Cumberland and Emerson looked at the petite 'woman' in front of them with suspicious expressions.

Cumberland looked Dion up and down, and said to Todd, "Your Majesty, are you sure?, let someone like this go to the Holy Acropolis, I'm afraid it won't take two days to swallow even a bone." ”

Dion patted the saber at his waist and raised his head: "Commander, my swordsmanship is enough to protect myself. ”

Todd laughed at this time: "I can guarantee this, as an executive judge, Dieng often has the opportunity to hone his swordsmanship. ”

Emerson stroked his mustache and said as he pondered, "However, Dieng, your analysis of the struggle for the throne can indeed explain the series of events that have taken place so far, and I think this inference is highly reliable. ”

Todd paused and asked again, "So, do you think Knight Dion is suitable for the position of head of the mission of Twilight City?"

Cumberland glanced at the king and shrugged his shoulders: "If Your Majesty you think it is appropriate, I have no opinion. ”

"Emerson, what about you?"

"I was amazed by Knight Dieng's ability to gather, analyze, and aggregate intelligence, and he was fully in line with the requirements of the head of the mission in terms of the big picture. Emerson said this, looking at the young man, who was only in his early twenties, and said worriedly: "But if I remember correctly, you have always lived in the Papal States before, and you have never been to the Holy Acropolis, and you are afraid that you do not know anything about the customs there, especially the relationship between the powerful, which will not be conducive to the development of your work." ”

Seeing that he finally had the opportunity to escape from the tedious life of idleness, Dion was willing to let such a reason ruin his hopes of being an envoy: "Then I ask for the company of an envoy, and as long as there is a guide who knows the local environment better, I am fully sure that I will gain a firm foothold in the Holy Acropolis!"

Emerson and Todd glanced at each other, the latter lost course of thought and muttered to himself, "Vice-envoy?"

After a few moments, Todd suddenly said, "I have a candidate." ”

Two hours later, Mary came to the King's Audience Chamber, heard Todd's request, and shouted in surprise, "You want me to be a member of the Twilight Mission, and go to the Holy Acropolis?!"

Todd sat in his chair and wrote, "The Kingdom of Twilight has never dealt with the Holy Acropolis, and you are the only one of us who knows about it. ”

Mary bit her lip: "Your Majesty, aren't you worried that after I go back, I will secretly collude with the people of the Holy Acropolis and stand on the opposite side of the kingdom?"

Todd stopped his pen and raised his head to look at Mary: "Since I am willing to give you this errand, it means that I trust you unconditionally. Besides, the purpose of Twilight's mission this time is to provide food aid to the Holy Acropolis, not to declare war on them, so you don't have to worry about conflicts between the two countries at all. ”

"Frankly, I don't have any affection for my birthplace. Mary sat across her desk, looking out the window at the sun setting in the west, and whispered dreamily: "From the moment I came to earth to the moment I got married, I was never allowed to leave that castle like a prison." ”

"They see me as a commodity to be sold, I can't go out into the sun because it tans my skin, I can't run or jump because it leaves scars on me. Like a caged bird, I groom my feathers and put on makeup every day in order to be sold for a good price one day. ”

Todd put down the pen gently, and the sad face in front of him made his heart tighten: "Mary, if you resist this errand, I can find another person to serve as a deputy envoy, all you need to do is to give them a detailed description of the situation in the Holy Acropolis before the mission travels." ”

"No, I'll go, why not?" Mary took a deep breath, like a naughty girl climbing onto the roof, looked at Todd and said with a smile: "When you deliberately stay away from the painful places in your life, you will find that the nightmare in your heart will get bigger and bigger. The best way to overcome fear is to face it, not run away from it. ”

Mary, who had a smile in the corner of her eyes, looked at Todd without hesitation, only resoluteness and affirmation: "Moreover, I am no longer the doll at the mercy of others in the past, I have my destiny, and there are things I am willing to protect with my life." ”

Looking at Mary's determined appearance, Todd nodded: "I understand, I will ask Cumberland to send the most elite troops of the Knights to protect the personal safety of the entire Mission." ”

After dealing with the question of the selection of the mission, the sky was already full of stars, and a hungry Todd walked to the dormitory, and saw a familiar figure at the end of the corridor.

Because of the spine injury caused in the war, Huggins, who had difficulty moving, leaned his back against the pillar and repeatedly rubbed the muscles of his thigh with the palm of his hand to relieve the fatigue of his legs.

Todd walked down the corridor, behind Huggins, and said, "You need a cane." ”

When the latter saw the king, he quickly straightened up, moved his legs and feet, and showed that he was fine.

Todd walked up to Huggins, looked at the other party's spitting appearance, and said in a deep voice, "If you have something to say, say it." ”

Huggins lowered his head and said softly: "The Raglans are willing to donate part of their wealth to build a welfare hospital for immigrants outside the city in the name of the king. ”

Hearing this, Todd looked at Huggins with a sharp gaze, "Your idea?"

Huggins shook his head slightly, "It was Mr. Raglan's idea. ”

Todd's expression was relieved, and he sighed faintly: "Take a sum of money from the treasury of the palace, plus their donations, to build a decent medical facility for those immigrants outside the city." Don't do it in my name, just in the name of that couple. ”

Huggins bowed and said he would do it immediately.

Seeing that the other party had not yet left, Todd asked strangely, "Is there anything else?"

Huggins showed a forced smile: "Your Majesty, my energy is not as good as it used to be, if you can agree, I would like to find a few people to share my work......"

Hearing this, Todd already understood Huggins' thoughts.

Because of the affairs of the Raglans, on the one hand, for fear of Todd's anger, and on the other hand, to avoid suspicion, Huggins, who was reluctant to retreat, wanted to return power to the king.

"Stand here and wait for me. ”

After saying this, Todd walked to the dormitory without looking back, leaving Huggins alone in a daze on the corridor.

A few minutes later, Todd, who had changed into a long robe, covered his figure with a wide cloak and his face with a low brim. He walked up to a confused Huggins and gestured, "Follow me." ”

The two got into the royal carriage and drove to the city center at the foot of the palace hill with a team of guards in disguise.

Listening to the loud and noisy voices in his ears, Todd stopped the carriage in a hidden corner, pushed the door open, and walked out into the street.

Seeing this, Huggins also hurriedly got out of the carriage, beckoned the guards, and followed the king's footsteps.

Todd's drop-off location is close to Twilight Plaza, which is the busiest and liveliest place in the whole of Twilight City.

Although it was already eight or nine o'clock in the evening, the crowd on the street did not subside at all, and thousands of people gathered around the square to enjoy the entertainment life of the night. A newly choreographed romantic comedy is being staged in the amphitheatre, with actors and audiences laughing, officials, merchants, and artisans leaving their places of work after a busy day running into the taverns and inns of the commercial district in droves, and hawkers pushing wagons of all sorts to sell their wares to passers-by, and the sound of bargaining is endless.

Holding a bowl of seafood chowder in his left hand and a dozen skewers in his right hand, Todd, who did not have the image of a king at all, strolled towards the south of the square while munching on street snacks.

Huggins followed behind him, glanced at Todd's expression, and carefully persuaded, "Your Majesty, it's getting late, we should go back." ”

"It's not far away, it's just ahead. Todd finished his food, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, and pointed ahead to Huggins.

The group that had come out of the palace walked forward for another twenty minutes and came to a lonely hill.

The hill is located in the heart of Twilight, but it's quiet and isolated compared to the surrounding bustling and noisy city.

Huggins climbed the hill and looked around.

Leafy trees, endless grass and wildflowers, and ...... Hundreds of tombstones stand silently in the night.

He recognized it.

Originally Alfonso's residence, it later became the burial ground of the Order's war dead.

Todd walked to the top of the hill, looked back at the starry lights at the foot of the mountain, and asked, "What is the view?"

Huggins, who did not know what the king wanted, said carefully: "Your Majesty, it is beautiful. ”

"The tower-like building is the cathedral of the Dusk in the kingdom, where Elijah is leading a group of artists to make the last part of the fresco on the ceiling of the church, the place that looks like a noble manor is the Twilight Academy, which will be officially renamed the Twilight University at the end of next month, and will have seven branches, nearly a hundred academic departments, and more than 2,000 students, and the brightly lit strip near the sea, where the Twilight Seaport has just been expanded and is now able to stop the largest ships of the Southern Empire, and the Twilight Shipyard will soon open a third dock, which will be the largest in all the parish kingdoms......”

Todd turned his head in Huggins' direction and said calmly, "Do you know who you want to thank for the beautiful scenery in front of you?"

The latter paused for a moment and said softly: "Of course Your Majesty, without you, this would be nothing more than a deserted sandy beach. ”

"Wrong!"

Todd pointed to the earth not far away, and said word by word: "Twilight City can have today, thanks to them!"

Following the direction of the king's finger, Huggins looked at the dense tombstones in his field of vision, and froze in place.

Todd slowly paced to the nearest tombstone of the cross, looking at the inscription carved on it—Seth Drummond, 1152-1171, Eleventh Knights of the Twilight Order, died at the Battle of the North Rock.

Todd squatted down, gently brushed the dust off the tombstone, and said softly in a voice that only he could hear: "Perhaps the first instinct of a ruler should be to take the sacrifice of others for granted, but after so many years, I still can't do this kind of thing......"

Squatting in front of the tombstone, Todd, who had been silent for a long time, stood up again and said to Huggins: "I have never felt that the king is a pleasant errand, nor have I ever considered power a supreme honor. It is precisely because of my high position that the first thing I do when I wake up and open my eyes every day is not to think about what I can enjoy today, but what I should do for my subjects today. ”

"Huggins, I rebuke you and the Raglans not because you have deceived me and offended the majesty of the king, but because you have begun to put your own interests above the people. ”

"Unlike the time at the Monastery of San Cidlo, in the past we struggled, we fought for food, clothing, and survival. But now, we are fighting to live up to these dead warriors, and to protect everyone behind us!"

After saying this, looking at Huggins's deep thinking, Todd patted him on the shoulder, smiled and said, "Everyone makes mistakes, and today I will correct your mistakes." One day, maybe it's your turn to tell me. ”

After saying this, Huggins, who was stunned in place, Todd walked down the hill alone.