The Hard Work Will Never Betray Me
CH 36
The night has come. The people of the city were still drinking, dancing, and making noise, but the nobles and priests were not.
The Spirit Festival is about to begin. It is our duty of nobles and priests to perform rituals and thank the earth spirits and sky gods. If the vibrant festival we just witnessed is the day part of the Spirit Festival, this is the night part of the Spirit Festival.
"Brother brother?"
“Clifford. It's been a long time."
"It's nice to meet you."
"It's a big day.I can't afford to be sick.”
"You're right. …… It's been a long time, Eberhard.”
"Long time. Uncle."
My father, Karlheinz Klaus von Fahrenheit, had several siblings. However, he did not have an older brother or sister, but two younger brothers and two younger sisters under his eldest son, Father.
Clifford Kraus von Fahrenheit. This is Clifford Kraus von Fahrenheit, my father's younger brother, who was the chief priest of the Temple of Heitburg.
“For a long time, Brother Hal.
“Old no see, Ani.”
“Hai, long time no see. Ellen's. Edward.”
They're my cousins. They are the children of my uncle Clifford. Ellen was the oldest, and Edward was his younger brother and eldest son. Ellen's a year younger than me, and Edward's three. Edward was the same age as my brother, Albert. They were both brothers who called me brother.
The second Farenheit family, with Clifford as the patriarch, was a branch of our Farenheit family. The first family is the successor of the master, and the second family is the successor of the priest. This is how they usually divide the sacred and the secular to rule this vast border area.
This is because, in practical terms, it is impossible for us to have a literal unity between church and state. It is impossible for me to become a priest alongside my busy life as a noble. Therefore, as a member of the same family, it is customary for nobles to entrust the “ritual” section to the branch family.
This was the same even for the imperial family. The Emperor was busy ruling the Hylands Kingdom. So it was customary for Cardinal Hylands, the head of the temple in the imperial city of Orleus, the religious headquarters of the Hylands, to be passed down from generation to generation to the emperor's younger brother or male relative.
“Ritual will begin soon. Is everyone ready?”
To perform the ritual, we all changed into something different.I wore a white robe, which made me look like an honorable cardinal.”
“You look good, Hal.”
Lily, who had also changed into a priestess robe, said to me. Lily was also no longer the tomboy she used to be, but her white robe was neat and clean and looked good for her.
“It's time. Time to go, everybody, stay calm and don't get nervous when we practice."
The old man said, especially to us children. I went there last year, and I trained a lot, so there's no problem. I'm sure Lily will be able to handle herself as a young woman as usual, not to mention his brothers who became pastors in their own right.
"I'm fine."
"good. Let's go.""
The sound of bells ringing ……. Fire is lit in the temple. A fire is lit in the ritual hall, and the night of the spirit festival begins.
A few hours passed.
A few hours have passed since then. The ritual went well, nothing was wrong, all took their place, offering prayers of gratitude and prosperity, and raising offerings according to the prescribed ritual.
After the ritual, we were greeted in the temple grounds by envoys from other noble families, the guild head, the head of the great merchant association, and the upper echelons of the patrol and internal affairs officers. We didn't go around to greet them because our position was higher than theirs.
"I'd like to congratulate you and your family."
“Thank you for your continued support.””
“May you be blessed with the blessings of spirit.”
These are all standard phrases. Both my father and uncle slightly changed the words depending on the person they were talking to, but basically what they were saying was the same. I guess it's called socializing. Adults are annoying creatures.
By the time we finished, it was past midnight, too much hard work for a six-year-old. I felt like I was going to lose consciousness.
"You've done a great job. You must be exhausted. Now go home and rest.”
“How about you, Dad?”
“We still have some cleaning to do.”
"Hm."
Actually, the Spirit Festival has not ended just for today. We had to keep the fire all night to make sure the holy fire at the altar wasn't extinguished.
But this is not our role. There are some priests who are in charge of keeping the fire burning. What they mean by “tidying” is handing over duties to these firefighters. Then tomorrow morning the fire will be extinguished according to the correct procedure, and finally the ritual is completed.
The role of this fun yet difficult ritual will be taken over at the same time that I managed to become the head of the family.I still have nearly thirty more years before I take over the house, but if I don't get used to it while I still can, I'll get into trouble later.
In the beginning, this year's spirit festival took place without a hitch. I think I'll rest well tonight.
✳︎
After the spirit festival, we spent a peaceful day without any major events. It was hot outside, so we stayed inside reading books and telling stories to calm down, and before we knew it, the day to say goodbye had arrived.
“I don't want to go home.”
”I don't want to go yet. I have a communication device, so I won't be sad.”
“See you in winter.
"I'll wait. I'll come to you in autumn.”
"OKAY. See you later, Hal!”
"See you, Lili."
It's about 500 kilometers to Bernstadt, Duke's hometown. It's a long journey of six days even with the duke's incredible, high-performance horse (actually, the bearings used in the wagon have been modified over the past week, so that the performance is even higher) the carriage.
As dukes, they had some excellent guards, and there were several patrol stations on the main road. There are also several patrol stations along the main road. Security on the main road is quite good due to heavy traffic, not to mention the narrow side roads. No need to worry.
"Bye bye!"
Lily's cheerful voice made me feel that she was a tomboy, as she leaned out the window of the carriage and waved her hand. If you take a closer look, you'll see that the servant's hand is wrapped around her waist, so she might hold on desperately to keep Lily from falling out of the carriage. The maid has a difficult job.
And so, after staying for a week, Lily returned to the Duke's estate.
Although there was a conflict with May during her visit, it was not a big problem thanks to May's support. Lily hasn't mentioned it since, and I think she's enjoyed it enough. It's been a long time since I've had such a good time with Lily, and I'm happy to do it.
…… Well, now I have to go to May's place to make up for it.”
I disguised myself as a commoner (even though I tried to look "a little rich", so I wasn't dressed that badly), put on a leather bag, said a few words to the gatekeeper, and went to the city.
