The middle-aged man, who always smiled broadly, touched the back of his head and let out a hearty laugh: "According to our rules over there, it's my turn to treat guests."
When she heard that she was called "Bunyan" instead of "Leona", the lady with long flaxen curly hair and blue eyes nodded reservedly.
A trace of well-hidden joy and satisfaction flashed in her eyes.
Can she be satisfied by being called her last name?
Annan paid attention to all the details, silently calculating in his heart.
The calmness and easy-goingness in him that can get along well with everyone without doing anything, he learned from the prophet wizard named "Ghirlandaio"...or in other words, the living sculpture that came to life.
of.
It is the prototype of the curse of Annan [The Last Work].
Now, through Lin Yiyi's eyes, Annan saw another person in the underground world - the man named Neusel, with the clean and innocent, simple and cheerful smile on his face, and quickly absorbed it.
,learn.
The stone statue is undoubtedly stiff, even hard.
But "Girandaio" is different.
That is not an acting skill, but what the activated marble golem possesses, imitating human nature. Just like a cheetah can hunt and a goshawk can fly.
So Annan has a new expression to use.
Ms. Leona, who also had a smile on her face, also felt that she had a good impression of this stranger whom she had only met once.
——Of course, it can’t be because of the other party’s out-of-town merchants dressing up.
The Bunyan family was not short of money.
Just because of that simple and cheerful smile.
Of course Leona knew that a businessman could not have the soul to show such a smile. This must be his disguise or acting skills.
But so what?
She doesn't want to marry the other person, nor does she want to do any important business with him. The nature of the other person has nothing to do with her. If they are just fair-weather friends, then choosing the one who makes you most happy to get along is the right way.
How to choose your friends - Leona is good at it.
In other words, the Bunyan family is good at this.
"In our cold winter, there are no rules for inviting guests to treat us."
Leona smiled, poured a glass of pale white wine for Ghirlandaio, and then filled it for herself.
She raised her glass and drank it in one gulp.
Then he smacked his lips happily and turned the glass upside down to signal to Ghirlandaio.
The kind and cheerful smile on Ghirlandaio's face never faded.
He just drank a glass of wine with a smile and put the finished wine glass back on the table without changing his expression.
"Compared with the treat," Ghirlandaio sighed, "I was more surprised that the first time I chatted with a stranger was while drinking."
"Of course."
Leona chuckled and filled the glass again: "Where do Noah like to meet strangers? Teahouse? Theater?"
"There are also theaters, but they are usually in your own family's manor. Strictly speaking, there are not many strangers... During the social season, Noah's nobles held banquets two to three times a week.
"Everyone is either having a banquet at their own home or on their way to a banquet at someone else's house. When we are at the banquet, we are already acquainted and are not considered strangers."
Ghirlandaio drank the wine in one gulp and answered casually.
Leona also drank down the wine without changing her expression, and added more wine with a chuckle: "Your Excellency Ghirlandaio has a good capacity for drinking. I thought only people in winter like to drink."
"We Noah people's drinking capacity is actually not that bad. Especially after practicing it at banquets."
Ghirlandaio said with a smile.
——Want to trick me?
Sorry, maybe it's a bit of a waste of wine... but I'm just a stoner.
A true hard-hearted person.
When Leona heard what Ghirlandaio meant, she raised her eyebrows in surprise: "Oh?"
What he meant by this was that "I often attend banquets."
So she followed the topic and asked: "Could it be...which family are you the second son of?"
In the Principality of Cold Winter, the eldest son usually inherits the title and territory. The other heirs will receive a share of funds when they reach adulthood, relying on the connections they made when they were teenagers and an initial share of funds to run their own businesses.
They refer to the heirs who did not inherit the title and turned to business and politics as "second sons" regardless of their rank.
Ghirlandaio just smiled.
He did not answer the question, but asked politely:
"Before answering this question, I was also about to ask...
"Bunyan—is he the Bunyan I know?"
Of course, this is a polite question.
Of course he had never heard of "Bunyan".
At least it must not be a big noble, otherwise Annan must have seen it in books.
When Leona heard this, the corners of her mouth raised.
But before she could answer, Annan heard another familiar yet unfamiliar voice:
"Bunyan...the crazy hounds now have names that make them proud."
The man sneered, opened the heavy leather curtain to block the wind, and walked into the private tavern with few customers.
Wrapped in the cold wind filled with frost, he sat next to Annan.
When Leona heard the other party's words, she raised her eyebrows and her face suddenly turned cold.
But when she saw the face of the visitor clearly, she was startled, and immediately stood up, paying respect to the visitor respectfully.
"...Your Highness Dmitry."
It was Annan's brother, Dmitry Winter.
But this brother was slightly different from the brother Annan saw in his two nightmares.
The Dmitri who once lived in a dream... was a very stylish man, meticulously dressed. He had a well-proportioned figure, a straight back, and long pure black hair hanging down to his waist. There was not a single stray hair on his head.
There is not a single stain, not even dirt under the fingernails.
But now Dmitri makes Annan feel... more than ten years older than in his dream.
His habitually frowning brows now have three deep wrinkles. The wrinkled skin on his furrowed brows looks like a ghost-headed totem.
He was wearing a heavy frost animal skin coat, his arms were not inserted into the sleeves, and the shirt underneath was tightly rolled up to the elbows, with a very thick cigar dangling from his mouth.
His hands were still clean, but raised veins could already be seen on the backs of his white and strong hands.
"Long time no see, Ms. Leona."
Dmitri held a cigar in his mouth and said in a deep voice.
Leona's face turned slightly pale.
In winter, the standard way to greet each other is to address each other as brothers and sisters, or uncles and nephews. Because of the existence of the old grandmother, people in winter regard each other as family members - at least in terms of etiquette.
If it is not called this, it means "the relationship is not yet established."
But the Bunyan family and the Lindong family do not have such a relationship.
...His Royal Highness Dmitry seems to be angry.
Leona suddenly didn't dare to say a word.
He sat on the right side of Annan, exactly diagonally across from Leona.
Dmitri leaned on the armrests with his elbows, crossed his fingers, and placed them in front of his belly.
He blew out a puff of mist, and the cigar smoke slowly dispersed around him.
"I haven't seen you for about two years.
"But you still keep the word 'Bunyan' on your lips."
He bit the end of his cigar lightly, his voice still so low and magnetic: "It seems that time can't change anything, right?"
Compared with five or six years ago, Dmitri's voice has become a little hoarse, perhaps due to excessive smoking.
Dmitri did not continue to embarrass Leona.
He just gave a slight warning, then softened his tone, and looked at Annan beside him - or, in other words, "Ghirlandaio".
"Who is this……?"
"Ghirlandaio," the middle-aged man with black hair and eyes smiled, sat on the chair and bowed slightly, politely saying hello to Dmitri, "My full name is Ghirlandaio David Buo.
Naro...His Royal Highness Dmitri."
Hearing this name, Dmitri's pupils shrank slightly.