For many ordinary people, love may be like their identity, a very ordinary thing, but for nobles, love is a luxury.

Because as long as they are nobles, they are destined not to enter the marriage hall with the person they love, they must sell their marriages and even their souls for the sake of the family, for political interests.

Bethel enjoyed the time he had spent with his little lover ever since he realized it, and in these not-so-long years, he almost felt that he was the happiest person he could be. His acquaintance with her was not so utilitarian, and it was a leisurely afternoon, when Bethel ran to the flower market in the copper ring district in a dresssuit that only a florist wears, wanting to buy some seasonal flowers to decorate his garden.

In the process of buying flowers and plants, he met his little lover, her name was Portina, a very ordinary commoner daughter.

At that time, Bethel selected about 200 pots of seasonal flowers, and he chatted with the stall owner while he picked them. For Bethel, who was very fond of flowers, as long as he shared a common hobby, he would not be as arrogant and rude as a nobleman, and even did not speak to the commoners. He chatted a lot about flowers with the stall owner, and just as he was about to pay for it, Portina, who was standing on the side, laughed.

She pointed out a small mistake in Bethel's knowledge of flowers, and the two of them met because of flowers.

Two people with the same hobbies always spend time together very quickly, and Bethel is fascinated by Portina, believing that she is the only woman who can understand him, so he initiates a fierce pursuit. He did not tell Portina that he was a nobleman, he only said that he had a wife, but the two were already on the verge of divorce. His wife hardly returns, and he doesn't have much affection for hers.

In this world without the poison of Confucian culture, although the status of women is not high, absolutely no one will require a woman to keep her chastity, especially for a commoner woman. Portina also fell in love with Bethel, who was sometimes humorous and sometimes mature, but also had a big boy side.

If his count's estate gave him a kind of enjoyment of power and status, then his home with Portina gave him real warmth. Although the decoration is not luxurious, and although it is located in the Silver Ring area where the common people live, he likes it there, and he likes the safety and comfort of the ship when it sails into a windless harbor.

Portina never asked Bethel to do anything for her, even though she later learned Bethel's true identity. Her empathy is like a warm spring that nourishes Bethel's heart. She also bore him two children, a boy and a girl, and gave Bethel an idea of what a real "home" is.

Both of them walked through the bustling streets of the Silver Ring District wearing clothes that ordinary people would wear, constantly avoiding pedestrians on the road, their hands clasped tightly together, and Portina snuggled up to Bethel. The slow but uniform pace makes the two people feel as if they are connected by blood, even if it is just a casual look, they can feel the most sincere love for each other.

"You seem to be bothered, is it because of her?", Portina clenched her big palm tightly in her palm with some distress, "She's bothering you again?"

Bethel smiled slightly, "It has nothing to do with her, it's a matter of work." He didn't tell Portina the truth, and he wouldn't tell her the time, because he knew very well that the more he knew, the more dangerous it would be for Portina, who had no identity, no status and no backers. He would rather beg the woman than tell Portina even the slightest bit of the truth, this is his perception of love, and its performance.

Portina comforted him, she felt a little sorry for the man, "I don't really understand your job, but I think it should be like you treat those flowers, you need to be patient." If you hit a bad branch and can't fix it, then cut it off. ”

"Cut it off?", Bethel nodded, his heart pounding violently, he hid the uneasiness of the moment well, "I think I understand...... Well, let's not talk about these unpleasant topics, I heard that a batch of flowers from the full moon has recently come on the market, and some of them are still precious varieties from the desert, let's go and see?"

"Okay!", since Bethel didn't want to talk about work, Portina didn't discuss it, she knew when to say something, and she didn't want to make Bethel even more annoying.

The two held hands like a couple in love, snuggled up to each other and walked into a shop specializing in flowers and trees in the Silver Ring District near the Copper Ring District, and saw precious flowers from the full moon.

It's a very special plant called a one-leaf flower.

In order to survive in the harsh water-scarce environment of the desert, the whole plant resembles a straight rod, a little more than a meter high. At the top of this stick, there is a leaf with a diameter of more than 30 centimeters, and in the middle of the leaf, there is a small yellow flower. Although this small flower is only the size of an egg, it is extraordinarily delicate. Each petal is very thin and narrow, giving the impression of being scattered at first glance.

But when you concentrate on carefully savoring and watching, you can find a certain pattern from it, and then look at it, and then you will have a special charm of natural beauty.

This kind of thing is not easy to raise, not very suitable for the climate of the imperial capital, if it is planted in the soil, it will rot easily, and only when planted in dry sand, can it live a little longer.

"Kirby said he wanted a dog. After visiting the flower shop, Portina suddenly remembered what her son had been making trouble in the past few days.

The little boy saw that everyone else had a dog at home, and he wanted one too. It's just that Portina is very hesitant, she is afraid that her son and daughter will be bitten by dogs while playing with the puppy. You must know that at the bottom of the Orlando Imperial Society, the church is still very marketable, and many people living at the bottom believe what the church says. There is a story in the propaganda of the church that God the Father and God of Light defeated the demons of the earth and sealed their souls on the dogs as punishment for the calamity they had caused in order to stop them from being a scourge to the world.

There are quite a few people who go crazy not long after being bitten by a dog and then die soon after, and people say that it is the power of the devil.

Portina also believes in the Church of Light, so she's hesitant and wants to hear Bethel's advice.

Bethel agreed without much hesitation, perhaps because he could not be with his children for a long time, a kind of compensation, a material compensation. While many people are well aware that this compensation does not come with any positive effects, there is nothing more to a man like Bethel than material compensation.

"Since Kirby wants it, then buy him a good dog, and maybe keep you safe. Almost half of the nobles did not believe in the church under the influence of the empire, and what kind of dog has a demon sealed in its body is pure nonsense.

The two walked around the pet store next to them, and after buying two purebred hound cubs with noble blood, they walked in the direction of home with a smile.

At this moment, the puppy in Portina and Bethel's arms suddenly chirped, and before the two could react, someone among the pedestrians suddenly drew a short sword and stabbed Bethel in the chest.

In an instant, Portina turned and stood in front of Bethel.

The dagger stabbed straight into Portina's vest and out of her chest. The tip of the sword, still stained with a little blood, pierced Bethel's clothes, tearing his skin apart, and the pain made him wake up in an instant. At this moment, fear consumed his reason, his breathing became rapid, and his eyes continued to roll in panic. He shoved Portina away, turned and ran.

The Assassin staggered back a few steps under Portina's weight, and he grabbed Portina's shoulder with one hand, and with a hard flick of his dagger pulled the dagger back, and with a thud of blood, he wiped the splattered blood from his face, and chased after Bethel in the direction of his escape.

Portina's eyes widened, and the puppy chirped at her feet, as if smelling something, and it licked the blood on the ground and became quiet. She slowly lowered her head, looked at the small wound on her chest, looked at the blood gushing out of the small wound, opened her mouth to say something or call for help, and the blood blocked her throat in an instant.

With a violent cough, she spurted out a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground.

The people on the street ran away in an instant to the screams, except for the puppy licking the blood and clattering, wagging its tail and enjoying the satisfaction of the salty liquid.

Portina gasped, her nose spurting blood each time her chest rose and fell. She struggled to clutch the wound on her chest, but the feeling of her life passing quickly did not pause in the slightest. Her vision blurred, and her mind went blank.

The images of Bethel, Kirby, Heather, her father, mother, and rivals she had never seen before flashed before her eyes, until she stopped breathing forever.

On the other side of the street, Bethel gasped for breath and ran wildly with all his strength. He had never run so wildly, and he had very few opportunities to jog as a child, or since he grew up. He had to thank his hobby, which didn't give him a strong body, but it didn't make his body as unbearable as the other nobles.

He kept pushing away the crowd in front of him, looking back from time to time, his steps becoming more and more .......