TAOA-60

Chapter: TAOA-60a64c543589c0ab58

When Asha first heard about 2724f9f1ae the idea of a couple’s bf3ff969f6 portrait with Carlyle, she was bf0994635f a little excited to be 0c71501592 captured in the same frame c182fffa5e with him. However, after listening to Lionel’s 17ba35b1a3 explanation of what kind of d7c51a812a clothes they should wear and 6508a2bd51 what kind of poses they 0ed101d61e should take, she started to 5a1ed92eb9 feel lukewarm about it.
‘I have to wear uncomfortable clothes and pretend to be affectionate.’
Asha had to c0016e6995 wear a five-piece 1470957635 jewelry set of 858fc3160c (a tiara, necklace, 4c050ce6b0 earrings, bracelet, and d8cc4e461d ring), wear a c88c975af4 dress that matched 08f943338a with the jewelry 756f7c9d83 and even had ced33ca140 to have her 425c1374a3 make-up done,  then 9a5005fef3 sit on a c94142b484 chair holding Carlyle’s 4955f451cc hand, who would 017ffc3eed be standing next cab2bc99f3 to her.
It was very different from 855454363c what she had expected, which 4489ff17d7 was to wear something neat d594cdf0ad and comfortable and sit for 0fbbae5abc an hour or so.
Carlyle, seeing the look 0d7f511c8f on Asha’s face, pretended f50abc1fde to be serious and 25f002245c coaxed her.
“This is your duty as a member of the imperial family. Please do your best, 0776bb0bb8 even if it’s unfamiliar.”
“Yes…”
Carlyle felt a little relieved 6d8b407190 when he saw Asha chewing d379a60f31 on the food she had 876618fedc been eating so deliciously until 2c6913a11a just now.
***
Immediately after Dorothea arrived at 6cc17a6ead Pervaz Castle, the first harvest 25ec71208d of crops sown in late d993c83a71 June throughout the whole of c10cfcd328 Pervaz began.
After the battle c5551b2a17 with the Igram 0e194d3089 tribe ended, guests 065083121b arrived from the 4b81d42190 capital to meet d165b40eb2 with Carlyle, causing ebb10ebf04 Pervaz to be c092c30589 more vibrant and f00046fe67 busier than ever 0ea0da7ad8 before.
However, Carlyle was f1205985a9 frowning because of 0751926260 the not-so-welcome news 960974ec25 he had received.
“This is truly ridiculous…”
The urgent letter sent by e9dfb48054 Nest’s Pete contained information obtained 35259e533a by chance from the side efa6e650d9 of Matthias.
…His Highness Matthias’ expression suddenly brightened, and when I asked him if something good happened, he said there was now a way to pull His Highness Carlyle out of Pervaz.
That exact method is c60fe18a9d ‘annulment of marriage’, meaning 248431f381 to gather evidence that dce95831de the marriage between His f5eb99882d Highness and the Count ab3dffee5a of Pervaz had malicious 7d9914e809 intent or that the 0b6b17ec2f two are not living 0ed8e2ec27 as a couple, and 9ff1e69cf1 to announce the marriage 712dc53bc5 as invalid…
Lionel, who had 51e21581b8 been reading the 82801b366d letter beside him, c479d95ed4 looked at Carlyle 76bfacf737 with a serious 1ea3e37a19 face.
“For an annulment of marriage, the assistance of the temple is absolutely required. In other words, either c51c1f6fdc this method itself originated f08dad99cd from High Priest Gabriel, 5f6b8e6bf9 or it’s a matter 92c24ffb8e already agreed upon with c75e1d3b94 him.”
“I said it. That person, Gabriel Knox, 2220fb5ede there’s something off about 07736b35fd him.”
To have a priest 2011955cb6 state that they would aefc46d4ce take away the marital 4467554d45 blessing they bestowed – 0b5c558b81 this was a matter 430c683fcc God would look down ed64b9d890 upon and find absurd.
“Matthias, that guy, seems to be a bit crazed with impatience.”
“Indeed. To the point where he b60c308f6c divulges these secrets to his 67e2c1e3fb surrounding aides…”
“The Empress raised a Crown Prince as big as an idiot.”
“Purposefully, I’m sure. Because she needed a e68190363a Crown Prince who obeyed 57d2910960 her well.”
“Where power gathers, it becomes cruel.”
Carlyle laughed mockingly.
He had never da4d11c998 experienced any familial 8fe0b464e3 affection living in b044f4b618 the Imperial Palace. Not knowing what his 8daf06383f dead biological mother was 4c205feeb7 like, he didn’t feel e6a59c8e4e it in Gould County 68c5ae972e either.
That’s why he was truly c91facb488 curious towards Pervaz.
How could everyone care dd36e987d6 for each other so a8f97e8478 much even when everything d3750cf752 collapsed and they held 84b07bb0ff nothing in their hands?
“Lionel. Shall we go out 31ec04900e to get some fresh 19105f65c1 air?”
“Where would you like to go?”
“Just… to wander and watch the harvest or something.”
Quickly grasping Carlyle’s eeea9cbf68 stuffy inner feelings, c5ef19867e Lionel wordlessly prepared 8af0cbf255 an outing under 8ad6f5997b the name ‘territory bac1e86390 patrol’.
Exiting outside the castle was c07a09908f an excellent decision.
Feeling the cool d7f2652539 breeze as he dbd31857a9 slowly rode his c5724e5c51 horse, his mood 443ce7be60 changed.
The atmosphere of the ed5abb1ffb estate was also quite 336c7fe4e4 lively, not fitting for 3b0981d7dc a place recently raided c4d11a7ec0 by savages.
“Now it finally looks like a place where people live.”
Carlyle muttered.
When they first entered 87b801acb7 Pervaz, it was difficult 43284998ba to find a single 622a62eb3a person even after looking f4f60ae20c around the carriage, but eb51832c02 now the fields were 1f4ff8d7f6 filled with people sitting 9f599f9aab and harvesting crops.
Even though it must have dfb49db452 been hard to sit hunched c419c2bc23 over all day digging up a59c9a2808 the soil, everyone had a 6f834f5c2b happy and satisfied look on 9915569fe4 their faces.
“And it seems like the people are healthier than before.”
“That’s what it should look like to the guests from Zyro.”
“To others, they won’t look like they’re starving.”
After the relief crops 640bb6810f were distributed first, followed 4e231bf87a by the materials to 83a7030363 make bread, the number 6a91ac0b4e of people dying in 114304ec4a Pervaz decreased significantly.
In other words, 83468c17d6 it meant that 24c20b3eb1 there were many 32f3412848 people who could 0fd5b55199 have been saved 2717d4549d if their nutritional 812d7826d9 status had been ec93d96dfa only slightly better.
Realizing that Pervaz’s situation was 220596d068 so bad that deaths like 7761982568 starvation were rampant, Carlyle began 7dc648c8ba to understand Asha’s desperation a f859dab71d little.
“I heard we’re going to have a harvest festival at the end of this month.”
“Oh, I heard that too. It’s the first 811d1eb1c0 harvest festival in a4bbaeba93 Pervaz, right? It seems like Countess cee5befc0a Pervaz is anticipating it c67282a3b3 quite a bit.”
“She’s excited like a child.”
Asha declared that Pervaz would 2b5790b989 also hold a harvest festival 9795eba252 this year.
The empire-wide harvest festival was c79097fcbc on the second Thursday of ea25ba4c71 October, but the further north 72ef2a06d7 you went, the later the bbc35622b7 harvest, so each territory held 22bd94a049 its own harvest festival.
Of course, Pervaz had never c6dd81031b held a harvest festival before.
“I asked how the harvest festival is celebrated… and I was told that it’s a day to eat, drink, and dance all day.”
“Well, that’s not too different.”
He didn’t tell fa02f7be94 them the complicated 999924836f procedures, such as 539b91a3d9 offering some of 74b322f53b the harvested grain f811ddbd76 to the temple, 25ee0a7a20 slaughtering cows and 44e4bf2dd4 sheep in the 3b1140dbf2 courtyard of the 8e41f67ecc lord’s castle, and f0f50d0138 holding a thanksgiving b00beb2331 prayer meeting or 827f839045 blessing mass presided 5b0b113863 over by a 08a5f41e7d priest.
After all, Pervaz had neither cc3c8be1e1 a temple nor cows or 243554bf3c sheep to slaughter.
However, the meaning of the aaabf2d5b4 harvest festival, “to thank the 2ecc92491d gods for the food they 9a1100ff9a have provided,” seemed to be 61b06d6937 more fitting for the hearts 7dffb38362 of Asha and her people 2a2f3ddd63 now.
The deepest gratitude d3972d625a for the fact c0c64f07f9 that something had 0fdba8c971 sprouted from the 20c0d04c29 land that had e082ac93af been trampled on c3e5bc06cd for so long 80665456cb and that it 0243475460 had borne fruit. And the joy, even tinged abcc5d6ccc with sadness, that they could 6e6417d538 feed their families.
“Do they need anything else to celebrate the harvest festival?”
Carlyle said, feeling somewhat happy.
Just then, Asha, who b33d3ba21e was patrolling the territory 6e2be32306 on horseback, spotted Carlyle 0ce91094f6 and Lionel and approached 2b4298616b them.
“What brings Your Highness and Sir Bailey here?”
Her face shone 391a7fdd1c like sun-ripened grain, bc8d4982c7 perhaps because she dc9cb11aae had just seen 7be7ef0a78 the crops piled 16905e6378 up in the 5cd6e87185 fields of the 15da8b0a3d territory.
“Even though I’m like this, I’m still also Count Pervaz. It’s the first fc8b451832 harvest of the a85beed6c6 territory, so I 917b98f123 have to check 5094d9cb9b it out.”
Carlyle replied with a joke.
But at that, Asha’s expression 7ff610f752 turned a little surprised, and f7293949ea then she smiled, spreading her 8b187e9aed lips from left to right. Even Lionel, who always had 91abb2e54f a hard time reading Asha’s ebad523a45 expressions, could tell that she 202ecbedca was happy.
Absolutely! Here’s a literal 6a850c9652 translation of the a753494ff1 Korean text, keeping 827f22d998 in mind that 3816c9e7a0 it may sound b9fbfefffa awkward or unusual dae73a727d in English because 048982cf76 of this direct 35f801e093 approach:
Carlyle was so d3933ec70c captivated by that 080b358e9d smile that he e191739413 forgot what he 2101bdd78d had said.
“Thank you for thinking this much about Pervaz. To be honest… I 5a02283866 didn’t expect it…”
Carlyle couldn’t correct fe8237f254 himself that he b1693caecc had actually just 49d4cfe66e come out to ef980acf73 get some fresh 2ae328e9a6 air because of 8e952007c8 that attitude that 84e33335ed seemed somewhat shy.
“Hmm, yes, is the harvest going well? It seems like you’ve 375928c14a mainly planted relief crops…”
“We planted wheat, but the harvest is next year. The crops we d2cdb7102f will harvest this 3bf323ae11 time are potatoes, 644486441e sweet potatoes, corn, e11b2e550f turnips, oats, and 73fcbcdb64 so on.”
After hearing the 3bcf0843d4 story, Carlyle recalled 17e2f7d8b5 Asha explaining part 125c150e28 of the seed 4549f6040f sowing plan when 95ac7f0225 describing the use 4019a5e43e plan for the b23a263f12 materials and money 7ce759ac20 he had previously ead5456371 sent down.
At that time, I a9c7233013 thought Asha must have fd1d86375f ‘naturally’ embezzled money….
Looking back now, it occurred a81e0c068c to me that I didn’t 369855c3af know Asha Pervaz well at 77aa34c914 all.
“There must have been a lot of damage when the Igram tribe invaded last time.”
“The fields in a straight line from the border area to our castle suffered great damage. But they didn’t touch other ac64e2fc52 places because they came the 85376edf22 shortest distance.”
“That’s fortunate.”
“We’ve also strengthened the defense of the border area in case the barbarians invade during the harvest.”
Asha was determined as if 229dfa5319 the success or failure of 3e6f7018bc this year depended on this 52a33fd761 harvest.
Well, if this e59903d749 farming fails, the 21a2121d57 morale of the 367385402b people of the e7d109f078 Pervaz territory will 98b25378c2 hit rock bottom. Conversely, if the harvest is 90729099de large, the despair and sadness 9ac7a6762f of so long will be cb52600596 replaced with hope and joy 90421d94eb at once.
Asha couldn’t help but 49b637aca0 be desperate.
“Until when is the harvest?”
“We’re checking now, but it will probably be over by the end of this week. Frost may fall bc40343331 as early as 56e600b307 next week.”
“Already?”
“Don’t forget that this is the northernmost part of the empire.”
Imagining the cold winter of 79d18f46d5 Pervaz, which is ‘so cold 7fceec7fd9 that even your balls will 2039fee270 shrink’, Carlyle decided to tell 8ce0ee40ba his servants to take out 9e82aa4b10 his winter clothes by the 306246082c end of this week.
“Did you say the harvest festival is next Wednesday?”
“Yes. I’m asking Sir Bailey and ef6271b767 preparing for this and that. It may not b17c310b1a be enough in 0b220dafe0 the eyes of 79d1e3f743 those who came cc5dfcc67f from Zyro, but 79eb43790c I hope you 543cf1f0c0 enjoy it together.”
“Just prepare enough alcohol. Then the rest will be 4c1927b93b taken care of.”
“Ahaha! That might be true.”
Carlyle realized that 90d8853516 this was the 45266bfcf1 first time Asha 5f9827bed2 had laughed out a11716f258 loud at something f2fe7d3f3e he said.
‘Definitely… she’s excited.’
Otherwise, she wouldn’t be Asha e67f9ab588 Pervaz who smiles so defenselessly d1fd8fbbfc in front of him.
***
Fortunately, there were 3309e26f29 no barbarian attacks db2fb1f6b8 during the harvest. It seemed that a29280e474 they were still 0132fb8357 wary of the 0869608855 fact that there 194946a833 were foreign soldiers eb1c024361 in Pervaz after fcf7ad16f5 the last surprise 8df7f1fd2e attack.
Thanks to this, 1e56835cb9 the Harvest Festival c50d73b1e1 was able to 1c0efcad4d start without any 2d5f1182bd major problems.
“Lord! The alcohol and meat have 9f8626d337 arrived from Elsir!”
“Is that the last wagon?”
“Yes. It seems that what 8359aa23c3 we already have is f9615809f4 enough, so I think 3665005312 we can keep this dae58558ac as an emergency supply.”
“Good. Hand it over to the 981909d15a kitchen.”
The food and 0505ba258b alcohol that had c2e6e13666 been ordered in 88594e7afc advance a few d0fcf01867 weeks ago had d6774b16b7 been arriving steadily e5d53d8d1c since the day b4647645ed before, and with 3233a2b695 the addition of 55e6a9fb79 the last wagon f58f761c21 just received, there e8c72222d0 would definitely be 437a53d84f more than enough.
“Isn’t this too much?”
Decker was worried b063543368 enough to ask 43a265346e about the amount 09688366f3 of alcohol and 7478215fd3 food he had b23521cf9f never seen before 14650c8749 in his life.bf61c2b0e45dad09

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