Faced with Lucia's request, Donner did not directly refuse, but he did not accept it either. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

He knew that Lucia wanted to help him out of gratitude, gratitude for saving the empire.

Or perhaps some of this gratitude has been transformed into affection. However, just like the hazy feelings that Kelly had for him many years ago because of the girl's fantasies and adoration, the love that comes from gratitude will slowly fade over time.

And Donner's heart was already filled with the figure of a half-elf girl, and even Una, who had been following him, slowly drifted away after returning to Middle-earth—the latter must have felt this.

Although Lucia was beautiful, Donner was grateful for her rebuilding the blacksmith's shop, and even had some desire to possess such a noble girl. But his sanity was enough to overcome this desire.

He wasn't emotionally empty, and he didn't need another woman to fill the void after the half-elf girl left. If he could, Donner would have preferred Lucia to see him as a friend, a friend who could trust each other and talk about everything.

But Lucia may not think so.

So, in order to avoid misunderstanding her, Donner controlled his desire to talk at the right time, and shook his head with a smile: "You don't really believe it, do you?"

Lucia looked at him suspiciously, and after a while, she breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "I almost believed it......"

......

In the afternoon, I must have heard the news of the brothers' return from old Jim or at the bazaar, and several waves of neighbors came to the blacksmith's shop, and when they saw that Donner had indeed returned, they were not only happy, but also congratulated him on finding such a beautiful and virtuous woman.

Interestingly, although these neighbors don't know Lucia's identity, they all know her name. So, the poor people, who were covered in patches, affectionately called Lucia's name and told her interesting stories about Donner's childhood.

At first, Lucia was embarrassed to look at Donner. She looked at Donner with a smile when the neighbors laughed at how Nawny Donner was as a child, and when he was only five or six years old, he said that he was going to marry the tavernkeeper's daughter, and so on.

"I don't even remember...... Donner argued with a wry smile, but the neighbors recalled more details.

In fact, Donner really didn't know this, and this childhood anecdote had nothing to do with him. However, after listening to these neighbors, he realized why Kelly had a soft spot for him as a child, and it turned out to be the legacy left by another Donner when he had not yet entered this body.

It wasn't until the first wave of neighbors had left that Lucia plucked up the courage to explain, "Actually...... Actually, it was Wesley's idea......"

"I guess it's this guy's prank......" Donner shrugged, deliberately following her words so as not to embarrass Lucia.

Lucia looked at him, as if she had something to say, but in the end she didn't say anything.

Kelly's brother Turner arrived at the blacksmith with Richard in the evening. Before parting in the morning, Kelly just casually said "come to the tavern for dinner in the evening", and Turner came over to invite.

He hadn't seen him for years, and Turner was no longer the young boy he was, but he had a slightly bulging belly, and his hair was bald, vaguely like his father—the tavern keeper Paul was a big balding fat man, and Kelly looked like her mother.

Turner must have learned the identities of Donner and Lucia from Kelly, and his expression looked extremely nervous. Even if Richard joked with him about the broken sword back then, it didn't make him easy.

Soon after Turner left, the blacksmith brothers and Lucia went to Kelly's tavern, and Richard kept telling his brother what they had seen in the afternoon—the children who played with swords on the beach had changed, and each of those former playmates was still living on the island, some of them had become families, and although he was excited to see Richard, he was a little restrained after all.

When the three of them arrived at the tavern not far from the bazaar, the door, as usual, was crowded with people.

Richard greeted them warmly, and Donner still smiled at the people who called him by his name (most people still called him mute) as he had done years ago. He recognized almost every face in them, but over the years, each of them had aged a lot.

"Don......" Kelly's father, Paul, realized that he could no longer call Donner by his name, but Kelly took care of him again, and Donner didn't want to be known by the people on the island, so he didn't know what to call him halfway through the shout, but just wiped the sweat stains on his forehead.

"Uncle Paul......" Donner smiled kindly, "thank you for your hospitality." ”

"No, no, no...... Thank you...... Come on, come in...... The tavern is closed today, so let's go to the small restaurant inside. Seeing that Donner was still so easy-going, Paul suddenly relaxed a lot, but when he saw Lucia walking behind the brothers, he suddenly became more nervous again: "Lu, Lu, Princess Lucia......"

Donner didn't know if his words were heard by outsiders, so he quickly pulled him to the tavern inside.

Paul's family suspended the tavern and arranged dinner in a small restaurant at the back of the tavern, naturally for the sake of privacy.

It can be seen that the dining room has been specially arranged, all the furniture has been wiped spotlessly, and some decorative ornaments that are not suitable for the dining room have also been temporarily moved over as a scene.

Kelly's family looked very restrained, except for Kelly who shrugged her shoulders at the three Donners, probably saying, "I don't want to do that either."

When he was seated, Paul insisted that Princess Lucia sit at the head of the table, but Lucia refused his offer, Donner shook his head, and finally Kelly smiled and pressed her father into that position.

"That...... Princess Palace, Your Highness...... Coming to ...... Before the official opening of the ......, Paul wanted to say a few words, but he had only been to Dorne a few times in his life, and the number of times he dealt with the nobles could be broken with the palm of one hand, and he was already unfamiliar with these hearsay aristocratic words, and he was even more incoherent under the tension, which even made the atmosphere of the whole restaurant embarrassing.

Lucia smiled and said softly, "Uncle Paul...... Thank you for your hospitality, Kelly has always been my friend. ”

"Oh...... Princess, you are really, really ......" Paul shook his head, probably trying to say something kind like being approachable or having fun with the people, but the words were on his lips and he couldn't remember them.

"Uncle Paul!" Richard suddenly hugged his stomach and complained, "When will I start eating?" ”

Donner, Lucia, and Kelly all laughed.

Kelly's mother, Jennifer, gave him a look by kicking Paul lightly under the table.

"Eat, eat, everyone's hungry......" Fat Paul looked a little frustrated, obviously dissatisfied with his performance.

(Ask for a monthly pass!Ask for a recommended ticket!) (To be continued.) )