Hotel on the mountain

It rained in the city of Zari. The rain came suddenly, and Obsward did not bring an umbrella.

He walked all the way from the straight avenue at the entrance of Wood Manor to the iron fence at the gate, and after conveying his request to the welcoming manservant, he waited by the gate.

Obsward's eyes were unfocused as he looked straight ahead. The rain gathered from the brim of his hat and fell, soaking his coat, dripping and rustling.

The flower fields on both sides of the road had been completely flattened, leaving bare land and a thin layer of grass. Therefore, this prosperous manor with red flowers and green willows in the past now looked quiet and profound in the rain, like a deer hiding in the depths of the dense forest, not wanting to attract too much attention.

The welcoming manservant stood outside the door of the reception room, but he thought about reporting it later, because at this time in the study, there were sharp questions from other guests.

"Lord Wood! I just want to know where my child is?!"

The angry Hard Richter is an old man over 70 years old. His hair has turned completely white, and there is a large empty scalp. Basically, there is only a circle of white hair growing around his temples.

His eye sockets are sunken, and the wrinkles are deep, directly drawing an eight-shaped pattern on both sides of his nose. And he wears a pair of glasses on his eyes, and the black mirror chain of the glasses naturally hangs down and wraps around his neck.

Aina, sitting behind the desk, said nothing. She no longer needs to wear black mourning clothes, but she seems to like black. No matter when and where, she always uses deep clothes to face others.

Hard Richter is the patriarch of the Richter family, and here the Richter family, according to the family ranking of the Great Chik Empire, is an orthodox "Seven Star Family".

The so-called "Seven Stars" means that the monsters tamed by the Richter family are seven-star. The families above him are the "Eight Star Family" and the "Ancient Dragon Family". The top one is the "leader family".

The aristocratic system of the Great Chik Empire is different from that of the Hebrews. Except for the top leader family, the power and authority of each family is determined by the strength of the monsters they tame. For example, the Chiyo family of Sorad is "eight stars" because his dead battle-hardened Wind Dragon was rated as eight stars.

In the past, Had Richter did not dare to shout in the study of the Wood family, but now the monster owned by the Wood family is only an eight-star monster Tyrannosaurus. In addition, Hader knew that many families were going to unite to attack Aina, so he dared to question her face to face here.

"Did you kill my son?!" Had Richter approached. He was thin and the glasses on his face made him look like a weathered scholar, but his vicious expression at this time did not make people think that he was a graceful aristocrat.

Aina wanted to understand the anxious state of mind of Hard Richter, a man who had a son at an old age, but she couldn't do it. If it were her in the past, she would definitely understand this feeling and comfort him.

But now, Aina just looked at Hard Richter coldly, and responded to the latter's hysterical slight abuse: "I will pay attention."

Faced with Aina's cold reply, Richter suddenly felt that it was a very boring behavior to continue to entangle here, so he snorted heavily, pushed open the door and walked out.

The male servant who had been waiting outside the study walked in at this time and informed Aina that someone wanted to see him.

"Who?" Aina rubbed her eyebrows and didn't hear the servant's words clearly.

"He said his name is 'Xiao Ao'." The servant repeated.

"Who?!" Aina sat up straight.

"Obusward. He said, tell you his name is 'Xiao Ao'."

Aina glanced stiffly out of the window, where the rain was getting heavier.

The rain splashed on the soil, and the old trees on both sides of the avenue also made a rustling sound.

The big iron gate opened, and a carriage drove out. Obsward turned his head and looked through the carriage window, and saw an old man with sparse hair and glasses sitting in the carriage.

Obsward knew him, he was the patriarch of the Richter family, and his son, Kevin Richter, was in his hands.

"Stinky bitch..." Obsward heard the vague voice coming from Hard Richter's mouth in the rain, and combined with his lip shape to judge what he was saying.

"He is scolding Aina." Obsward thought to himself.

The big iron gate was not closed immediately, because the manservant who went in to report the news came out with an umbrella and shouted to Obsward: "I'm sorry, guest, Lord Wood is not free now."

In the rain, the manservant ran back and closed the iron gate.

The creaking sound of the iron gate twisting was a bit harsh in the rain. Obsward raised his head and looked at the building of Wood Manor. His sight was fixed on the study, and there, a figure happened to fiddle with the curtains and disappeared in a flash.

The rain fell on Obsward's face, and he had to squint and lower his head. The figure by the window showed his profile again, staring blankly at Obsward's back, walking farther and farther in the rain...

Aina stood by the window for a long time. She felt that some of the bright sunshine from the past had broken into her black and white life. This sunshine told her that they had planted flowers together beside the pavilion of the manor.

The blue iris grew stubbornly in the soil beside the pavilion, staying together with other flowers planted by Aina herself, becoming a memory of the past of this manor.

However, she personally sent this sunshine away, and Aina did not close the curtains until Obsward's figure disappeared.

She didn't know how she should face Obsward, because that was her enemy, but also her lover. But it’s strange, you said hatred, why can it be diluted by time? And feelings will be deepened by time?

Aina knew that Obsward's stabbing blow to save her own life was true, because she saw his resolute expression that day. Aina also knew that the knife that Obsward put on her neck was real, because she saw the ruthlessness in his eyes that he was determined to complete the mission.

Aina was very annoyed. Her thoughts were completely disrupted by the figure of Obsward. She no longer wanted to think about the reason why Obsward came to her. Maybe, this was just another incident of that man. deception - and she said no, that's fine.

Now she just wants to devote herself to work, to the plan to revive her family business, to the grand blueprint of repairing the city, and to forget about the complicated thoughts that keep her awake at night.

Time passed while she was immersed in her work. When the welcoming valet knocked on the door of the study again, the night was already dark.

Aina stood up from behind the desk and asked, "Is anyone here again?"

"It's that 'Xiao Ao'."

Aina opened her mouth slightly, surprised.

"He brought a corpse, it was..." the servant paused and continued, "It is Calvin Richter... the eldest son of the Richter family."