Perhaps because of the unhappiness of the day, at the banquet at night, Louis, as the host, only showed one face, made a speech, and left. Archbishop Benedict, as a priest of simple practice, was naturally not suitable for such an occasion, so although the banquet was hosted by Tamska, the host did not entertain him, which could not help but appear extremely insincere and polite.

Of course, for the ill-conceived Fegraf, Temusca and Northway, this superficial rudeness was not enough to shake them.

The venue of the banquet was held on the mansion of a rich man in the city of Vortagen, of course, the rich man who was the original owner of this mansion was naturally not in the territory of Vortagen.

Since the riots in the Vortagan Territory, most of the local nobles and wealthy merchants have left the place, and with the arrival of the Tamska forces, there are really not many people in the Vortagan Territory who are qualified to attend this banquet, and most of them are bureaucrats from Whitehorse City. However, in the absence of Duke Louis, these people will naturally not be very active.

The people of Figlaf and the people of Northway each occupied a part of the banquet hall, forming two relatively independent circles, and the atmosphere of confrontation made the atmosphere of the banquet extremely dull.

However, as family members, Arnold and the Duke of Æthelwolf naturally could not be so cold, on the surface, they were still quite harmonious and laughing, and Arnold also showed enough respect for the elder Duke of Æthelwolf.

"I'm really surprised by the climate in Vortagenterritory, even by the sea, the city of Vodahara is already snowing, and it's still a hot summer scene, if you haven't been here yourself, it's hard to believe. ”

The Duke of Æthelwolf avoided business, and only chatted with Arnold about some news.

"When I first came here, I was amazed. Recalling that escape, Arnold couldn't help but think of Lily again, "It's also because of such a special climate, so Blackstone Peak has the legend of Lagres." ”

"Lagres......" Duke Æthelwolf stroked the beard on his chin, his eyes deepened a little, "that kind of legend is just a legend, if such a terrible being is around, how can there be a living person in the Vortagan Domain?"

Arnold didn't answer, and looking at the look on Duke Æthelwolf's face, he could roughly guess that the other party was thinking of the threat that Northville was currently facing.

"But then again, do you really mean nothing to my daughter?" Immediately changing the subject, a smile quickly piled up on Duke Æthelwolf's face, "Although she is my eldest daughter, she is actually about the same age as you, so you don't need to worry. Moreover, the little girl's appearance is also very good, not that I boast, the men of our Northway family may be plain, but the girls can still be called beautiful. ”

As he spoke, the Duke of Æthelwolf burst out laughing, but Arnold knew that the other party's seemingly open-minded performance was actually a test of his attitude towards the Covenant.

"As I said before, I agree with the alliance, but not with the marriage. Arnold kept a polite smile, but his attitude did not back down in the slightest, "Now we are in the direct line of Figraf and my two younger sisters, so I don't want to weaken and divide the inheritance of the direct line. ”

"Oh, is it?" said Duke Æthelwolf, raising his eyebrows, "but your two sisters are going to marry after all, and if you are worried about inheritance, shouldn't you get married as soon as possible and give birth to an heir?"

The armored knight behind Duke Æthelwolf coughed twice, and the Duke also stopped. Although they are elders, it is really inappropriate to talk about the inheritance of another family in this way.

Arnold also followed the voice and looked at the armored knight, who was so heavily armed at the banquet, which was really eye-catching. Correspondingly, the topic just now was naturally deliberately forgotten.

"May I ask who this is?" Arnold looked at the armored knight for a moment, "no offense, but is it too formal?"

Duke Æthelwolf glanced back at the knight and smiled deeply.

"Oh, haven't you heard of him?"

Arnold frowned, the other party's whole body was covered under the armor, and he couldn't even see his face, how could he know who this person was, even if he had heard of it, it was impossible to tell it.

"I guess, Your Excellency is a Lion Knight, right?" Titus, who had been standing behind Arnold, spoke at this time, "It is said that a Lion Knight is a person who will never lay down his weapon at any time, even when he is bathing, his sword will always be kept in his hand, Your Excellency's strict style, I can only think of the Grand Master of the Lion Knights, the Lion Knight." ”

Arnold looked at the knight in full armor with some surprise, he had heard of the name Lion Knight, it did not refer to a certain person, or a specific name, and all those who held the position of Grand Master of the Lion Knights would inherit this title. But that's all he knew about the Lion Knight, at least the anecdotes that Titers had just said, he had never heard of.

The Knight in Armor did not speak, neither denied nor admitted, and did not seem to care about praise or disapproval of himself.

This made Titus a little embarrassed, and the other party's attitude seemed to be that he had no intention of talking to him.

"Ahem, then again, there's one thing I want to ask you. Duke Æthelwolff coughed, and he also had a slight headache about the attitude of his subordinates, "As an older person, I naturally care more about the marriage of my younger generation than you young people, and I can take the liberty of asking if the reason why you are reluctant to marry is because of you...... Already have a candidate you want?"

Arnold looked at the face of the Duke of Æthelwolf, for at the banquet the Duke must have drunk some wine, so his face was somewhat ruddy, and he also concealed a little of his old age.

"Even though you asked, it's hard for me to answer that question. He lowered his head slightly, hiding his eyes, "I don't want my sister to lose the happiness of her life because of political marriage, and I personally do the same, women are weak and have no right to choose in marriage, I don't want that kind of sorrow to happen to my sister, and naturally I don't want such a tragedy to be imposed on others." ”

"But you've brought your cousin, Mademoiselle Mathilde. The Duke of Æthelwolff smiled, perhaps because of the wine, and his words were slightly mocking.

"As I said before......," Arnold turned his face and looked in the other direction, "I just took her to see the Vortagan Territory." ”

"Well, the unique scenery of Vortagencollar is indeed worth admiring. The Duke of Æthelwolf nodded heavily, his movements a little funny, but they also concealed the embarrassment of the false statement.

"You look a little drunk. Arnold stood up, ready to end the conversation, "I beg my pardon for taking my leave. ”

"Well, I'm a little drunk. The Duke of Æthelwolfh also stood up and let the armored knight support him, "See you tomorrow, then, Your Excellency Duke Arnold." ”

"See you tomorrow, Your Excellency Duke of Æthelwolf. Arnold watched the other man walk away, and stood there for a long time.

"This duke......" Titus frowned, twisting his cheeks as if he had a toothache, "and that's true...... Whatever. ”

"But also to cover himself up very well. Arnold turned, "He's not drunk, he's even more sober than me, but he knows when he's going to be 'drunk.'" ”

"Worthy of Northway...... Titus sighed, "Are you going back too?"

"Well, this banquet is too boring, I'm going to go back and rest first, let our people be a little more restrained, I don't want to see my men all drunk tomorrow. ”

"Rest assured. ”

As they spoke, they came to the door of the banquet hall.

"Can I talk to you?" a man seems to have been waiting here for a long time," said Cousin Arnold. ”

Arnold stopped.

"You go first, Titus. ”

Titus looked at the aristocratic lady, frowned and thought for a moment, and suddenly remembered something.

"Hmm, yes, I'll quit first, Lord Duke. ”

After Titus left, Arnold continued on his way.

"What do you want to talk to me about, Cousin Michelia?"

Michelia followed Arnold, and the two of them walked to the balcony where no one was present. The cool breeze of the night blew on her face, calming down Michelia a little after drinking.

"I heard you're against marriage?"

Arnold turned her back to Michelia, but out of the corner of her eye, she quietly looked behind her.

Indeed, if the marriage is related to your marriage, if it has had a bad effect on you, then allow me to apologize to you. ”

Michelia looked at Arnold's back calmly, and she didn't hear any sincerity in apology from the other party's words.

"You don't have to apologize to me, there's no need for that anyway. Michelia took two steps forward, leaning against the railing side by side with Arnold, "I don't like this marriage either. ”

"Really?" Arnold nodded, and said nothing.

Michelia continued to herself: "I don't want to marry Mr. Alfred, although people say he is very good, but he is too old, more than ten years older than me, and I certainly do not want to accept such a marriage. Originally, I wanted to get rid of you, and I asked you to refuse this marriage, so that I could avoid marrying to the east, but I didn't expect that before I came to ask you, you objected, as if you heard the voice in my heart. ”

Arnold still didn't speak, just listened silently to what Michelia had to say.

"Although we are cousins and brothers, we have never met, and I don't even have the impression of my aunt, saying that they are relatives, but in fact, there are not many relatives in love, so I was really worried before, please whether such a thing as you can succeed. ”

Michelia turned and looked at Arnold very solemnly.

"Whatever your thoughts may have led you to make this decision, I have to thank you, thank you, cousin Arnold. ”

Arnold looked at Michelia, no waves in his eyes.

"You don't have to thank me, I don't know what you want, and I don't have the idea to help you, so I can't say what I did for you. The refusal to marry is also out of my own interests, I have already designated my two younger sisters as the heirs of Duke Lengshan, so naturally I don't want this inheritance to be obtained by other families, so it may be a bit cold, but if it weren't for this reason, probably I wouldn't have objected to this marriage. ”

"Yes? yes—" Michelia laughed, then turned sideways and leaned back against the railing, "Indeed, for people like us, marriage must be mixed with political elements, but what choice do I have? ”

Michelia spoke, a moment of pathos on her face.

Arnold couldn't help but be a little attracted by her smile.