XI

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Which is the largest country in the world?

"The One and Eternal Power", "The Land Protected by the True God and the Covenant", "The Common Lord of the Civilized World", the Saint Korman Empire. The empire was founded in the fourth century and has existed for more than a thousand years, and it will fall at the end of the nineteenth century and will exist for more than two hundred years. At its peak, it ruled nine-tenths of the civilized world, and today half of the civilized world is still under the rule of this veritable thousand-year-old empire.

Who is the most powerful person in the world?

The vast majority of people would reply that they were "Holy Emperors", but this was not the case. For the young Emperor Gustav Hugh Kirman, there were many things that were more important than the tedious and tedious affairs of government, such as the various rituals and diplomatic negotiations – because the emperor was a symbol of imperial majesty. The real power and day-to-day affairs were in the hands of the Imperial Prime Minister and his cabinet. No matter how the prime minister is changed, the prime minister is still the de facto ruler of this huge country. The administrative center of the empire is not in the Liberation Palace, but at 15 Covenant Street.

The winter of 1665 was a rare winter, and at the end of November, the port of the imperial capital of Deland was frozen. In this season of cold northeast winds, the reich's prime minister is an elder named Icosagon von Chilingburg. The Count of Chalinburg has a gray beard, is 53 years old this year, and is an old minister who has gone through three dynasties. He served for many years for Gustav's grandfather Ledden, his father Eurestan, and the regent's uncle Diristan, and after the death of the regent, he became the Prime Minister of the Empire.

As usual, Prime Minister Ekausagan was in the Prime Minister's residence at 15 Covenant Street, handling official documents from all over the country and intelligence from all over the world. Lately, the Imperial Government has many, many things to deal with.

The next Duke of Soma, Lord Ferdinand Hugh Soma, is about to have a grand succession ceremony, and the invitations have been sent to the capital, and all the dignitaries of the empire must be in attendance.

The Fourteenth Synod of Taranto, the largest event of the Orthodox Church, has entered its sixteenth agenda year, and the dispute between reformists and conservatives shows no end in sight.

The remint of the Imperial Golden Mark of the year is coming to an end in a week, and it is necessary to calculate the proceeds of the seigniorage of the year.

And also...... Prime Minister Ekausagen flipped through the official documents and saw a document tied in a cylinder with a black ribbon. The ribbon reads "Inspired by Ekausagen" and a magic seal, which would be burned with the document if it were to be opened by force or by force. His eyelids jumped: Royal Department of Security, extremely dense. The Imperial Prime Minister did not have the authority to administer the Royal Ministry of Security, which was a document forwarded directly to him by His Majesty the Emperor.

The prime minister took out his seal ring and pressed it on the seal of the ribbon, and the ribbon quietly turned into ashes. He opened the document written on premium figota paper, and the font on it was typical of a scribe: clear, neat, and easy to understand. The title is equally concise: "Lenny's Weekly Report." Such reports, which were not traditionally sent to the Emperor, were filtered out of the hands of the shrewd and capable Minister of Security, Cid Nasec, if it was necessary......

Thinking of this, Ekausagen began to look directly for the emphases in the documents. Soon, he found it, a total of three. "Civil strife is likely to break out in the south in the near future", "unusually frequent movements of rebel forces" and "good crop harvest in the Julok Republic". Looking at these intelligence entries, the prime minister picked up his coffee and thought about the possible implications as he sipped it.

"Do you mean...... Your Majesty he intends to ...... Declare war on the South as soon as civil strife breaks out in the South?!"

Thinking of this possibility, the Prime Minister's hand trembled and the coffee spilled.

Emperor Gustav Hugh Kerman is 24 years old, a generation that has grown up entirely since the last Free War. There is no doubt that he must have inherited the blood of the Corman family, and since Arthur Hugh Corman, the patron saint of the Corman family has been Curell, the god of destruction and war......

"No...... No," Ekausagen muttered to himself, "hard-won peace......

Twenty-three years ago, when the Fourth Freedom War broke out, he was with the young Emperor Erestan in the Southern Expeditionary Army, wanting to solve the Southern problem once and for all. Twenty-one years ago, during the siege of Fort Still, he faced the sea of artillery of the Free Army in despair, guarding the coffin of His Majesty the Emperor...... At that time, Fort Stille was still an old-fashioned castle, not a new-style fortress. Until now, he would have that nightmare from time to time. Although Marshal Conti "Bladeless" Fox has retired, the fear of the Free Army still lurks in his heart. At the age of 53, Prime Minister Ekausagen still cannot forget the cruelty and horror of war.

But if ...... The emperor insisted on this, what should he do? Most of the young courtiers did not hesitate to fight the south, intending to wash away the humiliation of 1644.

"Please...... Please don't give Your Majesty an excuse to start a war. In my life, I only need to experience one war, and it is enough. Prime Minister Ekausagen put down his coffee cup, stood up, and looked out the window.

"May the gods bless the Empire. ”

A straggled, cold dove, screamed bitterly, and flew in the direction of Lennie.

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"Even though it's early winter...... You can also see geese and doves. Where did they fly from?"

Anne Seffier sat on the yellowed grass and gazed lazily at the sky, looking tired for her age. With the sun hanging in the eastern sky and Altocumulus clouds scattered across the blue sky, it was indeed a sunny day that was refreshing.

"There will always be lazy and confused people who get the wrong time when they should be there. Wouldn't it be strange to have geese this season?"

Her sister stood behind her and said in a slightly sarcastic tone. However, if you don't listen carefully, you can't hear the sarcasm in her delicate and gentle voice.

"Are you talking about me?" the blonde sister ran her hair through her left hand. In three months, her hair has grown a lot, and her metabolism is indeed relatively rapid in her young body.

"No, I'm reminding you. Bonnie turned to the front of her sister, crouched down, smiled and stared at her. Anne felt like a frog being targeted by a snake, unable to move. "Today is December 7th. You're escaping again, sister. ”

"I didn't!" retorted Anne, who was aroused by her competitive spirit, "I work hard every day!"

Bonnie rested her chin on her hand and nodded. "That's good...... So, what's the answer? If you haven't escaped reality, you should have the answer by now. ”

The blonde girl licked her lips and looked away: "Huh...... It's not like there's no escape. At least, I'm not bored enough to go fishing in the fountain in the garden......"

Following her gaze, the half-elf Leonard Kakawi was just as lazily lying on the edge of the fountain, leaning against a coal stove and yawning as he stared at the fishing rod placed in the fountain. Since moving into the mansion, the former captain of the Marine Guard has shown a lazy and overly human nature, delegating most of the things to Kezmi.

Bonnie smiled helplessly, "But what I want to talk about now is not him, but you." Tell me, sister—is Namen López Namen Hugh Kirman? ”

"Is that ......," Anne scratched at her hair. Various methods have been used, enough information has been collected, and the man has been followed for a long time.

But even so, she still doesn't know what kind of person Namen López is. His real name is the defector mage of Zalt Fran, an ordinary and complex person.

He is an ordinary businessman, doing a clothing business that has little to do with magic, and occasionally uses a few small magic to spice up the turnover and the joy of life. He is a third-rate magician, and even his disciples are laissez-faire. The two sisters' best friend, Danika López, the daughter of López, often complained that in the middle of Namen's new magic teaching, she would go back to the book and tutor herself.

He was an egoist and would never miss the slightest opportunity to gain profit, but he was also a man who knew moderation, did not work very hard, and did not have any excessive ambitions. He's not a complete egoist who goes with the flow, he has his own rules.

He was also a good man who took care of his family, quietly keeping his home, the welfare home, in order, helping the nuns with groceries, groceries, daily necessities, and saving money to prepare for her proposal, and he was sometimes a prodigal son, who would spend a night of no return in the bar streets full of wandering warblers.

Naimon López is somewhat like "that person" – but she can't say that he must be "that person".

"I don't know. Anne muttered, "He may or may not be...... All I can say is that it was a man who was a bit like him. ”

"So, do you like him?" Bonnie asked, going straight to the bottom of her heart, "please answer positively." We don't have time to think about it. ”

That's him.

For a moment, Anne wanted to answer. Guessing is like gambling, and if you miss it, you probably won't get another chance. She did see a shadow of that man in Namen López, or rather in Zart Fran......

She remembered the engagement ring she had seen. The ring is amethyst, contains magic and is beautiful.

“...... No. Anne replied resolutely, "I can't do it to destroy other people's love." Let's just assume that he isn't. ”

"Sure enough, sister, you won't go to snatch love. Bonnie's smile seemed to say, "I already knew," "So, what are we going to do about tonight's coup?"

"Let's not interfere. After we've ruled out that person, we don't have any clues...... Then we have to let the coup d'état happen as usual, so that we can find the real Namen Hugh Corman. Anne replied, "Still, I have one more thing I want to ask you for." Maybe it's a bit late to say now, but ...... Is there a list of areas that will be burned down in a coup d'état?"

Her sister smiled and pulled a map out of her pocket. "Well, I knew you were going to ask. Here's a list of neighborhoods that could have burned down, as well as locations that fit more of someone's fake autobiography. ”

"Bonnie, you're amazing! you're my sister!" the blonde girl swooped up, grabbed the map, and kissed her sister on the earlobe.

The brown-haired girl's face turned red - although she knew that it was her sister, she had a different face and body after all. "Well, it's time for us to go, sister, the store should have opened. ”

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Soleton was woken up from his slumber, and there was a lot of stumbling footsteps and gunfire outside.

"What's wrong?" the boy rubbed his eyes, pushed open the door, and walked out. A large group of soldiers—about half a company—were marching and training in the courtyard of the orphanage, led by a dwarf. This dwarf he knew: it was Tug, one of Klad López's retinue. That is, General López should be nearby.

"Why are you here so early today?" said Soleton, patting the dwarf on the shoulder, "Aren't they usually here in the afternoon?

"It's almost noon. Tuge turned his head and recognized him as the childhood sweetheart of the general's young lady, and grinned: "Ah, it's the fire yao and cannonball I just received." We originally wanted to transport it back to the garrison directly, but the general said that it was too far to transport it back to the garrison, so it would be better to put it here for a while, and it would be used during the winter exercises in two days. ”

"When is the winter drill?" asked Soleton curiously.

"Probably next week, it's the first exercise of our secret weapons unit. It may be a nuisance in the next few days, but we will pay for food and accommodation. ”

The boy glanced at the tent set up in the courtyard. There are probably about 10 of them – that is, 20 soldiers will live here.

"If Uncle López wants to pay for food and accommodation, it would be nice to give it to Mr. Namen. The nun will not take it, because she is not a miser......"

"You mean I'm a miser?"

A deep baritone voice came from behind him. The boy turned around in horror to see his teacher standing behind him.

"Nai, Namen, teacher!"

"Some people who have mastered two second-stage magic spells will not recognize the teacher. Today's young people, it's really a pity...... "Today's Zart Fran did not wear that black robe, but changed into a dress. The plain black dress with a tie is a bit eye-catching. It seems that he deliberately shaved his beard, and his usual sloppiness was swept away.

"I—I definitely didn't mean that......" Soleton hurriedly argued.

"Forget it, I'm kidding you. Zalt straightened his tie and smiled and said, "Are you surprised that I changed my clothes today? Actually, I have good news here......

"yes. Have you finally proposed, teacher?"

"Ahem!" Zart coughed heavily, reflexively touching the small box in his jacket pocket. "Not that, it's another piece of good news. St. Grace's Welfare Home doesn't need to be moved!"

"Huh?!!How is this possible?" Soleton was taken aback. They all knew that the St. Grace Welfare Home was going to be sold. In order to raise funds, the new church sold even important churches such as Westminster Abbey and Pope Cathedral for money, and minor buildings such as St. Grace's Welfare House were listed as must-sell. The other day, both Soleton and Danica were working on the younger children's preparations, convincing them to accept this fact.

"Hmph...... Zart smirked twice, "Virentina and I bought the land. ”

"Huh?!—This is at least 100,000 pounds, right?, you have that much money?!" exclaimed Soleton.

"80,000 pounds. I paid 70,000, and Viren paid 10,000, just right. The bishop's eyes were about to pop out. Zart snapped his fingers, "It would be one of the most memorable scenes of my life." Let's celebrate tonight. ”

"Hooray! By the way, does Danika know?"

"Uh...... She seems to have gone out early in the morning, right? You're sleeping lazily as usual, you don't know. Zart pondered, recalling.

Soleton volunteered: "Then I'll go find her, and I'll buy some food by the way." With that, he stretched out his hand.

Zart frowned, felt in his pocket, and pulled out the money: "Huh." ”

Soleton looked at the pitiful two pounds, "Why do you need 10 gold coins for such an important celebration, teacher?"

“...... Take it. Reluctantly, Zart pulled a handful of gold coins out of his pocket.

The boy took the money satisfied, flipped it in his hand, and threw it into his purse.

"It's been a great day. ”

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"I haven't been here for two weeks, and there are a lot of new things...... This purple one seems to be good. In the manager's room of "Pure Gold", Danica López is working on her Taobao business in a huge sample cabinet. When Naimen's store is closed, panning for underwear at "Pure Gold" is one of her favorite pastimes. "Ah, that navy blue lace edge doesn't seem to be bad......"

"Why do you have time to come over today? Is the next door closed?" asked Anne, who was flipping with her.

"Teacher Namen and the nun went to the Church on an errand, and the old guy suddenly appeared again, so I had to escape. Danika flicked her ponytail, "It's so annoying to come early in the morning to disturb people's lives." ”

"Haven't you been in trouble again lately?" didn't you reconcile last time?" Bonnie was listening to the conversation while she was busy sitting at the table.

Danica's indignant voice came from the locker room: "Last time, he said he wanted to teach me magic! Although that guy is very emotional, the magic is really strong, you should also take a look if you have a chance...... Anne, tie the rope for me. ”

"Okay. Anne fastened the tether of her purple bra, "So, he hasn't taught you magic lately?"

"It's still a matter of teaching...... But the guy kept telling me to learn how to shoot. Every time I finish shooting, my body smells of sulfur, and the perfume is all in vain!"

Continuing to complain about her father, Danika took a turn in front of the mirror in the dressing room and looked at the effect of her new underwear: "The bra seems to be a little loose...... This can't be your size, right?"

"Ah...... Me and Bonnie are the same size. Anne scratched her hair, "So the samples are all designed to our size." ”

"Damn! It's so big! What are your sizes?C?D?Is there any secret, let's teach me!" Danica, who was only B in size, sprang up and took measurements on the spot, and the girls were playing in the small dressing room. Bonnie, who was listening, frowned more and more, and finally couldn't help but slap the table and stood up.

"You two can stop in moderation, do you still want to cast magic on each other? Hurry up and change your clothes and come out!"

"I'm sorry. "I'm sorry. Afraid of Bonnie's earnestness, Anne and Danica, dressed in their coats, walked out with their heads bowed and continued to choose their underwear—this time much quieter.

"In a sense...... These two people...... Quite a good fit, actually?" Bonnie sat down with her pen in her hand, and continued to sort through the accounts that were about to be sealed. In the future, eighty percent of "pure gold" will be closed, and she must be prepared for losses in advance.

There was a knock on the door, and the voice of the secretary was heard from outside the door. "Miss Bonnie, there's a Mr. Soleton who wants to ask if Miss Danika is here. ”

"Hmm...... How about calling him in, Denika?" Bonnie asked for the opinion of the person being questioned.

"I don't think he's going to come in. Soleton is quite thin-skinned, and may not dare to enter this all-female lingerie store. Danika replied, "He doesn't seem to have come in once since you opened the shop, right? ”

Sister Sephir looked at each other and smiled wryly. They know that the reason why the teenager does not dare to come in is probably not because he is thin-skinned......

"Then I'll send you out. The sister simply wrapped the underwear that Danica had chosen and handed it to her.

"How's the money?" asked Danica.

"The money is not needed. Bonnie suddenly spoke, "We've been friends for so long, and that's a little bit of our heart." ”

Danika looked at the large paper bag in her hand and felt a little embarrassed: "This is not appropriate, is it? Annie, what do you see?"

The blonde girl said without hesitation, "Since Bonnie has said so, it should be a little bit of our mind." ”

"That'...... I'll just take it, thank you. The general's daughter bowed and took Anne with her.

After the two of them went out, Bonnie stopped her pen, leaned back in her chair, and sighed as she looked at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry, Danica, but for the sake of my sister's wishes, we can't change history too much. If that's fate...... Please accept it. Good luck. ”

She pulled out a copy of the map and stared at a corner of the city for a long time.

On that map of Lennie, the location of St. Grace's Welfare Home is prominently marked "completely burned down."

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