Hunt

Viscountess Margaret walked ahead arm in arm with Viscount Winchester, with Sean and the others following close behind. Wherever the lord and his wife went, each little group collectively bowed and greeted them. They soon made a full circuit of the hall, and after exchanging pleasantries with all the guests, it was time for dinner.

The guests followed the lord's family into the prepared dining room, where three long tables had already been set with knives, forks, and plates. Under the servants' arrangements, everyone took their seats. After a short wait, Viscount Winchester rose from the seat of honor and raised his cup for a toast. Finally, after Lord Viscount declared, "I wish all our guests a happy New Year," the guests raised their cups and answered in unison, "We wish you a happy New Year." The atmosphere immediately grew lively, and the banquet officially began.

After several rounds of food and drink, the banquet atmosphere gradually reached its peak. Compared to the entire Empire, Sean's family's Southern Wilderness Region was no more than a remote backwater. Though those present were all high-ranking figures of the territory, once they were half-drunk, they quickly lost all decorum.

Viscount Winchester merely smiled and did not mind. Instead, he turned and instructed Butler Al to supply them without restraint. He had given the same order at every annual banquet over the years, though he still required his sons to maintain the necessary noble etiquette during dinner.

The banquet continued. Servants carrying barrels constantly poured ale for guests who needed it; other servants brought out large, steaming cuts of roasted meat, filling the dining room with its aroma. When the meat was sliced open with knives, its glistening surface was enough to whet anyone's appetite. Barrels of bread and boiled vegetables were also placed on the tables, along with honey and jam for the guests to choose from.

Only after more than two hours did the guests in the dining room gradually set down their knives and forks. At that moment, Sean's brother Jamie leaned down and whispered something into Viscount Winchester's ear. The Lord Viscount then stood and announced that a dance would be held in the hall next door.

After a burst of cheerful applause, most of the young men and women among the guests immediately rose and followed Sir Jamie out of the dining room. The older guests remained behind, holding their cups and chatting with familiar friends.

Sean had no urge to dance. He had no interest in going to the hall and brazenly displaying his hormones. Just as he lowered his head to continue dealing with the food before him, he suddenly felt a threatening gaze fixed firmly on him.

Sean raised his head and carefully looked around, finally discovering that the gaze came from his mother. The realization made his scalp tingle. After dawdling a while longer, he had no choice but to rise and leave the dining room.

Only after Sean disappeared from the dining room did Viscountess Margaret withdraw her stern gaze. Ever since Sean had returned this time, she had vaguely felt something strange. He seemed to have become somewhat withdrawn, so she hoped he would spend more time talking and playing with people his own age or relatively young people.

Soft dance music was already drifting through the hall. Sean's brother Jamie was dancing in the center of the hall with a young girl. The guests politely gathered around them, smiling as they watched the pair in the center and gave them light applause. Sean carefully studied Jamie's partner. She had snow-white skin, long chestnut hair, and appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen. She wore a light pink dress, with a golden belt cinching her slender waist.

Her lovely eyes, filled with shyness, occasionally stole glances at Sir Jamie before her. Sean did not know her exact background, but she was likely the daughter of some high-ranking figure in the territory.

Sean's brother had turned eighteen that year. In this world, men could marry after reaching eighteen, while women were generally slightly younger than men. For example, Sean's parents had married when they were twenty and eighteen respectively.

Thus, the guests attending the banquet all brought along their daughters of marriageable age, and naturally, those with eligible sons brought them as well. However, the status of the guests at this banquet was ultimately too low. As the heir to a hereditary viscountcy, Sean's brother Jamie would at the very least have to marry a noble lady from a baronial family in the future.

Sean's arrival also attracted the attention of some of the girls present. Presumably, their elders had already introduced them to the main members of the lord's family. Sean had no intention of dancing at all. After politely declining invitations from several girls, he quietly slipped out of the hall to complete that day's knight training task.

In the blink of an eye, several more days passed. It was now Tuesday, January 5th, 1157 of the Imperial Calendar. The weather was clear.

Since its founding, the Empire had always valued martial traditions and held the knight's path in the highest regard. The lords of each territory also held hunting ceremonies after the New Year to display their martial prowess. Today, the New Year Hunt would be held in Viscount Winchester's territory. The women would rise early to prepare provisions, personally fasten cloaks around their husbands or sons, then wait at dusk for the warriors to return home laden with their spoils.

Sean would also join his father and brother in the hunt today. Though he was still young, he had already become a Rookie Knight. Early in the morning, Viscount Winchester left the castle with his two sons, surrounded by Knight Kent, commander of the Lord's Guard, and a hundred Lord's Guard warriors. They rode for the Garrison Barracks in Blue Fortress Town to meet the other participants in the hunt. Knight Boos, commander of the Territorial Guard, would also lead two hundred warriors to join them.

Viscount Winchester's party soon arrived at the meeting point. A great many participants had already gathered on the Garrison training grounds. Some wore armor, while others wore hunting clothes, and everyone had brightly colored cloaks tied behind them. The neighing of horses mixed with the low whines of hunting dogs, echoing across the open ground. The assembled warriors were busy maintaining their weapons and bows, making their final preparations. The north wind howled, and the weather was exceptionally cold, yet the atmosphere was blazing hot.

With the lord's arrival, all the participants consciously made ready to depart. Soon, Viscount Winchester, seated high atop his horse, waved forward. The lord's mounted party took the lead southward, heading for a camp at the edge of the forest near the Southern Wilderness Mountains. The other participants in the hunt also mounted their horses and followed them toward the hunting camp.

During the hunt, the elderly or infirm would remain at the camp and wait. High-ranking figures of the territory, such as Viscount Winchester, only needed to attend in person and preside over the event. As for the actual hunting, naturally, their sons and nephews would act in their stead.

Every hunt in the past had been like this, and the game caught by the lord's hunting party would be distributed as rewards to the warriors remaining behind. In the past, Butler Al had always prepared extra pigs and sheep before the hunt in order to preserve the face of Jamie, the heir.

Sean also brought Torr, his squire, along on this hunt. After more than a month of training, Torr could barely ensure that he would not fall from his warhorse. Sean smiled and said to him, "Thor, my dear squire. Relax... relax. Are you trying to strangle the horse?" After laughing, he paused before continuing, "Don't be nervous, Thor. Just like in training, you can do it."

"Young master, I'm just a little excited. I'll be fine soon..." Torr said as he clumsily tried to control his warhorse. As a squire, Thor should originally have addressed Sean as Sir Knight, but Sean felt that sounded too old-fashioned and had Thor call him Young Master instead.

Seeing Thor's face full of nervousness and his forehead covered in sweat despite the freezing weather, Sean could not help finding it amusing. Laughing heartily, he instructed, "Thor, relax your whole body... yes, relax... be gentle... do you understand what gentle means?"

The knights around them also looked at the stiff-bodied Torr with amused expressions, making him even more nervous. Sean decided that after today, he would definitely intensify Torr's riding lessons. Otherwise, how could Torr follow him back to the academy?

"Thor, when you went home a few days ago, was everything all right with your family?" Sean asked, trying to distract him.

"Young master, everything at home is well. Thank you for looking after us, Young Master. My parents both told me to serve you properly." Sure enough, the moment Thor's family was mentioned, he immediately answered with great excitement. Sean had also kept an eye on Thor's family. Since Thor had become Sean's squire, his family's circumstances had changed dramatically. His father, Master Judd, had been promoted to overseer of the Blacksmith Workshop, equivalent to a technical director in another world. Both his income and status had noticeably improved.

Master Judd's parents, who had practically abandoned him in his youth, had also shamelessly come to visit, intending to repair their family ties with him. This greatly disgusted Thor and the other younger members of the family toward their grandparents and eldest uncle's family, while Master Judd had fallen into a difficult position.

"Thor, what do you think about your grandparents?" Sean asked in an even tone. Sean did not care about Thor's opportunistic grandparents and eldest uncle. But if they did something improper, Sean would lose face as well.

"Young master, I... this..." Thor looked troubled and stammered helplessly, unable to explain himself clearly.

"Thor, think it through carefully. Don't let it affect you..." Sean reminded him. Then he suggested, "You can offer some help when appropriate, but never grant every request. There is no limit to human greed..." After saying that, Sean sighed and, without waiting for an answer, urged his horse forward to catch up with the viscount's mount, leaving Thor behind to think it over slowly.

After arriving at the hunting camp, Sean's brother Jamie formed a hunting party to represent the lord. Sean and Thor naturally joined Jamie's group. The two of them led more than thirty guards into the forest on horseback. Before leaving, Sean asked Jamie for a quiver of arrows engraved with Jamie's name. This was naturally to preserve Jamie's face as the heir.

After entering the forest, Sean's brother Jamie behaved as though he had come on a pleasant outing. He rode in the center of the guards, constantly looking around, leaving Sean with no choice but to take on the task of leading the hunting party.

The forest at this time felt somewhat bleak to Sean. Apart from the occasional touch of green, there were only vast stretches of dead branches and rotting leaves. As the horses' hooves crunched across the fallen leaves, gray rabbits, pheasants, and other prey continuously appeared in the woods. As though prepared for it, Sean drew his bow and nocked arrows, pinning the prey to the ground one after another.

The powerful bow Sean used sent arrows flying like afterimages. Combined with his heightened perception, every draw of his bow meant another prey animal died. This left those traveling with him greatly astonished, and they found Sean's archery terrifying.

As they ventured deeper, larger prey such as Short-horned Deer and Forest Sheep began appearing among the trees from time to time. Sean continued killing one animal with each arrow. In less than an hour, the cavalrymen responsible for collecting the prey were already becoming overwhelmed. Jamie, following behind Sean, was extremely excited. This year, we finally won't need to use the pigs and sheep prepared in advance to make up the numbers...

Another hour later, every horse in the hunting party had more or less some game carcasses hanging from its back. With lunchtime approaching, Sean discussed it with Jamie and decided to lead the party back to camp, intending to continue the hunt after lunch. Of course, not all this prey had been taken by Sean alone. Aside from Jamie, who had not fired an arrow, the other cavalry guards had all gained something to varying degrees. Even Thor had shot a Forest Sheep.