The grand bonfire burned, the bell tower in the distance rang melodious bells, and in the fragrance of the dying chrysanthemum that filled the city, Saint-Sunil began to be enveloped in a layer of hazy and dreamy smoke, and the firelight all over the city seemed to fight against the gradually deepening night, under the starry sky, creating the brilliance of a city.

This reminds people of the dark age that has become a legend, and the second pioneering that determined the fate of mankind - in the dark and chaotic demon tide, did the ancestors also light a huge bonfire like today, like a lighthouse in the darkness, guiding the compatriots who were lost in the depths of the demon tide to move closer to themselves?

This may be another implicit meaning of the bonfires that must be lit on the night of Anrehom.

Looking at the flickering firelight in front of him, and listening to the ceremonial officer read the long requiem prayer from the side, Welsh Moen was expressionless and silent, the titular ruler of Ansu stood like an outsider in the courtyard of the remembrance of Morn's ancestors, the little sparks rising from the bonfire rising and jumping in front of him, flying into the dark night with the steaming hot wind, gradually merging with the late autumn starry sky, in which he could not see the face of Charlie Moen, his distant and strange ancestor.

The middle-aged crown prince suddenly felt a sense of peace and tranquility enveloping him for no reason, and he caught a glimpse of a glow in the air, and turned his head to see Veronica Moen in a long white dress standing beside him.

On the breast of the princess, a small white flower was blooming under the nourishment of the holy light, holy and beautiful.

"Good evening, brother." Veronica said with a faint smile on her face that seemed to never change.

"Veronica......" Welsh Moen looked at his genius sister with some surprise, "shouldn't you pray in the cathedral?" ”

"Today is Rehom Day, the first Requiem Day since my father's death," Veronica said lightly, "The Lord will be forgiving." ”

This was not something that a textbook-like "princess" could say, but Wales Moen knew that his sister had behaved as an extraordinary person since she was a child, that she always had her own ideas, and that there were always countless clever reasons to make her behavior seem logical, so he just nodded slightly and didn't ask any more questions.

After an awkward moment of silence, Wales took the initiative to speak: "The Duchess of Victoria has been here, and she has told me something. ”

"You're going to be king."

Wales was a little surprised: "How would you know?" ”

"It's not hard to guess that the situation is such that the Duke Regent doesn't have many options, and today is Requiem's Day, and in front of the ancestors, it is only right for her to tell you this," Veronica said calmly, and then bent down slightly, "Brother, congratulations." ”

Wales frowned imperceptibly, he didn't want to hear this, he looked into Veronica's eyes, which were as gentle and trusting as ever, but in his eyes they were like a vivid forgery carved from precious stones—magnificent, beautiful, but lifeless, a look that was neither malicious nor kind, and he couldn't help but turn his head awkwardly.

It seemed that no one had ever felt anything strange about the princess's temperament, and everyone regarded her as a gift from heaven, as a symbol of all the good spirits of Ansu, but Wales always felt a strange feeling when Veronica was very young when he was with this sister, and under this strange pressure, he would try to avoid being alone with Veronica - but today was Requiem Day, and he had no reason to leave the courtyard early.

So he could only stay here and try to change the topic: "I heard that after the Holy Cult Army entered the battlefield, the situation of the Kingdom Army is gradually improving......"

"It's only gotten better enough to have a stalemate with the rebels in the East," Veronica replied, "and a big part of the stalemate is that the weather is getting cold—winter fighting is bad for both sides." ”

“…… Yes, I didn't expect that," Wales smiled self-deprecatingly, "you see, I'm not fit to be king, I can't even think of that." ”

"No one is born fit to be king, you've just been away from Silver Castle for too long," Veronica said as she looked at the campfire in the courtyard, and after a pause of a few seconds, she suddenly uttered something that seemed to be headless, "...... This year's Rehom Day has twice as many bonfires as in previous years. ”

Wales was stunned for a moment, and then reacted: "It's because of the war." ”

"The dead will return to the kingdom of the gods, and the unbelievers will fall into the house of the god of death, and the souls will have their own place, but people are willing to believe that the souls of the dead will go home with the living on the petals of the death chrysanthemum...... Brother, do you believe that those souls will come back and watch us in the firelight? ”

Wales couldn't help but look at the great fire in the courtyard, the bright flames jumping in the night sky, and there was nothing in the hazy curtain of flames and smoke, but he couldn't help but think of the moment in those shaking curtains the face of Francis II, the old king with his scepter, looking at him with a blank face, without any expectation in his sight.

"I hope they can rest in peace in the kingdom of God," Wales said, looking at Veronica beside him, "What about you?" As a living saint of the God of Light, can you see our Father and our ancestors in the firelight? ”

Veronica was silent for a moment, then turned away: "I can't see anything. ”

Me too—said Wales Moen in his heart.

Then he looked up and watched as the smoke from the campfire drifted straight into the night sky, merging with more smoke at a great distance, and the smoke from countless campfires merged into a huge cloud of smoke, and the stars gradually blurred.

At night, a huge bonfire burns in Place de la Blazer, the largest square in Cecil City.

The mechanical bell in the center of the city rang eight times, and a huge plastic hand floated over the bonfire, sprinkling the powder of the mixture of black stone and igsphostone into the fire, and with a slight explosion, the flames of the bonfire suddenly became unusually bright and grand.

The crowd gathered around the fire let out a loud cheer, and with the cheers that shook the city, the large magic net terminal set up in the square was activated, and a huge holographic projection appeared over the square.

Along with the Magic Net Terminals, located in several other squares of the city, in several surrounding cities, and in each of the town squares along the cross axis of the Duchy of Cecil, it was activated.

On this night, almost all the people gather around the bonfire, and almost all the large bonfires are located in the squares of the various towns.

The Cecil people were no strangers to this "miracle of magic", they did not make a fuss, they did not panic, people just looked up curiously, looking at the figure that gradually appeared on the projection.

Gawain Cecil's figure appeared on it.

"Good evening, citizens, I am your lord."

The crowd was a little surprised, some of them reacted and immediately took off their hats to salute the holograms in the square, while some innocent children shouted happily, and some daring children pointed to the holograms: "Look! Suzerain!! ”

The reckless child was immediately stopped by the adults, and the lord's voice continued to come from the holographic projection:

"Today is Requiem Day, a day for us to remember the departed. The origin of this holiday was to commemorate a nobleman, and today we use it to honor our parents and brothers, and to commemorate our departed relatives and friends......

On the Pioneer Square, Betty stared at the large campfire in front of her in a daze, and she listened to the lord's voice coming from the hologram behind her, silently in a daze.

"In the early spring of the year 375, a catastrophe befell Old Cecil, and countless people left this world on that day......"

The night breeze with smoke and dust woke Betty from her daze, and she watched as the people around her began to throw branches into the fire, so she also picked up the small branches that had been prepared, took a few steps forward, and threw them into the fire with a little clumsiness.

The little branch was soon engulfed in flames, and the little maid looked at the bright flames with some astonishment, and in her less brilliant mind, each flame beat as if it were turning into a face.

Mrs. Hansen...... Mrs. Morris...... Uncle Taylor......"

Betty muttered softly, muttering the names she had struggled to remember, and then suddenly bent down and bowed hard—with that signature momentum, as if to throw herself out.

"I survived!"

A figure passed over Betty, it was Rebecca, who was also holding a branch in her hand, the heir of the Cecil family also threw the branch in her hand into the fire, and the flickering light of the fire reflected on her face, this always reckless girl was also rare at this moment, she stood quietly for a while, and then said softly: "We have survived eight hundred and eighty people...... Father, I did my best. ”

Hetty came to Rebecca at some point: "Everything is going well now, and Rebecca has grown a lot......"

Behind them, Gawain's holographic projection still floated above the square, and his voice vibrated the air, reaching far, far away: "...... To all the civilians who have unfortunately died, may your souls rest in peace, and to all the soldiers who have died, I salute you...... May the departed rest in peace, and rest assured that Cecil will move on, I assure you all......

"To all the living and the dead, good night."

The holographic projections in the square gradually disappeared, and the people were quiet in solemnity, and in the "studio" of the magic net control center, Gawain stepped down from the platform used to collect holograms.

Amber approached from the side, and the half-elf had a wicked smile on his face: "Are you deviant again—it's always the commoners who commemorate the nobles, and it's the first time you've had a nobleman commemorate the commoners, and they 'salute' ......"

Gawain exhaled slightly: "From now on, at least in the land of Cecil, Requiem Day will be a thorough, ordinary anniversary...... Even scholars who specialize in history will no longer be obsessed with the original origin and meaning of Requiem. ”

"So your purpose is really to hope that everyone will not continue to celebrate your death day with singing and dancing in the future~~"

Gao Wen quietly glanced at Amber, who seemed to be begging again, but saw the unnaturalness in the depths of this half-elf's eyes.

He asked, "Don't you have any relatives to remember?" ”

Amber looked away: "I don't even know what my parents are called, and I'm not even sure if they're really dead, and who to remember." ”

"What about your adoptive father?"

Amber didn't say a word, and didn't whisper until a few seconds later, "...... He was a thief wanted by the nobles, and was purified by the Priest of the Light when he died...... ...... during a bonfire on Rehom Day There is no place for him. ”

Gawain looked at Amber's face, and he finally knew why this half-elf was so obsessively hostile to all Light Priests.

"Your adoptive father...... What crime was committed? ”

"I just wanted to find a book from the church, but I accidentally knocked over the candle that the local lord had offered in the church. As I said a long time ago, he's a crappy thief......"

There was a moment of silence in the room, and after a moment of silence, Gawain broke the silence: "I can't reverse that purification, but as the ruler of the South, I can pardon your adoptive father." What's his name? ”

Amber looked at Gawain in surprise before reacting, "Surrey...... His name is Surrey Randolph......"

Gawain was a little surprised: "He has a surname?" ”

"Well, he has a last name, I asked him, but he didn't say anything...... Later, I also investigated many family genealogies in the south, but I couldn't find this surname. ”

"That's so......," Gawain exhaled, "maybe it's a declining aristocratic vassal." In short, Surrey Randolph is innocent. ”

A pardon does not bring the dead back to life, let alone recall the souls of the fallen from the lowest level of the land of the dead, but many times, what people want is not a practical meaning, but only a relief.

Gawain patted Amber lightly on the shoulder, "While the bonfire is still burning, let's go." ”

In the next second, the figure of this half-elf had disappeared into thin air.