When night fell, the fiery sun sank silently into the earth, and the bright moon covered in stars and snow hung high in the sky, and the Red Blood Castle, which had been noisy for a whole day, still had no intention of falling silent, and joy and joy still filled every street and alley.

Banquets, banquets, banquets... There is probably no second people in the world who is more fond of feasting than the Byrnes! The peasants in the countryside at least once a month, and the nobles eager to have them every day.

Extravagant hospitality, from the tangy aroma of beef stew in red wine to the spicy and delicious red blood wine in the flames, as simple as the large and small family banquets in the town outside the city walls, the lighting of oil lamps and torches in the alleys, the setting up of tables and chairs, the real charcoal-grilled pig's trotters and the black bread to suppress hunger, accompanied by the new home-brewed wine, are just as refreshing.

Considering that many of the guests from outside may not be aware of Byrne's "banquet customs", Charlotte even set up long banquet tables in the city's large and small squares and main streets, piled with food and wine, for everyone to enjoy.

From the court of the Red Blood Castle to the outskirts of the town, countless crowds flowed through the streets and alleys lit by fire and lights, and the daytime market not only did not disperse, but became more lively.

In the market, on the roadside, in the hands of pedestrians, and from the doors of shops, peeking through the windows...... Twinkle and flicker in the snow, like the reflection of the Milky Way.

It is impossible for any ruler to suppress the surging passion when he sees such a city - sitting on such a prosperous city means an elite army, it means ample taxes, and it means that no matter how powerful the enemy, as long as the city is in hand, he will be invincible!

However, as the "master" of the city, the black-haired wizard at this moment did not feel the slightest pride, but stood very uneasily on the main altar of Byrne Cathedral, alone.

Byrne Cathedral, which used to be lively during the day, is now cold and there is no one in sight.

Of course, the banquet began, everyone went to the Red Blood Castle Palace, if it was okay, how could anyone come here on purpose?

But......

"Smack!"

The crisp sound, like the friction of high heels and bluestone slabs, made the black-haired wizard's hair stand on end.

The dark-haired wizard jerked his head back, and a familiar figure appeared in front of the church door, dragging a long shadow through the pitch-black church by the light outside the door, making it impossible for Loren to see her face clearly.

"Natsu, Charlotte?"

The expression was very uncalm, and the black-haired wizard who was a little flustered asked tentatively.

"Hmmm......"

With a lazy snort, the countess threw it away, and the delicate wine glass fell to the ground.

Loren shuddered again.

With drunken steps, Charlotte walked step by step from the gate to the black-haired wizard, and if Loren could still maintain a little calm at this time, he could detect that Charlotte was walking at the speed and appearance of Lena during the day, stepping on the "non-existent" red carpet on the floor.

It's a pity that Loren is panicking now.

I was very panicked.

Because according to what the little priest said before, there should be at least Webb, Charlotte and Ain who appear here now, plus him, a total of four people.

But now, four people have been reduced to two.

"You've been drinking?"

Loren asked tentatively.

"That's right, of course I've been drinking—it's a banquet today, and it's a feast!"

When he really walked in, Loren found that Charlotte in front of him was already full of wine, with a faint pink extending down her cheeks, and dyeing her ears and eyebrows red.

Loren suddenly remembered the scene when Charlotte was drunk before, and instinctively shrank back.

"Where are you going?!"

Charlotte immediately screamed.

"Not going anywhere!"

"Then why do you hide back, you are not allowed to hide ......" only two sentences, and the staggering countess revealed the nature of her drunkenness:

"Hide...... I just want to run!"

Well, Loren wants to run more now.

"You, you... You, you, you, you ......" staggered, Charlotte used a very "awkward" tone, drunkenly pointed at the black-haired wizard with her right hand, and asked, "Why don't you ask... Don't ask Al Ain and Webb about them... Where have you been?!"

"I... Should I ask?"

"Ask!

"Okay......" Moving back little by little, Loren twitched his throat, "Where did they go?"

"Who?" Charlotte asked deliberately.

"Al Ain and Webb. Loren resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Hee-hee-hee... Hey, hey, hey......" Charlotte, who was flushed, showed a smile that was very incompatible with her and had succeeded in the conspiracy: "That little priest, I asked Charles to explain to him, the time was changed to tomorrow morning......;

"I... Drunk her. ”

Well?!

"Look at your nervous appearance, worry!" Snorting coldly, Charlotte glanced at Loren: "Don't worry, she has been helped back to her room by Lena to sleep - she is drunk after only two bottles, and the Lothair people are really bad at drinking!"

twitching the corners of his mouth, Loren didn't dare to say a word.

"So, my dear Duke of Byrne, Loren Turin, guess what......" Charlotte pressed closer, little by little, "I am so deliberate, I try my best to get a chance to be alone with you......"

"Exactly, for what?"

"I... Belch... I don't know. ”

Loren smiled stiffly: "Why don't you tell me?"

Damn, there's no way back!

Reaching out and touching it, there is a statue of the Holy Cross behind him, and in front of him is a countess who is pressing step by step, with a "triumphant smile" on the corner of her mouth.

"I'm telling you? it's good......" Charlotte smiled brightly, and her expression suddenly changed: "I think actions are more direct than words!"

As soon as the words fell, the countess, who was shocked, was like a lioness who suddenly awakened, and pounced straight up!

It is not surprising that it may have been due to drunkenness, or more likely because the chivalric training of the dignified head of the Turin family, Miss Charlotte Turin, did not include the "rocket hammer" in her knightly training......

She stumbled.

"Poof!"

At the last second, the scrambled Loren had to take the initiative to meet and catch Charlotte who pounced steadily, of course, at the cost of a head hammer in the chest.

With inertia and impact, the two men collapsed under the statue of the Holy Cross.

Syllable!

Before Loren could get up, a drunken Charlotte grabbed his chest and thighs, crushing the black-haired wizard under him.

"Don't move!"

There was no need for her to "scold" at all, Loren had no idea of getting up at all, he really didn't move at all - he was now in a state where he was entangled like an octopus, and moving more would not help except "wrap it tighter".

The two were so close that Loren could hear her strong, determined heartbeat, and smell her perfume and the smell of wine in it.

"I know......" a drunken Charlotte muttered in a half-asleep tone, looking at Loren with a firm look: "What he said... It's all true. ”

"The messenger of the Church... Deacon Sylvik, what he said is true, all true—you, a fake Turin. ”

Loren slammed!

He almost instinctively wanted to get up, and then Charlotte pressed back with more firm force.

"Dalton Kander... He didn't hide it from me when he made this plan. With a watery gaze, he stared at Loren deadly:

"I saw with my own eyes that Guillaud Turin had died in Arles, and that Leonardo Turin, who had died drunk, did not want to return to Byrne, so he went to Lothair. ”

“... As for Guillaud Turin, he may have had a son, but even if he did, he would probably not be in this world anymore. ”

“... You met Leonardo around the third month of his arrival in Lothair... Two years later he died in a place called Wild Dog Village, so you go to Wimpal Academy......"

“... So, you start with Loren... became Loren Turin......"

Loren, who was motionless, kept observing Charlotte's expression.

"Don't worry, Lord Duke, your mentor didn't betray you—he did it to make me choose. Intermittently, Charlotte's voice became calmer: "Choose you or choose Turin." ”

"Hehehe... It's weird, I'm weird too, I chose your ......" in a low hum, with a thick self-deprecation: "I fought almost all my life for Turin, but in the end I gave up because of one person." ”

"But ah, I don't feel any pain, sadness — I don't know why, but I know I'm not sad, as if that's what I want, I feel... Feel... Liberation ......"

"I... There is no sense of emptiness that comes with loss, but relief... Like from some curse... Relieved ......"

Charlotte, who was muttering in a low voice, had a slight trance.

A drop of crystal sparkle passed across her cheek.

"Loren, I don't know what exactly you want to do... But I know that you are the same kind of person as the Black Duke, and that you are burdened with things that do not belong to you, but that you are constantly urging you to do, and that the survival of the Turin family is nothing compared to what you have to do......"

"But ah, Turin... She's still my family, she's still everything I have to fight for, I can't watch her disappear from this world for any reason, I can't;"

"When I can understand all this, I will know that the only option left for me is probably the last one left—and that is to tie the rise and fall of the Turin family to you. ”

Charlotte shuddered, her raised eyelashes bobbing up and down: "Even if you are not Turin, you must be Turin - you are Loren Turin, the Lord of Turin, the Lord of Byrne." ”

"You... It's our Knight King, my Knight King!"

Twitching his throat, Loren tentatively wrenched his hand away.

"Smack!"

There was a crisp sound, and her right hand was slapped by Charlotte like a crab about to escape.

"What do you want to do?!"

Charlotte, who was still in a trance just now, immediately returned to her drunk, but extremely vigilant appearance.

"No, what ...... not do"

"You want to run away?"

"No, no... Don't dare ......"

Loren immediately shook his head decisively, and instantly lost the majesty of the "Knight King".

Provided, of course, that this thing actually existed.

"Duke of Loren Turin, Lord Knight King......" Charlotte, whose eyes were misty and in a trance, pressed Loren under him, making him unable to move:

"For your sake, I give up my position as head of the Turin family, I promise you not to have a formal wedding, I am willing to stand with Ain under the statue of the Holy Cross with you and receive the blessing ......"

"I've given up so much, I've sacrificed so much, don't you think... Should I be compensated a little?"

Between the words, there was a hint of anger and grievance in Charlotte's tone.

"It should be, it must be!"

Loren nodded busily, but suddenly realized that something was wrong: "That, that... What do you want to do?"

"What for... I have made a special effort to clear the cathedral, and I have gone through so many troubles......" Charlotte murmured playfully, and laughed:

"What do you say?"

Well?!

Loren's face was full of horror.

He suddenly remembered Charlotte's expression when she was drunk last time, and she was almost unable to speak clearly, and she was definitely not as organized as she is now, blocking herself sentence by sentence to the point of being speechless.

Really... When I raised my head again, I saw that the countess was sneering slyly, and little by little she was pressed against the statue of the Holy Cross behind her.

The light outside the door illuminated the statue of the Holy Cross above the two of them, but the dark shadow completely enveloped the black-haired wizard in it.

Feeling the cold statue of the Holy Cross behind him and the fragrant fragrance in front of him, Loren suddenly had the illusion of "cornered......

"Charlotte, that... Otherwise, you calm down first, I think we might ...... like this."

"Calm down, you make me calm down ...... the good situation I've worked so hard to make," sneered, Charlotte took off her obstructive headdress and slammed her right hand around the black-haired wizard's throat:

"My Lord Duke, didn't you notice that you were cornered - even if you screamed at your throat, no one would come to save you!"

"What's more... Do you dare?"

"......" Loren Turin.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Charlotte smiled even more proudly.

The next second, Charlotte, who had opened her collar, slammed the black-haired wizard into her arms, as if trying to make him one with herself—just like Isaac held Lena during the day.

Although she has not spoken, it does not mean that Charlotte will not be jealous.

Feeling the slightly trembling body, the black-haired witch's body stiffened, struggling to get up.

"What for?!"

Charlotte was quite alert.

"I... I'm going to close the door. ”

"No, no one will come at this time!"

"Then you should... It's time for me to take my clothes off, right?!"

"Then there's no need for it......" The drunken girl had a thick smile in her tone, as well as momentum:

"Tonight, you're going to leave me lying here motionless!"