'It's hard to read such a thick book quickly, and I haven't got to the back yet.'
'How did you know the details of Siegfried's exploits without reading about them?'
Aldes was about to tell me that he had seen it in a dream while sleeping at the base of a giant ash tree in the bordering forest, but decided not to go into detail, just give me the gist.
'I've had dreams like that before.'
'Well, that's interesting. In dreams, things appear that you wouldn't normally think of. Anyway, back then, people thought that Siegfried must have died and gone to Valhalla.'
'I thought Valhalla was a place where only great warriors could go after death.'
'Yes, and there are legends that Odin of Asgard may have placed his power in a sacred place in Midgard to honour Siegfried's soul.'
Aldeth thought that the fabled sacred place Wintry spoke of might be the giant ash tree they had found in the Boundary Forest.
'I want to go to Valhalla when I die, too.'
'Well... probably won't be able to go to Valhalla.'
Aldes and Wintry talked for a while longer about the history of the continent of Heneruk, and then the day's lesson ended.
As part of his lesson with Wintry today, Aldeth learnt something new.
Aldes had learnt that the population of Rannefels, the area where Aldes lived, was dwindling.
Wintry told her that most of the people who have left Aldes have settled in the Gerho family estate to the east.
Aldes believed that people were leaving for more livable areas as the Llanefells became more difficult to live in.
The Llanefels region has always been a prolific producer of olives and hemp stalks.
Olives were used for oil and hemp stalks for rope.
Picking olives and hemp stalks on the farms was now one of the tasks of the lords' sons.
The olive grove was located two kilometres from Arenberg Castle. The farm, with its 5,000 olive trees, was spread out over a large area.
To pick the olives, the adults of the village were employed, but children's labour was also needed.
Today, Aldes and his two-year-old sister, Renda. Aldes and her two-year-old brother, Tari, are picking olives with other children from the village of Ranefels.
Whenever children gathered together, they were always noisy.
Even the lord's sons were used to working and playing with the commoners' children, so they were used to each other's company.
Today, in order to meet their quota, they had to work diligently all day picking olives.
Each of them picked olives with a basket. Working on the farm in the scorching sun was hard work.
At work, Aldes's older sister, Lenda, loved to sing. Lenda and her best friend, Burgelia, would sing to liven up the work.
Burgelia began the song with a rhyme, and Renda immediately joined in.
'I sow seeds in the fields where the sun rises
May the magical land nurture them,
Grow, grow, grow, for a bountiful harvest,
Golden barley, the wind and rain will bless,
Our song will be our strength, protecting the fields,
We plough the fields by moonlight and tend them with care.
And the fairies help us, and our sweat glows in this work.'
From the chorus, 'Grow up,' all the children sang together.
Aldeth knew that Burgelia was a better singer than Renda. But he couldn't let on about it in front of Lenda.
Once, Aldés had told his sister, Lenda, that he thought their friend Burgelia was a better singer. Lenda had been so angry when she heard that, she hadn't spoken to Aldés for days, pretending not to know him.
Burgelia had platinum hair and a very beautiful face.
She sang well and was beautiful, so many children followed her.
When Burgelia came to the castle to play, Aldes and his siblings would join her.
The children gathered on the farm until nightfall, so that they could fulfil their quota for the day.
At the end of the day, the children would eat together at Arenberg Castle.
The children of the town would work hard during the day in anticipation of the evening meal, as they knew that on this day they would be able to eat meat, which was not normally available to them.
The main dish of the day was a stew of venison, onions, carrots, and aubergines.
Libo, the cook, and the men in the kitchen served the food.
The children clapped their hands.
'Eat, everyone. This is made from a roe deer that Aldes caught far away.'
'Eat well,' said Libo, placing the food on the table.
'I will eat, Aldes.'
Burgelia had been mingling with the lord's sons since she was a child, so she spoke easily.
'If we run out of meat, I'll go into the forest and catch more, so don't waste it.'
After a long day of labour, everyone was hungry. When the meal began. The children, who had been chattering nonstop just a moment before, were quiet, and only the sound of crunching and eating could be heard.
Aldeth quietly scooped the roe deer meat from his bowl into Burgelia's bowl beside him.
Burgelia said nothing, but smiled at Aldeth.
Aldeth was pleased to see her smile, and it reminded him of a lesson he had once had with the bachelor and Wintry.
A person, male or female, who was too good looking for their station in life could be unhappy.
That person might be able to use the goodwill of those around them to help them get work, but more often than not, they would become the plaything of wealthy merchants or nobles.
The dining room began to get noisy.
People began to play pranks on each other, to run around.
Renda walked over to Burgelia and held out her arm.
'Earlier, while working during the day, I scratched my arm on a sharp branch. Do you have anything to put on it?'
Burgelia rummaged through her pack, pulled out some herbs, and handed them to Renda.
'Grind this up and put it on the wound.'
Aldeth, watching from the side, was curious.
'What kind of herb is this?'
'It's called rosewood. It stops bleeding and soothes wounds.'
'Oh. That's a useful herb. Give me some.'
'Okay.'
Burgelia plucked a handful of rosewood from her pouch and gave it to Aldeth.
'Renda, how did you know that Burgelia had these herbs?'
'Burgelia told me. She said she often goes to the mountains to gather herbs.'
'Herbs make money, too. There's a lot of good herbs in the mountains that people don't know about. Usually they pass by with little knowledge, but if you know about them, you can't pass them by.'
Burgelia said.
'A warrior needs a lot of rosewood, Sister Bugelia, and I hope you'll be able to find plenty of it in the future.'
'Who is the warrior? You, Aldes?'
- Hahaha. Haha. Haha.
Hearing Burgelia's words, the children around them laughed out loud.
They had heard about the things that had happened in the Boundary Forest, and about Weeks and the book The Chronicles of Midgard. The story of Siegfried the Brave.
Maybe, he thought, he could be a warrior too.
A few days passed. Hugo, the lord of Arenberg Castle, summoned Aldes to a meeting.
Aldeth had never formally attended a meeting of House Boldo before. Now, it seemed, he was being asked to attend, in order to work on the succession.
Aldes went to the meeting. In the room were his father Hugo, his bachelor Wintry, and his treasurer Barry.
It was a small crowd for a meeting. However, the father, bachelor, and treasurer were the three key people who ran the Boldo family.
As Aldes entered the room, Wintry and Barry rose from their seats.
It was a large rectangular table. Aldes sat down across from Hugo.
'Aldeth, I hear you've been working hard on your swordsmanship training lately, Drillmaster Woodord.'
'Aye. Ever since I went to the Boundary Forest, I've been enjoying my swordplay even more.'
'Hmm. I see. Your swordsmanship has improved greatly since your trip to the Boundary Forest.'
'Yes, I've noticed that my swordsmanship has improved since my trip to the Boundary Forest.'
'One grows stronger after travelling for so long, hunting in such a barren place.'
'Father. What made you call me to a meeting today?'
'....'
Hugo was silent for a moment.
'Aldeth. Let me tell you.'
Treasurer. Barry said.
'As you know, Aldes, we sell almost all of the olives, hemp stalks, and wheat we produce here in Ranefels to House Gerho. But the harvest hasn't been good lately, and the heavens aren't helping.'
Aldés knows the harvest is getting worse, which is why he's been travelling to the bordering forests himself to hunt for meat.
'Aldes, you'll be 13 next year, so it's high time you knew about House Boldo's situation. The truth is, House Boldo's finances are not in good shape, and the upkeep of Arenberg Castle alone is becoming a financial burden.'
'Treasurer Barry, what do you mean? As Treasurer, if you've been with the Boldos for as long as you have, you should have been aware of these problems and addressed them.'
'It's not a problem you can handle, Barry. It's been a long time since the people of Rannefels moved to Zirnewald, ruled by the more favourable Gerho family, and with fewer and fewer lords, it's harder and harder to run the estate, and at this rate, the Boldos are going to go bankrupt.'
'Bankrupt? Yes. You're saying the Boldos are going out of business?'
'At this rate, yes.'
Aldes says that the people of Llanefels are all the same, from the lords to the butchers down the road.
He knew that none of them played for keeps.
Even he himself, the future heir to the lord, hunted far away and picked olives on the farm.
Everyone had been living well, and now they were finding it difficult to maintain the status quo.
'Father, I've always done what I was told to do. If I was told to go out and hunt, I hunted, and if I was told to pick olives in the sun, I picked them. If the people of Rannefels can live without problems, I can do anything.'
'The Bertha's are not far behind us in economic power, but the Gerhos are getting stronger and stronger, and that's troubling. A letter came to me from the Gerhos the other day, and I had a lot to say about it with Wintry and Barry, who are sitting here.'
'What was the letter about?'