Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 42 Anna
"What? That's the goddess of beauty?" Winters was slightly surprised, because he had only seen a naked woman.

Anna smiled sweetly and nodded.

Although the girl before him was all smiles, Winters could clearly see two faint wrinkles between her brows. He also noticed that Anna's left hand, which was holding the candlestick, had turned white at the knuckles from gripping it so tightly, while her right hand was twitching slightly and unconsciously.

Did I say something wrong? Winters was puzzled. He also couldn't understand why Madame Navarre's daughter, despite being extremely angry, was still pretending to be cheerful.

The army idolized men like Layton and Field, men of strong character and unrestrained spirit. Even though Winters didn't particularly like Major General Layton, he was still willing to follow him into battle.

Although Winters wanted to salvage the situation, he wasn't one of those art connoisseurs who could speak eloquently. The painting conveyed only the most basic intuitive feeling to him, so he honestly stated his thoughts: "If you hadn't told me it was Aphrodite, I would have thought it was Athena."

"Why would Athena be naked?" Anna was slightly taken aback.

"Is that so? I was being naive." Winters blushed again, racking his brains for words to adequately describe his immediate impression: "But the goddess in the painting gives me the feeling of a... female warrior, a female knight. Yes, that's it!"

His mind suddenly clicked, and he gestured as he explained: "Although the figure in the painting is female (with secondary sexual characteristics in her breasts), she is very fit, heroic, and well-proportioned. Even I don't have such beautiful abs... I felt that it would be more harmonious if she had a shield and a spear in her hand, so I mistook her for a goddess of war."

Anna covered her face and smiled sweetly: "Mr. Montagne, I've never heard such comments from you before, they're quite novel." Her brows were no longer furrowed, her fists were no longer clenched, and her eyes were like crescent moons; this time, it was a genuine smile from the heart.

Winters said embarrassedly, "I don't know anything about painting; these are just my wild thoughts."

“A very interesting idea, Mr. Montagne.”

"Perhaps we can ask the painter himself what he thinks."

"In my opinion, the artist himself was also unclear about what he wanted to convey."

"Who exactly created this masterpiece?"

"He's not a painter; my mother bought it from an unknown artist."

"But I think he painted it beautifully."

“It’s nothing more than a poor imitation of classical art. Many goddess statues from the classical era were just as beautiful and heroic, and many of them were even converted from male statues into female statues.” Anna removed the latch and pushed open the door from the kitchen to the living room: “Come on, Mr. Montagne, you can tell the chef what you want to eat, please don’t be shy.”

But the huge kitchen was empty, with only a few faint lights coming from the oven. The door to the backyard was wide open; it seemed the servants who worked there had all slipped away to avoid the heat.

Anna stood motionless in the kitchen doorway with her back to Winters.

"It's too late, it seems the kitchen is closed for the day. Let's not bother, let's go back." Winters was a little worried that the young lady of the house would be embarrassed.

“That won’t do.” Anna went into the kitchen and lit the oil lamps in various places with candlesticks. “If you don’t mind, I’ll prepare it for you.”

Winters was a little flattered: "I'm not hungry anymore, how can I trouble you to make something yourself?"

“There are some ingredients readily available, which is very convenient. I hope you don’t mind.” Anna’s voice was gentle, but it did not leave Winters any room for refusal: “Please turn the fire in the oven up a bit.”

Winters instinctively obeyed the order and began adding firewood to the oven.

Anna found two pieces of wheat bread that the servants had left over and cut off the crust that had hardened from being left out for too long.

Then, thin slices were shaved from the large blocks of cheese and smoked meat in the pantry and layered on the bread. Finally, a pickled cucumber was taken from the jar, cut in half lengthwise, and half was placed on each side.

Winters wanted to help, but he couldn't do anything and could only watch as Anna, dressed in a formal gown, bustled around in the kitchen.

After the second processing, Anna put the bread into the oven to bake. The cheese gradually melted and seeped into the crevices inside the bread. A few minutes later, Anna cut the baked bread into small, easy-to-eat pieces and led Winters away from the kitchen to a secluded gazebo in the corner of the garden.

The air was filled with the subtle fragrance of roses, and the chirping of cicadas rose and fell in the surroundings. The bright moon obscured most of the starlight. Through the neatly trimmed bushes, one could vaguely see the light from the windows of a side hall not far away.

"Please use it."

Winters hadn't expected things to turn out this way; he had only casually asked for some food, but in the end, the young mistress of the house cooked for him herself.

He said apologetically to Anna, "You can leave me here alone. I'm so sorry to have kept you so long. Mrs. Navarre must be getting impatient."

The girl did not leave, but instead gently sat down on the stone bench, lifting her skirt, and smiled at Winters, saying, "I should thank you, Mr. Montagne, for giving me an excuse to escape from this boring party. I didn't want to attend such a party at all."

"What, is the party not good enough?"

"What's so great about a party? Isn't the entertainment just listening to the most powerful men brag?"

“Well said! Miss Navarre, well said!” This humorous summary made Winters laugh and applaud in praise. No one could empathize with this statement more than a soldier.

Anna abandoned her ladylike smile and giggled. At that moment, Winters truly felt that Miss Navarre before him had become a living, breathing person, no longer a puppet.

“Please, Mr. Montagne,” Anna said, gesturing for Winters to sit down.

Winters tasted Anna's creation, a wonderful combination of bacon, cheese, pickles, and bread: "Although the bread was a little dry, it was really, really delicious."

“My grandfather used to make this for me when I was a child. Fresh bread tastes better because it has more moisture.”

Winters was truly starving, and the best way to praise a chef's skills is to eat, so Winters tried his best to express his admiration for Anna's cooking.

While busy wolfing down his food, Winters noticed out of the corner of his eye that Anna was staring at him.

Winters stopped and looked at Anna questioningly: What's wrong?
"Actually, I haven't eaten anything since the afternoon," Anna said quietly.

"So, shall we split this food in half?"

"But I can't eat it."

"why?"

"Only married women have the right to eat, burp, and fart freely in front of men."

"Haha, why do you say that?" Winters found that this Miss Navarre was truly a remarkable person. Not only did she have an extremely unique perspective on the world, but she was also eloquent and full of witty remarks.

"Mr. Montagne, do you have any sisters?"

"I only have one younger sister."

"Haven't you heard your mother and sister say that 'girls who are greedy for food can't find a man'?"

Winters thought carefully: "I've never heard my sister's mother say that before."

“If you were a woman, your mother would tell you, ‘Men want little girls with small appetites, preferably with no knowledge, who will only say how amazing you are. If men find that you are more knowledgeable than them, they won’t marry you.’” Anna, having shed her pretense, no longer forced a smile, and looked somewhat dejected.

"So the ladies are supposed to play dumb?" Winters had never even held a young woman's hand, let alone gotten married, and he had never considered this question before.

"Yes."

"You can't pretend to be stupid forever, can you?"

"It's too late for men to regret it after they've gotten married."

"Hahaha."

"What are you laughing at, Mr. Montagne?" Anna huffed, letting out a torrent of pent-up frustration. "That's just how it is. You can be carefree, eat whatever you want at the party if you're hungry, and people will even praise your composure. But what about me? I'm hungry too, but if I did that, my reputation would be ruined, and everyone in Hailan would be gossiping about me. Do you think that's fair?"

“This is indeed unfair, but it’s a big problem that you and I can’t solve alone. You and I can only solve a small problem.” Winters thought for a moment, then smiled and asked Anna, “Are you planning to marry me?” “What nonsense are you talking about?” Anna stood up in a panic, staring wide-eyed at Winters.

“Since you don’t intend to marry me, I don’t intend to marry you either. So why are you still concerned about your image in front of me?” Winters calmly explained to Anna, “There are only the two of us here. Even if you eat a whole cow in front of me, it won’t reach the ears of the person you love. Since you want to pursue fairness, you shouldn’t oppress yourself even when you’re alone.”

Winters pushed the tray of bread toward Anna: "Eat if you're hungry, don't worry about me. I won't tell anyone about this."

"Even if you tell others, I'm not afraid!" Winters blushed countless times tonight, and this time it was Anna's turn to turn bright red: "Come here!"

"What?" Winters asked, somewhat confused.

“I want you to come here! Stand next to me,” Anna repeated.

Winters looked bewildered as he slowly walked to Anna's side, a little worried that he might get slapped.

The girl stared at Winters for a few seconds, then turned around, showing him her beautifully shaped back: "Help me untie it."

"Please don't do this, I'm not thinking about marriage right now!" Winters hurriedly refused, looking at Anna's beautiful nape. He was completely flustered, unable to understand why she suddenly wanted to take off her clothes.

Anna was both angry and anxious. She punched Winters hard in the back and stomped her feet repeatedly: "What are you thinking? I need you to help me untie my corset. I can't eat with this thing around."

"That scared me to death, I thought they were going to sleep with me," Winters thought.

Hearing that it was just about removing his corset, he breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Where is the corset?"

Anna wore a long, blue, ruffled dress with white velvet ribbons trimming the edges. The dress was wide at the bottom and narrow at the top, with an exaggerated skirt supported by a petticoat below the waist.

It was only then that Winters noticed how incredibly thin the girl's waist was, thinner than a sixteen-pound cannon. This thinness defied the normal shape of the human body, clearly forced into such a state by external force.

Having just admired Aphrodite's unrestrained display of female beauty, Winters felt that this treatment of women was far too cruel and morbid when he saw the slender waist that had been forcibly constricted.

"First, untie the drawstring at the back of your skirt, then open the clasp inside the skirt. I'll do the rest myself." Anna blushed, wondering what had possessed her to ask a man to untie her chastity belt.

“Oh, okay.” As soon as Anna said that, Winters understood. He skillfully untied the clasp of the skirt and loosened the crisscrossing thin ropes little by little.

"How come you're so skilled?" Anna noticed with alarm that Warrant Officer Montagne untied the drawstring of his skirt in just a few moments, even faster than her personal maid.

“These are just shoelaces, aren’t they? I’ve worn boots for over ten years, I can lace them up and loosen them with my eyes closed,” Winters replied smugly.

After the corset knots were untied, Anna stopped Winters from helping her and slowly loosened the rest herself. This process wasn't about taking off the corset, but rather loosening it like untying shoelaces to ease its tightness.

Anna, now free of the corset, took a few deep breaths, clearly relieved that the tight corset not only constricted her waist and abdomen but also compressed her lungs. She glared at Winters, sat back down on the stone bench, and began to eat in revenge.

Winters couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the young woman, and he pushed the rest of the food towards Anna. She ate and watched silently for a while, until Anna finished all the remaining bread in one go.

“I haven’t even had a few bites yet,” Winters joked, “but it’s all gone into your stomach.”

“If you want to eat it, why don’t you make it yourself?” Anna immediately retorted.

With the food gone, Winters felt there was no point in just sitting there, so he asked, "Shall we go back to the party area?"

"I'm not going back, and you're not allowed to go back either. If you go back, Mom will definitely send someone to look for me."

Winters was speechless, and the two sat in silence for a while longer.

The sound of boot heels clicking on the stone slabs came from afar, growing closer and closer; clearly, someone was approaching. Anna immediately abandoned her languid posture, straightened her back, and sat upright on the stone bench.

Winters stood up and looked in the direction from which the footsteps came. He saw a familiar figure emerge from behind a bush that was taller than a person and neatly trimmed – it was Antonio.

“So you’re here. You can’t just hide if you don’t like social situations,” Antonio said to Winters with a smile. Then he saw another figure by the stone table, and his expression became complicated, a playful smile appearing on his lips.

Upon seeing Antonio's expression, Winters immediately knew his uncle had misunderstood. Before he could explain, Antonio greeted Anna first: "Good evening, Miss Navarre!"

Anna also politely rose and curtsied in return: "Hello, General Serbiati."

"I hope that little Winters didn't cause you any trouble."

“How could that be? Mr. Montagne is very polite.”

Then, Antonio turned to Winters and asked him cheerfully in an old-fashioned way, "[Old-fashioned way] Did you kiss her tonight?"

The Old Language, known as the High Language or the Aristocratic Language in the Northern Empire, is a language with deep roots in the Imperial Language, yet distinct from it. Historically, this language was primarily used by the aristocratic class and clergy.

After the alliance overthrew the emperor and the nobles, it abandoned the terms "higher language" and "noble language" and called them "old language".

The Imperial language is referred to as the common language or continental language.

The old language and the common language share only a few words, but most of the pronunciation and grammar are different. So, a common language speaker may be able to understand individual words from the old language, but will definitely not understand a whole sentence.

During the imperial era, clergy and the aristocracy monopolized knowledge, so most books were written in archaic language.

In today's republics, only the intellectual class learns the old language because they need to read past documents. The vast majority of people only know the common language, which is sufficient for daily life and work.

Above the old language lies the ancient language, the original pronunciation of which has been lost.

Only researchers who need to read books from the ancient imperial era would study Old English—as would clergy, since the authentic scriptures recognized by the Catholic Church were written in Old English.

Furthermore, because the three languages ​​use the same alphabet, modern people can "read" ancient languages ​​using modern grammar.

The church also has a unique set of ancient pronunciations, known as "church pronunciation." It is said to have been passed down orally from ancient times, and is generally only learned and used by clergy.

The Army Officer School offered courses in Old Language and Ancient Language, which enabled Winters and Antonio to use Old Language.

Antonio suddenly switched to a different language, which Winters didn't understand at first, but was shocked when he realized what was happening.

Winters was shocked that his uncle would dare to say such rude things in front of a lady; even the gentlest woman would slap him hard. He turned to look at Anna, who tilted her head, looking at the two of them with a puzzled expression, but showed no signs of anger.

Winters breathed a slight sigh of relief. Anna clearly didn't understand the old language, so he replied to his uncle in the old language as well: "[Old language] Can you please stop making things worse?"

“[Old saying] Good, good, young people have their own ideas.” Antonio smiled, clearly still misunderstood the situation: “[Old saying] I’ve finished my business. Come find me whenever you want to leave. I’m not in a hurry.”

After finishing his own words, before Winters could explain, Antonio nodded to Anna in farewell and strode away.

Watching Antonio's figure disappear behind the bushes, and hearing his footsteps grow fainter in the distance, Winters was at a loss for words. Antonio had already formed his own opinion, and trying to explain now would only make things more complicated.

He sighed, turned around and said goodbye to Anna: "Miss Navarre, we had a very pleasant time today. But I have to go home now, please allow me to take my leave."

Anna smiled brightly at Winters and said, "[Old saying] So, would you like to kiss me?"

After saying that, she slapped Winters and stormed off in a huff.

Anna has finally appeared! The main storyline will begin tomorrow! (In chronological order) Thank you to reader "Shrimp Pond" for the recommendation vote, thank you to reader "20181013204343295" for the recommendation vote, and thank you to "Social Justice Old Wang" for the recommendation vote. A deep bow of gratitude.

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(End of this chapter)