There are two hundred and thirty-seven statues of great swordsmen erected around the Heroes' Square in Bena City. A line of incisive text is engraved on the stone tablet at the foot of each statue. These words record the glorious life of this great swordsman.
It is precisely because of these great swordsmen that the title of Swordsman Bena is resounding throughout the Green Empire.
It is said that every year during the opening season of the Bena Advanced Swordsman Academy, the new students will come to Heroes Square to swear an oath to inherit the Bena swordsman spirit of their ancestors.
There is a low wall of shrubs all around the square, and in the center is a flower bed. There is no large fountain in the Heroes' Square. Four small fountains are set up at the four corners of the square for people to drink when they are thirsty. The fountains
There is a trumpet-shaped water tank below, and there are always some birds landing next to the water tank to drink water.
There were many people in the Heroes' Square, some of them were foreign travelers who came specifically to pay homage to the swordsman of Bena, but most of them were citizens of Bena City.
On summer nights, Heroes' Square is much cooler than other places.
Some vendors carrying fruit baskets on their heads shuttled among the crowd. There were also many kinds of fruits in the baskets on their heads. Some children's eyes were always chasing them.
The girl who was holding a flower basket and buying flowers jumped up to Suldak. She stood timidly in front of Surdak, stood on tiptoes and raised the flower basket in her hand high, staring at a pair of innocent eyes.
The eyes said to Surdak:
"Sir Knight, do you want to buy a flower?"
She saw the knight's badge on Surdak's chest, so she called him that.
The little girl's face was as red as a big apple, and she struggled to lift a basket full of flowers.
Hathaway leaned over and looked at the flowers in the basket, and looked at Beatrice. Although she was silent, she could not hide the anticipation in her eyes.
Suldak gave the little girl a thumbs up in appreciation, picked out two tulips from the flower basket, put ten copper plates into the little girl's little hand, and said:
"Then I'll buy two. Your flowers are very beautiful!"
"Two beautiful big sisters are even more beautiful!"
The little girl took the coin, narrowed her eyes and said with a smile.
He made a face at Suldak and ran towards the other couple holding a flower basket.
She specifically selects young couples who look gorgeously dressed as her targets, so her sales success rate is particularly high.
Suldak gave the flowers to Hathaway and Beatrice, and the two girls took the tulip with blushing faces, slightly pursed their red lips and smiled.
The three people stopped in front of the flower bed in the center of the square. Inside the flower pool was a sea of flowers. Many citizens sat on the stone platform next to the flower bed. There was a street lamp every fifteen meters away, making the entire Heroes' Square appear brightly lit.
Hathaway squatted down next to the flower pond holding a tulip. She looked at a cluster of small flowers with white petals and yellow stamens. Her long golden hair hung down from her ears. She gently lifted it up with her hands, revealing her beautiful and fair face.
Hathaway saw Suldak looking towards her and said to him: "I remember when I was very young, my father liked to take me to Heroes' Square to play. He always looked at the statues there, and I would
Play here in the flower pond."
Beatrice blinked and didn't understand why Hathaway mentioned things from her childhood. She held up her long skirt and sat down on the flower stand next to Hathaway.
The two of them wore court-style dresses often worn by noble ladies and beautiful glass slippers. After walking for such a long time, even if they were fresh graduates of the Swordsman Academy, their feet would inevitably feel a little sore.
The round-faced Beatrice thumped her thigh hard through her skirt. She wanted to find a quieter pub to sit in, at least she didn't have to walk around in this skirt. Although this skirt looked beautiful, it was painful.
Only you know.
The girdle made her barely able to breathe half, and even after taking a deep breath, her bottom two ribs felt a dull pain. She could hardly move her waist, and could hardly eat anything.
Every time she took a breath, her breasts would feel like inflated rubber balls, as if they were about to burst out of the bra cup, so she always had to press her chest with her hands every time.
The wide skirt was spread out on the flower bed, and she wanted to kick off the glass slippers on her feet.
She had never thought that sitting on the stone platform next to the flower bed would be so comfortable. She wanted to sit here for a while without taking a step.
Hathaway leaned on Beatrice's shoulder and continued to tell Suldak who was sitting aside about her life. Aunt Annabelle said to her that if you want to get into the other person's heart, you must understand him.
life.
Hathaway only knew that Suldak's home was in the remote mountain village of Helensa City. As the only knight in the village, Suldak was determined to change the current predicament of Wall Village.
Of course, she didn't care about this. She hoped that Surdak could be more proactive. As a noble lady and a well-educated lady, she didn't want to appear irritable.
Hathaway continued: "At that time, a statue of a great swordsman would be erected in this square every few years. He was very familiar with these great swordsman statues and would tell me about their glorious lives every time.
I always regret that I did not participate in the holy war eight hundred years ago."
"He always said that a swordsman's biggest regret is that he cannot have his statue erected in the Heroes' Square..."
Hathaway's eyes are full of admiration for her father,
‘…’
When Suldak heard Hathaway talking about this, he realized that her family background might really be a big noble in Bena City.
But he didn't ask. He felt that asking such a question was too utilitarian. He didn't want anything from them. He wanted to retain a little bit of his own pride.
And it seems that Hathaway was greatly influenced by his father. Although the two are now at odds, his father's figure is everywhere in Hathaway's memories.
Surdak thought of his father, and also thought that his father was no longer in his memory. Whether it was the previous life or this world, he didn't even know where his home was. Those broken memories always seemed like countless fragments.
The torn photos are like snowflakes scattered in the sea of memory.
He felt that his home was in Helensa...
A trace of disappointment flashed in Hathaway's eyes. She lowered her head and picked a small white flower from the flower pond, put it in front of the gem brooch on her chest, and said:
"As I grew older, he became busier and busier. He seemed to have endless things to do every day, and he always had to attend parliament. Only during breakfast and dinner could we occasionally chat.
"
‘…’
Suldak was a little speechless. He didn't expect that Hathaway's father was still a big shot and was actually qualified to participate in the parliament.
"Recently he said that he wanted to choose a spouse for me and wanted to control my marriage." Hathaway said angrily. "He would not have said this before. He said that he should respect my opinion. Maybe time can change some people's initial thoughts.
, but this is not the life I want.”
After speaking, she glanced at Suldak secretly.
"I don't want to live like a bird in a cage. What I want is freedom... to be able to fly in the sky without restraint like a dragon eagle."
Seeing the look of approval in Suldak's eyes, Hathaway breathed a sigh of relief.
But Hathaway pouted in dissatisfaction because she didn't hear about Suldak's past. She still wanted to know about his past.
Beatrice almost dragged her numb ankle as she walked around the Heroes' Square with Hathaway and Suldak.
Beatrice almost collapsed on the ground when she heard Hathaway proposed to go to the clock tower to see the night view of Bena City.
Fortunately, when leaving Heroes' Square, Surdak very considerately hired a magic caravan so that Beatrice could have a rest in the magic caravan.
…
Climbing to the top of the bell tower observatory, Beatrice felt that her legs were almost broken. She held on to the iron railings next to the observatory with both hands, not wanting to take another step.
She and Hathaway stood on either side of Suldak, overlooking the entire city of Bena. Countless brightly lit streets weaved an extremely gorgeous network in this huge city, and the magic caravans on the streets were moving in the streets.
The river flows endlessly.
This place is countless times more prosperous than Helensa. The whole city can't be seen at a glance, and the lights in the farthest distance are silent in the distant night.
"This city is so beautiful!" Surdak sighed sincerely.
Seeing the night wind blowing Hathaway and Beatrice's blond hair, Suldak was in a trance.
At this time, the observation deck on the top of the clock tower was empty.
Hathaway boldly put her hand around Suldak's arm, leaned against his shoulder and asked, "Have you ever thought about living here?"
Suldak smelled the faint fragrance of iris juice on Hathaway, and felt the fullness of her chest seeming to press against his arm, and said:
"Hilanza is actually very good. I'm used to the life there. Unless the magma under Mount Pudu erupts and turns hundreds of miles around into a dead land, there is no way I can leave there."
Hathaway leaned next to Suldak, gently smelled the faint scent of soap on his body, and listened to his firm words. None of these words were said to cater to her. Compared with those she had seen in daily life, Hathaway
As a young nobleman, Surdak seems to have some shadow of his father in him.
This feeling made Hathaway's eyes blurred, as if the city in front of her was a little blurry in her eyes. She felt that the man in front of her could just turn around and say solemnly to her: 'Come with me, leave.
Here, come with me to start a new life...'
She is willing to let go of everything in front of her and devote herself to love without hesitation.
...but the expectation did not appear.
Until they left the bell tower, Surdak did not say such words. On the contrary, he very gentlemanly called a magic caravan in front of the bell tower and took the initiative to take them back to the manor.
Hathaway did not return to the hotel as she thought.
…
"It was an unforgettable night, thank you for your company."
Surdak said while sitting in the magic caravan.
The wheels rolled, and the night scene outside the window quickly flew behind the car window, and the street lights on the roadside were like streaks of color.
Beatrice was sleeping soundly on the soft leather sofa. She took off her crystal shoes, spread her legs flat on the sofa, and lifted the hem of her long skirt, revealing a section of her snow-white thighs.
Suldak felt that as a gentleman, he should not always look at those tempting thighs at this time. He shifted his gaze to Hathaway's face and saw Hathaway's tangled look.
I thought she was unwilling to compromise with her family.
So he persuaded Hathaway: "Don't get into too much trouble with your family, and don't think about escaping at this time. Don't you want your family's blessing on the wedding?"
Hathaway was hesitating whether to be more proactive and let him say those words.
She hesitated: "It's just..."
Suldak reached out and touched Hathaway's cheek and said encouragingly:
"Stick to what you think is right. I will always stand behind you and support you. I will stay in Bena City these days. If you are really determined to leave here, you can come to the hotel to find me at any time."
Hearing what Suldak said, the courage Hathaway had just mustered up leaked out again.
Hathaway nodded, a little annoyed, complaining in his heart that he was a coward for not being able to say what he was thinking, and now he couldn't say it out anyway.
I could only be cruel, leaned over, hugged Suldak tightly, and pressed her soft lips hard on his lips... without saying a word.
At this time, the car suddenly became quiet.
The magic caravan did not stop at the gate of the manor. Hathaway and Beatrice were going to sneak back through the side door of the manor and sneak out all night, not knowing what kind of anger he would endure from his family next.
Beatrice looked like she had just woken up. She yawned and was pulled out of the magic caravan by Hathaway. She stepped on the ground with her bare feet and held her glass slippers in her hand. She had walked a lot tonight.
My ankles are highly swollen, and now I feel like I'm limping when I walk.
Surdak got out of the magic caravan and wanted to see them both off for a while.
Beatrice waved her hand to stop him, signaling him to leave in a car quickly to avoid being discovered.
Surdak was a little confused, but he still boarded the carriage and asked the coachman to drive back to the hotel...
…
"Hey, what's wrong with you?"
Lady Dorothy, sitting in the magic caravan, asked her best friend beside her.
She was just talking about last night's affair, and she was showing off to Annabelle. Annabelle was good at everything, but she was old-fashioned and conservative. She had always wanted to find a lover for her, but unfortunately she couldn't convince her friends.
"...That's Hathaway."
Annabelle looked out the car window and recognized at a glance that the person wearing an exquisite evening dress and pulling Beatrice along the sidewalk quickly was her niece Hathaway.
She turned her head just in time to see Surdak turn around and board the magic caravan.
Annabelle was slightly startled when she discovered that the young man having a private meeting with her niece Hathaway was the noble baron who played cards with them on the magic airship.
At this time, Dorothy saw Annabelle's strange expression and followed her gaze out the window, just in time to see Suldak's back disappearing at the door of the magic caravan.
Dorothy said "Eh" all her life. When she saw Suldak's strong back, she licked her lips gently and whispered:
"That young man seems familiar. Which noble family is he from? Why don't I remember him at all?"