"Tully, are you asleep?"

Antonio's voice came from outside the door, and Tali stood at the window, hesitating, not knowing whether to open the door for him, she was a little afraid to see him now, and she was afraid that her out-of-control emotions would be seen by him.

However, Antonio outside the door did not leave, and after knocking on the door several times without answering, Antonio's voice revealed an anxious and suspicious emotion, he knew that Tali would not go to bed so early, and her long lack of response made him agitated.

Just as he was hesitating to call the butler to open the door, the door suddenly opened, and Tali poked her head out pretending to be calm, and Antonio looked at her haggard face and asked in surprise, "What's wrong with you?

"No, nothing...... "Tali lowered her head to avoid Antonio's concerned gaze, shook her head slightly, and asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"Can I go in?" asked Antonio, glancing around the room, politely.

Tali hesitated, but opened the door to let him in, Antonio went into the house and saw that the window of the room was wide open, he hurriedly stepped forward to close the window, and at the same time said to Tali who closed the door: "It's cold now, don't open such a big window at night, you will get sick." ”

Tali nodded gratefully, and sat down at the round table with him, the two bowed their heads and were silent for a while, and Antonio took the initiative to speak: "At dinner today, my mother asked you a lot of things, I hope you don't take it to heart. ”

Tali shook her head silently, and Antonio continued to say: "You don't have to hide it from me, in fact, I know that you are very uncomfortable to be asked, and the reason why I hide your identity is because my parents are farmers in small places, and they have never seen the outside world, let alone people of other races, and I am afraid that they will not be able to accept it." ”

"I understand," Tully's face showed an unconcealed melancholy, and she replied in a low voice, "As Rogge said, I am the same as he is, and in Deiz, where I met you, people hate merfolk as the Itali hate werewolves." ”

"No, Tali," Antonio got up and walked over to her and squatted down, took her hand and said, "I don't want you to think like that, believe me, no one will hate you, not my father and mother, neither will Catherine, they just need time, I will tell them slowly, believe me." ”

"Don't worry about me," Tali said with a smile on her soft little hand on Antonio's big hand, "It's not the first time I've experienced something like this, and besides, your father and mother didn't embarrass me, they're very nice people, and I'm glad to meet them." ”

"That's good, when we settle the matter here, I'll send them to the imperial capital to settle down," Antonio said with a wistful smile, "where they will be eye-opening, and at that time, they will easily accept everything about you, and they will fall in love with you, and hope you can stay with them." ”

Hearing Antonio's words, seeing the slightest affection in his eyes, Tali's heart trembled, Antonio's gaze made her cheeks burn, she wanted to avoid his gaze, but she couldn't force herself to look away.

Looking at each other, Antonio couldn't help but lean his face towards her, Tali silently closed her eyes, a heart like a deer crashing, she could feel Antonio's breathing, she could feel the trembling of his hands, and her ears seemed to hear his frantic heartbeat.

Suddenly, there was a heavy knock on the door, and the two people who were about to kiss each other were startled, and they parted to the sides in a panic, Antonio glanced at the door with some annoyance, and asked loudly, "Who is it?"

"Anton, your mother called you over. Catherine's timid voice came from outside the door, Antonio sighed in annoyance, glanced back at Tali, who turned to the side and bowed her head silently, leaned over and kissed her on the forehead and whispered, "I'll go over and have a look first, you can rest early." ”

Tali obediently agreed, Antonio turned and left the room, followed by Catherine standing at the door to his mother's room, the girl waited for him to enter the room and turned away, and closed the door casually, Antonio looked back at the door in some surprise and frowned suspiciously.

"Anton, come here!" his mother beckoned to Antonio, asked him to sit down at the table, and kindly took his hand and asked him a long question, Antonio replied perfunctorily, but he was still thinking about Tali.

Suddenly, his mother said to him, "Anton, how old are you this year?"

Antonio was stunned for a moment when he heard this, he was a little confused by this sudden inquiry, frowned and thought for a moment and replied: "I'm twenty-five years old this year, what's wrong with you, Mom, you even forgot my age?"

"Do you know you're twenty-five years old?" said the mother, shaking her head with a smile, "Which man of your age in the village hasn't been married for more than five years......?"

"Mother," Antonio hurriedly interrupted his mother's words, "I am now the head of the knights of His Majesty the Holy Emperor, and I have a lot of important official affairs to deal with, and it is an eventful time now, so how can I think about the private affairs of my children?"

"That can't continue to drag on," the mother persuaded bitterly: "It's a good thing that you contribute to the country, my mother knows that it is not easy for you, but your life's major events can't be left unresolved, if you don't have a goal, your mother chose one for you." ”

"What?" Antonio looked at his mother in surprise and stammered, "Who did you choose one for me?"

"How is Katyusha?" the mother looked at him with a smile and said, "You two grew up together, and you are familiar with each other's temperament and character, that child is well-behaved, sensible, and understanding, and is the best choice!"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" Antonio raised his hand to stop his mother, sorted out his thoughts and said: "Mom, this kind of thing is not so simple, I can't just find a woman to marry, even if she grew up with me, not to mention I don't know if Katyusha agrees!"

"Won't you just ask her?" the mother smiled unhurriedly and shouted to the door, and Catherine, who heard the voice, pushed the door in, closed the door and stood at the door solemnly, and the mother beckoned her to the front and asked: "Katyusha, are you willing to marry Anton?"

Catherine nodded shyly, bowing her head and not daring to look at Antonio, the knight captain looked up at her in surprise, then at his mother, and suddenly realized that all this had been arranged by his mother.

He gasped, and after a short period of contemplation, he spoke: "Okay, thank you Katyusha, but even so, it's not something that can be done, and now Mosco City is full of dead bodies and coffins everywhere, and I can't have a wedding here." ”

He got up and said to his mother and Catherine, "When I finish my work here, I will take you back to the imperial capital, okay? ”

After saying these words, he said goodnight to the two, turned around and hurriedly walked out of the room, Catherine looked at his back in a hurry, her heart was a little sour, she could see that what he said was just a prevarication, and he didn't have her in his heart at all.

The next day, Antonio did not go to breakfast, and did not leave the room until about ten o'clock in the morning, when he went directly to General Grammy, and learned that the general had ordered someone to find out the address of Ivan, the king's favorite, and he immediately rushed with General Grammy to Ivan's Earl's palace.

Knowing that the two were visiting, Ivan personally went out of the house to greet him, a tall and slender black-haired man, with a young and beautiful face full of great enthusiasm, he shook hands with the two one by one, and then invited them into his living room, and ordered the servants to bring refreshments and hospitality.

Antonio, who followed Ivan into the house, noticed that Ivan's home was very different from that of other nobles, with no expensive paintings, no elaborate statues and armor, even the furniture was very ordinary, and the most unusual thing was that the cupboards in his house were full of porcelain vases of various sizes.

Not only that, but Ivan's house was also filled with a strong smell, Antonio asked Ivan what it smelled like, Ivan smiled and said: "Your Excellency, this is the smell of mixed spices, General Grammy should have told you, I am a magician, and my hobby is to prepare all kinds of spices." ”

"You're not going to tell me that all these bottles in this hall contain the spices you have made, do you?" asked Antonio, looking around in surprise.

"Makes you laugh, it is. Ivan bowed humbly and smiled: "Although Your Majesty has made me an earl, my living habits are still the same as before, so my home is not so much an earl's palace as a magician's laboratory." ”

Antonio smiled admiringly when he heard this, and asked again: "Speaking of Your Majesty, I heard that you have been presiding over government affairs on behalf of Your Majesty for a long time, is that true?"

"I'm just helping Your Majesty deal with some affairs within my ability," Ivan shook his head with a humble smile: "Your Majesty is old, and as a courtier, it is also my responsibility and honor to be able to help him share some things." ”

"In that case, I take the liberty of asking," Antonio's expression became serious, and he asked in a deep voice: "What do you think of the current situation in the royal city, and have you considered any measures to deal with it?"

"Truth be told, I'm not thinking about it. Ivan sighed worriedly and said: "Now the whole country is shrouded in the shadow of witches, and a large number of people have died in all the main cities, even the army is not spared, and there is no one to harvest the grain, which has caused a serious shortage of food, and it is really powerless." ”

He said to Antonio worriedly: "I have sent a message to the imperial capital not long ago, hoping that His Majesty the Holy Emperor can send an army to aid us, and the power of Erus alone cannot get out of the current predicament. ”

Antonio didn't say anything more after hearing this, Ivan's words were not leaky, and he put all the blame on the natural disaster and the Holy Order, and he couldn't ask Ivan to do anything more.

Just when Antonio was hesitating how to respond, Ivan suddenly spoke: "Your Excellency, I heard that when you first came to Mosco City, you had some unpleasantness with His Majesty the King, I have a suggestion for this, I wonder if you are interested?"