When Reinhardt returned to the house in high spirits, she saw at first glance a familiar figure talking with her father, and even after all these years, the figure was always full of grace and composure. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

"Aunt Ellesa, I'm glad you came to see us." Reinhardt greeted cheerfully.

"It's Rhine, I haven't seen you for a long time, how is it, have you been going well lately?" Miss Rabelais turned around and hugged her student and kissed her on the cheek.

"She's been having a real life lately." Thorgrande smiled and teased his daughter.

"Dad~ Don't say it." Reinhardt said coquettishly, and then she turned to Miss Rabelais, "Aunt Elesa, you can stay here too, I haven't been with you for a long time, I miss you so much, please." ”

"Yes, I miss Rhine too, but I don't know if Lord Russ welcomes me?" Elletha caressed Reinhardt's hair lovingly, and turned to ask.

"Don't ask me, she's the owner of this manor." Sogrend replied.

At this time, Miss Beta, Sarah, led Mehitis to inform everyone that it was time for dinner. Meydides was suspicious of the strange older woman who had suddenly appeared, and her eyes remained fixed on Miss Rabelais. Seeing this, Reinhardt immediately coaxed the little girl away with Sarah.

"This is the rumored little princess of Arlan, right?"

"Actually...... "Sogrerd was about to explain, but was interrupted by Miss Rabelais.

"I really sympathize with her and her mother, but, Thorge, is it really good for you to admit her bloodline?"

"I don't know, but I can't bear to break what this child has always believed in with my own hands, she is innocent, and I am willing to be the guardian of such a lovely child, including spiritually." Thorgrande replied, looking in the direction Mechides had left. Then he turned back to Miss Rabelais, who looked at him graciously.

"That's your style, but our Majesty Margaret must be angry about it." Ellesha said with a smile.

"Alright, dear Aretha, may I take you to a dining place?" Thorgrande held out his elbow, and Miss Rabelais, of course, would not refuse, and took the other by the arm. After just two steps, Sogrend suddenly stopped again and said, "Your Highness Celeste, the lock on the room where you used to stay has not been changed, so go change your clothes yourself and come down to lunch with us." ”

Princess Navi behind the two of them let out a burst of exclamation, and then immediately lifted her skirt and ran upstairs.

"I thought you didn't notice."

"How could you not have noticed that you never hired a maid, where could you suddenly find such a lively maid. I reckon Jayne realized something was wrong five minutes after putting you in the wagon, and he's waiting for Navi to pick you up. ”

Fifteen minutes later, everyone still at home was at the table. Theodora, who arrived later, was a little surprised to see Princess Navi sitting quietly at the table, but she didn't say much, but sat next to Reinhardt. On this day, even Mrs. Landier, who had returned to her hometown to visit her family, returned to the manor. When Reinhardt saw that the crowd had arrived, he ordered the servants to begin serving.

"Today at noon, we welcome His Royal Highness Celeste and Miss Rabelais to join us for lunch. We are glad that we have more guests, so we hope you will not be intimidated. Saugland said after the food was served.

Lunch was spent in a rather eerie atmosphere, and Miss Rabelais knew the people of the Leuss family well, and she was very easy to talk and laugh with Madame Landier. Celeste, on the other hand, was a little uncomfortable, and she had not been a guest at the Leuss house, but she rarely faced Saulgrande with many people. She carefully sliced the meat and carrots from her plate, munching on her food like a lady, occasionally looking up at Sogrande's position, only to see the other person smiling at her, which made her hastily avoid the other's gaze.

After lunch, Miss Rabelais proposed to go out for a walk, which was agreed. However, Reinhardt said he needed to take care of some business matters. Cyodora, on the other hand, coaxed Mechides into learning to ride a horse, an activity that the little princess of Arlan had been obsessed with lately. Reinhardt had chosen a chestnut female foal with a beautiful golden mane from the pasture, and the little girl fell in love with it, and almost slept with her horse. Celedora acts as her coach, and Michelle and Nataya, as escorts, naturally follow their own princess. Mrs. Randil and Sarah decided to take care of Mrs. Luce and attend to some household chores, so they also went away.

In this way, except for the Hayes brothers and sisters and the Redknapp brothers who went to the city, the only three people who actually went for a walk were Thorgrande, Aretha and Celeste. As was customary, Thorgrande let Alyssa take her arm, while Celeste followed.

After walking for a while, it was finally Sogrend who spoke first.

"Your Highness Celeste, has the wedding date between you and His Highness Rehhagel not yet been decided?" Eletha tugged at Thorgrande's sleeve.

"It's not settled yet......" Princess Navi replied in a low voice.

"It's better to settle down as soon as possible, so that your father can be completely relieved."

"Thorge, do you only have politics on your mind!?" Celeste suddenly burst into a loud voice.

"You shouldn't have no politics in your head, that's your obligation." Thorgrande was slightly stern.

"Why are you so ruthless to me!?" Celeste's eyes were red.

"Your Royal Highness, I apologize if I have made you feel unpleasant, but this is not a reason for you to slack off on your responsibilities." Thorgrande still didn't mean to soften his tone.

"Thorgrande, what a nasty bastard!" With that, Celeste turned and ran away.

Looking at the back of Princess Navi, Miss Rabelais turned her gaze to Saulgrande.

"Please go and take care of her." Thorgrande said with a sigh.

"I think she'd rather you comfort her." Ellesha replied.

"Maybe so, but I can't go."

"Thorge, you're such a ruthless guy sometimes." Miss Rabelais shook off Thorgrande's arm.

"If you think so, I'm afraid that's it." Thorgrande laughed bitterly and laughed at himself.

"I'll take good care of her, but don't provoke someone she doesn't want to see too soon."

"Okay, that's fine."

"Then I'll go first."

By the time Miss Rabelais found Princess Navi, Celeste had gone to the water-powered mill, and sat alone on the embankment, picking up stones and drifting into the river.

"His Highness Celeste." Eletha shouted softly.

"It's Aresa." Celeste glanced back at her, then turned her head back to continue the unsuccessful game.

Miss Rabelais lifted her skirt and sat down beside her, "Is His Highness Celeste still angry with Lord Leus?" ”

"Tell me, Elessa, why did he do this to me, didn't he understand my intentions at all?"

"No, he understands."

"Then why did he do this to me?"

"I think it's precisely because he understands your intentions that he refuses even more resolutely. I don't want to persuade you to give up, Your Highness. But be prepared for the difficulties you will encounter to achieve your goals. Aretha stroked Princess Navi's hair and said, "After Ginna's death, there are many people who want to take that place. ”

"Is that you, too?"

"I was one of them for a while." Ellesa smiled shyly, "I was still very young, younger than you are. ”

"I knew Thorge much earlier than you."

"yes, I know. When I met Saulgrande Leus, China was already his fiancée. Sogrend is the type that is very likable to women at first impression, which is not to say that you will hate him if you have too much contact. He has a lot of strengths, and he also has a lot of shortcomings, but he knows his shortcomings better than others, so he can cover them up and overcome them well. However, the more I got to know him, the clearer it became that I couldn't take Chenna's place. Others may think that I am his confidante, but I know very well that it is a false impression that Thorgrande has accommodated me. The one who can really be half of his body doesn't need him to make any compromises to work seamlessly with him. In this respect, I am afraid that even Her Majesty Sigrani may not be able to prevail against Chenna Lanfonte. ”

"Am I hopeless?"

"I can't say for sure, Your Highness. What you need to understand now is that Saugrande Luce was a man who valued responsibilities and obligations more than anyone else. He was always ready to sacrifice for what he believed in. So, to become his half-body, you first need to let go of yourself, let go of your rights. Just like in the story of the hedgehog couple, only by becoming like him can you become his wife. ”

"I kind of get it, thank you, Aressa." Celeste seemed to regain her courage.

"This is what I should do for you and his friends."

Miss Rabelais looked at each other with a smile, but she thought silently in her heart, but once you become like Saulgrande, you will not give up the obligations of fate for your own personal happiness, and this may be a paradox that will never be solved.

June 30, 363 Continental Gregorian Calendar, Mastar, Shurasa.

In her secret room, Empress Sigrani received an envoy sent by Adriano Galliani, the warden of Brescia.

"Do you have any good news for me?" The Empress asked.

"Cesar, Count of Maldini, is seriously ill, and the control of the Western Army is probably no longer in his hands."

"I see."

"Do Your Majesty have any instructions for me to bring back to Lord Galliani?" The envoy asked.

"No, you don't need to go back." Sigrani ordered coldly.

"Your Majesty, ...... you are" The empress's appearance made the envoy gasp.

"Your identity has been revealed, and if you go back the way you came, it will be difficult for Galliani. I'll test the Maldini brothers with an open signal, and the county watchman will know how to behave, which is one of the reasons I made him the county warden of Brescia in the first place. Sigrani pacified the envoy.

The Mastar Western Army has been one of the most important military districts of the Empire since the day it was formed, and they have the important responsibility of defending the Empire against the sharp north-west cavalry of the Pamischi. The Western armies of the past dynasties have always produced many famous generals, although compared with the generals of the Northern Army and the Central Army, they are often not favored by the emperor. Cesar, Count of Maldini the Elder, succeeded Count Carol Ancelotti as commander of the Western Army in April 327 AD, and had been in charge of the entire Western Army for 36 years, even longer than most emperors of the Heine dynasty. If there is any secret to this, in addition to the loyalty of the Count of Maldini, his wise political opinions and excellent military ability are necessary helps.

For Sigrani, she herself does not have much dissatisfaction with the commander of the Western army, and the only aspect that makes her unhappy seems to be the common trait of previous Western commanders - longevity and inexhaustible energy.

Sigrani didn't want to be criticized for being "ungrateful", and Cesar Maldini did a good job of holding on to her role in the civil war that the Rossi family had waged. Also in the military campaign against Parmis and Citaros, Her Majesty had nothing to blame him for. Thus, after the change of masters in Shurasa, the Maldini family still firmly controlled the military and political power of the eight counties on the western border of Mastar.

When Sigrani began to reform the Mastar army, she spared only the Western army. At first, the younger generation of the Maldini family was glad that Her Majesty did not want to pry into their cake, but soon they realized that this also meant that there would be no new cake to share with them. Having watched the reform of the other fronts, the young Maldini realized that sooner or later Her Majesty would take back all the glory that had been given to the elder Maldini. And how to keep the Maldini family finally got vested interests, which has become a problem for the younger generation of the family, but according to Sigrani's long-term observation, some Maldini are obviously going in the wrong direction.

So on the evening of July 4th, the people of Mastar brought back the news that Empress Sigrani had announced that the Sword Tournament would be held again, and the time was set for July 25 to July 28. All swordsmen on the mainland who were confident in their martial arts could sign up for the competition, and Shurasa specially issued instructions to all armies that they must actively send their best men to participate, including, of course, Udinese, the base camp of the Western army, far away on the western border.

Udinese received this instruction on 2 July. The entire Mastar Western Army originally consisted of four 40,000-strong corps, numbered the 2nd, 6th, 8th, and 12th Corps. The history of these four legions can be traced back to the time of the Yartikat Empire, which can be said to be one of the old roots of the Heine dynasty. Now, however, they have become the greatest hidden danger to Empress Sigrani of Shurasa. The Maldini family took control of these armies in place of the emperor. Sigrani was not unaware of the action, and in September 346, she drastically abolished the 41,000-strong strength of the Eighth Legion. But beyond that, any other efforts to weaken the Western army or install the Empress's cronies have been thwarted, either explicitly or implicitly. As a worthy tyrant, Sigrani knew that waiting patiently was sometimes necessary, and for the time being, she did not see any attempts or actions by the Maldini family to rebel against the central government.

Pilchesare Maldini - eldest son of Maldini the Elder, commander of the Second Legion; His brother, Alessandro Maldini the Elder's second son, was the commander of the Twelfth Legion. After receiving a written order from Shurasa, the two brothers discussed it behind closed doors.

"It doesn't seem like this is a simple event, and since Her Majesty ascended the throne, she has rarely held such events." Alessandro said.

"She's tempting us, and why she's doing it?" Pilchezare, with his chin cupped in thought.

"It seems to me that it must be because someone informed Shurasa that your father was seriously ill." A third voice interjected into the brothers' discussion. The blue-gray eyes that greeted Maldini's house were a handsome face that could be described as evil, and the tall masked servant behind him.

"You are here, my beloved Supreme." The Maldini brothers bowed and saluted.

"I've said I've been hungry many times, please don't use that title for a while, we haven't done our great work yet. To use such a title now is to erode our fighting spirit, gentlemen. "There is no need to guess, it is none other than our Mr. Mark, Maximilian Hermez Heineer.

"And how do you think we should respond to Shurasa?" Alessandro asked.

"Of course we are to send someone who has both exquisite swordsmanship and noble status, and who knows little about our cause, but who will not betray the Maldini family." Mark said.

"I don't think we're the only one here who fits that bill." Pilcesaray looked at Alessandro, and his brother nodded at him.

In the entire Western army, there is really only one person who can meet these conditions, and he is the third and youngest son of Cesar Maldini - Paul Maldini, the commander of the "Iron Wall" of the Sixth Army, an excellent left-handed swordsman, and an exemplary knight in the Western Army, who is only 27 years old.

Note: The story of the hedgehog couple is a French fable, the main content is: Mr. Hedgehog and the fox bet on a race, and then the hedgehog couple stood at the start and end of the race respectively, because the fox could not distinguish the hedgehog couple, and as a result, they were tricked into running to death. This means that husband and wife must have similarities in order to have a happy marriage.