Claude is more than 1.9 meters tall, which makes him need to look down when talking to Liu Ci.

From the perspective of his sight, Liu Ci's thick eyelashes are a pair of flying black eyes, the eye waves are unbearable, and the thick black hair is fixed behind the ears by the new pearl hair ornament, when she talks to you, the bottom of the eyes is as clear as the egg white that has just been peeled, and the trance contains too many deep meanings.

Innocence and sophistication merge in the girl in front of her.

Claude knew that it was rude to look directly at a young lady for too long, but some vague memories overlapped Liu Ci with the shadow of an old man. This made him go against his usual calm and reticent image, and almost answered Liu Ci's questions.

At this time, Liu Ci asked again: "Did you just say that you just returned to Rhine City?" Where did you stay before that? ”

Claudra's thoughts were just the same rare black hair and black eyes, if it was really Rachel, how dare she appear in Rhine City now. What's more, Rachel won't fail to know him.

"Oh, I just got back from the parish of Srmont."

Having lived in the Rhine City for a while, Liu Ci also knew some common sense. For example, the Papal Forces, which spread throughout the Magic Continent, divided a vast territory, including the three empires, into eight major dioceses.

The "Diocese of Selmont" in Claude's mouth is one of the eight dioceses, encompassing a large area of the Spur Kingdom south of the Rhine. The diocese is usually used to refer to the territory to the most devout members of the Church and the Holy See...... What kind of Claude is?

Claude replied vaguely, seemingly reluctant to bring up his presence in the parish of Selmont.

"I would like to ask, what about you, are you preparing to settle in the Rhine City?"

Liu Ci smiled slyly: "That's not for sure, it depends on whether there is an existence in Rhine City that is worth letting me stay." ”

Claude raised his glass: "Hope you'll love it." ”

In the whispered conversation, probably because Clyde's identity was passed among the guests, seeing that he and Liu Ci had a good conversation, and the others did not have the previous embarrassment, from time to time someone raised a glass to Liu Ci, the host of the banquet, and under the beautiful music of the harp, the dinner party finally became lively.

"Thank you."

Liu Ci drank the rest of the wine in the glass and thanked Clyde.

The polite knight smiles, and the intelligent human exchange never needs to be over-explained.

Hundreds of candles from the ceiling of the rotunda illuminate the banquet hall as if it were daylight, maids roaming among the guests with fresh food and wine, and ladies laughing at the best jokes.

When Liu Ci looked into the shadows on the second floor again, the hot Rachel was gone.

Seeing that someone squeezed forward to talk to Claude, Liu Ci left alone and went to the second floor.

Looking from where Rachel had just stood, her eyes were on Claude Striff. In retrospect, it was because the handsome knight saw the rose pattern differently from the others that she walked towards Claude.

While thinking, Liu Ci knocked on Rachel's door.

Quietly, she made her way to the small terrace on the top floor of the small building, where Rachel was sitting.

The night wind blew the girl's navy blue mage robe fluttering, and under the hood, Liu Ciwan's eyes were red and swollen, and Fang Cai must have cried fiercely.

"Is there anything you haven't told me yet, Rachel?"

Rachel bit her lip, "Claude Stlev, it's mine...... Fiance. ”

Liu Ci raised his eyebrows and did not hide his surprise: "Your fiancé? ”

No wonder she was surprised, Liu Ci tried her best to find out about the news about the Lorentz family, including the in-laws and close friends who were implicated in the "treason" of the Lorentz family, and she didn't know that Rachel had a "fiancé" who had been married since childhood. Thinking of the news she heard during the banquet with a power beyond ordinary people's ears, Liu Ci's brows furrowed:

"He is the son of the Marquis of Strave."

The tone of affirmation is not refuted by Rachel. The girl nodded, and suddenly added with a stroke, "Six years ago, the Marquis of Strave, just Mr. Earl. ”

Liu Ci's brows furrowed even tighter, "It's a good thing you didn't show up tonight." ”

The surname Stleiff is very famous in the Rhine, because the current Marquis of Stref is also the lord of the Rhine.

Six years ago, there were two families of equal power in the Rhine.

One is the Lorenz family, which focuses on mage training, and the other is the Stlev family, which focuses on swordsmanship.

The Lorenz family was wiped out overnight, and the Stryth family, who had a marriage contract, was not only unaffected, but Count Stref also became the "Marquis" given by the Spur Empire, and changed the old habit of alternating between the previous two families, and became the unique "city lord" of Rhine City for six years.

Liu Ci had learned about the "Strave Family" when he inquired about the distribution of various forces in Lai Studios before, and of course he thought that it was just a lucky guy who took advantage of the bad luck of the Lorentz family and expanded smoothly in the city.

But Rachel has confirmed that Claude Strave, the only son of the Marquis of Strave, is her unmarried.

Six years ago, in the treason case of the Lorentz family, all the in-laws and close friends who were involved with the Rachel family were suffered, and Rachel's fiancé's family was not only not damaged at all, but went to the next level...... The fact that Clyde Striff and Rachel Cappado Lorenz were once fiancés has been silenced in the city of the Rhine, like the Lorenz family's iconic rose.

Betrayed his in-laws?

The Straiff family reaped all the benefits after the fall of the Lorentz family, which made Liu Ci have to be so suspicious.

patted Rachel on the shoulder, Liu Ci had never encountered this kind of betrayal by her fiancé, and it was too fake to say any comforting words.

She only told Rachel that the truth hidden under the song and dance would eventually surface in the future - whether it was the reason for the fall of the Lorentz family, or the "magic star theory" that implicated Liu Ci himself.

……

After spending a while on the terrace with Rachel, Claude Striff had already left when Liu Ci went downstairs.

Her eyes were dark, and it was a "pity" in the eyes of others.

A noble girl wearing a group of court ladies wearing aqua blue, with brown hair slightly curled and a jeweled headdress pinned to one side, suddenly said quickly: "Hillbilly, Claude is not delusional for people like you!" ”

Probably thinking that there was music to cover up, and there was no one nearby, the sarcastic smile on the noble girl's face seemed unscrupulous.

Her chin was slightly raised, revealing a white and soft neck, like a proud swan patrolling the world.

Liu Ci squinted at her, and suddenly pointed to the pearl necklace around her neck and sneered: "This is not the style of two years ago?" I'm a hillbilly, and you're not also the daughter of a poor aristocracy. Does Mr. Claude know who you are? Did he say hello to you before he left? ”

Liu Ci tossed enough to the jewelry shop in the city for the pearl hairpin on her head, and she had an excellent memory and saw at a glance that the necklace of the girl in blue to support her face was the style of two years ago.

You can eat anything, but you can't lose anything; Anything can be accepted, but only "qi" can't accept it. Liu Ci immediately choked back, and the aristocratic girl in the puffy skirt of the water blue court opened her eyes wide, she really didn't expect Liu Ci's mouth to be so poisonous.

"Uncultured hillbilly!"

It was impossible to say that Liu Ci could stay, and the aristocratic girl hated to drop a sentence and ran away with her skirt.

Liu Ci was dumbfounded, this thing was standing in her house, eating the top-notch truffles prepared by the Liu family, drinking the equally valuable "Lei Jin", and she was embarrassed to say that her master was an "uneducated hillbilly"?

She sneered secretly, her fingertips already mixed with the only "bad luck charm" that had been successful so far, and put the spontaneously combusting paper charm into a glass of red wine. After the rune paper was burned, the color of the wine was still clear, she pulled a maid beside her, whispered a few words in her ear, and the maid took the glass of wine and left.

The maid followed Liu Ci's instructions, saying that this glass of wine was given by an admirer, and the blue group of aristocratic girls drank the wine like a little peacock, Liu Ci watched from a distance and couldn't help laughing.

A slightly chubby young man leaned over, "What did you do to Adeline?" ”

Liu Ci made a straight face: "Peeping is not a gentleman's behavior. ”

The young man didn't apologize at all: "Adeline is just a nasty girl. Forgot to introduce himself, Stuart Garland, not a nobleman. Live at 17 Champagne Avenue and, oh, happen to be your neighbor. ”

There are no magic element fluctuations on his body, and there is no fighting spirit, and as Stull himself said, he is not a nobleman.

He was a merchant, or the son of a merchant, who lived on the Avenue de Champagne.

"Self-cooked" turned out to be regardless of regional culture, this kid changed his method to ask why Liu Ci gave the burned paper ashes to a noble girl named Adeline to drink, a slightly chubby, laughing eyes like a crescent moon young man is easy to make people feel good, but this smile is very infectious If the young man is a "chatter" at the same time, the situation will make people love and hate.

Liu Cigang couldn't help but tell him to shut up, it was probably the rune power that had taken effect, and the aristocratic girl Adeline had already exclaimed.

I don't know what kind of brain this girl has, Liu Ci is just talking nonsense, she wishfully thinks that it is another young male guest who is as handsome as Clyde, the son of the city lord, who gave her wine, Adeline ran to refuse the love of others with "righteous words", and the newlywed wife next to the male guest was dizzy angrily, and couldn't help but splash her a glass of wine in public.

In recent years, the Holy See has advocated the protection of women's rights, and men and women who marry in the presence of the Church are considered to enjoy the protection of the God of Light, the rights of wives are sacrosanct, and the bad practice of husbands and lovers openly going out of the same way in high society is strictly forbidden. Adeline was just poured a glass of wine, and the other wife's did not do too much.

Adeline is very unlucky, the famous playboy of the Rhine City is actually getting married! 's wife is still a foreigner who everyone doesn't know, which makes her lose face in front of everyone.

When she was hurriedly taken away by her parents, Adeline fell again at the door of the obviously smooth round hall.

The maid on the side didn't have time to dodge, and was pounced on by Adeline, the newly baked barbecue paste on Adeline's face, and under her loud screams, the aqua blue court dress that was originally tightly strangled...... It's open.

Her parents were so ashamed that the guests couldn't bear to look at Adeline now: the new dress had been splashed with wine of a strange color, her hair was stained with barbecue sauce, and one side of the skirt had to be covered with both hands.

Everything in front of her is too cruel for an aristocratic girl who frequently appears in various social situations to try to catch a good husband.

Adeline, an aristocratic girl accustomed to a posture, ran out of the rotunda almost crying, and her parents did not have the face to stay and slipped.

The guests talked a lot, and the ladies who were generous on the surface but were actually not, they were too bored to live in space, and Adeline's scandal was a big "talking point" for them that could be excited for a long time. With the help of these big mouths, everything that happened at today's banquet will soon spread throughout the social circles of Rhine City, and it is estimated that Adeline's limelight will be above Liu Ci, who is holding a banquet in a rose dress, and Clyde Dress, the son of the city lord, who appears in a low-key manner.

This is undoubtedly a devastating blow to a declining aristocratic girl who frequently haunts various social occasions and tries to catch a high-class husband by virtue of her beauty.

Not surprisingly, for a long time in the future, Liu Ci will not see this girl again when attending various banquets.

The effect of the Bad Luck Charm made her very satisfied.

Whoever makes her uncomfortable at all, Liu Ci will make the other party very uncomfortable. Wouldn't it be too much? Liu Ci, who has three views of the gods, has long been fed to the dog, is not guilty at all.

If other guests were excited but ignorant to discuss Adeline's ugly appearance, Stull Garland, a chubby young man who had the privilege of watching the process, looked at Liu Ci's eyes and was shining.

Don't say that Adeline is inexplicably ugly, and it has nothing to do with Liu Ci's actions just now! Pigs won't believe it...... But how did Liu Ci do it?

Stull Garland was curious.

When Liu Ci turned her head, she found that the other party was looking at her with a puppy-like gaze.

She makes a "I won't tell you" expression, and Stull's eyes droop innocently, trying to be cute.

This person is cheeky and self-cooked, so much like the Zhou family kid who used to be around her all day long, Liu Ci thought of the brainless fan Zhou Gongzi, and suddenly missed the feeling of being put in the "first place" and respecting everything.

Sturt Garland, an ordinary man who knows neither magic nor vindictiveness? Liu Ci squinted, a good fart can still be annoying, and it is also a talent.

Great talent must be retained.

"Stull Garland, right, you want to know why?"

Stull nodded his head, selling cuteness naturally, not knowing that he had been remembered by Miss Blackheart.

Many years later, when Stull Garland thinks about this night, he will feel a mixed feeling of regret and happiness...... His life can be summed up as a cross mantra: a good young man, a handful of bitter tears.

………………

Claude Straef rode out of town on a white horse.

A large estate on the outskirts of the city, including the former fiefdom of the Lorenz family, now belongs to the Stleve family. Since the "treason" six years ago, Claude has rarely remembered his fiancée, Rachel Lorenz, who was only 12 years old six years ago.

The two were eight years apart in age, and the marriage was decided by his father, the Marquis de Strave, as soon as Rachel was born. Oh, and at that time he was still the Count of Stlev, and the Stlev family had just moved to the Rhine.

The Countes of Lorenz and his wife were both great magicians, and with their status as hereditary nobles, his father once told him that this was the most suitable marriage for him in the Rhine.

Claude was noncommittal, he was born into an aristocratic family and could not marry a commoner, and his background had long been destined to leave marriage to his own decision. Anyway, when he is at the right age, it doesn't matter who the girl is to Claude.

When he inherits the title, the other party will be the countess, who will help him socialize and take care of family chores, and his wife, who is also from a noble family, will do everything perfectly.

But the marriage with Rachel was different from what he imagined.

Rachel was much smaller than him.

It was only when he first went with his father to visit the Count of Lorentz that Rachel began to babble.

He was almost nine years old at the time, and he looked like a little adult.

When he was twenty years old, the age when other aristocratic young men could get married, Rachel was a twelve-year-old girl. The girl with long black hair neatly draped behind her was a little shy in his memory, and he called him "Brother Claude" softly, and he subconsciously only regarded Rachel as a little sister, not a candidate for a future wife.

At that time, he had another secret, and he didn't have a reason to take Rachel.

It was just an unremarkable summer, and the atmosphere in the Rhine suddenly became tense. The father came home later and later, and several times asked him vaguely what he thought of his little fiancée.

What he thought, Claude couldn't remember what he answered perfunctorily at the time.

It wasn't until the Royal Knights of the Spurs attacked Lorentz Manor at night with spears in hand and captured all the important figures of the Lorentz family that Clyde knew that something had happened to the Lorentz family.

Later, the treason incident in which the Count of Lorenz and his wife were "hanged" in an undisclosed trial caused a lot of uproar, and neither the official announcement nor the grapevine of the Rhine City ever mentioned the only daughter of the Count of Lorenz, Rachel Lorenz.

The twelve-year-old girl suddenly lost all news and knew whether she was alive or dead.

My father didn't know why, but shortly after the accident of the Lorenz family, he first stood up to preside over the overall situation, took over the position of lord of the city, and was later given the title of "Marquis" by His Majesty the King.

The five-class titles of "duke, marquis, uncle, son, and male" in the empire involve the hereditary system, and it is very difficult to rise to each level.

What credit can be made to be mentioned as a "marquis" quietly?

It's not that Claude doesn't know a lot of things, he just doesn't bother to think about it. Memories of his teenage years gradually faded into obscurity, and he rarely remembered Rachel, the little sister who called him "Brother Claude".

On this time, the diocese of Szrmont returned to the Rhine, and he went with Stull Garland, whom he had met in other places, and at the repeated invitation of Stuart Garland, he went to the Champagne Boulevard as a guest.

Stuart held up the invitation and said he would invite him to a big meal prepared by his neighbors.

Claude was pestered by him and agreed to go, but he didn't expect to see not only the long-disappeared rose flower pattern of the Lorenz family's symbol, but also a tall and beautiful girl.

The same black hair and black eyes, but it is not the "Rachel Cappado Lorenz" that he knows.

It's just an imaginary outlander, Claude thought, maybe little Rachel is living alone somewhere on the continent at this time, like the host of tonight's banquet?

This may be too small, Clyde came back to his senses and pulled the reins, and the housekeeper of the house looked respectful and happy:

"Master Claude, the Marquis has been waiting for you for a long time."

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In the two-in-one chapter, the character "Claude Striff" of the book friend "Oops" has appeared, everyone is welcome.