Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 868: Isn’t it the wrong time?

When Linger walked into the study, the old man was lying on his side on a recliner by the fireplace, quietly staring at the night outside the window. The firelight cast a warm glow on every groove and hair on his face, and the shadows of varying depths were like a solidified stone statue. There was no light in the study, so except for a small area by the fireplace, the rest of the room was shrouded in deep darkness. The huge half-length portrait on the wall was the most conspicuous decoration. The pioneer Baron Vince's eyes were as sharp as an eagle, and deeper than the eternal night.

"You're here, Mr. Ling." The old man sitting by the fireplace heard the door opening, raised his eyelids and glanced at the young man, but did not make any other movements: "Please come and sit over here."

"excuse me."

Linger gently closed the door, then walked to the fireplace and sat down on the chair that had been prepared in front of the old man. As a junior and a guest, he maintained due respect for Xino's grandfather, so he did not speak rashly, but gave the right to open the topic to the old man. But he waited quietly for about half a minute, but the old man did not speak, but stared at the blazing fire in the fireplace. His old and turbid eyes were a little empty under the light of the fire, as if he was thinking about other things and forgot the purpose of calling Linger over.

This is a common symptom of the elderly. Ling Ge often encountered this situation when he received believers before, so he was not very angry, but he had to remind him: "Mr. Van Indru, what do you want to see me for?"

Vandru Jean Gustaf, the grandfather of Xino and the current head of the Gustaf family, was said to have been a training instructor of the 9th Cavalry Regiment of the Republican Garrison in Saint-Denis Province when he was young. He had a rank of colonel and a tough style, but he also trained many outstanding young talents. He chose to retire after his son was born. A grand ceremony of awarding honors was held at that time. The governor of the province was present in person to commend the old man for his contributions in his 25-year military career. Of course, perhaps he also wanted to befriend the Gustaf family, but this was not known to outsiders.

According to Xinuo, the medal named "Iris Courage Medal" was the old man's most treasured treasure. When she was a child, she often saw her grandfather wipe it with a melancholy look on his face, perhaps still missing his military career. But at the same time, he also rejected many invitations from retired colleagues or former students, and never participated in the so-called officers' club or military gatherings, which was very contradictory.

In general, he is an old man who is stubborn, rigid, but very nostalgic.

The young man's voice called the old man back from his trance. He shifted his gaze and fell on Lingge, looking him up and down carefully, as if he had never seen this guest at the table before. Then he spoke in a steady tone, "He is indeed an excellent young man, Mr. Lingge."

The young man fell into deep thought.

Let Xinuo become a carefree person?
There seemed to be some deep hint hidden in this sentence, but the young man didn't guess it for a while, after all, he really lacked a lot of information. What concerned him more was the old man's attitude: "How do you know... we want to take Miss Xinuo away from here?"

"You have no objection, then, to our taking her away?"

The topic naturally turned to the girl.

"Maybe it's just a coincidence." He said meaningfully: "Everyone will encounter a time when they have to make a choice."

His cloudy eyes flickered in the firelight: "This can be seen with the naked eye. It's true for you, and it's also true for Xinuo, although she may not realize it herself."

Not only did he not object to Xino leaving here, he even had the intention of pushing him to leave. However, even he, as a grandfather, could not change Xino's will, so he hinted to Lingge in this way.

"Yes." The old man raised his head slightly and stared at the old and worn ceiling, his eyes slightly melancholy: "She often has many concerns in her heart, and her stubbornness makes it difficult for her to let go of these concerns. So if you want to take her away, it's best to let her become a person without any worries, young man."

"stubborn?"

It takes a lot of courage to fight against an invincible enemy with a meager force, and it is also in line with the spirit of chivalry, so it can be appreciated by the old man. Unfortunately, in terms of motivation, Lingge thinks that he is far less noble than the White Knight Hiberton.

She is the heiress and only heir of the Gostave family. Without her, who will let the whitethorn flag continue to fly in the sky of Grindelwald Field? Who will follow the ancient oath and protect the aliens in the Forest of Loser?
"The key to this matter is not me, but she herself." The old man looked at her and said meaningfully: "If she wants to leave, no one can stop her, and vice versa."

"She is not yet excellent." The old man said, evaluating his granddaughter, the future heir of the Gustave family: "Perhaps she has advantages in other aspects that no one can match, but she has difficulty making decisions and is always hesitant and wavering. And this problem does not come from her indecision, but because she is a stubborn child."

Ling Ge was a little slow to react. He was talking about him. Was this a compliment? But why was it so sudden? It seemed that he had not done anything worthy of his praise? Or was it because of the Witch Society?

Only those who have no worries will embark on a long journey, but for that girl, what exactly is she worried about?

"So," the old man said slowly, "people who can quickly accept the current situation, not be disturbed by the external environment, and make decisions based on their own heart are indeed worthy of being described as excellent. In our era, young people like this are rare."

Ling Ge keenly heard the hidden meaning of his words, so he asked tentatively: "Does Miss Xinuo count?"

Lingge was silent, he seemed to understand what the old man meant.

If Lingge guessed correctly, given Xino's personality, she should not have taken the initiative to mention the matter of the girl's kingdom to her grandfather.

To this, the old man replied: "Some people are not born to belong here."

……

The silver lanterns illuminated the pavilion, and the faint light, like flowing water, quietly soaked through the growing plants and provided a perfect stage for the crickets in the flowers. In this summer night concert, two guests came uninvited, walked into the pavilion one after the other, and sat on the stone benches that were still a little cold after being soaked by the moonlight. The girl with a snow-white ponytail looked up at the waning moon above her head. It was mostly covered by clouds, but the radiance was still enough to soothe the mountains and hills on this land; the girl with blue hair stared at her quietly, without saying a word, as if waiting for an answer.

I don't know how long this quiet atmosphere lasted. Finally, the girl who looked up at the moon opened her lips slightly and took the initiative to speak. "I am the only daughter in my family." She didn't turn around when she spoke, as if she was not talking to Saint Xia Liya, but talking to herself: "Although there are many children of the same age playing with me in the manor and in the town, so I am not that lonely, but I have never experienced what it feels like to get along with brothers and sisters, and naturally I don't know how to be a qualified sister. So, Saint Xia Liya, if you want me to confide in you like a sister, maybe you won't hear any spoiled words from me."

"It doesn't matter." Saint Xia Liya said immediately: "Just say what you want to say, because Xino is Xino, there is no need to force yourself to play other roles."

Besides, is there a possibility that I am not a qualified sister?
She couldn't help but think about it.

Xinuo chuckled, as if she was amused by this answer. After laughing for a while, she stopped laughing, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly: "In that case, then I'll tell you, Saint Xia Liya, after listening to this, you can't laugh at me, okay?"

"Don't worry." Saint Shallia promised with a serious face: "I will never do that."

"I believe you."

As Xino said this, he finally withdrew his gaze from the moon and fell on the blue-haired girl opposite him. Although she said she was talking, she asked a question first: "Saint Xia Liya, what do you think about death?"

die?

The girl was stunned for a moment. Her first reaction was whether it would be better to ask Leticia this question, after all, she was the one who had experienced the most deaths. But then she thought again, the little bat would erase its memory every time it died, and she probably couldn't remember what it felt like to die, so even if she asked her, it would be useless, so she suppressed the idea.

"I think..." She thought for a while, then carefully replied, "That should be a very sad thing, right?"

It is very sad for both the deceased and his relatives.

Is that why everyone has such serious and heavy expressions at funerals?

However, among those emotions, how many are real?

Saint Charity could not help but recall the old wizard Moriah who baptized her. She remembered him lying on a soft bed when he was dying, as if drowning in a vast ocean of snow. It was the first time she witnessed the death of a human being. Because it was her first time, she was at a loss and didn't know how to react. It was not until the day of the funeral that the old wizard's body gradually burned into snowflake-like ashes in the flames, and everyone who attended the funeral bowed their heads and mourned. Only then did she realize that death is a sad thing. Facing death, you cannot be indifferent, you must show your sadness.

But within two days of the funeral, some of the people who attended the funeral began to secretly accuse the old wizard of teaching the tribe's witchcraft to a stranger. Others blamed her, saying that Saint Shallia did not shed tears at the funeral and behaved like an indifferent stranger, which was unfair to the old wizard who had always guided and taken care of her.

After this incident, Saint Xia Liya left the tribe with the lamb and wandered alone. She was puzzled for a while. Since those people cried so sadly at the old wizard's funeral, they should have a deep relationship with him. But why did they not want to accept his baptism, nor agree with his choice, but turned their spearheads against her?
It was not until now that she understood that sometimes tears are just the purpose of expression rather than a natural result. Some people's sadness is buried deep in their hearts because their shells are too hard and even the young emotional seedlings watered by tears cannot break through.

What kind of person is Shino?

She knew she shouldn't think like that, but she couldn't hide her curiosity. Fortunately, Xino wasn't someone who cared about such details. After hearing Saint Xia Liya's answer, she smiled softly, and her thoughts were surprisingly consistent with the girl in front of her: "Yes, death is indeed a very sad thing, but how many people's sadness is from the heart? Saint Xia Liya, to be honest, I am actually very afraid of death."

Saint Xia Liya slightly widened her eyes and hesitated: "Xino... are you afraid of death?"

Generally speaking, even if you are really afraid of death, you won't admit it voluntarily, right?
"Yeah." Xino's expression did not change, and he nodded gently: "Perhaps it is because I have always been facing death since I was a child - the death of my mother, my father, and the death of my best friend... These have profoundly changed me. Every time I witness the death of others and I am powerless to do anything, I will think, ah, why am I standing here? If it is sadness, sadness can't change anything; if it is missing, missing can no longer be conveyed to them. This thought has accompanied me throughout my childhood and adolescence, so that now, I have become a person who is very afraid of death."

She laughed at herself: "Birth, aging, illness and death are all very common, but I can't accept it. I even blame others and myself for it. Maybe I am a very selfish person?"

Saint Xia Liya then understood that the fear of death she was talking about was not about herself, but the fear of seeing others die.

She didn't know how Xinuo's parents and best friend died, and she had no idea about what the girl said about blaming others and herself, but she vaguely guessed that the girl was no longer confiding, she was trying to reconcile with herself, but there was no way. Maybe she had done this many times in the past, but until now she was still affected by those emotions and was deeply trapped in the past. As we all know, reconciling with yourself is the most difficult thing in the world.

At this time, as a qualified listener, what she should do is not to get to the bottom of the matter, nor to comfort or advise, but just to continue listening.

But she didn't get that opportunity, because suddenly footsteps were heard from the direction of the living room.

Xinuo looked up and saw a familiar silhouette in the halo of light. She stopped talking. She let out a breath, as if she had let go of the melancholy and sensitivity in her chest. Then she stood up and said to Saint Xia Liya with a smile, "It seems that Mr. Ling has returned from his grandfather. We should go back, Saint Xia Liya. Thank you for listening to me for so long. However, these are just my immature thoughts. Please don't take them to heart."

oops--

For the first time since she met the young man, Saint Xia Liya had this thought: Why did Ling Ge show up at this time?

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)