As the three chatted, they began drinking wine again. Even though people had known for a century that boiled water did not spoil easily, most still chose to drink beer or wine.
After eating and drinking their fill, Henry sighed and instructed, "Claude, we'll pass through Ficaon on the way. Go back to my family for me and give my father five thousand Denars. Consider it repayment... I won't be going back. Don't make things difficult for Father and eldest brother."
This time, as he headed to the royal capital to answer the King's summons, the first thing Henry thought of was the home where he had lived for nearly twenty years.
After hearing Henry's words, Claude fell silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
If the second son of an Independent Noble obtained his own fief, it was cause for celebration all around. But he would also be separated from his original family and removed from its lineage.
This was an imperial customary law, and also the royal family's way of minimizing the chance that a single family's web of connections would spread across the Empire.
What if some extraordinary man had a whole pile of children, then married into every noble family around him? What kind of network would that be? Building such an enormous network—what were you planning to do? Hm?
After dinner, a wave of drowsiness washed over Henry. With Ailiya supporting him, he slowly rose to his feet and stretched.
Ailiya took out some tooth powder and applied it to a bristle brush. Henry took it and began cleaning his mouth.
This was a rare item from the Overseas Kingdoms, wildly popular among the Empire's nobles and urban Free People. It was a little expensive, but it kept your teeth from turning yellow.
After