The weather is getting colder and colder, and the imperial capital has its first snow since the beginning of winter this year.

The goose-feathered snow covered the sky and pressed down from the sky, leaving only a gray color between the sky and the earth. The roads were covered by snow and ice, and the road was difficult, and many caravans chose to rest and recuperate, not in a hurry to get on the road. The Thudon River also began to freeze, and many sailors with pecks could be seen early in the morning beating the ice around the hull.

It was as if the whole earth was covered with a quilt.

But at this time, the imperial capital fell into a sea of joy, Victory Day will last for seven days, from the midnight of the first day, the grand parade has begun, and even His Royal Highness the Great Prince personally participated in the procession. Countless people have taken to the streets from their homes, bringing a touch of frenzy on this cold winter day.

In the morning, Rossi and his party finally stepped on the bluestone slab floor of the imperial capital, which was probably the only city without walls. Tuhrman I once said that if one day the enemy's horseshoe trampled on the land outside the imperial capital, it was no longer important whether there were walls or not. Instead of letting future generations live and enjoy themselves behind the city wall, it is better to let the emperor not be defended, let the future emperor be prepared for danger in times of peace, work hard, and let the strong force of the empire be the city wall to protect the imperial capital.

Although the march lasted all night, the streets were still full of joyful crowds, and the roadside was full of jugglers or singers with stringed harps, singing loudly.

The crowd made Rossi feel like she was in the middle of the sea and had to go with the flow.

It took a lot of effort for them to come to the only church in the imperial capital. Until a few days ago, it was a closed place, and the fact that no one had repaired it for many years made it look particularly dilapidated, and it was incompatible with the bustling and costumed city of the imperial capital at this time. Half-human-tall weeds covered the white ground, and the green vines that covered the walls of the church made the church lose its solemnity. The shattered stained glass was covered with dark green mosses, and the whole church looked ruined.

Ever since the last Pope killed His Majesty the Emperor in a fit of rage, the Empire has forbidden any ecclesiastical figures to appear in the city's circle of the Imperial Capital. Rossi and his party were the apostles who entered the imperial capital for the first time in more than a hundred years.

Looking at the ruined church, Rossi sighed, he could imagine the former glory of this place. The crowd knelt in the square in front of the church, begging for peace of mind. Wherever the sun can shine, it is the place where the light takes refuge.

With only half of the statue of the god in the square and only one pedestal of the cross in the church, Rossi summoned Arèrez and told him to clean it up and try to find some places to live before darkness came.

Rossi especially wanted to visit the ruins of the Holy See, which was once the center of the Western world, but unfortunately was destroyed by artillery fire, and it is not known what will be left.

After putting down his things and picking out something that looked like it should be real, Rossi took Hano to the address that Francisco had left behind and paid him a visit.

The imperial capital is huge, and this political and cultural center has more than seven million permanent residents, which is not much worse than some second-tier cities on the planet. And once a city is big enough to a certain extent, it means that strangers will get lost.

Rosie was lost.

It was also the first time for Hano, a turtle, and he felt that his eyes were not enough, and the strange way he saw everything made Rosie have a desire to kick him away. Fortunately, in order to maintain order during Victory Day, uniformed sheriffs can be seen everywhere, and under the leadership of a sheriff, Rossi finally crossed most of the imperial capital and found Francisco's home.

His home is in the heart of the imperial capital, which is a little quieter than some places outside, and there are not many pedestrians on the road, but everyone can reflect a kind of dignity that is different from ordinary people in terms of clothing. This is the area of the nobility, inhabited by the nobles of the empire, large and small. Each building is detached, like a villa. Hundreds of villas were piled together, and the visual impact made Rossi, a person who claimed to have seen the world, slightly distracted.

Straightening his clothes, tugging at his collar and straightening it hard, he rang the doorbell of Francisco's house.

Electricity has been used to a limited extent in civilian facilities, but for now only nobles and wealthy merchants can afford it. Not long after the doorbell rang, a butler-like figure quickly walked out of the room. He first looked at Rosie's outfit, and his arrogant expression became humble, "Dear sir, may I ask you something?"

Rosie handed over his name card and raised his head slightly, "I'm Rosie from Greenland, and I'm here to visit Count Francisco. ”

The butler took the name card with both hands, smiled on his face, tapped a few times on the inner pillar of the gate, and then opened the door. The door of the villa-like building not far away suddenly opened completely, and Francisco came out with a handkerchief in his hand to wipe his mouth, and from a distance he opened his arms and said in a loud voice: "Look, who is coming!", laughing and greeting him.

Rossi stepped forward and hugged him, "Long time no see, Count Francisco." ”

Francisco was young, in his thirties, with blond hair that shimmered with envy in the not-so-strong sunlight after the first winter snow had stopped. He slapped Rossi on the back hard, "Call me Francisco, my brother." ”

After the two separated, Francisco cordially took Rossi's hand and dragged him inside, "Have you eaten?"

Rosie had the heart to refuse, even though he hadn't eaten breakfast. However, seeing that Francisco was warmly invited, he hesitated and nodded, "Then I'm sorry for you." ”

"Aha, Rossi, don't use honorifics, we are all family, and too much respect will create distance between each other. What is needed between family and family is love, not politeness. He pointed to the four women who came out of the gate and said, "This is my wife, Dobella, this is my sister-in-law, Anna, those are my two daughters." ”

When the light came up again, Francisco's daughter looked to be thirteen or fourteen years old, that is, about the same age as Rossi. God, how old is Francisco? Thirty-two, or thirty-three? His daughter is already in her teens, doesn't he say that he himself had children when he was a teenager? Rossi looked at Francisco with admiration, this is the winner in life.

He worked hard in his previous life until he was thirty years old to eat meat, and he was lucky, compared to Francisco, he was simply weak in his previous life. At the same time, an indescribable feeling also arose from the bottom of his heart, because at this time, he also belonged to a member of the winners in life.

How old was he? Thirteen, but should he be fourteen or fifteen in his memory? Before being adopted by the church, all the energy was spent on how to survive, and it is hard to imagine a four or five-year-old child racking his brains to survive. But this is the truth, the cruelty on the border line is unexpected by many people, every winter, outside the fortress is a large area of frozen corpses, these corpses will be frozen together because of the heavy snow.

After the beginning of spring, it is even more cruel, because after the whole winter, the piles of corpses will be frozen into a huge pale red ice cube, and people are lying in the ice.

Driving those negative emotions away from the bottom of his heart in an instant, he glanced at Hano, who handed the gift box he was carrying to the butler's hand.

Both Rossi and Francisco continued to walk inside as if they hadn't seen it.

"This is Rosie, the new member of the family. Francisco introduced Rossi to his family, and he suddenly said to Rossi: "If you are not married, you can consider my daughter." ”

Rosie was stunned for a moment and chuckled, "It's my honor, but as far as I know, I shouldn't be able to get married." ”

This time it was Francisco's turn to be surprised, "I've seen a lot of people from the church, and they're all married. ”

"Unless I'm after I'm a cardinal, or I'm not going to move on to promotion. ”

The Church did not prohibit the apostles from forming their own families, but once the apostles formed their own families, the focus would certainly be on their own families rather than continuing to give their all to the church. Especially for the middle ranks of the church, once they get married, the upward passage will be automatically closed, and some of the apostles who hold important positions will be transferred from their posts. And above the cardinal, there is a need for strong personal strength, and whether or not he has a family is no longer important for an apostle of this level.

Francisco glanced at his daughter regretfully and shrugged his shoulders, "That's a pity, my daughter is a very famous noble lady in the entire imperial capital, and the suitors can line up all the way outside the city from here." ”

It wasn't until some time later that Rossi knew what this very famous person meant.