October 10, 1346.
In the early morning, after being woken up by her personal maid, Irene, Altair was led into the washroom by the maids in a daze to freshen up.
Since becoming a 'Witch' five days ago, Altair had one less form of entertainment at night, so her schedule had gradually become more regular over the past few days.
By the time Altair was fully awake, the maids were already wiping her cheeks with warm towels soaked in rose hydrosol.
After freshening up, Altair, wearing a loose linen nightgown, went to the small dining room with Vivian to eat.
While Altair was using a silver butter knife to spread homemade strawberry jam onto a piece of crispy toasted white bread, Irene brought in Leif's invitation letter.
After receiving the letter, Altair scanned it briefly and understood its main point: Uncle-Grandfather Leif was inviting her to have lunch today.
Actually, Altair sometimes felt that the old man was quite pitiful. Since his biological son joined the army, he rarely came home. Now, like her, he was all alone at home... No, unlike her, she had company, while the old man did not.
Near noon, Altair had Irene assist her in dressing up. She wore a high-waisted cotton gown with a short wool jacket and low-heeled goatskin shoes. Her hair was partially pinned up, and she wore a gauze hat adorned with blue ribbons and silk flowers. With light-colored short lace gloves on her hands, she left the Sheffield Estate in a carriage.
The carriage hadn't been moving for long before Altair, sitting quietly, clearly felt the change in Backlund's temperature. Winter was coming.
Looking through the carriage window at the red maple leaves falling on the street outside, she remembered: 'The Loen Kingdom is located in the southeastern part of the Northern Continent, and winter usually officially begins in late November.'
Hopefully, this year will be a peaceful one.
When the carriage drove into the Strauss Estate, Altair saw Uncle-Grandfather Leif already standing at the door, waiting for her.
After getting out of the carriage, Altair smiled and said to him, "Good afternoon, Uncle-Grandfather Leif."
"Actually, you don't need to wait for me at the door personally. You can let the butler handle these things."
"Good afternoon, Altair. You know that I'm currently idle at home with nothing important to do all day. So, waiting for you at the door is a way to pass the time, and I can enjoy the scenery while I'm at it. It kills several birds with one stone," Leif explained, looking at Altair nearby.
Regarding his explanation, Altair smiled and said, "Yes, autumn is here. I saw the maple leaves turning red on the way. The 'Maple Viewing Season' is about to begin."
Leif nodded and smiled at Altair, saying, "Let's go. Today I had the chefs make your favorite Feipote Noodles."
Looking at the delicious food in front of her, Altair asked while twirling it with a fork, "How is the situation with Uncle Charles? I heard that a full-scale war has broken out in the Southern Continent."
"It's alright. Foussac's attack this time was so sudden that no one expected it," Leif replied while cutting meat.
Before Altair could respond, he added, "You don't need to worry about his safety. Maybe in a while, Charles will send a telegram back to thank you."
After hearing Uncle-Grandfather Leif's words, Altair stopped eating and looked at him in confusion.
"Don't be surprised." Leif put down his dinner knife, wiped his hands with a napkin, and explained, "Actually, since the mass production of the new weapons you designed, George III has been wanting to provoke a war, but he just couldn't find a reason."
"Now that Foussac has made the first move, George III won't let this opportunity pass."
"You probably haven't been paying attention to the situation at the weapons factory lately. The factory has already entered its most efficient operation, producing nearly a thousand 98k Rifles a day."
"Once these firearms are produced, the royal family will immediately send them to the Southern Continent through special means."
Listening to Uncle-Grandfather Leif's explanation, Altair also felt that Foussac would end up shooting themselves in the foot.
As for the'special means,' he was probably referring to a 'Traveler.'
"Don't worry about these things that have nothing to do with you." Leif interrupted Altair's thoughts and followed up, "You probably haven't decided on a faith yet, have you?"
Sitting opposite Leif, Altair nodded and said, "I haven't made a choice yet."
Being in Backlund, it was basically destined that she could only choose one from among the 'Church of the Night, Church of Storms, and Church of Steam and Machinery.'
Leif explained to her, "I think you should understand that for a noble, having a faith is the result of three factors: a status requirement, political security, and social rules."
"You don't necessarily need to believe in Them; you just need to go through the motions."
"And among the three mainstream faiths in Loen, I think you know the differences between the believers of the different churches."
"The Evernight Goddess's believers have the widest coverage, from nobles and the middle class to the countryside, spanning all walks of life."
"The Lord of Storms' believers are generally the royal family, the navy, fishermen, and so on."
"The God of Steam and Machinery's believers are generally engineers, factory owners, technical workers, and so on."
"So, have you thought about which Orthodox God you want to choose as your faith?"
Altair feigned deep thought for a moment, but she already had an answer.
'Do I even need to choose between these Orthodox Gods? I'll definitely choose the Evernight Goddess without hesitation.'
'If I'm going to cling to someone's thigh, of course I have to pick the one with the thickest, longest, and most thighs.'
After finishing her thoughts, Altair replied concisely, "I choose the Church of the Night."
Then Altair added, "Although the mainstream faith of the Loen upper class is the Church of Storms, the reason most people choose to believe in 'Him' is mainly due to the influence of the royal Augustus Family."
"For example, you and my father, in order to advance better in the military and not seem particularly out of place, were forced to choose to believe in 'Him'."
"But I'm different. I probably won't enter the military system in the future, so there's no need to play a meaningless card."
"As a factory owner managing a large factory, logically, I should choose the God of Steam and Machinery. But my essence is that of a noble, so believing in 'Him' doesn't have much value for me."
"So I can only choose the Evernight Goddess. At least the Church of the Night has been developing very well in recent years. Most of the new generation of Loen nobles have chosen to believe in Her. For example, Count Hall."
After hearing Altair's explanation, Leif nodded and praised, "An excellent choice. Even if you wanted to believe in the god of storms, I would have discouraged you."
"The doctrines of the Church of Storms are not exactly good for women."
"You should go to Saint Samuel Cathedral sometime in the next few days; it's the main cathedral of the Church of the Night in Backlund."