January 22nd of the Second Era.
This winter in Beyeland is extremely cold. The white snow on the spiers of the houses reminds people of the undulating snow peaks, which is somewhat similar to the East in oil paintings.
Sonia pulled her soft wool cloak, glanced at the heater in the carriage, and breathed into the palm of her hand.
The servant of the Larmour family was particularly out of shape today. He did not turn on the heater in the carriage in advance, and the omelette for breakfast was a bit too salty.
"What's the news?" Sonia leaned her head against the cold car window and asked Fiona sitting opposite.
"A lot~" said the little newspaper reader while flipping the newspaper in his hand, "His Majesty the King expressed his condolences to the victims of the Flower Moon Memorial Ceremony on Neopolis Island. The wise Senate sent a fleet to implement quarantine and blockade, food and
Other commodity futures prices continue to rise rapidly, and the Veterans Committee proposal has been defeated again...Which one do you want to hear?"
"I always feel~" Sonia quietly listened to her best friend's words, "There are some subtle differences today."
"Rana, is there any subtle difference between today and usual?" Fiona was in a particularly good mood. She rolled down the car window and asked Shutoral who was riding a horse outside the car.
The tall hussar was wearing heavy armor, and the swords hanging on both sides of the saddle were faintly exposed under the thick cloak. His sharp eyes passed through the iron helmet and swept over the nearby sidewalks and rooftops like a sharp blade, but he did not answer the girl's question.
.
"Rana!" Fiona said in a long tone, stretched out her hand and snapped her fingers in the hussar's ear, "Hey! You're ignoring me again!"
"How could I ignore you?" Lana looked away and said gently.
"You're just ignoring me!"
How could the conversation between these two people be so sweet... Sonia raised the corners of her mouth slightly and looked in the direction where Lana was looking.
The streets are very crowded today.
Many people in shabby clothes stood in the snowdrifts, staring at the passing carriages with a look that Sonia had never seen before. There were also people standing on the balconies and roofs, many of them holding rolled up red cloth and
The wooden stick whispered from time to time, and then cast its gaze into the distance.
Sonia's eyes met someone.
This man was wearing a gray coat, with a sloppy beard, and his resolute eyes were a bit like those of Griffith and Lana when they first came to Beyeland. The moment her eyes met with his, Sonia had a very strange and strange feeling.
An uncomfortable feeling, like being violated in some way.
At this time, a majestic hussar passed by nearby. Lana glanced at the man and immediately pushed back the uncomfortable feeling.
"Maybe it's because your Griffith will return today~" Fiona didn't notice anything, and sat down in her seat with a bright face, "Let's take a look at the show waiting for us, ah~ today is going to be
What is happening is a tragedy!”
…
The carriage passed through the city and came to the steps of the magnificent Coliseum.
Celebrities in Beyeland are coming from all over to support the new play of the most prestigious Arydrov Grand Opera Company. In the next seven days, the troupe will perform twelve times in a row, and each performance will be
It's hard to get a vote.
Hot braziers were lit on both sides of the marble steps, driving away the cold and moisture. Sonia and Fiona took off their warm cloaks and handed them to the waiters, then walked into the theater wearing only long skirts as light as colorful clouds.
Fiona suddenly remembered something, turned around and said to Lana: "We need two hours, if you go to eat nearby, bring me some of that!"
The one Fiona was talking about was the grilled lamb on thin wooden sticks at the barbecue stall in the alley, but some people said maliciously that it was grilled with stray cats. The greasy meat skewers were grilled to brown.
, and sprinkle with cumin and spices? Take a bite and it is so delicious that it will melt your bones.
Is it really inappropriate for an earl’s daughter to eat this kind of food? It would be too ugly if oil stains dripped on her long skirt. However, the guards on duty would sneak into the alleys and eat as much as they could when they had free time, and would only give them to them when they were full.
The master brought back two bunches of cold ones.
Rana ignored her.
Sonia grabbed Fiona, who was about to jump in anger. She smiled and comforted her. Her eyes accidentally passed by the bottom of the steps. She suddenly noticed that the dismounted guards all seemed to be looking absentmindedly in the opposite direction, facing the people who were walking.
The emperor who entered the theater didn't care much.
These young men wearing strong armor and hanging sharp swords were faintly lined up in a row, forming a silent human wall under the steps of the theater. The guards who had just arrived did not dismount immediately, but were slowing down near the human wall like a knight.
Walking slowly? Each one holds the hilt of the sword at his waist.
Something is wrong!
Sonia's whole body trembled slightly involuntarily. Although she didn't understand what was happening, she instinctively felt strange and uneasy like never before, and she held her friend's arm tightly.
"Fiona, something's wrong."
Across the snow-covered Beyeland Theater boulevard, a gray wave suddenly surged over the roofs, streets and park lawns, as if the sea had finally broken through Beyeland's embankments and walls.
They were surging gray figures. They were very eye-catching on the pure white snow, like moving logs. They looked incompatible with the beautiful city.
These silent people were wrapped in all kinds of mismatched cotton and linen. They looked at the famous nobles in light clothes on the steps, but their eyes were unusually silent and calm. It reminded Sonia of the Goreme volcano she had seen when she was a child.
The crowds of people are so quiet that people don't know what will happen next moment. However, they instinctively want to escape and be afraid.
At this time, the streets in the distance seemed to be in commotion. Waves of slogan-like shouts formed a strange sound. Some spectators who were entering the venue were attracted by the strange shouts. They thought it was a carefully arranged warm-up.
A gorgeously decorated carriage drove up from the end of the street, with noble family crests carved on the door.
"It's General MacDonald." Fiona hummed. "He's always the last one to arrive? It's like everyone is waiting for him. Last dance? He insisted on inviting me to dance with him..."
Fiona's words suddenly got stuck in her throat.
Amidst the exclamations, several young men holding red flags jumped from the roof and landed on the roof of the general's carriage.
The scene immediately became chaotic, and people who looked like homeless people ran towards the carriage. They appeared on the sidewalk, on big trees and near garbage dumps, unfurling flags as they ran.
"Fiona, go to the theater!" Lana's thunderous roar exploded like thunder that had been brewing for a long time.
The guards who had been watching in vigilance just now jumped off their horses at lightning speed, drove the horses behind, filled the queue in a tacit understanding, and formed an airtight double-row human wall at the foot of the steps.
General Macdonald, who was at the end of the street, felt as if his carriage had fallen into a hail storm. The two guards in fine armor who were sitting in front driving the carriage were dizzy from the sudden attack.
"Get me out of here, you idiot!" the general roared.
The guard shook off the attacking attacker, gritted his teeth, waved his horsewhip, and rushed out. However, the carriages passing by were all frightened by the sudden storm. They bumped into each other in fear or slowed down, and were blocked for a while.
Seize the opportunity to escape.
"Sir, we are blocked!" the guard shouted anxiously.
General MacDonald, the defender of the kingdom, president of the Army Academy, and military theorist, waved his hand and shouted at the crowded sidewalk: "Isn't it very spacious over there?!"
…
Over the past few days, Griffith carefully reviewed the events. Gradually, he realized that the seven mysteries of Heura Town that he had previously treated as a joke were not simple. Neopolis Island hid something unknown.
The secrets, even Alandel's family need investigation and suspicion.
However, with his resources and time, he could not complete more investigations. Shortly after the tragic battle, the Earl's Palace sent him a new order. The order was simple.
"Return immediately."
He immediately boarded a warship and returned to the port of Beyeland. Carrying his luggage, he squeezed past strange passengers to get to the public carriage station.
The scene became increasingly noisy, mixed with shouts and curses. A group of military policemen came over waving sticks and drove away the passengers carrying large and small bags.
"Line up along this line!" shouted a police officer. "Anyone who disobeys will be given a taste of the stick."
Before Griffith could figure out the situation, two patrolmen noticed him, pushed aside the crowds on both sides, and shouted to the slovenly trainee knight who had lived in the cargo hold of the warship for three days:
"You, soldier, come here!"
"Your ID."
Griffith handed over his ID badge very politely and asked kindly: "What happened?"
The patrolman snorted expressionlessly and did not answer the question. While he was checking his ID, another patrolman stared into Griffith's eyes and kept tapping the baton in his hand.
"Hand over your weapons and follow us." The patrolman pointed to the distance, "Go over there!"
Griffith followed them to an isolated area outside the port area. In a small open space, many men who looked like soldiers were squatting or standing gathered there.
"I am a trainee knight of the Larmore family and a second-level squad leader." Griffith protested to the police officer in charge of the quarantine area and showed his identity card. "I am performing the count's mission."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Trainee Knight, please forgive my previous offense," the police officer hurriedly saluted Griffith, "You can leave. Please go to your family immediately to accept the mission."
"Task? Who issued the task?"
"The Senate," replied the sergeant, "recruits all the knights and novitiates of the nobles gathered at Beyeland to be immediately armed and put under martial law."
Martial law?!
To be continued...