It was a special day for the Ansu people.
The Day of Repose.
Every year on the 45th of the Month of Frost, festivals all over the country would be held as scheduled. On this increasingly cold day, the Ansu people would take out the last food and physical strength that could be squandered to commemorate their ancestors and their relatives and friends who had returned to the world of the dead.
Although many people had forgotten the original meaning of this day, centuries of tradition had made the 45th day of the Month of Frost a special day of mystery, prayer, hope, and remembrance. Many Ansu people believed that the gates of the world of the dead would open on this day, and that the souls of the dead — whether they had gone to the temple of the Grim Reaper, the sacrificial grounds of the Blood God, or the kingdoms of other gods — would have the opportunity to return to the world on this day. These souls would come along the path paved by the Death Heralds to celebrate this day with the living. They would also appear at the bonfire at night, in the form of smoke, fire, or shadow to accompany those who missed them.
Therefore, although this was a day to remember the dead, the Ansu people would celebrate this day. They would decorate their houses with flowers, hang grass wreaths on the fireplace or the wall facing the gate, light a grand bonfire, and sing and dance around it. They celebrated this day because they believed that the souls would return home on this day.
In addition to commemorating the dead, the Day of Repose had another meaning for the Ansu in the Northern Kingdom: it meant the end of most social activities.
The 45th day of the Month of Frost was the last day of the Firestone Constellation to cross the Celestial Palace. Its arrival meant the approach of winter. There were still more than ten days before winter, but the weather in the Northern Kingdom was so cold that it was not suitable to continue wasting energy outdoors. Perhaps the nobles would still hold a few winter feasts during the snowy days, but for the commoners, who were short of food, fuel, and clothing, this was their last chance of the year for large-scale outdoor activities.
After careful planning, the people gathered fuel and food together in the form of a last celebration to boost their spirits and pray to the souls of their ancestors for good weather in the next year. The simple people had simple thoughts: praying to the three gods of fertility was the privilege of the priests of fertility, and praying to the Druil for a good harvest would cost a lot of money. It was better to light a bonfire on this last festival before winter and pray that the dead who might have entered the kingdom of the gods would help them and bless them with three to five pounds of food next year.
The people celebrated the annual Day of Repose with such simple thoughts, then went into hibernation after the Day of Repose, just like their ancestors who had returned to the kingdom of the dead, quietly hibernating in the long winter that followed.
In Saint Sunil City, the delicate fragrance of the Death Heralding Chrysanthemum filled the streets and alleys. Even though the entire kingdom was still mired in the quagmire of war, the Day of Repose still came as scheduled. Or rather, it was because of the torrential rain of war that the people urgently needed this festival to comfort the souls who were about to go on their way.
White flowers were placed in front of every house, and decorative grass ropes and vines were hung under the eaves of every house. The adults carried the firewood they had collected to the square or open space closest to their homes, preparing for the bonfire at night. The carefree children surrounded the adults and yelled, fighting and making noise to exhaust their physical strength and energy.
Such a scene was not only unique to the commoner's district. Even the magnificent Silver Castle had a similar scene.
The servants were preparing a huge bonfire in the courtyard. The Knights polished their spears and swords and decorated the long corridor leading to the courtyard. Victoria, who was wearing a white dress and had silver hair that draped over her shoulders, was wearing a long white dress. Wilde stood at the entrance to the courtyard. She held the white Death Heralding Chrysanthemum in her hand and carefully pinned the flower to Wales. She pinned it on Moen's chest.
"Your Highness, I hope you will remember the glory of your ancestors," the Duchess said calmly as she looked at the heir of the Moen bloodline in front of her.
Wales? Moen looked down at the white flower on his chest and laughed self-deprecatingly. He then lowered his head and said, "I will remember it."
Duchess Victoria looked at Wales? Moen's expressionless face suddenly said, "Your Highness, do you know why the head of the Wilde family has to put on the Death Heralding Chrysanthemum for the heir of the Moen bloodline every year?"
Wales?? Moen's eyes seemed to flicker, but he still said calmly, "This is because the Wilde family protected the Moen bloodline during the kingdom's most dangerous time. Just like the ancestors are worthy of remembrance, this friendship is also worthy of remembrance."
Victoria stared into Wales' eyes. There was no pressure in her eyes, but the Duchess' innate cold temperament still made people feel an indescribable pressure. Under normal circumstances, people who made eye contact with her would not last more than ten seconds. However, the middle-aged man in front of her withstood it. After more than ten seconds of staring, Wales looked at Victoria with disdain. Moen did not avert his gaze, but looked straight at the Duchess.
Victoria seemed to smile. She retracted her gaze and looked at the huge pile of firewood in the courtyard, "… I asked Prince Edmund the same question. Guess how he answered?"
"… I don't know."
"'This is to let every descendant of Moen know that it is because of the existence of the Wilde family that they are qualified to commemorate their ancestors in the White Castle, and not in the stable of the North Mountain County.' These were his original words," Victoria said indifferently. "That was three years ago, our great founding hero had not walked out of his grave yet."
Wales?? Moen did not say a word. He just stood there without saying a word.
"He should be wearing the Death Heralding Chrysanthemum now. In a fortress in the east of the Holy Spirit Plains, a bonfire was lit to commemorate his father who was probably killed by his own hands. He finally doesn't have to humiliate himself by accepting the flower I put on him in the White Castle and commemorate the deceased according to my request." Victoria tilted her head slightly and said to the middle-aged crown prince, "Now this role has changed to you."
"I don't think it's humiliating."
"Maybe, but it doesn't matter." Victoria's tone was indifferent, as if she really did not care. "Your father is a good king. Frankly speaking, I respect him — although he may not be willing to accept my respect."
Wales looked at the Duchess in front of him with some confusion, as if he didn't understand why the cold and distant ruler of the North, who rarely spoke at length, would suddenly speak so much to him. Victoria, however, didn't care about his confusion and just continued speaking.
"This country has stood for hundreds of years. Dozens of people have sat on the throne, but not everyone really cares about this kingdom. Your father did it … Whether you believe it or not, the Wilde family has always been sincerely supporting him."
Wales opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing.
"I know what you think. Although you never say it, you also think that this is a kind of coercion and control." The Duchess did not look back at all, but she seemed to have seen the subtle changes in Wales's expression. "But we have our own considerations. Everything is for the sake of the Ansu Kingdom.
"A hundred years ago, the civil strife in the Month of Mist taught us a great lesson. The civil strife was caused by the fight for the throne, but the absurd life of the last king of the First Dynasty and all kinds of chaos during his lifetime was the real reason for the situation to get out of control. From that day on, we realized that there must be a lock on the throne.
"The king is supreme, but the king cannot be out of control. For long-term stability, there must be someone who can control the situation in time when the royal power is out of control. So in the Second Dynasty, we established the system of the Regent Dukes. The royal power will be monitored and controlled, but in turn, the king is also balancing the power of the Dukes. You know this.
"No one can have absolute power in their hands. Any power must have a backup plan. These two points are the lessons that the Wilde family learned during the civil strife in the Month of Mist."
Wales?? Moen finally broke the silence. "Then have you thought of the variables between Edmund and the Duke of the Eastern Region?"
"… The human heart is always out of the plan," the Duchess said after two seconds of silence. "But this does not mean that the lessons we learned are meaningless. In fact, Ansu did rely on the Regent Dukes system to survive the civil strife in the Month of Mist. This system may need to be perfected, but it is far from being abandoned. "
Wales was silent. After a long silence, he raised his head and looked at the Duchess in front of him. "… Why are you suddenly saying this to me?"
"My father said these words to your father before he ascended the throne," the Duchess said calmly. "Three years ago, on Requiem Day, I was going to say this to Edmund."
Wales' breathing paused for a moment at this moment.
"The throne has been empty for a long time. This country has operated without a king for more than half a year, but it cannot continue like this forever. The nobles need someone to be loyal to, the army needs a flag, and the people need to know who is legitimate." Duchess Victoria turned around and stared into Wales' eyes again. "At first, we thought that this war would end very quickly because the army has two to three times more troops and supplies than the rebels in the Eastern Region. However, we have indeed miscalculated. We are already in a stalemate, so we must be prepared to continue the stalemate."
Wales opened his mouth. "I …"
"You can't wait until after the war to be crowned, Your Highness," the Duchess said, emphasizing the word 'Your Highness'. "Edmund will soon realize that he can't enter Saint Sunil in the next year. He will crown himself at any time, and the Duke of the Eastern Region will use his influence to make the nobles in the entire Eastern Region and a small part of the Holy Spirit Plains swear allegiance to the new king. The blind civilians will soon acknowledge this matter. Therefore, you must become the king before Edmund is crowned."
Wales?? Moen's eyes widened slightly. However, as he had already missed the chance to be the king once, he forced himself to calm down in a very short time. He looked at the Duchess and said frankly and frankly, "How many people will recognize me as the king? How many nobles will be willing to swear allegiance to me? "
"The Weald family will fully support you, and so will the Franklin family. We can make half of the nobles in this kingdom swear allegiance to you — at least on the surface."
Wales thought for a few seconds, and after a few seconds, he spoke again. "Then have you considered the biggest variable?"
At the time of saying this, Wes?? Moen raised his hand and pointed at the Death Heralding Chrysanthemum on his chest.
"I have already prepared a trip to the south. I will personally talk to the founding Duke," Victoria said with a serious expression. Even this ruler of the north, who was known as the Ice Queen, could not help but speak with a serious tone when she said this. "I will do my best."
"What do you think are the chances of him supporting me?"
Victoria took a deep breath. "… I only hope that he won't object."
After this sentence, the two of them fell silent.
They looked at the huge pile of firewood in the courtyard, at the grass wreaths and Death Heralding Chrysanthemums that were decorated everywhere, and at the mages and ceremonial officers who were preparing for the ceremony.
The sky gradually darkened, and the dim light meant that the time to light the bonfire was approaching.
The most important part of the Requiem Festival was about to begin.
This was a day to commemorate the ancestors and pray for the blessings of the ancient dead.
However, the ancestor that this festival was originally dedicated to … had now returned to the human world from the other side of the Death Heralding Chrysanthemum.
Victoria?? Weald silently walked to the courtyard, picked up an oak branch placed on the stone table, threw it into the pile of firewood, and then ordered the bonfire to be lit.
Looking at the gradually burning flames, the ruler of the north sighed.
If he only needed to throw a wooden stick into the bonfire, and the ancestor would bless him … That would be great.
。 m.
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