"It is true that the nobles are greedy, but after all, they have formed the bones and veins of this empire in the long history." Heinrich's gray eyes imprinted the flames dancing in the fireplace, like the unique pupils of cold-blooded animals, Also in the slow melting of metal in fire, "You may loathe us and be wary of us, but you need us."
There was a long silence, followed by a soft sigh of unknown meaning.
“Sometimes, I wonder when I can completely smash the framework and release the face it should have.”
"That would just crush you too," Heinrich said, "because you belong to the same skeleton."
"Yeah, smashed to pieces together."
At last the queen turned to look at him, her face half-shadowed in the firelight.
Heinrich froze for a moment, he had never seen such a look on Adele's face, as if the anger trekking through the long and tortuous darkness, the repressed sadness as heavy as thousands of boulders, and the faint expression of disapproval The mocking contempt of the whole world... Death's shadow dwelt at that moment in her crown with glory.
She held the cold hilt and handed back the rapier with the double-headed snake as a gauntlet to Heinrich.
"Dalton will be away from the palace for a while, and Rodri will take over his duties temporarily," the Queen said.
This can be regarded as a signal of relaxation, a comfort.
The Queen's strength when the Parliament passed the two regulations made the nobles feel uneasy. Besides, there is the scandal between the Queen and Dalton... A lover who was born as a commoner is likely to influence the Queen's attitude in state affairs—although Those who are familiar with the inside story know that the two are actually reversed.
Taking advantage of today's conflict between Heinrich and Dalton, Dalton's brief transfer from the palace can naturally calm down the rumors. At the same time, it can also soothe the anxious nerves of the nobles—at least on the surface, between Dalton and Heinrich, the Queen favors the latter, and she values the nobles more, doesn't she
As for the truth, it doesn't matter.
When Heinrich took the sword, he touched the Queen's hand.
Adele's health has always been poor, which is an eternal "gift" left to her by several assassinations in her childhood. Even in midsummer, her body temperature is often lower than that of ordinary people, and when the weather turns cold, it seems that cold air seeps out of her bones. Right now Mingming was sitting in front of the fireplace, the flames were blazing, but her hands were still cold.
Mrs. Kelly should make her wear more.
Heinrich couldn't get the sword back, because the Queen held the hilt tightly and didn't want to let go.
Heinrich's sword is a family inheritance. Four hundred years ago, a master swordsmith made this sword with meteorite iron. The ring guard on the hilt was hammered into the shape of a double-headed snake, and the snake's body is elegant. The half-moon is curved downward, with exquisite scale relief on the surface, two snake heads in the middle, rubies inlaid as the eyes of the snake, and the fang nails of the double-headed snake biting the cross gauntlet.
Countless collectors have marveled at the beauty of this sword, and at the same time agree that it is a sword that bears sin.
The snake wrapped around the cross bit the cross, but was firmly nailed by it.
"gentlemen."
Adele spoke, a familiar and long-lost address.
The two-headed snake wrapped around their hand holding the hilt of the sword up and down, and the fire was blazing, and the ruby that served as the snake's eye reflected a chilling shimmer.
"I should say thank you for the duel in Reef City."
Heinrich's joints stiffened.
The cold air passed from Adele's fingers to his fingers, and then awakened the thin and cold fog in the reef city, smashed the waves on the black rocks, and the petrels rushed up from the waves, bound together with the pale corpses and fell The stone, the stone kept sinking, sinking... like his heart, sinking, sinking into the invisible, the dark place.
"It used to be fantastic."
Slowly, firmly, the Queen released her hand.
Only Heinrich was left holding the sword alone. The sword suddenly became as heavy as a thousand catties, and the double-headed snake wrapped around Heinrich's hand, and suddenly became closer and closer, and suddenly became hot like a brand.
Difficult to hold, impossible to break free.
……………
The fire in the hearth was out when Mrs. Carey entered the room, and the remaining charcoal glowed dimly. She walked over, rekindled the fire in the fireplace, and took a soft and warm woolen cloak to cover the Queen's lap.
"Carrie, remember that story you told me?"
Adele asked softly.
"I told you so many stories," Mrs. Kelly knelt down on the cushion beside the Queen's chair, took her pale and cold hand, and wrapped it in her palm, as if she wanted to use the temperature of her palm to make it become Warming up, "Which one are you referring to?"
"The one with the farmer and the snake."
"In the cold winter, the farmer picked up a frozen snake, put it in his arms, and saved it with his own body temperature. When the snake woke up, it bit the farmer's heart, so the farmer died, and the snake soon froze to death." Mrs. Kelly told the story again, her nose sore.
"I thought it was different... Kelly... I am not a farmer, nor is he that frozen snake." Adele's voice was like the feathers of a petrel scattered in the wind. She curled her fingers, and the coldness seeped through the cracks in her bones Come out, "I thought I was the one who was frozen... let's make it a story."
"There was a girl who was walking in a winter forest, cold and lonely, and thought she was going to die, only to meet a snake who was as lonely as she was."
A princess who grew up in the court, even if she is only eight years old, knows much, much more than ordinary people, those dirty, obscene, and dark things hidden under the fine clothes. When the mother was there, the mother was her castle, her city wall, which kept those unsightly injuries out.
At the executioner's blade, her castle her walls crumbled, and she fell into the mud.
The princess is ready to face the coldest and coldest fate—she has seen people like herself, knows what will happen to them and herself, and knows how many unsightly scars lie behind the beautiful smiling faces in the court.
She had been prepared for that.
Heinrich appeared.
"The snake surrounded her and used its own body to build a small wall for her, keeping the snowflakes out."
She was not at all surprised by the Heinrich family's plan—she had seen such scenes happen in the court, and she was prepared to have it happen to herself. All the while, though, Heinrich stood outside that line of restraint, burning the letters one by one.
When she was young, she didn't like to stay in the castle, and often sneaked out to watch the waves and petrels.
From a distance, she saw the feminine young man who looked somewhat similar to Heinrich, and she also saw Heinrich pull out his sword... Finally, she saw him throw the body into the sea silently and without saying a word, He didn't say a word when he came back.
"Later, many people told the girl that snakes are cruel and ruthless, and when the snakes call, they will return to their own kind." Adele closed her eyes, and she had noticed that in the malicious eyes. There was a slight trace of kindness that the owner tried to hide, so she stretched out her hand to respond to it, "She thought that as long as she and the snake were of the same kind, they were the same... as long as they put in trust and patience, they could go on like this forever."
She thought they were the same.
Those who are exiled, abandoned, and regarded as pawns will all ignite the fire and ignite the decaying world.
"Then the girl was going to light the fire, the fire that burned the darkness, and the snakes swam out of the darkness, and they called the snake..." Adele whispered, "The girl thought it would choose her, like before .”
Just like the letters he once burned again and again, like he once drew his sword for her.
In the malice of the whole world, they have walked together for such a long time, and they once gave each other such precious warmth in winter.
Mrs. Kelly's heart seemed to be immersed in the bitterest water. The fireplace in the room was still burning, and there was a slight crackling sound when the wood was lit. She knelt beside the Queen, holding her hand tightly. Her breathing seemed to seep into the bone-chilling chill along with the Queen's icy hands.
"The snakes called the snake, and it returned to the snakes."
Adele opened her eyes, and the fire fell in her eyes, but it couldn't ignite that winter no matter what.
"I thought he'd pick me, like before."
Her voice was so soft it was barely audible, and Mrs Kelly looked up at her, thinking she was in tears.
She didn't cry.
It's just very calm, as calm as a piece of iron being forged. She regards the past that she thought was very special, the trust she once delivered, and the most painful abandonment and betrayal she ever received as a temper to polish herself—but the price is deeper. A little heavier, and then continue forward as if nothing had happened.
Mrs. Kelly could barely breathe, she staggered to her feet, stretched out her arms, and hugged her master, her child, tightly.
Tears rolled down Mrs. Kelly's cheeks, and fell on Adele's hair, shoulders, and neck, scorching hot.
"Don't cry, Kelly."
Adele also reached out and hugged the last of her family in this world.
"this is nothing."
There's nothing to cry about, it's nothing.