In a spacious manor house.

Catherine stood up elegantly, looking about a height of about 1.8 meters, with a well-proportioned figure and a slender waist.

She stripped off the jewelry on her wrists and neck, put on a dark green cloak under the service of the maid, and silently tidied up her appearance.

The loud bell that rang from the town just now represents another elder returning to the arms of Gaia, the goddess of the earth.

It was supposed to be old Duke, who had heard a week earlier that he had fallen into a coma and was on the verge of dying.

After tidying herself up, Catherine carefully tidied up the collar and cuffs for her husband, and then took him by the arm and walked slowly out of the gate of her estate.

The sky was getting dark, and according to Ward custom, it was not good luck to die at this hour.

Catherine followed her husband and silently blended into the procession of send-offs on the street, hugging silently in the direction of the temple.

The largest piece of land on Gaia is called the Ancestor Continent, which means the Yuan of eternity, the ancestor of all living beings, and is said to be the origin of the Gaia people.

In the temperate region of the central southern hemisphere, thousands of cities, towns and villages are scattered across a vast land.

In the hilly area near the southern basin, there is a small town known for its aquaculture, forestry and mining resources, Lok Ma Town.

Lok Ma is a medium-sized village with more than 3,000 resident townspeople, named after its proximity to the beautiful and rich Lok Ma Lake.

The outskirts of the town are dotted with dozens of villages that depend on farming, mining and forestry for their livelihoods, with a total population of more than 20,000 people.

Different from ordinary towns, the town of Lok Ma is not centered on the temple and the lord's palace and radiates to the surrounding area, but takes advantage of the special geographical environment of the mountains and lakes here, and gradually arranges from high to low.

The lord's palace and shrine were located at the foot of the mountain at a relatively high altitude, and the rest of the nobles and townspeople were ranked down according to their status.

It's just that the population growth rate of the Ward people has been somewhat low in recent years, and it has been negative in the last three years, which has caused headaches for the officials of the Imperial Ministry of Civil Affairs.

At the current rate, in another 100 years, don't even think about being at the lake.

In addition, young people are moving to the big cities.

As a result, in addition to a few main streets in the town, many places still have large areas of open space and houses that seem to be sparse.

The temple was even more majestic at night, and as darkness fell, a soft light lit up, dispelling the shadows on the altar and reflecting a solemn atmosphere.

Catherine didn't say anything along the way, and when she met the greetings of acquaintances, she responded politely and softly, and only nodded perfunctorily to her husband's concern from time to time.

Actually, she's not in a good mood right now.

Looking at the tall figure of her husband beside her, Catherine felt a little sullen in her heart, the other party did not seem to be as considerate and gentle and understanding as when she first got married.

In the three years since I got married, I haven't had children.

For Catherine, who is 28 years old and likes children, this pressure is like a sticky potato lump stuck in her throat, unable to swallow or spit out, suffocating and bitter.

She has revealed her inner thoughts to her husband several times, both openly and secretly, but her husband, who is usually smart and wise, is acting stupid and stubborn at the moment, and does not respond to herself positively at all, just perfunctorily changing the topic.

Didn't he notice the longing in his eyes when he saw someone else's child?

As a professional soldier, her husband is away from home all the year round, and she has a small child by her side, which can also relieve the loneliness and loneliness in her daily life.

If she hadn't been raised to be a noble lady since she was a child, she would really want to use her sword and fist to reason with this man fiercely.

You must know that she is also a tiger girl, and her skills are very good.

And the other protagonist of the incident, Knight Matthew Snape never felt the deep resentment in the heart of his wife next to him.

At this time, he was quietly socializing with the white-haired old nobleman beside him, while pondering his own thoughts.

He wasn't really wood, and how could he not know his wife's thoughts.

But he is just 30 years old this year, and for the Ward ethnic group, who generally live more than 100 years, they usually don't get married until after the age of 30.

And when we welcome the first child in our lives, we are often after the age of 35.

Therefore, as an early marriage, he does not have an urgent need for heirs, although he understands his wife, but he does not really care about it.

At the age of 30, he was in his prime, he was born in a powerful family, and he was rewarded for his merits, so it is a good time to seize the time to make contributions.

If you want to have a child now, you will have to spend energy and time busy with family affairs, which is not a good idea for Matthew now. As for the children, just go with the flow, don't force it.

What's more, the eldest brother just had a young son last year, and the glory of the family already has a legitimate heir, so he is not under much pressure.

With their own hearts in mind, the couple followed the procession towards the temple together to participate in the send-off ceremony of Old Duke.

The send-off ceremony is very solemn, and it is endowed with extremely important significance for everyone who was born, lived, and rested on this continent.

It is not only a commemoration and remembrance, but also a blessing and blessing, praying that Gaia, the mother goddess of the earth, will give her children a new life.

In the ballad that has been passed down from generation to generation in the temple, every deceased life will eventually return to the embrace of Mother Earth Goddess, while leaving their life's experience and wisdom in the temple.

These spiritual treasures will be transformed into a special symbol imprinted on the soul tablet in the temple as an evaluation and summary of their lives.

The meaning of this special symbol has been constantly amplified and enriched in the precipitation of history.

It is believed that the larger the symbol and the more complex the pattern, the higher the opinion of the Mother Earth goddess Gaia, the more blessings her descendants will receive.

Even in the legend of the temple, there were people who paid tribute to their ancestors in front of the soul monument, and obtained the wisdom inheritance left by their ancestors, and achieved extraordinary achievements.

Although I don't know whether it's true or not, it doesn't hinder people's devotion in their hearts.

The Wards are a well-known and huge ethnic group on this continent, ranking in the forefront in terms of population, military strength and political influence, and their core is the alliance of the three major empires, including the Wardsman Empire.

But the only fly in the ointment is that compared to the strong bloodline ability, the fertility of the Ward clan is not strong.

More than 90% of the townspeople in Luoma Town were born and raised here, and the mainstream groups, including the town lords and a number of minor nobles, are almost 100% Ward.

The townspeople stand solemnly in front of the temple with golden thorn lamps woven from the golden thorn, a local luminous plant, and are lined up on both sides of the road.

The shape of the golden thorn lamp is woven into the shape of various blooming flowers by the skilled women of various families.

In front of the temple at night, it seems to be placed in a flower bush composed of thousands of beautiful flowers, magnificent and charming.