Episode 106. marriage proposal (4)
To a fairy, the world is full of living things.
Humans see flowers and think they are pretty, but they cut them off without thinking and cut down beautiful trees saying they would use them to build ships.
Fairies know that all things are more beautiful when they are in their place.
because it is alive
I know the beauty of the process itself, from moving on my own, smelling on my own, breathing on my own, making my own food, and then dying and rotting to become soil.
We know that the vivid vitality that grows inside is more important than the bright colors of the petals and the bizarre patterns on the wood.
However, the moment humans pick the flowers and dry them, the flowers fall asleep forever. Flowers stop all movement, waiting only for their destiny to crumble someday.
The same goes for trees. What if the old tree, which rustled its leaves in the wind, drove insects away with its scent, and attracted birds with its fruit, fell under the blade of an ax and became a corpse?
Even if a famous carpenter carves it beautifully, it cannot be brought back to life.
Even animals, streams of water, and stones and rocks that seem to be already dead lose their kinetic power and remain forever in place when touched by human hands.
In the place where someone’s indifferent touch touched.
“Uh… uh uh…? are you flying But that bird…”
“that’s right. it’s just a statue It has a metal spring inside.”
“spring?”
“Perhaps you don’t know. don’t worry. Even the blacksmiths don’t know.”
And in front of Oinone’s eyes, that obvious fact was collapsing.
It is the sight of dead things coming back to life.
The bones of the earth under the touch of a man become shiny and lustrous metal in the fire.
As much as the fairies welcome the sparkling light, humans often throw it as sacrifices.
But he too is just a dead toy.
but···
– Ting.
Also, sound.
When Ino turned his head, the walls slowly opened on both sides this time. I checked for someone pushing and pulling in and out of the room, but still no one.
“… Ino, will you come this way?”
With a voice that has regained some vitality, Paris grabs Ino’s hand and pulls him along. Ino takes a wrong step and immediately falls into Paris’ arms. Normally, I would just say I’m sorry and wake up…
Paris’s face is unusually red.
“I, I… I really prepared a lot just for today. I’m upset that even half of the stuff I’ve prepared doesn’t work properly, but… can you look over it?”
“Is this about half?”
“Originally, when that bull over there snorted and shook its head, its horn pulled that string, causing the golden star in the ceiling to split open and the petals inside it to fall… No, what am I talking about? there is···.”
“Shh.”
While covering the gibberish Paris, Ino noticed that something was still sticking out of the gap in the wall.
It is birds and beasts wrapped in silver.
Various birds of prey decorated tail feathers with different colored wood and beaks with brass.
Goats, rams, and cats nodded their heads, sparkling jewels in their eyes.
And seeing them waddle, fluttering their front legs and wings, Ino laughs lightly.
At first, I was a little surprised, but in the end, it was a trivial prank by human artisans.
It was just a clumsy fake that came out of a heart that looked up to the forest.
Even after realizing that fact, Ino shakes his head and drives away such thoughts.
Still, you should be surprised.
Because Paris prepared it for me.
The reason is also… you can guess.
If I am shocked and delighted, Paris will hold my hand and say something awkward.
Then I wouldn’t be able to answer for a while, so the two of us would just hold hands and look at each other quietly.
After that, both of us burst into laughter without asking who came first…
until there.
And suddenly, Ino’s thoughts stopped at the high, fast voice that passed through his ears.
– Whirik.
A whistle-like sound is heard.
However, even if you look in the direction where the sound came from, you can only see…
Only those waddling silver larks. No matter how much I look, I still don’t see a living bird.
– Whiririk.
– Ting.
And whistle again. It’s like the birdsong you’ve always heard in the forest.
This time there is something like a clear ringing bell.
Oinone, the fairy of Mt. Ida, closes her eyes for a moment, then closes and opens her ears with both hands.
All the beasts clad in brass and ebony were singing.
***
Music box.
An invention born when the bell towers of medieval churches, which used to ring bells automatically according to the time, became smaller and more complex.
And as I always say… if it was possible with medieval technology, it was also possible in Antandros. if you can
At the back of that splendid stage, the attendants were eagerly turning knobs and making sounds of bells and whistles.
There is a bellows, and on the other side of the wall of the stage is a perforated paper that vibrates as the wind passes through the bellows.
It’s a simpler structure than you might think. Like the hoe and the plow, there is nothing a craftsman cannot make if he knows the basic principles and structure.
– Ding. Ding. Ding
So, when someone sweats and turns the handle, the shepherd doll behind them rings a bell.
– Whirik. Whirly Rick.
A bird perched on a tree next to it nodded, made eye contact with the shepherd, and sang.
For a moment, I see Ino’s stunned expression.
And I, too, watched the results of my efforts with a proud heart.
Of course, there were accidents where the bear standing over there didn’t move anything except one arm, and one or two or three of the music boxes didn’t work, but they were all minor things.
How did 30 artisans complete this?
couldn’t
As soon as possible, craftsmen from Troia and neighboring cities were brought in to carve one more woodcarving and cast one more brass casting.
After working for three days and three nights, when I was about to drop from exhaustion (I, the monarch, was rolling on the floor, and none of the blacksmiths were rude enough to tell me to take a break. They are semi-aristocrats.) For some reason, the fire in the hearth heats up even more and the caffeine goes up. As if injected directly into the blood vessel, the eyes of the artisans caught on.
Yes. It was the blessing of Hephaestus, the protector of all blacksmiths and carpenters.
Thanks to this, I was able to see under the eyes of artisans the sagging dark circles of office workers at the Guro Digital Complex who hurriedly go to work with an Americano in their mouth at a cafe.
…After this work is over, I plan to let Skleos and his artisans enjoy a vacation in Troia.
anyway.
None of that mattered at this moment.
– Ting. teeing. Ting.
A sound reverberates through the room, like gold and glass raining down on the earth of silver trays.
The whistle that lingers between them brings back memories of longing forests and fields to Ino and me.
An idiot who didn’t even know what kind of world he had stepped into, and a fairy who followed and mingled with such an idiot.
In the hills near Mount Ida, in shepherds’ villages dotted among wide meadows, in deep coniferous forests and in certain valleys.
We whispered secrets to each other, played paddles, played tag, and then, late at night, we lay together and stared at the stars.
In the sky filled with gods and heroes, drooling puppies, stray cats, bugs, and ugly neighborhood men intervened and made a lot of noise.
So we spent many nights chattering.
And now, another night lay over our heads.
As I approach the wall and pull the rope, the red cloth covering the ceiling is rolled up on both sides.
Then there were jewels embedded in the ceiling. And lines are connected between them.
Hercules and Perseus, big bears and swans do not fly in this sky.
I slowly led Ino, who was still looking around with her mouth open, into a chair and sat down.
And pointed to one side of the ceiling.
“That’s the drooling Theo. Next to it is a large doggie.”
“…”
“I just wanted to show you.”
Ino, who had been quietly gazing at the ceiling for a while, suddenly lowered her head and said with a laugh.
“You fool! Now, even at this important place… I want to see Theo…?”
The sound of laughter that seems to be suppressed.
“At this important… place…”
And even if it wasn’t a laugh, Ino endured with a trembling voice.
I had nothing to do.
I quietly got down on one knee, looked at Ino’s bent face, and wiped the tears from his reddened face.
And the two of us face each other.
Under the constellations we made.
Ino trembled for a while, then managed to brush her hair to one side before opening her mouth.
“The things in this room will break down quickly, right? It seemed very complicated.”
“huh. maybe.”
“Should I leave it and not clean it up?”
Ino lifted the corners of her mouth with difficulty and walked to the middle of the room and spun around in place.
“I want to leave this.”
I walk after Ino.
A torch and a brazier are burning in the corner, and the stars in the ceiling twinkle in the light, watching us with their eyes.
“Later, I will brag to my older sisters that I got married here…”
“okay. OK.”
Before I try to hug Ino, Ino hugs me first and looks up at me. And close your eyes.
I closed my eyes as well.
He bowed his head toward Ino. Tilt your head slightly to the left.
It’s uncomfortable when your nose bumps when you kiss.
***
“···so? What happened after that?”
“At first, the blacksmiths and carpenters were given leave.
I don’t think I’ll be treated badly at any banquet because I gave the most fancy clothes and someone gave me money to spend all year. At least if you put my name on it.”
“Yeah, that should be it. Those who created those great products deserve to be treated properly.
Well… there are still many aristocrats eager to meet the teacher and vassal of Paris, the lord of Antandros, so even if they were penniless, they would take care of themselves.”
“Do you know what I made?”
“of course. Wasn’t it the singing brass kestrel, the doors and walls that opened by themselves, the moving statues of heroes and the flying wooden swallows?”
Saying so, Anchises sits back in an armchair and mimics a flying bird with his whistle and hands.
“How did you know?”
“Your lover… or your wife, boasted day and night to the fairies of the whole town, and the boasting reached my son’s ears, and the words that went into his ears reached me.”
“ah.”
With me in front of me, who finally understood, Anchises pours a drink into an expensive brass cup and smiles as if the current situation is blissful.
“It’s love, it’s love! what a beautiful thing I’m proud of myself for coming up with the ploy of getting married.”
Then, I scoop the drink from the jar with a ladle and pour it into my glass, continuing the conversation.
“And thank you too. It’s refreshing, as if a tooth that had been shaking was pulled out at once. Thanks to you.”
“…”
As a result, Aeneas was blocked from thinking about other things about his current love. I drank my drink, unable to find anything to say.
Seeing this, Anchises chuckled and then turned his head toward the courtyard of the palace.
“I hope the gods will bless your love. I sincerely hope that the gift that Aphrodite is giving you is that fairy.”
Anchises, sometimes foxy and sometimes a bit distraught, but for now, he was sincere.
So I couldn’t do anything but nod at him.
I know what Aphrodite’s ‘gift’ is.
Afterwards, as we sip drinks in the warm sunlight and elongated silence, the door to the garden creaks open.
“Am I late?”
“No, Father.”
“it’s okay.”
Soon the slaves bring in another personal table and an armchair.
Priam, who is tall and slender, carefully lies on the backrest, gazes at the ceiling, and starts talking as if in a chant.
“Yes, it is a marriage proposal. Even if each of these things seems like a useless circuit, sometimes it can be the surest and fastest way. Good job. Does your future wife look happy?”
At Priam’s words, I recall for a moment the body temperature of that night transmitted to my arms and lips, and returned to reality at the sound of Anchises’ laughter.
It seemed that I… had a rather unseemly expression on my face.
“Yes, Father. Ino accepted my marriage proposal.”
“Then it happened. There is still a lot to do and a long way to go, but at least one hill is over.
You are proud.”
Priam smiles lightly at me. I felt somewhat embarrassed and lowered my head, and after a while I raised my head again, and Anchises and Priam shared a strange gaze.
Slowly, the two of them turned their gazes from facing each other to me.
“Paris? Don’t be relieved just because you’ve crossed a big wave. The lives of us mortals are like a boat sailing through countless waves.”
Anchises spoke first. I lowered my feet, which I had rested comfortably on the footrests of my chair, back to the ground.
After hearing his words, I naturally guessed what was going to happen next.
When I turned my head again, this time Priam spoke.
“Paris, are you ready? Ready to declare your existence to your friends.”
“How long will it take for it to start, Father?”
“I have to invite guests and wait again, so it will take several months.”
“Several months… that’s enough.”
I took a deep breath.
It may have started as a romance between the two of us, but at the end there is politics and diplomacy.
“I will prepare the ceremony. I’ll also put Antandros in touch.”
Wedding ceremony.
We had the most difficult task ahead of us.