In the hall, a reception ceremony was taking place. However, it was not the lord who was receiving the guests, but his lady wife, Lady Fraya.
As everyone knew, the lord's legal wife was the first princess of the Danube Principality, and their marriage was a political alliance. The princess needed the lord's military support to ascend to the throne, while the lord needed the princess's political protection to expand his territory.
Lady Fraya was originally the lord's personal maid, and they fell in love over time. The princess stayed in the capital all year round and never came here. Except for accompanying the lord on his military campaigns, Lady Fraya never left Giant Rock City.
Now that Lady Fraya had given birth to the lord's first child, Princess Anitta, her position was as firm as the castle itself. She was the true mistress of Giant Rock City.
At this moment, Lady Fraya was sitting on the throne in the middle of the hall, receiving the parents who brought their children to meet her. The parents stood in line quietly, waiting for their turn to be received.
At the end of the line, two anxious-looking mothers, Susan and Joey, stood waiting. Their two children had not returned yet. Should they go out and look for them?
Just then, the maid brought Vincent and Harry back to the hall and returned them to their mothers. The mothers heaved a sigh of relief and quickly took their babies, thanking the maid in a low voice.
After a while, it was Vincent and Harry's turn to be received. Lady Fraya was very beautiful, like a goddess in the eyes of the children. She was dressed in a snow-white lace gown, sitting dignified on the queen's throne. Her golden hair was braided into a crown and coiled on top of her head, as if wearing a crown.
Mothers accompanied their children and bowed respectfully to the lady. The lady gestured to them to stand up, and a female official standing behind her immediately introduced the visitors' names and backgrounds in her ear.
"Vincent, Harry, hello. I'm very pleased to meet you today. First of all, happy birthday to you both. Today is also Children's Day, and the castle has arranged many activities and games for you. I hope you have a good time. The lord of the castle has also given each child a gift, which you can pick up from the butler when you leave. Good luck." The lady finished speaking, smiled slightly, and then gestured. The maids immediately came forward to guide them out of the hall, and the parents followed to meet the lady.
Outside the hall, the parents and children who had been received gathered together and waited for everyone to arrive, listening to the butler describe the activities planned for the day.
After a while, everyone was gathered. The butler announced the start of the activities. They first visited various parts of the castle, then went to the training ground to watch the knights and guards train, and had lunch in the grand banquet hall. After lunch, the parents rested in the tea room while the children played games in the garden. With the games finished, the castle tour for the day was over.
In the evening, every child had a great time, and the butler and servants bid them farewell in a line.
As each little guest left, they had a chance to reach into the butler's bag and pick out a gift. Some children picked up a book, others a wooden sword, a toy, or even a coin. The butler's bag wasn't very big, but it seemed to hold an endless supply of gifts.
Now it was Vincent's turn. He silently repeated to himself, "I don't want a sword, I don't want a toy, I don't want a book." Suddenly, his hand touched a strange object, with an arched contour that wasn't heavy or light, and it seemed to have feathers on it. Vincent's curiosity was piqued, and he decided he wanted it.
Vincent pulled out a strange-looking cloth bag with a pocket and several feather sticks inserted. The butler patted Vincent's head and said, "Little boy, you got a bow and arrow. The only bow and arrow in this gift. You can practice with it when you go to school in the future." Vincent had no idea what a bow and arrow was but nodded and said, "Thank you, uncle, I will learn well."
Next was Harry's turn. He touched a small sword and was very happy. Vincent had a wooden sword made by his father, but Harry didn't have one. Whenever they played games, Harry had to borrow Vincent's sword to be a knight, which made him very upset. Now he finally had his own sword and could play as a knight all the time, never as a thief again.
In addition to the gifts, the butler gave each child a large cream cake to take home and share with their families.
This cream cake was only sold in the Lord's snack shop, and it was limited. A small one cost ten silver coins, and this big one probably cost a gold coin. This was something that ordinary families couldn't afford. A regular small cake without cream cost ten copper coins. Sometimes when Vincent really wanted to eat one, Susan would buy it for him to satisfy his cravings.
The Lord was really generous this time and fulfilled many families' longing for cream cakes.
Susan carefully held the cake with one hand and held Vincent's hand with the other. She really wanted to fly back home immediately and tell Bob how happy they were today, and they could eat a whole big piece of cream cake for free.
At this moment, every parent hoped that they could celebrate Children's Day like this every day. As the sun set, the happy one-day castle tour ended.