Today is the last day of the 575th year of the Holy Light Calendar. After today, Claude will be considered an adult under the law of the Kingdom of Orvelas, even if his birthday is March 18th.
Really eighteen years old, but that's what the law stipulates, and there's nothing Claude can do about it.
Starting next year, Claude will be a commoner of the Kingdom of Ovelas. He will have to bear his own poll tax and civilian obligations to the kingdom, and will no longer be able to enjoy the conveniences brought by his father's national identity. Of course,
Mr. Morsan is still in a cell in the military camp. As a felon who endangers the security of the kingdom, whether he can retain his national identity in the future is still a big question...
This can be regarded as the New Year's Eve in another world. Last year at this time, the family gathered together and the meal was very lively. This year it is deserted, with only four people in the house. My mother is still lying in bed and eating very little.
I have no appetite. My father is in the military camp. Albert will definitely not go home at night, and he does not dare to go home.
My sister Anna is very sensible. She cleaned the house by herself in the afternoon and wiped the stairs and floors clean. She will be fourteen years old tonight. She has completed three years of elementary school and will be admitted to elementary school next year.
中. But after her father was arrested, my sister was worried about whether she could go to school next year. If her father never came back, her sister would not be able to enjoy the tuition discounts brought by Mr. Morsan as the administrator. That would be as high as
The tuition fee of twelve silver thalers will become a heavy burden on the family.
Even though Claude swore in front of his sister that he would definitely let her go to junior high school next year and he would solve the tuition problem for her. But her sister still looked at Claude pitifully with her big eyes open. Did she have any money at home?
He knew very well in his heart that Claude had no choice but to swear his promise again to make the little Loli relax a little.
His younger brother Brovik will be eight years old next year, and the naughty boy is much more sensible. In addition to taking care of the broken snow dog in the afternoon, he often goes upstairs to visit his mother, and no longer pesters Claude to play games with him. This
This made Claude very happy, so he found the jigsaw puzzle he had made for him and taught him how to join the shapes.
In the evening, Claude cooked a sumptuous dinner, but it was a bit deserted for him and his three brothers and sisters to eat. Claude brought his mother's food to her bedside, but her mother thought of Mr. Morsant who was imprisoned, and then thought of
Albert, who came to snatch her jewelry early in the morning, lost his appetite and could not eat. Claude could only comfort his mother in a low voice, but in his heart he hated Albert half to death.
At this night, the streets were very busy with people coming and going. Every house was decorated with lanterns and many colorful lanterns of different shapes were hung outside the windows and beside the doors.
Claude found last year's old lanterns in the storage room, took two more candles, lit them and inserted them inside, and put the old lanterns outside the door. The changes that happened at the end of this year made people unprepared. There were many New Year items in the house.
There are no preparations, such as small snacks and snacks for entertaining guests. But Claude thinks these don't matter. I believe that if his father is arrested, few people will come to visit him in the New Year to say hello...
At this time last year, Claude was taken to the Temple of War by his father to wait for the ringing of the New Year's bell. Later, he and Erikson ran to the Temple of the Moon. His mother also took his brother and sister to the Temple of the Earth Mother. I believe that this year the three
The temples are still as lively and lively as in previous years. But Claude has no interest in going there to play. He is not going to join the fun in the squares of the three temples tonight.
Claude took his younger brother and sister to the study room on the second floor. His younger sister loved reading, and she would find books on the bookshelves to read. Claude was responsible for telling stories to his younger brother, just a few children's books that Mr. Morsan had bought before.
The fairy tale book had been torn through by his younger brother. Little Booker insisted that his elder brother tell him new stories. Moreover, he was quite picky and asked Claude to tell stories about knights and dragons.
There was no other way, so Claude had no choice but to find a popular and popular knight novel on the bookshelf, half-read and half-edited it and tell it to him.
Time passed quickly, and finally I heard the New Year's bell coming from the Temple of War. My sister put down the book, yawned, stood up and said to Claude: "Happy New Year, brother."
"Happy New Year to you too, Anna." Claude looked at his brother who was sleeping soundly in his arms, and said dotingly to his sister: "Go to sleep, it's New Year, and you can hardly stand it anymore. You
Look, little Booker slept so deeply that even the bell couldn't wake him up..."
"Well, I really wanted to sleep, but everyone says that making wishes when the New Year's bell rings is the most effective. I finally persisted until the bell rang."
"Oh, really, what wish did you make?"
"You can't say this, brother, don't you know? It won't work if you say it. I'm going to sleep."
The younger sister went to wash up, and Claude carried his younger brother to his little bed, and then went to his mother's bedroom to have a look. Her mother was not asleep yet, she was just lying on the bed quietly, and Claude found something on her face.
Two tears...
"Mother, do you want something to eat?" Claude could only ask.
Mother shook her head: "No, I can't eat it. It's New Year, Claude, you have grown up too. Time flies so fast, you will become an adult in the blink of an eye."
Claude turned around and went to the bathroom to get some hot water, twisted a hot towel and handed it to his mother: "Wipe your face, mother. I wish you a happy new year and good health. Don't worry about your father. Our family will be fine. There is still peace at home."
With me, I will take good care of my brothers and sisters. You just need to take care of yourself and have a good rest."
The mother reluctantly showed a smile: "Thank you, Claude, I also wish you a happy New Year and a bright future. I can only trouble you now at home."
"It's okay, mother, we are a family. You can rest first. I'm going down. If you need anything, just ring the bell rope and I'll come up when I hear it."
After going downstairs, Claude went out to feed and drink the black horse Jamie in the temporary wooden shed next to the big red brick house. Maybe the sudden New Year's bell at the Temple of War just now frightened the black horse Jamie, and it was
The wooden shed was buzzing with anxiety. Seeing Claude coming, the long horse's face came close to it. Claude comforted it by patting and caressing it for a long time, and finally it calmed down and began to eat horse feed and drink water.
After returning home, he went up to the second floor, blew out the oil lamp, and Claude quietly sat on the sofa chair in the study room, letting his spiritual perception gradually spread to the third floor.
My sister and brother are already asleep, and my mother has closed her eyes. However, she must have just fallen asleep, and her sleep is still very light. The slightest movement may wake her up...
After more than half an hour, my mother's breathing finally became steady and long, which was a sign of a deep sleep. Claude quickly stood up from the sofa, took out the clothes he had prepared, and changed them.
.
Because most of the residents of Bailu Town would go to the square of the three major temples in the evening to wait and celebrate the ringing of the New Year's bell, the security battalion under military control withdrew the soldiers who posted sentries in the streets and alleys of the town, and only strengthened
There were guards at the entrance to the streets in and out of the town. So Claude didn't need to worry about being interrogated by soldiers when he went out.
Small snowflakes began to float in the sky again, and a thin layer of white snow accumulated on the ground.
Claude pulled down the hood of his burqa, tightened the scarf on his face, closed the door gently, and soon became a member of the crowd on the street.
There were still many people on the street, most of whom had dispersed from the square of the three major temples and went home. From time to time, there were a few drunk people crying and singing loudly on the road, and there were also many men walking together to the old street.
Perhaps this night is the only night for many men to indulge themselves. The street girls on the old street are very dedicated. The Land of Love and Moon did not close on the old and new social nights, but became even more lively. Of course, this night
The prices for streetwalkers in the old streets have all tripled, which is one of the reasons why they are unwilling to take a break.
The old street is also rarely decorated with lights and colorful decorations, dressed in red and green, and there are many small stalls selling food and drink. The streets are crowded with people, including many soldiers from the security battalion wearing dark blue uniforms. It is said that they have been working for a month longer at night
He received benefits from his salary, so he became the most popular and generous customer among street women.
Claude walked up and down the old street, but still couldn't find a suitable target. In the old street, if you want to get information, you have to find street girls, teenage pickpockets, or gangsters.
You can also ask the members of the Snake Society. These three types of people are all well-informed people.
It's just strange that Claude didn't find pickpockets on the old street. Generally speaking, crowded places are the easiest places for those half-grown men to succeed, but tonight on the old street, Claude didn't find any pickpockets.
See any pickpocket squeezing through the crowd...
As for asking those street girls for information, Claude gave up immediately after appraising the difficulty. Those street girls were really busy tonight. As soon as someone came out of the room, two or three men would come over.
Bargaining is really very dedicated.
Claude wanted to find the members of the Black Snake Society, but found that the members of the Black Snake Society were standing in groups on the old streets to maintain order. There were no single ones, so Claude could not take action.
After thinking about it, Claude bought a bottle of kale from a small stall, spread some on his clothes, rinsed his mouth to make himself look a little drunk, and then leaned against a wall.
Holding the bottle of wine, he carefully looked at the passers-by.
Sure enough, two members of the Black Snake Society came over not long after.
"Hey, what are you doing standing here?"
Claude replied in a hoarse voice: "I'm waiting for someone, what else are you doing? The two paralyzed guys said they would take me to a fun place to play a few games, but when we got here, they followed the two sluts into the room.
I just walked around and couldn't find the place when I came back, so I had to wait for them here. I don't know if they are still on this street."
"Then why don't you find a girl to have fun with?" a member of the Black Snake Society asked.
"I'm not interested. Playing with women is not as fun as playing cards, especially when the cards are opened. It's really stressful and exciting. Forget it, I won't wait for those two guys, I'd better go back and wash up and go to bed early."
Lord made a move to leave.
"Hey, wait, buddy, do you want me to introduce you to a place?" Another thinner member of the Black Snake Society stopped Claude.
"Can you introduce a place?" Claude looked at him up and down with suspicion, and finally shook his head: "No, we don't know each other, so I won't bother you, my friend. I'd better go back to the tavern to find someone to join in.
Table."
If the Black Snake Guild member said that he would introduce a place and Claude immediately agreed, the two Black Snake Guild members might still be suspicious. Instead, it was Claude who refused, and they really thought that Claude was a gambler.
, relax.
"Brother, you can come with us to have a look. Looking at how big and thick you are, are you still worried that we will do something bad to you? It's just in front, not far away. If you find something is wrong, you can call someone. There is a county guard stationed in the town now.
No one from the security camp here dares to make a bad idea. This old street is protected by us. If you go and inquire about it, you will know that our Black Snake will do honest business..."
This member of the Black Snake Society is very talented in sales, and Claude was almost amused by him. After taking two steps forward, Claude hesitated, and finally turned around: "Okay, I'll tell you
You go and have a look. We have agreed first, if I am not satisfied, I will turn around and leave. If anyone dares to stop me, I guarantee that he will be unlucky..."
The two members of the Black Snake Club happily watched Claude turn around: "Don't worry, we, the Black Snake Club, have the final say on this street, and no one will have any ideas for you. Man, we will send you there, just in case you arrive.