Blood Dragon

[-]th reunion

"Her Royal Highness Princess Irina, the future queen of St. Jean is here!" The master of ceremonies announced the arrival of the most honored host of today's ball with a loud voice.

All the people, no matter what they had been doing before, stood up and gathered around the entrance, waiting for the arrival of the princess.

Aqiu, or Princess Irina, walked in from the entrance.Ryan followed her.Although the two appeared at the same time, everyone could clearly see that the princess did not hold hands with the knight beside her.She walked a little ahead, and Lane followed.Rather than two people appearing side by side, it is better to say that Ryan is only one follower.

Irina's dress today is not particularly gorgeous, and it is even simpler compared to some women in the field.Her sleeves and collar were not embroidered with gold or silver, nor were her gowns adorned with pearls and diamonds.However, standing in the crowd, she looked so eye-catching, pitiful, delicate and charming.

Many men immediately surrounded him, making the surrounding airtight.

Ashuruffat was a little surprised to see William Daly came to the ball at some time.His face was flushed, and he carefully selected one by one from a pile of fine wines.More than one woman pointed at him and snickered, but he didn't care.

The band has started playing dance music.On the dance floor in the middle, more than one couple of men and women have already started dancing.

Irina felt a little out of breath.The nobles surrounded her from all directions, compliments and greetings followed one after another, seemingly never ending, and there were countless hints among them.

"Prime Minister, Chief General, Chief Justice, Captain of the Palace Guard, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Chancellor of the Seal, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, these are the seven key positions! Anyone who only needs to see the candidates for these seven positions will know that you will have your own power base Where to put it. Thomas is very suitable as a general, because he is not only a San Jean, but also commanded Cassilos army. So he can be accepted by both sides. Of the other six positions, you should set aside at least two This position should be given to the nobles of Cassilos, otherwise, the nobles of Cassilos will be divided in the future." The stern voice of the black-robed old man still echoed in my ears, "But apart from the general, the nobles of Saint-Jean You have to get at least three jobs, or they'll immediately disappoint you, and that's worse than anything!"

She tried her best to cheer herself up, using smiles and words to resist the siege from all directions.This is an invisible war, and she is alone and helpless.But she had to fight on, there was no way she could retreat.

"Let prudence be your second skin," she told herself.There can be no error.

A tall and thin nobleman who was almost as thin as firewood came to her.Irina had an impression of his figure, but could no longer remember his name and title.This aristocrat recommended himself for the position of Minister of Finance.

"The Minister of Finance is a very critical position. If someone intends to strangle you, this position is the best noose." She remembered the advice of the old man in black.In any case, as long as you don't intend to hang yourself, the other end of the noose must be in your own hands.

She politely indicated that she would consider the matter carefully, and then shifted the topic to autumn and the hunt.This nobleman unexpectedly has a strong hobby for hunting.After a few minutes of discussion, he was chosen as the royal hunting captain.

As time went by, she successively made promises to two civil affairs officials, and then she found a warden with a tyrannical appearance for herself.And then later was his own stable supervisor.Her guard of honor candidates were immediately put in place, and then seven royal advisors from all over Saint-Jean were selected in one go.

Everyone's happy—at least they seem to be.Except herself.If only there were seven Thomases, each born at St. Jean and serving at Cassilos.She can throw all the troubles to these seven Thomas in one go.Of course, it would be even better if there were seventy.

She couldn't think of other positions for a while, but fortunately, most of them had already been dismissed by her.So she used the excuse of "breathing the air" to come to the balcony.

"Irina," a figure approached her, and she realized it was Lane.Did he come to ask for a job too?

"Irina, your face is ugly. Are you feeling unwell?"

She smiled, and Ryan's hand brushed her back, touching a gash.The stinging sensation is almost like being pricked by a needle.Her feet went limp, and her body fell backwards.After a few seconds she realized that Lane was holding her.

"Irina...are you alright?"

She had a sudden urge to cry.But she knew right away that it was meaningless.She can't show weakness in front of anyone.

"If you want to use your identity as a woman to conquer a man... remember, a woman can conquer a man, but only if the man allows himself to be conquered." The cold words of the old man in black echoed in her ears.

She struggled to break away from the opponent's hand.She was his sovereign, his queen.How could he hug her without permission?

But she couldn't get angry over such little things, it would only make her look like an agitated and aggressive country woman.She left the stunned opponent and rushed to the highest balcony.Now she's alone here.

It took a few minutes for her to completely calm herself down.The night wind was a little cold, blowing his hair and making goose bumps appear on her bare skin.

A bouquet of white flowers was handed to him.This is a bouquet of lilies, which have not been maintained well, and the outermost petals have shown signs of withering.But she could still smell a burst of fragrance.

"Aqiu." The man said a name.Irina looked up and saw Ashuruffat's face.

"You...how did you come here?" For some reason, this face made her feel a little flustered.No, she shouldn't be flustered.Isn't it common for Ashurfat to appear here?

"You are the princess, and I am your knight. Of course I will come with you." Ashuruffat replied.He handed over the bouquet of lilies again, and she just accepted it foolishly.No, such things cannot be accepted.This causes a lot of misunderstandings, and makes gossip flow like a river that never stops branching off.

She suddenly felt her eyes wet.

By the way, Ashurfat is not a knight of St. Jean.His allegiance to her is only because... Maybe Ashurfate can save her, just like the knight in the book rescued the princess imprisoned in the tower...

"Irina!" A voice colder than Night Breeze sounded.The figure of the old man in black robe appeared at the balcony entrance.

Ashuruffat watched as Irina walked towards her grandfather.Perhaps the master of ceremonies had received special attention, so he had no idea when the retired king entered the ball.

When he returned to the ball from the balcony, Irina had gone nowhere.Maybe go to some small room to rest—he thought, when suddenly he saw Ryan standing in a corner and staring at him.When their eyes happened to meet, he saw the intense hatred in each other's eyes, and that hatred immediately became more ferocious.But it was only for a moment.

Ryan turned away.He's had enough of this dance!He strode away from the main entrance, but the guards at the entrance were very sensible and did not come up to ask.There was no need to stay any longer, he knew exactly what was going to happen next.Those who begged for mercy around Irina were just wasting their efforts, and the important positions in the palace had already been reserved for suitable candidates.And the scope of these candidates, as long as they are not blind, they will understand!Maybe there are some minor adjustments in detail, but it's definitely not their turn!

The Paros were well blocked, and none of Cassilos' powerful nobles could arrive in time.This meant that the newly formed court would consist entirely of nobles from Saint-Jean.Everyone will be satisfied with this arrangement.

As for himself, there is no need to say.Thomas will continue to be the general, and no one can deny Thomas' ability and status.And he will continue to serve as lieutenant general.As for the other three, William Daly, the alcoholic and reckless man, will definitely leave, and Leo, the country bumpkin, will also leave his job with a high probability. They were just choices that they had to make at the time.The position of lieutenant general is a shortcut to a higher position, and there will be countless nobles who want to compete for it.There was no way these hill country bumpkins could keep their jobs.

But that guy Ashurfat...that guy...has a great chance of being retained!

Why Ashurfate?Why is it that guy?Isn't it just that the road saw injustice and escorted the princess for a long time?Why are such insignificant things remembered so firmly by them?And why did Irina accept the bouquet of lilies he sent?

Lane galloped away, so jealous that he almost forgot that doing so in the city might cause unnecessary accidents.The cold night wind blew on his forehead, but it couldn't extinguish the raging anger in his heart.He desperately drove his horse, trying to vent his depression and unwillingness on this windy night.

Fortunately, it was late at night, and there were no pedestrians on the street.So he can run all the way back to his place without incident.Unlike others, Ryan has his own residence in Loren City - or his family's property.He jumped off the horse at the door, handed the reins to the groom who came up, and rushed to the door full of unwillingness.

In the living room, there was a visitor he hadn't expected.It was a middle-aged man who was so skinny that a gust of wind would blow him over, with a pair of glasses on his eye sockets, he was sitting in the living room, flipping through a book.

"Uncle Luke?" He couldn't believe it.Why is uncle here?

Luke was his biological uncle, his father's younger brother.Under normal circumstances, the eldest son of a great nobleman can inherit the second-class title and obtain a fief, and the second son can only start working hard as an apprentice knight.But they also have a second option, which is to give up their reproductive rights and join their older brothers' families.Luke was born with a thin body and was also born with a disability, lame in one leg.He can only choose the second fate.

"Master." Joining the elder brother's family means becoming his retainer, so even his own nephew, in terms of legal relationship, has become the young master he serves.

"Don't call me that, there are no outsiders here. Uncle, why are you here?"

"Come and see my dear nephew." Luke replied with a smile. "I heard that you made great achievements on the battlefield, so my brother asked me to help you. I hope you can continue to work hard and achieve... Hey, how do you look, you seem unhappy?"

"..." Ryan punched the wall angrily, then sat down on the sofa in the living room.

"It seems that something is really unhappy. Tell uncle and let uncle figure out a way."