A red sun rises in the east, and a new day begins.

Gadring City is not as noisy as it used to be, and even the streets of Anglo are quiet on weekdays.

For no other reason, after an all-night of revelry, most of the citizens of Gadlin and the guests who had come to celebrate Countess Akasha's birthday were still in bed.

And some of them have been busy for a while now.

Before the sun rose, Lemon was led to the castle by Vera to help.

Long ago, the aristocracy had an unspoken rule that lay it out on the surface.

The nobles on the weaker side would send their children to the local nobles as hostages in exchange for the trust of the other party, and they would be called "students".

When the power of the big nobles was strong enough, most of these "students" were the heirs of the weak nobles.

On the one hand, this can let the great nobles see their sincerity, and on the other hand, if they unfortunately die, their children will inherit their inheritance and title smoothly under the protection of the great nobles.

The strength of Glia is obvious to all.

Therefore, most of the "students" who came to Gadlin were the heirs of the nobles of Sicily, South Apennine and Africa.

They were well paid, and in addition to receiving occasional guidance from the Grand Duke of Greia, they were also able to receive a fixed monthly subsidy of 1,000 gold coins from the Grand Duke.

However, there are always exceptions.

Not all of the hostages were treated as Grand Duke Grea, such as Lemon, the only one of these "students" who was not the heir to the family.

So, in order to make ends meet, Vera, who is Li Meng's guardian, had to take Li Meng and Li Meng to find a job early in the Black Thorn Castle.

After all, their father, Richard, did not leave them much for living expenses.

Limon's job is simple – kitchen helper.

As if to match the noble status of the Grand Duke of Greia, the kitchen of Blackthorn Castle was also richly decorated.

The kitchen floor is covered with marble from the Palando Coast, the most inconspicuous shelves are made of rare elven wood, and the walls are covered with expensive bose glass.

Every cook and attendant in this kitchen seems to have their own pride, and everyone cleans up neatly.

The whole kitchen is well organized despite the people coming and going.

Except, of course, for Limmond.

At this moment, Li Meng was standing aggrievedly in front of the head chef Covito.

"Lemon, tell me how many times you're late?" Covito reprimanded sternly, his fat fingers unceremoniously poking Lemon's forehead.

"I, I don't want to, I had a dream last night, and I overslept, and it's all my sister's ......" Li Meng opened his mouth to explain, but seeing Covito's face gradually darkening, his voice became quieter and quieter: "I'm sorry, I won't dare next time." ”

"That's what you said last time and last time!Also, you can't get up yourself, what's the matter with your sister?!"

Covito's voice was louder, and a few chefs passing by looked out of the way to avoid touching Covito's moldy head.

"I was wrong, I promise, I won't oversleep next time!

“...... Forget it, you go to Sisos to help, remember, pay attention these two days, and don't cause trouble. ”

"Where is Sisos...... Got to know Uncle Covito. ”

Li Meng drooped his head and reluctantly moved away.

Covito stood in place, looking at Li Meng's back with deep eyes, suddenly sighed, and then left expressionlessly.

He still has a lot to do.

......

Sissos is a native Sicilian who was sent to Blackthorn by his father to work as a kitchen helper when he was eight years old.

Being a servant of a nobleman is not a shameful thing, especially since this nobleman is also the famous Grand Duke of Greia.

And now Sisos is eighteen years old, and on this continent, it is rare to reach the age of eighteen and still not get married.

But Sissos was not without a marriage contract, he once had a hard-working fiancée. Her name was Yelena, the daughter of a harbor boatman.

However, just a few days ago, he resolutely abandoned his fiancée despite the obstruction of both families.

Although Yelena's suicide after being abandoned had an impact on Sisos's reputation, it didn't matter.

The reason is simple, before Sisos tore up the engagement, the two sisters and brothers came to Blackthorn Castle.

When he first met Vera, Sisos was impressed by her beauty. But at that time, as a servant, he knew that his status was far from worthy of a noble lady, and he maintained his humility and etiquette.

In the first year, rumors of Vera and Limon being abandoned reached his ears. But Sissos was not moved, because he knew the barrier between the nobles and the commoners, so he still maintained his humility and etiquette.

But as time passed, almost everyone believed that Lemon and Vera had been abandoned by their own family. As for the reason, who knows?

Or why bother to know?

People have faith in what they see with their own eyes.

Sissos was convinced that Vera and Lemon had lost their family's protection, and that it would be easier for the two siblings to find a backer if they wanted to survive in Gadlin, where prices were very expensive.

Therefore, Sissos, who became the last deacon of Gadrin City at a young age, firmly believed that he would be favored by Vera sooner or later.

Sisos greedily looked at Lemon, whose face was full of reluctance, as if he was looking at a rare treasure.

According to Sisos's observations in the past two years, the lonely girl seems to have only one weakness, and that is her younger brother, this Li Meng with a somewhat dirty face.

How to get a woman as fast as possible? Just catch her weaknesses.

And Li Meng is Vera's weakness.

"Leemon......

"What's wrong, Mr. Sisos?"

Lemon didn't want to deal with Sisos, and even though he was still young, it didn't mean he was ignorant.

"Li Meng, where is your sister?"

"She went to pick out the ornaments for Lady Gangery. ”

"Oh, Lady Gangari......"

Sisos pondered for a moment, and then remembered who Lady Ganger was. She was the sister of Glia, the wife of the Count of Anglo, who had taken refuge in the city of Gadrin because of the sudden outbreak of plague and riots in Rome.

"Then Li Meng, do you want to eat cake?"

"Cake...... I don't want to eat it!"

"So, what about the cheese?"

"Don't. ”

"Ham?"

"No!"

"So, do you want toys?"

“...... Don't!"

......

No matter what Sissos said, Lemon shook his head firmly, even his favorite toy.

His instincts told him that this Sisos was uneasy and kind to himself and his sister.

Sisos's patience was quickly worn out, and he still smiled, but sighed inadvertently. Sissos's original plan was to establish a relationship between Lemon and Vera, so he threatened the head chef Covito to send Lemon to him in the morning.

But Li Meng didn't cooperate with his intentions, so there was only ......

Sisos stared at Li Meng, with a hypocritical smile on his face, and said coldly, "Little one...... You're going to do something for me......"