276 – Side Story – St. Patrick’s Day (2)
The civil war that had lasted for eight years in Britannia was completely ended with the emergence of the Kreutel Empire, so the people decided that the war was not over. I was able to return to my peaceful daily life and live without it.
As soon as I open my eyes in the morning, I eat warm barley porridge or wheat porridge filled with barley or wheat boiled at home instead of standing in line to receive rations, even if it is difficult to find traces of wheat or barley.
Instead of guarding the castle walls or going to war during the day and risking death without receiving any compensation, they plow the fields and pull weeds in anticipation of a bountiful harvest in the fall.
As the sun sets, I do not weep for the thought of my colleagues who died from a fatal illness next to me or the family members who died after suffering from hunger for a long time, but instead, I spend time with my family, thankful for completing today’s hard but rewarding work.
At night, at the end of the day, before I go to sleep, I worry about the fear of death that may come tomorrow and the dark future of not knowing when I will be able to return home. But now, I think of the farming work I have to do tomorrow and think about waking up quickly. As soon as I woke up, I found myself rushing to sleep and living in a world where I expected that diligence would lead to a better life.
However, this only applies to the people of Britanya, and the administrators of the Kreutel Empire who conquered Britanya are now…
“Cha, please kill me instead. “Inspector, you sleep only 5 hours a day and then go to work.”
“Stop talking nonsense and stamp this document at that time.”
“Did you apply to become a secretary after graduating from the academy just to suffer like this? I feel ashamed. “You will receive additional allowances, but will you really be able to die using those allowances?”
We work overtime to prepare the necessary goods, food, and manpower to help the people of Britanya lead a more comfortable and happy daily life as soon as possible and to make the upcoming St. Patrick’s Festival a happy and enjoyable festival for everyone. I was eating like a meal.
The only good news for them is that as of today, preparations for St. Patrick’s Day and urgent administrative procedures will be completed.
William, who is also the King of Britannia, will rest with them until the festival in about three days.
So, I looked at the poor officials being ground in the millstone in front of me and said,
“If you work until today, the urgent work will be completed to some extent, and I will grant you three days of vacation immediately. So, you have to use up all your strength to get everything done. Do you understand?”
When the administrators heard that it was a three-day vacation, their eyes lit up again and they accelerated to finish my work today.
When the clock I brought with me on my expedition to Londimium showed 23:42, Baron Chelsea, the chief administrator of the expeditionary force, submitted the final documents to me.
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He and I swallowed our saliva together and checked the contents of the document, hoping it was correct.
Fortunately, there were no major problems, and I was able to liberate the poor administrators who had become slaves to working overtime.
Then, unable to shout loudly the usual cheers, they sobbed and returned to the lodgings provided for them.
The scene looked heartwarming and pitiful at the same time…
When I re-checked some of the contents of this report, all those unnecessary sentiments disappeared.
[In order to show an inclusive attitude toward Britannian culture, His Royal Highness should praise and enjoy the eel jelly, whole sardine pie, and fried cod.]
“Plus, when you eat fried cod, you have to dip it in mint sauce just like the common people… But really… hahahahaha, I think barley porridge would be better.”
It’s a joke to say that barley porridge would be better in most cases, but I’m really serious right now.
Because the native food of Britanya is really bad.
What’s more, my father said that even now, just thinking about the steak with mint sauce and eel jelly that he had to eat when driving Britannia out of Lens still makes him lose his appetite.
Of course, there are quite a few people who cannot eat these foods properly.
In order to truly educate them, shouldn’t we stop them from making such horrible food?
Although the principle of the empire is to accept all cultures except those that are anti-imperial or that justify murder such as cannibalism.
Seriously, so seriously…
“Wouldn’t it be right to enact a law and ban Britanya’s traditional food?”
I pondered over this issue for an hour, faced with the fear of having to eat traditional food from Brittany.
**
St. Patrick’s Day, Londimium Square
Until just a few months ago, this place was full of starving and gloomy people in the ruins of war.
Nowadays, it has slowly turned into a noisy gathering place where many people gather to exchange daily necessities or food brought from home, or where women in groups of twos and threes gather to chat.
Today, the square was especially full of people from around Londimium to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
Not only people, but also various decorations to make the holiday more beautiful, decorations such as ribbons, small stands serving food, and huge pots.
During the time of the civil war, the scene of the long-awaited holiday that could only be seen in dreams was perfectly recreated.
There were many people who were already thrilled by the sight, even though the festival had not even started yet.
“I never thought we would live to see this festival again…”
“The person depicted in the picture over there is Patrick. It must have been your first time seeing Sarah. “Patrick…”
“From the savory smell of eel jelly to the faint fishy smell of sardine pie… It’s the same as when I was young.”
When people were soaked in sentiment, a bell rang loudly in the cathedral of Londimium.
A proclaimer dressed in colorful clothes walked up the stairs to the platform in the center of the square.
Then he took a deep breath and said the words everyone had been waiting for.
“Then, from now on, we are going to begin the holiday festivities according to the orders of His Highness William von Kreutel, King of Britannia and Crown Prince of the Kreutel Empire. Before that, we will inform you of some precautions so that everyone can enjoy the festival happily.”
Everyone’s attention was focused on those words, and the proclamation unfolded the scroll he was holding and spoke.
“If you get caught up in the excitement of the holiday and commit a crime such as violence or murder, the punishment will be increased, so you must be especially careful. And keep in mind that you can only receive food by paying money or an exchange voucher given to you by the village chief or bayleaf. “Then, from now on, according to His Majesty’s orders, we will begin the celebration of the holiday.”
At the same time as those words were spoken, several soldiers began to move busily to maintain order, and the staff cooking at the stall began soliciting customers.
“This is not the sardine pie that comes every day. “Thompson Pie, sold exclusively during the Holiday Festival!”
“Try fried cod with mint sauce! “Frying in a sauce that combines the spicy and sweet flavor of mint is the best!”
“That soldier over there! “I’ll give you some more as a bonus. How about some Brittany-style sausage?”
When people were gathered like that, people who had starved since morning in hopes of enjoying delicious food at the festival started walking toward the stalls like water, and the soldiers controlled them with wooden batons they had received in advance.
“Stand in line properly! “By Your Majesty’s command, we have prepared enough food, so just wait!”
“If you get caught cutting in line, I’ll send you to the back of the line!”
“You there! It just caught on. Follow me! “I will arrest you as a pickpocket!”
Then, order slowly began to be established, and the cooks at the stalls distributed food to the hungry lambs at the festival.
“Now, here is fried cod. “Please give me one exchange voucher or two donghua.”
“Warm sardine pie has arrived! Yes, 4 pieces plus 6 copper coins or 4 exchange tickets.”
“It’s eel jelly. If you eat this, you won’t be able to sleep at night. Ah, you know, why are you doing this?”
Citizens who received the food either stood there and ate it or went to a place where tables and chairs were set up.
Everyone looked satisfied and started chatting with their family and friends.
Most of the stories were positive stories about childhood memories, food, and how to live in the future.
When it was confirmed that everything was going well, William von Kreutel and several servants on behalf of the nobleman appeared in striking clothes and went to the stall and spoke.
“His Majesty ordered 6 servings of fried cod, 6 servings of eel jelly, 6 servings of sardine pie, and 3 servings worth of other food from each stand. “Please pay special attention as it goes directly into His Majesty’s mouth.”
Usually, when ordering in this way, it is usually done as secretly as possible so that only the owner of the stall knows about it.
This was an exceptional situation to show that the crown prince also enjoyed the food and festivals eaten by the citizens of Britanya.
In addition, the people who cooked at the stall were proven soldiers among the soldiers of the Kreutel Empire.
Although risks such as poisoning were completely eliminated.
In the eyes of the people who were completely unaware of such a situation, all they could see was the fact that ‘even noble people like the crown prince enjoy eating the same food as they do.’
And when all the food was ready, the servants brought the dishes and placed them on the platform where the nobles, led by William von Kreutel, were present.
They started eating it happily, as if it was really delicious.
“This fried cod is really delicious. “If I eat this much every day, I won’t get tired of it.”
“Your Highness, no matter how delicious it is, you will get sick of it if you eat it every day.”
“How about sardine pie? “I was surprised to see sardines in it, but after eating a piece, my thoughts changed.”
Although they were separated by a space called the pulpit, unlike the Britannia nobles who enjoyed a completely different language and culture.
Is it because they saw that the high-ranking people of the Kreutel Empire eat and like the same things as they do?
The people began to think that the high-ranking people over there were merciful people who truly thought of them and tried to understand them, beyond the grace of holding festivals for the holidays they desperately wanted and giving them a way to make a living.
In any case, the administrators and other nobles ate nearly twice as much food as they normally ate, revealing that they were satisfied with the traditional food of Britannia.
William von Kreutel also declared after eating.
“On this blessed day when everyone returns to their daily lives and enjoys it, we must make sure that everyone can enjoy it together. Therefore, when today’s festival is over and tomorrow, the same food will be given to the beggars and poor in the city. Also, as the king of Britanya, I will give each of you 20 kilos of flour as you return home after the festival, so you can eat your fill when you return.”
On that day, William von Kreutel was accepted by the people of Londimium as the true king.
Also, because this festival was celebrated in the same way in all the cities and castles of Brittany.
The people of the United Kingdom of Britannia came to deeply accept the Kreutel Empire as their own country.
They gave them food when they were hungry, gave them back the joy of labor, and restored their daily life to enjoy festivals. They were much better than the royal family of Britannia, whom their ancestors had served for generations, but who took it all away.