(2-in-1 chapter, together today and tomorrow)

On the 1st day of the 526th year of the Huoyao calendar, the calendar had just turned over, and the palace ministers had not had time to enjoy their leisure time, and the atmosphere of the New Year was broken by an unexpected event.

When the report of the murder of the three Governor's sons in the tavern reached the Queen's ears, Solandale convened an impromptu meeting to decide on their crimes.

Chino had drunk a lot of wine yesterday, and it was rare that he got up late, and was the last to arrive at the conference hall, and when he entered the door, the ministers were already seated.

At this moment, Chino noticed that the atmosphere was a little delicate, and the ministers were all looking at him with a strange gaze that they had never seen before.

He didn't understand at first, but soon understood why.

On the pedestal, the curtain and the piano behind him were gone.

Yesterday they were still there, and today they were dismantled overnight.

Instead, there was an extra improvised seat next to the throne, unobstructed, and just next to the throne.

Solandale sat on the throne and looked at Chino, and nodded lightly to him: "Your Excellency Regent, you are here, everyone is waiting for you, sit down." ”

A hint of coldness flashed in Chino's pupils, and he slowly walked up to the stage to the throne, holding both sides of the seat handles with both hands, leaning down, and just looking at Solandale.

The faces of the two were so close that they could even feel the temperature of each other's breathing.

Chino: "Maybe my piano skills have regressed, and you want me to go back and hone my skills before I come out to play?" ”

Solandale gently took Chino's hand and said softly: "I would prefer that you be seen by everyone and be by my side as before." ”

There was a distorting sound in the air, and I saw that where Chino was in his hand, the throne handle was under tremendous pressure, and several cracks faintly collapsed.

Chino's expression did not change, with the same smile as always, but it looked particularly strange in the crackling sound.

Just as the throne handle was about to be crushed, his hand quietly let go, and without saying anything, he slowly sat down in the place that Solandale had prepared for him.

The ministers secretly exchanged glances, and for a moment their expressions were unpredictable.

Solandelle looked at everyone and went straight to the point: "Today is the first day of the new year, I didn't want to disturb everyone, but just yesterday, a very bad case happened in the royal city!" Bring those three men in! ”

Soon, the imperial guards pressed the three young men bound by shackles into the hall and pressed them down in front of the stage.

It can be seen that the three teenagers were frightened all night, they didn't even sleep, their faces were pale and their eyes were bloodshot, they knelt there and kept shivering, and they didn't dare to come out.

Solandale looked at them coldly: "These three teenagers came from famous families and should have received a good education, but they obviously did not learn the most basic rules from school, and they killed an unarmed civilian with a knife because of a verbal dispute. ”

As the father of the three teenagers, Jashan and the other two governors did not say anything, did not plead or defend, but secretly looked at Chino with an urgent gaze.

Solandale looked at the three governors, "Although their fathers are governors, everything they do must be done according to the law. So—"

Before she could finish speaking, a voice suddenly sounded beside her: "Let it go." ”

Solandale froze, and after a moment's pause, she looked at Chino in disbelief.

I saw Chino sitting there with his cheeks on his side, his other hand on his thigh, as if he was playing a piece of music as always.

Solandale was shocked, and quickly explained: "Your Excellency Regent, I think you may not have heard clearly, these three people"

"I hear you clearly." Chino interrupted Solandale and turned his head to look her in the eye, "I said, let it go." ”

For the first time in her life, Solandelle felt that the gaze of the person in front of her was a little dazzling, she unconsciously avoided Chino's gaze, and her voice was very low and deep: "Why? Give me a reason."

Chino poked his head out of Solandelle's face and looked her in the eye again, forcing her to look at herself.

The curvature of the corners of the smiling lips disappeared at some point, and Chino had no expression on his face, but it was also the most terrifying, and his gaze seemed to penetrate her: "Because, I said, let it go." ”

Solandale pursed her lips tightly, her face was red and white, and a little sweat broke out on her forehead, as if she was in great pain, and she couldn't say anything.

Chino then sat back in his place, hooked his fingers at will, and tore the shackles from the three teenagers and gave them freedom.

Jashan's son, Matthew Hitch, was grateful, kneeling and moving forward: "Thank you very much."

Before he finished speaking, Jashan directly kicked his son down to shut him up, and said coldly: "Something that has no interest, why don't you get out of here?!" ”

Matthew then realized that his life was saved by Lord Regent overriding the Code, which was already dishonorable, and it would be even more boring to say thanks, so he hurriedly got up, supported each other with his two companions, and fled in embarrassment.

After the three teenagers left, Solandale sat there with her head hanging and weak, and Chino was expressionless and did not say a word.

Jashan is a smart person, although he doesn't know what Solandale did today, and actually dismantled Chino's piano overnight, but he can see that Chino is in a bad mood now.

It was completely unpleasant to stay here any longer, and Jashan simply didn't even say hello, and led everyone away without saying a word, giving Her Majesty the Queen and Lord Regent space to be alone.

After the ministers left, only Solandale and Chino were left in the hall.

Solandale looked lonely, and reluctantly squeezed out a wry smile: "Really? Do we really want to be like those vulgar palace fighting stories, because power is on the opposite side of each other? ”

Chino: "Didn't you pick it up first?" ”

Solandale closed her eyes to calm herself down, and then she grabbed Chino's wrist and whispered, "No, many relationships break down because of a lack of communication, which leads to deeper and deeper misunderstandings, and I don't want to see this kind of tragedy happen to us." ”

"So, let's all calm down, yesterday the conversation ended too hastily, now we have a good communication, a good talk, is it okay?"

Speaking of this, Chino was helpless, and said lightly: "Okay, let's talk about it." Tell me, what did you mean by that yesterday? ”

Solandale pursed her lips and said faintly, "I'll tell you a story I heard when I was a child." ”

"Once upon a time there was a little wild boar named George, who grew up living in groups with his own kind, but their living conditions were not good, their habitat was relatively poor, and they were often infested with hunters."

"One day, George and the others were foraging in the forest, and they found a lot of berries piled up under a tree, and he couldn't wait to eat them, but his mother stopped them."

"And his mother said to him, 'George, remember, that all this food that is piled under the tree and which you can get for nothing is a hunter's trap, and you must not fall for the hunter's trap."

George stared at the food in front of him, and was arched away by his mother. For the next few days, they could not find enough food, and it was raining heavily, and George, lying in the mud, was cold and hungry, despairing of such a life. ”

At this moment, George remembered the pile of berries under the tree, and he could not bear it anymore from hunger and cold, and broke away from the tribe in the middle of the night and went to the tree.

"The berries were still there, no other creature had gnawed them, and George ate them eagerly, and just as his mother had said—a trap hidden under the berries caught him, and it wasn't long before it was caught back to the human village by the hunters who had arrived."

"However, life in a human village is different from what George imagined, the hunters never bully it like jackals, tigers and leopards, and every day they give it clean water, delicious young leaves and berries, and build a warm nest for it."

"Slowly, George gradually got used to life here from the fear of the newcomer, and every day when he woke up from the nest, he could see the trough full of berries, and after eating, the hunter would take him to the farm to run, play with it, and give it precious herbs when he was sick."

"George lived a very happy life day by day, and began to laugh at the little animals of the forest in his heart - you are such fools, the hunter is so kind, and he still avoids him. Look how smart I am, I no longer have to sleep in the open air, I have someone to eat and drink every day, and I am much happier than you. ”

In this way, while the animals were foraging for food, George had an endless supply of berries. While the animals cowered under the trees to hide from the rain, George slept lazily in the warm den. ”

"George grew more and more fleshy and stronger, and suddenly one day the hunter took a rope and tied it to the slaughterhouse."

When he saw the shiny butcher's knife, George suddenly realized and smiled miserably—it turned out that I was staring at the hunter's berries, and the hunter was staring at my meat."

When Solandelle said this, she showed an unspeakable wry smile: "No, where did you get those endless supplies, I have never asked you, and I will not ask, because I know that it is a secret that belongs to you alone." ”

"But now, the sense of the unknown in you has scared me. Like I said yesterday, you remind me of that existence thousands of years ago - the Sun King. ”

Chino: "You're comparing me to one of those fear-mongering false gods?" At least I didn't brand anyone as slaves, and kept them in captivity like pigs and dogs. ”

Solandale closed her eyes and said faintly, "Here's the problem. Do you know why I'm telling that story? Because I found that the people of the kingdom are in exactly the same situation as George in the story. ”

"Under the Safeguards Act, people no longer work, no longer produce, and can enjoy life all their time. Yes, I admit it's a life of happiness to perfection, but at what cost? ”

"This kind of life is not something that people struggle for, but something you give. Eat, drink, clothe, and use what you give people everything they need to live, and absolutely control their destiny, so that they can never leave you again. ”

"What's the difference between this and captivity? It's just a kind of captivity that has shed its barbaric cloak and is more advanced in form. ”

"There are slave imprints, imprinted on people. And some. Seared in the hearts of men. ”

When Solandelle said this, she didn't know if she felt cold or because of something, she folded her arms, her body and voice trembled slightly:

"There's one thing I didn't understand before, the hunter wants George's meat, what do you want from the people?"

"I used to think that you wanted to work with me to make the kingdom better and make the people happier."

"But I found that no, everyone's life is indeed happy now, but this is just an objective phenomenon, not your goal."

"And when I saw the people kneeling in front of your deathbirds, shouting 'Glory to my lord,' I suddenly realized that what you want is their awe, and you want them to worship you as a god."

"But I don't understand, I really don't understand, why do you have to make them fear you? Is it so important to you to be seen as a god? Is there a reason why you have to do this? ”

Chino was silent, and suddenly, the eternal passage of time was frozen by endless frost, and he went to the mirrored world that he had entered countless times over the years.

The mirror of the world of the six deniers stood in the vast void, and the power of the awe system roared and gathered, like a torrent.

However, at the very end of the awe system, the place that symbolizes the ultimate power of arrogance, the head of the seven sins

[Ununlocked] (Accumulated awe is insufficient)

The hint of scarlet is so glaring.

The mirror world shattered, Chino returned to reality from the awe system, the frost faded, time returned to normal, and Solandelle, who didn't perceive all this, still sat by and watched him.

In Chino's consciousness, it had only been a few seconds since he entered the awe system, but for some reason, when he saw Solandale again, it felt as if a long time had passed.

"Why do you care?" Chino looked at those blue eyes, and his voice was very soft and soft, "From you to the age of 12 to now you are 26 years old, we have known each other for 14 years, have I ever hurt you?" ”

Perhaps because she had never been hurt, the once fatal tenderness made Solandelle extremely painful at this time: "I don't know, I just suddenly feel that you have become so strange, everything before was a dream."

"The changes in the kingdom over the past ten years, as well as the ideals that I have adhered to since I was 12 years old, seem to have become dreams, a dream woven by you. I don't know if this dream will last forever or if I will suddenly wake up one day."

Just as Solandale was in a daze, her neck was choked again, and a slight feeling of weightlessness spread throughout her body.

The sudden touch made Solandelle shudder unconsciously, and before she could struggle, she was pushed down by the white-gloved hand on the back of the chair.

As always, Chino gripped Solandale's neck, his fingertips rubbing against the most fragile part of her life, like a poisonous snake winding around it, cold scales scraping against her skin.

However, unlike the snake that hunts, Chino's movements are very gentle, just like his voice at this time: "You don't need to think about it so much, you don't need to care about what I'm doing, and you don't need to ask where the future lies." ”

"You just have to remember one thing, the one I've said to you many times – just listen to me and you'll get everything you want."

Chino's hand reached into Solandale's chin and lifted her little face, leaving a light kiss on the lips.

"Whew."

The thin lips are soft and affectionate, but they are as vicious as Judas's kiss.

Solandelle didn't kiss her back as usual, she sat on her throne with her head bowed, her eyes darkened, as if she had lost all strength.

It wasn't until Chino was leaving that Solandelle looked up at his back, looking at him, and his voice was full of helplessness: "You know what? We've known each other for 14 years, and you've hugged me many times and kissed me many times."

"But you never said 'I love you' to me once."

A processor whose blood has no temperature, who is always in pursuit of perfect works of art, cannot understand the most precious emotions of human beings.

Even if it descends on itself and falls into it, the demon will only feel dazed.

Chino stopped, silent, and stood

Eventually, he failed to utter the words that he did not yet understand, and left the temple with his back to Solandelle, drifting away.

(End of chapter)