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Aldelion had only recently turned 18; he was the heir to Gildaria and handled a bow quite well, but Stefania, like the other members of the lord's entourage, knew little about him — many sometimes even forgot he existed, so rarely did he appear in society. There were rumors that he greatly disliked women.
- What nonsense. So much money, time, and effort spent so that the fortunate of this world could stuff their bellies and have a good time.
"Indeed... All these toasts, speeches, dances... Such boredom..."
The heir decided to step aside, where he continued his complaining in the company of a foreigner.
Stefania knew he was some sort of mercenary who had recently appeared in her lord's retinue, but what exactly his services were, she did not know.
"Written all over his face — a bandit..."
kcfgogbfalgfl
Neiko
kcfgogbfalgfl
Some time later, the ruler of Kabochi, Grimban Odolerus, approaches Lord Adalard Grimm, and while the big and small lords chatted about their own matters, Stefania found herself in the company of the Knight of Milk Chocolate.
- Chonchonlia Quintea, - the kabochi woman introduced herself; she was only 25 tin tall, so the Knight of the Wind surely looked down on her. - Pleased to meet you!
— Stefania Valentine, — the Knight of the Wind greeted the girl. — Likewise!
Stefania smiled at the knight from Kabochi but continued to carry out Adalard's order and watch the mercenary.
The mercenary kept conversing with young Grimm about something. Judging by the emotions on the young man's face, talking with this person gave him great pleasure — he even developed a blush on his cheeks.
"Every rumor has a grain of truth..."
Count Orlov
-- While the path is not complete, counting steps is pointless
The horizon's vision is always deceiving
Perhaps tomorrow fortune's wheel will turn again
And our horses will trample the North into dust
And we will crown our spears with the heads of Sithia's wicked children
And the day after, it will all begin anew
Perhaps the weak will become strong, the strong — weak
None among mortals can escape
The chains of blind fate. The future is hazy, the past is hidden
What could have been shall never be.
Shame for one's feelings befits only the base-born
Far more terrible is the emptiness within the soul
If life is short and holds no constancy
Only the wild impulses of the spirit will affirm
Our existence. What need have we of wine's sweetness
And the gleam of beautiful eyes, and the light of the sun
And the spires of stone-hard palaces, when there remains
No living soul — it matters not
Whether in sorrow or in joy it dwells. While living thought
Has not left the world, we may affirm
That our lives were not in vain, though now
The burden of existence may seem meaningless,
Whose reflection, alas,
I observe in the depths of beautiful eyes
Perhaps the cup of woes has yet to be drained
But there is no question of to be or not to be
In faithful service to You, while the heart beats,
I gladly greet the new dawn
"A po-e-e-t..."
Sky
Revan
- With whom do I have the pleasure of speaking? - asks Mariarnelia.
- Revaniel, Your Grandeur. Merely a humble priestess of the Dawn Raven, arrived here straight from Duskwing, home to all our few followers.
- Ah... - Apparently, this worldview occupied no significant part of the royal person's consciousness.
- If Your Grandeur's heart finds the generosity to accept my humble gift, it would delight me to the depths of my soul!
Revaniel lowers herself to one knee and presents the Deus with a pitch-black box adorned with golden patterns.
Before the Deus even thought to reach for the box, Axel steps between the gift and the queen. He looks around for the servants whose duty it is to check such items for safety.
Sky
kcfgogbfalgfl
Such a duty belonged to the knights accompanying the Deus.
Axel looked at the priestess with narrowed eyes and displeasure. Then he rather roughly took the black box from her hands.
-- What is this? - asked the knight, carefully examining the object from all sides.
Sky
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Inside the black box turns out to be an equally black mirror with a luxurious gold frame around it. One glance at it made it perfectly clear that this was an item of exceptional value.
Axel looked suspiciously at the mirror, then at the priestess, then at the mirror again. Before looking into it himself, he turns it so that the priestess looks into it first.
Inside the black box turns out to be an equally black mirror with a luxurious gold frame around it. Just looking at it made it abundantly clear that this was an item of exceptional value.
Axel looked at the mirror suspiciously, then at the priestess, then back at the mirror. Before looking into it himself, he turns it so that the priestess looks into it first.
Damn, you're rich — even I can't afford vegetables and fruit regularly, let alone cheese. You could support anyone you want over there.
It's not that I'm rich, it's that Slavic bastardry is poor. I certainly can't support anyone. Either way, I'll have to take benefits for our five children with the alt and housing from the local authorities. Aren't you supposed to be a millionaire, or what?
Revan
Seizing the moment, the priestess fixes her hair.
- Thank you, my lord.
Axel takes out a clean handkerchief and wraps the mirror in it. He then places the item on the table before the queen (we are sitting at the table, right?). He himself approaches Mariarnelia and, leaning to her ear, whispers: "Your Majesty, as your knight, I advise you to give the item to people versed in magical items for examination."
Небо – мольбы не ждёт Небо – угроз не слышит Небо – ведёт особый счёт Небо – тебя найдёт
- You said it. A foreign dessert, they sure know what they're doing over there.
- That's exactly what I worry about most — what if he pulls something like that and tomorrow our little village gets declared war on?.. If only you could see his body! There's not a single unscathed spot left, all covered in scars from endless adventures and battles up north... - Remembering where she is, Radost reflexively covered her own mouth with her palm. - Oh... You, my lord, didn't hear that, alright? Please...
- Hm? - even though the information was firmly recorded on a biological hard drive, Lester pretended otherwise. - I heard only what you deemed fit to tell me, my lady, and nothing more, - my lady is honored with yet another gallant bow. - Frankly speaking, I've always been amazed and inspired by a place like yours. To think — going out to defend the entire kingdom like that, without even being conscripted into it. There's something about it that resonates with my soul; a pity I wasn't born there. Who knows, we might have been neighbors, ha-ha!
Sighs.
- And to my shame, I've never been to your place. I hope I'll manage to make up for that miss. But seriously, the reason I approached you is that you seemed a bit sorrowful, even though a celebration is expected today. I understand where that might come from, however — it's not all that grim. At first glance it seems like a tricky affair, but once you understand the nature of such gatherings, it falls right into your palm, - he places his fingers on his palm one by one. - Greetings, a brief chat about nothing, moving on to another spot. That's all there is to it. The key is a smile — just don't force it, but generate it somehow, yet close to your own nature. I don't recall ever seeing you happy, forgive my frankness. But that can't be true, right? There's always something worth holding onto.
Those steaks of yours are overrated, honestly. Besides, they need cooking.
Cooking them isn't hard, it's literally 10 minutes including prep work. Salt, pepper, a minute on high heat on each side, then on medium-low 3-4 per side depending on the desired rarity. It's as fast a dish as possible, only scrambled eggs are quicker. The same chicken, for example, needs longer to cook through — rarity there is, let's say, not the optimal approach.
It's not hard to prepare, literally 10 minutes including prep work. Salt, pepper, a minute on each side over high heat, then 3-4 minutes per side on medium-low depending on the desired doneness. It's as fast a dish as possible, only scrambled eggs are faster. Chicken, for example, takes longer to cook through, and doneness isn't exactly optimal there.
And tuna with salmon is the baseline, agreed.
You didn't account for having to wash everything up after cooking. Anyway, maybe I'll have an alt cook steaks for me, I won't bother with it myself.
Небо – мольбы не ждёт Небо – угроз не слышит Небо – ведёт особый счёт Небо – тебя найдёт
I didn't take that into account — of course, you do need to wash the frying pan afterward. That's probably the most unpleasant part, though not exactly difficult or time-consuming.
I stopped worrying about the harmfulness in terms of various additives and such. They're already in all food by default, given how it's grown. To have something harmless, you'd have to live on a farm far from civilization, somewhere in Argentina, and grow everything yourself. That's too complicated, too tedious, too expensive, and most likely even impossible.
Bro, switch to a diet: steaks, eggs, cheese (if you have the real stuff, not a cheese-containing product), vegetables, and fruit if you want. And you'll be doing great.
Sometimes you can throw in some buckwheat or Greek yogurt, or even avocado, but that's up to your taste. Instead of steaks, if you're really short on funds at the moment, you can go for something a bit lower-tier like poultry — the fillet specifically — but overall there shouldn't be any problems.
Those steaks of yours are way overrated. Plus you have to cook them. Turkey and chicken are fine to stick with, plus tuna and salmon. And I already eat eggs, vegetables, and fruit; cheese doesn't really do it for me.
Damn, you're rich — even I can't afford vegetables and fruit regularly, let alone cheese. You could support anyone yourself over there.
Since when are cheese, vegetables, and fruit a sign of being well-off, like really well-off? Oh: What are Magnit-Pyaterochka-Perekrestok shares even for, then?
And besides, aren't you supposed to be getting a lot from the state...
Happy Life
I didn't account for that — you do indeed have to wash the pan afterward. That's probably the most unpleasant part, though it's not really difficult or time-consuming.
Good thing I have a husband for that. I hate washing all those dishes, pans, and so on.