Chapter 26: The Banquet

  When Owen appeared in front of Arwod, he was not particularly surprised, and he had already thought about why he came. The young blacksmith's face was ruddy, his father finally slept the sweetest sleep of his life after completing this sword, which made the young man who relied on his father very happy. However, the Earl Ebrel, who followed Owen with a bright smile, made Arwod confused. The first heir of the Duke wore luxurious noble clothes and was accompanied by several followers, seemingly very leisurely.

  "Sir, take a look at this sword." Eown handed over the treasured sword in his hand. The sword was narrow and long, with a cross-shaped hilt, without too much decoration, simple and unadorned. This was originally the sword that Eown and his father had tried to cast, so it couldn't have too much decoration. Arwade took it over, looked at it, and tested its sharpness with his thumb. Indeed, a cold-forged sword was much more solid than a hot-forged one. A strange glow emanated from the surface of the sword.

  "Ah~~~, Lord Arweld." Just as Arweld was carefully examining the sword in his hand, Sir Eber stood beside him and couldn't help but interrupt.

  "Sir Ebor, are you here to see my father? He's gone to train the soldiers." Arwod thought Sir Ebor had received orders from Duke Mason to find Lord Windell, but he had no idea that the knight was after the sword in his hand, a treasure worth a city in Sir Ebor's eyes, but not even as valuable as a kitchen knife in Arwod's eyes.

  "Oh, no, the order to march has not been given by my father yet, I have come for another purpose." Sir Wendel was so tense that he could hardly breathe, seeing Arwed casually inserting his sword into the mud. He clenched his fist and placed it beside his mouth, coughing slightly to conceal his embarrassment. He also noticed that the sword in Owen's hand was meant for Arwed, but asking him to return it now seemed like bullying, yet he really liked this sword too much, and this difficult-to-abandon hobby was his only interest.

  "What brings you here?" Arwo asked doubtfully, Sir Eber seemed to want to speak but hesitated as if there was something difficult to say.

  "This noble gentleman wants the sword in your hand." Eown hesitated to reply for Sir Evol, he had told Sir Evol many times that the sword already has an owner, but Sir Evol still wanted to know who the owner was. He even said that if it were his father who bought it, he would go and claim it himself. As a result, when Eown told him it was Arwod, Sir Evol instead smiled and suggested they go together, which led to the current scene.

  "This sword?" Arwade lowered his head in surprise, looking at the sword in his hand. He didn't think that Sir Eber would be so serious just for this trial of cold-forged sword in his hand, it can be seen how much this cold-forged sword pleased Sir Eber.

  "No, I know it's a bit of an imposition, but I'm extremely fond of this sword. Would you be willing to let me have it? As for the price, you can name your own." Sir Ebral said hastily, looking completely vulnerable, and would undoubtedly be taken advantage of by any unscrupulous merchant, not that the Hermann family was short on wealth.

  "Since you like it so much, I'll give it to you." Arwade thought of his poor little family and pulled out the sword from the mud, handing it over to Lord Ebrel with a casual gesture. As someone whose soul came from the East, he deeply understood the principle of giving before taking, and if he wanted to find a powerful backer, there was no one more suitable than the first heir of the duke.

  "What? You really want to give me this sword?" Sir Ebril couldn't believe it as he took the precious sword handed over by Arwod. He believed that any knight would not refuse a sharp sword, and there were even examples of knights starting private wars for a single sword. It was because in this era, the technology of casting was backward, if one could get a sharp sword, on the battlefield, it would be possible to break the opponent's weapon in just one round, wouldn't that make him invincible on the battlefield? But Arwod gave him this priceless sword unconditionally, Sir Ebril couldn't help but think that there must be some conspiracy behind this. His hand hesitated for a moment as he took the sword, but he really couldn't resist the temptation of the precious sword.

  "Of course, it's not completely free. I hope you can mention my family more in front of Duke Mason. After all, the Windel family has been serving the Herman family as knights for generations. Our loyalty is known to God, but if the duke knows about it, that would be even better." Arwade said with a smile, seeing through Sir Eber's hesitation. If this sword was really worth a city, the knight's hesitation was understandable. After all, a pie falling from the sky could also stun people.

  "Haha, of course, I will remember." After hearing Arude's words, Sir Eber put his mind at ease and firmly grasped the sword in his arms, readily agreeing to this small matter. As the first heir to the dukedom, he had understood from a young age that he must always be on guard against others, for the palace itself was a place where hidden dangers lurked, and one misstep could lead to being seized by political enemies. Being cautious and prudent was an essential factor in living a long life.

  "Lord Arvad, you're just going to give the sword away like that?" Owen looked at Sir Eber, who was walking away from the camp with a joyful expression after picking up the sword. He couldn't help but say to Arvad beside him, as a blacksmith, he knew the value of this sword, although he didn't have a clear concept of technological innovation, but his experience told him that this cold-forged sword would be invincible on the battlefield.

  "It doesn't matter, as long as the secret technique is known, this sword can be remade." Ahrode shrugged indifferently and said, the Cold Forging Sword Technique was only one ten-thousandth of the techniques he knew. If all the techniques he knew were to be revealed, it would likely trigger a technological revolution.

  "Oh, Lord Arwode, I almost forgot something important." Sir Eber walked back to the camp entrance and hastily returned, elegantly saying to Arwode, "There will be a banquet in the castle tonight, my father will invite many powerful vassals to attend, of course, I think the Windel family should also participate as loyal and dedicated nobles. I will report to my father, please bring your family to join us at that time."

  "Of course, I'm extremely grateful to you, sir." Arwade thought that good deeds indeed bring good rewards. Look, benefits have already appeared. In this era, the upper class usually socializes in such banquets, and being able to get acquainted with many influential lords is very beneficial for the development of one's own family. Only when one's family prospers can they live a leisurely life in this era.

  Sir Everard, delighted, returned to the castle with the sword in hand, his room had a special small room, which was hung with all sorts of swords and axes, and not lacking artistic pieces from Italian city-states, the master craftsmen's painstakingly crafted swords were beautiful in appearance, but when Sir Everard took out the cold-forged sword, the other swords paled in comparison, this made Sir Everard even more infatuated.

  As Sir Wendel and others returned to the camp after training their soldiers with Yifu and Marcos, Arrod told them about this matter in detail. However, in order not to cause trouble, he selectively skipped over how he helped Owen forge the sword, only saying that he had bought a sword which happened to be liked by Lord Ebrel.

  "Attend a banquet in the castle?" Sir Wendel was astonished, knowing that small nobles like them had no chance of entering the castle unless they were summoned by the duke, which was even more unlikely.

  "Ah, finally! The Duke of Mason has come to realize the importance of the Wendell family!" Yves exclaimed loudly, unable to contain himself as he grabbed a horned cup and scooped out a mugful of ale from the malt barrel, pouring it down his throat in big gulps.

  "I don't think so, this must be the reason why Arwode gave me the sword. I've heard that the heir of Duke Mason is a knight who loves weapons." Sir Wendel stroked his whiskers thoughtfully and said.

  "Anyway, we've been invited, so let's think about what to wear for the party." Yifu said carelessly, finishing his drink and wiping his mouth with a flourish.

  "Alright, in any case it's a good thing." Sir Wendel nodded, thinking that he should indeed go buy a suitable outfit, since the Duke's court banquet was a formal occasion and required attire that conformed to etiquette.

  In the market under the castle, there were tailor shops that specialized in cutting clothes. Inside, they had various colored fine linen fabrics, which were usually used as materials for noble clothing. The noblewomen and young ladies of the nobility often came and went from this place, and fashion trends would also spread to other counties from here. German noblewomen typically wore long-sleeved dresses with a large round collar that exposed their white neck skin at the neckline. They wore decorative headbands on their heads, and their hair was usually braided into small braids that fell onto their shoulders, rather than wearing pointed tower-shaped hats like French noblewomen. This was also because the Germans still maintained simple customs.

  While German nobles and upper-class people wore a long, rectangular or circular cloak over their outer garments, the cloak was fixed on one shoulder or tied to the chest, and the fabric used was mostly fine linen. However, listening to the gossip of noblewomen in the tailor's shop, it was said that the Duke's family wore silk from the East, which was a rare and expensive fabric priced by the ounce, equivalent to gold. The price was so high that others were amazed, while the gossiping noblewoman looked pleased with herself, satisfied with the astonishment of others.