Prince Maxim Midknight picked one from the row of glasses in front of him and drank it with his head up.

The aroma of hops and malt echoed between his lips and teeth, the gases contained in the dark beer poured out of his appetite, and the aroma returned to his throat and nostrils, and he burped comfortably.

"Good wine! William showed me a great place to stay! ”

After pouring three cups in a row, Maxim leisurely grabbed a handful of fries, dipped them in salt and pepper, and began to observe his surroundings with interest.

At the table next to him sat two drunks, one fat and one thin, who should have accents that were natives of Tagarvi City.

The thin man said: "Listen, Lord Marquis of Ainfurt and his wife have remarried, it seems that the celebration is held tonight."

The fat man burped and said, "Don't just listen, I also received an invitation, but Uncle Ben disdains to participate in the second wedding celebration, and only newlyweds are worthy of accepting our blessings." ”

The thin man spat on the ground and scolded, "Fuck! You braggart king! He is the Elector of the Empire!

His Majesty the Emperor has to give him face, so people won't invite you, a hillbilly, to participate! Compared to the invitation, you should still worry about your squeeze this month! ”

Hearing this, the proprietress of the Jizhang Hotel, who was standing aside, raised her head: "This reminds me, my fat Will!" You still owe me a lot of money for wine, it's been more than a year, it's time to settle the bill! ”

"You old! What to urge? The fat man shouted: "Lao Tzu has money, but he can't turn it around recently, waiter!" Serve me wine! The wine glass is empty! ”

"Don't give it to him!" The proprietress said angrily: "Don't think about taking credit anymore, Fat Will, I know you have money in your pocket!" ”

"! Lao Tzu is drinking with his friends today, you damn old ladies dare to break my face? With that, the fat man picked up the empty cup in his hand and threw it at the face of the proprietress .

"Fat Will! Are you tired of crooked? Two tavern employees ran up, pushed the fat man to the ground, and lectured him with sticks in their hands.

The proprietress covered her cheek, which was hit by the wine glass, and pointed to the fat man who fell to the ground and said, "Sons, untie the money bag from his belt and settle our accounts." ”

At this time, the thin customer sitting next to him was unhappy: "Hey, hey, hey! He was the first to stir up trouble just now, and you have beaten it, and you will get it when you are angry, but now what is it with his money bag? To rob it, right? ”

The proprietress pointed at the thin man and scolded, "Tom with a stick! It's none of your business! Don't forget that you owe me money for your drinks, too! If you don't want to be beaten, shut up your mother! ”

"Wow, you old! It's arrogant because of the number of people, right, so let's try! With that, the thin man grabbed a chair and threw it at one of the tavern waiters, his eyebrow bone shattered and blood flowing.

At the sight of blood, the anger of both sides exploded at once, and a frantic scuffle broke out, and the fat man cursed in his mouth, took out a dagger from his pocket, and stabbed a kitchen worker in the thigh.

One guest shouted, "Hey! Knives are moving, call the sheriff and the gendarmerie quickly! ”

The chaos lasted for half a minute, with two fat and thin drunks being beaten to a bruised nose and swollen face, and a hotel employee suffering a pool of blood on his leg, until a squad of mounted police arrived at the scene and beat him with a baton.

Because of the knife wounding, the fat and thin two drunks were taken away and detained, and several tavern employees who participated in the fight were also taken away.

The injured person was taken to a nearby medical station, and the proprietress continued to write and draw in the ledger as if nothing happened, she was an old man, and this kind of thing could only be regarded as a conflict in her eyes, in order to calm the dissatisfaction of other customers, she shouted loudly:

"Alright, alright, the farce is over, everyone should drink! I am sorry for the inconvenience caused to you by eating and playing cards! I'm announcing three glasses of craft stout and a plate of pickled cucumbers to everyone in this room! ”

"Haha! Hostess, it's fun enough! ”

The hall on the first floor of the tavern was full of jubilation, the waiters were busy, and soon the blood stains on the floor were wiped clean by the mop, the broken tables and chairs were replaced with new ones, and the broken ceramic and glass shards on the floor were also swept out, and everything was back to normal.

In the Valstad Peninsula, where conflicts like the one just now take place are constantly taking place, Prince Maxim enjoys it, and he loves the cheerful and chaotic city culture the most.

He was a prince who advocated freedom and hedonism, and for him, the heavily guarded Jinhu Palace was like a cage, and the proper aristocratic etiquette made him feel suffocated, and only sitting in a mixed market tavern like the "Wanderer's House" could make him feel more comfortable.

Everything is good here, the drinkers are interesting enough, the wine is delicious, and the snacks are delicious, and the only thing that Maxim regrets is that there is no tavern waiter for him to tease.

He complained to the bartender in front of him, "You guys are really here...... All the waiters are men, and I can't even find a girl bubble! ”

The bartender smiled: "Hehe, you also saw it just now, there are a lot of hooligans and gangsters gathered in this alley, and our boss lady is always maliciously credited, so she only recruits male employees, which can be used as a thug for emergency." ”

At this moment, a slender figure appeared in people's field of vision, and no one noticed how she appeared, the dark-haired lady did not come in through the main entrance, she seemed to descend from it, and suddenly appeared in the tavern, and Maxim's attention was immediately attracted to it.

The lady was of medium height, of medium build, neither fat nor thin, and looked a little impoverished in a loose colored cotton gauze dress, with thick woolen stockings over her legs and a coarse cloth bag in her hand.

Because she wears a lot of makeup, it's hard to guess her age, but it can be seen from the details that she is not pretty.

A round face, a pair of large light green eyes, a somewhat collapsed nose bridge, a number of freckles on her cheeks, thick lips tightened, messy black curls look a little greasy and tangled, although not pretty, her body is full of the unique charm of a mature woman.

The more Maxim looked at it, the more fascinated he became, and the wine and food in front of him were snubbed aside, he turned around and stared intently at the black-haired lady's every move.

I saw her open the coarse cloth bag she was carrying with her and show the contents to the proprietress .

The two seemed to be discussing something, and after a while, the proprietress nodded at each other and said, "You can perform your talent in my shop, but I will charge a third of the reward as the venue fee." ”

The black-haired lady smiled and shook hands with the proprietress and said, "Deal!" ”

She walked to the open space on the left hand side of the bar, pulled a chair over her, sat down gracefully, her legs in woollen stockings crossed on the barrel, and pulled out an old lyre from her coarse cloth bag.

When she spoke, Maxim's heart was shocked, it was the most beautiful voice he had ever heard in his life, both with the tenderness of a girl and full of the magnetic charm of a mature lady, but the burnt yellow rotten teeth in his mouth were a little sparkling.

(She must have smoked a lot on weekdays.) Maxim thought.

The black-haired lady bowed respectfully to the guests, and then said, "Good evening, gentlemen of Tagarvi, I am Mrs. Grancy Steinerberg, a troubadour from the South.

I was a poor man, having had two unhappy marriages, two times as a widow, and everyone hated me as an ominous woman.

I was kicked out by my in-laws and my biological parents, and I came to your country to earn some money to make a home for myself, and if you like my singing, please give me some reward, I will be grateful! ”

The guests in the tavern had just received a drink from the hostess, and they were enthusiastic and applauded: "Good! Sing one! ”

The troubadour smiled sweetly, and two lovely dimples appeared on his face:

"Then ......," she flipped through the booklet in her hand, "Let's start with my best narrative ballad, and please enjoy the ballad of Guvalstad, the Black Knight." ”

She coughed lightly, cleared her throat, and then plucked the strings with a cowbone pick, and sang expertly:

“

The snowy north

There was a knight in pitch-black armor

His troops were besieged by the enemy

In order to protect the princess who went to another country to marry,

He fought to the last breath,

Standing

Hold a sword in both hands

Exhausted and dying.

Heavy snow buried him and his armor

The tears of the princess were also buried

Secrets between them

Disappear forever in the bitter winter. ”