As winter drew to a close, it was time for the Typhon mission to leave Cecil.

In the Autumn Palace, the send-off banquet has been set, the band plays soft and cheerful music in the corner of the banquet hall, and under the magic crystal lamp, the shining metal tableware and the shaking wine glow with an intoxicating luster, a light and peaceful atmosphere permeates the hall, so that everyone who attends the banquet can't help but feel happy.

Matilda Augustus, dressed in a court dress, stood at the end of the long hall, and Rebecca, who was also dressed in formal court attire, ran to the exotic princess with a plate of small cakes, and greeted each other quite cheerfully: "Matilda! You're going back today, huh? ”

Rebecca and Matilda hadn't seen each other much in the past few days, but Rebecca was a cheerful person who was prone to good rapport — or rather, unilaterally. In the limited few exchanges she had, she was pleasantly surprised to find that Princess Typhon did have a good understanding of the fields of mathematics and magic, and that she was only promoting her image to maintain her intelligent personality as others had guessed at first, so they soon had a good common topic.

And the common thread brought them closer – at least that's what Rebecca thinks.

"I'll write to you," Matilda smiled, looking at the "Pearl of Cecil" in front of her, who were completely different from many aristocratic women she knew, they had equal status, but they lived in completely different circumstances, and developed completely different personalities, Rebecca's exuberant energy and informal habits of words and deeds made Matilda very uncomfortable at first, but after a few contacts, she also felt that this lively girl was not annoying, "Although the distance between Aldenan and Cecil City is long, But now that we have trains and direct diplomatic channels, we can continue to discuss issues in correspondence. ”

She smiled at Rebecca, who smiled back with a simpler, brighter smile.

Matilda actually had a little regret in her heart - when she first came into contact with Rebecca, she knew that this overly young girl was actually one of the important founders of modern magic technology, and she discovered the simplicity and frankness of Rebecca's character, so she once wanted to learn some real and useful secrets about cutting-edge magic technology from the latter, but after a few contacts, she and the other party were still limited to pure mathematical problems or conventional magic and mechanical techniques.

This straight-looking girl isn't as unsuspecting as she seems, she's just smart just right.

In Rebecca's bright smile, Matilda's regrets quickly melted away.

"You must tell me more about Aldernan as you write," Rebecca laughed, "I haven't been that far yet!" ”

"Of course, and I'd be more than welcome to Aldernan if I had the chance," said Matilda, "it's a friendly city, and there's a very nice view of the fog in the obsidian palace." ”

Rebecca showed a slightly yearning look, and then suddenly looked behind Matilda, with a very happy look on her face: "Ah! The ancestors are here! ”

Matilda immediately turned around, and sure enough, she saw Gawain Cecil, a tall man in a royal dress, walking towards her with a smile on her face.

The princess Typhon immediately took the initiative to step forward and saluted impeccably: "Hats you, Great Your Majesty Cecil. ”

Gawain accepted the other party's salute with a smile, then glanced at Rebecca standing next to him, and said casually: "Rebecca, didn't you make trouble today, did you?" ”

"No, no!" Rebecca immediately waved her hand and said, "I'm just talking to Matilda!" ”

"Rebecca is a wonderful friend, especially with her knowledge of mathematics, mechanics, and runes, which I admire," Matilda said politely, and naturally changed the subject, "Also, thank you very much for your hospitality these days—I have experienced first-hand the warmth and friendliness of Cecil, and I have witnessed the prosperity of the city." ”

"I hope this experience will leave you with enough good impressions, it will be a good start for both countries to enter a new era," Gawain nodded slightly, and then beckoned to the attendant next to him, "Matilda, before saying goodbye, I have prepared a gift for you and Rosetta Augustus the Great - this is my personal heart, I hope you will enjoy it." ”

Parting gifts for the upper nobility were a ceremonial and time-honored tradition, and the gifts usually consisted of swords, armor, or precious magic items, but Matilda instinctively thought that this gift from the legendary pioneer might be something special, so she couldn't help but look at the two squires who had stepped forward—they were holding delicate boxes in their hands, and judging by the size and shape of the boxes, it was clear that they could not be swords or armor or anything like that.

Soon, she saw what Gawain Cecil's gift was: a book, and a strange-looking metal cube.

Both were curious, and Matilda's eyes fell first on the metal cube - more incomprehensible than the book, it seemed to be a series of neat stacked blocks, each with different runes carved on the surface, which looked like some kind of magic prop, but did not see its specific use.

"It's called the Rune Cube, and it's for you," Gawain explained, "and it was first made in my spare time, and then my chief runemaster, Jenny, made some changes to it. You can think of it as a toy, or a tool to train your mind, and I know you're interested in math and runes, so this is the thing for you. ”

At Gawain's suggestion, Matilda curiously picked up the metal cube called the "Rubik's Cube" from the box, and was surprised to find that it was much lighter than she had imagined, and then she fiddled with it a little, and found that the small squares that made it up were actually movable - she twisted one side of the Rubik's Cube, and immediately felt a sinking in her hand.

Although she is not a mage herself, Matilda, who has a lot of knowledge of magic, immediately realizes the reason: the previous "lightness" of the Rubik's Cube was entirely due to some kind of weight-reducing rune at work, and as she turned the block, the corresponding rune was cut off.

Inside this block is supposed to be a small magic net unit to provide energy, and the series of small blocks that make up it allow the runes to be combined in various variations, and the wonderful magical power flows quietly in the rotation of the inanimate steel.

Matilda blinked, looking at the Rubik's Cube in her hand steadily.

It's as if you're looking at some kind of microcosm of magic technology.

It's just a toy...... But it doesn't seem to be just a toy.

Matilda, who at first felt a little strange because her gift was just a "toy", couldn't help but fall into thought, and in the midst of her thoughts, her eyes fell on another gift.

It was a small and modest book with a blue hard cover, and a handwritten gilded text on the cover:

Society and the Machine – Gift to Rosetta Augustus.

"This is a book recently compiled by scholars in our country, and it also contains some of my own thoughts on the development of society and the future," Gawain smiled faintly, "If your father has time to read it, it may help him understand the way we Cecil think." ”

Matilda's gaze slowly swept over the two things.

These are really two special gifts, each with a deep meaning worth pondering.

She laughed, ordered the attendant to take the two gifts and keep them safe, and then looked at Gawain, "I'll bring your kindness back to Aldenham—along with the documents and memoranda we signed, of course." ”

"This is where a new chapter of prosperity and peace begins," Gawain smiled as well, taking a glass of wine from his side and raising it slightly, "it's worth clinking glasses toasts to." ”

Matilda also raised her glass, and two crystal clear glasses made a crisp sound in mid-air: "For a new situation of prosperity and peace." ”

……

A feast, the guests and hosts are happy.

On the platform of the train to the East, the train carrying the Typhon mission glides gently, accelerating, and gradually moving towards the distant horizon.

Their departure and the agreement between the two sides will occupy a large part of tomorrow's newspapers, and will be the talk of the citizens of Cecil for some time to come, and then soon fade into obscurity, and ordinary people will continue their busy and fulfilling lives, and not many people will continue to pay attention to this matter except for businessmen with a keen sense of smell and officials whose duties lie.

And the long-term impact it will cause, the potential changes it will cause to the situation on this continent, will slowly ferment in a state that most people are not aware of, and immerse themselves in everyone's life little by little.

Rebecca stood on the terrace of the Autumn Palace, fiddling with a small gold pendant—a gift from Matilda—and she looked up, glanced in the direction of the edge of the city, and said with a hint of emotion, "Gone." ”

Gao Wen, who was standing next to him, turned his head when he heard the voice: "Do you like that Matilda very much?" ”

"Under normal circumstances, we might be good friends," Rebecca thought for a moment, then shook her head, "It's a pity it's a Typhon." ”

With a little curiosity, Gawain asked again, "What if you don't consider her identity?" ”

"It's okay to talk about it, she really likes and is good at mathematics and mechanics, at least it can be seen that she usually has serious research, but she is obviously thinking about something else, knowledge in the field of magic...... She claims it's her hobby, but it's probably only a small part of it," Rebecca said with a frown, "She's much more tired than I am." ”

Gao Wen looked at the girl with some surprise: "You can still feel such a profound thing?" ”

Rebecca immediately waved her hand: "Hey, the way girls communicate, you don't understand." ”

Gawain wasn't angry, just glanced at Rebecca with a little doting, and shook his head: "That Princess Typhon is indeed much more tired than you, and I can feel the tense atmosphere around her all the time - she is still a little younger, and she is not good at hiding it." ”

Rebecca listened to Gawain's words, but thought about it seriously, and muttered hesitantly: "Hey, Ancestor, do you think I should also learn something?" I'm a princess too, in case you lie down again one day......"

As soon as she was halfway through speaking, the girl reacted suddenly, and she didn't dare to say the second half of the sentence, but just craned her neck and looked up cautiously at Gawain's face - the girl's progress was that she was now able to realize that there were some things she could not say before she was beaten, and the regret was that the half of the sentence she said was still enough for the listener to complete the rest of the content, so Gawain's face suddenly became strange.

He looked at Rebecca with complicated eyes, and suddenly sighed in his heart - maybe one day, his reign will come to an end, and Rebecca ...... I'm afraid I can get him up again when he gets angry.

Thinking about it, he thought that he had better try to live, and strive to make this stupid roe deer king when the rule reached the end......

Rebecca didn't know what was going on in Gawain's mind (even if she knew, she probably didn't have any thoughts), she was just a little distracted, and then seemed to suddenly remember something: "By the way, Lord Ancestor, Typhon's mission is gone, then it should be the mission of the Holy Dragon Principality, right?" ”

Gawain was a little surprised that Rebecca would take this matter seriously, and then nodded: "Byron has already set off for the north, in addition to building the North Port, his other task is to meet the mission of the Holy Dragon Principality." In fact, according to the original plan, the envoys of the Holy Dragon Principality were to arrive in the south before the end of the cold month, but the mediation of letters between the two sides delayed for some time, and now it seems that when they arrive in the south, it will be at least the month of recovery. But that's fine, we can stagger the Typhonians, and we'll make it easier. ”

"That's good...... Rebecca narrowed her eyes and smiled expectantly, "they're Maggie's people...... I don't know if I can make friends. ”

Friend......

Gawain's eyes were deep, and he pondered the word quietly.

Dragonborns with mysterious backgrounds and unknown connections to the dragons of Talrond...... If it can really be pulled into the Cecil settlement area, it will be a good thing.