Scepter of Thorns

"What did he say to you?"

"He was just telling the truth."

The saint walked into the prostitute's boudoir, "Why do you do such a dirty thing?"

The prostitute replied, "Because I was born poor and you were born noble."

——"Black Apocalypse"

※※※

Ostana rubbed her hands nervously, Edmond sat on the high-back chair, his face was covered by the white smoke of black tea.

"His Royal Highness." He narrowed his eyes, "How do you feel?"

Ostana didn't know how to answer, so she could only stammer, "You saved me, I can help you with anything... as long as, as long as you don't hand me over, I can do anything..."

"Really." Edmond glanced at her, "Including attacking your biological father?"

"This, I..." Ostana was speechless, "Except for this, everything else is fine!"

"Don't panic, Your Royal Highness." He smiled, "Let's talk about you first."

"Your name is Ostana Daulsas, but you actually know that you do not have the blood of Daursas. You are the heir of the queen and another nobleman. When you were 13 years old, Mephis Te discovered this secret. He secretly killed the original queen, hypnotized you and another woman, and made you think that you were the queen and princess. But because the relationship between the original queen and the king of heaven was not harmonious, before she conceived you two People have different beds, and it is precisely because of this that she will have sex with others. Of course, the king of heaven also has a woman outside, her name is Selima, and she is the direct heir of the famous illusionist family Senna."

"That illegitimate son... is from the Senna family?"

"Yes. But when the queen became pregnant, Mephisto cut off contact with Selima. In order to conceal the existence of an illegitimate child and alleviate his inner guilt, he arranged a relationship between Selima and an elf. The elf is called Saint Sylvia Joan. He doesn't care about the existence of illegitimate children, but he likes them very much-because the probability of giving birth to heirs through foreign races is very low, he treats Senna as his own. However, the good times don't last long, because the elves The family moved north, and all the elves who lived in the heavens were recalled, not to mention that Saint Sylvia Joan had a very special identity. Under the persecution of the tribe, he had to separate from Celima and left the heavens. Heartbroken Selima remained silent for a while, and finally responded to the pursuit of another cousin of the Senna family, married him and gave birth to two daughters, and Senna married into the family with her."

"I heard that some families marry close relatives in order to ensure the purity of blood." Ostana thought for a while, "So Senna's identity is very complicated. You guys want to compete with him, isn't that true?"

"What do you want to say?"

"I know one thing." Ostana hesitated. "It's about my mother. She ordered a group of people to stop my carriage and wanted to take me away. Since she is just a hypnotized woman, then Can it be speculated that she was not hypnotized at all, but was just pretending to lurk beside my father..."

"What does she look like?" Edmond sternly said, but he quickly realized his mistake, "No, what habits, or hobbies does she have?"

"Uh, habits and hobbies?" She recalled, "I remember that she had a red tube top dress that she liked very much, and when she put on makeup, she would subconsciously point her eyebrows with lipstick. And my father always called her, Tao Les."

If Edmund is just an ordinary politician, then this information is of no use to him, because it can only show that the queen loves beauty and sex|sensuality-only a plump woman can control a tube top dress, which is in Among the nobles of the heavens, there is also a relatively revealing way of dressing, which is only the case for some open-minded ladies.

But Edmund knew better.Because there is a woman in Joke who also likes red tube top dresses and has a hot figure that fascinates men.What's more, she has a nickname, Dorothy.

The queen of hearts, the leader of the subordinates of hearts, master assassination.

And the point she draws between her eyebrows is out of habit. Anyone in Joke will put a sign between the eyebrows. If you don't know it, you will only think that the queen loves beauty.

"I see." He straightened his mind and took a deep breath, "Now, look into my eyes Ostana, I need you to answer my question seriously."

The color of his pupils gradually darkened, and Ostana met his eyes and was stunned.

"Always faithful to Edmond Daulsus."

She replied dully, "Always loyal to Edmond Daulsus."

Edmund thought for a while, and added, "Always be loyal to Edward Daulsus."

She repeated it again, and then her eyes gradually became clear.

"I want you to do one thing. If you have the ability, you can stay."

"what's up?"

Edmund took a box from a drawer, opened it and placed it in front of Ostana.

"Put on this mask and card and go to the Palace of Bailie Song. It is a brothel. There are more than a dozen extremely beautiful prostitutes. They appear to be equal, but in fact they have high and low status. If you can find the highest status Prostitute, then you can do it. In addition, there is one hundred thousand gold in this card, use it properly."

After Ostana left, Edward walked into the study with his hair down, "How did you deal with it?"

"A very smart girl, but it's a pity that she was spoiled and lacks tempering." Edmund took a sip of black tea and said lightly, "I just let her see the sufferings of the world."

"She's really smart." Edward sat down, "When she was hijacked by that group of people, she used the mirror to send a message to someone, it should be Mephisto. So there are some things, that is, you don't have to go out of your way to Do it, and it will happen naturally."

"Looks like you heard it all."

"As for that request..." Edward looked at him, "You didn't expect to succeed at all, did you? You were just grinding out her princess disease."

"Of course, this kind of task is still too difficult for her."

"Maybe you can get a surprise."

※※※

When Edmond saw Ostana again, she was wearing a simple and capable corset, and her skin was far less fair than when she first came out of the palace.She came over with her bag, and took out a stack of papers from the bag, "It's done."

"The highest-ranking prostitute is a woman named Nan Qiangwei, and this is her information."

He raised his eyebrows unexpectedly, "How did you do it?"

"I thought about it. Asking the people in the brothel directly is not only messy and subjective, but also more likely to make people doubt my identity." Ostana's eyes were more calm and tough than before, "So I I spent a sum of money and bought ten bracelets. They were of the same style, but the material was high and low. I lied to be a maid of a nobleman, and when I met the bustard of a brothel, I told her that it was a The master, who didn't want to reveal his identity, bought it for the ten most beautiful women in the brothel, just hoping that they could wear it and walk around the brothel the next day, so that he could have a look in the audience. Bustard| Naturally, the wife would not refuse this gift, and the next day I sat under the stage to watch, and the woman wearing the most expensive bracelet was the one with the highest status."

"Nice job." Edward walked into the study, clapped three times, and showed appreciation on his indifferent face, "But, do you have any ideas?"

Edmund glanced at the eldest son who asked the question without authorization, but said nothing.

"...It's terrible." Ostana whispered, "Poverty...it's terrible."

She saw the lowest prostitutes, many of whom were sold here by their biological parents.They were uneducated, uneducated, and not beautiful.They buy cheap cosmetics and take cheap jobs. Their young life is like a flower growing in the mud, which withers before it blooms.

And some high-class prostitutes, some went astray and could never get out, some were family members of criminal officials, and some purely wanted money.They are often proficient in musical instruments and dancing, know how to groom themselves, and are also very skillful with men, so their prices are not low, but they will always be despised.

Added to this was the heavy smell of hunger and poverty that hung over the slums like flies on carrion.In the shadows of humanity and morality, they grow like mildew, eroding silently under the glorious appearance of heaven.

"Why is this happening?" Ostana asked blankly, "Isn't the heavens always focused on peace and tranquility? Why are there so many people..."

"Because your grandfather promulgated a law a long time ago, all Celestial Clans have to pay a tax to build temples and worship the main god. Different levels have different ratio requirements. Ten years ago, the tax for the bottom was 40.00 Ten percent." Edmond said lightly, "But after your father, Mephisto, raised the tax rate to [-]% after he inherited the Heavenly King, so during this period, countless churches were erected, and ascetics' The figures are all over the streets and alleys. Because he wanted to pursue something with extreme faith, but he failed."

"what?"

"The blessing of the God of Light to his believers." Edward continued, "For this purpose, the heavens have paid a huge sacrifice. Because everyone with a keen sense of smell has realized that other races are gradually becoming stronger under the leadership of their main gods, and the heavens But he was abandoned. If he loses the brilliance of God, then the Celestial Clan will fall to the position of the head of the Seven Clans."

"What are you talking about? Seven clans and war?" Ostana still couldn't understand, "These things are too far away."

"It was very far away when the Celestial Clan was prosperous, but it's not as good as it used to be now, Your Royal Highness." Edward tilted his head and smiled sarcastically, "People immersed in comfort are like frogs in warm water, it's too difficult to wake up."

"And our proposition is to abandon the absolute majesty of God." Edmond raised his voice, and there was unconcealed excitement in his words, "Since faith is no longer glorious, then we will be our own gods! There is no need to blindly pray And praying, this will not bring any benefits, the only ones who can save the Celestial Clan are ourselves!!"

Ostana was shocked in her heart. Such words were undoubtedly rebellious. She instinctively wanted to refuse, but everything she saw suddenly flashed in her mind.

The poor old woman saved her meager savings and bought a beautiful but expensive flower from the nuns of the temple. She put the flower in front of the altar and knelt down to ask her son who had joined the army to return safely.

But she waited for her son's body.

An old and decrepit prostitute wanted to enter the temple to pray, but the people in the temple expelled and flogged her.

The beautiful nun walked into the bishop's room at night, and when she left, the smell of wine soaked her messy clothes.

What exactly is faith? Is it a desire, a confession, or a desire?

Why do people believe?Is it out of respect, fear or equivalent exchange?

Ostana couldn't answer, a secret crack opened in her originally firm heart, just like the slight tremor when the magma was restless, like the ominous wind before the tsunami.

----Chapter74. Shaking & Finishing----

The author has something to say:

【Note 1】In Western folk proverbs, it is similar to a bad face and a bad face, but it actually refers to the joint efforts of Dorsas and his son to shake Ostana's faith.

Does anyone remember that the main god of the elves has a good relationship with the [original] God of Light? His full name is Saint Zagali Joan. Except for the Tianzu, all clans and clans have the same surname as the main god... and the first volume also mentioned Having been to Saint Zagari, he ordered the elves to move north, because of the pollution of the elves, the food harvest was greatly reduced, and the war of the seven races in the near future should be avoided.

Ostana is smart as I mentioned before. Her father asked her to marry Edward but the princess was not happy. She understood what the king hinted at... Although she is like a spoiled child, she is murderous and willful , but are actually substantially different.Her parents are not biological, no matter how close they are, there will be a secret sense of distance, so children are often more sensitive when they grow up in such an environment, and the maverick and strange clothes she shows are all for Get their attention.And after this hypocritical appearance collapses, people will quickly turn from collapse to calmness, because for her, there is no need to do a lot of things to attract attention, and there is no need to endure the barriers in harmony. Falling into a state of numbness, this state is actually her truest side.

Also, if you don’t understand the dialogue at the beginning, go to the previous chapter. Girls with high EQ should be able to understand who is talking to whom~ The author’s update time is every four or five days. Girls don’t need to check for updates every day, because You cry and say that you will be very guilty for not updating the author...but I will not update_(:з」∠)_

Finally, thank you for liking this article =v= The author is currently traveling in Hong Kong, so the update should not be missed... right?