The bustling town of Jean, downtown area.
A member of the Old Guard was walking down the street. His attire made it easy to tell who he was.
The envious gazes of the serfs and the complicated gazes of the nobles and knights gave Raymond a strange feeling.
Who would have thought that a runaway slave of Lyonnaise would have a day like this?
Old Guard?
Raymond was quite proud of himself. In fact, he didn't need to wear a bearskin hat on such a hot day. It was now the end of July, the hottest season in Brittany, but wearing a bearskin hat still made him feel a little hot. He knew in his heart why he chose to wear the uniform of the Old Guard back home.
With a few gold coins in his pocket, Raymond walked along the familiar yet unfamiliar streets on his way home.
It was familiar because there were street signs along the way. Ever since Leon joined the army, he had done a certain amount of eradicating illiteracy among the soldiers. After he became a company commander and was conferred the title of sergeant, Raymond was half-force-fed with knowledge. This old guard's current literacy level was equivalent to that of a Brittanian village elder, and he could read and write a few hundred words.
He said that he was not familiar with it because Jean Town had changed too quickly.
It was as if the town was blessed by the Lady of the Lake. Every year, every month, and every day, there were astonishing changes. It was as if the Lady of the Lake had drawn a circle in the south of Brittany, and it had miraculously gathered all the serfs and knights in the vicinity to form the present city. It was simply a miracle.
This miracle was sung by many bards as a poem. It was called "The Story of Spring".
Nowadays, Jean's market had become a large trading market. You could see all sorts of goods from the Old World here. Empire's black beer and all sorts of other specialties had become a part of the lives of the peasants. From the worst quality halfling pig's swill (wine made from halflings' feet) to the highest quality Winford wine, "Lysarius", from the worst cloth to the highest quality Aurora silk. Dyes, oil, grains, flour, from the worst black bread to the highest quality grilled steak with black pepper could be found in Jean's market.
However, there were still some luxuries that the serfs couldn't compare to, such as Lucia's spices and enchanted gold statues, Tyrell's coffee, wood elven jewellery and clothing, venison that was strictly forbidden to serfs, and the most expensive of all, high elven chocolate. It was said that a pound of chocolate could sell for seventy to eighty crowns, and only nobles could taste it.
Raymond wanted to try it when he had the chance, but now wasn't the time. He went to the entrance of the butcher's shop. It was bustling with activity and didn't look familiar. It was most likely a newly opened shop. The owner was obviously a shepherd from Carcasson. Ever since Duke Laing won the battle to reclaim Musilon, Duke Hubbard had decided to learn from Laing.
In the words of the locals, there had been a lot of 'sheep' coming from the south.
There were two meanings to that. The first was that there were indeed a lot of sheep coming from Carcasson, which caused the price of lamb to drop. Every household could afford to eat lamb now, and the shepherds of Carcasson would bring batch after batch of sheep to sell before leaving with bags of gold and silver coins in satisfaction.
The second meaning was that many of Carcasson's freedmen were trying to settle down in the town, causing the already crowded town to become even more overcrowded. This caused the locals, especially the serfs who lived here before Laing came to Gene, to have some complaints. However, due to the improvement in living conditions and the lack of competition for jobs, as well as the fact that both sides were citizens of the Knight King, the conflict was still under control. Laing had already given the order to move a sufficient number of serfs from the crowded town to Musilon's new dominion.
Raymond's family, who had already obtained their status as freedmen, wasn't interested in moving to Musilon, but there were still quite a number of serfs who were willing to go there to seek an opportunity to change their fates.
Seeing that there was actually an old guard, the market was in an uproar. The people were curious and somewhat fearful as they gradually approached Raymond and pointed at him.
"Wow! That's an old guard!"
"That's an old guard that can only become an old guard after going through three major wars and serving for at least five years!"
"Look at the medal on his body! He followed the Duke to participate in the battle of Blackstone Stronghold, the battle of La Mesenelle Abbey, and the conquest of Musilon! "
"What … What a handsome uniform!"
"When my child grows up, I'll definitely send him to be a soldier! An old guard! "
"You're thinking too much. Do you think it's so easy to be an old guard? Why don't you see if your son can survive the three major wars? "
"It's still better than being a serf for the rest of his life!"
Compared to the reverence and worship of the Knights of the Holy Grail, the townspeople felt a sense of closeness to the old guards. They knew that they might not be able to reach the level of a knight through hard work, but they could reach the level of an old guard through hard work. Who would be willing to be a serf for the rest of their lives? Who wouldn't want to be a free and honorable free person? Therefore, when Raymond appeared, the people dared to point at him and talk about him.
He was a soldier from the ranks of the serfs!
Raymond was helpless. He knew that he was a role model and was destined to be the center of attention. He nodded solemnly in all directions as a form of greeting. Then he came to a mutton shop that was obviously owned by a Carcassonese citizen.
Why was it obviously owned by a Carcassonese citizen? It was because the shop had a red and blue Carcassonese coat of arms with a sword in the middle and irises on both sides.
The mutton shop sold raw and cooked mutton. They even sold Carcassonese specialty mutton pies, mutton bread, and mutton stew. The boss was a typical Carcassonese citizen. He wasn't very cultured, but he was a strong and skilled warrior. This was because Carcassonese valued martial arts. In its long history, this Dukedom had resisted all invasions from the South. Therefore, the people here had a barbaric temperament. Facing the harassment of the Green Dwarfs and Orcs from the Black Mountain Range, the best solution was to be more barbaric than them.
"Greetings! Respected old guard, what would you like to eat? Have a seat. We have the best mutton from Carcassonese, raw and cooked! " The boss was surprised to see Raymond. He quickly spoke and squeezed out a smile.
"I want to buy some cooked mutton." Raymond nodded.
"Please take a look. Tell me how much you want," the boss said politely.
Raymond bought two catties of cooked mutton chops. The best mutton cost him a few silver coins. Raymond took the oilcloth and returned to his house.
As the town's security was good, and it was near the city center, the door of his house wasn't closed. His mother was washing vegetables at the door. Though her eyes were cloudy, she was in good spirits. She recognized her son from afar and said, "Raymond! My son! "
This sound attracted the attention of the entire street. Raymond immediately felt like he was being watched by dozens of pairs of eyes. His son helplessly ran up to his mother and saluted out of habit. "Mom, I'm back!"
"Ah, it's good that you're back, it's good that you're back. Thomas kept asking why you're not back yet!" The mother stood up happily. She looked at her son's uniform, and her excitement turned into panic. She quickly wiped the water on her apron and stood there hesitantly. Even though she was wearing good linen clothes, she still felt ashamed. She became nervous again. "Raymond, I …"
"Mother, where's Thomas?" Raymond didn't mind. He handed over the cooked mutton chops. "I brought something good for Thomas."
"Thomas is still studying with the dwarves … Ah, we don't lack anything. Why did you buy this?!" The mother was happy to see her son. She took the mutton chops, and the nervousness on her face quickly turned into complaint. "Why did you buy this?"
"What? Thomas doesn't like mutton? "Raymond was a little surprised. He remembered that his brother liked mutton very much.
"No, no, it's like this. I heard that you were coming back today, I …" The mother hurried into the house and took something out of the kitchen.
It was the hind leg of a mutton.
Looking at the lamb chops he bought, and then looking at the lamb leg his mother bought, the mother and son laughed together. "Hahahahaha ~"
The house was filled with a happy atmosphere.
That night, after the lively younger brother, Thomas, returned, the family, who had been through a lot, finally gathered together for dinner. They never thought that as escaped slaves, they could actually live such a good life.
There were two new maids in the house. They were bought by his mother when she was out on the street. For his mother, who had always been thrifty, it was quite unbelievable that she would spend so much money on maids. However, Raymond soon discovered that besides one of the maids who was in charge of housework, the other maid was a young and beautiful girl. She looked to be about 14 or 15 years old, and her facial features were very regular. His mother told him that she was from Lyonnaise, and when she saw that she was starving and working on the street, she pitied her and brought her home.
Recently, there were a lot of Lyonnesse people in town, especially women. Raymond didn't think it was strange. However, when his mother suggested that the maid be sent to the barracks to serve Raymond, the Old Guard quickly shook his head. "No, no, no, Mother. The Old Guard is very strict. We can't have any family members in the barracks. We usually train together, eat together, and live in the barracks. We can only go home for two days out of every ten days."
"We can't get married?" His mother was very surprised.
"We can get married, but even if we get married, we have to live in the barracks. We can only go home on holidays and Sundays." Raymond said helplessly. "Unless we retire from the Old Guard or are ordered to be transferred to another position."
"That's too strict …" Madam Ferd muttered incessantly, but after learning about the treatment of the old guard from Raymond, she couldn't say much. Like all the serfs in the territory, she had a blind trust and worship for His Excellency the Duke.
Thomas was now twelve years old. He used to be as skinny as a little monkey, but now he had grown taller and stronger. He buried his head in the bowl and took big bites of the fatty mutton. Raymond wanted to laugh. "Thomas, don't be in such a hurry to eat. No one's going to take it from you."
"Brother, you're finally back." Thomas looked up from his bowl. There were some oil stains on his face. "I was spanked by the dwarf master today!"
"Why? Did you do something naughty again? "The old guard was puzzled.
"I said I'm taller than Mr. Deron," Thomas said, a little embarrassed.
"… If it were me, I would skin you alive." Raymond couldn't help but laugh.
"Hehe … hehehe …" Thomas lowered his head in embarrassment. "Brother, I want to go to Nur to study."
Here comes the main event! Raymond raised his head and put down the fork and knife in his hand. "Study in Nurr? Is this the school's idea? "
"Yes. The school wants to send 300 children around my age to Nur to study. The duke has already contacted Nur." Thomas nodded and said timidly, "Nur University's honorary principal, Emmanuelle, has already agreed to this request. She's been looking for candidates recently. My grades are the best in school, so the dwarf master asked me if I want to study in Nur."
"I know. The five-year study abroad program. His Excellency the Duke has mentioned this before." Raymond frowned. The old guard hesitated.
Raymond felt that he couldn't object to Thomas going to Nur to study.
But if Thomas went to Nur, what would happen to his mother? Wouldn't she be the only one left at home?
Would this home still be a home?
"Five-year study … Is it?"
At the same time, in the Fairy Tower in the middle of the lake in the duke's castle.
"Yes. Five-year study."
Laing was sitting with his wife, Suria, Silvia and Olica. He told Suria about his plan. "They will study in Nur and learn the Empire's advanced technology and knowledge before returning to build the empire."
"Yes. Nur is the Empire's industrial and academic centre. The students will definitely benefit from it." Suria nodded. Suddenly, she said sourly, "Emmanuelle agreed so easily."
"That's because I placed an order for 8,000 crowns of weapons in Nur!" Laing complained, "Emmanuelle really didn't give me any face. She asked for 10,000 crowns right off the bat. I had to negotiate for a long time to get that."
"You still have to meet Count Durin and Count Larotte tonight, right?" Suria didn't continue on the topic. Instead, she turned her attention to something else.
"They're old nobles of Muxilon. They've come to pledge their loyalty to me." Laing nodded.
"The southern part of Lyonassai has also decided to submit?" Suria gave it some thought and looked at her maidservant. "Then let Silvia accompany you. She'll be able to help you on my behalf."
"…" Leon couldn't figure out what Sulia meant. He looked up at Sylvia, only to find that the head maid's face was very red, and she seemed to be enduring something. When she saw Leon looking at her, she nodded to show that she had no objections.
"Alright then." Laing didn't think too much about it and agreed.
What the duke didn't notice was the dark elven maidservant behind him smiling faintly at the head maid. Silvia shook her head furiously in fear, while Olica just laughed coldly.
After dinner, Silvia brought Laing out of the Fairy Tower. The head maid whispered to Laing, "Sir Laing, be it Count Durin or Count Larotte, they're both famous nobles of Muxilon. Please don't be rude, or it'll be detrimental to your family's reputation."
"I know." Laing nodded.
"I …" The head maid took a few steps forward. Just as she was about to say something, Silvia's face suddenly flushed red as if she'd been electrocuted. She immediately squatted down and bit her lip as if she was trying her best to hold something back. "Ugh …"
"Silvia, what's wrong?" Laing was curious.
"No … nothing …"
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