The rain stopped on the second day, but the sky was still gloomy.
Kant Hill was shrouded in gloomy clouds for a long time. The last rain before winter was always reluctant to leave. In the next few days, the land would welcome several medium-sized rainfalls, and such abundant rain was very beneficial to the specialty of the territory — magic herbs.
Most of the magic herbs would also grow during winter. Although their roots and plants appeared to be withered and dead, the spellcasters knew that their "spiritual plants" were still nourished by the magic environment and would regain their vitality in the second year of the Month of Recovery. How much they could grow during winter was largely dependent on the last rain before the frost and snow.
Gwen was having breakfast with Viscount Viktor Kant in the castle's dining hall. As the viscount's wife was ill and could not receive guests, and the viscount's only son was not in the territory, there were only the two of them at the large dining table. Even though the tableware was gorgeous and the food was delicious, the atmosphere of the breakfast made Gwen feel quite uncomfortable.
He preferred the lively atmosphere of a large group of people sitting around a table, not like the current situation, where he and an old noble man were sitting across a long table from each other, and they couldn't wait to speak to each other.
"I hope you have a good rest in this old house," Viktor Kant said as he cut the bread in front of him. "This castle is too old. I'm going to renovate it again in my lifetime."
"It's very comfortable here, more comfortable than I thought," Gwen praised somewhat insincerely. "The old castle gives people a sense of security."
Viktor smiled and looked at Gwen. "Your two attendants seem to have left early in the morning?"
"They are not used to being restrained. I let them go to the town to relax. They are more comfortable in the messy tavern."
"Understandable. In fact, when I was young, I preferred the tavern to this quiet castle." The old viscount raised the wine glass in front of him. "Of course, I'm still just a junior in front of you."
Gwen raised his glass in response and said, "The health of the viscount's wife is very worrying. What is her illness?"
Viktor paused slightly, and then a smile appeared on his face. "Have you seen her?"
According to Lilith Kant, it was the old viscount who asked her to greet Gwen, but now Viktor acted as if it was the first time he knew about it!
Gwen concealed his change of heart and maintained a faint smile. "After dinner last night, she came to greet me, but she looked very bad."
"My poor Lilith." Viscount Victor sighed. "Her physical condition has always been poor. She can't see the sun, and she can't bear the noise. So she can only live in the north tower for a long time. She can only come out at night. But she is a very kind person. My tolerance towards the people is largely influenced by her. She always advised me to think more about the feelings of those who can't afford to live in a good house and eat meat, but her own health is getting worse and worse. "
Gwen had heard about Viscount Kant's kindness and tolerance to the people in his territory when he heard some of the servants chatting in the castle yesterday, and this was one of the things that surprised him. He had a preconceived notion that Viktor Kant was most likely a cultist of the Cult of Eternal Rest, or at least, he had been controlled and bewitched by the cultists. That was why he had captured refugees to perform evil rituals. But he never thought that all the words he heard after entering Kant's territory were praising the old lord!
He couldn't tell whether the gossip he heard from the servants in the castle was true or not, so he could only go with the flow and say, "It is the duty of every lord to treat his subjects well. When we first opened up this kingdom, it was to protect our people, not to ride on their heads and do whatever we want."
"Yes, but it is a pity that few people still remember this." Viktor's sigh seemed to come from the bottom of his heart. "More and more nobles have forgotten why their ancestors first picked up a sword. We were originally a barrier to protect the people, a guide to let them live a peaceful life, and a guide to lead them to prosperity and warmth. But now, most of the nobles grew up in castles and manors, and they take other people's service and offerings for granted, completely forgetting that they should still have some responsibilities … Ahem …"
Viktor seemed to be a little emotional, and he could not help but cough. After he calmed down, he let out a long sigh. "Every year, I have to spend a lot of time inspecting every farm and herb field in my territory to get a grasp of the harvest of the year and to prevent the pressure of excessive taxes from starving my people. I also have to spend a lot of energy dealing with merchants to ensure that the surplus herbs and food in my territory can find buyers so that my people can have enough money to repair their houses and buy fuel to survive the winter. But because of this, I have to miss many of the so-called 'upper class gatherings', and the vulgar southern nobles treat me as a reclusive eccentric, a tasteless mediocrity … Sigh."
Viscount Viktor said a lot in one breath. When he was done, he smiled awkwardly and said, "I'm sorry. I have a habit of talking too much when I get older. But I think you can understand me. I heard that you are also very kind to your subjects."
"Of course." Gwen smiled and raised his glass. "This is the duty of every lord."
...
At the same time, in the town outside the castle, Amber was holding a glass of bubbling ale, listening to the farmers and craftsmen who had nothing to do boasting about their poor and boring daily lives. She pretended to be interested, but in her mind, she was planning how many glasses of ale she would need to exchange for what she wanted to hear.
The farming was over, and the weather was not suitable for any work outside, so the rich farmers and craftsmen who still had some money to spare would spend their worthless time in the taverns of the town. Kant Hill was one of the few rich territories in the Southern Territory like Tanzania Town, so the civilians living here would naturally visit places like taverns and casinos more frequently. And for these people, with just a few glasses of ale and a few compliments, Amber could get all their secrets out of them.
For Amber, who had been in such places since she was a child, it was a very pleasant process.
Especially when she did not have to pay for the ale, this feeling was even more pleasant.
She put on an outfit that matched her identity: black leather armor, a slightly shabby cloak, a dagger that poked out from her waist from time to time, and a "lucky stone" tied to her wrist. The image of a wandering warrior was complete, and the civilians were in awe and curiosity of such people, so it was easy to get information from them.
After three rounds of wine and enough stories about the farm and the ghosts in the old mansion, Amber felt that it was time to talk about the feudal lord. He looked at the blacksmith sitting beside the table with a curious expression. "I heard that your feudal lord is a person who is very good at governing a territory. Is that true?"
"I don't know how to govern the territory," the blacksmith said with a breath full of alcohol and a confused look in his eyes. "But Master Viktor is really a good person... Burp, with him, everyone can eat their fill, even in the winter. No one has starved to death in the territory for more than ten years!"
Further south, there was a place where the civilians not only did not starve to death, but also occasionally had meat to eat.
Amber muttered in her heart, but her face was full of admiration. "That's not simple!"
"Yes, Master Viktor is the most benevolent lord I've ever seen," another old drinker said. "But I heard from the people who delivered vegetables and milk to the castle that the castle was quite gloomy, and there was always a feeling of air leaking out somewhere..."
A slightly plump tavern maid slammed a wooden cup in front of the drinker. "Don't talk nonsense! The castle is not your shabby thatched house. Old George who delivered vegetables was probably drunk and thought that the cold wind in the mud pit was in the castle! "
The fat maid said a joke that was not funny at all, but it caused a burst of laughter in the hall.
"It seems that Viktor is really a good lord," Amber said, shaking her head. "But I don't know how the viscountess is —"
As soon as she said this, the scene fell into a strange silence for a moment.
Some of them were looking at each other, some were drinking with their heads lowered, while some of the older ones were frowning, as if they had thought of something bad. Seeing this, Hu Po immediately realized that there was something going on, so he asked curiously, "What's wrong? Why do you have such a reaction? "
"You're an outsider. It's normal that you don't know," said an old man. He should be a rich landlord or a retired craftsman. It was rare for poor people to find an old man who had not died of illness. Such people not only knew about the lives of the commoners, but also about the matters of the feudal lords. "The viscountess … I'm afraid it's been a few decades, right? When she died... "
"The viscountess is dead? He died several decades ago?! "Hu Po was shocked." How did he die? "
"She was a pitiful woman. The whole thing was particularly tragic. That kind of thing should not happen to a good person." The old man frowned. He did not seem to want to say more, but the alcohol made it difficult for him to control his words. Some of the younger people who did not know much about the past also urged him to speak. "Grandpa Sandro, tell us. I've heard people talk about this since I was young, but I've never heard the whole story. You're old, you should know what happened back then."
Amber looked at the young man who urged him with admiration and decided to use the money Gwen gave her to buy him a drink.
The old man who seemed to have experienced the incident sighed. After taking a sip of wine, he slowly said, "That was 30... About 30 years ago, maybe even longer. It was also this month that year, and it was raining. But the rain was exceptionally heavy, and it rained for a few days...
"Master Viktor was still a young man, and he was as fair and benevolent a lord as he is now. He was returning from an inspection of the barn in the neighbouring town. The viscountess was with him, and their only son, Master Belm, was with them. They drove the carriage back from the west. Although it was raining heavily, they still got on the road... They should have stayed in the neighboring town for one more day. Sigh.
"Even if I don't tell you, you can guess. With such heavy rain and slippery weather, something must have happened. The carriage had an accident at the old hillside. The carriage overturned and slipped from the highest point of the old hillside into a mountain stream. The whole carriage fell into pieces... The whole night passed, and no one knew what happened to the lord and his family outside. It was only when the sun came out the next day that the viscountess appeared in the town covered in blood... She almost crawled into the town, covered in bruises and almost breathless from crying. She said that she saw the lord and the young master being thrown out of the carriage in front of her, and no one knew where they were. She asked us to hurry and save them."
At this point, the old man could not help but sigh. He took another sip of wine before he could continue. "We escorted the lady back to the castle, and immediately sent people to the old hillside to look for the carriage and the lord and the young master. But after three days, other than some bloodstains and fragments of the carriage, we only found the carcasses of the two horses.
"My lady washes her face with tears every day in the castle. Alas, she is a good and kind person. She has always taken good care of the poor people in her domain. Since the day she married into this place, she has been distributing firewood and black bread to the poor people every winter. But she has encountered such a thing. After three days, her husband and son were not found, and she finally went crazy. According to the servants who worked in the castle at that time, she locked herself in her room and screamed. Then, she ran to various dark corners of the castle and talked to her imaginary husband and son. Finally, she locked herself in the cellar of the north tower of the castle, where she drank poison to end her suffering.
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