While the convoy was resting, the Lord encountered a large-scale event.
This is May 8th, a holiday belonging to Goddess Damia.
There is a tall stone statue of Goddess in the small square of Yimeier Village. The villagers are gathering together to pray to Goddess of Harvest Damia.
This is a traditional custom of farmers in the south of Pende. After sowing, they will pray for good weather and good weather.
At the same time, since this is also the time when winter wheat has just been put into storage, every household has food, and the busiest sowing period has just ended, so this festival has another meaning.
Goddess Damia is not only the God of Harvest, she is also called Goddess of Protection. Her "protection" also means that her descendants will continue to live forever, so young men and women will also gather at this time to find the opposite sex who they like to drink and dance with.
If both men and women think that each other is okay, they can go to a nearby place to chat alone. If they can talk well, they can swear an oath under the statue of Damia. The local tribune will directly confirm the engagement of the two on this day.
If the courtship is successful on this day, it will be blessed by Goddess Damia, the local lord and all the villagers, which will be more meaningful and legal for the believers of Goddess Damia.
It doesn't matter if the negotiation fails, you can come back and continue dancing and looking for a mate. It can be regarded as a big courtship day.
But this is a more harmonious and civilized one. There is no such thing as snatching a bride. It is more like a modern dance party.
But this activity full of beauty and hope is very dangerous for the lord, because the lord saw an old acquaintance next to the statue of Goddess - General Clerion.
"Amy, don't turn around... I think I saw General Clerion, we have to run away quickly."
The territory of this Imperial General is Calundru Castle, but most of the people under his rule have moved to Imir. Probably because of this, he appears here.
This taciturn general on the battlefield is now standing in the middle of the crowd with a few Radiant Cross Plague-Exorcist.
They don't have any weapons on them at the moment, and they are wearing headbands made of wheat straw to offer ale and other tributes to the statue of Goddess.
This should be the request of Emperor Marius. At about this time, all the consuls and generals will lead the farmers to worship Goddess Damia.
General Clerion is a member of Radiant Cross Knights, and his status in the hearts of the farmers is obviously very high - this can be seen from the fact that he walked into the crowd without any weapons.
However, General Clerion seemed a little absent-minded and a little anxious.
After completing his ritual, he even yawned and turned around to look around, as if he had something on his mind.
Seeing that General Clerion has been looking around, the lord certainly does not want to be discovered. After all, the two countries have not signed an armistice agreement and are still considered hostile countries.
There will definitely be no problem with the caravan. Most Bax lords will not take the initiative to attack a caravan with three noble flags, especially a general like Creon who comes from Radiant Cross Knights.
In fact, Yimeier Village welcomed the arrival of the caravan on this beautiful day, and some people planned to drag the people in the caravan to dance together, but Meitengheim's tough guys were too big to be harassed.
Sarah had already joined the singing and dancing ceremony of the villagers. As a bard, she would maintain respect for any main god, so she played the piano in the small square.
--She can't do it if she doesn't play the piano. Many men in the village are staring at her. If she doesn't play the piano, she has to be invited to dance...
This is after all a mating festival...
Sarah is very calm. She has been to Bax before and this is not the first time she has encountered this festival. She can adapt to it.
But the lord cannot take the lead. General Clerion has seen Li Ang, and he knows that he is a kidnapper...
Therefore, before being discovered, the lord took Amy and planned to hide away quickly.
Risadiran was peeping behind the big tree at the entrance of the village. When he saw Li Ang turning around and coming out, he covered his hood and came over.
"Sir, have you encountered an enemy? Do you need me to kill that guy?"
Elf Killer's recent work attitude has been quite proactive...
"No, this is someone else's territory. Don't mess around. We can just go outside the village and guard the carriage."
The lord doesn't want to cause trouble, he just wants to avoid it.
Sarah is a bard. He is very popular during this festival, so there will be no problems.
Meitengheim people No need to worry.
Although the macho men are thick and strong, these villagers are not hostile to them. After all, Meitengheim Mercenaries can often be seen in Bax.
As the enemy countries of the Bacchus Empire, Meitengheim people and Baxian are actually natural allies, because Bacchus Empire and Barkley have always been hostile.
In fact, Bacchus Empire is hostile to most countries...
Although today's Bax is a little more downtrodden than before, after all, our ancestors were more prosperous - the broader our ancestors' countries, the more enemies they had.
So now Bax probably only has one ally with Meitengheim.
The first stop for most Meitengheim Mercenaries to seek life in Pande is also Bacchus Empire.
However, according to Frederi - the current bid of Baxian is really too low, and it cannot catch up with the fraction of Fieltzwe people.
In fact, the lord understands very well that cities in Fieltzwe are generally chaotic and have a lot of commercial and trade activities, so the demand for big bodyguards must be stronger.
In recent years, Bax has become more plentiful due to the reform of Emperor Marius, and now there is not much demand for mercenaries, so Meitengheim people will eventually go to the western coast to pick up business from Fieltzwe.
Imir has a very good attitude towards the caravan. No one needs to worry. The only one who needs to worry about General Clerion is actually Li Ang - mainly because he has kidnapped two governors in front of Creon and is a dangerous person.
In fact, it is just a coincidence that in the entire Bacchus Empire, there are only a few people who can know the lord. It is said that it is not that easy to run into...
Including Amy, probably no one knows him, except for the two governors who were kidnapped.
Li Ang told Amy not to look back, just to cover himself - taking a girl away with him at this time is the least noticeable way.
However, just when the lord was about to sneak out of the village with Amy, General Clerion, who was absent-minded, seemed to see Amy carrying a musket.
He probably didn't recognize Amy either, but he probably recognized the musket - a weapon only possessed by Barkley.
So, the general said a few words to the people around him, pointed this way, and then several plague exterminators ran this way.
"Teacher, they seem to be targeting me... You leave the village first, and I will send them away."
Amy glanced calmly, and then sent the lord and Risadiran away.
She knew that General Clerion must know the lord.
But she herself had been at a high place White Deer Fortress, and these Radiant Cross Plague-Exorcist had never been on the city wall, so it was impossible for them to recognize her.
Amy's eyesight is quite good, or this is a girl's instinct - she can tell at a glance whether others are staring at her or others.
So Amy turned around directly and faced those exterminators.
Li Ang put on a hood, covering half of his face, and walked out of the village with Risadiran, avoiding General Clerion's gaze.
"Gentlemen, you seem to be chasing me? What's the matter?"
Amy stood in front of the exterminators with a smile.
"This lady... Well, I'm sorry, you don't seem to be from Barkley... But the general asked us to ask, are you from that caravan? Where did the firearms on your body come from?"
Seeing that Amy pointed it out directly, several of the exterminators were relieved. After taking a closer look at Amy, their attitude seemed much kinder. The questions were also very direct, and they did not seem to be hostile, just ordinary inquiries to strangers.
"I'm protecting the caravan. You don't want to rob my matchlock gun, do you? This is my trophy. If you dare to mess around, I swear I will fight you to the end!"
Amy glanced sideways and took a step back pretending to be wary.
"No, no, no, we are just asking out of curiosity, nothing else. I wish you good afternoon and welcome you to join Goddess Damia's festival, beautiful lady..."
Several of the plague exterminators quickly put on smiles and then retreated. They did not want to be misunderstood as robbers.
And since it is a 'trophy', it is obviously hostile to the Bacchus Empire, so it is fine and can be repaid.
Amy looked behind him three times and slowly walked out, watching the few epidemic hunters return to General Clerion.
Then General Clerion looked at Amy, but suddenly seemed to be interested and walked over on his own.
And he was walking very quickly.
Amy simply stood and waited again.
She already knows that Creon's men won't do anything to her. It is said that Radiant Cross Knights's people are basically decent.
But the first words General Clerion came to Amy scared her...
"Dear young lady, can I treat you to a casual meal?"
Hiss...
Amy was really confused now. She was often invited to dinner by men, and all the knights Lion Knight and White Deer Fortress wanted to invite her to dinner.
However, being invited by an old man in his fifties, except for her father Godric, has never happened...
But Creon's face looks very serious, and he doesn't seem to have any intention of teasing?
Even if this festival is special, it should be an invitation to dance...
Radiant Cross Knights's Sergeant Major shouldn't be that kind of person, right?
"Um... you should be General Clerion, right? What do you want from me?"
Amy shook his head in disbelief, mentally assessing Creon's age.
She must be in her fifties at least, and her children are probably much older than herself...
Isn't this the right age to treat an eighteen-year-old girl to dinner?
"Ah, don't get me wrong, I'm not very good at talking... I just want to ask, you don't seem to be married yet? I hope you can help me..."
General Clerion seems to be really not very eloquent, and he probably doesn't know how to deal with women at all...
Amy is sweating.
Sarah should be better at handling this kind of situation, but Amy has never had this experience and doesn't know what to do!
"General Clerion, I'm not going to think about marriage yet... Well, I have something else to do, so I'll take my leave..."
Amy looked around and saw that Sarah was still playing the piano and would be unable to get away for a while.
So she hurriedly ran to Sarah - she knew that Sarah was very good at dealing with these troubles.
Sarah saw Creon's actions, and obviously also saw the embarrassment on Amy's face. He stood up and apologized to the men around him, and then came over.
"Alas... Miss, this is a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding... I didn't mean it like this, I just..."
Creon also looked embarrassed. Although he was not very eloquent, he must have known in his heart that Amy must have misunderstood.
But he could only shout a few times from behind, but he couldn't explain clearly.
Sarah didn't hear clearly what Creon said. Seeing Amy running over with a stiff expression, he hugged Amy: "What's wrong?"
"This general actually asked me if I was married, and said he wanted to treat me to dinner... Am I meeting an old gangster?"
Amy's panicked look made Sarah laugh.
Sarah has been watching Creon's reaction and knows that there should be no problem. After all, no big noble will act like a hooligan in front of the people. What a loss of status...
"It's okay Amy, he probably means no harm."
Of course, Sarah could tell at a glance that Creon didn't have any messy thoughts. She stepped forward and asked Amy to hide behind her.
"General Clerion, I know you, but you seem to scare my sister."
"Sorry, ladies, I'm just... well, to be honest, I'm looking for a suitable dance partner for my son, and this lady happens to be... well, I don't know what to say..."
Creon's face looked even stiffer. He originally came to invite you out of politeness, but he was really unable to speak...
Sarah was quite surprised. "General, how could you personally come forward for such a thing? And in an environment with so many people..."
Indeed, for nobles, this kind of thing is usually done by maids.
A great lord would not invite a girl in public. No matter what the reason is, even if the girl is a civilian or a mercenary, for someone with the status of Creon, this is a very impolite behavior.
Sarah looked at it carefully. The general was wearing Radiant Cross Plague-Exorcist's uniform, imperial infantry armor, and had no coat of arms on his body. Only the plague exterminator behind him was holding his military flag.
The military flag is a golden falcon, which is the iconic flag awarded to the leader of the Pande aboriginal people after the Emperor Marius reform. The yellow and brown background is also the iconic color of the Bacchus Empire after the reform - expressing the peaceful coexistence of the two ethnic groups, the Bax and the Pande.
So Sarah understood it at once - Creon was a high-ranking officer from a civilian background, and he might not pay much attention to the etiquette among nobles. Moreover, he didn't know that Amy was a noble girl, so he probably thought that Amy was a businessman or a mercenary.
"I know this is a bit rude. I'm worried that I'll never see your caravan again after it leaves. I'm really a little anxious... That's it..."
It turns out that Creon's son Lord Dean is already thirty-three years old, but he has never been married.
And Emperor Marius once issued a decree that if a man over thirty-two years old or a woman over twenty-eight years old has not married, he will be found guilty and required to serve in hard labor. This is a policy formulated for the purpose of increasing the population, and it treats everyone equally. Everyone must abide by it, including the consuls.
Emperor Marius also specifically stipulates that old cows are not allowed to eat young grass, and the age difference between husband and wife must not exceed twenty-five years. Both couples who violate the rules must be jailed, so as not to increase the population and waste resources.
Creon himself is a staunch supporter of Emperor Marius's reforms. Of course he has to abide by the law. As a result, his son was personally sent to serve three months of hard labor last year...
If his son doesn't find a girlfriend this year, he will have to go to the mine to move rocks for another three months...
As a father, Creon certainly feels sorry for his son, and he also hopes that his son will start a family as soon as possible.
But Lord Dean has a stubborn temper...
Dean is the first batch of beneficiaries of Marius Reform. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Siyuan City, he became a believer of Goddess of Harvest Damia and is particularly good at water conservancy engineering and agricultural construction.
Since he was twenty years old, he has been participating in agricultural construction in various places in the Bacchus Empire, and has been quite effective.
For this reason, he accumulated a lot of meritorious service and was named the lord of Imir - this place has been stable for more than 20 years, and there is a lot of wasteland around it, which is very suitable for agriculture.
However, I don't know whether this guy Dean is selfish or has a wrong orientation. Anyway, he has not been interested in women for more than ten years...
Creon has arranged dozens of blind dates for him, including noble girls and beautiful commoner women, but none of them were successful.
Dean looked down on ordinary girls. He felt. "Just saying a word to them is a disaster. I can't stay with a woman who screams when she sees a sword. Moreover, they have no knowledge and are too stupid to communicate."
General Clerion said, these are the original words of Dean.
Royal Academy students may really look down on village girls...
So Creon is quite anxious - he thinks that his son probably likes female warriors who are knowledgeable and talented.
This is really hard to find.
After meeting Amy, he felt that this seemed like a good opportunity!
Because the way Amy is carrying a gun and holding a sword, she is definitely not an ordinary girl.
Just by looking at her, she felt that she was an educated female warrior - she had no knowledge and could not use a musket, and she was neither humble nor arrogant in the face of several soldiers, which shows her courage.
Moreover, a general like Creon who has experienced hundreds of battles can tell that Amy must have seen war and been on the battlefield.
So Creon feels that this is definitely someone his son likes, and it probably fits Dean's expectations.
He didn't know that this was Godric's daughter. Amy claimed to be 'protecting the caravan'. He thought Amy was just a female mercenary.
There is really no need for a general to go around in circles with a mercenary and play with the etiquette of aristocrats. It is normal to talk about things - just like the grandparents in the park who are looking for a partner for their children.
Sarah has already begun to shake his head. "General, in your capacity, you can find a willing girl in the village first, and directly make an engagement for Lord Dean, so as to avoid the guilt and then solve the problem slowly... At most, you can cancel the engagement later."
General Clerion nodded sadly. "That's what I thought! But Dean is a bit... a bit stubborn! He has no interest in those women and is not willing to listen to my arrangements. Today was a good opportunity. He is Goddess Damia believer, I also arranged for an older girl who is also troubled by the law... He originally agreed, but today he went back on his word and hid at home - but if this matter is not resolved, he will have to go mining again in half a month!"