"No, they all responded to Mr. Ribry's call and joined the militia..." Jessica smiled and explained as she dusted some of the flour off her brother's shoulder. "I heard that Mr. Alexander asked most of the males who are between 18 and 50 of age to get trained so that those hooligans won't be back soon."
"Great," Husky looked at his sister in a spoiling way and replied. After he scratched his head, he added with a proud expression on his face, "Those guys are all bad eggs, especially that monkey-like Knite. How dare he dream of having my sister? Is he delusional?"
The two siblings hadn't seen each other for over a month, and they had a lot of chat about.
Although Jessica looked and felt very similar to Angela, she was a lot more outgoing. She liked laughing out loud, and her laughter was crisp and ear-pleasing.
However, Husky got so into talking with his sister that he completely forgot about Fei, his guest.
"Huh? Who are you? Emile, is this handsome commander your comrade?" after chatting with her brother for a while, Jessica suddenly saw Fei and realized that a bright young man was standing beside her.
"Ah! Damn it, I forgot to introduce my friend. His name is... is..." Husky suddenly realized that he still didn't know Fei's name, so he walked to Fei and patted Fei's shoulder as he asked, "Right, brother. What is your name?"
Fei laughed; he thought that Husky was a simple-minded person since he invited a person to his sister's place without knowing this person's name. After some hesitation, the king laughed and said, "You can call me Fei."
"Fei? Such a strange name..." Husky grabbed his sister's hand and introduced, "Jessica, this is Fei, a new friend that I made yesterday. He is a commander under King Alexander, and he is very nice to me. I ran into him on my way here, and I invited him to come and try your honey bread."
"Fei? You must be a nice person since you can befriend my dumb brother. Hi, my name is Jessica, Emile's little sister. My big brother is a clumsy person, so please don't mind him. Come on in..." this girl was amiable, and she was not shy at all; Fei liked her personality a lot. After he thought about it, it made sense. Since Husky and his sister were born into a poor neighborhood, they matured at an early age. As a result, Jessica didn't have that arrogance that most of the pretty girls in her age have.
Jessica was a very hard-working girl. After she took out a wooden chair for Fei, she took out a plate of green apples that were a little dry but very clean. After that, she bought two bottles of ale with the money her big brother gave her, and she went into the kitchen and started to make her "renowned" honey bread as Husky asked her again and again.
"Emile, you have a great little sister!" Fei was a little envious towards Husky; this man had a lovely family.
The green apples and the bottles of ales on the table weren't good food in the eyes of the average families, but Fei knew that these were the best treatment this family could give to its guests. Perhaps that this girl named Jessica treasured these apples a lot and didn't want to eat them alone; maybe she was saving them and was going to eat them with her brother after he came back. In the cold winter in the desert, fruits were "delicacies" in the eyes of the poor people.
"Hehe, of course! My sister is known as the Pearl in the Northern Malta Poor Neighbourhood, haha," this simple-minded man was proud of his sister.
"Emile, you will scare our guest away if you boast even more!" Jessica shouted in the kitchen; it seemed like she liked to call Husky by his first name rather than calling him brother.
"Haha! Everyone in the neighborhood knows that my sister Jessica's honey bread is a delicious treat that even the nobles don't get to eat," Husky replied.
Fei was a little speechless. "Maybe in this guy's simple-mind, anything his sister makes is a delicacy," he thought.
Fei and Husky chatted a lot in the yard.
Husky wasn't a person who liked to hold back; he would say whatever was on his mind. Most of the time, Husky was the one talking, and Fei would listen with a smile on his face as he played with the cats in the yard. Although Husky was going all over the place and talked about things like gossips involving nobles and famous stories in Dual-Flags City, Fei enjoyed it.
Fei's parents in his previous life were farmers, and he had a great childhood in the countryside before his parents passed away. Therefore, his was genuinely in love with this atmosphere including these kinds of bamboo stick fences and all these animals.
Time passed by quickly.
The sun was already lower than the defense wall, but the sky wasn't that dark. The cooking smoke soared into the air via the chimneys, and the noises made by the children, their parents, and the cats and dogs somehow added to the rare and peaceful countryside atmosphere.
"Wow! Smells delicious!" Husky finished the last bit of ale and shouted as he took a deep breath.
A sweet aroma flowed in the air, and Fei felt hungry after he took a deep breath as well. It was evident that the delicacy that the nobles couldn't even enjoy, Jessica's honey bread, was about to be done.
Soon, Jessica walked into the yard with a loaf of freshly baked golden honey bread.
As the aroma dispersed into the surroundings, a lot of the neighbors walked out of their houses and looked in this direction.
"Haha! I smell Jessica's honey bread again!"
"Look, it is Emile! No wonder Jessica made honey bread again. It is the best treat in the world!"
"Hehe, Sister Jessica, you have to teach me how to make it."
It was clear that this brother and sister had great relationships with the neighbors, and Husky immediately shouted and invited all the neighbors to taste the food. This simple-minded man was hospitable; otherwise, he won't invite Fei to his sister's place when he only met Fei once. Soon, the yard was filled with more than a dozen people who were in different age groups.
"Sister Jessica, who is this handsome commander? Is he your fiancé?" a girl who had freckles and was one to two years younger than Jessica joked with her.
"Hey, I will stuff your mouth if you repeat such things," Jessica pinched the cheeks of this girl and said, "He is Emile's friend."
However, Jessica's explanation wasn't accepted by the friendly neighbors. Although these neighbors were poor, they could tell that this young man was extraordinary. Even though he was wearing regular clothes, looked different to the nobles, and was smiling brightly, he had a majestic aura around him; those nobles who were corroded by comfort and lust couldn't be compared with him.
"Jessica is a nice girl; young man, you are lucky if you get to marry her."
"Yeah, although our Jessica is born in our poor neighborhood, a priest from the Holy Church said that she would become an influential person that the noble ladies couldn't even reach. Young man, I think you two are compatible!"
A lot of people who were uncles and aunts to Jessica told Fei a lot of Jessica; they all misunderstood the relationship.
"Hey, you don't say! Fei, I think you are qualified to be my brother-in-law! Haha!" after Husky scratched his head and looked at his sister and Fei, he spoke up as if he discovered something.
Fei only smiled and didn't say anything.
"Ah, hahaha! So many people here! Huh? Do you guys know that Jessica and I are getting engaged today? And you are all here to see it? I have to thank you guys in advance..." a loud and ear-piercing voice sounded, and it immediately broke the pleasant atmosphere.
Everyone's face changed color.
Fei looked in the direction of that voice and saw five men walking into the courtyard wearing soldier uniforms.
They all had smiles on their faces; they weren't uncomfortable even though they weren't invited.
The man in the lead was skinny, and his back was a little hunched. With a reckless expression on his face, he did look like a monkey. Also, he had a bloody boar leg in his hand.
"Damn it! Monkey Knite! You bastard! Weren't you in the militia? Why are you in my place? Get the fu*k out! Otherwise, I won't be polite towards you anymore!" Husky's reaction was aggressive. He stood up and shouted at the five guys who ran into the courtyard.
"Hey, Husky! Why are you still aggressive? Today, I'm here to purpose to Jessica. Look at my gift! What do you think?"
Monkey-like Knite lightly pushed Husky, and Husky instantly fell back despite his big size.