The Law of the Silent Gentleman

"General Suveta, long time no see! Before your flagship arrives in Hong Kong, the story of your heroic battle has spread throughout the streets of Zenodia!"

"President Fernando Infonçon. It is an honor to receive your praise, but I have to say that the rumors are exaggerated."

With one hand behind his back and a crystal wine glass in the other, General Hean Suvita was as serious as he was in a military camp in a well-dressed banquet hall. This is a celebration dinner held by the Senate, to celebrate the destruction of the vicious pirates, to celebrate the return of peace to the maritime trade routes of Zanodia, and to celebrate the safe return of General Hean Suvita, but the general himself is not happy at all. . He returned to Zanodia in the morning to report the battle to the Senate and receive commendations, and in the afternoon he visited the families of the soldiers who died in battle. He returned safely, but many people were buried in the sea. The banquet celebrating the meritorious deeds was extravagant, but how many of the men and women on the dance floor remembered the victims?

The Senator Fernando Infonçon before him was one of those men and women. His family had a long history, almost as old as Xenodia, and a seat in the senate was always reserved for them, so that at such a young age he could rise to the highest rank in Xenodia. He has a dignified appearance, with green eyes, a high nose bridge, and curly dark golden hair that has not been dyed in fashion. He was like so many noble sons and sons in Zanodia, so Suveta neither liked nor hated him. It's just that sometimes when Fernando spoke, a scorching heat would burst out of his eyes, as if he was desperate for something in his heart, and if he didn't get what he wanted, the flames in his heart would burn everything. But that kind of energy is often fleeting. Su Weita thought that he was wrong, or that Fernando was just in a bad mood, so his eyes were a little cruel.

The young congressman took a glass of wine from the tray carried by the passing waiter, took a sip, turned his head and smiled at Suveta: "General, on the 25th of this month, I will hold a masquerade ball, this is our My family has always had a habit of holding a dance party at the end of every foggy month. I wonder if I will have the honor to invite you to come here?"

Suveta hated dancing and parties. He didn't understand the point of a group of people walking up and down a dance floor holding hands. But for the sake of fame in the social circle, he had to do so. Fernando Infonçon's banquet is very famous in Zanotia. The delicacies and fine wines at the banquet are like flowing water. The bands invited are the most famous entertainers of the year, and the guests always leave satisfied. Suveta could think of no reason (other than his own likes and dislikes) not to attend.

"Thank you for your invitation. It is my honor to be able to attend Councilor Infantson's banquet."

Fernando showed joy: "Then I will send someone to send the invitation to your house tomorrow, please be sure to honor it."

Suweita nodded and exchanged pleasantries with Fernando. The young councilor changed his glass of wine, and was soon attracted by a group of ladies chatting together. He gave Fernando a slight nod as a farewell, and then approached the group of ladies, subtly inserting a wisecrack into their conversation. The noble ladies were as gorgeously dressed as the birds of the southern country, and they were chirping like the birds, being amused by Fernando's jokes.

Another aristocratic councilor came to Su Weita, first said a bunch of clichés to celebrate the victory, and then asked in a low voice: "General, what did Councilor Yin Fangsong say to you just now?"

"It's nothing, I was honored to be invited by him to the banquet at the end of the month."

"Ah... You have been on an expedition, so you must have never heard of that rumor!"

"What rumor?" Su Weita frowned.

"Because Fang Song's cousin, that is, the Sacon family of the Vanessa city-state, was accused of treason, and now they have all been brought to justice."

"This is the first time I've heard of this. But I think that even if two different families in different city-states are related to each other, the crimes of one family will not implicate the other family."

"Indeed, what the Sacon family did in Vanessa has nothing to do with the Infanson family in Zanodia. But I heard that on the day the traitors of the Sacon family were wiped out, Councilor Infanson happened to He went on a long journey, did he go..."

"Member, if there is no evidence, it is better to say less."

The noble councilor laughed dryly, changed the topic, told a few interesting things that happened in the city recently, and then left with a bored face. Suveta picked up another glass of wine, left the banquet hall, and went outside to the garden to breathe. He noticed a disheveled figure swaying behind trimmed bushes. Banquets often end up being places where men and women love each other. The general sighed, turned away from the bushes, and walked to the fountain, staring at the ground in case he saw something he shouldn't. Suddenly, he bumped into a person. He just wanted to apologize, but he was taken aback by the appearance of the person in front of him—this person was wearing a black robe, if it wasn't for his pale complexion, he would almost blend into the night; Very different. Su Weita immediately thought of the legendary ancient race: elves! It is said that elves have such pointed ears! Who is this guy?

Suveta drew his sword instinctively, only to realize that he didn't have a sword with him at all. The man in black made a silent gesture, and Su Weita immediately became stiff and unable to move. The slender fingers of the man in black pressed Su Weita's eyelids. The general's body swayed, and his eyes were pitch black.

"General? General Suveta?"

A crisp voice came to my ears.

Su Weita opened his eyes suddenly. He was standing by the fountain in the garden, and a short-haired woman in an Akton-style robe was looking at him with concern. The woman is very young, judging from her clothes, she looks like a scholar, with silk gloves reaching to the elbows on her hands.

"General, are you okay? Your complexion is so bad..."

Cold sweat broke out on Suveta's forehead. What just happened? All he could remember was walking into the garden, and then... he was standing by the fountain out of nowhere. There seemed to be a gap in his memory, and no matter how he recalled it, he couldn't fill that gap.

"I'm fine...thank you for your concern." He said to the woman, "I'm just a little tired. I haven't stopped all day today, so I don't have time to rest.

The short-haired woman smiled: "Don't work yourself too hard."

"I'm sorry." Su Weita bid farewell to the woman and hurried back to the banquet hall. The short-haired woman watched him leave, then walked towards the side of the garden. Gathered there were several Akton scholars dressed like her, discussing something in a low voice. At their center is an elderly woman whom the scholars treat with respect as they speak. The short-haired woman greeted them and joined the discussion. After a while, a strange voice came in.

"Guests from afar, seekers of knowledge!" Councilor Fernando Infonçon came to the garden at some time and exaggeratedly bowed to the scholars, "I found that there are two more strange faces among the few. Introduce me?"

A scholar said: "You came just in time, I was about to introduce you. This is Ms. Theodora, a professor of dragonology at the University of Akton. She just arrived in Zanodia today, and we forced her to the dinner Come on. This lady is her pupil—Constanzia."

Fernando politely kissed both ladies on the cheek.

"Draconic science! Sounds like a wonderful science!" he said.

"We study the ecology, history and culture of the dragon race." Ms. Theodora smiled slightly, as if she didn't intend to introduce her research content in a long way.

"What wind brought the two dragon scholars to our small town? I remember that these friends of yours are all astronomy scholars, and they were invited to come to Zanodia for exchange and study. Are you also here for exchange?"

"No, I found a difficult problem in my recent research that needs to be solved from an astronomical point of view, but the best astronomers have gone to Zanodia. So we just ran here too."

"Why don't you wait for them to return, or rely on correspondence?"

"That's too late," Constantia replied hastily, "we can't wait."

Her teacher gave her a glare, warned her not to talk nonsense, then turned to Fernando and replied with a pleasant face: "We are eager to learn. The search for the truth must not be delayed."

"It's really admirable. It is because of you that human knowledge can continue to advance."

His compliments were well received. Several scholars were flattered by his praise. Fernando took advantage of the opportunity to ask his real question: "On the 25th of this month, I plan to hold a masquerade ball. Would you please show me your favor?"

The scholars exchanged questioning glances, and finally Ms. Theodora replied: "Thank you for your kindness, we are honored to attend your ball."

"Then I will send someone to send the invitation to the hotel where you are staying tomorrow."

Then, Fernando praised the extensive knowledge of the scholars and asked them to pass on their profound knowledge. Constantia curled her lips in disdain. She knew exactly what this young man was thinking, but he just wanted to ask them to go to the ball to add luster to him and make him appear to have a lot of friends, not because he was really interested in knowledge. She was bored, so she simply left this small circle and walked towards the banquet hall.

Several long dining tables are placed in the corner of the banquet hall, and they are filled with delicacies from mountains and seas. A young man with brunette hair was standing at the table and feasting. He was wearing an ill-fitting gown, and every few moments he would tug at his tightly stretched collar. He has no interest in socializing and dancing, so he devotes all his energy to destroying food. Constantia smiled knowingly.

"Antoine!"

The brunette youth turned around and hurriedly wiped the cream from the corner of his mouth: "Miss Constantia!"

"What are you doing here alone?" She glanced at the food remains in front of Antoine, "There are so many beautiful girls here, why are you so busy eating?"

"I can't talk to those noble ladies." Antoine pouted, "You shouldn't bring me here, I don't think it fits in here..."

"If you don't come, how will you know that you don't like it here?"

"It's better not to know..." He sighed, "The banquet is so boring, what a pain..."

"You still have to accept it! The teacher just agreed to someone else's invitation, and he will go to a masquerade ball at the end of this month. Of course you have to go too!"

"What? Don't!"

"It's not up to you to decide! Don't forget, you are now a guard hired by us. Wherever we go, you have to follow."

To honor the last wish of the dead scholar Giannis, Antoine travels a long way to bring his notes to his sister Constantia. But at this moment Constantia and her teacher were preparing to leave for Xanodia. Constanzia was eager to know what happened to her brother, so she simply hired Antoine as a guard and dragged him all the way to Xanodia. All the way, Antoine repeated what he had seen and heard at Cheverignon, over and over again. Constanzia made many notes and asked many questions that Antoine could not answer. When they arrived in Zanodia, they were brought by other scholars to attend a celebration dinner. Antoine didn't even have decent clothes, so Constanzia had to borrow him a dress, which didn't fit him well.

"I miss my travels," muttered Antoine. "If 'they' were with me."

"By 'they' you mean the three friends you met in Ponto?" Constantia asked.

"That's right. Rexi is a bard, and he often goes to perform in noble castles and mansions. He must be like a fish in water here. Enzo and Giuliano are people who often go to banquets. With them, I'm sure I won't be able to So boring." Antoine sighed again, "Where are they now?"