You have a new Amazon product recommendation

Chapter 8: Masquerade


Every year before and after the dawn festival, there will be a series of flowing banquets and entertainment in the aristocratic circle of Danma.

In a sense, such a banquet was intended to give each other an opportunity to get closer to each other, and on the other hand, the hosts also used the party to show their position in the aristocratic circle.

The sooner it can be held, the more people will be invited, and the larger the scale, the more face the organizer will have.

Therefore, in general, the first banquet of the year, in addition to a certain circle of people, is often a number of large families with a status at least above the marquis, such as Ivlit, for example, Atroca, which is the royal family, also has a solemn gathering on the third day of January every year.

At the gatherings, people wantonly flaunt their status and wealth, and woo all the relationships that can be co-opted, and the countless ugly and unknown secret transactions and private gifts and receivings often begin from this every year.

Of course, if there is any gathering of nobles who are not low in influence, but also behave maverick, it naturally exists.

For example, Catherine AASS 4509291 per year; 8226;A simple gathering at the Wayne house.

As the eldest daughter of the Wayne family, who is second only to the three major families in the empire, Lady Catherine's original name was Catherine AASS4509291; 8226;Atroca, now Emperor Brant AASS 4509291; 8226;Atroca's youngest sister.

Six years earlier, the son of the Wynn family, named Jack, had been promoted to Imperial General for his military exploits, and in recognition of his exploits, the Emperor betrothed his youngest sister, Catherine, who was nineteen years old at the time, to the young and promising General Jack.

Of course, in the outside world, there are rumors that General Jack and Miss Catherine have been childhood sweethearts since childhood, and they have a deep relationship.

The young and handsome imperial general and the young and beautiful noble princess have always been the best heroes and heroines in fairy tales.

However, the phrase "the general and the princess lived happily ever after" had not yet begun, and only after the engagement, the male protagonist was killed by the barbarians in battle.

The young general's head and body were smashed to pieces by a giant hammer, mixed with countless broken corpses and flesh on the battlefield, and he was never to be found again.

That fiasco was the Empire's biggest defeat in the foreign war in more than 20 years, and the defeated army needed heroes to guide the public's attention, and General Jack, who had just been engaged to the princess and died heroically, was naturally the best choice.

For a time, the ranks of the dead were promoted one after another, all the way to the position of Grand Duke of Casamir and Marshal of the Imperial Army.

And under such circumstances, Princess Catherine, who has been rumored among the people to be gentle, intelligent, beautiful and moving, announced that she would still fulfill the marriage contract and marry the dead hero, which pushed the romantic heroic legend of the outside world to the highest point.

Marrying a dead man as a princess is something that has never happened in the history of the empire, but when Princess Catherine confesses that she has always had a deep affection for Jack, the outside world is also in urgent need of a major event to calm down the grief and anger.

After much consideration, the emperor finally agreed to the princess's request, so a grand wedding half a month later decided the identity of Princess Catherine thereafter, of course, after the war, Jack was originally given aass4509291; 8226;Wayne's great fiefdom and wealth were also transferred to his name.

After the wedding, Lady Catherine settled in Danma, lived a simple life, and only adopted an orphan girl after a year, changed her original name to Christina, and lived in a simple villa as mother and daughter.

Compared with her noble status and wealth in her name, her status at the moment can be said to be incommensurate with her simple life.

There is no luxury, no grandiose pomp, no superfluous entertainment, and even the traditional annual New Year's party is held as much as possible until the end, and a few people who must be invited are invited to spend a simple half day together in a simple atmosphere, and if anyone is looking forward to getting something here, then there is no doubt that what awaits him will be a feeling of nowhere to focus on it.

It is true that Lady Catherine is noble and elegant, generous and decent, and treats everyone gently and politely, but after conversation, everyone can feel the distance between each other, which is an invisible boundary emanating from Catherine's own temperament, and here any non-parting thoughts will become pale and powerless.

"That's an elegant and refined noble lady with a plain heart" for her attitude, it is true that some people were angry and puzzled at the beginning, but when time passed, there was such a recognized evaluation of her in the aristocratic circle, in a sense, this is also because the identity of the other party is really difficult to provoke, and it is just a helpless retreat.

"It's strange, that's just a bad woman with a reputation and a cunning heart, and you have all been deceived by her appearance."

Compared to others who are intimidated by Catherine's identity, Cherie is the only aristocrat who has a negative attitude towards Catherine's qualities and dares to criticize her in public.

As the already dead Jack aass4509291; 8226;Wayne's only sister, she always believed that Catherine, who would marry into the Wayne family after her brother's death, had unimaginable schemes, such as Zhan's brother's wealth and Dai'Atroka's control over the Wayne family.

At this moment, she swayed her fat body and proclaimed her opinion to everyone: "Hmph, it's not, she has already got her brother's fief and property now, and she has to ask her about the big things of the Wayne family, so what's the matter if she doesn't ask more, that's because she is scheming, of course, she doesn't ask about the little things now, that's to relax everyone's vigilance, and the Wayne family will not be controlled by her in her hands in the future, believe me, her conspiracy must be going on in secret, that woman, she has been like this since she was a child, When she was in school together, she used her wrist to make everyone look at her, and even used despicable means to snatch my former boyfriend's beauty, her heart is black, I will definitely stop her plot" Zhu Men Xianda laughed and flicked the crown, Prime Minister Bai knew that he was still pressing the sword This ancient poem in another world is undoubtedly the best interpretation of the behavior of the aristocracy, even if there is a lot of resentment in his heart, on the surface, he should seem to be cordial to each other, and at this moment, the few people who were pulled by Cherie to listen to her conspiracy theory had obvious embarrassed looks on their faces, and looked nervously at where the noble woman with a black veil was at the moment, but she didn't even dare to say a simple echo in her mouth.

After finally getting rid of it, they exchanged opinions that were not polite either.

"This woman is completely brainless, it is hard to imagine that Lady Catherine can tolerate her until now, if it were me, I would have waved her hand and killed her, every time I listen to her, I feel that I have been tortured inhumanely" Several people shook their heads and hurriedly stayed away from the fat woman.

After saying this, Cherie was satisfied, and went to look for other targets, remembering that a thief had just crawled in from the other side of the wall, oh, steal, steal, I won't say, just steal all the woman's underwear and sell it After a few circles around, the people next to her avoided her like a snake and scorpion, and she didn't find a good target for a while.

Inadvertently, a white-haired old man came into her sight, who was the old man who was talking to several people, including Catherine, who seemed to have an impression, ah, remembered "Mr.

StanleyMr.

Stanley" As if he had found a treasure, he ran over while screaming, and his huge body deliberately wanted to squeeze away from the noble woman wearing a black veil mask, but he was quietly avoided by the other party, but there was no need to fight with her at this time, the old man in front of him was the most important.

"Mr.

Stanley, do you remember me, I'm Cherry, Cherie aass4509291; 8226;Wayne, remember?"

For the fat woman in front of him, Stanley obviously showed a confused look, and Catherine chuckled and reminded: "Teacher Stanley, this is Jack's sister, when you taught us alchemy, Jack often took her to play." ” "Oh, oh, remember, remember, your brother used to bring you over at that time, and you were still like this at that time" He gestured the height with his hand, and then felt unsure, so he shook his palm up and down a few times, "It's so tall, haha, I didn't expect it to grow so big now, the past is like smoke, the past is like smoke" Because of the old man's words, the fat body trembled excitedly: "Yes, yes, Mr.

Stanley, are you going back to Danma to teach at the academy this time My son Phoebe is six years old this year, and he is a smart person, if you can teach him, I believe that he will have high achievements in the future, Mr.

Stanley."

"Oh, Phoebe, hehe, Wynn boy, I believe there must be a very good talent.

But I didn't come to Damma to teach.

In fact, for several years I have been busy studying erudition, and alchemy has long since been put down. ” "But teacher, you are still the president of the Atroka Alchemy Association, if you can accept Phoebe as a disciple, as long as you can teach Phoebe a little something, I believe Phoebe will be inexhaustible in the future, Mr.

Stanley, Phoebe's qualifications are indeed very good."

Seeing that she stubbornly asked Stanley to accept her son as a student, everyone around showed a look of disdain, Stanley's position in the field of alchemy in Atroka was second to none, and he had stopped accepting apprentices a few years earlier, even Brant aass4509291; 8226;Atroka sent the crown prince to the door in person, but he rejected it, how could he accept the stupid son of this fat woman at this time Sure enough, the words remained polite, and Stanley politely refused, only after promising to write a letter of introduction for Phoebe to the current vice president of the Alchemy Society, Cherie reluctantly stopped, and in a depressed mood, the snarky expression was shown again.

"By the way, Catherine, didn't you say that Miss Nancy would come here to perform, why is it not time for you to listen to what is being played now, tsk, my Phoebe plays casually a hundred times better than him, Miss Nancy, do you mean to say big things," she said loudly to the people around her.

There was an undisguised look of mockery on his face.

Free novels bring you joy and joy ---> storyskyline.net

"I'm afraid there's something delaying on the way."

Catherine did not show the slightest look of displeasure in the face of her provocation, and smiled faintly.

"Something will delay for so long, I think it's clear that you're fooling everyone, hey, the music has stopped."

"I'm afraid Miss Nancy has arrived."

"I'm really looking forward to it, I've been watching Miss Nancy's recent performances, and I never get tired of listening to them every time."

The people around them talked about it, obviously taking Cherry's vexatious troubles seriously.

A moment later, the music began. “” “” “” "Whahaha, this, this is Miss Nancy's performance, could it be that Miss Nancy is joking with everyone.

Catherine, even if you're afraid of losing face, you don't have to use such clumsy means to deceive everyone, hahahaha" The music sounded for a moment, and a laugh that was as unaesthetic as killing a pig suddenly came out of Cherry's mouth, and she was seen holding her stomach and laughing backwards.

The people around showed disgusted expressions, and Stanley also looked at her coldly, and then smiled at Catherine: "This is" "Oh, I'm afraid it's Kina's kid's prank."

Despite Cherry's wanton mockery, Catherine still didn't look embarrassed, and lowered her head and chuckled.

The people around him immediately let out a knowing smile.

"Hehe, it turned out to be that little devil, no wonder."

"The sound of the piano is light and nimble, Kna is not only talented in alchemy."

"It's an honor to be here so many times, and to have Kina perform for everyone herself."

Amid everyone's laughter, Cherie became more and more angry: "What's so good, it's just that wild seed" As soon as the word "Chery" wild seed came out, Catherine's indifferent voice had already interrupted her words, but this time there was a slight coldness in her words, and the noble temperament that belonged to the emperor's family was suddenly revealed, and Cherry's arrogance couldn't help but suffocate.

Catherine had only shown this expression in front of her a few times, and each time she showed it, she couldn't help but feel fear.

"I—I mean the kid" "Cherry, pay attention to the image of the Wayne family."

The coldness of that moment passed away like a hallucination, and everyone on the side resumed talking and laughing, but in the hearts of many people present, they couldn't help but make a correction to Catherine's image.

Cherie was interrupted just now, and at this time she could only say, "That kid really doesn't play very well."

"It's just a child, so why take it seriously."

Catherine smiled faintly, she had always been indulgent to Christina, and this was something that everyone knew.

The music continued, and after a while, Christina's voice rang out inside: "Wow, don't take my mask, I'm the mask X" Hearing that name, the people on the lawn and in the house could not help but be stunned, this name has been spreading in the city recently, and it is said that the musical attainment is incomparably superb, even far surpassing Nancy aass4509291, the goddess of music recognized among the aristocracy; 8226; The little girl whispered a few times, and then seemed to give way helplessly, and everyone couldn't help but wonder about the person who could make her stop making trouble, who in the world could control that little guy except Catherine.

Then, the music started again.

It seems to be an intentional imitation of Christina's clumsy performance, the piano sound starts with a monotonous and light "jingle bell" sound, but the taste has completely changed, different from the brain magic sound just now, the music sound at this time is quite beautiful, after a while, the piano sound began to transform, full of spiritual music, innocent and pleasant melody, and then, the tactful sound seems to guide everyone into a magnificent and fantastic world, sometimes deep and sometimes exciting, sometimes vast and sometimes light.

It feels like she's playing with Christina with a nursery rhyme.

In this world, the piano was born only a hundred years ago, and most of the people who can come into contact with it are upper-class aristocrats, and their music is also based on the theme of surging atmosphere, or affectionate or deep, and it is the first time that everyone hears such a jumping music, and they can't help but feel that it is a novelty.

"Is Miss Nancy here?"

"Miss Nancy's new song, it's really beautiful."

"This kind of music will definitely usher in a new era in the music industry."

"Only Miss Nancy can play such a tune."

In the midst of everyone's discussion, Cherie had nothing to say, Catherine walked to the side amid the music, feeling slightly puzzled in her heart, seeing that the musician who had been arranged to play on it was standing not far away at the moment, and immediately walked over.

"Mr.

Randy."

"Ahh "Is it really Miss Nancy who is playing on it?"

"I'm afraid not, Miss Nancy hasn't arrived yet, Miss Kerna brought someone in at the time, and I'm wondering if it's the person."

"Oh, who's it?"

"I don't know, but it looks like a commoner, sixteen or seventeen years old, quite handsome, but the clothes are torn in a few places and can play such music, it is definitely beyond the reach of the villain, I wonder if that person will be the mask that has been rumored in the city these days" He looked at Catherine, and then remembered something, "Ah, by the way, the man wears an earring like a drop of water on his left ear" "Earrings" Catherine's eyes flashed with a glint, "Okay, I probably know, please keep this matter secret and don't tell anyone else." ” "The villain understands."

While the musician saluted respectfully, a carriage also stopped at the back door of the villa, and a girl in a brand-new snow-white dress ran down from it, shaking a small pearl handbag in her hand, and showed a refreshing smile to the old man guarding the back door: "I'm sorry, I'm in trouble, everyone is already in a hurry."

She was obviously familiar with the old man who was watching the door, and she was jumping lightly as she walked towards the banquet room in the manor, and the old man walked over with a stunned look: "Ah, Miss Nancy, you are here, who is performing on there?"

"Well, of course the performer is Mr.

Randy, could it be that little girl from Kerna?"

After hearing it for a short moment, the girl froze in place, and after a long while, she stepped onto the lawn outside the villa.

The crystal-bright dancing shoes shone brightly in the magic light, and she waved her hand, "I'll go in first."

Then he ran to the side door of the villa with his handbag.

The stiletto heels of the soles of the "stomping" soles and the hard hall floor echoed crisply, and the snow-white skirt danced like butterflies, and she walked quickly up the stairs, and ran to the piano room where she had been a few times, and sure enough, the door was open.

Free novels bring you joy and joy ---> storyskyline.net

The sound of the piano came from the room, and I sped a few steps faster, and when I saw that I was at the door, a small figure emerged from it, it was Christina: "Oh, it's Sister Nancy, no."

Only the side of the man playing inside was seen in the doorway, and a mask with an X mark was placed on the man's face.

Christina rushed out of it and pushed her aside: "No, no, no, no, Kamen X is my secret, Sister Nancy, you are not allowed to see it" Knowing Christina's childlike nature, Nancy squatted down and asked curiously, "Is it really that masquerade x inside?"

"Of course it is," Christina straightened her chest, "he's my friend, I have to keep it a secret for him, Sister Nancy, do you think he plays well?"

"Of course, Kina, I want to discuss the piano with him, please, let me meet him."

"No," Christina shook her head firmly, but looking at Nancy's begging expression, she quickly said, "Okay, I'll ask him if he wants to see you later, but anyway, you have to play a few more tunes here today, and you can't let that fat woman laugh at your mother."

Nancy showed a big smile: "No problem":