January 1, 3 p.m.

Hesse, Tifa, and Vima, escorted by a group of Knight Dadra, left the Palace of Apophis.

The family guards that Hesse brought with him when he came to Hyderabad were all left to Joe.

Salian had a new batch of ordnance to be shipped to the port of Tulum, and he granted permission for the Hessian father and daughter to ride in the Celestial Chariot.

In a sense, Hesse had just been made a duke and was able to get his hands on the Chariot of the Celestials, which meant that he had become a member of the inner circle around Salian.

You must know that many of the founding nobles of the Delen Empire, some dukes and marquis with real power, they did not know the existence of the Celestial Chariot. Hesse was able to return to the port of Tulum with his two daughters in the Chariot of the Gods...... This is enough to represent Salian's attitude towards the Rittal family.

Joe blinked and stood behind the gates of the Palace of Apophis.

Two court ceremonies stood beside him, staring straight at Joe's feet—if he dared to take a step out of the palace of Apophis, they would immediately report to Mata XIII.

As for the subsequent punishment......

It depends on the mood of Mata XIII.

"It's still more than a month before school starts." Joe crossed his hands and stood behind the door and muttered, "Gorkin is training a new army in the barracks, Hesse, they go back to Tulun Harbor, they are likely to have to fight against those bastards in the Ice Sea Kingdom...... What a wonderful life, only I was punished to squat here...... Damned, boring palace. ”

Ferdinand, who was wearing scarlet pajamas, scarlet pajama pants, a green nightcap, and a pair of dark blue velvet slippers, smiled and stood beside Joe with a red face.

Hearing Joe's complaint, Ferdinand put his arm around Joe's shoulder: "Little bastard, you say Apophis Palace is boring?" Oh, oh, it's because you don't know the beauty of life yet, and you haven't learned to enjoy it yet! ”

"Come, I'll go and call some old friends over, let's go to the cigar room, get together a table of cards, and then, drink the best red wine, smoke the best cigars, and play a hundred gold marks a bet of cards."

"After dinner, we can continue to play cards for a while, and then I send someone outside to the upscale club and call a bunch of lovely girls...... Ah, dear little bastard, you ...... Is it still a pure little boy? ”

Joe's face turned red.

He blinked, staring at Ferdinand with an extremely complicated gaze.

Ferdinand's voice became extremely ...... Mysterious and ethereal: "Dear Joe, are you still a little boy?" Ah, hell, you're eighteen years old, and besides, you're now a real marquis with a fief in Lower Loxonshire! ”

"Hell, those aristocratic little bastards in the imperial capital, when they were thirteen years old on average, they comprehended the beauty of life in their handmaidens...... And you, you're eighteen years old...... You're ......."

"Oh, really, really, so much fun...... Believe me, I, Ferdinand von Hyderaberg, swear in the name of the Crown Prince that I will find you a tender and delicious little girl, let her take you, step by step, to learn the most wonderful bliss of life, and make you a real man! ”

Ferdinand giggled weirdly, and he shook Joe's shoulder vigorously: "Dear little bastard, believe me, as long as you learn to enjoy life, Apophis Palace will be a heavenly existence." ”

"Ah, you know, it's the highest thing I've ever pursued in my life...... There is a most magnificent palace, with countless fine wines, countless fine tobacco, and a lot of gold marks that are not spended...... Also, the girls who hook their fingers and send them to the door! ”

"As long as you have these...... Don't talk about Apophis Palace, even if it's the black prison of the Blood Kapok Castle......"

Ferdinand, who was shouting loudly and trying to lead Joe to the road of no return for the 'five poisons' gentleman, suddenly shut his mouth.

He straightened his waist and became serious.

He coughed heavily, and nodded majestically to Old Lady Mary, who suddenly appeared at the gate: "Ah, this lady, the weather is fine today...... Are you here to find Joe? Aha, you're busy, you're busy...... It occurred to me that I had a book yesterday that I hadn't finished reading. ”

Ferdinand coughed heavily, then patted Joe on the shoulder hard.

"Joe, as an elder, I must remind you of one thing. Don't waste your time while you're young. Although His Royal Highness Mata punished you for thinking about it behind closed doors, it was also a protection for you, who made you spill George with beer? Do you know how many nobles of the Ice Sea Kingdom want to be against you now? ”

"So, although I thought about it behind closed doors, this is also a good opportunity for you to enrich yourself."

"Just like me, last night, I lit a candle and read the 1369 edition of "The History of the War on the Continent", and I read it until the early hours of the morning......"

Qiao coughed heavily: "Your Highness, we all attended the New Year's banquet in Hydra Palace yesterday......"

Ferdinand's expression became more serious: "Of course, yes, that's right, obviously, we were all at the New Year's banquet last night...... So, I didn't light a candle last night, yes...... There is no doubt about it...... I just want to say to you, you have to read more and read more useful books while you are young. ”

"That's right, that's the truth...... Don't think about eating and drinking all day long, don't think about playing cards and playing money all day long, and don't think about hanging out with those nasty women all day long! ”

"To be a useful person, a noble person, a person who is free from low tastes!"

"Joe, I'm very optimistic about you, that's right, you have a great future, and you have a bright future...... Work hard, and I'm sure you'll be able to become a pillar of the empire! ”

Ferdinand spoke enthusiastically and full of positive energy, and then he nodded to Old Lady Mary reservedly, turned around with a smile, and walked step by step towards the main building of the Apophis Palace.

The moment he turned around, Ferdinand's face became extremely ugly.

His expression at the moment was like an unlucky egg who was making love to the girl at the girl's house, but was suddenly bitten by the girl's pet dog...... It was dark, gloomy, and there was a strong grief and indignation that was greater than the death of the heart!

"It's weird." Jo looked at Ferdinand's back, he lowered his voice, bent down, smiled at Old Lady Mary, and then pointed to his head and whispered, "He, as he often does...... Of course, this has something to do with his perennial alcoholism...... In the port of Tulum, there were a lot of retired old sailors, who drank too much, and they often went crazy like this. ”

"Have you taken care of the things in your tavern?"

Jo patted a few snow particles on Old Lady Mary's shawl: "If it is dealt with, I will let Mr. S. Sterns go through the formalities...... Haha, I'm taking a stake in your tavern! ”

Old Lady Mary tilted her head slightly, looked at Joe with a smile on her face, suddenly sighed heavily, opened her arms, and hugged Joe.

She buried her head in Joe's arms, and two lines of tears welled up in her eyes.

Joe was confused.

"What's wrong with you? What's wrong with you? Did something happen? Someone bullied you? Still is...... What else is going on? Ah, don't cry, don't cry, there's nothing that can't be solved, and believe me, there's nothing that can't be solved. ”

Ferdinand, who seemed to be walking slowly step by step, was actually flying fast heard Joe's shouting.

He jerked his head back at Old Lady Mary, who had thrown herself into Jo's arms.

He muttered in a low voice, "Oh...... Damn it...... If it's a trouble she can't solve...... That's really, hell trouble...... But what happened? What happened yesterday? Except for Marg to escape...... The next thing ......"

Patting his head vigorously, Ferdinand muttered, "I really shouldn't have drunk so much, uh, I forgot to ask about the rest of the story." ”

"But...... She actually cried? Ah, the ruthless, hard-hearted, bloody 'Mad Emperor' who stirred up the entire Metland continent...... How can you cry? ”

"The land of right and wrong, don't stay for a long time, go quickly, go quickly."

Ferdinand turned around and ran away without a trace.

He made up his mind that Old Lady Mary would be working as a cook at the Palace of Apophis...... He will definitely live in seclusion, and if he can not show his face, he will not show his face......

Eat, drink, and lazar, all in your own room!

If Old Lady Mary doesn't leave, he definitely won't go out!

It's horrible, it's horrible...... and she live under one roof...... It's really ......

Only those who really know her know how exciting it is to live with her!

It's just exciting!

Jo was still helpless to reassure Old Lady Mary.

Poor Joe, he really has no experience in women, he can't even handle his own sister and sister, and when he was in Port Tulum, he was bullied by Tifa and Weima all the year round......

Tifa violently snatches his pocket money.

Weima tricked Raipi out of his pocket money.

Joe, who can't even put his sister and sister on the table, how can he comfort an old lady who is holding him and crying?

He can only learn ...... Learning from the scene when he was a child, Leah comforted him, gently patted the back of Mrs. Mary's head, like a dog, and gently rubbed her fat palm against Mrs. Mary's head.

Old Lady Mary put her arms around Joe and wept.

She just hugged Joe and cried for half an hour.

Jo stood at the gate of the palace of Apophis with his arms around the old lady, patting her on the head gently, whispering, tossing and turning, and soothing her with a few dry, pale words.

"There's nothing that can't be solved."

"Look, if you can solve it with money, it's not a problem."

"If it can't be solved with money, we can do it with our fists."

"If the fists don't work, I can get Gorkin to pull his men out, and the artillery can solve most of the troubles...... That's what Hesse said. ”

"If the artillery doesn't work, let's go to His Highness Salian...... Haha, I'll give him a little more goodies, and he'll be happy to help us out with some troubles...... Hesse said that money, force, and power, when combined, are the most powerful power in the world. ”

"There's nothing that can't be solved, you say?"

Jo racked his brains to appease the old lady with all the things he remembered Hesse had said to him, whether appropriate or not.

Old Lady Mary giggled.

She lifted her head slightly, and shook her head vigorously.

"Joe, you're a good boy."

"Well, I'm fine, I'm really fine......"

"Relatives at home, who have disobedient children, got into a little lawsuit...... They may be arrested by the police......"

"Still, this is the punishment they deserve."

"I'm fine...... Really, it's okay......"