Chapter 211: Chapter 212: Wedding Feast in the Wilderness (2)

After walking for quite some time.In the distance, a signpost marking the village entrance came into view.

Cariote appeared quite tense.Noticing her anxious demeanor, I asked.

“Are you alright?”“I’m fine. How about you, Cecily?”“Not at all…! The ground is so much muddier than I expected and my pretty shoes that I wore specially are completely covered in mud…!”

Cecily seemed to be doing fine as well.Hoo— Cariote drew a deep breath.When Cariote, firmly gripping Cecily’s hand, finally entered the village as if having made a momentous decision, the shepherds one by one turned their heads to look at us.

We returned their gaze.Their faces had a healthy sun-darkened complexion, with black or dark brown hair and eyes. There were around a dozen of them.No strong men were present.Just women and children mostly.Yet they didn’t give off the impression of being weak.

Sling—Someone wielding a knife sharp enough to cut bone stopped preparing meat and Pak— drove the blade into the wooden cutting board.Though she wore an apron, she was quite large with a fierce countenance. A straight scar above her left eye looked particularly menacing.Suk— Suk— After wiping her hands on her apron, she approached and asked.

“Who are you?”

Her voice carried clear hostility.Since village folk commonly showed wariness toward strangers from foreign lands, I took it in stride.

“I am Cecily von Regdoll.”

Little Cecily grasped her skirt and offered an elegant curtsy.The fierce-looking woman’s hostility seemed to soften somewhat.After all, it’s difficult to maintain blind hostility toward groups traveling with children.

“That scar… could you be Aunt Tirk?”

That’s when Cariote addressed the intimidating butcher-like woman. The scarred woman in the apron appeared momentarily surprised, then studied Cariote’s face.

“Now that I look closer, could it be Cariote? You’ve grown so tall and lovely I didn’t recognize you! Yes! It’s Cariote! Everyone come out and look, Cariote has returned! Cariote has come back to Iscariote!”

At Tirk’s booming announcement, people emerged one by one from their tents. Most were women.There were some men, but only young boys.People gathered around us.

This was Iscariote.Cariote’s homeland.

# # #

“What have you been doing all this time? How have you been?”“Your skin is so fair now! Weren’t you more tanned when you lived here?”“You’ve been living in the city, right? City life is great, isn’t it, girl?!”

Kyak— Kyak— Kyaruru—!Women’s chatter was more chaotic and lively than men might imagine.The women of Iscariote were especially strong-willed and tough, their voices loud enough to make the small tent quiver.

Pang—Someone slapped my behind with their palm.When I turned around, a middle-aged woman wearing an eye patch was Huhu— laughing.

“This man looks strong. Quite handsome too.”“He doesn’t seem like a city dweller?”“Which tribe does he belong to?”

They must have assumed I was a nomad from the plains based on my appearance? But their gazes lacked the contempt or fear I’d felt in the kingdom.Instead, I was receiving considerable warmth.

“How old are you?”“Do you have someone special?”“What about me!”“My goodness, Iruru, that’s too forward!”

Indeed.I was receiving very obvious interest.Had there ever been a time in my life when I’d been surrounded by so many interested women?Never.

I wondered if this might be the peak of my life. They say some people who aren’t popular in their homeland become popular abroad - I must be exactly that type.I was considered handsome here on the great plains!

“This is… the person who will be my husband.”

That’s when Cariote came over to introduce me.The women’s eyes widened considerably.

“Oh my! Cariote has brought home a husband!”“How wonderful. Very traditional.”“I want to venture outside the village and bring back a partner too!”

The women of Iscariote praised Cariote enthusiastically.Before coming to this village, I had learned quite a bit from Cariote about the traditions of the village and plains.The plains people didn’t choose partners from their own tribe - rather, upon reaching a certain age, they would travel to meet potential lovers and return to introduce them - that was their tradition.I suspected it was a system to prevent inbreeding and maintain genetic diversity.

“Who’s this little one?”“She looks just like a doll!”“Oh my, how adorable.”

The women now turned their attention to Cecily, who sat quietly. Even in this culture of tough warrior women, Cecily proved popular.Likely because of her natural beauty.

I recalled a story about when missionaries first arrived on the Korean peninsula in the late Joseon period.One might expect the Asian people of that time would have rejected Westerners, calling them “big noses” or “blue-eyed ghosts.”Many missionaries came to Korea with their families then, and the children they brought were incredibly popular regardless of age or gender.Townspeople would gather just to see the missionary children.Even in historical records from that time, there were observations like “the children are very pretty” or “they look endearing.”In other words, people’s sense of aesthetics doesn’t actually vary much across eras or cultures, remaining somewhat constant.Looking at Cecily, I could definitely sense it.Cuteness transcends all boundaries.

Suk—Cariote placed her hands under Cecily’s sides and lifted her high into the air.As Cecily went limp, Cariote announced to everyone.

“This is my daughter. Her name is Cecily Barjudas, also known as Cecily von Regdoll. She’s my daughter and I’ve brought her to show everyone.”

Cariote lifted Cecily even higher so more people could see her daughter clearly.Cecily wore a half-resigned expression.

“Cariote’s daughter?”“Now that you mention it, they do look alike! She has two eyes, one nose and—““Didn’t Leone look just like that back then?”“Shh, let’s not speak of Leone.”

I sensed the atmosphere shift to a mix of joy and unease. Soon Cariote addressed everyone as if sharing happy news.

“Mother is alive too. We can’t meet her now, but. It would take time to explain. Anyway, I’m going to marry this man soon. I wanted everyone to know before that.”

The villagers exchanged glances.Though Cariote’s explanation was brief, everyone laughed Wahaha— as if everything was fine.

“We must have a festival today!”“Let’s open the wine barrels when the men return!”“Wa!”

It was a more vibrant hometown than I had imagined.Soon the sky began turning crimson as the sun descended toward the horizon.

The horizon.Due to the geography, there was rarely a chance to see the horizon in Korea where I grew up.These great plains where sky and earth met in the distance left quite an impression on my city-raised heart.As I gazed at it, Cecily came beside me and said.

“The sunset is so pretty!”“Isn’t it?”“I never knew places with such vast land existed. Though there are no aristocratic chandeliers or noble ladies in fancy dresses, this sunset is the most beautiful of all.”

Cecily spoke candidly.Cecily was half me and half Cariote.Half of Cariote was Lady Leone and half was from this Iscariote plains great hunter’s blood, so Cecily could be considered to have about ¼ of the plains blood.Cecily seemed quite taken with her quarter-blood homeland.

Pirururururuk—!Just then a sharp bird of prey’s cry pierced the air.

“Cecily, looks like an eagle’s come to catch you.”“Hmph.”

As Cecily snorted—Dagudak— loud hoofbeats approached.I worried bandits might have appeared, but the village women welcomed whoever was arriving on horseback.

“You’ve returned?”“Amor, how was the hunting today? More importantly, look who’s here! Cariote has returned!”“My goodness, the great hunter’s daughter has come back to the village?”“She didn’t just return, she brought a husband! Well, since she already has a daughter, I suppose he is her husband!”

I had described the women of e village as tough earlier.The men of Iscariote were warriors beyond compare.Perhaps because they were a tribe that hunted on horseback, there wasn’t a single overweight person among them and they emanated a sharp presence like finely honed arrows.And they didn’t seem particularly fond of me.

“So you’re the one who claims to be Cariote’s husband?”“Looks like a male courtesan! Seems weak!”“A city dweller?”

To think there would come a day when I’d be called a male courtesan. Well, compared to these rugged nomads, my features were quite refined.Perhaps I was considered handsome here?My feelings were quite mixed.

Still, I could tell they thought of Cariote as family they hadn’t seen in ages.It felt like when a sister brings home a boyfriend and there’s wariness about what kind of man he might be.Clearly Cariote had been well-liked in her hometown.I recalled Cariote’s earlier warning: “The men might be somewhat particular. Though it’s tradition to bring spouses from outside, they don’t like them being too citified.”

Suk—Just then someone emerged, parting the crowd of men.He was a bear-like giant with an eagle tattoo on his face.

“How could someone who looks unable to handle even a single punch be the husband of Cariote, daughter of the great hunter! It’s incomprehensible! I doubt he could even hunt a single rabbit on the plains.”

Pat—He grabbed my collar.Kkuuk—I felt him applying force but soon a bewildered sound escaped his mouth.

“Th-This guy is heavy! He won’t budge!”“Domor, what are you doing? Use some strength!”“Everyone come here! This guy’s body weighs like a cart!”

The men all pounced on me.They grabbed my clothes or pulled my arms, but being surrounded and handled by multiple men wasn’t particularly pleasant.

Anyway.The bear-like man called Domor caught his breath and asked.

“Just what are you? This doesn’t seem like human ability no matter how I look at it! Are you a ghost?”“Something like that.”

When I nodded, the men appeared frightened.Some even reached for weapons.

To lighten the mood, I produced gifts from the shadows.Nothing better than giving presents to gain goodwill from strangers.What I pulled out was a round soccer ball.

Pang— Pang—When I kicked it and passed it to the men, these energetic fellows were delighted and each took a ball.I offered items like balls as well as cigarettes, alcohol, and toolboxes, but manufactured goods like chocolate and drinks proved surprisingly popular.The men each claimed a box of cola in glass bottles and were thoroughly pleased.

“We hunters of Iscariote welcome you. As long as you don’t cause too much trouble, we’ll treat you as an honored guest!”

With that spirit, as evening fell.A great bonfire was lit in the village center and a lively festival began.The guests of honor were myself and Cariote.

“According to Iscariote tradition, we begin the wedding of Cariote, daughter of the plains, and Judas!”

The sound of drums and horn flutes filled the plains night along with the bonfire smoke.It was an evening when the moon and stars shone with particular brilliance.

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