……

"Even so, it's more appropriate for Zeller to do such a thing as seducing a girl, right? He's a true warlock! ”

Matthew wanted to excuse himself.

Rhaegar looked distressed:

"How can you bear it?"

"Zeller has to worry about so many things in Rolling Stone, shouldn't we share his worries and solve his problems?"

"Besides, the war in the south is still undecided, and he went to the South Trade Post today to watch the situation, and he may not have time to come back tonight."

"That's it, I'll take care of Ms. Alena, and you go get Little Judy!"

Rhaegar said so.

Matthew couldn't find any other excuse but to respond.

"Speaking of which, your cemetery is very flavorful, but the location of the toilet is not quite right, how can you put the toilet in the center!"

Rhaegar looked relieved and said casually.

Matthew's nerves tensed suddenly:

"Which toilet do you mean?"

Rhaegar turned back and pointed to the negative energy fountain behind him and said:

"Isn't that one?"

Only then did Matthew notice that the guy was holding a belt in one hand, and his cheeks were slightly red.

"You've been drinking?"

Matthew's voice couldn't help but pull up an octave.

"Well, I drank a little in the afternoon, I've been too irritable lately."

Rhaegar patted his cheek:

"But don't worry, I'm sober!"

"That's right, I just walked to the toilet and wanted to pee, but before I could pee, those zombies rushed at me, and I was so scared that I ran away quickly, you have to teach your little brothers what politeness is!"

Matthew breathed a sigh of relief, and then said solemnly:

"That place is not a toilet, but a fountain from the negative energy plane, you should be grateful to my zombie, otherwise you will not have to think about Ms. Alena at all if you shiver at your convenience."

"And if it's Peggy and not a zombie in the fountain, you won't even have a chance to pull it out!"

……

Personally send off the drunken Rhaegar.

Matthew walks back with the invitation, and as he passes through the oak grove, he meets Eli.

"Matthew, I just heard that unqualified old rascal invited you to the ball?"

"I heard that Lady Alena will be here too?"

"Can you take me there?"

Eli looked at Matthew expectantly.

Matthew looked embarrassed:

"Theoretically, it's fine, but this matter involves the political dealings between Rolling Rock and Deep Blue Harbor......"

Eli asked, stunned:

"Your politics is all about women?"

Matthew choked up, but when he thought about it, he couldn't refute it.

He had to say:

"There are many complex actions and meanings involved in human interactions, and tonight's situation is very special, I can't cause trouble for Rhaegar, can you understand?"

"I'm afraid that when you go in and meet Lady Alena or someone else, you'll do something drastic."

Eli swore by this:

"I'm a druid, I'm not going to go overboard."

"And if you're worried about me, I can turn into a kitten, you just have to bring me in."

"I just wanted to get a closer look at what kind of person Lady Alena is, I won't get you in trouble, trust me, Matthew!"

Matthew thought about it for a moment and finally agreed:

"That's fine, but I have to add a condition - you have to be in the form of a cat at the dance tonight, no matter what happens, can you do it?"

Eli nodded vigorously.

"By the way, I have to remind you that Lady Alena is the lord of Deep Blue Harbor, she has a lot of power and wealth on the east coast, and she is said to be a little beautiful, and there are not a few people in the entire southern region who covet her, so you have to be mentally prepared."

Since he had promised to take Eli there, Matthew had to give him some vaccinations.

Eli said solemnly:

"You're wrong."

Matthew was surprised:

"What's wrong?"

Eli corrected:

"Ms. Alena is as beautiful as a fairy, not a little beautiful."

Matthew: "......"

He felt his heart attack intensely, and it had been happening more often lately.

"So, I'm going to have a lot of competitors in the whole South, right?"

Eli asked aggressively.

Seeing his optimistic look, Matthew simply brought Rhaegar out to hit him:

"Yes, there is a person in Rolling Stone, who is more mature than you, more powerful than you, richer than you, and more handsome than you, even in terms of fighting ability, I am afraid that the two of you are on par."

"The only thing he's not as good as you is that he's much older than you!"

The more Eli listened, the more solemn his face became.

In the end.

He looked at Matthew with a look of despair:

"I knew you wouldn't let Lady Alena go, would you?"

Matthew was taken aback:

"Why do you think that person is me?"

Eli blurted out:

"The way of the wilderness gave me my intuition!"

Matthew said angrily:

"I have no interest in Lady Alena, you can rest assured."

Eli breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked unusually excited:

"Really? If you like Ms. Alena too, we can play fair! ”

Matthew was too lazy to talk to him:

"Remember to be cuter at night when you change into kittens."

……

Eight o'clock in the evening.

Rare lights were lit up outside the official post house in Rolling Stone, and a few carriages lined the street at the entrance, and the occasional well-dressed couple led a young man into the main entrance.

The invited guests took advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention and secretly adjusted the corners of their clothes or accessories.

The waiter at the door also smiled stiffly.

Above the gate, two brand-new lanterns dispelled the darkness.

The afterglow shone on the side door steps more than ten meters away from the main entrance, revealing a thick layer of dust.

Obviously.

Proms are a relatively new way of socializing to the people of Rolling Stone, and the people who can be invited by Rhaegar are all decent people in the territory, but even they are constantly making sure that their etiquette is wrong by throwing glances at each other, and trying to make themselves look like they are regular proms.

Matthew entered the main entrance with a cute little black cat in his arms.

A waiter wanted to meet him and lead the way, but Matthew smiled and politely declined.

He walked briskly into the magnificent stone building, and the heat of early summer was swept away.

Matthew weaved his way between the castle-like corridors and halls, the lanterns and reliefs on either side quickly falling backwards—

The inns in Rolling Rock are said to have been originally built to the castle's specifications.

The southern part of the site has a palace-like layout, and its architectural style tends to be simple and rugged.

This can also be seen from the reliefs on the stone walls on both sides of the first hall and the demon head of the stone sculpture hanging from the dome.

As soon as Matthew entered, he felt a wild and enthusiastic atmosphere.

But the temperature here is very low.

Perhaps the height of the building is too exaggerated, even if the lights are warm, there is still a chill everywhere in the post house.

It was supposed to be used as the lord's house of Rolling Stone.

However, Rhaeggar's father only half of the construction was completed when he built the site, and for unknown reasons, the project was abandoned.

After Rhaegar inherited it, he started anew and built a lord's mansion with little shelves.

It is regarded as a post house that is not used more than a few times a year.

Matthew also knew.

The second half of the inn, the one to the north, is actually a construction site full of stones and wood.

It's only half a block away from the bustling produce street.

In the morning, when everyone is shopping for groceries.

Standing in the construction site, you can still hear the shouts of the vegetable vendors on the street.

Luckily, the dance was held at night.

There is also a huge stone wall erected in the north of the construction site, which can have some effect of isolating the line of sight.

Otherwise, this post house may be down in the eyes of visitors.

"How can Peggy even find gossip about a place like this?"

Between thoughts.

Matthew arrived at the second hall where the ball was held, which was very close to the courtyard where everyone in Deep Blue Harbor was staying, and it also belonged to the building to the south.

He came to the corner and put Eli on the ground:

"Remember?"

The little black cat said decisively:

"Remember! Never current! ”

Matthew reminded:

"What else?"

The little black cat replied impatiently:

"Bold and experimental?"

Matthew's face darkened:

"It's self and dignity!"

"Oh, ego, dignity! Can I go, Matthew? ”

Eli was as excited as a wild dog about to escape.

Matthew waved his hand weakly.

The little black cat jumped nimbly and slipped from the beam into the dance party.

A moment later.

Matthew also adjusted his outfit.

Smiling, he walked to the lighted wooden door.

Said hello to the members of the guard at the door.

Matthew's eyes quickly adjusted to the light in the hall.

He looked around and saw that this was indeed a more suitable place for a ball, the first hall was too big, and the empty dance floor was difficult to create the atmosphere it should have.

Not only is the hall much narrower, but there is also a row of rooms in the corridors on the east and west sides, and the hall is filled with stone carvings, cabinets, and other things that can obscure the view, except for the central area that can be used as a dance floor.

Rhaegar still put in some effort, sofas, bar counters, snack cabinets, and everything that should have been made up.

At this time, there were a lot of people in the hall, and everyone was a little restrained at first, but everyone was a familiar face in Rolling Stone, and a few people who were good at adjusting the atmosphere heated up the scene, and the other guests also let go.

Two bards play the hand-crank not far from the dance floor.

The beautiful sound of music leads people to chase happiness.

Matthew saw that some of the brave men and women were already dancing on the dance floor.

Their dance moves may not be particularly standard, and their movements can hardly be called elegant, but the warmth and abundance of emotion are the perfect interpretation of the dance.

Matthew walked along the edge of the dance floor.

A couple of young men and women were talking in the corner—

A boy with many freckles was irritated by a friend's lewd joke and turned red with anger, while the others burst into laughter.

A small black cat ran swiftly past the wall, jumped into the garden behind it, and soon disappeared.

When passing by a shelf of Purgatory-style armor knights.

Matthew also saw Ms. Liz, one of the members of the committee of five, along with another middle-aged woman, introducing girls to Brad.

The beard looked very cramped, and he kept his head down.

He looked up and answered when Ms. Liz or the girl across from him asked him to speak.

Matthew was amazed.

"Every young man who is urged to marry will subconsciously feel that Brad is very pitiful when he sees this scene, but I don't sympathize with him at all, and I am even annoyed by his appearance of not eating oil and salt."

At this time, a young man in his early twenties came to Matthew with a glass of red wine and said:

"Because there is a tradition in our family, if the eldest son is not married, then no matter how much the second son and the woman outside are cooking, they will be asked to postpone the marriage indefinitely, and I have lost at least two girls who love me for this reason, I can afford to wait, but they can't afford to wait."

As he spoke, he smiled helplessly at Matthew and stretched out his left hand:

"Paton, the Northern Tax Collector of Rolling Stone, you've probably heard my name. And I know very well that you, the mage who loves to plant trees, a strong contender for the good citizens, the new spell advisor in the Hall of Lords, and the hot celebrity in front of Rhaegar - Matthew, right? Get acquainted. ”

Matthew shook little Parton's hand kindly.

He was mentioned not long ago by Zeller in his case of the refusal of the villages to pay taxes in the west.

The tax collector, Parton Jr., was the party to that case.

He is also the younger brother of Captain Brad, the captain of the garrison, and the second son of Lady Liz.

At present, it is said that he is recuperating at home because of the flower willow disease.

"It seems that your resentment is very deep."

Before the people from Deep Blue Harbor arrived, Matthew casually struck up a conversation with little Patton.

"Of course, I lost love because of it, and more than once."

Little Parton pouted:

"When I was very young, I knew that my parents would always only have the eldest son and the younger son in their eyes, and that people like me who couldn't get up or down were destined to be forgotten. But do they really care about Brad? I'm skeptical too. ”

"I know Brad has a crush on a little widow from a moonshiner south of town.

Oh, Brad loved her so badly, he frequented her business, and he went with his brothers from the garrison, but Brad didn't dare to look the little widow in the eye.

He could only silently like her, and then watch as she changed male partners one after another in the past three years.

Sometimes I really want to tie up the little widow home for him, so that he can get married as soon as possible, and by the way, my mother can worry about my marriage.

But it's impossible to think about it, that little widow doesn't deserve our family, and if I did, even if it was Brad's intention, my mother would only break my legs. ”

Matthew asked curiously:

"How do you know in such detail?"

Little Parton shrugged:

"This is what the little widow told me in bed.

She always knew that Brad liked him, and she had been waiting for Brad's confession, but a year has passed, a year and a half have passed, and Brad has not acted for a long time, which woman can wait so long?

She died of her husband and three children.

It's hard work to support a moonshiner by yourself!

Brad's cowardice disappointed her and forced her to fall to other men, like me. ”

Matthew couldn't help frowning:

"Won't you have a mental barrier when you do this?"

Little Parton said honestly:

"There will be a point, to be honest, I have no affection for the widow, she wants me to be in charge of the taxes, I want her pleasure for a while, and then it is a tasteless exchange of bodily fluids. Maybe I just wanted to get revenge on Brad, who let him steal all the love and eyes of his parents. ”

"I came here today to see the blind date of Brad, but judging by tonight's performance, no woman would want to spend the rest of her life with a guy who only stares at her toes when she talks to her."

"I'm so unlucky!"

As he spoke, he drank the red wine from his glass and looked ready to leave.

Matthew asked curiously:

"That's it? Not playing a little longer? ”

Little Parton waved his hand:

"Forget it, you should have heard about me, I got a little scabies from that bad incident in the north, and I'm still eating herbs, so I won't harm others."

"Judging from today's posture, I'm afraid I won't be able to get married in my life, sad, it's really sad!"

He sighed and walked in the direction of the exit.

Matthew looked at his back with interest.

After not taking a few steps, little Parton suddenly turned back and slapped a small paper bag into Matthew's hand:

"I won't need this thing in the short term, give it to you, with your face, I'm afraid it's going to be very hard tonight, don't forget to protect yourself and your female companion." That's it, Mr. Red, I hope you can say a few kind words for Brad in front of Rhaegar and ask him to find a wife for Brad and get married as soon as possible. ”

After saying this time, he walked away without looking back.

Curious, Matthew opened the paper bag and found that there were three well-washed and well-made sheep intestines lying quietly inside!

"Matthew, what's in your hand?"

A pleasant voice rang out.

Matthew turned his head sideways and saw that Seve was wearing a light green fluffy dress with a few beautiful rhinestones on her forehead, smiling enthusiastically and shyly at herself.

With lightning speed, he stuffed the paper bag and sheep intestines into the magic bag.

"Nothing, a little spellcasting prop."

He coughed.

Seve walked over with a smile on her face, her smooth chin lifted slightly, and asked expectantly:

"Can you dance with me? Matthew. ”

Matthew hesitated:

"I'm not very good at dancing."

Sifu graciously took his hand, and with a smile in her eyes, pulled him to the side of the dance floor:

"It's okay, I won't, just jump!"

Between words.

The light on the dance floor was a little dim.

Two more bards approached, and they exchanged gestures with their companions, and the music of the accompanying dance suddenly became soothing and tender.

The movements of the people on the dance floor became slow and graceful.

Early summer.

The sound of crickets in the garden could be faintly heard on the dance floor.

It was a surging movement called life, and it began to play gently over the land.

……

In the corridor on the east side of the second hall, in a narrow chamber.

Rhaegar constantly adjusted the angle of the crystal ball, and he could see every corner of the ball.

"Why didn't you stop them?"

Zeller's voice came from the shadows of the chamber.

Rhaegar was silent for a moment:

"I did want to get Matthew up and beat me up, but before the dance started, Seve came to me and talked to me for a long, long time. We talked about a lot of topics, some of which I never thought to talk to her about – she even took the initiative to talk to me about the renewal. ”

Zeller sighed:

"The old father finally found out that his daughter had grown up?"

Rhaegar couldn't help but clench his fists, and after a while he slowly let go:

"I just don't want to be the kind of father she hates."

"Ten thousand steps back, if she really wants to get married, Matthew is indeed a good choice."

Zeller reminded with a smile:

"Don't forget their acquaintances, don't you mind?"

Rhaegar sneered:

"You mean Silverfield? What are you kidding, does Matthew's own excellence still need a position as a teacher in a mortal school to support it? ”

"This guy is the darling of the heavens, I bet that even if Matthew didn't go to that school to be a teacher, with Sif's personality and preferences, as long as he meets him, he may still be recruited."

Zeller agreed:

"It's true, Seve and her mother have surprisingly similar tastes when it comes to the men they love."

Rhaegar feigned surprise and said:

"Could it be that Matthew is similar to me when I was younger?"

Zeller thought for a moment:

"In some ways, Matthew is still worse than you."

Reggar's face is colorful:

"Of course."

Zeller laughed and said:

"His mouth isn't as cheap as it was when you were younger."

Rhaegar smiled, indicating that he was completely immune to it.

But in the next second, he couldn't help but slam his fist on the table:

"Where do you put your hands? Damn, I'm going to beat him up! ”

Zeller glanced at the crystal ball:

"Is it too much on the shoulder? I see that Matthew's movements are quite stiff, he has been deliberately keeping his distance from Sif, which is not good news, it is said that he has rejected a student's confession, he seems to mind this, in case Siff's confession is also rejected by him, she will be very sad. ”

Rhaegar looked pale, and couldn't help but smash his fist on the table:

"That's not going to work, if Seve really likes her, I won't allow him to refuse! Even if it's tied up, I'm going to tie him to Sif's bed! The man my daughter fancies, even if Lao Tzu is 10,000 times unhappy, he must do what she wants! ”

Zeller smiled:

"Stimulated by worries these days? Finally ready to take off the disguise of mediocrity and expose your true nature? Do you dare to say such a thing as kidnapping the mages of the Seven Holy Alliance? ”

Lei snorted heavily, and two raging flames suddenly appeared under his eyes:

"Every member of the Blood Banner Family has the blood of the superior devil flowing in their bodies, even in purgatory, we are the most special and rebellious kind. For the sake of Siv, what is the Seven Saints Alliance? It's a big deal, I tied up Matthew, took the two of them back to purgatory, and forced him to have a few more babies, and the days stopped after a long time. Will the Seven Saints Alliance chase him to purgatory? ”

"Wait, why am I talking to you like this?"

Rhaegar reacted suddenly:

"I'm obviously very upset right now, Matthew, that kid is eating my daughter's tofu!"

Zeller reminded:

"It's your daughter eating Matthew's tofu."

"And you'll have to be ready, Alena will be there soon, and lo and behold, her adopted daughter Judy has already appeared in the hallway."

"I'll take over the crystal ball here, uh, do you want to wish you a successful renewal in advance?"

In the crystal ball.

A curious girl walked into the hall.

She also had a black cat in her arms.

……

(End of chapter)