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"Two guests, this way, please. "Waiters in pure black uniforms, one on the left and one on the right, stood on the edge of the path paved with a large number of long stones on the lawn, and led the way half-sideways at an angle of forty-five degrees in front of each of them. Pannis nodded to the waiter and whispered thank you, with the right amount of detachment and indifference in his gaze.

Stepping on the smooth and neat stones, the two walked calmly along the path towards the villa, their steps were unhurried, and their movements were unrestrained.

The villa in preparation for the prom looks unremarkable, not unlike any other time. There were no extravagant decorations, no ornate arrangements, the only difference was that on the two rows of sparse thick stone pillars erected along the path, each hung a bright crystal lamp, which was softly lit to dispel the dimness of the twilight.

Deep in the lawn, the sparse trees are dotted with the same crystal lamps, and the shutters in the hall on the first floor of the villa shine brightly. In the garden on one side of the villa, an open space was apparently the venue for tonight's ball, with two long rows of tables on either side of the clearing, and dozens of servants weaving around the tables to prepare food, snacks, and drinks for the ball. Above the venue, the pale blue light gauze was woven into a tent covering the venue, and the light gauze was dotted with countless colorless spar fragments. The table under the light veil is filled with candles and flowers to set off the atmosphere, and the fine porcelain tableware, which clearly bears the design characteristics of the Karlin dynasty from a millennium ago, is carefully placed on the table through the hands of the servants.

Catherine took Pannis's arm lightly, and under the guidance of the waiter, she did not go directly to the ballroom venue, but first followed the path to the reception hall of the villa according to her understanding, and in a position not far from the villa, a few tables and chairs were scattered for the guests who arrived early and felt bored in the reception room. It was still early, there weren't too many guests, and there was no one at the table and chairs, just four or five women sitting around and chatting quietly.

"Monsieur Marquis is a very personable man. A woman under 20 years old, dressed in a new and gorgeous way, said, "It's the layout of the venue......

"You don't understand. Another lady in her thirties, with a simple sense of the times on her clothes, who looked like a noble lady, elegantly put down the teacup in her hand, and said a little arrogantly: "That's because with the status and wealth of the Marquis, there is no need to set off those luxurious arrangements." Yes, the arrangement of the Marquis is indeed plain, but it is the simplicity peculiar to the nobility. ”

The ladies thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. At this time, a lady facing the direction of the gate saw the waiter leading the two to approach slowly, and whispered to the others, "Here are two more guests." ”

The ladies looked back covertly, and after seeing the attire of Pannis and Catherine, they all frowned imperceptibly, except for the young lady who had spoken at first, and one of them whispered in an inaudible voice, "It's an independent professional." ”

"Ignore them. The middle-aged noble lady who had spoken before frowned and whispered: "Lord Marquis is just a little too easy-going, even such a rude barbarian will invite. It's okay, just assume you didn't see it. ”

Pannis and Catherine walked at a distance, passing by the ladies and daughters. The ladies didn't seem to see them passing by at all, and didn't even turn their eyes to them, only the young lady who spoke at first glanced at the two of them secretly, and after turning back, she turned back and secretly glanced at Pannis.

wanted to peek a few more times, but just turned back again, and suddenly found that Pannis, who had an indifferent face and no expression, winked at her, with a playful look in his eyes, and was so frightened that he quickly lowered his head and didn't dare to look at it again.

"It's weird. After passing by several female dependents, Pannis suddenly whispered, "Why do I feel so much pain in my arm?"

"Well, I don't know, I don't hurt. Catherine casually let go of the fingers that were pinching Pannis's arm: "Maybe you strained it too hard during the afternoon practice." ”

"Perhaps, but it's rare to strain just one finger-shaped muscle. Pannis pursed his lips, slowed down suddenly, looked down at the stone strip under his feet as if he had suddenly noticed, and even stopped and tread lightly on one of them.

Catherine immediately understood what Pannis wanted to do, unfolded the folding fan in her hand and smiled slightly, with a mischievous look in her eyes, but asked very cooperatively, "You also found out?"

"It's a warm stone. Pannis said: "It is the kind of stone that produces no more than five hundred pieces a year, and it is extremely difficult to mine the most precious dwarven specialty stone under the premise of maintaining the characteristics of the stone?"

"That's right, it's Warm Stone. Catherine nodded: "No matter what the outside temperature of this stone is, it will always be constant at thirty-five degrees, but the yield is extremely low, and only the imperial royal family and the top nobles or wealthy people of various countries can order a few pieces every year and cut them into small pieces to make them for stoves." The most important thing is that this stone will lose its properties and become ordinary stone after one year of mining, so it must be replaced every year. ”

"I don't have anywhere to buy money if I have money. Pannis looked at the road ahead, and then looked back: "Two hundred and six yuan, enough to buy your foreign mansion twice." ”

"It doesn't sell for any money. Catherine glared, and gestured to reach out and pinch her arm.

Pannis hurriedly changed the topic and motioned to the waiter beside him who was leading the way: "These stones, Mr. Marquis, he ......."

"The Marquis is old, and his health is not as good as before, so every year he buys half of the dwarves' production of warm stones, and spreads them in the places he frequents every year from the beginning of autumn to prevent his legs from getting cold. The waiter did not make a smug or indifferent expression, but replied with a most ordinary and accustomed demeanor, as if a normal person said that I had bread for dinner.

"So, what about the lamp?" asked Pannis, pointing to the crystal lamps hanging from the stone pillars on either side.

"Lamp?" Catherine wondered, "I really don't see anything special about the lamp." ”

"If you don't know magic, you can't see it. Pannis explains, "It's like Vivien's backpack. ”

"Nested circles?" Catherine asked in surprise.

"Yes, there should be a nested insect repellent circle. Pannis nodded: "This kind of definitely can't be mass-produced, it all depends on personal hand-engraving, and I estimate that there are no more than ten people in the whole Yarra world who can do this." ”

"Yes. The trained waiter replied calmly and in a top hat: "The Marquis has some personal friendship with the owner of the Alchemy Tower, Master Okomi, as well as some business dealings, and the Master will give the Marquis a few of these crystal lamps every year. ”

"Low-key luxury. Plain? Pannis chuckled, shook his head and sighed, "The luxury of this kind of big man is not comparable to us rude savages." Forget it, keep walking. ”

Several aristocratic ladies who were embarrassed and embarrassed, under the curious peeping gaze of the young lady, the two calmly walked farther and farther.

"You're so hateful. Leaving the women's side, Catherine whispered to Pannis, "Why bully those people. ”

"Those idiot aristocrats who annoy Farrar the most. Pannis said: "Hey, don't pinch, how did you learn to pinch people, and I didn't say you, you are the outrageous idiot aristocrat of Falar, well, I was wrong, please forgive me, Lord Knight." ”

Catherine gave Pannis a blank look, "How do you know they're from Faral?"

Pannis pouted: "Except for Falar, the country of knights, where to cultivate so many stupid people with rigid and rigid minds." The most ridiculous thing is that the upper nobles of Farrar have changed their minds and tried their best to make friends and hire independent professionals, and as a result, the middle and lower class of the small nobles are still sticking to tradition. ”

Catherine looked at Pannis with soft eyes, a warm smile on the corner of her mouth, and whispered, "Thank you." ”

"Thank me for what?" asked Pannis, blinking, strangely.

"Do you really want me to say that others deceive themselves?" Catherine laughed and covered half of her face with a fan, smiled and asked, "Well, I know, if it were you, you wouldn't have paid attention to the nonsense of those idiots." Mainly because I'm here, and they're mainly targeting me, who made me wear a knight's dress? You don't want me to be wronged, do you?"

"Hey, I feel good about myself. Pannis's face was slightly red, and he turned his head to the side to look at the twilight sky.

Catherine covered her mouth and laughed for a long time before letting go of Pannis to change the subject: "Speaking of which, I really didn't expect that on such an occasion, your manners and manners could be perfect, wouldn't you have learned these from your teammates in the adventure?"

"It's been a kid...... Homeschooling. The smile on Pannis's face disappeared, as if he remembered something, and said with a slightly sad expression: "My parents are two declining nobles, and since I was a child, they wanted me to be a perfect person and let me continue their ideals. Forget it, let's not talk about that, we'll be there soon. ”

Raise your head, the villa is already in sight. A tall and thin man about sixty years old was standing straight in front of the gate of the villa, with an easy-going smile on his face, silently waiting for the arrival of the two.

"Thank you for coming, Dear Miss Field and Mr. Wood. The old man walked briskly down the steps of the villa and bowed slightly respectfully to the two of them.

"It's been a long time, Mr. Butler, and I'm glad you're as healthy as ever. Catherine stretched out her right hand, and the butler skillfully took the short-handled parasol hanging from Catherine's arm, and her eyebrows twitched slightly at the weight of the parasol.

Catherine opened her mouth and hesitated for a moment to address her, but finally chose a very polite and distant title: "Is Mr. Marquis well?"

"Adults are still healthy. The butler nodded: "But if you can not call the adults like that, the adults will be healthier." ”

Catherine looked around and saw that the attendant who was leading the way had already run back to the gate, and there was no one else around, and then she said, "Well, Uncle Butler, where is Grandpa Snape now?"

The butler immediately showed a very happy smile on his face, and opened the door of the villa for Catherine and Pannis in good spirits: "Your Excellency is resting in the study on the second floor, and I will take you up." ”

"I'm not going. Pannis said with great interest, "I'll wait for you in the reception room." ”

Catherine thought for a moment and nodded: "Then you wait a minute, I'll come down to look for you later." ”