Wood was also quite surprised when he saw Swain, he couldn't understand why a history academic salon was looking for him, and it was still his busy time, and Wood really didn't want to come if it wasn't for the Marquis of Metternich who invited him as a close friend. However, now that he saw Swain, he roughly understood what the Marquis of Metternich meant, and it was obvious that the purpose of the Metternich family in holding this party was to arrange a meeting between the two of them.

Thinking of this, Wood couldn't help frowning, he didn't like the dishonest attitude of the Marquis of Metternich, they had been close friends for many years, if he wanted to arrange a meeting between himself and Swain, he could have said it directly, why did he have to hide his ears like this?

Although Wood did not agree with the Marquis de Metternich's approach, he could understand the Marquis's intentions, and the current contradiction between Swin and Ernest was already very acute, especially the last meeting between father and son, which was almost to the point of saber rattling. With the relationship between Wood and Ernest, if he met with Swain in private, it would inevitably be suspicious, even if Ernest didn't say anything, others would also be confused.

"Marquis Phil," Swain also saw Wood, and he took the initiative to step forward and hold out his hand to Wood, "Long time no see." ”

"yes, I haven't seen it in a long time. Wood frowned and shook Sven's outstretched hand. He doesn't have a very good sense of Swain right now - Wood certainly knows about Swain's killing of Michelle VII in Fort Midnight, and what makes Wood care is that Swain hastily kills Michelle VII instead of bringing him to justice and bringing him back to Dewei to stand trial. Wood always felt that Swain was overly irritable in his heart, even if it was not obvious on the surface, but his actions always solved the problem in the roughest way, which was what Wood was most worried about.

"It's rude for me to not be able to pay a visit to you before, but because of various things, I can't make the trip, so please forgive me. ”

This kind of rhetoric is a common prevarication among the aristocracy, and Wood will not fully believe it. In his heart, he didn't really care that Swain didn't come to visit him, and even understood Swain very well—although Wood was willing to marry Winston's grandson, there would always be an Ernest between the two of them, and this natural opposition was not suitable for a direct meeting between them, so he had to resort to the indirect method of the Marquis de Metternich.

"You're also busy, and I can totally understand that. Wood nodded with a serious face, as if on business, "I heard that you recently returned to Midnight Castle, is everything okay?"

"Thanks to you, everything is fine. ”

Franz, who was standing on the sidelines, could hear that the conversation between the two people was very raw, and there was even a deliberate sense of alienation. He spoke at the right time, interjecting: "Marquis Phil, please go in and talk, this is not the place to talk. With that, he pushed the people out of the hall and let the two in.

The Marquis of Metternich had been waiting in the drawing room for a long time, and he had heard the conversation between Wood and Swain at the door. The parlor had been idle for a long time since the last chandelier had fallen, and after the attack on Dweed, it was a blessing in disguise, and the Metternich family renovated the mansion by the way.

Seeing Wood walk in, the Marquis of Metternich took the initiative to stand up, and he walked forward with a smile and hugged his old friend. "Long time no see, Wood. ”

"yes, Oliver. Wood sighed, "We haven't had time to see each other since we received Winston's obituary in February. Originally, I didn't want to come to this academic salon, but I thought that I hadn't seen you for a long time, so I came here. ”

The Marquis of Metternich patted Wood on the shoulder, and his face was quite embarrassed. "yes, after Winston died, I thought that we old guys who are still alive should see each other a little more, after all, we don't see each other anymore. However, we haven't seen each other a few times in more than a year, and if you and I have three longs and two shorts, then we can probably really only meet again by the Lord's side!"

Wood did not notice the deliberate problem in the Marquis de Metternich's words, and his attention was focused on the Marquis's last words. "Don't say such unlucky things, aren't you old fellow as strong as a cow?"

"Haha, that's fat, where is the strong?" said the Marquis of Metternich, laughing, patting his belly, and his figure was indeed much richer than that of the thin Wood.

He gestured to the couch and invited Swainwood to sit down. "I heard that before Winston died, he deliberately gave you a will, and you already knew about Winston's poor health?" asked the Marquis of Metternich suddenly.

Wood paused for a moment, and he looked at Swain, the Marquis of Metternich would know about it, and it could only be Swain who told him. "That's right," Wood nodded, "At that time, I thought Winston was afraid that he would die suddenly because of his age, and who would have thought that he was really ......"

Halfway through speaking, Wood lowered his head and let out a long sigh. "If only I had paid more attention and made a visit to Midnight Castle myself, alas—it's regrettable to think about it now!"

Wood's words surprised the Marquis of Metternich and Franz, the Marquis knew Wood's temperament very well, because Wood was the most honest of their group, so he was also the most cautious one, and there was no reason why he would simply ignore the possibility behind this matter when he received Winston's will.

The Marquis frowned, Wood's answer was somewhat unexpected, but after all, he had been a foreign secretary for twenty years, and it was a habit he had long since developed to think about things in the opposite direction.

"It's really regrettable. The Marquis of Metternich nodded, his gaze turned to Swain coldly, "Little Jericho, do you have anything to say?"

"It is indeed a pity that my grandfather passed away, but people will eventually die, and it is inevitable that they will be called by the Lord, and there is no need for them to be too sad. Swain was suddenly named by the Marquis of Metternich, without a trace of panic, and still said unhurriedly, "I think more than two months is enough time to remember my grandfather, in this era, time is the most precious thing, and no one should waste too much time." ”

"You shouldn't say that, you're Winston's grandson!" the Marquis of Metternich laughed and shook his head, "but if Winston were still alive now, he would have advised us the same way—heh, this man is so stubborn!"

"Why do you say that?" Wood said, looking at the Marquis of Metternich, "generally speaking, the word stubbornness should not be used. ”

"Isn't it? It is because of his stubbornness that he has always refused to leave Midnight Castle, if he comes to the imperial capital, with his current medical skills, there is no time to cure anything, and he will send the will over, even if you thought that Winston might die soon, and go to Midnight Castle, it will probably be too late!"

Wood was stunned, no matter how dull he was, he should have heard the Marquis of Metternich's prompts several times. "You're right," he lowered his eyes, half-clearly and half-confused, "if he is willing to come to the imperial capital once for his life within this year, there may be a turnaround." ”

Swain, who was sitting on the couch, already understood the purpose of the Metternich family's special effort to organize this academic salon for themselves, and it was obvious that they had already laid out their pockets and were waiting for themselves to jump in. Swain could feel that the eyes of several people in the living room were falling on him, either openly or darkly, especially Franz, who was beside him, who was almost always staring at him.

"Grandfather is a man of his word," Swain said, "and he won't change his decision, so he won't break his promise if he says he wants to stay in Midnight for the rest of his life." ”

"He didn't even want his own life for such a meaningless vow?" Wood didn't agree with Swain's words, he admired Winston, but he wouldn't believe anything until Winston said it, "I don't understand, what is so good about Fort Midnight that it's worth spending his whole life on that land?"

"It's not just my grandfather's personal will," Swain bowed his head slightly, and he was humble in the face of Wood's questioning, "This is also the family motto of our Jericho family all along. ”

"Winston has always had a vision of the times that surpasses others, but why can't he see it clearly in himself?" Wood is still very sad, it has always been his obsession to ask Winston to come out, however, in the end, he still failed to move the old friend, "What family motto, what oath, is already something to say goodbye to this era, why does he insist like this, to be a slave of these undead?"

"Alright, Wood, calm down. Seeing that Wood became more and more excited, the Marquis of Metternich also hurriedly spoke, "People have their own ideas, you don't need to force it like this." ”

With another long sigh, Wood fell silent and did not speak again.

Steadying Wood, the Marquis of Metternich looked at Swain again, and his eyes were very amused to the young junior. "Little Jericht, why did you give Wood the news that Winston is dying, and not give it to me? If Franz hadn't told me two days ago, I'm afraid I'd have been kept in the dark. Don't Winston trust me, an old fellow?"

"Of course not," Swain looked more humble in the face of the Marquis of Metternich, and did not have the arrogance of the Marquis when he first met him, "Grandfather only sent a will to Marquis Phil, and his own illness was only mentioned sporadically, and grandfather did not intend to talk about it in the first place." Moreover, he sternly warned me and Sophia not to pass on the matter, so I did not send an obituary to you until my grandfather died. ”

"Oh?" said the Marquis de Metternich, with a meaningful smile, "is that really the case?"