Frost Crystal Kingdom, Royal City.
The kingdom is located close to the north and has a cold climate. At the beginning of this month, the favor of the Ice and Snow Goddess descended upon the Frost Crystal City.
A tall and magnificent castle stood in the center of the city. The stone walls of the castle were covered with a layer of pure white snow, and the battlements on the walls looked like small white squares neatly arranged.
The spires of the castle towers were gracefully outlined by the snow, looking cold and majestic under the gloomy sky.
Surrounding the royal palace is the aristocratic district, where the buildings are gorgeously designed, mostly in the traditional amethyst color of the Frost Crystal Kingdom, and look particularly stunning against the backdrop of white snow.
The brick and stone road was wide and smooth, wide enough for four carriages to run side by side. From time to time, one could see carriages with gorgeous noble crests slowly passing on it.
The nobleman in a gorgeous fur coat had just returned from hunting. He put his prey on the back of his horse and rode slowly along the main road in the city, followed by a group of servants.
The servants carried flags and weapons and walked carefully in the snow, afraid of spraining their ankles and slipping. The white breath from their mouths quickly dissipated in the cold air.
The noble stopped when a carriage passed by, bowed slightly while sitting on the horse, and smiled politely.
Greetings to the lady in the car.
The movement was graceful and noble, making the scene look like something out of a fairy tale.
The next circle out is the civilian area.
Most of the houses here are made of wood, with thick snow piled on the wooden tiles of the roof. Some of the snow melted due to the heat inside the houses and formed icicles of varying lengths under the eaves.
Seen from a distance, these houses look like small white boxes, with only the wisps of smoke coming out of the chimneys giving them a hint of life.
The narrow streets were covered with snow, leaving only a muddy path in the middle trampled by pedestrians and carriages.
The snow was piled high on both sides of the trail, and occasionally a child would dig in the snow, trying to find some small object buried by the snow.
Most civilians wore worn-out cotton-padded clothes and wrapped their bodies tightly with cloth strips to keep out the cold.
The elderly sat at the door, their eyes revealing their helplessness towards this cold season and their anticipation for the warm spring.
Even though it is winter, street vendors are struggling to sell their wares in the wind and snow. Their stalls are filled with simple daily necessities, rough pottery, hand-woven blankets, etc.
Their faces showed fatigue left by the winter, but they still tried hard to sell their goods to passers-by, hoping to get more money to buy more coal.
Those damn black things are so expensive this year!
At the beginning of the month, it was only 30% more expensive than previous years, but now it has doubled!
And I don’t know how long it will continue to rise...
I heard that it was because the coal mine to the north of the royal city suddenly collapsed a few days ago, crushing many miners and slaves to death. The cruel Sir Kevin lost all his money and was finally sent to the gallows by the angry Crown Prince himself.
Later, Sir Chuck, who was ordered to take over the coal mine, took in the surviving miners, provided them with medical treatment, and paid compensation. However, the cost was too high, so he had no choice but to raise the price of coal.
No, it's not just coal, the same goes for crude salt, the price has increased by 20%.
There is still black bread, and dry firewood, and - but overall, it is not bad at the moment. Life is a little difficult, but we can still get by.
Get through this winter, and life will get better again when next spring comes!
The outermost part of the city, which is also the largest area, is the downtown area, also known as the slums.
The simple wooden house stood there crookedly. Some of the thatched roofs were blown to pieces by the wind and snow, revealing the rotten wooden beams underneath. The walls were full of cracks, and the cold wind howled into the house.
Some houses were built by randomly stacking stones without any fine polishing or splicing. The mud and plaster between the stones had long since peeled off, and the wind mixed with snow drilled in and out of the holes.
The people hiding here no longer have the energy to care about these things. They curl up, tremble, and wait for death to come.
The seriously injured and dying man was unconscious, wrapped in tattered coarse cloth full of patches. The cold wind penetrated his skin through the thin cloth.
His hair and beard were matted and covered with ice, and his cheeks were livid.
The woman next to her was wrapped in a ragged blanket, holding a child in her arms who was also dressed in rags.
The child's face was red from the cold, his lips were blue and purple, and he was shivering in his mother's arms, his eyes full of fear and confusion.
Although no one really said it out loud, they all knew in their hearts that they might not survive this winter.
But so what
No one cares whether they live or die.
Just like after the explosion, when those people threw the surviving men back like garbage.
They say high-sounding words, but no one cares whether they live or die.
Except...God.
Crunch one -
The shabby door was gently pushed open, and an old man, covered with snowflakes, walked in hunched over in the wind and snow.
After closing the door, he waited vigilantly for a while. After making sure that there were no footsteps following outside, he lifted up his clothes and took out the items hidden inside.
Two pieces of cut black bread and a small piece of dry, hard and black bacon were the family's food rations.
Surprise flashed in the child's eyes, but soon subsided because he knew that these were not to be eaten directly, but had to be cut into small pieces and soaked in water.
This is the relief food received from the Ice and Snow Temple.
The priests followed the guidance of the goddess of mercy and braved the wind and snow to come to the slums to distribute food.
The food was not delicious and there was not much of it, but it was their most important lifeline at the moment.
"Praise the goddess—"
"Praise the goddess!"
In the dilapidated room, they sighed from the bottom of their hearts and thanked devoutly the great being who gave them the last hope.
At the same time, in the center of the royal city, deep in the palace, a grand banquet was taking place.
The banquet hall of the palace was extremely spacious. A huge stone fireplace was burning with a flame that danced.
It emits blazing light and warmth, dispelling the cold of winter.
An exquisite frost crystal emblem was carved above the stone fireplace, and the emblem looked even more solemn under the light of the fire.
The long dining table was covered with a white tablecloth and set with exquisite silver tableware, which shone with a cold luster under the candlelight.
Servants carried silver trays filled with food and shuttled between the tables, delivering luxurious dishes one after another.
But unfortunately, not many people enjoy these mouth-watering delicacies.
The nobles in gorgeous costumes stood together in twos and threes, holding their wine glasses, smiling and chatting, but their minds were not here.
They certainly didn't come here to enjoy the food.
But his eyes were always vaguely looking towards the center of the banquet hall and fell on that outstanding figure.
The most favored little princess of the Frost Crystal Kingdom, Filia Olivia.
Today is her Quinceañera dance.
Chapter 126 Long time no see! (4/5)
As the banquet progressed, the topics of conversation among the nobles kept changing.
The most frequently mentioned question is: who is the most dazzling existence in the Frost Crystal Kingdom now
In this regard, all nobles will give a common answer - Princess Filia!
She is recognized as the most beautiful woman in the entire Frost Crystal Kingdom.
According to rumors, she has skin as white as snow, delicate facial features like a work of art carefully carved by the most outstanding craftsmen, and her eyes always reveal intelligence and gentleness.
Her long light golden hair was as dazzling as the sun. When she walked through the corridor of the castle, her hair was like a flowing golden waterfall, emitting a charming luster.
When she was born, a bright shooting star appeared in the sky, and the court astrologer predicted that this girl would bring an extraordinary destiny to the kingdom.
And she also showed extraordinary intelligence since she was a child. She was very good at court etiquette, history, philosophy, and art.
In addition, like her mother, Filia has a very high talent in magic. Four years ago, she became the youngest mid-level wizard in the history of the Frost Crystal Royal Family.
Of course, part of the reason is that Filia is the first descendant of the Frost Crystal Royal Family who possesses magical abilities...
The Frost Crystal Royal Family has always produced powerful warriors. Every generation has legendary figures who claim to be able to slay dragons, and there has never been any talent for mages.
Moreover, her character is impeccable and she is always synonymous with kindness and gentleness.
No matter how you look at it, this is a perfect princess.
Even the noble ladies who were always jealous expressed their admiration for her and wished they could become such a person.
Filia is the dream lover of countless noble children of the Frost Crystal Kingdom.
However, due to some reasons, they never dared to imagine that they could become the object of her favor.
After saying this, they talked about a man, a young man who was once very famous in the royal city.
Because there was a young man who had always been regarded as Princess Filia's future husband. The two had a very good relationship and there was no room for outsiders to interfere.
The one who was once famous in Frost Crystal for his extremely high artistic attainments and became the white moonlight in the hearts of countless noble ladies,
But later disappeared due to a scandal, the second son of the Silver Wing Duke, [White Dove]
For the Silver Wing family, which has always produced powerful knights, the weakness of their offspring is the greatest shame.
The current Grand Duke of Silver Wing, Adrian Albert, the legendary warrior who was as strong as an eagle and had sharp eyes, finally gave birth to a weak offspring who was as pure and gentle as a dove.
This matter itself was a shame, not to mention that the young man had taken the initiative to break his wings and ran to a monastery to become an ascetic.
This resulted in the title, which already had the connotation of stealing, being given a more contemptuous description: "Broken-winged white dove"
More than three months have passed since the incident, and everyone has seen clearly that the white dove has flown away and will never come back.
Whatever close relationship he once had with the future princess, that was now a thing of the past.
This also gave some people who had given up hope a new lease of life, rekindling hope in their hearts and making them feel that they might be able to give it a try.
This is why the princess's coming-of-age ball attracted so many young nobles.
They were not supposed to be present at this occasion, but they all desperately begged their elders to take them with them.
What if she falls in love with me
It’s not impossible to fall in love at first sight!
If that doesn't work, just being familiar to others will do.
It’s just that sometimes ideas are very good, but the reality is very bleak.
Although it was a ball, no young noble had the courage to approach her, let alone invite her to dance on the dance floor.
When it came time to face Filia, they suddenly lost their courage, and stopped in their tracks, feeling ashamed of themselves.
The king did not attend this important ball due to illness, and Filia's mother was also absent because she was busy with key research for the Witch Society.
So, from the beginning of the banquet, after talking with a few elders with a smile, Filia stood alone and quietly beside the dance floor.
Filia quietly watched the men and women on the dance floor, watching them spinning, hugging, and whispering to each other intimately on the dance floor. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, but there was no fluctuation in her eyes.
No one noticed how cold and condescending Filia's eyes were when she looked at them - it was as if she was looking at a group of lifeless dolls.
Normally, the dance would start in the evening and last until after midnight, but Filia didn't like that pace, so she moved the dance forward to dinner time.
Now it was getting dark, most of the dance music had already been played, and the party was about to come to an end.
"This boring game is finally coming to an end—"
Filia thought about it, shook her head slightly, and continued to maintain her elegant posture - just like a doll.
Suddenly, there was some unusual commotion at the banquet, breaking the elegant atmosphere.
"Who, so late at night-what?"
"Wait, that's it!?"
At first, Filia didn't care.
Riots and accidents are common at banquets and will soon die down.
Eccentric behavior will be disliked at a ball because it is not elegant, decent, or in line with the aristocratic temperament.
But this time it was different. Instead of shrinking under the gaze of others, the commotion gradually spread and became bigger and bigger!
"..-·Um?"
Filia finally realized that something was wrong. She turned her head and looked towards the direction of the commotion, the door of the banquet hall.
For a moment, Filia's calm eyes widened slightly.