Yes, this Baroness Farnese was the one he swore allegiance to after becoming a knight in squire; she was also the culprit who finally made up his mind to run away from his hometown to join the mercenaries; the only one on the surface of the Marquis of the Sun The only daughter and his half-sister.
Therefore, at this moment, Rafael only felt full of surprise and happiness; because, at least in this chaotic world, he was no longer alone, and he still had such a blood relative. However, her waist-length hair was cut into a pot-top style, and her face was deliberately blackened with plaster.
Coupled with the linen lining and the leather armor; therefore, he looks like a fledgling, hairless knight's retinue; rather than a knight who should be wearing a silk skirt and brocade cloak, and among many noble children. Surrounded by Guiyuan, she went in and out between safari and banquets.
"In this case, you are the only person I know well." However, Farnese's words at the next moment made him unable to calm down on the spot: "Well, squinty-eyed fox, let's get married! Then, you will inherit Korok’s family and surname, as well as his title as Marquis!”
"This... this kind of thing, how can you decide casually and talk about it later..." Rafael could only change the subject and said: "You... you... can you let me go first, and then tell you properly? I, what happened in the castle, where are the Marquis and the others?"
"..." However, after hearing these words, Farnese's expression suddenly fell, and his tone became extremely low: "I am the only one left in the family; the only people left in the castle are all Here it is." Then she stood up half-heartedly and blew a whistle.
After a while, this dilapidated little monastery was also opened from the inside out. Then a group of timid figures came out, but they were basically a group of young men, teenagers and children armed with various weapons; there were also a few strong women wearing studded armor and holding clubs and hammers.
Then, amid the commotion of cheerful eating, Raphael followed Farnese to the incomplete terrace on the top of the monastery, and listened to her talk about the past that happened in the castle after she left the family. Just like the choice of most nobles in this era.
Shortly after Raphael left, the Marquis of Liège was also invited to the provincial capital, and members of the royal party organized by the old-school nobles elected him as one of the founding members of the so-called "Light of the Iris" group; with a Chartist background The new aristocratic group engaged in continuous and fierce struggles of invasion and oppression.
In the end, after more than ten years of armed conflicts and political assassinations, the Royal Party of the Marquis of Liège also defeated the liberals, republicans and Chartists supported by successive capital governments, forcing the National Convention to compromise with them and acquiesce. The current state of affairs in the Loire region.
However, the good times did not last long, and the National Convention was soon replaced by the Burgundian dynasty; the Marquis of Liege also refused the canonization from the city of Seine. However, as the former generalissimo of the kingdom, Motiler raised the royal flag on the spot and called on the old troops of the Flanders Army to establish the National Salvation Alliance government.
The Marquis of Liège, who was usually cold and stern, emphasizing the distinction between superiority and inferiority and the equality of classes, stood on the opposite side of the generalissimo; not only did he lead the garrison in the provincial capital to resist tenaciously. After the failure, he fled back to his hometown and gathered the vassals and strong men near the castle to support himself.
Ironically, the Grand Marshal's national salvation allies ignored his small resistance; instead, the armies of the Dutch princes who passed by one after another took turns attacking the castle like a revolving lantern and completely ransacked it. He took over the surrounding family territories and many manors.
Then, an endless stream of bandits and aliens followed; finally one day, with the help of internal and external cooperation, the castle was secretly opened at night... Although, with the vigorous resistance of the main family members, the sneak attack was repelled. A gangster; but he also paid a heavy price for it.
Then, the first time the fortress was breached, there would naturally be a second time; and as the people in the castle fled one after another, the members of the Marquis of Liège family, their vassals, and servants became increasingly difficult to survive under the heavy casualties. ; So, after the Marquis was accidentally injured and deteriorated to death,
The remaining hearts in the castle were completely dispersed. Whether it was the knights and retinues who had sworn to follow him in the past, or the servants, attendants, and stewards of those generations; they lost the final constraints of rationality and morality, and robbed and built money wantonly in the castle, and even attacked each other in groups.
As the only legal heir to the Marquis and the bloodline of Countess Farnese, she became the focus of contention for these thugs. But no matter how stern and cold the Marquis of Liège was, and how sexual and lustful he was, he had already made arrangements for his only daughter.
Therefore, on the night when the Marquis of Liège died, Farnese, the only daughter, did not even show up for her final confession. Instead, accompanied by several armed servants, she escaped from the family castle through a secret passage; All kinds of tragic fates that may follow.
This small monastery hidden in the deep forest is the last refuge prepared by the Marquis of Liege for his family members; it stores a lot of food, wine, weapons, and even seeds and agricultural tools. Therefore, Farnese also took in many orphans who escaped from the castle.
After the change in the celestial sphere occurred, the bandits who roamed the roads temporarily disappeared, but the mutated beasts and some sudden aliens in the mountains and forests became the biggest threat to such a group of survivors. So the remaining people, young and old, were forced to take up arms to protect themselves.
"At first they wanted to marry me to a certain country in the Netherlands, so I destroyed my purity with my own hands and pretended to be pregnant." Farnese suddenly leaned into his ear and said without hesitation. : "So, I have no reputation or purity at all. I can only count on you."
"Fani... you?" However, after hearing this, Rafael accidentally choked on his own saliva, and coughed violently, and then turned into a sigh of infinite pity and sadness: "I am just a timid person. Those who break the oath are really not worthy of you and do not deserve what you do.”
"So if you want to be a robber, I have no choice but to sacrifice my life to accompany you." Baroness Farnese glanced at the soldiers who were scattering and said: "But you must swear on the last honor of the family; Because I will never accept any other male except you."
"Actually...Fani," at this moment, Rafael could only take out the ribbon and military medal that he used as identification, "I am now a cavalry regiment commander, serving the Free Army and Serving the national salvation government, he is really not a bandit leader..."
"That's good. If you have the military rank and rank of a regiment leader, you have a greater chance of becoming a noble and inheriting the title." Farnese was busy planning his future, but the next moment he was stunned and said. : "Wait a minute! Aren't the Free Army the same traitors in the south?"
"I heard that under the leadership of the heretic who called himself the Knight King, they slaughtered the nobles unscrupulously and took away all their property; they destroyed churches and monasteries, and forced priests and nuns to perform obscene sacrilegious rituals; that Knight King had to sacrifice money every day. Sacrifice hundreds of people to maintain strength.”
"What you...you...heard, this is such a ridiculous thing." However, Rafael's face twitched when he heard it; then it turned into a sigh. Then he turned around and shouted below: "Go and ask Sister Flor from the Tzu Chi Nunnery in the provincial capital to come over."
"This nanny is a highly respected orphan rescuer and the one who was baptized when you were born; I believe she will explain and introduce to you the main deeds and truth about the Free Army... In addition, there is no Marquis of the Burning Sun anymore. I am now Baron Serra of the new dynasty.”
"So, am I wrong? Has it always been my delusion?" Upon hearing this, Farnese suddenly seemed to have lost all his strength and color, and took a few steps back with tears streaming down his face. At the edge of the terrace: "In this case, I will never be in your way."
The next moment, she fell outwards with a sad smile on her face, like a bird trying to get relief; she was hugged and dragged back. Then came Rafael's helpless and sad voice: "When did I say that I would abandon you? I haven't forgotten my original vow."
At the same time, Rodrigo and others, who were riding fast, also followed the ancient highway that traversed the east and west of the kingdom, crossed the central plateau and arrived near Reims City. However, in addition to the complicated emotions of meeting the Knight King in the Holy Land of Reims, he was more emotional about what he had seen along the way.
Because, from the Lower Pyrenees in the southwest, to Toulouse and Aveyron in the south, to Lifzan and Auvergne on the central plateau; from the desolation, depression and decadence of the border areas to the orderly and prosperous Inland, and then to the hinterland of the kingdom where land and water merchants travel.
Compared to the current shrinking Holy Kingdom, it seems that this place has hardly been affected by the changes in the celestial sphere. The only ones that are more conspicuous are probably the rangers who appear on the road from time to time, and the self-defense militiamen behind the reinforced wooden walls.
According to the proud declaration of the accompanying sergeant, the Free Army, starting from the city of Avignon, has been sparing no effort to eradicate and eliminate those aliens hiding in the darkness. Therefore, with this kind of foresight and precaution, the impact of the changes in the celestial sphere was also suppressed to a minimum.
Especially thanks to the renovated roads and reconstructed communication system, the threats and destruction caused by mutated beasts, aliens, and abnormal events can always be known at the first time, and the army can be quickly dispatched to suppress them. and extinguishment, to contain losses and damage.
In contrast, the numerous knights and provincial armies within the Holy Kingdom have many problems and shortcomings inherited from history, making it impossible for them to fully devote themselves to the work of suppressing and calming anomalies and rescuing their subjects. One can only sigh.
Among the nobles, there was even blasphemy and depravity in colluding with others. This is why Rodrigo did not hesitate to bear the reputation of defecting and finally made up his mind to come to the Kingdom of Zealand; he just wanted to find a relatively correct answer here, Or where the proven path lies.
(End of chapter)
