Chapter 18 Chapter 1 Gwendolin

"Where are you going today, baby?" The young woman who was asked this question leaned close to her mother, her snow-white arms wrapped around her mother's neck, and the girl's naturally rosy cheeks stuck to the woman's cheeks that had been magically kept young. "I'm going to the Three Sisters to see Daddy and have dinner with him. You know, he said I could go. Then I'm going to the Lower City to find Lillian and Marjorie. Oh, don't frown, Mother. Here , you see, you get wrinkles when you frown like that. Look, watch. Look, it's gone.” This child—though she has the figure and face shape of a grown woman, but her heart is still a child— Press the slender fingers to the corners of the mother's lips and push up a smile.

The morning sun crept into the house like a thief, slipped through the folds of the tapestry, slipped through the door, and suddenly appeared in unexpected places.It dances on crystal vases and shines on the silk threads of dressing gowns draped casually over the backs of chairs.The sunlight did not touch the big feather bed floating in the air under the arched canopy in the corner, it dared not, at least before noon, the bright sunlight would never enter the room.By noon, Lady Rosamund would rise and work with her catalyst saints to prepare the magic needed for the day. Lady Rosamund prided herself on not needing much magic to adorn her appearance; it was kept to a minimum, chiefly because Merilon was now in fashion.Mrs. Rosamund had no intention of feigning her age, which was unseemly, especially now that she had a sixteen-year-old daughter who had recently been released from care and was entering adult society.

This lady is smart and perceptive. She heard that the ladies would laugh at the kind of mother who pretended to be younger than the daughter she was escorting behind her back.Lord Samuels and Lady Rosamund's family were not members of the aristocratic class, but they were so close that it only took a marriage to climb into the glittering court society.Therefore, Rosamund should be respectful, well-dressed but not presumptuous, and she also feels satisfied when she hears people with higher status praise her as "elegant" and "sweet". Madam looked intently at the ice mirror on the dressing table in front of her, and laughed at what she saw.But her proud gaze fell not on her own reflection, but on a younger version of herself, smiling behind her.

The jewel of the family—Jewel is an apt description—was their eldest daughter, Gwendelyn.This child is the capital of their future, and it is she who has the ability to lift them out of the middle class and use her rosy cheeks and rich dowry to fly them up.Gwendelyn's beauty was not typical of Merilon's current fashion—that is to say, she did not look like a marble statue, without that cold and aloof charm.She is of medium height, blond and blue-eyed, with a smile that opens your heart, and a gentle and selfless nature that keeps her in your heart. Her father, Lord Samuels, was a Boalban mage, a master magician, but he had given up the menial work of his trade.He is now the Guild Master, having risen to the top of the rock-shaper profession through ingenuity, hard work, and shrewd investment.Samuels, the guildmaster, has won a knighthood from the emperor for his improved repair of a crack in a boulder on the upper city platform.

Now that they could be crowned with the title of "Jazz", the guild president's family moved from their old residence in the northwest of the lower city to the edge of the lower block in the upper city.The new home is located on the west side of Mainan Park, facing the stretch of vast green, with carefully trimmed grass, shaped potted trees, and random flowers dotted on the trees. The family was rich for their neighbors, but not too rich.Noble visitors, seeing the twenty-room house, would say, "How charming you have made this lovely little room." Lady Rosamund knew well what good such compliments could do, They would leave with a sympathetic, "This doesn't suit you, dear. When are you going to move into a nicer place?" It always pleased her to hear that.

When will it be?The hope is that sometime soon - when her daughter becomes the Countess of Gwendoline or the Marchioness of Gwendoline or the Duchess of Gwendoline... Lady Rosamund admires her lovely daughter in Congealing the reflection on the ice mirror, he sighed happily. "Ah, mother, the mirror is crying!" said Gwendelyn, reaching out to catch a drop of water before it fell on her mother's hair feather. "Indeed." Rosamund sighed. "Mary, come here. Give me the power of life." Madam casually stretched out her hand towards the catalyst saint.Mary took the extended hand, whispered the required incantation, and passed the magic through her body.Lady Rosamund, like her husband, has the gift of the earth, but her ability is closer to that of the Quin Alban mage-that is, the spellsmith-she can take care of the housework of the family, enough to make people envious.Rosamund got enough life force, so she hung her hands on the reflective ice and chanted a spell, freezing the water in the gold-rimmed mirror frame on the dressing table solidly.

"It's all this warm weather," said Mrs. Rosamund to her daughter. "Of course I'm not criticizing Her Majesty for the weather, but I don't mind changing the seasons. Spring is getting boring, don't you think, sweet boy?" "I think winter will be fun, Mom," said Gwendelyn, busily arranging her mother's hair.Mother's hair was darker than hers, but still very thick and shiny without magic. "Lilian and Marjorie, I and I have been to the city gates below, to see people coming in from outside the city, and it's interesting to see them covered from head to toe in snow, their faces and noses red from the cold, and they'll keep going. Stamping our feet to warm up our bodies. Also, when the city gate is opened, we can see the outside, and see the field is white, so beautiful. Ah, well, my beautiful mother, if I frown again, I will become ugly. "

Gwendelyn was always so sweet-mouthed that Lady Rosamund couldn't help laughing, but she managed to look serious. "I don't like that you spend so much time with your cousin..." she began to lecture. This is an old-fashioned lecture, and Ge Wen already knew how to deal with it. "However, Mom." She argued articulately. "I'm an example to them, and you said so yourself. Look how much they've changed over the holidays, their manners of eating and conversation are more refined and polite. Isn't it, Mary?" She asked the Catalyst Saints Help her out.

"Yes, miss." The catalyst saint said with a smile.There were two more children in the family—a boy to inherit the business and a girl to bring joy to their parents as they reached middle age.While these two children are adorable, they are still too young to develop their own personalities.Catalyst Saint works as both a nanny and a tutor in this wealthy family, and she makes no secret of her love for Ge Wen. "Think about it, Mom," Gwen continued. "How wonderful it would be if my cousin married into one of our friends' families. Sophie mentioned to me that her brother told her that President Leonard's son Alfred, at our banquet Said Lillian 'bewitched' the next day. Those are his exact words, Mom. I can't help but think that with such compliments, their engagement isn't far off."

"My dear, what a silly boy you are!" Rosamund laughed loudly, but it was only a doting laugh.She patted her daughter's snow-white hand. "Well, if that's the case, your cousins ​​should thank you, and I hope they know how grateful they are. If you visit them today, I don't think it will matter. However, I think it's okay for you to show up in the lower cities more than once a week. Inappropriate, you are a young lady now, not a child any more, and that matters." "Okay, Mom." Ge Wen agreed more docilely.Because she saw her mother's mouth tightened and her eyebrows arched. This look was the expression that Mrs. Rosamund had when she issued orders that must not be violated to servants, children, catalyst saints, and her husband.

However, Ge Wen, who is only sixteen years old, will not be unhappy for too long.Next week is still far away, right now, today is the most important thing.She was going to lunch with dear papa, who was going to take her to the new restaurant near the Guildhall, which was famous for its chocolate.Then the rest of the day would be spent with her cousin, and the day would be devoted to Gwen's favorite pastime of late - flirting. Marilon's Gate of the Earth is located in a bustling area, and the huge transparent dome separates the city from the forest wall. Under its delicate shell, the glorious Marilon City towers into the sky.There are seven city gates on the dome, which are the entrances to Malilong from the outside world, but six city gates are hardly used.Most of the time, these six doors are locked with magic.The gates of death and the spirit world will never open again now, because necromancers are no longer regarded as guests from the cemetery.The gate of life is reserved for returning troops to enter the city in triumph, and has not been used for more than a century.The only thing that passes through the druid's gate is the river, and druids now enter the city through the front gate like everyone else.The Gate of Wind and the Gate of Earth are the main entrances for trade between the inner and outer worlds. The guardian of the gate, Mage Kenhana, only allows the Winged Envoys to fly in through the Gate of Wind.Therefore, the Gate of the Earth is the only real access to the city. There are always crowds around the Gate of the Earth, waiting to welcome or see off visiting relatives and friends.It's now popular for young people in the city to hang out here for a while every day, chatting, flirting, or observing all the people who come into town. The first person to enter the city today was a high-ranking Albanara mage from a remote area. She came from the teleportation corridor, so she appeared in the city out of thin air.She was greeted by her family living in the upper cities, sitting in a tortoiseshell cart pulled by a hundred rabbits, the entire convoy suspended in the air two feet above the ground. The noble lady took a group of catalyst saints from the holy mountain, and their winged vehicles floated into the gate of the earth.People saluted these priests: the men raised their top hats, and the women curtsied gracefully, never missing an opportunity to show their snow-white breasts and smooth long necks.Next to the town came a lowly artisan, trekking on foot, freezing to death in the snow.Seven noisy children surrounded him cheerfully, and while they waited for their father, they continued to make various antics, which distracted the serious master Kenhana who was on duty.Finally came a group of college students who had been out playing in the winter for a few days and were still running in and out of the city gates, scooping up handfuls of snow and throwing it at each other or at the crowd. Master Kenhana treats everyone who enters the city equally, no matter whether they are of high or low birth.Everyone who entered Merilon was subjected to the same detailed interrogation and asked the same questions.Master Kenhana has the talent of the atmosphere, so he is in charge of most of Simharon's traffic industry (the exception is Songli, the operator of the teleportation corridor, Songli is a catalyst saint, so the teleportation corridor is controlled and managed by the church) .Master Kenhana and high-ranking mages serve the country and are the royal guards. Their main task is to pay attention to the movements of the winged messengers. messenger.Although there are Catalyst Saints guarding the teleportation corridor, the person who uses the magic power to make the teleportation corridor work is the mage Kenhana.However, guarding the city gate is their most important task.Not only the gates of Merilon, but the gates of all the city-states of Simharon.This is an honorable position that represents trust. Only high-level mages, that is, people who are born in nobles and have been promoted to high positions through years of service and research, can serve as city gate guards. Therefore, it is judged by Master Kenhana that only those who belong to Malilong can enter the city.Furthermore, their duty is to separate those who have access to the lower cities from those who can go to the upper cities.Those who can reach the upper city will be given a talisman that allows them to pass through the invisible magical barrier that separates the city. Those who cannot prove that they have a reason to enter the city will be locked out of the city gate no matter what their status is.Master Kenhana was quite good at this, but just in case, they were backed by a few black-robed Dukes, who stood in the shadows, watching quietly and unobtrusively. everything. The city gate was unusually busy that day, and the nobles who had gone to the countryside all returned to the city to escape the severe winter.Sihana, the mage who controls the wind and clouds, believes that the cold winter is good for the growth of crops in the coming spring.Gwendelyn and her two cousins ​​- one seventeen and the other fifteen - spent a happy afternoon wandering the numerous shops and open-air cafés around the city gates, watching the people coming into town, taking their young The critical eyes of others commented on their clothes and hairstyles, and broke the hearts of a dozen young men. It was a particularly pleasant afternoon for Gwen, because without the presence of Mary, the catalyst saint, her flirting would not be hindered.She was usually accompanied by Mary in public appearances, as any unmarried young lady should be, but today the little brother or sister had a "grumpy temper" which must have been caused by teething, so Mary had to stay at home. At first Mrs. Rosamund seemed to intend to insist that her eldest daughter also stay at home, which was very bad.But a burst of tears and cries that "poor dad is going to be very sad, he's been preparing for this for a long time" won today's good time.Mrs. Rosamund is very dependent on her husband, and the life of the guild master is quite exhausting. She knows better than anyone how hard her husband works to maintain their way of life.He was really looking forward to this lunch with his daughter - it was a rare break from his busy life, and the lady didn't want to deprive him or Gwen of this kind of time together, and some nobleman might take advantage of the absence of a chaperone Dating daughters when she was young - the unaccompanied woman is a newly fashionable symbol of a free spirit.So Mrs. Rosamund was persuaded—easy for her charming daughter—and Gwen went out happily, with Mary giving her plenty of life-force. The day was perfect.The staff at her father's office couldn't do enough to praise her.The chocolate was as good as its name was, and Papa teased her cheerfully and some young nobleman who broke away from a party of young lads and came up to her to greet her.Now she and her cousins ​​are at the city gate, entertaining the crowd, playing the most popular flirting games. The rules of the game are as follows: each young lady has to pick a small bouquet of flowers from the magnificent tropical garden in the middle of downtown, and she has to float across the skywalk to show off her delicate pink and bare feet - a sign of nobility , they rarely walk and therefore do not need shoes.The lady always drops the bouquet very carelessly, and the flowers will be scattered on the road. At this time, a young man will pick up the bouquet and use magic to summon another beautiful flower to add to the bouquet. Miss. "Miss." A young nobleman retrieved Ge Wen's bouquet that had fallen in the sweet spring breath, and said courteously. "This enchanting bouquet will be yours only, for I see the blue forget-me-nots in your eyes, but the flowers are not as bright as your eyes, and your hair is so golden. But here is Please allow me to make up for the shortcomings." A red rose appeared in the young man's hand. "The heart of this bouquet is as affectionate as the one that beats for you in my chest." "You are so generous, my lord." Ge Wen said softly, lowering her eyes, showing her long and thick eyelashes.She accepted the bouquet with a blushing face, giggling with her cousins, while the young nobleman continued to conjure up today's dozens of roses, and gave everyone his heart. At around three o'clock in the afternoon, although Ge Wen's bouquet was not as big as the bouquets of other young ladies, she was still proud of herself. If I really counted it, it was much more flowers than the two ordinary-looking cousins.The three ladies floated close to the gate of the earth, hesitating whether they should stop in a coffee shop for a glass of rock sugar water.At this time, the gate of the city was opened, and a group of visitors from the outside world was let in. As soon as the city gates were opened, a gust of cold wind swept in, bringing a suffocating biting chill to the fragrant warmth of this charming city.The ladies waiting by the gates wrapped themselves in their robes and let out soft screams of astonishment; while the gentlemen cursed with vigor and uttered harsh words about Master Sihana.Everyone looked up to see who had entered the city - they all thought it was going to be a princess somewhere, but there was no princess, just a group of young men covered in snow, and an old man who was freezing Catalyst Saints.Most people glanced at them without interest and continued to wander, returning to their waiting cars or going to the store for a drink. But a few people took an interest in the newcomers, especially the young men with their cloaks and hats off.A few of them stood inside the city gate, looking around in confusion, the snow on their shoulders and boots gradually melting in the warm spring. "Poor guy." Lilian muttered. "They were all soaked and shivering with cold." "They're so handsome," Marjorie whispered.She was only fifteen years old, and she never missed an opportunity to show her two sisters that she was as grown up as they were. "They must have been students at the university." The three young men and the catalyst saint stood in a row in front of the gate of the earth, while the three young ladies looked at them with great interest.There were a few other people ahead of them in line, and one of them, an elderly woman shaking her triple chin (she had magically reduced the original five to a triple), was arguing loudly with Master Kenhana that she had enough The upper city goes to the right. "Let me tell you, good sir, I am the mother of the Marquis of Dentur! As for why his servants are not here to meet me, I really don't know. It is not easy to hire a decent help these days! After all, he has been You're an ignorant fool!" She shut her mouth abruptly, shaking her triple chin. "When I see him..." Master Kenhana must have heard this kind of talk before, he just listened patiently, sent a winged messenger to confirm whether such a marquis really existed, and "forgot" to send someone to accompany this person who was going to the upper city Madam. The other people who followed the noble lady into the city stared at her impatiently, but they had no choice but to wait their turn.Some floated in mid-air annoyed, while others lazily settled back into the comfort of their cars.The young men standing on the ground took off their soaked cloaks, and continued to look curiously at the surrounding city and its people. The three girls pretended to be interested in the shop selling ribbons, and stopped in front of the gorgeous truck he parked next to the city gate, admiring the flying ribbons.In fact, they came to see the group of young people. "Emin's name." The brown-haired boy sighed with honesty and frankness. "It's so beautiful here, Joran! I never thought of such a magnificent place! Besides, it's still spring!" He spread his hands, and his voice and eyes were full of awe and amazement. "Don't be so silly, Mosiah," his companion rebuked.He had long black hair, and the same black eyes surveyed his surroundings, but if he, too, was struck by the grandeur of the city, there was no sign of it on his resolute and proud face.The third young man was a little taller than the others, with a short soft mustache, and seemed amused by his friends' reactions.He looked around boredly - yawning constantly, stroking his beard from time to time, lazily leaning his back against the wall, closing his eyes.Their catalyst saint was drenched and shivering, huddled in his robes, hood pulled down. Ge Wen looked at them and said contemptuously: "College students?!" She muttered to her cousins. "With that vulgar accent? Look at that guy with his mouth open like a yokel, it's his first time here, probably his first time in a civilized place, look at the way he's dressed." Lilian widened her eyes warily. "Gwen! They might be robbers trying to sneak into town! Looks like it, especially that black guy." Ge Wen squinted at the black guy for a while, twisting a ribbon in her hand. "Excuse me, miss," said the vendor. "You're crumpling what I'm selling, you know that particular dark color is hard to get, and you're going to buy—" "No, thank you." Ge Wen blushed and put down the ribbon. "It's really beautiful, but my mother made it for me..." The seller put up his face and walked away. The three ladies were floating in the air, their heads were put together, and their eyes were all on the newcomer. "You're right, Lilian." Ge Wen concluded. "They must be that kind of people. Daredevil robbers." "Like the Sir Hugo that Mary told us about?" Marjorie whispered excitedly. "The robber took the maiden from her father's castle, carried her on a winged horse, and flew to his tent in the desert. Remember, he took her into the tent, threw her on a silk pillow, and ..." Marjorie stopped. "What did he do to her while she was lying on the pillow?" "I don't know." Ge Wen shrugged, this action can fully show her round shoulders. "I would like to know, too, but Mary always goes back to telling the lady's father that he summoned wizards to save his daughter." "You never asked her about the pillow?" "I asked once, but she was very angry and sent me to sleep." Ge Wen replied. "Quick, they're starting to look here. Don't look!" Ge Wen shifted her gaze to the gate of the earth, and concentrated on studying the huge wooden door, as if she was one of the druids who shaped the wooden door , was busy melting the shape of the door with seven oaks. "If they're robbers, shouldn't we report it to someone?" Lilian muttered, staring intently at the city gate. "Ah, Gwen!" Marjorie squeezed Gwen's hand. "That nigger is staring at you!" "Hush! Don't pay attention to him!" whispered Gwendelyn, blushing, and buried her face in the bouquet in her hand.She took a quick, bold glance at the dark-haired young man, only to meet his gaze unexpectedly.This is completely different from the teasing and amusing looks of other young men. This young man looked at her seriously and intently. A pair of black eyes pierced through her vigorous joy and liveliness, disturbing the deep feeling in her heart and arousing some kind of tingling pain. It's both fun and scary. "No, we can't tell anyone, let's just ignore them." Ge Wen said nervously, with a fever on her face, feeling like she was sick. "Let's go..." "No, wait!" Lilian said, grabbing her cousin and not letting Ge Wen go away. "They're going to talk to Kenhana! Stay and see who they are!" "I don't care who they are!" Ge Wen said proudly, resolutely determined never to look at the black-haired young man.But, though there were a thousand wonderful and beautiful things all around her, they were all a blur of colour.She found herself drawn away by the young man's dark eyes.The young man noticed Kenhana approaching the Catalyst Saint, diverted his attention, and finally looked away from her, and Gwen felt as if he had been released from Dukexis's spell that bound the prisoner. "Say your name and express your intention to come to Marilon City, Father." The archmage said solemnly, and bowed almost imperceptibly to the drenched Catalyst Saint, who returned the salute humbly.The catalyst saint wears the red robe of a family saint, but there is no family crest on it, which means that he is not a family saint of a noble family. "I'm Sha-Dun... Father Dunstable," stammered the Catalyst Saint, blood rushing from his thin neck to his bald head. "us……" "Suddenstable." Kenhana frowned in bewilderment. "I'm not familiar with this name, Father. Where do you come from?" Kenhana's memory has been specially trained to be superhuman, and he can classify and memorize various characters and visitors in the city. "Please forgive me." The face of the catalyst saint became even redder. "You've misunderstood. I think it's my fault, I... I've stuttered a bit. It should be Dunstable, Father Dunstable." "Hmm." Kenhana looked closely at the Catalyst Saints. "There was a Dunstable who lived here, but that was ten years ago. He's a family saint, from the—Duke of Manchuria, isn't he?" He glanced at his companion for confirmation, who nodded, Kenhan's shrewd gaze fell on the Catalyst Saint again. "But, as I said before, that family left and moved outside, why did you—" "Oh! It's getting more and more boring!" As he said, the tall young man with a mustache strode forward from the city wall.With a wave of his hand, an orange silk scarf flew out of the air, and the brown cloak he was wearing and the clothes soiled on the road disappeared. The exclamation of several bystanders attracted more people to look back.The young man now wore long breeches of smooth purple silk, which were gathered at the ankles and loosened at the legs so that they billowed and fluttered in the spring breeze.A bright red belt encircled his slender waist, matching the bright red waistcoat trimmed with gold thread.The purple silk blouse that matched the breeches had two long sleeves fluttering non-stop, and he could completely hide his hands when he lowered his arms.It was accompanied by a very striking hat, which looked like a huge purple puff pastry, with a curly red ostrich feather stuck in it. There were bursts of laughter rolling through the increasingly dense crowd. "is it him?" "Ah, yes! Exactly him!" "That outfit! My God, I'd do anything to wear those trousers to the Royal Ball next week, where did he get the color?" There were sporadic applause from all around. "Thank you." The young man waved nonchalantly to the crowd that had begun to gather towards him. "Ah, it's me, I'm back." He pressed his fingers to his lips, and blew kisses to a few ladies sitting in the pomegranate cart, and the ladies smiled happily and threw flowers at him. "I call this—" He pointed to his own purple dress. "'Welcome home, Simkin'. You may be too conformist, good man." He snorted to Kenhana, and patted his nose with the orange silk scarf in his hand. "Just report to the dignitaries that Xin Jin is back with a tour troupe!" He twirled his silk scarf and waved triumphantly, introducing the two young men behind him and the catalyst saint (the saint looked ashamed want to get into a hole). The crowd's applause became louder, the women covered their mouths and laughed, and the men shook their heads, but they all looked down at their dignified robes or brocade trousers, thinking.By noon tomorrow, half of Merilon's nobles will have changed into flowing silk breeches. "Report to the dignitaries?" Kenhana said, not caring at all for the commotion of the crowd, or the grandstanding of the young man in breeches. "Yes, I will notify the right person, you can rest assured." Kenhana waved to the two black-robed figures standing in the shadows watching everything, and then reached out to clasp the young man's shoulders. "Xin Jin, in the name of His Majesty the Emperor, I announce that you are under arrest."