Three carriages bearing the insignia of the Cecil Family were traveling on the streets of the capital. In the lead carriage, Witch Kiplee opened the cover of the window, looking at the city with a trace of curiosity, but at the same time, cautiously observing the city.
She was born and raised in the poor and backward Southern Territory. Before she met "Big Sister" Amber, her whole world was made up of the dark and dirty corners of the town, the low and shabby streets, and the smelly garbage heaps. But like most Ansu people, she also had the opportunity to hear stories about the great city the Captical. From the bards, the boastful adventurers, and the cunning and vigilant merchants who occasionally passed by, she sketched out the image of the city in her imagination. She imagined the tall and majestic walls, the magnificent churches, the magnificent mansions of the nobles, and the "Castle of White Silver" where His Majesty lived and was covered with silver foil.
In those days when she was a swindler and a witch, she knew that it was impossible for her to visit the King's City with her status and ability. Not to mention visiting the King's City, even if she dared to step into a bigger city, she might be caught and whipped by the lords. But fate was sometimes so wonderful. She was used to saying this sentence to fool adventurers when she was wearing a hood and a set of divination cards, but at this time, she really wanted to say it to herself. Under the wonderful arrangement of fate, she became a decent person, a person who was loyal to the great nobles, and the King's City, which only existed in her imagination, was now in front of her eyes.
It was indeed as magnificent and magnificent as the bards and adventurers said.
But it was old and dirty everywhere.
Gypsy frowned as she looked at the filth on both sides of the streets of King's City. There was no lack of dilapidated slums within the tall city walls. Along the way, she also saw ragged slums and 'untouchables' being chased away by soldiers. She felt that her beautiful image of King's City was collapsing little by little.
It was indeed a magnificent and ancient capital city. In terms of history and scale, it was worthy of being the head of the Ansu, but Gypsy found that she preferred the clean streets and orderly districts of Cecil's domain, and she preferred the vigorous people and the law-abiding officials there.
However, she remembered the mission she received before she left, so she hid all her emotions very well. With an elegant smile, she put down the cover of the carriage and turned around to look at the young arcanist sitting opposite her. "Mr. Santis, shall we go straight to the duke's residence?"
Santis was a bit nervous. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "I want to … go home first."
Then he hurriedly added, "Of course, the Duke's task is more important. If you think it's inappropriate, we can go to No. 4 Crown Street first …"
"There's no need to be so cautious, Mr. Santis." Gypsy smiled, just like a real apprentice from a small noble family or a rich merchant family. "According to the Duke's order, you're the leader of this operation. Pierce and I will only provide you with the necessary advice and assistance. You just need to act according to the plan you think is reasonable. "
"Al … Okay." Santis nodded, not used to it. He moved his eyes away a bit guiltily, trying not to look at the beautiful "witch" opposite him who had long flaxen hair and was wearing a long black dress. "Then let's go to Cross Street first. By the way, the other two carriages can go to No. 4 Crown Street first. You don't need to follow me. Cross Street is very narrow. "
The tall and thin man sitting next to him interrupted, "Mr. Santis, if our carriage can enter Cross Street, then the other two carriages must be able to as well. I suggest that we let the two accompanying carriages follow us. You should be as high-profile as possible when you go home. It's a gesture."
Santis froze for a moment, then nodded. "Ah, okay, Mr. Pierce."
Pierce, who was acting as the guard, knocked on the wooden board at the front of the carriage and shouted to the driver sitting outside, "Cross Street!"
The three carriages turned a corner on the street and turned into the Captical civilian area.
Santis felt his heart "float" in the process, and a feeling of helplessness wrapped around him. He took a few deep breaths, and a strong, fishy smell of cold air entered his nostrils. The carriage was passing through Sturgeon Street, and the fishy smell here could even cover the stench of the feces in the corners of the street.
Even though it was winter, the rotting stench still lingered in the air, as it had already soaked every brick in the street. It was nauseating.
He could not help but open the window cover and look at the street outside.
The familiar scene of the street greeted his eyes.
Low, messy, and crowded houses were piled up like layers of moss under the city walls. Due to the cold weather, there were only a few vendors on the street, and there were even fewer pedestrians. The few faces that could be seen were all numb. The numb people swayed on the street like walking corpses. It seemed that the cold winter and malnutrition had made them lose all expression. However, there were moments when they suddenly "came to life." When the carriages with the nobleman's insignia drove through the street, the numb paupers would almost immediately crawl on the ground with their foreheads pressed tightly to the ground. Their reaction was so fast that it was as if they were born with it.
Santis frowned slightly. The carriage had already driven through the short Sturgeon Street and entered the slightly better "Cross Street."
The Cross Street was where the middle-level "citizens" lived. Those with a bit of status and wealth would live here. Compared with the Sturgeon Street, which belonged to the slums, the houses here were obviously taller, and the people walking on the street were obviously more energetic.
When they saw the nobles' carriages, they did not have to crawl on the ground immediately, but they had to immediately hide on the sides of the street and bend their backs to be absolutely lower than the window of the carriage. The commoners had to do this to prevent them from looking at the nobles who might stick their heads out of the window with their dirty eyes.
Only in the more upper-class neighborhoods where the wealthy citizens who had been baptized by the Church lived did the "decent people" who had been blessed by the Church not have to do this. They only had to stand on the sides of the street and bow.
In the Captical, there were naturally more rules than in the desolate places at the border.
Born in the Cross Street, Santis, who had advanced into a level two arcanist, was the "most promising child" in this neighborhood. His level as a sorcerer was also the highest achievement that anyone who lived in this area could achieve so far. In the past, no matter how unsatisfactory Santis had been in the Sorcerer's Association, no matter how marginalized he had been, he would still return to the neighborhood with pride. However, right now, seeing his neighbors who were bowing their heads on the sides of the street, he could only feel annoyed.
This place had not changed at all. It was exactly the same as when he left.
The Cross Street was the same last year. It was the same ten years ago. It was still the same a hundred years ago!
However, in Cecil's territory, one year was enough to establish a city. It was enough for a bunch of illiterate children to learn how to write their own names and the names of their parents. It was enough to beat the monsters from the Gondor wasteland back twice!
Santis thought to himself in annoyance. Then, he suddenly saw a little girl staring at him in a daze from a corner of the street.
The little girl was wearing a neat but old dress with only one patch on it. She had two neat ponytails, and her face was red from the cold wind. She was holding a bulging cloth bag in her hands.
She seemed to have just walked out from a corner of the street. She did not have time to bow to the noble's carriage. Instead, she was looking at them in a daze.
Santis was stunned for a moment. Then, he shouted, "Pep!"
However, the little girl had already run away before he could speak. It seemed that she did not hear what he said next.
"Who was that?" Gypsy, who was sitting opposite him, asked curiously.
"My sister." Santis' tone was a little strange. "Why did she run away?"
The little girl quickly ran across the street to a house that looked slightly newer than the surrounding buildings. She hurriedly pushed the door open and ran in. A middle-aged woman wearing an old cotton coat and an old apron, who was grinding herbs in the middle of the house, heard the noise and raised her head. She looked at her little daughter in surprise. "Pep? Why are you back so soon? Did you give the herbs to Mr. Wayne? "
Then, she saw the cloth bag in the little girl's hand and could not help but frown. But before she could reprimand her, the little girl had already stammered nervously, "Ma … Mother! There are three big carriages outside! They're nobles'! There's … there's an emblem hanging on the carriages. It's the same as the one my brother drew on the letter when he sent it back last time! "
The middle-aged woman froze for a moment. Suddenly, her hand trembled, and the mallet she was grinding herbs fell to the ground.
She did not bother to pick it up. She immediately stood up and stared into her little daughter's eyes. "Did you see it clearly? Is it really that emblem? The emblem of a sword and plough? "
The little girl clutched the cloth bag in her hand. She was a little nervous and scared. "I saw it clearly …"
"That's the emblem of the Cecil family … It's someone sent by Duke Cecil … Did you see anything else on the carriage? Does the coachman have a chrysanthemum stuck in his hat or clothes? Does the coachman have a cloth with white petals on it? "
The little girl seemed to be frightened by her mother. She was so nervous that she could not speak. At this time, the door leading to the inner room opened. Hearing the noise, the master of the house came out. "What's wrong? I heard a lot of noise outside. "
"Dear, Duke Cecil's people sent three carriages …" The master of the house wrung her hands. "Did something happen to Santis? I told him long ago that the Dark Mountain Range was a very dangerous place and that he should be very careful. But he always said in his letters that … "
"Calm down," the middle-aged man said. "Santis is only a level-two arcanist. There's no way the duke would send three carriages …"
At this time, there was a knock on the door.
The man and the woman straightened their bodies almost immediately. They stopped breathing for a moment and stared at the door. The little girl, who was standing closest to the door, almost jumped up.
The knock was still on the door. The little girl was a little confused and then subconsciously walked to the door.
"Wait a minute. I'll go open it."
As the middle-aged man spoke, he walked past his wife and daughter to the door.
He opened the door. A cold wind blew in, and a tall and thin figure stood there.
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