"I don't think we're going to get lost. ”

Hearing Huggins' words sitting in the driver's seat, Todd looked around, shrunk his head and nodded lightly: "I think so too......"

Three knights of the royal guard were in front, sixteen heavy infantry on each flank, and eight light cavalry on the left and right, and Todd's troika was sandwiched in the middle.

Out of the corner of his eye, Huggins looked at the knight's badge in front of him, and whispered: "It seems that as soon as we approached the Silver Ring City, we were targeted, otherwise we wouldn't have just entered the cathedral and the queen appeared." ”

Todd looked at the people in the street pointing at the "strange procession," and his mind was still thinking about Bishop Fabian's admonition.

"Listen, Todd, no matter what happens, be patient! Restraint! The three former bishops here have fallen to their deaths, one drunk and fallen into the river, and one is still missing. These so-called nobles and royal families are the descendants of barbarians, and cruelty and greed are their nature! If you want to live, you must be patient! Learn to refrain from it!

Looking back at the five carts of "Grafting Moon Season" behind him, Todd gritted his teeth.

The banquet was arranged in the new residence of the Minister of Home Affairs and Finance, and many luxurious and gorgeous carriages were parked at the door, and the manservants and maids who came and went non-stop gave Todd the illusion of returning to his previous life.

But what happened next quickly pulled him back to reality.

A withered man in a shabby single robe, urged by the whip behind him, walked up to Todd's carriage, fell to his knees with a thud, bent his spine, and curled up beside the wagon with his forehead on the dirt.

Todd's eyes widened, and he looked up at another aristocratic carriage not far away, and the man with a round shoulder and a thick waist stepped out of the door and stepped on the thin woman who acted as a "human foot pad". The latter's back was bent down, there was no pain, no sorrow, but only numbness and hopelessness on his face.

"These are civilians of the northern barbarians captured by the army...... Huggins whispered.

Todd understood the deep meaning of the other party's words, and the huge sense of powerlessness made him close his eyes, sighed, grabbed the handrail of the carriage with both hands, avoided the man on the ground, and jumped directly to the ground.

The servant who came to greet him saw Huggins also jumping down, stretched out his hand to stop the latter from following, and said slowly, "Only Father Todd was invited to the dinner. ”

Todd gave the angry Huggins a reassuring look, turned and followed the servant into the mansion.

Walking into the hall, a strong sense of incongruity in the decoration comes to your face. The pillar palace of the ancient Tairo period, with the rough and wild gold and silver ornaments of the north, makes the whole space not at all like a residence of the nobility, but more like a nest for storing treasures.

Drinks and dishes were served by the servants in whole plates, most of which Todd had never heard of, and those in need had to nod or raise their hands to deliver small plates of the meal to the guests.

Todd glanced at the attendees of the dinner, most of whom were young men, and judging by their clothing and demeanor, they should all be children of aristocratic families. Such a place was indeed not suitable for him, and he began to think of an excuse to escape while looking for Queen Mary.

In fact, the search for the queen is simple. In the banquet hall of thousands of square meters, the most distinguished guests naturally sit in the most prominent position. Without much effort, Todd saw Queen Mary in the center, seated on a throne, surrounded by a large number of dignitaries.

"Your Majesty the Queen......" Todd wanted to take two steps forward, but was blocked by several female officials a few meters away, and when he looked sideways, a group of men were separated from the periphery like him.

Just when he was confused and didn't know what was going on. The gentle voice rang in my ears again: "Welcome, Mr. Todd. ”

Queen Mary's speech immediately attracted everyone's attention, and all kinds of whispers filled the entire hall.

"Behold, it is him! Defeated the pirates and recaptured the Crystal Relic!"

"This is the Son who was judged by heresy?"

"I've heard that at the evangelistic meeting, he called us madmen who only knew about war!"

The queen clapped her hands and ignored the voices around her, and the maids brought out a wooden table on which lay a pot of colorful moons.

People's emotions were ignited again, and the voices of admiration, curiosity, and questions were endless.

"Mr. Todd, I heard that this moon season is a product of Twilight, can you elaborate on it?" In response to Queen Mary's question, the priest brought out the phrase that the Father blessed and miracles happened, which caused another round of discussion among the people present.

A young man with two mustaches, a woollen shawl, and a wide gold ornament on his waist walked up to Todd, squinted his eyes and smiled: "Let me introduce myself first, I am Viscount Kennard, the host of this dinner. Father, why don't you come and join us in our 'entertainment'?"

Todd secretly sneered in his heart, you greedy guys, finally can't bear it?

With a pretending excuse, Todd sat down at a round table that had been placed in the center of the hall.

What the mustache took out of the sterling silver box next surprised Todd.

Playing card.

Looking at the other party's surprised look, Viscount Kennard began to introduce the so-called "entertainment" with a satisfied expression: "The name of the game we are going to play next is 'Knights and Pirates', which is the most popular thing in Silver Ring City at the moment. ”

"The rules may be a bit complicated for you, but once you get started, it's a lot simpler. Listening to the Viscount introduce the rules of playing cards that he had set at the beginning, Todd suddenly felt that he couldn't laugh or cry.

The only thing that struck him a little bit was that these nobles added gambling as well. If the knight (landlord) wins, he can collect the chips from the pirate (peasant) and if the pirate (wins), the knight (landlord) pays the chips to the two pirates (peasants). The amount of the bet is calculated by multiplying the remaining cards by the corresponding coins. If one side loses and a card is not discarded, it pays three times the stake.

Viscount Kennard found another nobleman he knew and started the game of "Knights and Pirates" with the three of Todd.

In the first few rounds, the two nobles deliberately released water, and Todd won a lot.

Soon, the bet chip increased from one silver coin per card, to five silver coins per card, and finally to 10 silver coins.

Todd loses more and more, and after losing the cash, the nobles ask him to offset the "grafting moon" from the carriage outside the door.

Knowing that the two bastards must be cheating, while silently thinking about patience and restraint in his heart, Todd deliberately pretended to be a gambler who was desperate to lose.

One, two, three...... Until the tenth pot was paid, these insatiable silver-ring nobles had no intention of stopping.

Todd pinched his thigh with his fingers, knowing that now was definitely not the time to be rash, and that restraint was the best option.

Originally, he thought so, until he saw something.

As Todd took out the eleventh pot, Viscount Kennard, who had won the rise, took a sip of the red wine in the glass, shook the warm liquid in his hand with a frown, and snapped his fingers. Under the priest's astonished gaze, the servants led out a thin girl of eleven or twelve years old with chains and collars.

The girl was barefoot, dressed in a coarse linen garment, with an iron spur collar around her neck, a wooden cross on her chest, and wounds on her face, arms, and legs, old and new.

The viscount handed the bottle of red wine to the servant, who shoved it into the girl's hand, and with a sharp tug of the chain in his hand, the iron spikes on the collar pierced deep into the wearer's skin, and the dripping blood immediately wet the collar of the victim.

The girl cried out loud in pain, and her hands slowly released the cold air, cooling the liquid in the bottle.

Seeing Todd's shocked look, Viscount Kennard took a sip of the red wine handed by the servant with ice slag floating, touched his mustache comfortably, and said to the priest in a mocking tone: "I really don't understand the idea of the church, it's too wasteful to kill all the xenomorphs." No matter how rotten the wood is, it can always find its place in the furnace, doesn't it?"

Todd's Brain...... A string broke.

Queen Mary counted the number of flower pots, nodded slightly, and just as she was about to announce the end of the game, Todd stood up and said to everyone with a blank face: "Don't you think this kind of game is too slow?

"Fucking patience and restraint!"