9th march 1574"Your Governors.h.i.+p! I wouldn"t dare do something like that! While it"s true that I have some problems on my hands right now, it"s nothing that I can"t solve myself. But to be perfectly honest, there was a single matter I wanted to consult, or rather, to put on your hands."
Smiling nicely, I looked straight into Jan"s Bone eyes and pointed with my entire hand to my side.
"My dear fiance and I… We are going to get married soon, and hoped that Governor himself could attend our wedding!"
Instead of beating around the bush, since this guy already saw through me a bit, I decided to just hit him straight in the heart. The n.o.ble that welcomed us to the camp said that this entire hunt was aimed to provide wild game for the feast celebrating the wedding in the Governor"s family, so asking him to take part in yet another ceremony was the best way to divert his attention from the problems that I mentioned!
"Oh, so that"s the case!"
With his expression relaxing, as he took yet another sip of my beer, the governor looked at Elia and switched his gaze back to me.
"First of all, I ought to congratulate you. Finding such a fine woman is a deed in itself! Speaking of which, may I ask your name, lady…?"
"Elia, of the city of Pilzno."
Instantly responding, my soon-to-be-wife gave the governor a curtsy, with a light smile plastered on her face. Maybe it was an accident, but as she lowered herself on her knees, she moved her right hand in a way for the sun to be reflected off the ring I gave her right into Governor"s eyes.
"Elia…"
Grabbing his chin, the governor took an expression on racking his brains in search for some long-forgotten information, before he moved his hand away from his face and used it to slap his knee.
"From the Pekta family, am I right?"
With the smile turning from just a slight curvature to a fully-fledged grin, Elia bowed her head.
"It"s an honour to be remembered by such a great figure as you, your governors.h.i.+p!"
If it was the case for the former governor, remembering such details would be just a part of the job, but with how this guy took this position only a few months ago, being able to recall such detailed information about after all - a minor n.o.ble - was a great feat that spoke wonders of how serious he was about fulfiling his duty to the crown!
"Then to not keep you hanging any longer… I"m happy that I was invited, and surely I will take part in such a joyous event. Especially, if you could make sure to get some more of this beer on it!"
Raising the now half-empty barrel to the air, governor shook it a bit as if to accent his words, before pressing the opening once again against his lips and taking a few sips more.
"Pure Virgin Mary… If the spice you spoke about is as great as this drink… I can"t wait to have the feast started!"
At this point, he couldn"t do me a greater favour. Not only as a governor, but a major n.o.ble living a fair bit of his time on this world, to make him praise a simple drink as much as he did… From the curious glances that other n.o.bles and even servants were sending at the barrel, I already knew that this not-so-very-obvious promotion was highly successful!
The question was, did the Governor flaunt the greatness of this drink just out of pure heart, or did he intend to force me into giving up a part of the business that would surely spring up as soon as I could gather all the materials necessary to set the production?
"I would like to excuse myself then. With your consent, could I order the cooks around a bit? There are some things that need to be harvested from the wild herbs in order to bring the power of my spice to its maximum!"
Just like I said, I only had pure MSG on me, and the form I was most well-versed about was a specific mix of vegetables, MSG and other ingredients. While some of them have yet to become popular in entire Europe with how slow the new plants were spreading from Spain through the entire continent, in fact, most of them were growing in wild everywhere around!
"I will allow that. Go then and do your best! Also, I can"t let you go without commending your luck. To be able to fall in love with the direct owner of your neighbouring town… I can"t tell whether its luck or simply a political wit! Anyway, you have my respect!"
With the governor dismissing us, I pulled Elia away from the crowd, heading towards the place where servants were now dissecting the two boars and some of the other small game that the hunters managed to bring back from the forest.
"Why didn"t you tell him about Peter? If you are not going to use his power outright, what"s the whole point of rus.h.i.+ng to meet with him in the first place?"
As I observed the disgusting but necessary process of gutting the animals, Elia latched on my arm and buried her nose in my skin, as if that could help anything with the smell that was already spreading out through the surroundings.
"You see, while I could tell him about our troubles right away, what kind of impression would that make? Even if he could solve this problem by simply ordering Peter to stay the h.e.l.l down, he would still remain in the position to do us harm, in a more or less direct way. If we want a complete victory, we need to destroy every last bit of his power and wealth, so when he would come to seek revenge, he would be akin to a child waving his wooden branch against the steel of a knight"s sabre!"