"Do you want to celebrate the New Year together tonight, Aiwass?"
After lunch, Isabel immediately extended an invitation to Aiwass.
Tomorrow is the Candlemas of January 1st. A few days ago, when Bishop Mathers came to the Silver and Tin Palace to carry Queen Sophia's coffin, Aiwass returned the key to St. Guinevere's Chapel to him.
.
Otherwise, Bishop Mathers would not be able to open the door of the chapel, let alone let Queen Sophia stop there first.
And wait until tomorrow, Bishop Mathers will call the apostles of the Crown Lord, and at the same time call the deceased members of the Du Lac family to bless Avalon. It is the most important ceremony in Avalon, so it will inevitably be done by this person.
In the Avalon hierarchy, the highest status and holy order is presided over by the bishop.
After the candle ceremony is over, it will be Queen Sofia's funeral.
According to the rules of Avalon, burial is actually seven days after death. However, because the national funeral coincides with the Candle Festival, the Queen's funeral can only be postponed one day.
In most countries in the world, the Candle Festival is the most grand day of the year. It is also the beginning of the new year.
Although Si Zhu has been a pillar god dedicated to the road since before the age of dragons. But in fact, most people don’t know what kind of dedication Si Zhu made to firmly occupy the position of pillar god from ancient times.
.
In the version circulated in Avalon, it is said that Si Zhu is the original god who created the world and illuminated the world in a world without sun and moon; while in the legends of the Star Antimony People and the Iris People, Si Zhu is everything.
The origin of intelligent life; and the mages and monks on the path of wisdom believe that Si Zhu's greatest achievement is to find the source of the Dream River and distribute the other eight to other gods.
In short, everyone has his own opinion.
But this is also normal.
After all, all real knowledge directly related to the Nine Pillar Gods is the highest level of mysterious knowledge. Whether it is the beast master falling in love with the eternal self, or the crown master defeating the supreme sky, it is impossible to fall on paper and pen.
A secret passed down by word of mouth among a very small number of people.
But even so, people still respect Si Zhu. And Aiwass even knows that even other Tiansi who have dedicated themselves to the road respect Si Zhu very much. Both Zhu Tiansi and Xi Tiansi are very interested in the position of Pillar God.
Not interested at all. Even Yan Tiansi, who has transcendent power and ranks second on the path of devotion, has no hostility towards Si Zhu.
Because of this, Aiwass believed that the church's version was the closest to reality.
The Church of Nine Pillars believes that Si Zhu lit a fire in the cold and dry dream world full of sin thorns, lighting up the eternally dark dream world and allowing the nine rivers of dream world that were sucked dry by sin thorns to flow again.
.From then on, this world began to give birth to life in the material world with "souls".
Because among all the pillar gods that Aiwass knows, they must have become pillar gods later than Si Zhu. Only Hourglass and the Twin Mirror are not sure... Assuming that Si Zhu is the original pillar god, then all of this
That makes sense.
And because the customs of each country are different, the content of the candle ceremony is also different. Anyway, the candle priest doesn't care about these things, and he won't even blame him if he doesn't do it.
This is just a festival for people to politely express their respect for the pillar god - or in other words, to express their respect for the elves who believe in candlesticks.
In Avalon, people return to their homes as much as possible the night before the Candlemas; if they are unable to do so, or have conflicts with family members, they go to stay with their friends.
Just like Sherlock.
Even the poorest people will try their best to make delicious food and have a little luxury on this day. Not only to pay respect to the minister, but also to reward themselves.
The most important ritual on the eve of the Candle Festival is to boil a large pot of hot soup.
Any kind of soup can be used. Rich people have their own way of making soup, and poor people have their own way of making it. Again, it’s just boiling a pot of water.
After the soup boils, each family member can throw something they like into the pot, and then the family will drink the soup together. This soup is Si Zhu’s blessing to people... Even if
Even if a person is seriously ill and dying, he will be left in the world for two more days.
Although the candlestick does not care about people's respect for himself, he will also protect those believers who pray to him for peace on this day. If there is a homeless person, he only needs to light a candle, or even just burn it.
A match and a candle will give them some strength, so that the flame can continue forever, allowing their bodies to gradually recover, so that they will not freeze to death in the cold wind, but will be able to see tomorrow morning safely.
of sunshine.
Because of this, even the most ruthless killer will not kill on this day.
It is not only the restraint of conscience, but also the reverence for the pillar god.
And obviously, Edward won't work overtime either.
If Aiwass stays in the Palace of Silver and Tin, then only Julia and Edward will be left in the family; if Aiwass brings Julia here, then only Edward will be left in the family.
——It’s too lonely.
"There must be no problem with Yulia," Aiwass thought, "but with Edward...can I bring him with me?"
"Anyway, I don't have any objections."
Isabel moved her butt nervously, sat upright, and said nonchalantly: "I also want to meet Brother Edward."
"He should only dare to call you Her Majesty the Queen."
Aiwass joked: "I don't dare to call you sister."
After saying that, the two looked at each other and smiled.
Ligeia held the hot beer she had brewed, sipping it in small sips, looking at the two of them with squinting eyes.
After that natural kiss, the atmosphere between the two changed subtly.
The most obvious thing is that Isabel has obviously become bolder.
Before, she obviously didn't dare to joke with Aiwass, nor did she dare to act coquettishly. She only dared to come to Aiwass when she was talking about business... At other times, she would wait for Aiwass to come to her.
Aiwass also treated Isabel with respect and distance before. Rather than being a friend, she was more like an elder or a teacher.
Although at a verbal level, the two of them have not officially confirmed their relationship, the actual atmosphere and mode of getting along have changed.
Ligeia easily noticed this change in the atmosphere.
It's not like she never fell in love when she was young. Looking at the smile on Isabel's face, she just felt a little bit sour.
——Tsk, there is too much lemon in this beer, which is a bit unpleasant. Ligeia thought to herself.
As for Aiwass, there was actually some work that had been hoarded, waiting for Isabel to handle it.
After the new king came to the throne, he toured the country for five days, and he would definitely have a lot of work when he came back.
The half day I came back early was used to deal with the backlog of work.
The contract with Grandet, the matter with Emma, the new Minister of Trade who was killed by Aiwass, the pressure on the Minister of Camelot, the gifts given to her by those ministers... these things, Ai Was
Wentz was originally reserved for Isabel.
Because according to Aiwass before, the relationship between him and Isabel must be maintained well.
Isabel trusts Aiwass enough, so Aiwass cannot consume this trust at will. Therefore, although he can do some things by his own will, he still has to make up for the processes that need to be made up.
...But from the perspective of Aiwass now, he feels that he can be busy again.
For matters that in principle required Isabel to nod and sign, he could also implement them in advance and sign them himself. For example, Grandet's business contract.
Mainly because Aiwass started to feel a little sorry for Isabel.
After all, this is the last day of the year, so let's give her half a day off...she will have to be busy for two more days tomorrow and the day after.
Let her have a good rest this afternoon. When she is completely free, I will give a summary report to Isabel.
"Lily," Aiwass ordered, "you will go to the Inspectorate later. Ask Edward to come directly to the Palace of Silver and Tin after work...or give him a call. Forget it, let's call him directly.
, to save you from having to make another trip."
"Okay." Lily nodded in agreement.
"Lulu, have you decided where to go this afternoon?"
Aiwass turned to look at Isabel and reminded: "But we are still in the mourning period. If you want to watch operas and other entertainment, I am afraid it will be difficult. And the Chinese New Year will be here soon, and there may not be many people to find on Glass Island.
It’s a band.”
"Need not."
Isabel shook her head slightly and said obediently: "I want to accompany the teacher."
"Master Yanis..."
Aiwass suddenly realized: "Speaking of which, where did she go today?"
He suddenly realized that he didn't seem to see this elf who was always noisy today.
Her cheerful yet elegant laughter can always be heard in the paintings.
Today he and Isabel even kissed in the bedroom... If it were normal, Yanis would have popped up smiling and smacking her lips.
And even when it came to lunch, she didn't show up.
Master Yanis will leave after the funeral the day after tomorrow.
Now it is even more years ago... She is not in the Palace of Silver and Tin, where has she gone?
"I have no idea."
Isabel shook her head: "But I guess... she should be at the place where she first met her grandmother. She should be in the Red Queen District, I don't know where exactly."
"Then let me accompany you to look for it."
Aiwass chuckled and stretched out his hand to Isabel: "I'm going to visit the teachers by the way...
"But you are not suitable for walking outside with this appearance. By the way, when you go to those people to investigate information, you should not be wearing this face, right?"
"of course!"
Isabel proudly puffed up her chest, as if asking for praise: "I have mastered the power of [Strong Illusion]... my appearance can be changed at will."
As she spoke, her pupils lit up with green light.
Isabel put her hand on her face, and the light pink light bloomed between her fingers. As she gently wiped her face, Isabel changed her appearance directly.
Under the influence of the illusion, Isabel's hair turned white and her pupils turned blue. The whole person looked a few times shorter.
——Except that the eye color is blue instead of red, she looks very similar to Yulia.
Aiwass tried to reach out his hand and touched her head. Isabel also smiled and brought her head towards Aiwass to touch her.
It's very magical, there is no mold penetration, and no invisible head in the void is touched.
Aiwass did indeed feel the same touch as Yulia's hair at a lower position than Isabel.
Obviously, it was because Isabel had enough contact with Yulia that she was able to become her likeness with incomparable accuracy.
"...Is this the illusion of strength?"
Aiwass sighed: "If I hadn't watched the illusion you used, I might have been deceived for a moment."
The reason why I say it was a moment is because Yulia would never curl her eyebrows and show a coquettish smile like a kitten like this.
"I deliberately left a loophole," Isabel said somewhat unconvinced, "If I turned into a complete Yulia and concentrated on acting, I don't think you might be able to see through it - I am an 'all-rounder'. Acting is the same.
My area of expertise."
But when she said this, Aiwass suddenly reacted: "Then whose appearance you used when you asked the question before? It can't be Yulia, right?"
"...Hey?" Isabel suddenly started to act stupid.
"It can't be me, right?"
Aiwass guessed it immediately.
Isabel defended: "I still made a lot of changes! If they meet you later, they will only think you look familiar and will never recognize you!"
——If it had been in the past, she would probably have to carefully apologize now. How could she have the energy to argue with Aiwass now?
But this way of getting along makes Aiwass more relaxed.
So Aiwass stretched out his hand with a smile and messed up the hair of Isabel, who played "Yulia": "Then we will be clear."
Isabel hugged her head and transformed back into her original form in a burst of distortion. Her original hair had also become messy.
"...Hmph." Isabel wrinkled her nose, but couldn't help laughing.
She usually doesn't like to laugh that much, but today she couldn't help but want to laugh. It was as if she had seen a sunny day, feeling relaxed and happy.
I’ll use your face next time!
Isabel covered her head and thought viciously in her heart.
Another update of nearly 7,000 words, the update is complete!
