Eliza Stiano took a deep breath and walked into the tailor's shop with her head held high.

"Excuse me, please help me make a dress that is solemn enough, but easy to move."

Her voice sounded a little dry because of her nervousness and excitement. During the recent snowy night riots, she chose her own side and showed her piety, and the next day Olivia sent a purple cloth and the "Voyeur Eye" badge embedded in an inverted triangle on behalf of the school, and said in a congratulatory tone: "Make your favorite uniform." ”

The atmosphere of the hidden school is free, allowing the uniform to be modified within the scope of not violating customs, adding lace and hood to cut a swallowtail is a routine operation, with more and more people "flying themselves", and then it became "cloth and badge for you, you find someone to process it yourself", of course, the processing fee is to pay for yourself.

Although Eliza Stiano can't wear those cake-like dresses because of her perennial dealings with bellows, this does not mean that she does not have her own girlish heart and her own aesthetics, so when the school offered to give her badges and uniforms in order to show her formal acceptance, she hurriedly said: "Please give me the fabric and badges, and I will go to the tailor shop myself." ”

You know, in the past few years in the north, she has also seen a lot of women's clothing that is light and beautiful, although it does not match the aesthetics of the upper class.

"Oh, it turned out to be an adult of the school, salute you!"

The shopkeeper looked at the fabric through his reading glasses, he had made or altered the uniform for too many hidden believers, and was as familiar with the texture and material of the fabric as he was with his own body.

Eliza's face flushed slightly, after all, she had never been called "skilled", and although the shopkeeper called her so, he did not have much restraint, but chatted with great interest: "Yesterday a young lady of the school came to me to make clothes, she already has a favorite uniform, but she also wants a matching shawl, and I pondered the ornament of an eye on each of the four corners of the shawl...... Oh yes, you should have a badge, right? ”

"Oh, yes!"

Eliza hurriedly rubbed on her body, touched her coat pocket, touched her pants pocket, and touched her pants pocket, but after several rounds, she couldn't find the iconic eye badge.

Although it was not a fatal matter, she was so anxious that she wanted to cry, compared to the fabric, the badge was more important! How could she lose the symbol of the hidden sage, the symbol of the school? If she asks for another one, will others think that she doesn't pay enough attention to it?

"This young lady, you dropped something."

A soft voice pulled her out of her thoughts, a beautifully shaped, fair-skinned hand spread out in front of her, and the "peeping eye" stared at her in the palm of a faintly pink palm.

"Thank you! Thank you! That's my stuff! ”

For a moment, she longed to kiss the hand, which was owned by a black-haired and black-eyed woman, dressed in an elegant black dress and a black hat with a pointed tip, like a witch out of a fairy tale—but definitely not the kind of witch with a pointed nose and crooked mouth, and her face was bright and magnificent, and it was easy to be fascinated.

It's just that monocle doesn't quite call her.

Eliza commented silently in her heart.

————————————————

"Your Highness Ornia, you must be tired after walking around for so long."

Thoth smiled appropriately and said in a gentle voice, "How about going to the front courtyard for a nap?" We will prepare good tea and snacks for you. ”

Please feel tired! Because I'm too tired to take it anymore!

Thoth made the world's famous painting "The Scream" in his heart, the ancestor said well, he always has to pay it back when he comes out, he has become accustomed to slipping away at those all-night banquets, he prefers to hide in his happy nest to write, play tunes, make a little chemical reagent, occasionally blow up two test tubes and crucibles to play, and at the same time change into pajamas, spread his hair, and his feet...... On the other hand, it is a heart-wrenching torture for him to dress neatly and behave modestly with someone he doesn't know well, even if Ornia is a beauty.

Thoth thought sadly, while He did smile beautifully, I really wanted to say goodbye to you...... I don't think it's a 'fat difference' at all.

This morning's itinerary is to visit the sculpture museum, which is full of craftsmen's ingenuity, the handrails of the staircase are wrapped around the grapevines carved in stone, the floor under the feet was hollowed out during the construction, and there are sculptures of dolphins, manta rays, jellyfish, swordfish and other sea creatures, and dotted with green seagrass and colorful corals, and finally a thick layer of glass for people to step on, and when you look up, you can see a blue dome depicting floating clouds and a bird sculpture suspended by steel wire- Although such a scene may seem a bit dull to Thoth, who has seen 3D surround images, people in this era will have a shocking feeling of being embraced by the universe.

At each exhibit, Thoth tells the story of where the inspiration came from and where the statue is so brilliant - he has experienced the difficulty of those tour guides, not to mention how dry his mouth is, and the real disaster is to remember or misremember.

All in all, even if the body is not tired, the mentality is highly tense.

"You're so thoughtful, then I'd be respectful and obedient."

When Ornia said this, Thoth almost forcibly refused to let her heart go out, and at the same time she couldn't help but feel a little more admiration in her heart - God knows how Ornia managed to wear such a thick skirt, pedal such high shoes, and walk for so long without any fatigue on her face!

Are all women gifted when it comes to shopping?! It's terrifying!

They came to the courtyard, where above the neat sofa and coffee table was a trellis of wisteria flowers, and the sunlight through the gaps in the flowers and leaves turned into a ground of gold, which was very pleasant to look at from afar.

Thoth was tempted to yawn and stretch, but as the "main representative" in diplomacy, it was his job now to find topics to talk about and keep the atmosphere of harmony and soothing things going.

What to say? He's trying to get his tired nerves engaged, so should I talk to Him about the weather? Although it is true that the sun is shining today and the sky is clear, it would be silly to bring it up deliberately...... Wait a minute.

Thoth suddenly remembered that the Bloods didn't like the sun, and that the "good weather" for them should be foggy and cloudy!

He hurriedly said, "The light here is too dazzling, I have someone move the sofa and coffee table indoors." ”

Ornia didn't get up in a hurry, but just took a sip of black tea elegantly: "Is it dazzling?" But I see you're enjoying it, your eyes are almost narrowing, like a cat. ”

His flattering eyes bent into two arcs of red moon, and the meaning of ridicule was self-evident.

Thoth coughed lightly: "If you make the VIP feel uncomfortable, no matter how beautiful the weather is, I can't enjoy it with peace of mind." ”

"Oh, let me thank you again for your thoughtfulness, but I'm not a rose in a glass case, and if I'm going to blend in with the Empire, it's only a matter of time before I walk in the sun."

"But ......"

"Alright."

Ornia closed the satin fan printed with golden lilies and gently knocked on the coffee table as if she were final, "You can put down your identity and pour tea for me, why can't I endure a moment of sunshine for you?" ”

It took a moment for Thoth to realize that he was talking about the garden two days before, explaining, "Please don't pay too much attention to it, it's just a matter of etiquette. ”

"Oh, that's weird."

Ornia couldn't help but sigh with emotion, "A gentleman like you, if you come to our clan as a guest, you can be shown love by a little girl eight times a day, and the ladies of the empire will let you go like this?" ”

"Don't make fun of me." Thinking of the bad thing about almost becoming the son-in-law of the Black Emperor, Thot laughed dryly, "And don't you also choose to be beautiful alone?" ”

"You've always listened to you." Ornia snorted slightly, "In your mouth, marriage can still be a choice, not a transaction, a bargaining chip." ”

Thoth chuckled inwardly.

"After several arguments, His Majesty the Emperor proposed a plan, that is, marriage, I myself became the Empress of the Empire, sharing anchors with Him, and my people would enjoy the same honor as the Imperial Family, with priority in the choice of territory, the ordination of official positions, etc., ......"

Ornia observed Thoth's expression, "You don't seem surprised?" ”

Thoth smiled bitterly, "It's not the first time I've learned about His Majesty the Emperor, no, the attitude of the ruling class towards marriage. ”

"But you don't look used to it." Ornia half-jokingly said, "Could it be that deep down you long for a pure love?" ”

"No, I don't marry just because I enjoy celibacy."

"Just because you enjoy a way of life, you refused the emperor's deal?"

Thoth coughed lightly, "You've heard a lot. ”

"People at banquets will always spit out funny words inadvertently."

The daylight shifts imperceptibly, and the distance closes unconsciously. Before Thoth realized how ambiguous the distance was, the rich, but not sweet, smell of perfume enveloped him again, and it was as if he had fallen into an invisible and omnipresent net.

"Lawyers are always good at describing the bright future, and the country seems to be a shining behemoth, and it's an honor to be a part of it."

"Everyone believes it will be immortal, but who among these people has seen the collapse of the excess?"

"To your voyeuristic eye, how much of this spectacle is the reality of the spectacle?"

Ornia's voice became ereolate, like a whisper between lovers, almost making it impossible to ignore the danger of the words.

“……”

Thoth didn't speak, but his mind began to drift uncontrollably to Ornia's words.

The reality of this spectacle...... How many points each?

The vastness of the territory, the towering Tower of Babel, the splendid palaces, the invincible legions, the claims of the subjects, who raised their glasses full of elixir and said in unison: "To our empire!" To our Emperor! Everything he saw and heard was a sign of the greatness of the nation and of Solomon's achievements.

But no matter how brilliant this achievement was, it was always a product of feudalism, of a rigid class system, and as a young man who grew up in a socialist society, he always kept this in mind.

The biggest drawback of feudalism was that the rulers' power was too absolute, and this "absolute" meaning was even more obvious when the emperor and the nobility monopolized the way of the gods - because they did not have to worry about being overthrown, beheaded, and nailed to the pillar of shame in history, which meant that they could do as they pleased.

He knew the filth that was hidden under the light, and He had seen the shadows behind the glory.

Some lords will raise the tax rate in order to make a big show, causing the lords to be overwhelmed and then push it to some illusory Byron spy after death, and they also know that local officials turn a blind eye to the demon family's human trafficking business after accepting bribes, and also know that some Fengyue places will accept good-looking civilian children in the name of "relief", and say that they are all "voluntary"......

Compared with the glorious era, people wore more proper clothes, ate more refined food, and developed more elaborate etiquette, but they did not become more civilized, but became more hypocritical.

Before Thoth could perceive it, an indifferent apathy began to spread in the upper echelons of the country, and the common man was no longer a "person", but a commodity, a material, a consumable that could be replenished at any time.

But the people are the majority of the country and the cornerstone of the country.

How can a country that does not pay attention to the cornerstone last long?

He heard the shadow of his heart whispering, and the shadow was eager to say this to Ornia with his mouth—

"My dear, it is but a vast apparition, and it is better to look forward to the day when it will collapse than to indulge in its empty pleasures."

Thoth's lips twitched twice, and before he could say anything, something bit his finger, the stinging pain that instantly brought him back to his sobriety.

He looked down and saw a transparent timeworm wrapped around his finger, flicking its tail reproachfully.

"You're laughing."

Thoth touched the head of the Time Worm with his thumb, quietly closing the distance.

"I'm just a mediocre king of angels, how can I evaluate such a great kingdom?"

————————————————

"Huh? You're not ......"

"Oh, do you know each other?"

In the school's cafeteria, Eliza Stiano was about to greet Olivia at breakfast, but found a familiar figure beside her, it was the woman who was dressed as a wizard yesterday and wore monocles, but now she took off the monocles and wiped them slowly with a silk silk.

"Hello, miss."

The woman snapped the lens back into her eye socket, "I don't know what to call you yet?" ”

"You can just call me Eliza, dare to ask your name?"

The woman hesitated for a moment, then spat out an exotic name.

"Mona Lisa."