Chatting and Hunting

"I realized that ever since I met you, I have gradually stopped being myself."

By the riverside, Countess Conosa sat reservedly on the carpet spread out by her maid, facing Damian.

"Why do you say that? I helped you quell the unrest in Gothingen, established the new trade market, and even defeated your brother. If you think you are gradually not yourself, doesn't that make me seem very evil?"

Damian merely smiled as the maid arranged various utensils and food for the picnic.

"Really? Now the surrounding noblemen are mocking me, saying that I'm your puppet," Conosa said, taking a sip of wine, her words laced with a probing tone.

For a medieval noble's picnic, fresh apples, rare precious honey, white bread, and wine were considered respectable and valuable foods.

In the medieval times, there were generally only two situations where nobles would gather outdoors. The first was when young men and women engaged in romantic pursuits.

If they were nobles, they would express their feelings decorously among the flowers, whereas poor freemen might leave traces in any corner.

The second, more common situation involved large groups of male nobles gathering for a hunt. Hunting was a popular and formal social occasion among the few significant social activities available to medieval nobles.

For example, it was akin to a work outing or team-building hiking event. Most nobles needed to master skills such as 'conversation', 'archery', and 'horse riding' to showcase themselves and enhance their reputations.

Despite this, many still fell victim to wild boars during hunts. Since medieval Europe lacked lions, wild boars were the most common wild beasts. Many sons of kings, counts, and dukes made mistakes during hunts, which became laughingstocks recorded in history.

These scenarios, however, did not apply to Damian and Conosa.

Although ostensibly out for a hunt, when a man and a woman go hunting, could it be that they were planning to hunt among the flowers?

In terms of romance, Countess Conosa was somewhat at a loss.

Things had developed too quickly, so much so that whenever the countess made a decision she thought was right at the time, she regretted it soon after.

For example, she betrothed her confidante Joan to Damian, nominally just a friend's marriage, as a ploy to prevent Damian from leaving.

But who could have predicted that Damian would repeatedly demonstrate his outstanding military talents, leaving Conosa full of regret. At this point, trying to end the marriage between Joan and Damian prematurely was clearly impossible.

Joan even frequently mentioned the idea of having children in conversations. Once that happened, and the child tied Damian's hands, what would she do then?

Another instance was her naive allowance for Damian to stay as a priest under the guise of religious identity, rather than directly knight him.

This gave Damian the freedom to maneuver. When it came time to reassign feudal obligations, she had no choice but to grant him a large share of knights.

Now, out of 152 knights in the territory, Damian alone commanded 32, not counting the ten new and ten old knights he possessed in the Milhouse barony.

In the impoverished frontier or mountainous regions, this arrangement was already comparable to that of a count.

After all, the title 'count' originally meant commander. Fifty-two knights could form an army of several hundred, sufficient for a commander.

With the war against Schmalen alone, Damian had acquired territory, fame, and an army overnight, becoming a paragon of reaching the pinnacle of life.

But Conosa had her concerns.

She deliberated for a while before cautiously asking, "Where did you get the money to redeem your feudal obligations?"

In truth, she wasn't very worried about Damian rebelling. Their relationship had always been intimate and complex.

However, Conosa feared that Damian might be enticed by other counts abroad, bought over with money, and then use the opportunity to overthrow her.

Damian smiled slightly but remained silent for a moment.

Recently, this matter had indeed caused some commotion.

Because calculations revealed that the funds Damian used to redeem his feudal obligations far exceeded his gains on the battlefield.

According to medieval rules, the leading general had the priority to allocate the spoils of war, which was normal.

But where did Damian's money come from?

Some with ulterior motives spread rumors about Damian colluding with the neighboring count, such as Count Arendse of Weimar. Obviously, if the object of collusion changed to the bishop of Weimar, Damian might indeed do it.

"You don't need to worry about that. I have my own channels. For example… the accumulated wealth of Abbot Scoke, who embezzled money all his life?"

In response to Conosa's suspicion, Damian pinned the funds on Scoke.

After all, he was already in the ground and couldn't refute anything.

Conosa was dubious.

She had long suspected that an embezzling abbot like Scoke wouldn't have left behind only those remaining assets. However, since the duke quickly appointed a new abbot, she hadn't had time to investigate.

"Lady Marianne can testify for me," Damian shrugged.

Conosa could only pursue the matter this far. In fact, her doubts were not entirely dispelled, but what in this world could be entirely clear?

They drank tea and hunted in the fields in the afternoon.

Damian, having undergone a systematic upgrade of his personal martial prowess, quickly shot down a bunch of rabbits.

"Unexpectedly, you have considerable martial skills. It would have been great if you could have trained in knightly skills when you were younger," Conosa remarked regretfully, seemingly lamenting that Damian hadn't become a brave knight.

"The monastery was fine. If possible, knights' descendants should first learn literature, then martial skills," Damian didn't feel any regret.

In the monastery, Damian read related history, studied theological debates, and learned basic medicinal knowledge in the herb garden, avoiding death from minor colds and fevers. These were things knights couldn't learn.

As they were chatting, a messenger suddenly rushed over in a panic.

"Madam! A messenger from Nancy just arrived. The duke is requesting troops from each territory to organize autumn defenses."

Countess angrily saying, "Defend against autumn? The greenskin tribes in our territory have been eradicated, and bandits and robbers are almost extinct. Why the panic?"

The messenger hurriedly explained, "No, my lord! It seems… it seems the duke wants you to personally lead the troops to Nancy. But strangely, he only ordered you, and the other counts in the northeast border haven't received similar orders."

"What?"

Damian squinted slightly.

It seemed the duke had ulterior motives.