As soon as it dawned, the maids and servants in the palace all got up.
The autumn morning in Aurora is already a bit chilly, but for those accustomed to the bitter cold in the North, a short-sleeved linen-lined jacket and a striped work apron are enough.
This is the place with the strictest hierarchy in the entire Suomir territory.
From clothing to conversation, to walking posture and even hairstyle, there are strict regulations, which are divided by class and cannot be exceeded.
The clothes of the servants at the lowest level are not much different from those of the peasants. Most of them are based on loose linen clothes and pants that are easy to move. Women will wear long skirts. Dark colors such as dark blue or black are popular among the Suomir people, and sometimes white stripes are added on them. Men, on the other hand, mostly wear shorts in mid-summer, and starting in autumn, they wear tight woolen pants that are also commonly worn by adventurers and travelers.
In addition to this, coupled with a simple pullover hat or a Suomir-style men's three-cornered hat, paired with an apron, it has become the daily attire of the working class.
Luxurious and unique costumes and unfashionable hairstyles are not allowed, not only because they will cause labor inconvenience, but also because they infringe on the privileges of the aristocratic class.
Something similar happened in Padrosi after the introduction of commerce a century ago and the accumulation of wealth.
Common people yearned for the aristocratic class, so when they had money on hand, they began to imitate the nobility's clothing, food, housing and transportation, hoping to join the upper class society. It took a century for the Padrosi to finally achieve the merger of the two classes into a large country, but in Suomir, this was only the beginning.
This small, sparsely populated kingdom is now devoted to learning from Padrosi. Although there has been progress overall, the pace of change has been slower than optimists expected.
After all, Suomir is not Padrosi.
Without the size of an empire, it would be difficult to let go even if it reforms. Because once something is truly opened up, it is possible that class relations in the entire country will be subverted.
As a man who was in the Talwar-Sutta region at this time, and there was still a whole mountain to cross from Northern Aurora, said - this small kingdom with a long history is like a tangled ball of threads, and it is like a tangle of threads. A hodgepodge that has been simmering for too long.
A noble family that exists in various places, the long-standing royal family of Suomir. On the one hand, they are greedy for the development of the empire next door, and they also want to have a taste of this cake. On the other hand, they are worried that their traditional status will be threatened, so they maintain a reserved attitude and are hesitant about many things.
The existence of these conservative forces, coupled with the complicated history and relations between neighboring ethnic groups, has made the process of more than two decades seem somewhat uneven.
There is indeed progress, but it is not as rapid as that of Avenella on the other side of the inner sea.
Just like the peasant girl in the traditional folk tale of the Suomir people who attended the royal ball for the first time, she looked constrained in an unfamiliar long dress and couldn't let go.
There are many things about this long-lasting kingdom that cannot be summarized in just a few words.
Class barriers manifest themselves in all aspects. The servant class gets up early to fetch water for cooking, take care of livestock, handle toilets and various other things. Firewood was burning in the smokehouse and bathroom, and there were forty or fifty people preparing breakfast and morning baths for the upper classes. And those who burn fires and work as coolies are still at the lowest level. Going up to the higher level, the royal cooks and the nobles who serve the nobles themselves have higher requirements. For the same reason, these people will be more sophisticated in their clothes.
The water temperature for bathing is very particular. The traditional bathing method of the Suomir people is a steam sauna, in which cold water is poured on red-hot stones to fill the airtight room with steam. However, the upper class is very fond of Lamantian bathhouses. Taking a bath in the huge stone bathhouse is a refreshing morning activity for many high-level Suomir nobles. Therefore, the servants must start preparations several hours ago to keep the water temperature in the entire bathing place at a proper temperature through the stones, so that their masters can be satisfied.
The body is cleaned with spices and flower petals. After all this is done, seven or eight people will be responsible for changing clothes. Put on your luxurious clothes, take care of your appearance, and then walk out slowly.
The servant class who woke up in the early morning were busy for two or three hours. The people in charge of lighting the fire had their skin dry from the smoke, and when the sun finally lazily shone on the ground, the nobles would wake up late. Come.
Even the way to wake them up is very particular. If you are too impatient and loud, it will be out of order and disorder, and it is disrespectful to your superiors. The best result will be to be imprisoned and beaten.
And after these lazy upper class finally get up, whether it is bathing, changing clothes or dining out, for a whole morning, except for picking up a spoon to eat, they will not have to do anything by themselves.
After a delicious but short breakfast. What the Suomir nobles and royal family members of Nordic Laura often do is hold a glass of red wine shipped from the Sivalier Kingdom on the other side of the inland sea, shake it gently, and then look at the endless Heinzwom Meteor Lake, and In the Jetina Church sparkling in the morning sun, people recited poems and composed poems with great enthusiasm.
"The miracle of eternal night is as beautiful as ever -" Such words will always attract heartfelt praise from the servants. When your other choice is to be whipped, people can always be as sincere as they are. .
Lamanite poems and stories describe Suomir as a fairy tale country.
For foreign travelers, this place is indeed as beautiful as a fairy tale.
In the eyes of the high-ranking nobles, their country of thousands of lakes and islands is extremely beautiful.
But the servants knew nothing of the beauty of the country.
The beautiful snow scene that makes people poetic means that they need to go out to clean the eaves with a long broom in the cold. The warm firelight in the winter night is also the result of hard work collecting firewood during the day.
The leisurely and elegant upper class can raise their heads to appreciate this beauty quietly, while the lower class can only lower their heads, either immersed in work or expressing their humility in front of their masters.
A social class that has been stable for more than a thousand years. The nobles enjoyed such a life as a matter of course, but on the other hand, they blamed the servants for being stupid and not knowing how to appreciate the various beautiful scenery.
Under this prerequisite. Innocence and willfulness may not be uncommon among the aristocratic circles of this country.
"Your Majesty, wait, Your Majesty!" A hurried voice came from the other end of the corridor. The servants turned their heads curiously, but when they saw the man, they immediately lowered their faces to express their humility.
They are not qualified to look directly at the face of the royal family except for special celebrations. Anyone who dares to look at the royal family rashly will be arrested and whipped. But it is not advisable to turn around and leave just like that. This seems like a disaster that the royal family members cannot avoid, and it is also a very unlucky move.
So the servants could only keep their heads lowered and motionless, like scarecrows in the fields, like walls, like backgrounds.
"I have made up my mind, don't stand in the way, dear Prime Minister." The person walking in front, dressed in rich clothes and accompanied by a senior maid, turned back. Her self-identification came from the ancient Suomir language, and was not a simple "I" Instead, the compound "we" is used. This is part of the strict wording, and combined with the title of the old man behind him, naturally only one person in the whole country is worthy of it.
The monarch is the representative of a country, and his position is not that of an individual, but represents the will of the whole country. Therefore, the compound form used to refer to oneself is not the personal pronoun.
"But Your Majesty, those people are not people you can talk to. They have already abandoned their motherland. If Your Majesty goes there in person, I'm afraid you will fall into the tricks of these cunning people!" The old prime minister had long white hair. Bearded, he spoke sincerely and had a respectful attitude, but you could also hear a hint of worry in it.
The prime minister said this, then turned his head and glanced at the servants outside the courtyard, frowning: "Your Majesty, this is not a place for conversation-"
"My dear Prime Minister, I. No -" the queen changed her words in a gentle tone: "Irma, my loyal friend." She used a more intimate tone to express her personal relationship: "I know your worries, But that’s what I owe them.”
The queen, who is now in her forties, said this. Considering her actual age, the supreme power of Suomir looks very young. The short sunshine in the north gave her white skin, and the tall figure of the Suomir people and the long black hair made her emerald eyes shine brightly.
"Your Majesty owes nothing to anyone!" Prime Minister Irma refused to give in.
"Well, yes, the leader of a country should not regret any of his actions, and should carry out his will as a representative of the people and nobles, and move forward without hesitation. I don't need you to review it again, dear friend." The queen said with a smile.
"But since I call myself the mother of the country, I should show my due posture, shouldn't I? My dear Prime Minister." She said this, and Prime Minister Irma hesitated for a while, and when she was about to say something more, the Queen spoke again Then he said.
"The sword is now a thing of the past. Now that the kingdom and the empire are on good terms, the sword is no longer useful. But expelling them from the country is also a mistake I made in the past because of my youth."
"Now that they have returned this time, they have submitted a request for an interview to Yu and others. Even though as the head of a country, one should not hesitate or regret any of his actions, after all, Yu and others do not want to miss this opportunity that may bring everything to a new stage. Opportunities on the right track.”
"Klemmer is the sword that can bring the future to the country, and the swordsmen who hold it, even if they put down their swords because they no longer have to fight with swords, they will surely be the driving force for our country's advancement." The words spoken by the Queen were resounding, and her shining emerald eyes were full of confidence.
But the prime minister still did not give up the dissuasion: "Your Majesty does not know that ten years are different. After so many years, these people have left their hometowns and wandered away. I am afraid they will come back full of resentment."
"Furthermore, there was a foreign attack on Parnilla, a large port in the empire, a few months ago. I'm afraid that they will come back at this juncture—" "Shut up." The queen suddenly frowned: "Even if it's you, dear Prime Minister, I will not allow you to slander the people of our country like this."
"I, Suomir, am a talented person and will not have thugs like that!" The majesty from the superior made the prime minister lower his head involuntarily. "I am sincerely afraid, Your Majesty, please calm down." He said this orally while thinking carefully about other words and still not giving up. But as if she regretted being angry, the Queen's tone immediately softened again.
"Irma, dear friend, I know you are worried, but this worry is really unfounded."
"Look, it's been more than a month since they returned home, and they haven't caused any trouble?" "That's because their goal is-" "You hid the letter without telling me." The Queen's tone was cold. got up.
"You've been hiding it for more than half a month. If the servants in the palace hadn't accidentally discovered it and turned it over to me, how long would you have planned to keep it a secret?"
"Your Majesty..." The Prime Minister searched for the answer in his mind: "Since Your Majesty has made up his mind, I will no longer stand in the way. But these days are the Folk Ghost Festival activities. According to the beliefs of the Yetina Sect, the living Make way for the deceased and do not adapt to travel."
"The duration is the 13th. It just so happens that I will send a message to Talwar-Sutta today, ordering the dragon-winged knights to go north. Your Majesty will wait for another two weeks until everything is fully prepared before going south. Is this okay?" the prime minister said this, and bowed his arm. Bowed.
He sighed slightly in his heart. Seeing that all the obstructive measures had failed, he had no choice but to postpone it and arrange enough troops to protect him to ensure that there would be no problems.
"Well, I'll do as you say." The queen nodded and agreed to his suggestion: "Then please send the letter, and I will go to have dinner now."
"Your Majesty." The Prime Minister breathed a sigh of relief, then bowed again and walked towards the other side.
The Queen walked through the atrium to the other side, surrounded by her maids, and after she left. The prime minister glanced at the servants around him: "Misfortune comes from the mouth, you all have to remember." He dropped such a warning, then turned around and walked towards the back. Turning left and right through the long corridor, you finally came to a tall tower at the back.
"Secretary." Prime Minister Irma frowned. "Sir." The other party saluted.
"Send a letter to the south. Also, have you cleared up the previous investigation?"
"How could someone with such a big mouth leak the news knowing His Majesty's temperament!" The Prime Minister sighed and sat on the chair.
"My lord, I think those people are." The young secretary hesitated to speak. He was obviously an insider. The 'they' naturally referred to the returning great swordsman.
"Only the gods can know what they want to do." The prime minister looked very tired. He rubbed his temples: "As the biggest obstacle to the development of our country, it is imperative to eliminate them. But this matter cannot be rushed. Yes, you have to boil a frog in warm water. Her Majesty the Queen’s sudden declaration forced them to choose between the sword and the country. I have to clean up the mess... alas..."
"Now, to alert the snake, many of those local nobles are also worried that they will be burned across the river, causing our country's slow development to be hindered everywhere. It happened that the empire was attacked, and potential enemies were ready to move. Our country is now on good terms with the empire, and its position is very embarrassing. And they are in When he came back at this juncture, he issued a request for negotiation, and the news was learned by His Majesty..." The prime minister kept rubbing his temples, but his headache was still not relieved.
"Sir, please pay more attention to your health. A pharmacist I know well is very successful in conditioning. I will introduce it to you later." The secretary ordered his men to write letters and arrange for delivery, and then took a cup of hot tea from the servant and handed it to him personally. Gave it to the prime minister.
"How can I have such a margin?" The prime minister waved his hand and refused the tea, and then sighed: "I can't get away at all."
"Fortunately, I used traditional festivals and religious celebrations as excuses to delay His Majesty's trip. Since we can't stop it, we must at least control it-" He said this, before he finished speaking, a "da da da da da" suddenly sounded outside. Rushing footsteps.
Such behavior is strictly prohibited in the palace, but the person who ran in looked panicked and immediately spoke before the Prime Minister could reprimand him: "Prime Minister, it's not good, Your Majesty, she——"
"...."
"Irma, my friend, forgive me for my deception, but you have always said that the leader of a country should not regret his decisions. Don't worry, they are all trustworthy people of our country, and they will not harm anyone. I'll wait." Such words were written in elegant handwriting.
"Oh God -" The prime minister, who had a splitting headache, suddenly looked pale and covered his forehead.
"Master Prime Minister!"
"Dong——"
