Imperial Crown

Fiona finally suppressed her curiosity and didn't touch Raven's desk.

Soon, Petty came back with clothes and helped Fiona change. Fiona hugged her pajamas, buried her head in them, and ran back to her room.

Not long after, Raven returned to the study and looked at the documents on the table without saying a word.

It was a letter from Marquis Anthony.

The wording was as gorgeous and complicated as the nobles' usual, but the content was very simple, asking Raven to "pay more attention" to the schedule and eliminate the other two contestants from the Fox family in this round except Gul'dan.

Raven's fingers tapped on the table, his brows furrowed, and a trace of impatience climbed up his eyebrows.

There was a loud thunder, lightning illuminated the documents, and drizzle blew into the window, soaking the back of Raven's neck.

"Fuck!" Raven pulled open his collar and stood up. The low-pressure air made him breathe a little difficult, and his already depressed mood became more irritable.

After closing the window, Raven folded the letter and put it in the drawer. He walked out of the room and said to Petty, "I'm going out for a walk. You don't have to follow me."

The sky was as gloomy as the night.

The old pottery jar under the eaves was filled with rainwater, which kept rippling in the wind, and was hit by the water drops on the eaves to create circles of ripples.

The raindrops fell into pieces on the ground, gathered together at a low place, and melted into a trickle, winding along the stone-paved road.

The stone slabs that were worn by thousands of feet and thousands of wheels were wet, smooth like a mirror, reflecting the broken light of the lanterns on the roadside, adding a bit of tenderness to the cold street.

The sound of frogs came from nowhere.

Under the rain curtain, Eagle Town was slowly falling asleep. There were almost no pedestrians on the streets. It was as quiet as an empty city.

Raven walked on Downing Street, listening to the dense crisp sound of the black cloth umbrella, and his mood gradually calmed down, but he felt a little more melancholy for no reason.

Lighting a hand-rolled cigarette and inhaling it into the lungs, the moist air softened the originally hot and choking smoke, and made the smell stick to the lips and linger.

The sound of heels hitting bluestone echoed in the alley. Raven looked up and saw a woman coming towards him.

She held a black parasol in her hand, with the edge of the parasol pressed down, covering her face while resisting the breeze, but revealing half of the black veil that only widows would wear. The long robe was slightly wet by the rain, showing that it was not commensurate with the thin body.

The parasol could not withstand the heavy rain, and the water droplets flowed down the lace of the umbrella head, wetting her robe, and making the red lips under the black veil more radiant and smooth.

Perhaps because of the cold, or perhaps because of fatigue, her arms stained with rain trembled slightly.

Raven stood on the side of the road like a gentleman. When the two crossed, Raven was surprised to find that this was Mrs. Doreen.

She also saw Raven, with a bit of surprise, a bit of joy, and a little embarrassment in her eyes: "Baron Raven, can you please give me a ride?"

If it were normal, Raven would definitely ask some questions, such as where her entourage and maids were, and why she was here alone.

But now, Raven didn't want to think too much, just nodded gently, turned his umbrella sideways, and covered Mrs. Doreen's head.

The young widow smiled gratefully, put away her umbrella, and walked with Raven.

She had a good sense of distance, allowing Raven to smell the scent of hair oil from her hair, but not really close to Raven, close yet distant.

The rain gradually got heavier, beating drumbeats, and layers of bowl-shaped flowers bloomed in the bubbles, and the water vapor condensed into mist and gradually blocked the sight.

"Ah--"

A puff of mud splashed, and Mrs. Doreen stepped into the gap between the stone slabs. The hem of her skirt stuck to her legs, and her ankles in black stockings were stained with mud. She was about to fall, but Raven helped her up again.

Her skin was as cool as autumn water, and her body was so gentle that it seemed as if she had no bones.

Mrs. Doreen leaned in Raven's arms, her pupils slightly dilated because of panic, and a blush appeared on her pale cheeks: "Sorry..."

"Are you okay?" Raven asked lightly.

Doreen shook her head gently, supported Raven's arm and stood up. She took two steps, but her feet softened again because of the sprain, and she bent down. The soft cloak set off the plump curve of her waist.

Raven stretched out his arm, and Mrs. Doreen hesitated slightly before holding it tightly, standing up and walking slowly.

After walking a short distance, Mrs. Doreen's breathing became unstable, her face turned pale, and her body began to tremble.

Turning the corner, from Downing Street to Baker Street, I saw a small shop not far away. There was no sign, only an oak wine glass hanging upside down at the door, and soft light sprinkled on the street through the window.

Mrs. Doreen paused, and a hint of pleading in her weak tone: "Let's go in and sit for a while, okay?"

In the cold rain, she shivered and looked pitiful.

Raven nodded, helped Doreen to the door, and leaned the umbrella against the wall.

Pushing the door in, a warm feeling came over me.

This is not a very large pub, with only 4 tables in total, six or seven drinkers sitting scattered, and the stove by the wall crackling.

Doreen is obviously a noble, but there is no shortage of nobles in Eagle Town now, and Raven deliberately pulled up his collar to cover his face. This kind of mysterious tone is also common among nobles, so it did not attract extra attention. The boss who is also a bartender enthusiastically led the two to their seats.

"What do you two need? We recently purchased Angel's Tears with the flavor of 'flaming orchid', which is perfect for this kind of weather."

"Then have a cup." Raven said, looking at Doreen again.

Mrs. Doreen said softly: "A glass of hot milk."

The two sat opposite each other, and Raven still felt a little stuffy. He opened the window slightly and breathed in the air that flowed in.

Soon, two drinks were placed on the table.

"You seem to have something on your mind..." Mrs. Doreen held the porcelain cup with both hands, her body relaxed a little, and her pale face became more colorful: "About the athletic competition?"

Raven came back to his senses and took a sip of the wine in the glass. The hot feeling flowed from the tip of his tongue to his stomach: "It's just a small problem. I have already thought about what to do."

"But you're still unwilling?" Doreen blinked.

"..." Raven raised his head and swallowed half of the glass of wine: "The word unwilling is not in my dictionary."

"I will call it - it's not that I won't report it, the time has not yet come."

Dorinsu held a spoon in her hand and slowly stirred it in the cup. She looked at Raven with admiration and admiration in her eyes: "That's why you can reach this day. As a baron, you stir up the entire Nord province and make Bian Bianzhi... The local Eagle Territory has become the center of attention across the province.”

Raven chuckled: "In the final analysis, it's just a weight that happens at the right time."

"But it's enough to affect the balance of the scale." Doreen said seriously: "And you can decide where to put the weight."

Raven rarely heard this kind of compliment. He smiled slightly and drank the wine in his glass: "Just say what you have to say, Mrs. Doreen. As long as it's not too much trouble, even for your husband's sake, I will It will also help.”

Mrs. Doreen's eyes brightened slightly, but then dimmed after hearing the second half of the sentence: "It may not be to others, but to you, it is definitely a trouble."

Raven didn't like to cause trouble for himself. He listened to the sound of rain outside the window and gradually began to feel a little sleepy: "Let's go, Mrs. Doreen, I'll take you back."

As he spoke, he stood up, but as soon as he stood upright, he felt his eyes darken, his hands and feet began to become numb and weak, and his consciousness was drifting away.

Oops, there's something wrong with this drink!

Raven held the table with his hands, his lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a single syllable. He slid off the table and fell to the ground with a clang.

In his last consciousness, he heard the voice of the tavern owner: "Hey, Mrs. Doreen, how are our 'Sons of Bane' mercenary group doing?"

Mrs. Doreen stood up, walked to Raven who fell to the ground, and gently lifted him up: "Not bad, very good."

The tavern owner rubbed his hands, looked at her beautiful face and swallowed: "Then, isn't it time to pay us the balance?"

"Of course, if you would like to pay the bill in other ways, we won't mind."

The surrounding drinkers also stood up one after another and slowly surrounded him.

Mrs. Doreen stroked Raven's cheek with her fingers and said softly: "I will send it to your family."

"What, are you..." The tavern owner suddenly choked before he could finish his words. He bent down and vomited out a ball of black blood. Then he fell to the ground, his limbs twitched, his eyes widened and he gradually stopped breathing.

All around, the people named Drunkards who were actually mercenaries panicked. Some wanted to escape, and some wanted to intimidate Doreen, but no one succeeded. They just left the tavern in a mess, and then followed in the footsteps of the boss.

The door opened, and a group of warriors in black robes walked in.

Mrs. Doreen stood up: "Take Baron Raven away, be sure not to hurt him; deal with all these mercenaries."

"yes."

…

His consciousness slowly returned to Raven's body. He opened his eyes and saw the candlestick hanging from the stone ceiling, filling the room with dim light.

The body felt inexplicably heavy, as if something was pressing on it.

His eyes gradually moved downwards and saw...

Lady Doreen.

She still wore the widow's signature black gauze hat on her head, and her neat hair was spread loosely, stuck to her forehead and cheeks with sweat.

His brows were furrowed, and there was a bit of confusion and joy in his eyes. He bit his lower lip with his teeth, and occasionally made a few dull and painful nasal sounds.

Under the black burqa, there is a piece of white snow glowing with bright red.

In the depression of the delicate collarbone, crystal beads, whether it was rain or sweat, flowed down the edge of the collarbone, flowing through mountains and deep valleys, stopping slightly on the smooth lower abdomen, and then broke through the obstruction of hair and flowed into the small navel.

She must be a woman who likes sports. The skin on her lower abdomen is not only tight, but the outline of her abdominal muscles can be clearly seen through the almost transparent skin.

The thighs wrapped in black stockings are plump and fleshy, reflecting the dim light.

Feeling Raven's gaze, her movements became more intense, but her gaze shifted away. There was a golden wedding ring on the finger that crossed her chest.

A trace of surprise and anger rose in Raven's heart.

Suddenly, Mrs. Doreen felt that the world was spinning, and the next moment, the ceiling appeared in front of her eyes.

How could he recover so quickly! ?

However, before she could think clearly, Lei Wen's livid face appeared in front of her, and his arms clamped around her throat like steel: "Are you crazy?!"

Like a drowning fish, Mrs. Doreen opened her mouth and couldn't breathe at all, but a trace of red appeared on her face. She gently raised her arm and pinched Raven's chest.

Snap——

A slap fell hard on Doreen's face, causing her beautiful cheeks to swell up visibly. Raven gritted his teeth and said:

"You really think I don't dare to kill you!?"

Due to suffocation, tears already flowed from the corners of Doreen's eyes, but her legs quietly wrapped around Raven's waist.

"You're so fucking crazy!"

"Crazy..."

…

a long time.

Raven stood up and sat on the edge of the bed, holding his clothes in the palm of his hand, raising his finger bones, lowering his voice, and sneered sarcastically: "Heh, you are so brave."

He could guess that Mrs. Doreen's purpose was to strengthen the relationship between the two and find a backer for herself. If she could become pregnant with his illegitimate child, the relationship would be even more unbreakable.

But this is in the Eagle Territory. Once her plan is slightly overlooked or leaked, she will surely enter a situation that is beyond redemption.

Mrs. Doreen huddled up in the quilt, only her slightly damaged black stockings were exposed, her eyes were red and swollen, she was wiping tears and was about to cry, with sobs in her voice:

"I've never been born brave, I just have no one behind me."

Raven was immediately speechless.

It was as if he had forced her to do something!

After considering the pros and cons, Raven stood up and put on his clothes, his voice cold: "If anyone knows about this..."

Doreen raised her head and continued: "It's not that I won't retaliate, the time has not yet come."

"...It's good that you know!" Raven glanced at her with a dagger-like look, grabbed his hat, pushed the door open and left the room.

Looking at the door knocker, which was still shaking slightly, a smile suddenly broke out on Mrs. Doreen's face, which was like a pear blossom in the rain.

She stroked her red and swollen cheeks, and her eyes looked like a gambler who was already penniless but made a comeback!

"You are so excellent in every field, Raven..."

After a ridiculous night, Raven returned to his usual rhythm of life. There were no bad rumors from the outside world, as if nothing had happened.

However, Old Gordon reported a case a few days later, saying that a group of mercenaries disappeared in the Eagle Territory, and the mercenary guild sent someone to ask for an explanation.

Raven looked at the vividly described face of the hotel owner on the handed document, snorted, and threw it into the trash can.

Although Old Gordon found it a bit strange, he didn't pay too much attention - it was just a mercenary guild, and the Baron did not have the obligation to reply to them.

After a few days of rest, Eagle Castle was busy with the upcoming 6th round of the competition.

Before the schedule was announced, Engla approached Raven again and hoped that he would do the final review.

After reading it, Raven made slight adjustments to the schedule and arranged the remaining two knights from the Fox family to compete in the same arena to play against each other.

This is his response to Marquis Anthony, and it can also be explained to the Fox family.

For Marquis Anthony, this will inevitably eliminate a member of the Fox family; for the Fox family, it is guaranteed that one person will advance to the next round.

Engla didn't quite understand the meaning of this arrangement, but he still chose to obey. However, after the change, he took a look and frowned: "Baron, there is another problem."

"Previously, the arrangement was basically men against men and women against women. This is relatively fair and interesting enough."

"After you change this time, the only pair of female knights will be separated, and Savannah will face the 'Wami' knight of the Pintson family..."

Savannah is one of the two contestants sent by the Church of Light in this duel conference.

Engla arranges female opponents for her every time. In addition to the reasons mentioned before, she also takes into account the face of the Light Church.

Of course Raven also knew this, he shook his head and said: "Don't worry, it'll be no problem."

If Archbishop Thomas wanted to compete for the crown, he would not have sent only 2 second-order knights.

Now that they have both reached the top 32, it is enough to give the Light Church face. If they are eliminated in this round, Archbishop Thomas will not have any objections.

"Yes, Lord Baron."

Soon after, the list was announced, which immediately excited the nobles who had already seen through it.

There is quite a lot of noteworthy information in this round. In addition to the first two male-female duels and the civil war in the Fox family, there is also new explosive information.

That is, the game has progressed to this point, and finally there is a game between the third level, and there are two games at once.

They were Gul'dan versus Baron "Omaha" from Seaside County; Akori versus Baron Wessassin from Snow Maple County!

These two games, one after the other, can be said to have attracted enough attention and excitement, so that before the game even started, a large number of people had already begun to place bets on these two games.

The focus of betting is not only on winning or losing the game, but more people are betting on who can solve the opponent faster, Gul'dan or Akori!

During this period of time, Raven's main energy was still spent on enchanting. When he got tired of playing with plate armor, he would go to enchant the magic wand to relax. The progress was quite gratifying. The upgrade progress of the first-level magic wand reached about 75%.

The time comes on August 7, and the sixth round of the competitive competition officially begins.

On this day, Raven did not get into his secret room, but came to the box of the arena, and sat with Marquis Anthony, Archbishop Thomas, Earl of Montreal, and Earl of Tyrone for the first time in a long time.

Under the calm surface, there are undercurrents.

…