The hunting was in danger, and in addition to the wild boar that Julian hit, the Earl Wolf and his son also gained a lot - they worked together to kill a strong buck.

The nobles enjoyed the hunting process and happily returned to Tonysburg when it was getting dark.

The servants who came back with the hunting team carried their prey into the kitchen and threw them into the tray. The chefs of Count Lange became busy and processed the ingredients under the dim stove light. The servants in the castle were no exception. They arranged tablecloths and tableware, and filled the silver wine glasses with fresh wine.

When the last plate was placed on the long shelf dining table, the nobles had changed into dirty clothes stained with the smell of earth, put on clean and decent clothes, and sat down one after another.

Simon and Baron Winter chatted and walked into the lord's hall. The past few days of getting along made them inseparable, like a pair of confidants who met too late. Their plan went very smoothly. Baron Carl, who was originally in a grudge, changed his mind and joined them, and persuaded the swaying Baron Higgburg.

Of course, all this did not go as seamless as Simon imagined. Earl Lange, who was as slackened as Count Wolf, seemed to have vaguely sensed what his brother Simon was doing. All this was due to the influence he received in Earl Berg's court.

So, on the way back to Tonysburg, Lange began to think about all the worst possible situations in his mind, until in the end, he couldn't help but laugh at Simon with disdainful laughter. He and Count Wolf had the advantage of the number of troops. Unless a mentally retarded person was allowed to command the battle, Simon's poor warm-up alliance had no chance of winning at all.

Of course, if the Duke intervenes, that's another matter.

Thinking of this, Lange's face gradually became gloomy. He thought that the Duke went to Dresden to meet Prince Otto at the most important moment of his life without any face, which was enough to show his true attitude - his blessing to this marriage was just a lip service, and that's all.

In Lange's view, Otto was just a prince. His brothers Tankmar and Henry were both powerful competitors to the throne. It is not certain who can wear the crown of the German Kingdom in the end. And the family of his and Earl Wolf is the two most prominent families in the Duke's family. It is unreasonable that such a marriage was despised by him so much.

The food was served one after another, and everyone made a solemn pre-dinner prayer and began to eat with ulterior motives.

The large pieces of roasted deer legs were chopped by the chef with a large chopper and then put into a large plate, and were placed by the servant in the middle of the dining table. There was a silver knife beside the plate. If anyone wanted to eat meat, he would pick up the silver knife and cut it into pieces and send it directly into the mouth.

Simon picked up the silver knife. The remaining oil stains on the hilt of the knife and the black marks left by a guy who had served on the table without washing his hands made Simon frown, and an idea gradually came to his heart.

In this dark and wilderness era, although the foods eaten were very different, the tableware used for dining was different - directly with your hands or a wooden spoon. If there was meat on the table, you would just put a knife on the dish next to the meat.

At this time, people continued the Roman tradition in eating - eating with their fingers, and distinguished their status based on the number of fingers used during meals.

Civilians don’t pay much attention to it. Five fingers are used together to do whatever they want. However, nobles will be a little more troublesome. Only with three fingers will it be considered elegant and table-like. Their ring fingers and little fingers will not touch the food.

The cutlery used in modern Western cuisine first appeared in Italy a century later. When it became popular throughout the European continent, it was already in the Renaissance.

Simon had had enough of this artificial and unhygienic way of eating in his opinion. He thought that when he returned to the territory, it was time for his blacksmith to create a set of cutlery for himself.

Although this would be opposed by the clergy of the church - those bald guys believed that people could only touch the food given by God with their hands, Simon had made up his mind.

Gu Chi

People here do not know the existence of bacteria, nor do they understand the principle that diseases come from the mouth. Once someone gets sick, devout people will think that this is a punishment sent by God, and doctors will think that this is the result of imbalance in body fluids. If you can eat with a knife and fork and avoid touching food directly with your hands, at least a large part of gastrointestinal diseases can be avoided.

Simon washed his hands with cider before eating.

Tonysburg is not close to the river. People here use alcohol to replenish water. Inhabitants with average conditions will drink inferior beer, while poor people who cannot afford to buy alcohol will drink vinegar and water as wine. Therefore, Simon, who cannot find clean water to wash his hands, can only use wine to wash his hands with luxury.

After dinner, Julian put on a plain linen shirt and an inconspicuous black hooded cape, and tried to walk out of the castle without notice.

As a vassal of the Earl of Lange, he rode a tall horse in gorgeous clothes and passed by the village outside the castle. The local residents knew him, so Julian buried his head, pulled his hood up, and tried to cover his face as much as possible.

He came to the tavern next to the village, opened the door, passed through a group of farmers who were singing and dancing, smelly, and found the school official Hellard by the table in the corner.

"Ri'an, Lord Julian, are you going to buy wine for me?" Hellard shook the empty wooden wine glass, and his straight look made Julian feel uncomfortable.

Julian called two beers, sat opposite Hellard, and said straight to the point: "Maybe you have to find another way to support you and your brothers."

"What does it mean?" Hellard, who had just raised his glass, raised his eyebrows and put the glass back on the table.

"I thought about it carefully. Now all the eyes in the public are focused on my monarch, and I will touch my whole body with one blow. It is difficult to not be suspected of killing Simon now. This will bring us huge trouble. In addition, Simon's sword skills are superb, and the possibility of accidents is too great." Julian said the words he thought of in advance. There is no need for a third person to know about Simon's saving his life, because this will definitely become the handle he fears the most.

Hellard's hand left the oak wine glass, his eyes full of doubt and confusion, and soon turned into disappointment. He was silent for a while and said, "As you wish."

"I may not pursue the plunder of my territory, but as a condition, you must leave the territory of the Kenpon Valley, the farther the better, and forget me. You may take your brothers south, where there are rich merchants and rich villages."

"I understand. I will take my men tomorrow, and you will never see me again." Hellard nodded helplessly, picked up the wine glass again, drank it all, then stood up and left the seat and walked out of the tavern.

There is nothing worthy of Hellard's nostalgia in this land. Since there is no work to do, just leave. The southern territory will be richer than this war-torn land. This is a fact, and it is exactly what Hellard longs for.

Julian didn't touch the beer that belonged to him, and he was still a little confused now.

He would never kill his life-savior, but at the same time he did not want to betray the monarch who promoted him. He felt that he was walking on a single-plank bridge, neither wanting to fall into the abyss on the left nor into the abyss on the right. He could only try his best to find the balance point in the middle.

Now letting Hellard leave is the balance he chose. When Hellard goes away a few days later, he will tell Lange that the shameful bandit leader escaped with his men privately, which will not only interrupt the progress of the murder of Simon and push the blame on the person he will never see again, nor will it violate the fundamental interests of his monarch.
Chapter completed!