Chapter 187 (1/2)
The harvest festival is held on the day the last wheat is harvested.
The custom arose when the great temple had not yet been built. There were temples back then, but they were not as organized as they are now.
Early temples worshiped the same god, honored saints, and followed the same customs, but each led their own faith.
The rituals were also slightly different. Areas of influence were a few villages or a city or two.
So it was possible to offer sacrifices on the very same day after the last harvest in the land.
With the centralization of temples and the consolidation of secular power into the imperial court of the Krates Empire, this was no longer possible.
The imperial family did not want to consolidate its influence on the residents through the rituals of the temple.
The temple’s bishops wanted to establish the temple’s authority by controlling the ceremonies.
Therefore, the New Year Festival and Harvest Festival were to be held only at the great temple.
And in these two ceremonies, the Emperor must personally attend and light candles.
Even in this era, when the center of wealth is clearly shifting to commerce and industry, the importance of agriculture has not diminished at all.
It was no exaggeration to say that the imperial power came from the fact that it occupied all the fertile land.
Even if there are displaced people due to disasters every year, the population as a whole has steadily increased. Even if it was devastated by war and exploitation, it was restored after two or three years of abundance.
When the Empire stopped trading and seized food and raw materials, no country could survive.
Not to mention the North, which was subjugated to the Empire due to food problems in the first place, even the wealthy Iantz Kingdom, whose population would all have worn silk socks, even any commoner along the way, was bound to starve to death if the Empire blocked the port.
And the Emperors of the past were well aware of that fact.
When the Emperor personally came to the Great Temple and offered an offering, the nobles were also expected to follow.
Now, there were few nobles who were interested in the New Year Festival or the Harvest Festival itself.
The important thing is that this is a large-scale official event with the Emperor as a head. After all, it is a ritual.
It was to show the direction of power by who appears in what kind of outfit and stands next to whom.
The nobles who arrived early scattered around the large garden of the Great Temple in groups of twos and threes and ate light refreshments.
There was still a lot of time before it started. There was no news that the Emperor's family had even departed.
“Will Her Majesty the Empress not attend this year?”
“I wondered last year, too, but in the end she didn’t come.”
“It’s different from last year. Grand Duke and Grand Duchess Evron are also in the capital.”
Whispers echoed all over the place.
“By the way, it’s very refreshing to not see Miraila.”
“I didn’t know about banquets, but it was really rude to go out at an official event like this.”
“His Majesty was too much. No matter how Sir Lawrence…….”
“Shh.”
“What? There is no need to be careful anymore.”
The lady who brought it up at first responded coolly.
The person who had been careful, spoke with a lowered voice.
“Still, you have to be careful. It is said that His Majesty seldom goes out of the palace these days, but who can guarantee that he is really depressed?”
Then people started to join in.
They did not know where they were or who they were, but everyone knew that the Emperor had a secret organization.
It was not a story that could be shared in such an open place.
Thud! Thud!
At that moment, there was a sound of heavy footsteps resounding. The fallen leaves on the ground trembled.
The eyes directed towards that way.
Grand Duchy Evron's carriage entered the garden. They did not carry any weapons, but the knights in armor were wrapped around the carriage in the front and back.
The people who were chatting became quiet.
The carriage stopped. From inside, Grand Duke Evron got off first. The young ladies raised a small cheer at the tall figure dressed in black and blue robes.
Grand Duke Evron reached into the carriage and held the Duchess with his own hands.
The Grand Duchess was in full bloom.
Despite the fact that it was something to celebrate because she was originally fragile, she looked a bit gloomy.
The tense atmosphere in the garden loosened.
Originally, no horses or carriages were allowed into the gardens of the Great Temple. The only exception was the carriage of the Emperor and the Empress.
However, for some other reason, it seemed that the knights and carriage were allowed.
“It’s safe.”
Viscountess Pasto covered her mouth with a fan and whispered in a low voice into the ear of Marchioness Camellia.
Artizea had not gone out after she was 5 months into pregnancy.
She didn't know in the early days of her pregnancy, and she had to return the congratulations, so she still met people.
However, after Lawrence returned from being dismissed from the Southern Conquest Army, she did not go out and did not receive guests.
Because of that, there was a lot of rumor to say.
The Grand Duchess is weak from the beginning, so she's hiding the fact that she had a miscarriage, or maybe she's never been pregnant in the first place.
But it turned out that it was all nonsense.
Marchioness Camellia smirked.
“If it's time to give birth anyway, everything will be revealed, so why would she lie?”
“Hmm, but……. It was a mess. She almost had a miscarriage. Because of the temple.”
“If she lied to get on the offensive, then she would have said she had a miscarriage.”
And Artizea could do it, but Grand Duchy Evron's vassals wouldn't have been able to tell a lie. Even more so when they bet on an heir.
In any case, it was obvious why the carriage was able to come in.
The temple had once put Artizea in danger.
This time, she was in full-term. They would have had no choice but to provide convenience.
It was a situation where words could not come out, so their eyes were fixed on it.