Colored gems, filled with magic power, emit light of various colors: azure blue, crystal yellow, translucent red, brilliant purple, and bright white. Shop signs that used to be monotonous are now decorated with colorful decorations.
With convenient lighting equipment, Titania's night life has become much richer, and everyone seems to be sleeping later and later, because the night is so relaxing and pleasant that people don't want to fall asleep.
Away from the bustling streets, the surrounding environment gradually becomes deserted, with only the occasional small airship passing through the sky, bringing flickers of faint light and shadow.
The alleys here still have an old-fashioned look, and there are no beautiful and beautiful gem lamps installed. The lanterns hanging at the entrances of a few shops are the only sources of lighting.
Some pedestrians in shabby clothes walked through the streets. Most of them were workers after get off work, people from nearby cities or distant areas who came here to survive.
Some were tired, while others were in high spirits, talking about all kinds of new things in the imperial capital, with longing and imagination for the future.
“Welcome to come again next time.”
The door of the barber shop opened and a young man walked out, followed by two maids.
"I have told you that we are not short of money now, so there is no need to save like this." A maid with silver-purple hair seemed slightly dissatisfied and boldly contradicted the young master.
"This, I feel is actually pretty good. You don't have to spend so much money." Elio looked at his finished hairstyle and nodded with satisfaction.
"The shops you mentioned are so luxurious inside. I was surrounded by people when I entered them, and I felt so uncomfortable."
"But you have to get used to this kind of thing sooner or later. The master is the person I specially selected, and he is destined to be extraordinary." Cornos, the witch, naturally called the young man master, with that touching voice,
Let the people around you turn around involuntarily and take a few more looks.
She is really a beautiful and lovely maid, although she has the potential for a bit of a venomous tongue. There are many aristocrats in the imperial capital, so everyone has long been accustomed to such a master-servant combination, but it was a little surprising to see her in such a relatively deserted street.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Elio nodded, as if he didn't care about that statement.
"We should have something else to do today." He finally thought of how to interrupt the maid's complaint.
"Yes, but the young master doesn't want to escape just like that. As your maid, I have the obligation to train a qualified master."
"Really, I feel a lot of pressure." Elio rubbed his forehead and looked at Anna on one side helplessly.
The plump maid smiled and said nothing, watching the two people quarreling, and then kept moving forward.
They passed through several deserted streets and boarded a carriage that had been prepared in a deserted place. Then the coachman sitting on the carriage began to move the horse forward. During this period, the coachman did not ask or give any instructions.
The actions were all so tacitly coordinated, as if they had been planned in advance.
The brown-gray carriage, simple and ordinary, quietly passed through the ancient streets and slowly approached the north side of the city, where the city defenders were stationed.
The flames in the copper basin were burning, and the bright flames illuminated the road and the gate. The guards guarding the door stood silently, saying nothing in the night.
As the night deepened, a carriage slowly drove towards the road, the sound of its wheels turning was particularly noticeable in the cold environment.
When they got close, the guards stopped them, and then the coachman gave them documents and secret orders, and soon these people respectfully gave way to the road.
In the city fortress on a summer night, lights can be seen everywhere, as well as moths spinning around the lights.
The carriage stopped at a corner of the fortress, and then an officer in black escorted these people to a strong tower. The place was tightly guarded, had several layers of walls, and was patrolled and monitored by many soldiers.
Several people wearing black hooded windbreakers walked under the high tower, and then gradually descended to the depths of the bottom driven by some kind of hanging basket-style stone ladder.
After walking out of the small and closed "stone staircase room", several people followed the soldiers into the cold and damp underground passage.
There is no daylight here, and the surroundings are pitch black. Occasionally, you can hear the sound of water droplets, which is particularly clear on the stones on the ground.
One after another, vacant cells were revealed on both sides of the passage. Most of them were unoccupied, while some held vague entities. Although they could not be seen clearly, the smell of blood and rancidity in the air was enough for people to recognize.
The cruelty and despair of this place.
One of the people seemed to be uncomfortable, covering his mouth and nose, with an urge to gag, but he was quickly patted on the shoulder by a petite figure behind him, and then he calmed down.
The soldier leading the way looked back and waited indifferently for a while. Seeing that the three men were stable again, he continued to lead the way.
No one spoke on the road. Only the figures in the cells heard the sound of walking. Some woke up, dragged their chains, and let out hoarse shouts. But unfortunately, they could not speak, probably because their tongues were removed.
Finally, the soldier leading the way stopped. He checked the cell next to the corridor, hung the lantern on it, took out a square box, placed it on the ground, and then made a simple statement to the three people behind him.
gesture, and then stood more than ten meters away and waited quietly.
The three of them nodded upon seeing this, then came to the cell and pressed the box. A dark blue soundproof barrier spread out, covering the cell and the three of them.
The petite figure stepped forward and knocked on the secret lock of the cell door, making a crisp sound that woke up the figure sitting on the ground inside.
Like a pair of cheetah's eyes lighting up in the dark night, this figure looked at the three people who appeared in front of the cell. After a few seconds, he struggled to sit up.
"You came to me and asked me to do something." His voice was hoarse. Although it sounded dry, he could still speak.
"A very smart man, he is worthy of being my chosen chess piece." The petite figure nodded, and then took off his hood, revealing his silver-purple hair, and a pair of magnificent silver eyes blooming in the dark night.
"You need a new master." The maid held up her skirt, bent down, and looked down at the man who was rotting like a corpse. Her touching words were so natural, as if they should be.
"Ha." The figure in the cell sneered, then fell silent.
"I am already a useless person and my reputation has been ruined. Who else can I do anything for?"
"That's right, you are already disabled. However, I can repair it a little so that you can continue to use your remaining energy and become a useful tool." The maid's voice was so arrogant.
"What can you give me, or why should I trust you?"
"Your wife and children are still alive." The maid only said this, and the almost rotten body began to struggle, crawling on the ground like a ball of rotten meat.
"Really, really? You didn't lie to me."
"No, this is just a simple matter for us." After saying that, the maid stood up, and the other mature maid beside her nervously took out a hidden gem from the pocket on her waist.
She spread out the gem and put it in her palm, and then a moving image appeared.
In the picture, a woman is wearing a headscarf and holding a child. She is facing the front of the picture slightly nervously. Judging from the place where they are standing, it seems to be a village near the forest, with a few houses made of adobe bricks around.
There is no sound in the picture, but the woman in it seems to have said something. Just from the shape of her mouth, you can roughly guess that it is some comforting words. 'Don't worry, the child and I are fine.'
Looking at the figure in the picture, the black figure in the cell seemed to be crying and laughing, with a strange voice and tears in his eyes.
"Ah ha, ha ah uh uh uh." He panted heavily, and another subtle smell of blood overflowed from his body.
"Okay, now you should be satisfied." The maid with silver-purple hair asked her companion to put away the gems.
"Yes." The figure lowered his head again, his breathing gradually calmed down, as if he was thinking about how to make his wish come true as much as possible.
"There is one more question you didn't answer me." His mood gradually stabilized, and he raised his head again, staring at the petite maid in white stockings with bright eyes.
"It's really troublesome, but you are lucky today. I still have a lot of patience. After all, I have to worry about my lovely master." The maid lifted up her skirt and took off a special badge pinned from the side of her thigh.
.
The crescent moon is as sharp as a hook, one corner is bright red, and the other corner is faintly emerging from the clouds and mist. This is the symbol of the Dark Moon clan, representing this special organization that has served the royal family for nearly a thousand years.
Staring at the badge, feeling the cold air on it intentionally or unintentionally, suddenly, the man laughed.
"Haha, ha, haha, in the end, it's still like this. His voice was bitter, and he nodded helplessly in the end."
"Yes, I understand." His tone was full of emotion and sigh, as if he was accepting his fate.
"Very good, that's it, then, now pledge allegiance to your new master." After saying this, the maid finally stepped aside, took a few steps back, and let the young man step forward.
"You don't need to know his name for now, you just need to swear." After saying that, the maid put her hand on the young man's shoulder and asked him to step forward with peace of mind until his toes touched the bars of the cell.
The man raised his head and glanced briefly, then stopped paying attention and slowly lowered his unruly head until it finally touched the cold and hard stone surface.
Moisture vapor came from his forehead. He looked at the faint leather toes in the darkness, slowly stepped forward, touched them, and then murmured something in his mouth.
"I swear to be loyal to you and become your loyal slave and canine until the end of the world."
While listening to the man swearing, the maid whispered a reminder on the young man's shoulder, her warm words seeming to lick his ears.
"I forgive your sins and allow you to hold the sword and mount the horse again." He repeated the words taught by the maid beside him.
"Fight for me again, general of the empire, Darcy."
The wind blew through the high sky, through the snow-covered mountains and forests, through the green earth and the bustling cities. After meeting the moist moisture from the south, it finally turned into a thunderous explosion, and continuous drizzle began to fall.
.
After entering the summer, Lorraine Hill went out much less often. Now she was sorting out information about Longjiao Province in her room, while a banquet was being held in the hall next door, and all the famous nobles from Longjiao Province were present.
"We invite the owner of Wenlani Viscounty, the beautiful Miss Gweir~" Amid the host's introduction and applause, a beautiful aristocratic girl slowly walked down the stairs with her ceremonial dress in hand.
"Oh, what a beautiful girl."
"As expected of a descendant of the Wenlanizi family."
"It's a rare sight. I'm really honored." Many nobles praised the girl's appearance.
"I'm glad that everyone has come to my mansion. Because of the previous war, I'm afraid I didn't receive a good reception. Please forgive me." Gweir said the words he had prepared in advance and greeted me softly and naturally.
"How could it be? It's so rich."
"that is."
"Indeed." The nobles present naturally knew what happened to the Wenlani Viscounty at the end of last year, so they were not surprised. On the contrary, they were even more surprised that the family could recover so quickly.
After a period of lively pleasantries, the topic finally slowly shifted to the main topic of the banquet.
"Actually, I invite you here this time because I have an idea and proposal that I want to discuss with you." After drinking several times of wine, Gweir's face turned slightly red, and his charming appearance firmly attracted the attention of everyone present.
Even some ladies have to admit that this girl has a temperament that makes me pity her.
"Oh, what is it?" Everyone answered casually, thinking that the girl wanted to ask for help. After all, they had heard that a lot of the Wenlani family's wealth was destroyed in the war.
"I just hope that everyone in Longjiao Province can establish a loose alliance to resist possible crises."
Gweir said surprising words, causing the banquet to fall into silence for a moment.
"Miss Gweir is joking," several nobles said with traces of sweat dripping from their ears. Such remarks were tantamount to treason.
"I know what everyone is afraid of, but now it has reached the point where it has to be like this." Geweir shook his head.
"I think everyone should know what happened to the Paskar family now, and how many of the famous families in the southern region that have been passed down for hundreds of years are left." She said the fact that everyone was vaguely worried and anxious.
"Those legions directly under the royal family will not let us go."
"The regent not only wants the Paskar family to disappear, he also wants the entire Southern Territory nobility to disappear. In this way, the entire Southern Territory can be turned into a royal territory, although it is nominally a bureaucracy belonging to the empire.
Jurisdiction, but what is the difference between this and actually being controlled by them." This charming and beautiful girl analyzed clearly, her snow-white skin exuding a moving color against the background of the crow-green dress and the firelight.
"Just like His Majesty the Emperor in the past, His Highness the Regent's appetite will never be smaller, because they are twins and share the same ideals and desires."
"This" the nobles present looked at each other, still not daring to respond casually.
"In the hearts of these two cold majesties, nobles are probably just superfluous things. All he needs are slaves who must obey him absolutely. Everything is his, and he will be the master of everything."
"Such will and ideas have been repeatedly seen in policies and actions over the years. If this continues, the empire will no longer be a free place, it will become a prison, turning everyone into a slave in the prison."
"And even you and I are not immune." Geweir said this fact in a low voice.
"I'm sorry, can I interrupt the beautiful Miss Guerwer." A bearded nobleman walked out of the crowd and came to the center of the dance floor. He was wearing a light green dress with gold trim, and he seemed to be a viscount.
"Everyone here may not have considered what you said. But have you ever thought about why everyone is indifferent?"
"No matter how we know the truth, even if it is the truth, we still can't do anything."
"Do you know how powerful the empire is? It's easy to mobilize an army of millions and it's easy to suppress us. How can you question and object at will?"
"Of course I know how powerful the empire is, but you don't necessarily need to fight against an army of millions." As Gweir began to recall the words Miss Jialan asked her to remember before the banquet.
"First of all, the northern border of the empire has not yet ended the cold disaster, and it is difficult to protect itself. It is impossible to march southward, and let a group of extremely hungry people pass through the fertile central part of the empire. You should be able to guess what will happen."
"Well." Thinking of the rumors of chewing tree bark and even corpses during the famine, the nobles present shuddered and then shook their heads. It was indeed impossible to mobilize the army from the north.
"The current Lord of the West is the elderly Duke Griffin. He can almost be said to be the elder of the current Regent. He has a tough and stubborn personality and cannot easily accept the Regent's orders. Moreover, they have to be distracted by guarding the border to prevent Crancia from attacking.
Repeatedly, we were unable to send out effective military support."
"It seems to make sense." The nobles began to waver slightly.
"As for the Landsworth family in the east, that's even better."
"The disappearance of the former Crown Princess Frosia during that wedding has caused the Landsworth family to always feel resentful about it. Now the upper echelons of the empire have begun to exclude the elves, but the Landsworth family has always been on good terms with the elves.
And has elven blood."
"Many nobles in the East are more or less mixed with elves and humans. They do not agree with the empire's new policy. Even when the emperor went westward, the Unicorn Duke voted against it. Naturally, it was impossible to help the regent send troops.
"
"Finally, we are not plotting rebellion or starting a rebellion, but rather selectively refusing to accept certain unreasonable orders. At the same time, we are all keeping in step and supporting each other."
"If it weren't for the current dangerous situation, I don't think anyone would be willing to go to this point, but the fact is that if we don't unite, it will be dangerous for you to be able to be nobles in the future."
"Look at those lords who were exonerated by the search officers under various names. Do we really have to wait until one day when they put a knife to their necks before they resist?"
"Then everything would be meaningless."
"There are only 200,000 to 300,000 Imperial Legions stationed in the southern border now, and they are still distributed in various provinces. As long as we don't resist in person, they can't all be mobilized. This is tantamount to abandoning the forest just to cut down a tree."
"We only need to face an imperial army of 20,000 people at most, and as long as we can hold on, that's all."
"But, even if there are 20,000 legionnaires." The people present still shook their heads. They knew the situation of their own guards very well.
"I can solve these worries for you." A loud voice sounded from the main entrance of the hall.
Guhuasi walked into the venue step by step with a big sword on his shoulder. The rough big sword was full of scratches and dents, and the traces of dark red blood remaining in it made the surrounding nobles feel horrified and evade.
"We have trained a reliable elite soldier. If necessary, we can support you at any time." He slammed his sword on the ground, and then knights wearing full armor walked into the hall.
The emerald metal scales are so special. The sharp cold jade sword is lifted with the friction of the armor, and a faint magical glow emerges, which makes people dazzled.
These warriors with powerful auras charmed and convinced the nobles present as soon as they entered the venue.
"Although many things in the house were destroyed, we were lucky enough to find among the ruins the classics left behind by our ancestors who traveled to the East. Thanks to this, the Wenlani family now has an elite force that can fight."
"I believe that with these Knights of the Lake, the stability of Longjiao Province will be protected, and our glory will be extended for a long time."
"So, are you willing to compose this beautiful movement with me now?" Gweir smiled.
After a moment of silence, warm applause rang out in the hall.