While the convoy was stopping for rest, the lord encountered a large-scale event.
This is May 8th, the festival of the goddess Damia.
There is a tall stone statue of a goddess in the small square of Imer Village, where villagers gather to pray to Damia, the goddess of harvest.
This is a traditional custom among farmers in southern Pande. After completing sowing, they will pray for good weather and good harvests.
At the same time, since this is the time when winter wheat is just stored in the warehouse, every family has food, and the busiest sowing period has just ended, so this festival has another meaning.
Goddess Damia is not only the goddess of harvest, she is also known as the goddess of protection. Her "protection" also means the continuation of life of descendants , so young men and women will gather at this time, looking for the opposite sex they like to drink and dance with.
If the man and woman both feel that the other is suitable, they can go to a nearby place to chat alone. If both sides get along well, they can swear an oath under the statue of Damia, and the local tribune will directly confirm the marriage of the two on this day.
If the courtship is successful on this day, it will be more meaningful and legitimate for the believers of Damia Goddess if they can get the blessings of Damia Goddess, the local lord and all the villagers.
It doesn’t matter if the deal doesn’t work out. You can come back and continue dancing and looking for someone. It can be considered a large-scale courtship day.
But this was a relatively harmonious and civilized one, without any scenes like bride kidnapping. It was more like a modern dance party.
But this activity full of beauty and hope is very dangerous for the lord, because he saw an old acquaintance next to the goddess statue - General Creon.
"Amy, don't turn your head... I think I saw General Cleon. We have to run away quickly."
The territory of this famous imperial general was Karen Deer Castle, but most of the people under his rule moved to Imer. Perhaps that was why he appeared here.
This taciturn general on the battlefield was now standing in the middle of the crowd with a few Glorious Cross Plague Repellents.
They were unarmed at the moment, and were wearing straw wreaths and offering tributes such as beer to the statue of the goddess.
This should be the request of Emperor Marius. Probably at this time all the consuls and generals would lead the farmers to worship the goddess Damia.
General Cleon is a member of the Order of the Radiant Cross and obviously holds a high status among the farmers - this can be seen from the fact that he walks into the crowd without any weapons.
However, General Cleon seemed a little absent-minded and even a little anxious.
After completing his ritual, he even yawned and turned to look around, as if something was on his mind.
Seeing that General Cleon was always looking around, the lord certainly did not want to be discovered. After all, the two countries have not yet signed an armistice agreement and are still considered hostile countries.
The caravan would definitely not be a problem. Most Bacchus lords would not actively attack a caravan carrying three noble flags, especially a general like Cleon from the Knights of the Glorious Cross.
In fact, the village of Imer welcomed the caravan on this beautiful day, and some people even planned to pull the people in the caravan to dance together, but the strong men of Mettenheim were too big to be harassed.
Sarah had already joined the villagers in the singing and dancing ceremony. As a bard, she would always respect any main god, so she played the piano in the small square.
——She had to play the piano. Many men in the village were staring at her. If she didn’t play the piano, she would be invited to dance…
This is a mating festival after all...
Sarah was very calm. She had been to Bucks before and it was not her first time to encounter this festival, so she was able to adapt to it.
But the Lord cannot show up. General Cleon has seen Leon before, and he knows that he is a kidnapper...
Therefore, the lord took Amy and planned to hide quickly before being discovered.
At this time, Lisadilan was peeping from behind a big tree at the entrance of the village. When he saw Leon turning around and coming out, he covered his hood and walked towards him.
"Sir, have we encountered an enemy? Do you need me to kill that guy?"
The Elf Killer's recent work attitude is quite proactive...
"No, this is someone else's territory. Don't mess around. We just need to guard the carriage outside the village."
The lord doesn't want to cause any trouble, he just wants to avoid it.
Sarah is a bard, very popular at this festival, so nothing will go wrong.
The people of Mettenheim need not worry either.
Although the macho men looked strong and fierce, the villagers had no hostility towards them. After all, Mettenheim mercenaries could often be seen in Bacchus.
As enemies of the Barclay Empire, the Mettenheims and the Bacchus were actually natural allies, since the Bacchus Empire and Barclay had always been in a state of hostility.
In fact, the Bacchus Empire is hostile to most countries...
Although Bucks is a little poorer now than before, his ancestors were rich after all - the richer the ancestors, the more enemies a country will have.
So now Bacchus probably only has Mettenheim as his only ally.
The first stop for most Mettenheim mercenaries who come to Pendor to make a living is the Bacchus Empire.
However, according to Frederick, the current bid offered by the Bacchus is too low and not even a fraction of what the Firthaways offered.
In fact, the lord understands very well that the cities in Firdsvain are generally chaotic and there are many commercial trade activities, so the demand for big bodyguards is definitely greater.
And thanks to Emperor Marius's reforms, Bacchus has sufficient troops in recent years and does not have much demand for mercenaries, so most of the people of Mettenheim will eventually go to the western coast and take business in the Firdsvain.
Imer's attitude towards the caravan is very good. No one needs to worry. The only one who needs to worry about General Cleon is actually Leon - mainly because he once kidnapped two governors in front of Cleon and is a dangerous element.
In fact, it was just a coincidence. In the entire Bacchus Empire, there were only a few people who knew the Lord. It was not easy to run into him...
Including Amy, probably no one knows her, except the two governors who were kidnapped.
Li Ang asked Amy not to look back just to cover himself - taking a girl away at this time was the least conspicuous way.
However, just as the lord was about to sneak out of the village with Amy, the absent-minded General Cleon seemed to see Amy carrying a musket.
He probably didn't recognize Amy, but he probably knew the musket - it was a weapon only Buckley had.
So the general said a few words to the people around him, pointed in this direction, and then several plague expellers ran over here.
"Teacher, they seem to be targeting me...you should leave the village first, I will go and get rid of them."
Amy glanced at them calmly, then sent the Lord and Lisadiran away.
She knew that General Creon must know the Lord.
But she had always been on the top of White Hart Castle, and these Glorious Cross Plague Repellents had never been on the city walls, so it was impossible for them to recognize her.
Amy has very good eyesight, or maybe it's just a girl's instinct - she can tell at a glance whether someone is staring at her or someone else.
So Amy turned around and went to meet those plague-repellent people.
Leon put on a hood, covering half of his face, and walked out of the village with Lisa Dilan, avoiding General Cleon's gaze.
"Gentlemen, you seem to be chasing me? What's the matter?"
Amy stood in front of the plague fighters with a smile on her face.
"Miss... um, sorry, you don't look like a Barkley... But the general asked us to ask, are you from that caravan? Where did the firearms on you come from?"
Seeing Amy's direct question, the several plague fighters were relieved. After looking at Amy carefully, their attitudes became much friendlier. The questions were also very direct and did not seem to be hostile. They were just asking ordinary questions to strangers.
"I am protecting the caravan. Are you trying to rob my musket? This is my trophy. If you dare to do anything, I swear I will fight you to the end!"
Amy glanced sideways and took a step back in a defensive manner.
"No, no, no, we are just curious and have no other intentions. Good afternoon, and welcome to join the festival of the Damia goddess, beautiful lady..."
Several plague fighters quickly put on a smile and then retreated. They didn't want to be mistaken for robbers.
And since it is 'trophy', it is obviously hostile to the Barclay Empire, so it is fine and can be returned.
Amy looked back every few steps as she slowly walked out, watching the plague-killers return to General Cleon.
Then General Cleon looked at Amy, but suddenly seemed to become interested and walked over.
And he walked very fast.
Amy simply stood there and waited.
She already knew that Cleon's men would not do anything to her, and the people of the Knights of the Radiant Cross were said to be basically decent.
But the first words General Creon said when he came to Amy scared her...
"My dear lady, can I invite you to dinner?"
hiss……
Amy was really confused now, as she was often invited to dinner by men. All the Lion Knights and the Knights of White Hart Castle wanted to invite her to dinner.
But, being invited by a man in his fifties, other than her father Godric, that had never happened before...
But Clion looked very serious, as if he didn't have any intention of teasing?
Even if this festival is special, it should be an invitation to dance, right?
The Sergeant-Major of the Knights of the Glorious Cross shouldn't be that kind of person, right?
"Well... you should be General Cleon, right? What do you want to talk to me about?"
Amy shook her head in disbelief, assessing Cleon's age in her mind.
She must be at least fifty years old, and her children are probably much older than her...
Is it not appropriate to invite an 18-year-old girl to dinner at this age?
"Ah, don't get me wrong, I'm not very good at talking... I just want to ask, you look like you 're not married yet? I hope you can help me..."
It seems that General Cleon is not very good at speaking, and he probably doesn't know how to deal with women at all...
Amy was sweating.
Sarah should be better at handling this kind of situation, but Amy has never had this kind of experience and has no idea what to do!
"General Cleon, I'm not going to consider marriage yet... Well, I have something else to do, goodbye..."
Amy looked around and saw that Sarah was still playing the piano and couldn't get away for a while.
So she quickly ran to Sarah - she knew Sarah was good at dealing with such troubles.
Sarah saw Cleon's actions, and obviously saw the embarrassment on Amy's face, so she stood up, apologized to the men around her, and then came over.
"Alas... Miss, this is a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding... I didn't mean it like that, I just..."
Cleon also looked embarrassed. Although he was not very good at speaking, he knew in his heart that Amy must have misunderstood.
But he could only shout a few times from behind, but he couldn't explain it clearly.
Sarah didn't hear what Cleon said, and when she saw Amy running over with a stiff face, she hugged Amy and said, "What's wrong?"
"This general actually asked me if I was married and said he wanted to treat me to a meal... Did I run into an old rogue?"
Amy's panic made Sarah laugh.
Sarah kept watching Cleon's reaction and knew that there should be no problem. After all, no noble would act like a hooligan in front of his subjects. It would be so embarrassing...
"It's okay Amy, he probably means no harm."
Of course, Sarah could tell at a glance that Cleon didn't have any messy thoughts, so she stepped forward and let Amy hide behind her.
"General Cleon, I know you, but you seem to have frightened my sister."
"Excuse me, ladies, I just... well, to be honest, I was looking for a suitable dance partner for my son, and this lady happened to be... well, I don't know how to put it..."
Cleon's face became even stiffer. He had come to invite out of politeness, but he was really not good at speaking...
Sarah was quite surprised: "General, why would you personally come to handle such a matter? And in the presence of so many people..."
Indeed, for nobles, this kind of thing is usually done by maids.
A great lord would not invite a girl in public, no matter what the reason was, even if the girl was a commoner or a mercenary, for someone of Cleon's status, this would be considered very impolite.
Sarah looked at him carefully. The general was wearing the uniform of a Glorious Cross Plague-Driver and Imperial Infantry Armor, and he had no emblem on his body. Only the Plague-Driver behind him was holding his military flag.
The military flag is a golden falcon, which is the iconic flag awarded to the leaders of the indigenous people of Pendor after the reform of Emperor Marius. The yellow and brown background color is also the iconic color of the Bacchus Empire after the reform - expressing the peaceful coexistence of the two peoples of Bacchus and Pendor.
So Sarah understood it all at once - Cleon was a senior military officer of commoner origin, and he might not pay much attention to the etiquette among nobles. Moreover, he didn't know that Amy was a noble girl, and probably thought that Amy was a businessman or mercenary.
"I know this is a bit rude, but I'm worried that I won't see you again after your caravan leaves, so I'm a little anxious... It's like this..."
It turns out that Cleon's son, Lord Dean, is already thirty-three years old, but has never been married.
Emperor Marius once issued a decree that men over 32 years old or women over 28 years old who had never married would be convicted and required to perform labor service. This was a policy formulated to increase the population, and it was applied equally to everyone, including the consuls.
Emperor Marius also specifically stipulated that old men were not allowed to eat young girls, and the age difference between husband and wife could not exceed 25 years. Couples who violated the rules would be sent to jail to avoid wasting resources instead of increasing the population.
Cleon himself was a staunch supporter of Emperor Marius's reforms, so of course he had to abide by the law. As a result, he personally sent his son to serve three months of hard labor last year...
If his son doesn't find a girlfriend this year, he will have to move rocks in the mine for another three months...
As a father, Cleon certainly loves his son, and he also hopes that his son can get married as soon as possible.
But Lord Dean is a stubborn person...
Dean was one of the first beneficiaries of Marius' reforms. After graduating from the Royal Academy in Siyuan City, he became a believer of Damia, the goddess of harvest, and was particularly good at water conservancy projects and agricultural construction.
Since he was twenty years old, he has been involved in agricultural construction in various parts of the Bacchus Empire and has achieved considerable results.
For this, he accumulated a lot of merits and was named the lord of Imer - this place has been stable for more than 20 years, and there are many wastelands around it, which is very suitable for agriculture.
However, I don’t know whether Dean is selfish or has the wrong orientation. Anyway, he has not been interested in women for more than ten years...
Cleon had arranged dozens of blind dates for him, including with aristocratic girls and beautiful commoner women, but none of them were successful.
Dean looked down on ordinary girls. He felt that "just talking to them was a disaster. I couldn't stay with a woman who screamed when she saw a sword. Moreover, they were ignorant and stupid and difficult to communicate with."
General Cleon said these were Dean's exact words.
The students of the Royal Academy might really look down on the country girl...
So Creon was quite anxious - he thought his son probably liked a knowledgeable and talented female warrior.
This is really hard to find.
And after meeting Amy, he thought this seemed like a good opportunity!
Because the way Amy is carrying a gun and a sword now, just visually speaking, she is definitely not an ordinary girl.
Just by looking at her, you can tell that she is a cultured female warrior - without some education, one cannot operate a musket, and the fact that she remained neither humble nor overbearing in the face of several soldiers also shows her courage.
Moreover, a battle-hardened general like Cleon could see that Amy had definitely seen war and been on the battlefield.
So Cleon felt that this was definitely someone his son would like, which probably met Dean's expectations.
He didn't know that this was Godric's daughter. Amy claimed that she was 'protecting the caravan', and he thought Amy was just a female mercenary.
There is really no need for a general to play around with a mercenary and use aristocratic etiquette. It is normal to talk about things when there is something to say - just like the grandpas and ladies in the park who are looking for partners for their children.
Sarah has already started to shake her head: "General, with your status, you can find a willing girl in the village first, and directly arrange a marriage with Lord Dean, so that you can be exempted from the crime and then slowly solve the problem later... At most, you can cancel the engagement later."
General Cleon nodded with a sad face: "That's what I thought! But Dean is a little... a little stubborn! He has no interest in those women, and he is unwilling to listen to my arrangements. Today was originally a good opportunity. He is a believer of the goddess Damia, and I also arranged an older girl who is also troubled by the law... He originally agreed, but he changed his mind today and hid at home - but if this matter is not resolved, he will have to go mining again in half a month!"