The courtyard of Tonysburg was filled with various scents, including but not limited to the stench of the stables, the mutton smell of the servants who had not taken a bath for a long time, the faint fragrance of ale in the wine cellar, and the aroma of barbecue in the lord's kitchen.

On this unusual day, everyone in the castle smiled. They knew they would receive a wedding gift from the Lord. Although Lange would impose a marriage tax before that, it did not affect their enjoyment of this rare time with all the guests.

In the village outside the castle, the blacksmith beat the horseshoes with a hammer. The lord's woodcutter rushed by a donkey carrying two large baskets of firewood. Several children screamed and competed for the bread distributed by the helper. The women in the weaving workshop giggled and embroidered the linen with dyed wool. A breeze from the North Sea swept away the clouds in the blue sky, and cloud shadows competed in the fields.

Lange's wedding was held in his own castle, but in order to receive the blessing of the church, he invited the local parish priest.

In an earlier era, the nobles had no habit of asking religious people to witness their marriage. They made vows and put on rings, even if they became husband and wife under the testimony of their relatives and friends.

There were so many guests visiting today. In addition to the visitors from the Earl Wolf family, almost all the Earls of Kenpen Valley were rushing to Tonysburg. The enthroned knights and fief feudal lords came from all directions, and the tables and chairs in the hall could not accommodate so many people.

So the servants quickly brought more tables and chairs from other places, placed them on the open space in the inner castle field, and temporarily added some seats.

Of course, sitting in the smell of horse manure is another matter for these little nobles.

"Let us welcome Lord Lange and his bride Miss Josephine!"

The loud shouts of the communist interrupted the noisy talk of the nobles of all sizes. Everyone lowered their voices at the same time and turned their eyes to the door of the hall.

Lange, wearing a bright red wool garment, with a gold brooch and a white velvet cloak, held Josephine's hand and walked in slowly.

Today, Josephine is as beautiful as an angel who descends to earth. She wears a blue and green dress and uses a beautiful hairband series to prepare a turban. Her cuffs have floral patterns embroidered with gold wire and a ribbon with a silver cross in front of her neck. The wool cloak on her shoulders is like the blue Lake Geneva, which is so gorgeous that it makes people unable to see.

The waiting people cheered warmly.

Everyone was wearing their best clothes, and in a colorful sea of ​​cheering, the yellow and red ribbons arranged around them looked festive and vibrant.

Miss Josephine's family and Lange and Simon's mother, Mrs. Liv, formed a semicircle and stood at the table next to the lord's throne.

There were parchment paper, quills and ink bottles on the table. Although this was a wedding, the dowry and the transfer of property would be recorded in detail by the clerk under the witness of everyone.

Even if Simon and Lange had a bad relationship and the conflict was unregulated, they could not change the same blood flowing in their bodies. As Lange's younger brother, Simon stood next to his mother, Mrs. Liv.

Lange and Josephine came to the table, stood face to face, holding each other's hands tightly.

"I, Lange de Dorsten, the legal ruler of the Earls of the Kempen Valley and the Baron Dorsten, will marry you, Josephine of Vitral as my wife. I will swear to God in the witness of all, that I will love you, take care of you for the rest of my life, and be loyal to you forever." Lange's voice was very loud, and Simon could hear the unconcealed excitement from it.

"I, Josephine de Wolf, the daughter of the Earl of Wolf, will make you, Lange of Dorsten, my husband. I swear to God that I will love you, take care of you, and be loyal to you forever!" Josephine's voice was calm and confident.

Lange and Josephine kissed, and their tongues lingered. A burst of intense cheers broke out in the crowd.

The priest of Tonysburg Church blessed the two and read a prayer in Latin. Then, Lange took a silver key from his belt and stuffed it into the palm of Josephine's palm: "This is the key to my castle. Now, you are the mistress of this territory, and I will give it to you. This castle belongs to me and you, and I hope you can create a sweet home for me!"

Fenagan, the son of Count Wolf, held a sword inlaid with gold patterns in both hands and handed it to his sister Josephine. After taking it, Josephine held it high and said to everyone: "My husband, I will give you this sword, and I hope you can protect our homes and protect our children!"

This is a symbolic gift given to each other by both men and women during the wedding. Immediately afterwards, the exchange of more precious assets began on the small table in front of the clerk.

"This is my dowry," said Josephine, and the two entourage soldiers of the Count of Wolf came to the front of the table with a heavy wooden box, "as promised, there are two hundred silver coins of good texture in them."

Gu Feng

The priest stood up, took out the key of the box, and made it public in front of everyone: "I came to verify yesterday. In the name of God, the silver coins in the box are exactly the same as Miss Josephine said." After that, he handed the key to Lange.

The clerk dipped his quill into ink and wrote carefully on the parchment roll in beautiful font, for fear of something going wrong.

Lange winked at his minister of seals, who walked out of the crowd and made a parchment document with the Dorsten family seal public, proclaiming loudly: "This document will take effect from today. Count Lange will give it to Miss Josephine and a logging farm here, and their rent will be given to Miss Josephine and her descendants forever."

When the clerk finished recording all this, the crowd began to get restless. Lange pressed his hands to everyone and signaled to Quiet, saying that everything was not over yet.

"I will donate one hundred Denell silver coins, twenty cows, and a sheep pen to the church in Tonysburg, as a pious ceremony for my marriage, in exchange for blessings and prayers from the monks of the parish, my wife and my future children."

This kind of gifts given to the church at weddings is common. Superstitious medieval nobles longed for religious protection, hoping that God could bless him and his family’s souls.

But usually, the gifts they give to the church are given in the form of coins and livestock. The land and the inhabitants are like a golden rooster laying eggs. For the not-too-rich count, giving land seems too luxurious.

"Now, friends who have come from afar, please start your meal!"

After all the ceremonies, Lange yelled at the guests.

The servants brought a large plate of roasted wild boar and beef from the lord's kitchen. The baker picked up fresh bread from the oven and put it on the dining table in a willow basket covered with white linen.

Buckets of delicious fruit wine and red wine were moved into the hall by strong soldiers. They used the sharp axe at their waists to break the lid, and those in need took the cup and went to the bucket to drink.

Miss Josephine, no, now it is Mrs. Josephine, she doesn't eat much at the warm dining table. For more time, she talks with nobles of all sizes, Lange's cabinet members, and prestigious people, so that they can quickly become familiar with themselves and increase their reputation.

"Madam, please allow me to call you that," Simon said to Josephine. "As Lange's younger brother, I hope to use this glass of wine to bless your marriage, and hope you will be happy forever."

"Thank you, Simon." Josephine covered her mouth and laughed. The wine pourer filled her with red wine again. She and Lange raised the wine glass to Simon.

Although Simon was not happy to see the marriage between the two in his heart, he still had to do what he should do on the surface, otherwise he would seem too petty.

"Simon, I hope you will find your other half as soon as possible." Lange spoke. He didn't say much and his tone was very calm, which made Simon unable to determine whether he was mocking him for a moment.

When Simon returned to his seat, Baron Winter put down the leg of lamb in his hand, wiped the oil stains on his mouth, and came over: "Simon, your brother is right, it's time for you to consider the issue of marriage and heirs. The lord without heirs is extremely weak in both the vassals and the eyes of the claimant pretender."

Not getting married means no heir, and means that when Simon has an accident, everything he has will be given to the first heir, Lange. This is a very dangerous thing.

"You're right." Simon did not deny or disagree about the topic this time.

The nobles shared their recent experiences and hearsay gossip in this rare gathering. They made as many new friends as possible, reached some agreements, or belittled their enemies and created sow discord.

Simon was no exception, focusing on the four barons he wanted to form - Baron Winter, Baron Carl, Baron Higgburg and Baron Ulci.

Simon prompted the freshman alliance to reach a preliminary oral agreement, and everyone promised to send people to Esbaibor within a week after the wedding banquet to sign the formal covenant documents.

If anyone is attacked, the other four barons should unconditionally and do their best to help the attacked person.
Chapter completed!