Albrecht returns to Randolph, Randolph patrols the town of Dung Hill to the north, and Herman patrols to the village of Deot to the west.
A relatively long way north patrol was left to the horse rider Randolph. In the evening, Hermann returns, and Randolph returns at sunset.
Albrecht himself led the villagers around the area. I inspected the roads, examined the territories, and examined whether they were doing well with goats or cows, and if there were wolves or other predators nearby.
The spectacular plains that can be seen from Calteren's territory stretch from the Albrecht room to the horizon.
In Oberburn, however, it was a huge ‘white mountain range’ that crossed the north-southeast and south-southwest.
In the clouds, an invisible peak of white-headed mountains crossed the middle and east of the northern continent with enormous footsteps.
Oberburn was a land where the ‘White Mountains’ curved in to the west and exerted all their strength.
Oberburn's "over" means "high ground," not "over," and Niederburn's "under ground."
The East was as if Korea's Gangwon was a coast, like the east coast, with thin eyebrows.
Most of the major cities on the North Continent were concentrated on the east coast, and so was the east coast. And in the capital that goes around the White Mountains, there was a city like a midway landing point connecting the inland and coastal cities, where Randolph bought food.
Albrecht got up at dawn, looked at the villagers and the villagers from the outside, looked at the grazing livestock, and went east for a while to enjoy the 'White Mountains’.
There was no Internet, no gaming, nothing but admiring spectacular spectacles. But I wasn't bored.
Albrecht's joy was not long enough because he could not leave the castle empty for long. I turned my horse around and headed to the castle, and suddenly I remembered Valentina.
In this era, since there seems to be no refrigerator, I ate foods that are mainly good for storage. Cheese, salted meat, wheat, dried food. And sometimes I ate food gathered or hunted in nature as a delicacy.
Valentina told us to distribute food to people in short order, how much it should be distributed, and cattle as a last resort.
Thomas worked hard to organize and inspect the food as Valentina told him, and distributed it to the people outside the village.
Once again, she felt thankful for what she had done without her. Across the town, a lady greets her new master and asks him how he's gotten used to it.
“Hey, where's Mistress Anzu? ”
“Anjou? You mean Valentina? Haha, she's not a mistress. He was my guest in the castle. Why, do you want to see her? ”
“Oh, no. Hoho.”
The girl smiles absurdly. Do you have any regrets? In such a short time, I thought Valentina had gained people's hearts.
Albrecht smiles lightly, leaving her behind and heading for the castle.
‘An mistress, an mistress......’
Obviously, if there was a difference between Valentina and now, could the biggest one have left the castle empty?
When Valentina never existed, she and Hermann went out for almost three days without worrying. But now, there were only two knights out there, and I couldn't leave the castle for long because I was alone.
I'm not saying I don't trust Thomas, but can I trust him with the castle? It wasn't. It wasn't about trust, it was about ability. Thomas did a good job teaching, but more than that, he seems to be struggling.
Father also left the castle with Mother, and went out in the morning and came back to the castle in the evening. But now he had to go out at dawn and come back for lunch.
When I thought about being a mistress, I also naturally thought about my family.
Am I really sitting here? If you marry here and have children, the Horn Calterns will be here. When my father died, I told him to come back and conquer the realm.
Calternes and Oberburn are almost at the end of the southern northern hemisphere, although there were occasional periods among the lords of this era. It was hard to protect them both at the same time.
You could have sent Randolph or Hermann as Warden of the Territory, but you didn't. I never let anyone take over my territory.
I don't know how many other lands I have to pass through to get back and forth, even if the territory is large. If two territories are attacked at the same time, where should I protect them?
While Albrecht was thinking about the future, Thomas came to the castle and said,
“My lord, you have a visitor. I heard Lord Zigmund sent you. I told him to wait in the Chapel. ”
“Got it." Please, Schwarz. Tell him to come to us. ”
Albrecht steps off his horse and hands him the scepter. I go to Sung Sung and sit in the lord's chair waiting for him, and someone who looks like a merchant enters.
He comes forward to Albrecht, bowing his head. It was not an example of a nobleman to a nobleman except for a king. It seemed ordinary.
“It's an honor to meet you. Lord of Oberburn. His reputation is already filled with the heavens and the earth in the north and middle. The bravery and title 'Knight King’ that you saw on the battlefield is the sun in the daytime sky that you cannot even look at as a person like me. It is like the Cross River in the night sky where you can feel godliness just by looking at it. My name is Nicholas, Lord Sigmund's" alcoholic. "”
Albrecht had a hunch he shouldn't keep him talking for long. Even the simple matter seemed to be someone who could talk all day.
It was the title given by the Lord "The One Who Follows Drinking." It was originally a title created to prevent poisoning of the lord, but now it was just a kind of honorary job.
It could be a very glorious title, and it could be thought of as just a meaningless title, depending on the region and the atmosphere of the territory.
However, if I had a title like that, even the commoners couldn't treat me completely. It literally means that someone gave it a name, and that someone is him. Plus, it's Zigmunt.
“Nice to meet you, Nicholas. So, what's the deal? ”
Nicholas smiled and smiled as Albrecht asked him straight to the point, without saying that he had worked hard for his usual long journey.
“I have come a long way across a hill, over a mountain, over two rivers to preach the word of my lord, Lord Zigmund. ”
‘What am I supposed to do? ’
Speaking of business, Albrecht was originally like this when he told me that he had suffered.
Nicholas pauses, then says:
“The reason I've come all this way is because Lord Zigmunt has two sons up and three daughters down. In the case of the first son......”
For a while, the introduction of Nicholas' son Zigmunt followed. Albrecht wondered why he wanted to do this.
Nicholas unexpectedly introduces the children of Zigmunt, because it seems that the world is in a difficult time to communicate information, it is a reluctance for nobles to introduce themselves or introduce their families to each other as much as possible.
At the end of the long introduction of my child, I finally got to the point.
“...... I'm here to arrange an engagement with my eldest daughter, Maria Hildegarde. ”
Albrecht opens his eyes as he listens boredly to Nicholas.
“What did you say? Just now?”
“Lord Sigmund is the firstborn son......”
“No shit, the last thing. ”
Albrecht couldn't stand the thought of another sullen speech. But Nicholas was still smiling softly without any reaction.
“I told you that I'm here to arrange an engagement with my eldest daughter, Maria Hildegarde. For Maria Hildegarde......”
“No, no, Nicholas. You don't have to keep talking. I really don't want you to upset me. I don't want to be rude to you. From now on, answer only what I ask. Don't lengthen your words. ”
“Yes.”
Nicholas replied shortly.
“I heard earlier that a girl named Maria said she was 10 years old, right? ”
“Yes.”
“So if you're engaged now, isn't marriage at least five years from now? ”
“Yes.”
“Got it. Go. I'll think about it and answer. First of all, I want you to stay at the Chapel in the Castle. These are busy times, so I can't keep people close to me and live well. You tell Thomas. ”
“Yes.”
At the end of the answer, Nicholas looks down at his waist and steps out.
Marriage alliances between nobles were common. Especially in the middle, unlike the north, it was heavily intertwined. Moreover, it was Zigmunt, who was no one else.
Albrecht didn't like him, but it wasn't his decision to make lightly. And it seems to be a matter of consultation, but when Randolph and Hermann's face come to mind, their head twitches. Oh, Valentina. We're almost there.
* * *
At night, Randolph and Herman go on patrol.
“Master, I'm back. ”
Albrecht doesn't look at Randolph, but looks at the fire and says,
“Sit here. I need to talk to you. ”
Randolph sits on the fireplace chair and examines the master's face as he always has.
“A man from Sigmund came by today and offered to get engaged. I postponed the answer and let him stay in the Chapel. What do you think? If Herman has something to say, say it. ”
Randolph and Hermann, the two knights, remain silent. After a long time of silence, Albrecht looks away from the flames and sees them, just looking at themselves.
“Why don't we just do what the master wants? You want to do it, you don't have to do it. ”
Randolph has a keen eye for detail, but he's not as knowledgeable as he is complex.
Albrecht sighs, looking back at the flames.
Hermann looks down at Randolph and says,
“Stupid thing. You pretend to be all smart, and all you can say is that? ”
Randolph raises his eyebrows and looks at him.
“Watch your mouth. You're the dumbest of us. Who doesn't know how to write these days? ”
Herman said without losing.
“If you learn to write, you'll lose your fighting power, you fool! The kid doesn't know anything! ”
“Out of combat strength!? Shall I give it a try? ”
Randolph rises and draws his sword. Herman stood up and didn't draw his sword, but he sat down and stared at Randolph horribly.
Albrecht closes his eyes on his forehead.
“Hey. Now that you've put the knife down, go down and get some rest. ”
Randolph put the sword in the master's words, but he still looks to Hermann.
Hermann told Albrecht:
“I'm not like this fool. Marriage doesn't work for nobles, does it? Then it's important to know who you're marrying. ”
Albrecht stares at Hermann with his eyes widened. Herman was surprised by the surprising truth.
Herman is satisfied with Albrecht's reaction, and Randolph looks at Herman like a bug.
“Hmmm, Hmmm. I heard that Zigmunt is like a king. Correct? Then fight. There's nothing to worry about. ”
Albrecht closes his eyes again. I thought I'd have to think about it alone.
Randolph laughs at Hermann.
“Hahaha! What did you just say to me that was stupid? Have you seen a man named Zigmunt? He was never worth it. It's a trick. A trick. Do you understand? Do you know what a ruse is? Master, you can't be engaged. You can't fight him. ”
Albrecht stared at the flames and said,
“Go down and rest, both of you. Don't make me depressed. ”
The two knights left the room trembling at the words of their lord. They went down to the first floor and looked at each other.
Albrecht sighs and looks at the flames. You've been drinking. Drinking. There are two options: What happens if you get engaged or not?
Like Randolph said, what's the plan? Or is it just like Hermann said, that he wants an alliance? Do I want to get married now that we're all gone?
Mary is now 10 years old, so I can't even see her face until I'm 15. And then five years later, Albrecht goes and gets married whether he comes from there or not.
Even in this era of savagery, people tended to keep their promises thoroughly.
Despite refusing the engagement, breaking it off in the middle was an insult to the other party enough to make the war immortal. Anyone who breaks his engagement openly is branded as dishonorable.
Despite this social atmosphere, Albrecht thought he could risk his life to keep his promises. That is why it was not an easy question to answer.
Then I suddenly remembered the problem I was thinking about at lunch today. Are you really going to get married here and take root?
If my father dies, I must go to CalTerre. No, I'd like to go now if I wanted to.
When you get married and have children, no matter what your heart tells you, you have to protect this place.
Albrecht has decided to tell Nicholas tomorrow what he wants to say no to.
The next morning, I saw two knights leaving the castle through the window, and after breakfast, I called Nicholas.
Nicholas walks into the abyss and bows.
“After consulting with my knights, and considering the bear's proposal on my own, I am grateful, but I'm afraid I must decline." ”
Nicholas smiled.
“Very well. May the blessings of God be upon you, your lands, and your people.“ ”
Then, I leaned down and went out. He rode out of the castle on his horse. I did not particularly show myself out.
Albrecht came to this territory, angry for the first time in the morning and did not patrol. I just sat on the spiritualist, elbowed, chin bent, and deep thought.
< 50 > End