Soul echo

293 The Earl

"Count Marta...how should I say it?"

Walking on the road, Lily recalled her not-so-close 'relative'.

"If you really want to count, he should be regarded as my distant relative, and my grandfather is of the same generation, but when I was young, I only saw him twice."

Even though they live in the same city, and Lily is still a princess, she has only met twice. This cannot be explained by "bad relationship".

"When I saw him for the first time, I thought he was a weirdo. Although he was an earl, no matter how he dressed, he was no different from a commoner. He also liked works of art. For those works of art, he would even save money. Live frugally, hire servants for works of art instead of himself—the servants in his family are artists who have studied art."

The expression on Lily's face was very strange, "He almost sold all the property left by his ancestors. If it wasn't for the purpose of being able to buy more artworks and maintain the artworks he collected, he might have sold all his assets. sell away.

"I heard that my grandfather once quarreled with him because of this, and it was after that that the two of them lost contact."

As she narrated, the memories in Lily's mind became clearer and clearer, and many memories that she thought she had forgotten emerged.

"It is precisely because of this that Earl Marta has a title, 'beautiful person', who is obsessed with all kinds of beauty. Many artists come here just to see his artwork, but he often refuses, only Certain exceptionally talented artists—whether or not they showed talent at the time—were allowed into the Marta family estate.

"Until now, some artists still pass by from time to time, playing their own music outside the gate of Marta Manor, or displaying their paintings and poems. Unfortunately, Earl Marta never appreciates anyone without talent. .

"Even if it is my father, it is difficult to visit him."

Lilian was arranging the equipment on her body while listening to Lily Lieber's narration. Hearing this, she felt a little puzzled: "But didn't you just say that you saw him twice when you were young?"

"The strangest thing is here!"

Lily emphasized her tone, "Those two times, we went in with my grandfather—even if it was my father, Earl Marta didn't allow him to bring anyone in."

"In other words, Count Marta actually has a good relationship with your grandfather?" Lilian frowned subconsciously.

After breaking off contact, they have a good relationship with each other. What kind of twisted relationship is this?

"I don't know..." Lily shook her head, feeling a little depressed, "Grandfather never mentioned this to us, and the relationship between Earl Marta and us is not good, and he didn't say a few words, but in our eyes , Count Marta is not only a weirdo, but also very gloomy.

"Because they are more or less relatives, and they are also famous local nobles. When my grandfather and mother passed away, we sent invitations to him, but he never gave us an answer, didn't refuse, and didn't show up at the funeral. .”

Since Earl Marta has such an odd temper, maybe the witcher hasn't seen him yet?
"impossible."

Zhong Ye suddenly spoke, interrupting Lilian's thoughts, "Most demon hunters are lawless guys. They despise authority and ignore the law. Amos is already a more cheerful character among demon hunters, and he is willing to respect the law." , but look at how many of his actions did not violate the law?"

Lilian looked at Zhong Ye speechlessly. She didn't say a word just now. Could it be that her thoughts are so easy to guess?
Zhong Ye gave his student a positive look, and then looked at the former princess who was confused and didn't understand what he was talking about.

"Since Count Marta has such a character, can you take us into his manor and meet him?"

"Yes." Lily nodded heavily and gave an affirmative answer, "Earl Marta said that Bellamy and I can go in anytime we want, as long as we don't bring too many people with us, which will disturb him or hurt him." collections will do.”

That being the case, then the relationship between Lily's grandfather and Earl Marta could never be bad, it would be better to say that they were inseparable.

Lily's understanding of Earl Marta ends here. In fact, she has not learned much about her distant relative, and everything she knows has already been told.

Count Marta's manor was located outside the city, and it was not close to the city. It took them more than an hour to leave the city and walk to the gate of the manor.

Before approaching the manor, Zhong Ye saw a group of people gathered in front of the gate from a distance.

There are some with bright clothes and some with sloppy appearance, but they gather in front of the manor, playing musical instruments, singing, painting and reading poetry.

There are still people who are trying their best to sell themselves, telling how good they are and how talented they are, and only hope that Count Marta can open the door and let them in.

They're like crazy, no matter the shape, the core is the same.

Are they really for art?have no idea.

Are they doing it for fame and fortune?not necessarily.

Just looking at them, Zhong Ye frowned.

These people didn't notice Zhong Ye's arrival, because they only saw themselves and the gate of the manor. They didn't realize it until Zhong Ye and the others approached the gate.

——Even at this time, there are still people who are immersed in their own world and their own fantasies, unable to extricate themselves, without even looking at Zhong Ye and the others.

Zhong Ye and the others walked to the door, but before they raised their hands to knock on the door, the door in front of them "creaked" and opened.

Everyone, even the lunatic who was immersed in his own world, raised his head and looked at the gate of the manor, with frenzy slowly appearing in his eyes.

"it's me……"

"……it's me."

"it's me!"

"not me!!"

Crazy people rushed up one by one, trying to pass Zhong Ye and squeeze into the gate.

Their madness was astounding, and they forgot to push each other in order to squeeze through the gate, and kept pushing forward.

Before these lunatics rushed forward, Zhong Ye pulled Lily and Lilian away, and now they stood aside, watching with cold eyes.

Seeing these crazy actions, Lilian had mixed feelings in her heart.

Do these lunatics want their art to be recognized, or do they want to gain fame and fortune, or... just want to squeeze into that door?

In Lilian's eyes, these lunatics are probably the latter - they just want to squeeze through the door.

Abandoning art, abandoning dignity, abandoning the basics and chasing the end, instead setting the goal of entering Earl Marta's manor, completely forgetting what he wanted.

Among them, there must be many talents with good qualifications. As long as they follow the steps, they can get good results even if they don't rely on the reputation brought by 'entering the Marta Manor'.

However, they have all become 'waste' now——

Singing until the voice is dry and hoarse; painting until the shape is distorted, but he is unconscious; the poet also loses his own thoughts, and becomes blindly singing the praises of Count Marta.

Looking at these lunatics, Lilian only felt sadness, and her tightly clenched fists were filled with sweat.

The servants in the manor stood firmly behind the door, not allowing those lunatics to step into the manor and defile this sacred place.

An old voice came from behind the servants: "You are not invited by the master, please leave."

This voice made everyone quiet, and then, countless chaotic emotions burst out.

"Why? Why? My paintings are so good! Why doesn't he let me in!"

"Please, let me in, I have money, I have a lot of money..."

"Why not me? I sold my house, I sold my parents' relics, I have given my whole life, why not me?"

The angry, the supplicant, the howling, the desperate...

By yelling, beating and crying, all the negative emotions that have been accumulated for a long time burst out.

Amidst this chaos, the thoughtful Zhong Ye walked over with Lily and Lilian.

Sure enough, the servant who stopped everyone else walked away to both sides when facing them, and when they passed, he directly closed the gate of the manor.

"Hi, dear sir, although I don't know your name yet, Marta Manor welcomes you."

The old butler wearing glasses bowed to Zhong Ye, "Your arrival has made the succulent flourish. It is our lifelong honor to meet you."

Hearing this sentence, Lily, who opened her lips slightly, closed her mouth.

——It turned out that the person who opened the door of the manor was not her, but Zhong Ye!

(End of this chapter)