October of the 133rd year of the Iron Age

The Commander of Section 13, Mrs. Artmis Diana No. Jericho, as usual, was working in her own office in Gouverenburg.

Since the death of the previous Earl of Hecate, the Hecate family has inevitably fallen into decline, although the new Emperor Alexander II's Longen, Artemis inherited the title of Earl of Glamorgan and the position of Director of the Thirteenth Division as a female heir, but she is a woman after all, and the surname of the Hecate family cannot be passed on by her.

For the sake of the family's legacy, Artemis recognized his younger brother Jan No. Hecate as a legitimate illegitimate child and gave him the surname Hecate. However, even with this surname, Yang still does not have the blood of Hecate, and with this in mind, Artemis and his brother made an agreement that in the future, the heirs of the two families will give priority to each other as the betrothed person to ensure the inheritance of the bloodline.

Artemis got up from his seat and stretched wide. She was originally lazy, and what she hated most was such piles of paperwork, looking at the pile of papers on her desk, she felt that her head was big, and she was obviously busy working on these documents all morning, but the number of documents didn't seem to decrease at all, it seemed to be more.

There was a knock on the office door, and a girl's voice came from outside the door: "Director, may I come in?"

"Please come in, Charlotte. Atmiss replied lazily, and just hearing this cold, emotionless voice knew that Charlotte must have come with a new job.

The door was pushed open, and Charlotte, dressed in a smart black tights, walked in, and Artemis was not wrong at all, Charlotte was indeed holding a pile of new copywriting in her hands.

"Why are there so many!" Atmiss grumbled, two of the things she had feared most since she became the director of the thirteenth section, one was the child who was always crying, and the other was the papers in Charlotte's hand.

"There has been an increasing number of magic-related incidents in the Pritown area lately, and these are the latest reports from our agents, so please take a closer look. Charlotte said meticulously, although she was only thirteen years old, but her style was becoming more and more like an adult, and sometimes, Artemis could see the shadow of her younger brother Yang when she was a child from Charlotte.

Speaking of which, Yang and Charlotte seem to be a good match, but will the age difference between the two be a little too much? Attmis, who was worried about his brother's marriage, suddenly felt that his secretary was not bad, and he had the heart to match the two of them, otherwise, with Yang's character, even if Artemis waited until he was old, he would not see this taciturn brother propose to a young lady.

"Ma'am?" Seeing that Artemis was engrossed, Charlotte immediately spoke up and pulled Artmis's thoughts back.

"Ah, okay, I know, I'll take a good look. Although she has the intention of matching Charlotte and Yang in her heart, Charlotte's serious personality still makes Artmis, who is used to being casual, unbearable, especially when she is urged to work by her little secretary.

As always, Artmis's day was wasted in boring paperwork, and at first she was very unaccustomed to working so hard, but over time she got used to it, but even if she could do it well, she still liked to live a casual life.

In the evening, the man of Gouvelenburg, Duke Sven No. Jericht, returned to the castle at midnight. Since he got married, in order to accommodate his wife, he deliberately moved away from the more elegant and beautiful and habitable Midnight Castle and came to Glamorgan to accompany his wife and children.

As soon as Swain entered the door and handed his coat and hat to Ramrem, the housemaid, his daughter Charlie, pounced.

"Father!" Xia Li threw herself into Swain's arms, rubbing Swain's face with her soft little face, as she grew older, Swain's appearance became more and more mature, and there was already a little stubble on her chin, but Xia Li didn't hate the slight prickly feeling at all, but rubbed her father's cheek very much with pleasure.

"How is it, Xia Li, have you listened to your mother today?" Swain hugged his daughter, although the expression on his face was still not much different from when he was younger, but at least when he looked at his family, his eyes could show a little tenderness.

"Xia Li has been listening to her mother and sister all day long!" The lovely Xia Li also deliberately lengthened her tone, drew a big circle in the air with her hands, and used a very exaggerated tone to please her father.

"Ah, Xia Li is so good!" Sven curled the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing an inconspicuous smile, but Xia Li, who had long been accustomed to her father's introverted personality, could fully understand the joy in her father's heart. She smiled happily as well, and let Swain lift herself high and hunch it over her shoulders.

"Don't spoil her like this, I'm a headache for her. Artemis also came down from the stairs, stood at the top of the stairs, rubbed his red hair, and yawned heavily. After getting married, she grew her long hair, and the red wavy curls made Artemis gradually fade away from the childishness of a girl, and became more mature and sensual. If Earl Hecate saw his daughter now, he would have thought of his wife, Lady Lisa.

"Thank you. Swain walked up to his wife and rubbed her long red hair, although Artemis had matured after giving birth to two daughters, but in Swain's eyes, she was still the same girl who liked to argue with herself, and was always unmotivated.

After being married for several years, and even having two children, but still being touched by her husband as a child, Artemis couldn't help but feel a little shy, and a slight blush appeared on her face, which matched her hair color.

"Really, hurry up and eat, I'm hungry. The tsundere's wife immediately turned around, didn't dare to look at her husband anymore, and ran quickly to the restaurant.

When Swain first came to Govellenburg a few years ago, he dined in the same restaurant with Atmis. At that time, Artemis still hated Swain very much, and she never imagined that she would one day really marry this guy she hated and give him two children.

Swain sat on the throne, and the maids had already brought the soup first. Swain scooped a spoonful with a silver spoon and fed it to his mouth, adding some accompaniments such as diced matsutake mushrooms and diced ham, which are common ingredients on Jericho's table, but this time, Swain tasted something different.

"Ramrem, what is this?" he asked, scooping a small white cube from his plate with a spoon. When he ate it in his mouth just now, Sven thought it was cheese, but when he touched the tip of his tongue, he found that it was very different from cheese in terms of texture and taste.

"It's the ingredients sent by His Royal Highness the Regent Katerina this morning. Ramrem bowed slightly to his master and said in his usual cold tone, "There is a new oriental chef in the court of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, and I heard that this is a special ingredient from the East, and it seems to be something called 'tofu'. Because His Highness liked it very much, he specially sent someone to send some. ”

"Yes, I've never tasted it before, it's very tender, but it doesn't seem to taste good, but the flavor of the soup is all in it. Sven nodded, looking at the small white object carefully.

Artmis, who was sitting on Swaine's right, couldn't help but frown, and she looked at Ramrem suspiciously. "Did Her Highness Catalina send someone this morning?

Ramrem's gaze turned to the mistress, and as a maid, her eyes were a little too haughty, cold and devoid of respect, whether it was to Swain or Artmis, she was. "Ma'am, you were still sleeping. His Highness's men came at half past nine in the morning, when you had not yet gotten up. ”

When the maid told him the fact that he slept lazily, Artemis couldn't help but blush, laughed awkwardly a few times, and stopped talking.

"These—hmm...... Tofu, anything else?" Swain asked the maid after a moment's thought.

"There's still some in the kitchen, and if you still want it, I'll tell the kitchen to buy it. ”

"Ah, then buy more, don't skimp on money. Swain scooped another spoonful of the soup, seemingly fond of the Oriental ingredient.

"What?" Atmiss looked at her husband strangely, Swain had rarely paid such attention to food in the past, "You like tofu very much?"

When Swain heard Atmis's words, he always felt that something was strange, but he couldn't tell which word was wrong. "It's Sophia and Victoria's birthdays in a few days, and I'm going to throw a birthday party for them. Since it was their twentieth birthday, I wanted to do better, after all, after all, a girl is not young after she is twenty years old. ”

"Ah, yes, I'm not young, so do you think I'm already a yellow-faced woman?" Atmiss shuffled and deliberately said in the tone of an old woman, Swain's words made her a little jealous, and sometimes Atmisus felt that her husband cared about his sister even more than he cared about himself.

"You're still young, Lady Jerichaw. Swain took Attmis's hand, although there was no expression on his face, Attemis could still feel her husband's tenderness from the temperature of Swain's hand, "Even if you have three or four more children, it's no problem." ”

"What nonsense are you talking about......" Artmis's cheeks turned red again at being flirted by her husband like this, she lowered her head slightly, and her voice was much quieter.

"Father, am I going to have a sister again!" Xia Li, who was sitting on the other side of Swain, was at the tip of her ears, and when she heard her father say that she would have a child, her eyes immediately widened, and she looked at Sven expectantly.

"It's hard to say, do you want a brother or a sister?" Swain touched his daughter's hair, it seemed that she had inherited Artmis's genes, and Xia Li also had red hair, but the color was not as bright as her mother's.

"What about Father? I've heard that this kind of thing is decided by Father. ”

Artemis was stunned for a moment, and then she reacted to what Charlie meant. "Don't, don't listen to other people's nonsense!" Atmis's face turned even redder, and he hurriedly tried to stop his daughter from saying such shy words again, "Who did you listen to?

"Yang told me!" Seeing her mother's appearance, Xia Li was not the slightest afraid, but smiled even brighter.

Atmiss secretly clenched his fists, and swore in his heart that he wanted to make his brother look good.

"My words, naturally, I want a daughter as cute as Xia Li. Swain touched Xia Li's head, and to his daughter, he was not stingy with words of praise, and completely spoiled Xia Li.

"You have two daughters, don't you think it's enough?" Atmiss wrinkled and snorted, "And I didn't say I was going to give birth to you!" she turned her face away, clasped her hands to her chest, and looked arrogant, as if she didn't want to pay attention to Swain.

"It's up to you. Swain stopped his wife and pulled her into his arms, despite Atmis's resistance.

"What are you doing, Charlie!" Atmiss struggled as hard as he could, but couldn't push Swain away.

"Ahem!" Ramrem, who was standing on the side, coughed at the right time, and now in the dining room, the other maids have retreated, and Xia Li looks like she is afraid that the world will not be chaotic, only Ramrem looked at Swin and Atramis showing affection, and the maid was naturally very dissatisfied, and interrupted the two of them with a cough.

Artemis broke free from Swain's arms, and she straightened her dress, but the crimson on her face had not faded.

Fortunately, a maid walked in at this time and informed Swain of the visit, which eased Atmis's embarrassment a little.

"Sir, Miss Sophia is here. ”

Swain was stunned for a moment, and at this time Sophia came over, but he couldn't figure out his sister's intentions.

"You eat first," Swain put down the dishes and stood up, "I'll go meet her." ”

After Swain walked out of the dining room with the maid, Charlie squinted maliciously and looked at her mother with a grin. "Mom, do you want a girl or a boy?"

"Dead girl!" Atmis, who was teased by his daughter, was annoyed and raised his hand to fight, "It's not your turn to ask this kind of question!"

Xia Li smiled and ran away from her mother's slowly waved hand, ran to the other end of the table, and did not forget to turn back to Artemis and said, "Xia Li still wants a sister, if Fran grows up in the future, then the new sister can continue to play with me." ”

Xia Li's childish words made Atmiss laugh angrily, if you want to grow up, it should be Xia Li, as the eldest sister, who grows up first. "Alright, eat well!" Atmiss pulled her daughter back and pressed her into a chair, "Mommy is going to see Fran, you stay here and listen to Ramrem and eat well, you know?"

Being pressed on the chair, Xia Li pouted unhappily, unlike her mother's lazy temperament, Xia Li seemed to be too energetic. This is not reflected in his father Swain and mother Artmis, even the maid Ramrem is not a very lively person, and I don't know who Xia Li inherited this character from.

After leaving the dining room, Artemis made his way to his bedroom. She and Swain's youngest daughter, Fran, is only three months old now, and she still needs her mother to breastfeed in her infancy, and the little girl finally fell asleep just now, so that Artemis can have a quiet dinner, but she didn't expect that a good dinner was messed up by Swain again.

As he passed the staircase, Artemis saw Sven and Sophia standing in the doorway talking. She didn't have a very good relationship with the sister-in-law, and for some reason, Sophia seemed to be hostile to her from the beginning, and didn't even attend Swain and Artmis's wedding. In contrast, Victoria and Artmis's relationship is much better, which makes Atmiss even more puzzled, at least on the surface, Sophia's quiet temperament should be more compatible with Atmis, Victoria's out-of-the-box personality, even now, Atmiss is not too comfortable.

So when he saw the brother and sister, Artemis hid behind the stairs to hear what they were saying.

Sophia hung her head, she was wearing a plain gray dress today, which was very different from her age, this dull tone was more like that worn by an old nun in the convent than by a young girl like Sophia.

"Don't you like staying in the imperial capital?"

"Originally, I still liked it," Sophia lifted her sideburns and pushed it behind her ears, her expression 1 looked a little sad, she had been sullen in the past few years, especially after Swayn got married, "I chose to stay in the imperial capital at the beginning to complete my studies at Astrad I College. After graduating, I originally planned to go back to Midnight Castle, but it was your retention that allowed me to stay for two more years. I've been waiting for two years, hoping to see a turnaround. However, such days are making me miserable, and I would like to wish you happiness, but, but I ......."

Sophia said, silently holding back tears, and she turned her head away to hide her tears.

"I'm sorry......" Sven knew what Sophia meant, and he understood Sophia's feelings, why didn't he want to make Sophia happy. But he still hesitated, and after freeing Atropos from the shackles, he was no longer as decisive as before, and would do whatever it took to achieve his ends. Even though Sophia has confessed her heart to him now, he still can't completely release his inner impulse, leaving his current family and career behind and accompanying his sister back to Midnight Castle.

"You don't have to apologize to me, since that incident, I know that hope is slim, but I can't help but hope for it. If I had given up this unrealistic fantasy earlier, perhaps it would have been a good thing for you and for me. ”

Looking at my sister's face, traces of five years ago can still be seen on this beautiful but sad face, but more of it is the ruthless imprint left on her by the years of the years. Sophia has matured, her personality has not changed much, she is still by her brother's side as before, but with small, insignificant wishes, she has been watching her brother behind her, but Sven can't even satisfy her little hope.

"At least let's leave after my birthday. Swain sighed, even though he wanted to do something for Sophia, but he couldn't make up his mind. He is no longer the Sven he used to be, he is weak, and he has become like ordinary people, caring about himself and his family.

The brother's answer completely cut off the last hope in Sophia's heart, and in the depths of her eyes, only despair remained. "I see. She lowered her head and hid her gaze completely, "But, in the end, even if you deceive me once, at least ...... At least give me a little thought, okay?"

Swain looked at his sister in silence for a long time. His heart seemed to be held tightly by a hand, and reason and impulse tore at him. In the end, he still couldn't refuse Sophia's last sad wish, stretched out his arm, and hugged the person he once loved.

"You've always been in my heart. Swain kissed Sophia, his heart was finally overtaken by impulse, and all the pent-up emotions, including his guilt, were vented at this moment.

Sophia also greedily took it from her brother, and she knew that this kiss goodbye might be the last hug with her brother.

And Attmis, who hid behind the stairs and watched the two of them kiss deeply, had already set off a storm in her heart, and she finally understood why Sophia had been having trouble with her all the time, but even after witnessing the sadness between her brother and sister, she still couldn't accept that her husband would hug and kiss other women together.

She clung to the railing of the staircase, the wooden railing, which was intricately carved and even deeply imprinted by Artmis's slender fingers. She could no longer hold back the anger in her patience and rushed out.

"You!" she yelled at Sven and Sophia, her chest rising and falling in anger, and her reason, overwhelmed by anger, prevented her from uttering the next scolding for a moment.

Seeing his wife suddenly appear in front of him, Sven was taken aback, and subconsciously wanted to let go of the hand holding Sophia, but Sophia held him tightly and stayed in her brother's arms.

"Ah, hello. Sophia looked at Artemis coldly and proudly, she had never been convinced by this sister-in-law, even if she was broken by her now, she didn't mean to be afraid at all, and even looked at Artmis, not falling behind at all.

"You know what you're doing? You're crazy! Aren't you afraid of being laughed at by others for doing such a thing?"

"Shameful smile?" Sophia sneered, at this time she couldn't see the original demure at all, this look of horizontal eyebrows and cold eyes, Swain saw it for the first time, "What do you mean? Do you also think that the love between brother and sister is sinful? Don't be kidding! If it weren't for the nonsense of that monster you raised in the thirteenth class, it should be me with my brother now, not you bad woman!"

"You say I'm bad!" Atmis's eyes widened, she didn't care about Swain's feelings now, the gems in her pocket began to glow, and the energy of magic worked around her, "Now that I'm the mistress of the Jericho family, you dare to call me bad, you'll pay for that!"

"Calm down, Artmis!" Seeing the energy storm swirling around Artmis, Sven was also anxious, now his magic power is not as good as before, if Artemis really starts a madness, Sven can't stop it at all.

"You want to kill me, what do you want to kill me, with your arrogance and arrogance?" Sophia sneered, facing the threat of death, she didn't have the slightest fear in her heart, it was better to say that this situation was what she wanted, rather than die alone without her brother in Midnight Castle, it was better to leave an ending that would allow him to remember him forever.

"You brought it on yourself!" roared Artmis, who was losing her mind.

"Don't be too presumptuous!" Sophia shouted, Swain trying to protect him, but the storm Atemis created pushed him out, and even though he tried his best to break through the invisible barrier, his magic was completely insufficient for him to unleash the old swarm of crows.

"What do you think you are? If it weren't for the elder brother, the Hecate family would have been wiped out if it hadn't been for your dog, just like your dead father. Now you still call yourself the mistress of the Jericho family? How can you be worthy of being a brother, and to combine with you is to defile our Jericho's bloodline, and this glorious and ancient bloodline should only be passed down in the purest way!"

"You're killing yourself!" Artemis couldn't bear it anymore when Sophia said this about her father and the Hecate family, and the huge storm whirlpool rushed towards Sophia, tearing all the furniture in her path to shreds, and the entire porch was in shambles.

"Don't!" Sven used all of his magic to break through Artmis's barriers, despite the threat of the storm, but this also resulted in no magic to protect his body. Sven jumps towards Sophia, caught up in Artmis' magic.

After the storm, there was nothing left in place, whether it was Sophia or Sven, they all disappeared without a trace.

"Swain, you, you bastard......" Artemis fell to his knees, biting his lip, tears still uncontrollably flowing.