The dimly lit room was empty.

This description seems to be inappropriate, as across from him sat a dark-haired teenager, his face unrecognizable by the setting sun. Outwardly, he is undoubtedly human.

However, it was a big misunderstanding.

On desks and carpets, figures cast by the setting sun are so large that they take up almost the entire room, and they are ready to move like creatures. The room was eerily quiet, except for the muffled sound of the machine called the thermostat system, which seemed to be a little louder at the moment, and the unrealistic terror was increasing in intensity.

And that's not all.

（...... Red...... ）

Unable to close the eyelids, the heart makes a trembling sound.

Outside the window, there should have been a city street shrouded in the afterglow of the setting sun, and a sunset in the west, but the shadow was too huge to even erase the scenery outside. In the churning shadows, a red reflected light was carved into the retina like ablation, not to mention looking away, even with the eyes closed.

(red eyeballs...... ）

The eyes that shimmered with an ominous light looked deeper than the surrounding darkness, like an endless abyss that could contain all things in the world, and just staring at it like this made it feel like the soul was about to sink into that abyss.

There is no emotion and no heat, just like another dark red light seeping into the body, mercilessly penetrating into the body and touching the soul. "Self" is being rewritten, is "becoming not oneself", madness, anxiety, shame, fear stir together and tear the mind, body and mind shatter and fly like rags in an instant. And then it was engulfed.

Heart-rending screams erupted, and the terrifying landscape vanished.

Breathe.

As if after a long absence, the fresh air filled the lobes of the lungs, and the hands that remained numb wiped the sweat from the corners of their foreheads and covered their eyes. After a while, the refocused emerald green eyes opened, reflecting Roland who handed over the glass of water.

"Thank you. ”

The warm white water washes away the bitterness in the mouth, and the cool sweetness spreads in the mouth and nasal passages.

"Mint?"

"Peppermint is refreshing, and a glass of warm peppermint water is good for the mind and stomach. ”

The boy waved the cup and tray to the waiter beside him. The waiter bowed and stepped back. It was only then that Minerva discovered his ears-

Mankind?

The princess, who finally reacted, looked around. The ornately decorated small space, the receding scenery outside the window, the vibration from under her feet - it was clear that she was in the carriage of a certain train.

"This is a special train selected by the consortium, and we are on our way to Lüdes, about 2~3 days later. We'll be back in the royal capital. ”

"Nayar ......"

"Shhhh ”

Roland put a finger to his lips. Shake your head slowly.

"Don't mention it outside. ”

"Sorry...... I forgot ......"

Slowly exhaled a sigh. Minerva lowered her head, her blood-colored face feeling weak again.

It was the consul himself who conveyed the release.

- The use of violent means. Forcing underage girls to obey their own reasonable or unreasonable commands. That's what murderers and rapists do, and as the embodiment of law and morality, we don't go into adulterers.

As soon as it came up, it was full of slots, and it made people feel like they had a big head when they even complained about it. Before his expression stiffened, Mr. Chaochong made a shocking speech.

-- After investigation, it was found that His Highness had entered Alfheim by mistake due to force majeure and not of his own will, so there was no smuggling into the country and unfriendly espionage. In view of this, we intend to present His Highness back to Charlemagne.

Click, click, click.

The table clock runs peacefully, and the sound of the pendulum and gears running is particularly clear in the sluggish air.

After a full minute, Minerva squeezed out a smile with mixed feelings.

"This is really a lenient treatment, is it going to use the manipulation method to erase my memory, or some other means to ensure that I will keep the secret here?"

The safest and proper means of secrecy is to kill people and kill people, and there is no difficulty in creating a corpse of a princess who has been soaked for several days. With snacks and a preparation of the location where the body was found and the people involved, the effect will be even better. If you want to be lazy, a cement block containing a beautiful girl will not be found at the bottom of the river for hundreds of years.

Because the explosion on the Cassandra Bridge, whether drowning or missing, is a reasonable situation.

Judging by the elves' reactions so far, it seems that they have scruples and have no intention of killing them. That doesn't mean it's safe, though. There are many special techniques of hypnosis and control of thinking in the operation system, although it is troublesome to erase a certain memory, but as long as the skill is superb, this kind of thing is not impossible.

It seems that they have finally chosen this method to dispose of themselves.

- Don't worry, I'm not interested in that kind of trick.

Minerva's leisurely tone stunned Minerva, that kind of unhurried was by no means disguised, and although the almost dismissive statement was infuriating, the guarantee had the weight of making it impossible to doubt its true Cheng dù.

――I believe in the wisdom of His Highness more than in the tricks that do not go into the stream.

The black-haired boy's pupils flickered with an eerie glow.

-- No matter what Your Highness wants to do, it has nothing to do with me.

The dark and bright red boy curled the corners of his mouth and smiled impeccably .

-- There will be no change in the present or in the future. His Royal Highness only needs to be a bystander, for the rest of his life.

The memory is interrupted here.

Probably at that time, the other party performed some kind of sleeping technique, and at this moment, reviewing the memory did not find any contradictions, and there was still no contradiction in Alfheim's experience these days, and there was nothing abnormal in his reading and writing ability. But when I think of the other party's speech at that time, I still feel shuddered, and I will have that kind of nightmare, because of the relationship that I was shocked.

"I've been watching......"

He whispered in his mouth. That statement was unpleasant, but sadly. That's too correct to be refuted.

No one cares about the protests of the ants, and no one tries to negotiate with typhoons, earthquakes, floods.

The transcendent species that act on behalf of the divine will are to human beings what are tantwise to typhoons and floods, and human beings are to transcendent species as grass mustard ants. There is no such thing as equality between the two sides, and there is no way to negotiate it. As a human being created by the mother goddess, he can only prostrate on the ground and silently bear the fate of the agent. For better or worse, this is a matter of course.

Rebellion?

This kind of thinking alone is completely contrary to the education and ethics that I have received so far, not to mention that I do not have the power to do it. Human ingenuity and ingenuity. In front of that huge power that can easily create a world change. It's not much better than ants. Even if thousands of ants swarmed up, it was only a bit tricky for the transcendent species, and the ants were powerless to interfere in the script he had written.

He didn't even need to send someone to find out Minerva and the people who had been in contact with Minerva and knew about Alfheim. With a gentle wave of your hand. Dozens of pillars of black diamonds fell from the sky. After a month, a qiē will sleep forever under the ice.

Both in the present and in the future. Nothing will change - as he said at the time.

"What the hell am I ......"

Leaning against the car window, his slightly opened lips leaked an anxious moan, and his eyes began to heat up unconsciously.

What to do - this self-question is unspeakable. There is no point in saying it. The elves poised to attack, the hard and soft power of Alfheim, the intricacies of the domestic situation, the treacherous struggle for the throne, and the impassable transcendence of the precipice—none of which she can meddle in, can only remain like a spectator in the audience, remain silent, and watch the actors play out the story on a stage called "reality" until the dust settles.

Always on the sidelines, for the rest of your life.

The ending is terrible, and it feels uncomfortable and even disgusting just thinking about it.

However, even then, she did not have the means to change the situation. To be precise, there is no such thing as zài in this world.

Just as reversing the heavens and the earth and turning the rivers, lakes and seas upside down, defeating the transcendent species -- that kind of miracle is impossible to exist.

"...... the hell we are"

Despair spread like poison in the body, and the corners of the eyes became moist, and the stinging heat swirled in the sockets.

"This kind of thing ......"

I know that I can't succumb to despair, but in the face of the cruel reality, courage and perseverance alone can't sustain it.

It's meaningless, human life is nothing more than that.

When he was about to be overwhelmed by despair and weep, his broad, warm hand swept the corners of Minerva's eyes.

"It's not like that. ”

At some point, Roland sat down beside him, and hugged his trembling shoulders as if he were treating the most important treasure.

"Our value, not such a cheap thing. ”

Let the girl snuggle in his arms, and the boy who had tasted that taste once sang and murmured.

Once upon a time, I was also shocked by the huge difference, and once thought that the so-called life and the world were synonymous with "catastrophe", and in the face of absolute power, I could only accept reasonable or unreasonable arrangements and use the excuse of "fate" to convince myself.

However, that is just an escape.

Because it is fate, there is no escape, and because it is fate, there is only acceptance. All the unreasonableness is used as a shield by "fate", agreeing with its existence, and then ending up relaxed.

There is no such an easy life.

No one is asked, "Why are you still alive if you're going to die sooner or later?" Immediately, he committed suicide without suspicion. No one has had smooth sailing from birth to death and has never suffered any setbacks. But there is no one anywhere who was born to interpret the fate set by others. The so-called "life" and "destiny" are to use one's own hands to explore and create a zào in the time until the end of life.

It is not a unique conclusion, and it is not even definitively certain whether it is correct or not. But Roland believed this from the bottom of his heart, and if it weren't for that, the world would really be a dark place.

"Reality cannot be just a one-sided passive acceptance. Even if it's inconvenient, even if you can't change it for a while, you can't give up the possibility ......."

It's not an answer, it's not a requirement, it's not even a theory. It's just a human being's expectations for the world and for oneself.

A small possibility, the only wish.

"Arm...... Can you relax a little? ”

A shy murmur came out of his embrace. Roland, who came to his senses, hurriedly wanted to withdraw his hand, but Minerva said, "That's fine", and curled up like a satisfied cat in Roland's arms.

"I'm sorry. ”

The teenager had nothing to say and hugged the girl.

Minerva accepted the apology, clinging to his chest and listening to the solid, rapid heartbeat.

Although he was somewhat dismissive of the declaration of Rolanda's view, he believed that it was a calm product of ignorance of the world's circumstances, and that it was completely worthless in the face of the forces that govern all things in the world, and in the face of unreasonable death and suffering. But Minerva's heart, on the other hand, received a wonderful throbbing from those words.

Soft, warm and gentle. Like a child being held, Minerva felt a sense of peace and happiness seep into her heart.

(Even if it is...... ）

His embrace gradually melted the horror and despair that had condensed in his heart.

(Even if you rely on it.) It's nothing. ）

The nausea that hit my chest gradually subsided. The so-called healing is probably this feeling--thought the girl who was intoxicated with warmth.

##############

At the same time that young people are clinging to their ideals and gentleness, another group of people is also discussing their ideals.

"Gentlemen, today will be an important day in history!"

The man in the center of the venue was waving his fist and his face flushed. Excited. If he hadn't spoken in a way that was still so coherent. People might think he was a drunkard.

This passionate gentleman is certainly not a street drunkard. He was dressed decently. He wore perfume on his body, put gold powder on his face, and wore a well-made wig. Standard upper-class style. Even if the emotion is high-pitched and almost out of control, the clothes on his body still do not have a trace of wrinkles.

Minister Lucien de Bellamy was a standard gentleman, demanding himself at all times to an almost exacting standard. Anyone who comes into contact with him would not have imagined that Mr. Minister had duels with people 15 times during his college days, and he fought lawsuits with people 3 times before getting an official position, and finally lost his gloves and duel with the opponent, piercing the opponent's heart with a sword to win the lawsuit.

To put it nicely, Viscount Bellamy was a brave nobleman. To put it in a not-so-nice way, the Minister is just a rough old man who pretends to be Sven.

As a nobleman, he should have a lot of etiquette, and similarly, as a rough person, or a rough person who sees a good future and interests, his thinking will become very direct and violent.

"We're going fox hunting!"

Bellamy showed a hideous smile, and the dozens of big men present also showed a knowing sneer.

Hunt foxes. It's not really a hunt, it's about killing a man, a woman, Queen Anna of Colora.

She must die.

In the aftermath of the Seven-Day War, the Castile nation had another point of view and attitude towards Charlemagne, in addition to gnashing its teeth and hating Charlemagne. Rather than hating Charlemagne for his defeat and the massacres committed by Charlemagne's army during the war, some saw Charlemagne as an example to learn from, and tried to emulate the way it had risen to transform domestic politics and make Castile the world's top power. Studying and studying in Charlemagne is becoming a fashion for many Castilians.

Especially Catalonia, the remnants of the old kingdom of Aragon. Due to the official Castilian edict, they were not allowed to live in the former capital of Aragon, Azugrana, and during the Seven-Day War, the Aragonese suffered few casualties. The Aragonese, who had always resented Castilian rule and sought independence, saw the war as an opportunity to realize their political ideals, and they contacted Charlemagne through various channels, hoping to obtain financial, military, and political assistance to overthrow Castile rule, expel the Habsburgs, and restore the territory of the old kingdom of Aragon.

In this situation, Charlemagne's expansionists began to intervene in the political situation in Castile, trying to control the political situation in Castile remotely and implement modern reforms that imitated Charlemagne. They frequently went in and out of university campuses, instilled in students ideas such as "Charlemagne's moon is rounder" and "everything is a problem of the system", and privately organized "student associations" to provide them with funds and printing equipment to support them in anti-government propaganda. They kept in touch with the Aragonese, instigating the Aragonese to act as a "fifth column" and create "certain incidents" at the right time, when Charlemagne would take decisive action to restore the Aragonese in their "ancestral land of dragons......

Among the many matters, the biggest one was the remote control reformers, who proposed to bring in Charlemagne's military advisers to carry out military reform. As if that weren't enough, they also proposed that Charlemagne train two brigades, about 800 "training teams", to replace the existing guards to "protect the royal family."

As long as you are not stupid, you can understand what Charlemagne is having, and it would be hellish if you can agree.

Among the many opponents, Queen Anna is undoubtedly the most eye-catching. The usually gentle and honest queen was deeply stimulated by Charlemagne's unscrupulous behavior, and soon publicly stated that "uncles can endure aunts", not only frequently blowing the wind on Philip II, but also publicly saying many times that "Charlemagne's behavior is no different from aggression", calling on her subjects to rise up against Charlemagne.

If you change a sane diplomat, when you encounter this situation, most of them will obediently hold their tails and behave, and wait for the rumors to pass before considering other tricks. But Minister Bellamy was no ordinary diplomat, he was impulsive, murderous, and more importantly, he was Prince Bernard's man and had a deep relationship with Titans.

So far, every action in Castile has been manipulated by Titans, or rather, the second prince's arbitrary behavior.

Ever since he became aware of Richelieu's intention to support Prince Charles, Prince Bernard has been in a state of high anxiety and impetuousness. Although he had the support of Titans and the Consortium, and the crown prince now looked like the general trend was gone, he had no intention of relaxing.

The crown prince suffered heavy losses, but the army's support for him did not waver. Although Charles is young and does not have a mother family who can provide strong support, he has not only Minerva who is engaged to the heir of the consortium, but also Richelieu's increasingly obvious support. Allowing things to continue like this will only lead to moving further and further away from the throne.

The means of solving these problems are quite limited, and the most direct violence is to kill one's own siblings, but this idea is not feasible, and there is no need to do so at the moment. The other is to build up the military exploits, expand the scale of Titans, and use strong military force as a backup to safely ascend to the throne.

The latter option was obviously more appropriate, except that after quelling the rebellion of the Crown Lords, Titans would have little to fight. The war in the north has nothing to do with them, and it has stopped, and the overseas struggle for colonies is the business of the navy. For a time, there was no war to fight in the big world?

Now that the turmoil is over, let's create a new one!

The Second Prince and the generals of Titans thought so and did so, given that they were already impatient to wait, and that what was needed at the moment was a high-profile, glorious, and great victory, and that ordinary petty fights were clearly not enough to satisfy them......

"The Great War!"

Bellamy waved his arm vigorously and shouted in a decisive manner:

"What we need is a big war that is unscathed!"

Not only the minister, but also the generals inside and outside the hall all held their breath and stared at the green light.

The belligerent nature of these Titans soldiers has been thoroughly awakened. After trying the joy of killing, the thrill of battle, alcohol, women, and drugs have become tasteless things. Only killing, only plundering, and only destroying can temporarily quench their hunger and thirst.

"We only have one brigade, and on the other side there are thousands of guards stationed in the Escoria Palace. But I am convinced that you are all elite warriors who have been through a hundred battles and have been able to ride a thousand horses! The cowardly and incompetent Castilian is no match for you!"

Unable to contain the passion in his heart any longer, imagining Queen Anna's horrified expression, Minister Bellamy raised his hands and shouted:

"For the sake of the great Charlemagne, comrades, Charlemagne, the gods of the new era, let's go hunt the she-fox!" (to be continued......