can enjoy the food before the arrival of the host, and the real feast is just a toast and a few words of good wishes.

Of course, this so-called tradition was all nonsense on the part of Virgil -- a casual one made up to buy time for Theodore, who was out hunting, and none of these people knew what the so-called "Roman tradition" was.

"This guy!" said Salald laughing, sipping his wine, "Looks like they forgot about us." ”

"It's not the knight's job to speak ill of people behind his back. Aaron said with a smile, pointing to Salad opposite: "Huh?"

"Hah! That guy won't say that. Salald smiled and waved his hand at Aaron, "May I congratulate you in advance on a certain gentleman who is about to inherit the title?"

"It's still early. Aaron smiled and lowered his head: "Dad said I need more exercise. ”

"I would like to know, it is the attitude of the Grand Duke of Brennus to this. Salald put his head forward and whispered, "For Rome, and Theodore Julian." ”

"Rome?" Aaron asked rhetorically, "Isn't Theodore our ally?"

"I see. The young knight nodded happily.

"Speaking of allies, though. Salald raised his glass: "Maybe we can go a step further, after all, our two families are closer than we are with Theodore, aren't we? ”

"What?"

"There are times when I know that this kind of thing shouldn't be said at such a time. Salald took a sip of the wine in his glass: "Actually, allies are not only above board, but alliances in private are stronger, what do you say?"

"You're in Julian's castle and discussing this conspiracy?" Aaron curled the corners of his mouth, "aren't you afraid that I'll tell him that you plan to bypass Rome and want to form an alliance with me? ”

"Hah!" Salald smiled: "Speaking of which, I recently discovered that there are actually new ways to say geopolitics, such as ............"

Before he could finish speaking, the door to the hall was suddenly opened, and Virgil's elegant tone rang out from outside the door:

"Great, Lord Theodore Julian, the leader of Rome, the supreme commander of the legions, the first citizen of Rome, the great one named by the gods of heaven!"