Swain put the gun back on the table, then pushed it down the white tablecloth to Sophia's hand.

Sophia opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something, but seeing her brother's faint and gentle expression, her heart suddenly settled down and she didn't speak.

"I won't ask you when you used that bullet, or where it went, and it doesn't matter to me if the heart of any unlucky ghost is pierced by it, this gun is an exorcism prop baptized by the Great Sanctuary of Garons, and the guy who died at its hands should consider himself unlucky, and I have no mercy. ”

Swain picked up his glass, took a sip of it, but a little bit of it ran down the corner of his mouth and stuck to his chin.

Sophia got up slightly, leaned over to her brother's side, stretched out her index finger to wipe the beads of wine hanging from Swain's chin, and then put her index finger in her mouth with a smoky blush, and licked the wine.

Swain raised his hand and stroked his sister's face, which was particularly touching in the double light of candlelight and the setting sun.

"Brother...... Sophia looked at her brother with confused eyes, and her breathing couldn't help but become short.

"I'm not going to ask, just like always, we just need to know, not talk. Swain stared at Sophia's beautiful starry eyes, and everything was silent for the moment, "I'm just going to ask you one question. ”

Swin's hand slowly stroked his sister's soft and smooth face, gently caressing her delicate red lips.

"Who told you that?"

Sophia's body trembled involuntarily, and this little tremor was told to her brother through her delicate lips, but not in words, but in a more direct way.

"Ramrem?" the light in Swain's eyes precipitated slightly, and it seemed no longer so gentle, which made Sophia a little scared, "I remember that she was by your side at the time. ”

Sophia took a deep breath and closed her eyes unconsciously.

"No, it's not her, brother, although I don't know what kind of relationship Ramrem has with you, but I can be sure that she is indeed very loyal to you, even if she is like you, she is not good at showing her feelings on her face, but I can really feel that she is loyal to you!"

Swain nodded, his heart always soft for Sophia. "I know, since you say so, then I will naturally give her ten percent trust, after all, she is so loyal. ”

Sophia was inexplicably uneasy, she now felt unprecedentedly confused, she trusted and relied on her brother unconditionally, and now she suddenly found that she couldn't guess her brother's thoughts.

No, it's not that I'm confused because I can't guess, it's just that I don't think I have to guess, which is why I'm so scared now.

A great fear hit Sophia's heart, and she realized how stupid and terrible her behavior was, because she did that thing without telling her brother, so that she could no longer be as unreserved as before, and even began to guess her brother's thoughts, which was completely different from her original self who completely depended on her brother and the two were almost one.

I don't want to, I don't want this! I'd rather be a child hiding in my brother's arms all the time than to be like this, separated from my brother and feel like that...... I don't want it!

Swain saw the confusion and pain in Sophia's eyes, although he didn't quite understand, but out of his brother's instinct, the hand on Sophia's lips moved to his sister's shoulder, patted it lightly, and comforted Sophia.

"Let's dine. The afterglow of dusk fell on Swain's eyes, making Sophia feel extra warm, "Rare dinner, just enjoy it, just like before, leave everything to me." ”

Sophia nodded meekly, then picked up the silver spoon and scooped a mouthful of soup into her mouth.

The candlelight dinner went on without a word.

————————————————

Franz looked at the palatial castle of Karin, raised his hand to his hat, and then stepped forward and rang the doorbell of the castle gate. It was late at night, and Karin Castle was in a remote outskirts, so there was no doorman at the castle gate on night duty.

Franz rang the doorbell several times before the porter came running from his clothes and walked to the door with his eyes squinted, looking at Franz on the other side of the door vigilantly.

"Who are you and who are you looking for?"

"The head of the court, Franz No. Metternich of the House of Metternich. Franz didn't intend to be verbose, but threw over a gold watch with the Metternich crest. The porter is also a person who has lived in the imperial capital for decades, and this eyesight is naturally there, with the help of the light of the lamp in his hand, the porter quickly recognized that the gold watch in his hand was a real guy, and the drowsiness completely dissipated, and he quickly opened the door to Franz.

"Rude, Monsieur Metternich, may I ask you what is the matter with you coming so late?" the porter respectfully handed the gold watch back to Franz.

Taking the watch, Franz led his horse and walked briskly towards the interior of the castle. "I want to see the earl of your family, as soon as possible, I have no time to waste. ”

The porter was stunned, did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly said: "Yes, please go to the living room first, and I will inform His Excellency the Earl." ”

Franz nodded, because the moonlight was not very bright tonight, and Franz was wearing a big hat with a wide brim, and the porter couldn't see the other party's expression clearly, and thinking of the other party's tone just now, he didn't dare to delay for a moment, and hurried to find Swain.

The lights had already been turned off at the castle in Karin, but because of Franz's sudden visit, Swain ordered his servants to pull up the electric switch and turn on the lights in the living room.

Swain walked into the living room, his clothes still neatly dressed, after all, the night was just a long mime for him who didn't need to sleep.

"Long time no see, Monsieur Metternich. Swain sat down across from Franz, "I'm sorry I couldn't attend the funeral of the Marquis de Metternich, he helped me a lot." ”

Franz took off his hat and set it aside, although Swain's words were quite witty, but at this time Franz did not have so much leisure to guess Swain's thoughts.

"It is important that you keep my visit tonight a secret, Count Jericho, and that your servants refrain from publicizing it. Franz looked at Swain in awe, which surprised Swain a little.

After pondering for a while, Sven said, "It seems that you are here tonight for something very important, in that case, I will not prepare black tea and wine for you, just get down to business." ”

Franz nodded, he was dressed very differently tonight, which Swain noticed when he first saw him, a hat wide enough to cover half of his face, a black cloak that was out of place for the season, and considering this time, it was obvious that Franz didn't want others to know that he had been to Karin Castle.

"Remember, I have not told you these words, nor have you heard from anyone, and to-morrow, as usual, is a quiet night. ”

Sven's fingers tapped on the armrest of the couch and nodded expressionlessly.

Franz took a deep breath, even though he had thought many times about how to tell Swain about it on the way here, but when he really wanted to speak, he couldn't help but feel hesitant in his heart. "Your Excellency Earl, after His Highness Catalina came to you yesterday, did there be some accident that caused His Highness to not be able to return to the palace that night and had to stay at Karin Castle for one night?"

"Yes, this matter, Her Royal Highness the Princess's entourage should have a detailed report on the Tiamat Palace. ”

"So......" Franz bared his teeth slightly, to ask this question, even if he had been mentally prepared, he was still a little embarrassed, "have you done something that is not quite compatible with Her Royal Highness Caterina...... Well, the behavior of normal men and women in the moral relationship of society, that is, the behavior that goes beyond the ordinary friendship relationship. ”

Swain stared at Franz for a long time, whether he was a diplomat, obviously his tone was so urgent just now, but when it came to business, he was still used to using very lengthy rhetoric to foreshadow, and there was always more nonsense than useful words.

"You're asking if I've had an affair with Her Highness Katarina, right?" Swain looked at Franz with a blank expression, but Franz looked nervous, "If it's literal, then there is." ”

Franz's eyes widened in disbelief. "You...... Is this true?"

"But if it's an extension," said Swain unhurriedly, "then no. ”

Franz, who had been teased by Swain, felt that his heart was about to be thrown out of his chest, and Swain's sharp turn scared him enough.

"I'll ask again," Franz touched the sweat on his forehead, as if he had been exposed to the scorching sun, and his whole body was covered with sweat, "Is this true?"

"Of course. Swain raised an eyebrow, "What, this is important?"

"Very important," said Franz with a sigh, "Your Majesty Alexander rebuked Her Highness the Princess for this, and in the end the matter was very big, and Her Highness herself was placed under house arrest, and was not allowed to step out of the door of the room, nor was anyone allowed to visit, and besides, Your Majesty had a great opinion of you. ”

As he spoke, Franz raised his eyes and looked at Swain faintly. "It's likely that you'll slip out of your ass as the head of Section 13, who has only been sitting in for a few days. ”

Sven frowned, deep in thought. "As for it, I don't think it's a serious matter, Her Royal Highness the princess's defense, at most, it will anger Your Majesty, and then continue to be grounded, and the current punishment is unreasonable. Moreover, if they say that they want to deprive me of my position, the cabinet will not agree so easily, right?"

There is another sentence that Sven didn't say, and now Alexander can't find anyone else who can be the head of the thirteenth section, so Sven has nothing to fear.

"If it's just this extent, of course such a punishment is too heavy. Franz lowered his head, his expression became ugly, and there was a mixture of fear and sadness, which made Swain a little puzzled, "However, in the process of Her Royal Highness the princess's defense, an accident happened. ”

Swain listened quietly, waiting for Franz to reveal the mystery.

"Your Majesty, dead. ”

The news was really unexpected by Swain, and although there was no change in the expression on his face, he was still quite surprised in his heart.

As for Swain's calm behavior after hearing the news, Franz was not surprised at all, it was not the first time he had dealt with Swain, and he knew the characteristics of this person.

"It was Her Royal Highness Katerina's pistol that hit Her Majesty's vital point, causing Her Majesty to bleed to death. ”

Swain was silent, and from Franz's words, he had already faintly heard something.

"His Majesty has issued an extremely strict gag order not to allow anyone in the Palace of Tiamat to divulge this news to the public. Franz stared at Swain with a nervous look in his eyes, "Your Majesty's will is my wish, and all subjects of the empire will fully obey His Majesty's orders, do you say yes?"

"Of course. Sven nodded, "The next people are going to close the door later." ”

Franz naturally understood this sentence for no reason, and he put on his hat again, stood up and walked quickly towards the door, without even saying goodbye.

"Mr. Metternich. ”

As Franz was about to reach the door, Swain suddenly stopped him.

"Her Highness Caterina came to me yesterday without His Majesty's approval, right?"

Franz froze, his lips moved, and then strode out of Swain's line of sight.