Embers of Embers

Chapter 597 Author
Lorenzo has somewhat figured out the rules of his life. Either he is too idle, slowly fermenting and oxidizing in the office, consuming a long time, or all things are piled together, making himself miserable.
The horse-drawn carriage was speeding along the streets of Old Dunling. Through the gaps in the car windows, one could see the rapidly changing scenery, and sometimes patrolling "riot suppressors" could be seen.
Compared with other cities, Old Dunling has obviously become more and more strange. Advanced technology and various systems put this city under strict protection. Now, with the arrival of Jiuxia people, This weird city is bound to usher in new changes.
In the slightly narrow space, Lorenzo sat opposite Seleu, with Oscar beside him.
Seleu remained as simple and indifferent as usual, as if nothing could affect her mood, while Oscar looked several years younger. His face was rosy. Lorenzo hadn't seen this guy so energetic for a long time.
Recall carefully, the last time Lorenzo saw Oscar like this was when he was in school. At that time, Lorenzo went to class. After class, he would sometimes sit by the flower bed in a daze.
Lorenzo was still a famous detective at that time, and the so-called nail sword was buried in his grave.
The first exchange between Lorenzo and Oscar took place at that time. While Lorenzo was enjoying the warm sunshine, the teacher who had just taught him came over and sat with him by the flower bed.
"Young man, you understand very well."
As soon as he opened his mouth, Oscar said something incomprehensible.
Lorenzo looked at the old guy suspiciously, only to see him grinning, and looked at the students who hurried past.
"It's great to be young, let alone young people in the middle of summer."
The hot summer made white dresses everywhere in sight. They were flowing in front of the two of them, as if they were in a sea of ​​skirts, and Oscar was the rotten fish swimming freely in the sea of ​​skirts.
Oscar smiled mischievously, but Lorenzo didn't understand what he meant at all.
Lorenzo was a very idle guy at the time. When he was not working, he was a vagrant who needed various things to pass the time. The reason why he was in a daze in front of the flower bed was just to pick a pretty good place to kill time.
"So, what are you doing? Are you in a sea of ​​skirts again? But it's already winter, and no one is wearing skirts to show you their white legs."
Lorenzo joked, thinking about these not-too-bad memories.
"No, it was just to relax...but now we have something big to announce."
Oscar may have been too excited, and his words seemed a little at a loss.
"Huh?" Lorenzo didn't understand what he was talking about. "Speak more clearly."
"No, no, no, such a big thing needs a more serious occasion to announce it."
"Then why did you ask me to get in the car?"
The two quarreled, and at this moment, Seriu said without emotion.
"I will succeed Oscar Wilde as the next nation-builder."
The quarrel in the carriage stopped for a moment. Lorenzo and Oscar both looked shocked, but the reasons for their shock were completely different.
"You want to replace this old bastard?"
"Why should such a big event be announced in the carriage?"
The quarrel started again, and if the carriage hadn't been too narrow, the two of them might have started fighting.
This feeling was a bit bad, and Seleu felt that there was a group of squeaky crows screaming in front of his ears, endlessly, and they would not disperse.
Fortunately, the carriage finally stopped and they arrived at their destination.
It's Stuart's mansion. Although he hasn't been here for a long time, it doesn't look like much has changed here.
The old butler had already been waiting in front of the door, waiting for the return of several people. The car door opened, Seleu and Oscar walked out, and then an unexpected guest appeared.
He looked confused, as if he had been dragged from the bed just after waking up, and he could see that his collar was still tucked under his clothes, and he was not well prepared at all.
"Lorenzo Holmes!"
When the old housekeeper saw this damn face, his blood pressure immediately rose.
Seliu just said that she was going to pick up Oscar in person. No one expected that she would pick up such a thing on the way back.
"Oh oh oh! Long time no see!"
Lorenzo didn't feel the old butler's dislike for him at all, and waved hello.
"Why did you bring him too?"
The old housekeeper whispered to Seliu.
After realizing that he could not stop all this, the old butler chose to keep out of sight and out of mind, so he and Lorenzo hadn't seen each other for a long time, and finally got together again today.
"On the way, and I'll need him for some things later, so it's better to call him over in advance."
Seliu probably didn't notice the old housekeeper's mood. She asked, "Yawei, are you okay?"
The old housekeeper could only reluctantly nod, telling Seliu not to worry too much, and then invited Lorenzo into the house with a gloomy look.
Speaking of which, Lorenzo had a psychedelic feeling throughout the whole day, first the kestrel came to visit, then Seleu, and Oscar and other nonsense.
Seleu arranged Lorenzo and Oscar in the living room, but she didn't know what to do, leaving the two of them staring at each other. In a brief silence, both of them seemed to be thinking about whether to continue the carriage. quarrel.
After a while, Lorenzo broke the calm.
"What do you think, you actually want Seliu to succeed you?"
The duty of a nation-builder is not easy, it is even dangerous. Lorenzo cannot understand why Oscar would do this.
"It's not my idea, it's this girl's idea. After returning to Old Dunling, she came to me."
Facing Lorenzo, Oscar didn't need to hide anything, and besides, he couldn't hide anything. Oscar knew Lorenzo's abilities.
"She seemed to have made all the plans at the time, and told me the pros and cons of it for me to consider."
There were only Oscar and Lorenzo in the empty living room. He was very frank and told these things that should not be told to anyone.
"She first insulted me severely, saying that I was an old guy who was about to retire and had nothing but writing books that no one liked. She felt that I was not worthy of the responsibility of a nation-builder."
Lorenzo's expression was a little stiff, "I don't think Seleu would say such a thing."
"Almost, almost, that's what it means," Oscar said with added salt and jealousy, "Anyway, it's time for me to step down, at least find a successor before I step down."
Oscar seemed to have deep resentment towards Seleu's words at the time, "She said that for a lonely old guy like me, if one day I slipped in the bathroom and hit my head on the ground, I would just die like this...
It doesn't seem right no matter how you think about it, the man who built the country died like this.
Maybe I'm dead and no one will find out, I don't have many friends anyway, no one will come to visit me, maybe the neighbors won't realize it until they smell my dead body. "
Oscar complained endlessly.
"Then she recommended herself. Seleucus already knew the secrets of the world, had seen demons, and had killed a few with a sword. She was so young, and the Duke of the Stuart family, with a huge figure behind her. Interest groups...
She felt she was a perfect fit. "
"And you promised her?" Lorenzo asked.
"How is that possible! She hurt me so badly, can I possibly agree to her?"
Oscar was full of resentment, but Lorenzo felt that what Seleu said was definitely not the same thing as what Oscar said.
"But the place you are staying now is the Stuart family's mansion, and you said you would announce this on the way...you still agreed." The more he listened to Oscar's complaints, the more Lorenzo felt that Oscar was here. Very funny.
"I guess Seleu made an offer you can't refuse," Lorenzo said.
Oscar thought for a while, and then he felt like a deflated ball. He completely collapsed into the chair and sighed. His sigh was filled with resentment towards the powerful and a trace of...envy.
"I can't help it, she gave me too much."
Oscar said embarrassingly.
"You have indeed sold your position as a nation-builder!"
Lorenzo was shocked and couldn't believe a word of Oscar's words.
"Oscar, you are simply the worst nation-builder!"
"Then what should I do! I always need a successor. Since the respected Miss Stuart is so enthusiastic, it is not impossible to entrust this important mission to her!"
Oscar shouted shamelessly.
The two yelled at each other for a while, and then fell into silence again. Lorenzo rubbed his head vigorously. For a moment, he didn't know whether to first think about why Seleu did this, or to reflect on how Oscar got into the building. Of the country.
He glanced at Oscar. He couldn't figure out how this guy who lived a failed life could win such a responsibility.
"So...how did she persuade you?" Lorenzo asked.
"The Stuart family will unconditionally support my creation, and the headlines of the Queen's Daily will also be used to promote my works."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
"Oscar, you bastard!"
Lorenzo never imagined that Seleu bought Oscar with these conditions. If he knew what Oscar was like, Lorenzo should have let him die due to some accident, or put him in a nursing home as soon as possible.
The two cursed at each other for a while, and sat down on the chairs exhausted. Lorenzo only felt a headache, and the joy of the Holy Silver Mine was completely disturbed by Oscar.
"Lorenzo, you have to understand that for an author, there is nothing more worthwhile than more people seeing my story." Oscar was still arrogant.
Lorenzo didn't bother to reprimand anymore. After all, he had no right to interfere with this.
"But speaking of it, "Demon Hunter" has been forced to end." Oscar said slowly.
"What is that?"
Lorenzo began to feel that there was something about Oscar that made him helpless, and he hated this feeling.
"As I told you before, the novel based on the demon hunter, unfortunately, I was targeted by the purge agency, and the story was forced to end before it was even finished," Oscar said in a strange tone, "It's just a matter of time. In the last volume, 'you' are about to come to an end."
"Oh? What will happen to me?"
Loren didn't know what Seliu was going to do, and he didn't know how long he would have to wait. Hearing what Oscar said, he became a little interested.
Although the things Oscar wrote were third-rate, some people still liked them, and Lorenzo had read some of them before.
"You were poor and died in some dark, damp alley."
Oscar spoke bluntly, but looking at Lorenzo's expression, it seemed that he was going to get angry and hurt someone in the next second, so he shouted quickly.
"It's not just you!"
"what?"
Oscar said slowly, "Actually, all the characters I write have similar endings. They all end in a perfect tragedy."
Looking at Oscar's intoxicated look, Lorenzo said with a look of disgust.
"I think I know why your book is not popular."
"I know, I know," Oscar continued, "I liked tragedies very much when I was young. Joys are all the same, but sorrows are strange and deeply rooted in people's hearts."
"I don't bother writing happy endings that are similar to those in the mainstream. Only sadness can impress people."
"Yeah, your poverty is pretty impressive."
Lorenzo's words made Oscar look awkward and he didn't know how to continue.
"I plan to continue my creation after handing over the country builder. I like to conceive an ending before writing. I haven't thought of an ending yet."
"Write another sad ending and be scolded by readers?"
Lorenzo said with a venomous tongue, he is good at manipulating people's mentality.
Oscar didn't retort loudly this time. He looked straight ahead and said softly.
"No, this time I want to write a... gentler ending."
"how?"
"Maybe it's a change in mentality. When I was young, I thought tragedy was cool, and I thought the protagonist should die so handsomely. As a result, I was beaten hard by reality. The books I hoarded couldn't be sold at all, so I could only use them in the winter. Come make a fire and warm yourself.”
Oscar shook his head as he spoke. It seemed that he had countless bad memories in his failed life.
"I feel now... that a gentle, clichéd ending is actually good and cool. Life is already terrible. People should have something beautiful to put their trust in and warm their souls."
Oscar said, looked at Lorenzo and asked.
"What do you think?"
"It's not that I write a book, what do I think is useful?" Lorenzo said, "But it sounds good, but the reality is terrible. People should have something beautiful to comfort themselves."
Perhaps feeling Lorenzo's understanding, Oscar smiled and was immersed in his own ideas.
Lorenzo also sighed. To be honest, scolding Oscar was quite relaxing.
In fact, he also wanted to accuse Oscar of this extremely irresponsible behavior, but when he saw his slightly stubborn eyes, Lorenzo felt that there was no need to say anything.
Lorenzo knows many people who are so stubborn and can be stubborn to death for certain things, just like their ultimate creed.
The Keeper's creed is to continue civilization, the Epidemic Doctor's creed is truth, Floki's is a sea chart, and Oscar's seems to be his creation.
Words cannot persuade this kind of thing, so Lorenzo tactfully gave up.
He was also looking forward to what kind of ending Oscar would write.
Lorenzo was, after all, one of Oscar's few readers.
(End of this chapter)