"His Highness Carlyle increased the funding a bit."
"Wouldn't it be better to save it and use it elsewhere?"
"No, I think it needs to be done this way at least once."
Asha responded, looking down at the festive atmosphere in front of the lord's castle courtyard.
"We need to have these memories. Even on our land, when crops were harvested, everyone enjoyed eating and drinking."
This might be the first time for most of the residents of the estate.
"That way, we can muster the strength to carry on next year. We might even develop a stronger attachment to our land."
Watching Asha's smiling face, Decker exclaimed in admiration.
"How do you know all that already? You seem like you have a 90-year-old man inside you."
"What? Hahaha!"
Asha just laughed, but in fact, it was her father's dream to open the Harvest Festival.
Once, after another difficult defense, she sat with her father against the castle wall, staring blankly.
She had asked him what he wanted to do after this war was over.
[What?]
[Father, what do you want to do after the war is over?]
[I guess I'll still have some strength left. Why are you asking such a thing?]
[Shouldn't you have a dream? It's so dark ahead… I feel like I'm just going to go crazy.]
[With a chatterbox like you… .]
At first, her father snorted and stared at the front yard of the castle for a long time.
Wounded soldiers were lying on the dirt floor moaning, and women were running around busily treating their wounds.
A large pot was hung over the fireplace to boil oat gruel to feed the wounded, but they kept adding water because there was not enough oats or vegetables.
[After the war… .]
A faint smile seemed to cross her father's chapped lips for a moment.
[I want to farm and harvest a lot… and then have a big Harvest Festival.]
[Harvest Festival?]
[Yes. A festival to confirm that we don't starve until the next harvest.]
Asha had asked about her father's personal dream, but she couldn't think of a better dream than the Harvest Festival.
And now, five years after her father's death, she was finally able to make that dream come true.
'Father. I will fulfill your dream today. Please rejoice in heaven.'
Asha looked up at the blue sky and smiled with a sigh.
***
Around noon, Pervaz Castle was filled with the people of the territory who had flocked since the day before.
"Wow! What is all that?"
"It feels like we're in a different country. It's amazing!"
For the first time in a long time, the gates of Pervaz castle were open, and it had a festive atmosphere, adorned with long red cloths in various places.
It wasn't possible to spend a lot of money on decoration, so they weren't able to do much, but even that was enough to look luxurious and splendid in the eyes of the people.
Moreover, tents were set up in different locations to distribute meat and alcohol, greatly raising people's expectations.
"It smells good…!"
"What else are they going to give us?"
Everyone swallowed their saliva and looked sideways to see what was inside the tent.
However, it's not allowed to rush to the distribution place before the Lord's permission. The people waited for the Lord to say something.
And at exactly 12 o'clock when the anticipation was at its peak…
Ding-dong-dong!
The bells rang loudly from the castle, and Asha appeared on the second-floor balcony of the Lord's castle.
As soon as they saw Asha, the people shouted cheers, but then closed their mouths tightly while cautiously observing their surroundings because of Carlyle standing behind her.
To them, Carlyle and the people he brought from the capital were still strangers they didn't know how to interact with.
"Ahem!"
Asha stepped forward and cleared her throat. Then she pressed down on her pounding heart and took a deep breath.
"Today!"
At Asha's first word, the courtyard in front of the Lord's castle, which was packed tight, became silent.
"Is a very meaningful day for our Pervaz. Because it's the day to commemorate the first harvest in our land which was trampled by the barbarians for a long time."
People looked at each other and smiled broadly. Some were already wiping the corners of their eyes, some clasped their hands together and offered short prayers, and some looked up at the sky with faces filled with tears.
Asha engraved each and every one of those expressions in her eyes and continued her speech.
"This joy is something everyone in Pervaz should share! And so with the generous aid of His Highness, Prince Carlyle Evaristo, I have decided to hold a harvest festival!"
The people looked confused, not knowing exactly what they should do at this event called a 'harvest festival'.
Seeing that, Asha smiled brightly and shouted.
"For two days starting today, during this harvest festival, let's all eat, drink, dance and sing with hearts filled with gratitude to the gods!"
Only then did the people start shouting cheers belatedly.
"Hurray! Hurray!"
"Long live the Lord!"
"Long live His Highness, the Crown Prince!"
Soon after, in various places of the tents food distribution began, and people rushing and scrambling ran to the distribution places.
Even though Asha used money generously, they couldn't even think about meat from four-legged animals because they had to feed all the residents of the territory.
However, meat from flying animals was also a rare sight in Pervaz so everyone's eyes became huge.
"They're giving meat for free?"
"My goodness, how long has it been since I had meat?"
"Wow, our Lord is! Generous!"
"Ah, no matter how much harvest there was…is it okay to give out this much?"
To the extent that the residents of the territory might worry about their lord, a festival unimaginable in Pervaz was taking place.
Alcohol was also generously provided. For children, very low-alcohol apple cider, and for adults, beer and brandy were served.
At first, people were busy filling their stomachs, but as they slowly began to drink alcohol, all kinds of songs flowed from all directions, and a few people who had pulled out instruments from deep in the storehouse played them. To the song and music, some people started dancing. Only then did it truly give off a festive atmosphere.
However, Asha, who was carefully managing the festival where everyone ate, drank, sang and danced excitedly, was only able to put alcohol to her lips in the late afternoon.
"Asha! You come here and have a drink too!"
It was thanks to Decker, who couldn't bear to see Asha busily moving around inside and outside the castle.
He filled a large wooden mug full of beer and then handed it to Asha, and struck the cup so hard that more than half of it overflowed.
"Long live our Lord, Asha!"
His eyes were already reddish, seeming like he had already drunk quite a bit.
"Don't drink enough to pass out."
"Don't nag and just drink already!"
At his urging, Asha curiously gulped the beer down.
She has tried apple cider or grape wine a few times before, but beer was her first time. It was also her first time drinking such a large amount.
After emptying the glass, Asha grimaced.
"Ugh…tastes bad."
"Ahaha! Since you only drink high-class wine next to His Highness Carlyle, something like beer must not suit your taste?"
"It's not that? This just tastes bad. It's bitter."
"Since you say that, it seems you're still a child. Hahaha!"
Decker, a little drunk, laughed heartily.
At that time, from behind, Luka called out.
"Lord! Where have you been until now? You have to have a drink with us too!"
Luka, Danilo, and Bastian, who went to Zyro together, approached with drinks in hand.
They too had suffered a lot during that time. As they were the people Asha trusted the most, they were also involved in the Pervaz reconstruction project here and there.
Asha filled each person's glass with beer, feeling sorry for them.
"You've worked hard! There's still more to do in the future, but… let's forget about it all today and drink!"
The sound of glasses clinking together rang out again.
As they were about to finish that drink, someone else called Asha from behind.
It was Hector and the other warriors.
"Lord! You have to drink with us too!"
"Ah, of course!"
Asha clinked glasses with them again.
Drinking like this, Asha got drunk in just one or two hours.
'I'm going to make a big mistake like this… I need to hide for a bit.'
Her eyes were spinning, and she felt like she was going to die because everyone she met offered her a drink.
The only thing she could think of with her drunk brain was to run away, so Asha said she had something to do and went into the castle.
"Oh, I'm going to die… ."
Asha thought of a place where her acquaintances would not be able to find her and headed for the second floor balcony.
The people of Pervaz never went up to the second floor of the castle, and it was a place that even the servants on the second floor did not dare to go near because it was near Carlyle's bedroom.
If she had been in her right mind, Asha would not have thought to hide there either.
'No one will be able to find me here.'
Asha sat down in the corner of the balcony and leaned her head against the wall, staring blankly. Suddenly, she found this situation so funny that she started to giggle.
That is, until someone cast a shadow over her head.
"What a drunkard."
An arrogant voice with a hint of laughter came from above her head.
At that familiar voice, Asha slowly raised her head.
As expected, Carlyle was looking down at her.
"Hehe… ."
Asha laughed again.
She didn't know why, but she just found it funny.
"How much did you drink?"
It seemed like Carlyle had lowered his body. The smell of his body suddenly hit her.
"They kept telling me to drink, so… I drank… a little."
She wondered if she had pronounced it correctly.
Her tongue was wagging on its own.