Chapter 20: Lavossen Town
This peaceful and fulfilling night passed. At dawn the next day, the sky was exceptionally deep blue. Because it hadn't snowed, it was even somewhat pure, with a little light appearing in the air.
Olivia told Caesar last night to call her when he woke up, so she was also aroused at this moment.
But she was still very sleepy, and felt dizzy due to excessive work at night, so she got up to open the curtains and pull out the metal latch of the wooden window panel.
Suddenly, the cold air from outside tore a crack in the faint warmth inside the house and rushed in.
Olivia yawned, feeling much more awake. After checking the weather, she returned to the wardrobe in the bedroom and took out inner linings and outer robes of various thicknesses as needed.
The bourgeoisie in this world has the greatest demand for wool. Whether it is underwear, shirts, or outer robes, they are almost all made mainly of wool.
Things like cotton and silk seemed to have not yet arrived on this continent. Even the richest nobles only wore velvet robes made of wool.
Such velvet robes were a symbol of wealth and status. They could be trimmed with fur and embroidered with gold thread, but they were expensive. Even for a baroness, it would be a lot if she could make two new ones a year.
Olivia's outer robe is also made of wool, but it is not velvet, but felt. Although it is a bit rough, it is better at keeping out the cold.
After all, she was going out to the city, so she took a new coat from the box, put on new boots, and carefully tied up her hair, which she usually combed casually.
The custom in this place is that unmarried women wear their hair down, and married women wear their hair in a bun. Unmarried men cannot grow beards, but married men can. However, Olivia does not allow Caesar to grow a beard to cover his face.
It was just dawn when we sat across from each other in the restaurant and finished eating oatmeal.
The attendant said that the horses were ready and Caesar planned to take her to Renault Manor before leaving, and Olivia could travel in the same car with her mother.
Caesar mounted the horse first and then reached out to pick her up. Olivia sat in the front, embraced by his arms. She didn't feel afraid of heights and didn't feel bumpy at all.
The foal was very stable and made very little sound when it stepped on the smooth, snow-covered ground.
They walked along the woods beside the manor, and there was a path in the middle that was no longer recognizable.
There are dark green coniferous forests on both sides. Keep walking forward, go over a small hill, and continue walking east along the terrain for ten minutes.
There are white woods everywhere, and it is very quiet, with only the occasional sound of falling snow in the woods, illuminated by the sunlight.
Although this posture is a bit disgusting, it doesn't matter. I didn't even meet a ghost on the road.
In winter, tenants and self-employed farmers would not leave the fiefdom. In order to prevent the property of tenants from freezing to death, some lords would build a public bread oven to provide heat for the tenants and bake food.
More people chose to stay at home and do hemp, spinning, weaving, basket making, shoe repairing, or house repairing, as well as doing voluntary labor for the lord.
Renault Manor is located in a valley with open terrain, but it is a camp-style manor, different from the poor village where Olivia lives.
A camp-style manor is actually a concentrated residential area. The houses of tenant farmers and self-cultivating farmers are in the same area as the lord's house. They surround the lord's house in a circle, spreading out like concentric circles, and then build fences wall to wall to prevent wild beasts and enemies.
From a distance, one can clearly distinguish between farmland and residential areas. In the residential area, there are only two stone buildings among a group of wooden houses with thatched roofs.
One is the main residence of Renault Manor, and the other is a small church. Between the two runs the only main road in the residential area, leading directly to the gate of the wooden fence.
Such a manor means that the knight's family has property to protect.
It also means that his above-average economic status is the result of years of business planning, which is why everything is so well organized.
Olivia had a similar intention when she renovated the livestock farmhouse into a courtyard.
The wooden gate was open, and an old tenant farmer was sweeping snow on the road inside. He looked up at the sound of horse hooves and immediately recognized Olivia.
The other party told Olivia that the lady had already gotten up and was now in the chapel praying as usual, waiting for her arrival.
They had agreed long before to go to La Vossen together after the farmhouse was completed.
Caesar put her down, gave her a few instructions, and then rode back on patrol.
Olivia couldn't look around curiously. According to the setting, this was the place where she had played since she was a child and should be very familiar to her.
There is only one hall inside the church, without any complicated structure or even windows. Dim portraits are hung on the walls, with oil lamps hanging next to them.
Olivia walked in and saw Theresa praying with Lanie and Sansa. Now that the prayer was over, the old priest in the manor was cleaning up the water jars.
Originally, Theresa planned to accompany Olivia to Larvason alone, but Sansa insisted on going with them. She was afraid that Sansa would run around, so she asked Lainie to go as well and keep an eye on Sansa.
"Lily, you're here."
Turning around, Theresa addressed Olivia as such and smiled lovingly.
Only her family members in the setting would call her Lily. Olivia took a moment to react before responding.
"Let's go, our entourage is waiting for us."
The carriage that the four people were about to ride was parked outside the door, driven by the servants of the manor.
This carriage has four wheels and is made of solid wood. From the outside, it looks nothing like the gorgeous pumpkin carriages in Western movies.
The carriage is a closed wooden structure with no paint on the outer walls and no glass windows, and it looks gray.
But at least it was an airtight enclosed structure, with rattan windows and curtains hanging on them, so four people could barely fit inside.
There is also a carriage frame in Helions Manor, but it has no roof and is a bit similar to the city sightseeing carriages of later generations. It has only one open-air seat and is very simple and old.
It is currently covered with a cloth and placed near the old stable. It was once used by the butler to pull out drunken old knights.
The four of them turned the carriage around and headed towards another narrow path in the dense jungle, arriving at the main road beside the Ulun River.
This Ulun River is not the same as that Ulun River. It is a turbulent and winding freshwater river. Its source comes from the snow-capped mountains in the north of the continent and passes through three countries in the north. Its full name is Dela Ulun. In the Alta language, it means the tears of the glacier, which is very straightforward.
The town of Lavossen is a small border town. A fortress is built around the Lavossen Church and the Baron's mansion. There are about three hundred households living in the city. There is a moat outside the city, and carriages need to pass through the drawbridge to enter the city.
Although she was sitting in the carriage, Olivia looked greedily at the scenery outside the gap of the carriage, her eyes fixed on the not-so-high stone city wall and the suspension bridge with a strong classical flavor.
She finally understood why Sansa would rather follow the steward around than come to the town for a stroll.
As the most prosperous fortress town on the border, it appears abruptly near the frozen river bank, surrounded by snow-capped forests. Under the vast sky, everything is primitive and dangerous, but the town is like a secret place, tightly protected by city walls.
There were many people entering the town. Olivia could see some bearded merchants pulling mules passing by, and they seemed to have formed a small caravan.
Mules were hung with many woolen sheepskins and processed leather, and merchants were pulling pottery, ironware, and several bags full of grain.
After crossing the suspension bridge and arriving in the city, the merchants went to pay the toll to the inspectors under the sheriff, while Olivia and her friends entered the city directly without queuing.
The streets of the town seem to be extremely expensive, and every house is narrow and crowded. Most of them are quaint little wooden houses with black tiled roofs rising up in rows.
The street was paved with stone bricks, but the road was not wide, barely enough for two horse-drawn carriages to pass. However, most of the houses on both sides of the street were open for business, and the goods were piled on the brick road, and there was no urban management to drive them away.
"...Cinnamon! Pepper! Lavender!"
"Madam, please buy a piece of lanolin soap..."
The carriage moved slowly towards the city. Along the way, many merchants shouted to them. Olivia suddenly realized that the way these merchants distinguished their customers was by looking at their mounts.
Those who rode in carriages were either wealthy businessmen or nobles of the rank of knight or above.
Ox carts are second, and donkey and mule carts are even third.
Of course, the majority of people are on foot, pulling two-wheeled carts with human power.
But Olivia also saw a businessman riding a dog sled cart, driving a string of four or five greyhounds, hanging cloth bags and bells, moving freely in the narrow streets, just like in the movies.
It makes people feel shocked. Is this possible?
She came to her senses, turned on the system, and a map prompt popped up.
Congratulations on unlocking: "Lavossen Town"
The author has something to say:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
