In the dungeon of the First Inquisition, there is a small and dark cell. The prisoners currently being held there, even the most senior jailer, are unwilling to take a second look.
A human body with no intact flesh from top to bottom lay quietly on the cold ground. The only evidence that he was still alive was the slight rise and fall of his chest.
One eyeball was gouged out alive, leaving only a bloody scar on the finger. Blood foam flowed out of the corner of the mouth with every breath, and maggots were crawling in every wound.
The sound of tiny gravel sounded from the ground. It was just a small crack at first, and then slowly expanded into a hole.
A short, fat man with a gray face got into the prison, turned around and pulled up another tall and thin companion.
The short, fat man poked the body on the ground with his finger and shouted softly: "Mr. Tristan, Mr. Tristan!"
"Is he dead?" the tall and thin man said, scratching his head.
The short, fat man frowned and was about to say something, when the moans coming from the ground suddenly made him overjoyed.
"He's not dead yet! Help me, help him up!"
The two of them hurriedly helped Tristan to sit up. The latter opened his only remaining eye, looked at the two of them and said weakly: "Who are you?"
The short, fat man patted his chest and said, "Lord Rachel sent us to rescue you."
Hearing that familiar name, Tristan squeezed out a smile on his devastated face: "Did Mia ask you to rescue me?"
"Mia?" The short, fat man looked at his companion and said doubtfully, "I remember that I just mentioned Lord Rachel."
The tall and lanky man shook his head: "Stop talking nonsense to him and get him out quickly! The guards will be here in a while!"
"I can't leave..." Tristan's sudden words shocked the two people responsible for the rescue.
The short and fat man squatted down anxiously and said in a hurry: "You won't leave?! Are you going to stay here and wait to die?!"
The tall and thin man said in a vicious voice: "Look! That's why I said before that we shouldn't come to save the church people at all! I really don't know what Lord Rachel thinks?!"
"Shut up!" The short, fat man turned around and glared at his companion fiercely: "The leader's decision is never wrong!"
Tristan listened to the conversation between the two and said softly: "You don't understand, if I just leave like this, maybe my life can be saved, but the group of vultures in the church will use my escape to frame me.
More people, including those who are kind, those who have helped me, and my master, Bishop Yarbrough..."
The short, fat man came closer to Tristan and shouted in a low voice: "At this time, do you still care about others?! Do you know? You will be burned at the stake next week!"
Tristan didn't seem to care about all this at all: "I know that the torture rack was set up in the center of the Vatican Square. I heard that tens of thousands of people will come to watch the burning."
"Since you know, why do you still...?"
"You may not understand that for humans, besides wealth, power and life, there are some more important things." Tristan used his only remaining eye to look at the firelight in the corridor outside the prison.
, smiled and said: "That is the truth."
The tall and thin man sighed heavily and patted his companion on the shoulder: "Let's go, there's no way this guy can be persuaded. If you don't leave, the patrolling guards will come..."
The short and fat man was still a little unwilling to give up: "Mr. Tristan, you may not know how much effort Lord Rachel has put into rescuing you. You must know that rescuing a person from the Inquisition of the Papal State is simply more difficult than rescuing someone."
It’s even harder to reach the sky…”
Tristan raised his head slightly, glanced at the man in front of him, and whispered: "There is a secret pocket sewn into the lining of my jacket. Please help me take out the contents."
The short, fat man followed the instructions and found the other party's hidden inner pocket, and took out a drop-shaped earring from it.
Tristan looked at the earring by the firelight, with tenderness in his eyes, and said softly: "Please help me bring this piece of jewelry to Mia Avandlin."
"Mia Avandlin?"
"That's the Rachel you call her."
The tall and thin man suddenly put his ear to the ground and said anxiously: "There are guards coming! We must leave quickly!"
The short, fat man carefully put the earrings into his arms and said to Tristan again: "Sir, I'm afraid we won't be able to help you after this."
Tristan looked at the two people in front of him and whispered: "Please help me convey a message to Mia."
The short and fat man retracted his lower body into the hole, leaving only his head exposed and looking at Tristan: "Give me a message? What is it?"
"Please help me tell her: The thing I regret most in my life is that I didn't have the courage to cut through that wall and rescue her from that cage..."
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Todd’s soul space, institute atrium garden.
"It's so rare that you actually want to meet me here." Rachel looked at the flower bed full of spring flowers around her and said to the figure sitting on the bench with a smile.
Todd turned around and looked at Rachel, lifting a dozen beers with one hand and shaking several boxes of pickled vegetables with the other.
Rachel smiled and sat down next to Todd, opened a can of beer, threw a pickled peanut into her mouth, and said happily: "This is what life should be like."
Todd looked at Rachel's cheerful look and smiled without saying a word.
The latter glanced at the former and said nonchalantly: "Is your meditation over?"
Todd nodded.
"That crow girl, did you tell you about the declaration of war?"
Todd nodded again.
"Let me guess, you must have returned to Muxi City from the Kingdom of Shadows and are preparing for the next war."
Todd nodded again.
Rachel rolled her eyes at Todd: "In addition to nodding, can't you say something?"
Todd looked at Rachel's face, hesitated for a few seconds, and then suddenly said something.
"Let's have a baby."
puff!
A mouthful of beer spurted out of Rachel's mouth, and the box of braised vegetables in her hand was knocked to the ground.
Having known this woman for so long, Todd saw such a wonderful expression on Rachel's face for the first time.
Surprise, panic, confusion... there are also some things Todd can't understand.
"Why did you suddenly say such things out of nowhere?" Rachel wiped the wine stains on her body and straightened her clothes: "You brought me in specifically just to talk about this matter?!"
Todd opened a can of beer, raised his neck and took a big sip, and whispered: "You are so smart, you should be able to think of the reason."
Rachel placed the can on the bench, looked at Todd's side face, and sighed: "Is it because of the tyrant?"
Todd took another sip of beer and looked at the fountain in the center of the garden without saying a word.
Rachel sighed softly: "Have you made a decision?"
"Do you want to hear the truth or a lie... The lie is that I have no regrets, but the truth is that I started to hesitate." Todd leaned against the back of the bench and laughed at himself: "After being a human for decades, suddenly
One day I have to change into another identity to survive, and I feel a bit at a loss."
Rachel stared at Todd's side face and said quietly: "Did someone say something to you?"
Todd turned his head to look at the woman and said helplessly: "Rachel, sometimes you are so smart that it scares me."
"Okay, let's put this matter aside and talk about the child first." Rachel gently held Todd's hand: "I understand what you think, but I may not be able to fulfill your wish.
.”
Todd asked strangely: "Why?"
A sad look appeared on Rachel's face. She covered her abdomen with one hand, shook her head and said, "There are some problems with my body."
Todd frowned and straightened up: "Are you trying to say that you can't have children?"
Rachel hesitated for a while and then said: "There is nothing wrong in saying that, but the actual situation may be more complicated. Due to my physical shortcomings, although I have always hoped to see your heir, I found the third child twice.
Three people. Don’t you remember? The first time it was Karin and the second time it was Deirdre.”
Todd understood somewhat: "You mean, because you couldn't conceive a child, you brought Carin and Deirdre to be with me..."
Rachel's smile was a little forced: "Todd, I am not a generous woman, and I don't want to see my beloved with other women in front of me..."
Todd, who felt guilty, hugged Rachel, kissed her forehead gently, and whispered, "You don't have to do this at all."
Rachel rested her chin on Todd's shoulder and said softly: "I just don't want to cause any shortcomings in your life because of myself..."
Todd stroked Rachel's hair and said with a smile: "Let's talk about the child later. I want to talk to you about the kingdom's future...um...strange..."
Rachel raised her head and looked at Todd in confusion: "What's wrong?"
Todd touched the top of the woman's head, felt the touch of his fingertips, and said with a smile: "I have never noticed before that there is a small scar on the top of your head."
Rachel pushed Todd's hand away without leaving a trace, and said nonchalantly: "It's just a scar left by naughtiness in childhood. You just talked about the future of the kingdom..."
Todd put the scar incident behind him in the blink of an eye, and began to discuss some things about Twilight West City with Rachel.