On the second Sunday of March, the chapel of the wooden castle in the valley was filled with worshipers.

Lottie, the wife of the Lord of the Valley Knights, is leading the people to receive the blessing from the parish priest Hamish. Most of these believers who come to the church to worship are the residents of the wooden castle and the earliest farmers in the valley. They have already

I can basically provide for food and clothing, so I have time to come to Mubao to pursue my inner beliefs.

Almighty Lord, may your name be hallowed.

May your kingdom come.

May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors.

Do not lead us into temptation.

Save us from evil. [or be the one who saves us from evil]

Because the kingdom, quánbǐng, and glory are all yours, forever

Amen!!!

Amen~

"Mrs. Lottie, you can get up. The Holy Lord has heard your prayers and will let the Holy Light descend on your head." The prayers have ended, but Lottie is still bowing her head and clasping her fingers in piety in front of the icon in the temple.

pray.

"Almighty Lord, may your light guide the way home for my loved one, so that my beloved and his warriors can return safely and triumphantly." Lottie slowly opened her eyes and drew the Holy Cross on her chest with her right hand.

"Dear Father Hamish, can the Holy Lord hear my humble prayer?" Lottie asked the parish priest Hamish softly.

Hamish also drew a Holy Cross and said with relief: "The Holy Lord can hear the prayers of every devout believer, and your husband and his warriors will definitely return safely."

"Thank you, priest." Lottie was helped up by Ollie, the personal maid, and walked out of the church.

Lottie left the church, and Emma was already waiting at the door with Camille and Salt's little daughter. Emma carried a wooden basket in her arm, which contained small bread, apples, raisins, dried fruits and other food.

In the open space outside the church, more than thirty citizens who had finished their prayers were waiting here quietly for their lord's wife.

Lottie walked out of the church door and glanced at the people outside the church with a smile. Ollie, the personal maid, took the basket from Emma's hand and followed Lottie.

Lottie took out two small pieces of bread from the wooden basket and handed them to a peasant woman who came to the church to worship. Then she took out an apple and bent over and handed it to the little girl next to the peasant woman.

"Thank you madam, God bless you." The peasant woman bowed to Lottie.

Lottie nodded slightly and walked towards the next leader...

This is what Lottie has done in person almost every Sunday since Art went south to fight.

The food given away was not much, and it was not worth much, but it was a kind act. Lottie hoped to pray for her distant lover through her charity.

Lottie handed the bread apples or dried fruits and grapes in the basket to the hands of the people one by one, and the people also accepted the kindness of the lord's wife with a grateful heart.

Just in the middle of the donation, there was a burst of cheers outside the gate of the wooden castle. A peasant soldier on patrol from the wooden castle rushed to the door of the church, bulging his eyes and shouting at the top of his voice: "Sir! It's my lord! Sir, they are back!!!"

The crowd hadn't heard clearly what the peasants and soldiers were saying, so they stayed where they were.

"Who's back?" Emma stepped forward and asked the sentry peasant soldier.

"Sir! It's Lord Art! There are also Chief Angus and your Chief Ron. They are back and will be at the wooden castle soon!" the peasant soldier replied excitedly.

The buzz in the crowd suddenly exploded, and they rushed to the fort gate.

Lottie also lifted up her skirt and walked quickly to the castle gate accompanied by Emma and Ollie.

Everyone looked at the carriageway to the north with eagerness. After a while, several figures riding majestic war horses appeared in everyone's eyes.

Art took the lead, leading everyone to approach the wooden castle slowly along the carriage path.

Arriving in front of the crowd, Art jumped off his horse and walked to Lottie, who was surrounded by the crowd, "I'm back~"

Lottie stared blankly at the thin man with stubble in front of her for a long time, then suddenly raised her hand and punched him in the chest, and then hugged the man she thought about day and night.

The crowd burst into loud cheers.

Ron, who was hiding at the end of the line, was infected by the cheers of the people. He mustered up the courage to slowly move to the front row and shouted to Emma who was following Lottie: "Mom, I'm back~"

Emma squeezed out, looked at the young man whose face was torn by scars, and screamed: "Ron? What's wrong with you!!!"

Kuangtong~

The basket in Ollie's hand fell to the ground. She stared straight into Ron's face and took several steps back.

The smile that just appeared on Ron's face slowly solidified...

............

In the afternoon, a small but lively banquet was held in the wooden castle in the valley. People who returned home had a feast that made them think about it day and night. People who arrived for the first time also received a welcome meal.

At night, in the lord's hall on the first floor of the knight's mansion, Art had taken off his heavy mail and plate armor during the battle and changed into a set of comfortable cotton robes. The stubble on his face was also shaved clean by Lottie

.

The civil affairs officials headed by Cooper gathered here. Bass had been promoted to the commander of the Valley Guard Corps and was responsible for the stability of the valley and all Ater territories and spheres of influence during the army's campaign, so Ater also asked him to participate in the discussion.

.

"Everyone has stayed in the valley for several months. You have worked hard. Time is tight this time. The army has already moved to the east to prepare for another battle with the Lombards. This time we just stopped and came back to see the valley. I will leave the valley in two days to catch up with the army.

.The purpose of calling you here today is to hear about the major events in the valley and to arrange important tasks for the next period~"

Several civil affairs officials briefly reported to Art on various matters such as wasteland reclamation, grain sowing and harvesting, village construction, the progress of the Beiguan Army Fort, the operation of the wood fort craftsmanship workshop, the teaching of apprentices in the school, and the recruitment and training of the garrison.

.

Art quietly listened to the reports from his key managers, and from time to time he encouraged and praised their work and made arrangements. "I was very happy when I heard your introduction just now. During the time I left, you not only did not relax your tasks, but also made arrangements for their work."

, and it has exceeded my expectations for you. I don’t have time to describe my merits to you this time. When we return from the Eastern Territory, I will position you all to discuss my merits.”

"Next, in addition to the things you have to do in the valley, you have to do a few big things."

"The first is to bury the bones of the heroes we brought back properly, and their families and relatives to be well settled. The pensions that should be paid should be paid in full, and all the benefits that should be enjoyed cannot be discounted. In addition, these batches of heroes that I brought back from Provence must be properly buried.

People must also be properly arranged, those who are suitable for entering the workshop enter the workshop, and those who are suitable for farming should open up wasteland and farm the land."

"Secondly, from now on, the civil affairs department has begun to organize people to collect grain and store it in wooden forts. Mainly by going out to buy grain. Farmers in the valley who have surplus grain can also buy it at a price. You must not only try to ensure the grain storage in the valley

There is a year's worth of food reserves for everyone, and we have to ensure that enough food is available when the army needs food support from the valley."

"The above two matters belong to the civil affairs category. Cooper is taking the lead and everyone will cooperate fully."

"The third is to strengthen the construction of the valley garrison. Although the war in Provence and Lombardy in the southern continent has a tendency to be extinguished, it is far from being extinguished. And there is an undercurrent surging in the north."

"In the next period of time, the Valley Guard Corps will enter a new round of expansion and preparation, and at the same time strengthen contact with the border outpost town and the patrol garrison camp in Jushi Town. I want to ensure that the army has no worries when it goes out to fight. This matter is by

Bass took the lead in doing this, and Cooper and the civil affairs officials gave their full support."

"The other is other trivial matters in the territory. The first is the parish school..."

He also arranged and arranged some important matters for everyone, and the discussion did not end until the waning moon set in the west.

Back upstairs, Art originally thought that Lottie had rested, but when he opened the door, Lottie was half lying on the bed wearing a light gauze dress, staring at him affectionately.
Chapter completed!