A few days before the wedding, the invited nobles from the duchy came to Tonisburg one after another.
Lange frowned as he looked at the increasingly empty granaries and wine cellars. If he cooked a feast for the guests every day, I'm afraid that on the day of the wedding banquet, no matter how exquisite the food was and how fragrant the drinks were, everyone would be bored. .
The nobles were restless and restless, so Lange proposed a hunt, which won unanimous approval from everyone. No one could deny the joy of hunting except the old men who were too old to lift their spears.
Lange's territory was called the Kempen Valley Territory because it was a beautiful, hilly area.
The mountainous hills interweave into small valleys, covered by lush forests, and accompanied by mountain springs and streams everywhere. This is really an excellent habitat for animals.
The land near Tonisburg has been leveled. Outside the castle, on the outskirts of the village, there is a large open space covered with grass and cultivated land bathed in the sun. Surrounding them are overgrown Forests of hairy beech, holly, oak, and shrubs of all kinds.
A road extending from the castle gate passes through the village and through the meadows, letting the intricate trees give way to each other, leading to Lange's hunting ground in the distance.
A group of lively hounds rushed out of the kennels, almost leading the servants holding the dog ropes at a fast pace. They were followed by nobles riding horses with great interest, and donkeys loaded with food and blankets were led by the attendants. .
Lange stole the show today, dressing himself up to look stunning.
He wore a bright red tights with expensive mink embroidered on the collar and cuffs. His belt was studded with gold buttons, and the dagger handle exposed from the sheath was made of engraved silver. His trousers were crimson, and his custom-made cowhide boots had been carefully wiped with lard by the servant, and were now shining in the sunlight.
In addition, he also put on a brown bearskin cloak, a gift given to him by Baron Siegburg. All this makes him look like he is not out to hunt, but out to show off.
In comparison, other nobles are much more casual, such as Count Wolfe. This Celtic descendant is really fierce. Just now he was shirtless, wearing a pair of wide dark green trousers, and a pair of sturdy fur boots. He turned away the servant who was about to help him get on the horse, stepped on his tall and beautiful black horse alone, and rode out of the castle gate under the astonished eyes of other local nobles.
In fact, these guys who think they have the aristocratic blood of the ancient Frank Empire look down upon this barbarian style. Perhaps when Count Wolfe was still a baron, they dared to make some sarcastic remarks in person, but now they only I can talk in secret.
As Lange's most loyal vassal, Julian, who had just arrived at Tonysburg last night because of the delay, naturally followed him to participate in this hunt.
He was chatting with another fellow traveler who was wearing a large black cloak whose face could not be seen clearly. He did not want to attract attention and walked at the back of all the nobles. He almost blended in with the attendants leading donkeys and pack horses, but The one who should have found him found him anyway.
"Lord Julian," Lange's personal guard rode over from the front of the team, "Lord Count Lange wants to see you."
Julian naturally knew what Lange wanted to ask. "He was too anxious. We could have gone to a deserted corner behind the hunting camp to talk in detail." Julian thought, but he still followed the guard honestly. Arrive at the front of the line.
"Why wasn't it done? You were so steadfast in your vows at the time." Lange's words revealed dissatisfaction.
A few weeks ago, Julian, who had just returned from Esbaiburg, said very confidently that he could kill Simon on his way here, but now the lively Simon in the middle of the team has become the biggest problem on Julian's face. Red palm print.
"The hedgehog has so many thorns that even hungry wolves dare not bite them." Julian sighed helplessly.
"Really, so what does that hungry wolf want? As long as I want, I can kill the disobedient bear at any time, let alone he is just a wolf." Lange's words made Julian's hair tingle like a cold wind. Stand up.
"He wants to borrow some hounds from you," Julian said as much as possible to confuse others but still make Lange understand what he meant, "so that he can pull out the hedgehog's thorns and eat all the meat. No Give it any chance."
"I will consider it." Langer waved his hand, and Julian lowered his head and retreated, returning to the end of the team.
Simon did notice some clues, and he looked at Julian who passed by him warily. Only then did he notice the stranger at the end who had his face buried under the big cloak.
"My lord said he must think about it," Julian said to the stranger.
"Stupid. He is too indecisive. This will not work." The stranger's rough voice made Julian very uncomfortable. He wanted to scold this rude guy and not speak ill of his monarch behind his back, but now it was obvious Not a good time to argue.
"I haven't had any work recently. I'm a little tight on money. My brothers can't even pay their salaries anymore." The stranger pulled down his cloak and looked directly at Julian with a pair of sinister and bloodthirsty eyes. , "I want to kidnap a lone nobleman during this hunt and exchange for some ransom to live happily."
"This is impossible!" Julian subconsciously increased his voice, causing several attendants and nobles nearby to turn their heads to look at him.
"Master Lange will not let guests have an accident at his wedding banquet. It would be too embarrassing for him. If you do it, he will definitely make you unable to eat and walk around," Julian lowered his voice to the stranger. The man said, "Also, lower your hat, Heralt, aren't you afraid that someone will recognize you?"
"Ha," Heralt hid his face in the shadow of the big hood again, "The people who rule here are the nobles from your side. Anyone who knows me either ran away in shit, or died in that scene. There’s a war.”
"You'd better watch out," Julian warned.
Little did they know that all these little actions were caught by Simon, but Simon was a little far away from them and did not hear clearly what they were saying.
………………………
A hunting camp is a relatively flat open space in the forest. There are bonfires surrounded by stones, dry firewood piled in sheds, large logs lying on the ground for people to rest, and simple fences made of sharpened wood. gate.
The servants tied the donkeys to the tree, took out the pots and long axes, and those who drew water and those who chopped wood chopped firewood, while the nobles sat on blankets and accepted the pieces of bacon and red wine handed over by the servants. , and feasted happily.
Count Wolfe finished his lunch in two or three bites, sucked his fingers, wiped them casually on his pants, and then walked towards the outskirts of the camp, seemingly wanting to do it conveniently.
"Hey, Wolf, my friend." Baron Karl followed him at some point and walked out of the camp with him.
"It's Count Wolfe, Karl," Count Wolfe emphasized, and then asked, "What do you want? I didn't know you had the habit of following people who want to go to the toilet."
Baron Karl's face was a little confused, but he immediately cleared his throat, trying to ease the embarrassment: "My friend, I don't want to beat around the bush anymore. I want to know if we can still form an alliance... that is, without each other. When the other side is invaded by others, we will jointly send troops to attack them."
"I'm very sorry, Karl, I have no such plan for the time being," Count Wolfe raised his head, "I don't think anyone in this principality will have the guts to attack me and Count Lange in a few days," he Narrowing his eyes, "I hope you can forgive me."
"Excuse me, Count Wolfe." Karl closed his eyes in pain, and when he said the word 'count', his pronunciation was heavy.
Although Baron Carl is a man who is content with the status quo, seeing his former friends and even the sons of old friends become earls, it is inevitable that he will have some different emotions in his heart.
He often comforted himself that the last war was just because of his bad luck. He lost his territory and failed to seize the opportunity to be promoted to earl. Now that his friend has become a count, he should be able to use his strong strength to help him when he is in trouble, which is not too bad.
But it turned out that Baron Karl thought too much.
When Wolfe gained control of the Count's strength and power, he also changed. He is no longer the simple Celtic man. He begins to focus on interests, emphasizes his status, and becomes ambitious.
Baron Karl felt that he was standing in front of him, just like the kind of poor people who came to have relationships with nobles, which he usually looked down upon the most, and Count Wolfe was treating him as such a "poor person", which made him the most Frustrating things.
Earl Wolfe had just made it clear in front of him that he would not form an alliance with any baron directly affiliated with the duke, because the alliance between him and Lange's in-laws was the most powerful force in the duchy now.
At the same time, this also shows his and Lange's ambition-they will annex the baronies that belong directly to the Duke one by one.
Baron Karl recalled Count Wolfe’s joke to Count Lange at the dinner table: “Our principality is like a big piece of cheese cut into three pieces, with a bunch of crumbs scattered around it. I don’t mind. Be a delicious kid, hahahahaha..."
A chill crept into Baron Carl's heart.
"It seems that I have to think carefully about Simon's alliance agreement." Baron Carl glanced at Count Wolf who was throwing urine with his back to him in the distance, and walked back without looking back. Camp.
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