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In the morning, the sun had risen, but the area around the Nellorin estate was still shrouded in a haze. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info The obscure and oppressive breath of death criss-crosses it, covering the neatly arranged tombstones everywhere, like some kind of ceremonial guard.

The manor, which has always been quiet on weekdays, is more lively today, and the motorcades on the way to the manor are endless, gathering from all directions like a hundred rivers and seas, and slowly and methodically entering the gate of the manor one by one. The shapes of the vehicles are strange, there are huge carriages pulled by earth dragons, floating cars suspended at low alcheries like alchemy props, and even carriages drawn by skeletons.

The road into the manor is not wide, and it looks a little dilapidated among the tombstones on both sides. Between the tombstones and on the black fence of the manor, vine-like herbaceous plants are still flourishing in this cold season, but no one picks them.

This is the burial place of the Nike Remones family, and the strong magical atmosphere here shows the strength and history of the family. In the plane of magical civilization, being able to occupy a magical feng shui treasure land is a representative of the strong strength of the family. Its symbolism is like that of the town named after the Holy Church and the Sanhedrin.

By eight o'clock, all the vehicles were parked in the open space next to the main house. In the dining room of the main house, breakfast has begun. At the end of the long dining table, sat an old man with a dignified face, his half-white hair meticulously combed. This is George and Phyllis's father, Romano Nikeremons.

Dressed in a dignified gown, George sat at the front of the long table, concentrating on the food on the silver plate. His upper body is straight, and there is not a single flaw in his movements, manners, and expressions, and as the first heir to the Nike Remones family, such a performance makes it impossible for anyone to say anything.

George was followed by the rest of the young men in their twenties and forties, who were equally quietly eating their breakfasts, occasionally exchanging glances with each other. They are the heirs behind George, and although they are of different ages, the richness of their bloodlines does not change with age. In the Nike Remmons family, boys who have reached the age of fourteen will be ranked in the order of heirs according to the concentration of blood.

On the other side of the long table sat a row of girls of similar age. Facing George, Phyllis sat quietly in a long black dress, silently cutting large pieces of food into small pieces with a knife, but never eating it. On such occasions, she also maintained the standard of aristocratic etiquette to the fullest, and although her beautiful face showed a sad face, the action of cutting food was not out of shape in the slightest. At least as a sixteen-year-old magician, her behavior was enough to be respected by others.

More than a dozen beautiful maids shuttled and busily delivered the colorful and fragrant meals to the people, while changing the used plates with their hands and feet.

Breakfast ended punctually at 8:15, and everyone came to the room and sat down at their reserved seats. In the center of the room is a long oval table, with Romano, the current patriarch, on the throne, and a dozen heirs sitting with the elders.

This is the regular elder meeting of the Nike Remones family, which usually meets once every two months, and is attended by representatives of various branches of the Nike Remmons family, male heirs, and important people. Before Phyllis became a Magus, she wasn't eligible to serve as an Elder.

In recent years, during the decade or so that Romano was in charge of the family's affairs, the Nike Remmons family has steadily expanded in power, and although it has not been faster than the Roche Clenmentin, Gafreşak and Cappadocia families, it has not been distracted.

Since this is routine, the agenda items are relatively fixed. The core is the profit and loss of the family's recent business, trade with other forces, etc. The elders had already decided on these projects, so it only took more than two hours to finalize them. According to the normal agenda, this should be the end of the day, and the elders have had lunch, either gathered together or left separately. Romano also did not live in the old house, he built a wooden house by the river in the south, brought two dogs, and his daily activities were fishing and hunting.

However, today didn't seem to end so easily, Phyllis suddenly stood up with her hands on the table, and the not-so-heavy slapping sound attracted everyone's attention, "The Vitamin Guild is chasing my Darko, we should send someone to the Mercury plane to protect him, or at least give him resource support first, so that he can get through the current crisis." ”

There was a sudden silence in the room, and most of the elders' eyes were on Romano. After all, Phyllis is the daughter of the current patriarch, and although it is a bit abrupt to put a lich under the family name, it is not without precedent in the past, and Darko has already used his own practical actions to properly handle a conflict for the family, so everyone tacitly did not mention Phyllis's nonsense. It's just a tacit agreement, when the family's reputation is at stake, they won't sit idly by, let alone hunt down the Darko or the Vitamin Guild.

Seeing that Romano didn't express his opinion, a young man sitting on George's right tapped lightly on the table, he looked into Phyllis's eyes, and said in a calm tone, "Dear cousin, that Darko seems to be just a failed lich summoned by you, do you think it's necessary for us to deal with the Vitamin Guild for him?"

Phyllis had been glaring at him from the moment he spoke, and the young man's name was Libya, the son of Elder Saipp, and the third in line to the line. He had always had a bad idea of Phyllis, and he could see it in that fiery gaze. But Phyllis has no feelings for him, and usually doesn't pay attention to him at all, but she didn't expect that when Phyllis asked for the family, Libya would be the first to attack.

Phyllis took a deep breath to calm her heart, her slightly erected chest brightening Libya's eyes. She avoided Libya's gaze, looked around at the elders, and continued, "Darko is not just my lich, he's also a very intelligent lich, a lich with the potential to grow, and enough loyalty to his family. Presumably the Elders know the value of a lich with the potential to grow. ”

Hearing this, several elders exchanged their heads, and it was obvious that they were also interested in undead creatures with growth potential. One of the elders held up a finger and said, "Phyllis, can you tell us more about your lich with the potential to grow?"

"As many people can attest, Dakko was originally just a small skeleton that could emit fireballs, and now a year later, he can already release fourth-level ice magic. Seeing that this rhetoric had worked, Phyllis continued to strike while the iron was hot, "The loss of Darko would be a huge loss to our family, as you honored elders know very well. The Nike Remones family has an ancient honor, and it is the tradition of uncompromising and non-abandonment that has allowed us to stand in the plane for three thousand years, and it is in this way that has ensured the safety of the family for a long time, and has gradually brought us closer to the Roche Crummentin family. Wise elders must have been able to see this clearly from the reports of the past ten years. In the long run, this is the guarantee of the survival and development of the family, if we can casually give up a family member, then in a few years, you will also be given up by the family. ”

At this time, even the other heirs in line were a little moved, and they exchanged brief exchanges with each other, nodding approvingly from time to time. Seeing that the speech was working well, Phyllis winked in George's direction, and George smiled and nodded in response. Of course, these words were not coined by Phyllis herself, and most of them were arranged by George for Phyllis. George was also very surprised by Phyllis's performance, he was still worried about whether Phyllis's out-of-the-box personality would be able to memorize all such a large number of words, but the result was a word-for-word repetition of the original text, George knew that Darko's position in Phyllis's mind was worthy of her to calm down and memorize the speech.

At this time, George also spoke, "I have also met Darko, he is not only a good growth lich, but also obtained the badge of the Alchemy Guild, not to mention that there have been cases of lichs becoming members of the family in the family history, I think we should accept Dakko into the family." ”

That's exactly what George came up with for Phyllis, directing the question of whether or not to agree with Darko as a member of the family, rather than discussing whether or not to rescue him. It would be best if you could become a full-fledged member of the family, and it would be logical to rescue the clansmen. Even if Dakko is still not allowed to become a member of the family in the end of the discussion, the person who can be included in such a discussion is naturally worthy of the family's attention, so it will also become easier to convince the family to help Dakota.

"Cousin George, you are reversing cause and effect by saying that. The lich that has appeared in the past among the family members is all family members who voluntarily give up their lives to transform themselves into lichs, and it is not that an alien lich can enter the family casually. It was a middle-aged man next to George, the oldest of all the heirs, who was the second in line to the family, Kerimane. He was a steady and meticulous worker, and for a long time he was considered the ideal candidate for the next head of the family, but George's stunning appearance made him relegated to second place. But he didn't seem to care about the ranking of the heir, and he was still a humble and polite image, but he didn't expect to make trouble at this time. He smiled gracefully, then leaned over and said, "And Cousin Phyllis can't recall Darko, which means that there is no contractual connection between them, how can we rest assured that an outsider without any blood connection will enter the family?"

Libya looked at Phyllis's face, and suddenly showed a devilish smile, and also echoed, "Cousin Phyllis made her own initiative to let that Darko enter the Academy of Magic, which is already a violation, not to mention naming it after the family name, this practice is undoubtedly very absurd." Dear Cousin Phyllis, you should know that everything you do represents your family, and you shouldn't do whatever you want. ”

Seeing this, Phyllis's face turned a little pale from obvious anger, but she still maintained restraint, "Darko is my lich, don't say it's a lich, even if it's a dog I raise, if someone wants to kill him, it's against me, and against me is against the family." Moreover, Darko's entry into the Academy of Magic was approved by Pope Santa Avida, and it is well known that Darko is mine! Not to mention that Darko has already had a conflict with Harris on behalf of the family, and now I am afraid it will be too late for me to give him the family name privately!"

George glared at Phyllis, but Phyllis was too angry to pay attention to George. Sure enough, Elder Walker snorted, drawing everyone's attention, "We, Nike Remmons, have family members in the five churches, and basically all guilds are also involved, but we have never been constrained by any force. Even if there is no saint-level powerhouse in the family in the past forty years, the potential is still unlimited, and perhaps within ten years, the saint-level will appear again. The churches are just different environments that we have chosen for our family members with different talents, and we hope that your own talents can be brought to the fullest. But outsiders have no right to interfere in our family's internal affairs, not even the Pope. ”

When Walker was at the Academy of Magic, he knew that it was the Dark Pope who offered Darko a place in the Academy of Magic, and he didn't say anything to Darko at that time, and when Phyllis brought the matter up again, he immediately vented his frustrated anger. Phyllis listened quietly, her face growing paler, and she didn't know why Elder Walker suddenly couldn't get along with Darko. George sighed to himself and shook his head at Phyllis.

At this time, the eldest elder opened his sleepy eyes, "It's almost time to take a nap, I'm too old to have as much energy as you, so let's start voting on Phyllis's proposal now." ”

According to the rules of the elders of the Nike Remones family, Romano, as the patriarch, had one veto, but if the plan was approved by two-thirds of the elders, it would be forced to pass.

Most of the elders looked indifferent, some raised their hands in support, some placed their palms down on the table in opposition, and some folded their arms in abstention. To Phyllis's dismay, less than a quarter supported her, and the number of elders who opposed the proposal far exceeded her expectations.

Libya seemed to have anticipated this outcome, smiled ambiguously at Phyllis, and got up and left the room. The other elders also got up, most of them to stay for dinner, and a few needed to leave immediately to go back to their own affairs. This was the end of the routine, and the atmosphere at the end was not good.

In the evening, the last carriage left the Nelloringe Manor, and Phyllis watched the convoys go away from her room in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the sunset that was hard to see after the haze.

Knock, knock. There was a knock on the door, and Phyllis didn't look back, just whispered, "Come in." ”

George walked in with rhythmic footsteps and came to Phyllis's side, looking out the window at the smog as well. He was silent for a long time, and finally spoke, "Phyllis, there may be some things that may be difficult for you to accept, but I think I should listen to you. ”

Phyllis didn't respond, the haze that obscured the horizon seemed to thin a little, casting a faint glow of yellow into a halo.

George sighed before continuing, "Darko is the lich you summoned after all, and he doesn't have family blood in his body, and I heard that he made you angry not long ago. A lot of people are thinking, even if he is a growing lich, is it worth it for you to do so much for him?"

"George, you think so, too. Phyllis's eyelashes curled slightly, and she tried to look at the halo behind the haze.

George was silent.

The shadow grew thicker, completely obscuring the faint light, and Phyllis turned her head and said softly, "He told me his real name. ”

George was stunned for a moment, and then nodded approvingly, "I see, giving people a handle is indeed the best way to swear loyalty." ”

"It's not like that!" cried Phyllis suddenly excited, "he didn't think that much at all! he just wanted to tell me his name! I could feel it clearly!"

George obviously knew that arguing with a woman was an extremely unwise thing to do, so he hurriedly changed the subject, "I know your feelings for Darko, but private feelings are things that have nothing to do with the interests of the family, and you should know that. ”

Phyllis gritted her teeth and let go, "There are obviously a lot of cannon fodder below the senior level in the family, let them go to the Mercury plane to help Darko, it will not cause any loss to the family at all, but I just can't do anything!"

George shook his head with a wry smile, "If you say this sentence above, there will only be more people who will vote against it." ”

"Libya!" Phyllis's chest rose and fell, and it was clear that her hatred for Libya had reached its limit, "You know what he is trying to do with me, and he is clearly taking revenge!"

George smiled helplessly, "Libya grew up with me, how could I not know his thoughts? When you were ten years old, Libya showed a good opinion of you, and if you fell into a disadvantageous form in the family because of Darko's affairs, it was actually in his heart." ”

"I know. But Darko is my lich, I can't sit idly by while he is in danger, and how can I rest assured that outsiders will go, maybe it will be a disadvantage, compared to the cannon fodder of the family. Phyllis let out a deep sigh and spat out her previous ups and downs, "As for Libya, the time to come is always coming, I'm sixteen years old, and it's a coming-of-age ceremony in four years, and I'll have to face it anyway then, right?" ”

George turned his head to look at Phyllis, his eyes a little worried and full of pity. He seemed to feel that at this moment, Phyllis had suddenly grown up, and was no longer the heartless sixteen-year-old girl.

George was involved in the affairs of the Magic Guild and the Alchemy Guild, and teleported away before night came. So in the Nellorin Manor, there was only one Phyllis left in the Nike Remones family, and the magic lamp in her room was on all night and never went out.