God of Wine Festival

Raising a small animal can be a great way to cultivate empathy in children. As a potential future monarch, empathy is a very necessary quality to possess.

There are no downsides, except that the animal raised is a bit larger.

"Mmm! This beef is delicious!"

Arthur devoured the steak on his plate with a knife and fork, the clinking of silverware against porcelain making crisp sounds.

Compared to Arthur, Alicia was much more elegant. She sat up straight, holding a knife in one hand and a fork in the other, eating small bites.

"Is this beef from Saxili?" Alicia asked.

Shaya nodded. "Have you been there?"

"No, but I've eaten this beef," Alicia replied. "Are you planning to move there? I heard it's a beautiful place."

Shaya smiled. He seemed about to say something, but the noise outside the window caught his attention, and he turned his head to look out.

The main gate was currently in Eagle's Horn Town. Through the window, one could see the flow of people on the street. Compared to this time in the past, there were many more people on the street.

There were locals, as well as many strangers from out of town. Some of them were dressed quite luxuriously, like nobles from the Imperial Capital.

Young men in porter uniforms were carrying boxes of wine up the slope.

"Shaya! Look, what a huge ship!"

Arthur exclaimed from the side.

Beyond the houses opposite, out at sea, a massive wooden sailing ship was docked by the harbor. It had a large curved stern and a huge bowsprit at the front. It was fitted with several square sails on its foremast and mainmast, and a lateen sail on its mizzenmast.

By estimation, its tonnage should be over six hundred tons. It was a mix of ironwood, which was very impactful for this era. A long, large plank connected the ship to the harbor, and porters were carrying cargo one by one.

"Why are there so many people suddenly?" Shaya asked.

"Because the God of Wine Festival is about to begin," Alicia said from behind him.

"God of Wine Festival?" Shaya recalled. He seemed to remember Mr. Foster mentioning it.

"What is that?"

"You can also call it the Dionysian Festival," Alicia said. "It refers to any festival held in ancient Greco-Roman religion in honor of the god of wine, Bacchus (Dionysus).

This festival has existed since ancient Greece. Every March, this event was held in Athens to show respect to the god of wine, Dionysus.

The impromptu songs sung at feasts in honor of Dionysus were called 'Dithyrambs.'

The end of February was Anthesterion, and the first day of this festival was the ceremony of opening the jars of fermented, aged wine.

The second day was the Water Jar Festival, where people drank new wine and made bets at public feasts.

On this day, secret sacrificial rites were also held—the chief magistrate would offer his wife to Dionysus."

Shaya raised an eyebrow with a strange expression.

"But that was just a symbolic marriage ceremony," Alicia said.

"Then the third day was the Pot-Boiling Festival, where people presented a pot of boiled vegetables to Pluto and the spirits of all the dead.

Finally, in Elafebolion, which is early March, the Great Dionysian Festival was held.

Boys held processions with songs and dances. At sunset, people would drink freely on couches.

People also spared no expense to put on multiple tragedies and comedies for the large audience. The government would invite everyone to drink and eat to their heart's content, pushing the festive atmosphere to its peak.

Although Greece and Rome are long gone, Europe, including Britannia, are inheritors of Rome, and some towns also celebrate the God of Wine Festival.

Eagle's Horn Town does too, and it's very famous. Many nobles and merchants come here to participate. Every year during the God of Wine Festival, Eagle's Horn Town sells a large amount of wine.

But it was banned for the past two years."

"Why was such an interesting festival banned?" Arthur asked.

"Because too many people got drunk during the festival, and the number of people causing drunken disturbances also increased exponentially. Violence almost always occurred during the God of Wine Festival every year," Alicia said.

"This is what I heard from Mrs. Foster. However, wine sales in Eagle's Horn haven't been good in recent years. At the request of the townspeople, the God of Wine Festival has been reinstated this year."

Arthur's eyes widened, his gaze sharp.

"When does it start!?"

"Today is the Pot-Boiling Festival," Alicia said. "Tomorrow is the Great Dionysian Festival."

She paused, then added, "But we can't participate, can we? There's a Wilderness Witch on the street."

Alicia's words were like a basin of cold water mercilessly dousing Arthur's head, extinguishing his excitement and making him instantly dejected.

Then, he said with some anger, "This damned Wilderness Witch! She's a real villain!"

The little lion in his arms seemed to sense Arthur's anger. It opened its massive maw, revealing its sharp teeth, and let out a fierce, yet childish roar.

"Awooo!"

Alicia looked at Sunny strangely. "Is this really a cat? Why does it make such a strange sound."

"It won't be strange when it grows up," Shaya said.

"Grows up?" Alicia said, somewhat taken aback. "This cat isn't an adult yet?"

"Don't some cats get quite large?" Shaya said.

Alicia nodded, "That's true, I heard the largest Maine Coons can be over a meter long."

Hearing that his cat would grow, Arthur looked at the remaining steak on his plate. He speared it with his fork and fed it to the little lion, saying softly.

"You need to eat more, grow up quickly."

Watching this scene, Shaya smiled. Choosing Saxili was the right decision; the meat there was very cheap, as it was primarily focused on animal husbandry.

He would need to buy a lot of meat to feed this lion in the future.

Eagle's Horn Town was no longer as peaceful as it used to be tonight; it had become noisy and lively, the festive atmosphere growing stronger by the day.

For the people of this town, the God of Wine Festival was the most important holiday of the year, comparable to the Spring Festival, so every household would come out to help with preparations.

Tonight would be a sleepless night, but the revelry of the festival seemed unrelated to the castle.

When they woke up the next morning, the entire street had transformed. Ribbons and lanterns were hung above the streets.

The shops and stalls along the main street by the sea had all packed up. Not only were there no fish, but not even a single fish bone could be seen.

The streets were packed with people, some even crowding to the castle gates, with waves of noisy clamor.

Arthur, holding the little lion, leaned against the window, trying his best to peek out at the main street.

Over there, a group of young men, bare-chested, muscular, with bronze skin, wearing ancient Greek-style battle skirts, sat on parade floats, striking each other with swords and shields, making a "dong dong" sound. Accompanied by war drums, it made one feel as if they were witnessing the bravery of the Spartans at Thermopylae over a thousand years ago.

Several more floats followed, carrying dancers in special attire.

However, this was merely an appetizer for the festival.

At the end of the parade floats, on the plains and marshlands to the north, food and fine wine were laid out, promising a night of revelry.