At midnight, the Red Blood Castle is covered with bright stars, and the courtyard is shrouded in a faint cold mist, and the veil-thin mist will turn into morning dew at dawn, decorating the delicate summer flowers with a little sparkle.

"Something?"

In the dark courtyard, the black-haired wizard sat on a chair opposite the countess, his fingers rubbing the rim of the glass, the mellow liquor swirling with the shaking of the rim.

Playing with the wine glass in his hand, Loren, who sniffed the fragrance, did not mean to drink, and looked at Charlotte who had specially left him in confusion.

"Hmm. ”

The countess, who had no smile on her face, only bowed her head slightly, and was also not interested in drinking, and did not even look up at him, but only snorted lightly as a reply.

The other party was silent, and Loren could only guess very carefully why the other party left him; this countess is not a broad-minded person, and her behavior in the palace hall today can be said to have greatly offended her, so let herself stay in order to reprimand herself when no one is around?

Well... This is very much in line with her character.

To be able to save face while outsiders and little wizards are present is probably the limit for the proud countess, and if she doesn't give her a chance to vent, something will happen sooner or later.

It's not a deliberate accommodation, it's a minimum of respect... People and people, because of their educational backgrounds and birth environments, are bound to be very different, and the unnecessary face that is discarded at a critical time may be more important to some people than their lives, because this is the concept they have been instilled in since childhood, and they would rather die than be humiliated.

Forget it, for the sake of the interests of both parties, it is ...... anyway

"I'm sorry. ”

"Huh?!"

Before the black-haired wizard could react, Charlotte, who was frowning, had already put down the wine glass in her hand, stood up from her seat with a serious expression, put her palms together in front of her, and bent down.

Loren, who was not at all defenseless, sat stiffly in his chair, and looked at the countess who bowed to him in amazement, and the wine glass in his hand fell to the ground.

"Although I realized it later, I am not stupid......" slowly got up and puffed up her chest, the countess's expression was very calm, and her expression was calm:

"Your actions in the palace hall may seem rude, but in fact you saved my life... Otherwise, I'm afraid this palace has been dyed red with blood, and it has become a real 'Red Blood Castle'." ”

"Even if I can die with Gaspar, the death of Governor Byrne, the symbol of imperial power, in the palace of the Red Blood Castle will inevitably cause a heavy blow to the Turin family... Maybe one generation, or even two generations, won't be able to salvage the situation!"

"And you took a risky move to save me and the Turin family, shifting the target of Gaspar's hatred to yourself... I owe you this favor. ”

"You're welcome, Count, I'm only doing this because ......"

"I'm not afraid of death, but... I want to live, I want to restore the glory of the Turin family, which had fallen in the hands of Roland Turin, the 'Black Duke', and let the banner of the golden lion fly again on this land!" Charlotte's expression was resolute, and there was no trembling in her voice:

"In order to achieve my goal, even if it is a deal with the devil and evil gods, I will not hesitate to do it!"

Loren didn't speak, calmly staring straight into those eyes, bowing slightly.

Travel alone to the imperial capital and negotiate with Brandon de Salion... Even such a slim hope is not willing to give up, which is enough to show her determination.

There was a long silence, and the garden became very quiet at midnight.

"Other than that, I want to thank you. ”

The countess's voice was very slight, and the corners of her mouth raised seemed to want to smile, but the next moment it turned back to indifference.

The black-haired wizard looked at her, and stopped talking.

"Before today, no... It was before Gaspar could say that...... "Charlotte clutched her glass, and the bright red liquor syrup shook and shook in the glass:

"I absolutely can't imagine that he can do such an excessive thing, and trample the dignity of the Turin family under his feet without fear!"

"All along, I thought that he would at least be a little jealous of the golden lion of the Red Blood Castle, even if it was excessive, he should maintain equal respect, even if we lost the title of duke, we have controlled the Red Blood Castle for hundreds of years, and it is deeply rooted in this land, even if it falls, no one will dare to humiliate us!"

"I was wrong, and I was very wrong...... In Gaspar's eyes, the status of our two sides has never really been equal!"

Charlotte took a deep breath, and there was an unparalleled sense of humiliation in her voice: "In his eyes, we are just a puppet, and the so-called respect and courtesy are just fig leafs, reassuring tricks, as long as they are willing, they can trample us under their feet at any time!"

"I want to thank you... If it weren't for your presence, perhaps I would have been blinded by Gaspar's hypocritical mask, thinking that he still had some jealousy of the Turin family... Perhaps we will never see such a bloody truth as we do now!"

"Now that I've seen the truth, I'm not going to run away ... As you say, it's a game of war between the House of Turin and the Governor of Byrne. The countess looked determined:

"What do you need me to do?"

The black-haired wizard raised his eyebrows, picked up the wine glass that had slipped from the ground, and raised the corners of his mouth: "First of all... Be clear about your enemies. ”

"We can only fight against Gaspar, not Governor Byrne... And the empire behind it, which is a force that the current Red Blood Castle absolutely cannot contend with!"

Charlotte looked at him quietly, her eyes solemn.

"And now that the hearts of the people are panicked and torn apart, the Red Blood Fortress has lost its allegiance because of the confrontation between the Doge's Palace and the House of Turin - and now you have ten days to bring them back under the command of Turin, which is the best thing to do now. ”

"Conquer them with your skill and courage, so that they can only see the splendor and glory of the House of Turin, and see a powerful and unexpected Earl of the Red Blood Castle, not Charlotte Turin, who is burdened with responsibility and weight. ”

"Let them forget your gender, age, experience, and experience, and then bend their knees before the Earl of Crimson Castle. ”

Playing with the cup in his hand, Loren's playful expression was extremely serious: "We want to cut off the lackeys and wings of the Doge's Palace, and make the Red Blood Castle a monolith that they can't handle, so internal loyalty and stability are necessary." ”

"And with the integration of the Red Blood Castle, we can set our sights on all of Byrne... Turin is the family that ruled Byrne, and your old prestige can give you a lot of convenience, and your status as a woman can also make the other party ignore you to a certain extent, and not see you as a threat to them. ”

Woman......

Charlotte frowned slightly, but she also knew that what Loren said was true: "Isn't it too early to start uniting with other counts now......?"

"United? no... On the contrary, what you have to do is to find the contradictions between them, divert their attention, and then become a mediator in a situation where they are facing each other, and reap the benefits!"

The black-haired wizard slowly got up, took the wine glass from the countess's hand, and poured it into his empty cup: "Do you really think that the situation facing the Turin family and the Red Blood Castle is not what they want to see? or... Still loyal to the House of Turin, and have not made any secret agreements with Governor Byrne in private?"

"Rumors, rumors, turmoil, riots...... Keep your eyes peeled and you'll know who's behind the scenes, funding and pushing to turn things in their favor. ”

Looking at the silent Charlotte, the smiling Loren re-stuffed the wine glass in her hand:

"It doesn't matter. ”

"Whether they are enemies, friends, traitors, loyal subjects...... When the dust settles, they'll all have to quit the game;"

"Because the winners... There can only be one!"

Gently knocking on the countess's glass, Loren drank it down, then turned away.

Right now......

"Thank you!"

Charlotte, who suddenly spoke, stopped the black-haired wizard, but didn't look back, just smiled: "Didn't I say it, these ......"

"Thank you......" The countess's voice was a little frowning, but it was very decisive:

"Loren Turin!"