holy flame

Nick was actually very tired. After all, he was first ambushed by robbers this day, then ran for his life, and then counterattacked before he could catch his breath, and when the fighting finally subsided, there were still more things waiting for him—handling the prisoners , report, and discuss the handover with the fat mayor.By the time things were sorted out, every bone in his body was protesting against him, and Nick knew that the most important thing he should do now was to find a place to sleep, because there were more things waiting for him tomorrow.

But when he thinks that Samuel will leave the day after tomorrow, no, it is already tomorrow, and he will leave early in the morning. The time he can spend with his first friend in his life is less than 24 hours. The time he can spend with Samuel is only two or three hours, or even less.So, he ran in spite of his tiredness.What surprised him was that Samuel was waiting for him, even ignoring his lover for this - he could clearly see the disgust and hostility towards him from Julian's expression, but Nick obviously didn't expect that I was misunderstood as a rival in love.This made Nick believe even more that although the friendship between him and Samuel appeared a bit abrupt, it was not hypocritical. It was indeed a true friendship!

But sitting here, facing Samuel, the eloquent Nick who used to be comfortable in the social circle of the aristocrats suddenly didn't know what to say.He always felt that those so-called fascinating topics, which were actually hypocritical, were now brought up to discuss with Samuel, which was an insult to their friendship.

And Samuel is not a person who is good at chatting, he is holding a cup of homemade green tea, drinking while waiting for others to speak.As for Julian, though he was still adept at enlivening the atmosphere, he did not consider it necessary in the presence of a rival.

So, in the living room where the three men were sitting, there was an eerie silence.

It wasn't until Nick noticed Samuel's pointed ears that were very different from ordinary humans that he thought of the first topic.As a paladin, it is impossible for Samuel to deliberately change his ears into this in order to pursue the beauty of appearance, or to flatter someone, that is to say, he is born with the characteristics brought by the true elf blood. This shows that Samuel must have been born well.

"Samuel, you only have a first name but no surname. Is it because of the family's request?" You only knew that Samuel was the youngest paladin on the mainland so far, but he didn't know the specific identity of Samuel. .The paladins pay attention to honor, including their own honor, as well as those of the Holy Court and their families, so talking about each other's families should be a good topic.

"No." Samuel shook his head. "I'm an orphan. I grew up in the Holy Court's nursery school. I don't even know who my parents are."

"Huh?" Nick obviously didn't expect this kind of answer, "This is really weird. You must know that your natural elf appearance is a symbol of noble blood. Even the royal family will be proud of it, even if you are an illegitimate child. It will also be recognized by the family immediately, how could it be..." Halfway through speaking, Nick's face suddenly turned pale, because he thought of a very terrifying reason!

In the peaceful Clorion Continent, although the nobles are still shouting about chivalry and the teachings of the Holy God, in fact their lives are becoming increasingly corrupt and depraved, and even incest has long been a recognized secret among the nobles.And the elves have disappeared for hundreds of years, and the blood of the elves, which was rare among the nobles, is getting weaker and weaker day by day. What can be done to make the blood of the elves rich again—it is incest!

If this is true, then instead of being cruel, Samuel's parents were kind.After all, most of the sinful children born of incest were strangled to death by their mothers and buried under trees by their fathers, unless they could perfectly cover it up.And Samuel was sent to the holy court and became a servant of God.

The more Nick thought about it, the more he felt that his idea was more credible. He originally wanted to help Samuel find his parents, but he immediately threw this idea behind him.If his conjecture is true and he finds out something later, even if Samuel is a paladin, he and his parents will be tied to the stake and burned to death. Public is another matter.And at that time, Samuel's only way to survive is to become a traitor and leave this continent.Thinking of this, Nick decided to immediately forget his random thoughts just now, and never mention similar incidents again.

"Samuel."

"Ok?"

"What are you drinking, it smells good." Obviously, Nick decided to change the subject.

"Tea, do you want to try it?"

"of course."

"Me too." Julian moved closer to Samuel.

"Didn't you say you don't like the bitter taste?"

"Occasionally I like to have something different."

"You can go and get two cups." Samuel simply stopped entangled in this issue, but asked Julian, who had been working in the background, to move around.

"..." Julian was a little reluctant at first, after all, he wanted to take "two" cups, but soon he thought of something, and immediately stood up with a smile on his face to get the cups.

"Your lover obviously has a big opinion on me." After Julian left, Nick shrugged and smirked, "It seems that I did disturb your bad night." He is also a man, and he has participated in many fight.I understand that after the battle, although the man is tired, he is also more 'interested' than usual.The paired knights in his team would often disappear from everyone's sight after the battle, and most of the knights who didn't have a fixed partner would find one temporarily.Even though Julian hadn't done that because of his status, he had heard and seen a lot.

"He and I have just started dating, we haven't gotten there yet."

"You guys are dating, but you haven't made it to that point?" Nick couldn't understand, "But when I came in today, you looked very close."

"Did you see me kissing his forehead then? We were really close."

"Could you tell me, how long does it take for you to start?"

"Two days."

"But he is your entourage. You should have known each other for a long time. If so, why haven't you..." Nick was no longer incomprehensible, but confused.In his cognition, the relationship between lovers starts in bed, and if they get along well with each other on the bed, they can continue to communicate.If you are a commoner, if you find that your personalities are compatible after that, then you can get married.Of course, nobles or royal families can only have political marriages, but a lover who can accompany them for a long time is also good.How could he imagine that Samuel's oriental view of love was just the opposite of his?

"Here are the cups!" At this time, Julian came back with two cups. Although Nick was still at a loss, it didn't matter if he talked about this kind of private matter with his friends, but if it was in front of a third party, it would be Seriously.So he could only swallow his curiosity temporarily, and turn his attention to this fresh drink "tea".

What Samuel used to make tea was a kettle for hot water. Although it definitely did not conform to the tea ceremony, at this time, in this kind of place, he could only make do with it.Fortunately, this thing brews enough tea at one time.Samuel made full cups for the two of them respectively, and Nick took a sip curiously. It was indeed a little bitter at first, but soon there was a kind of herbaceous sweetness in his mouth, which was very refreshing.

"Nice drink, maybe it tastes better with some milk and honey or something."

"..." Samuel, who never drank milk tea, silently took a sip of green tea.

"Cough cough cough cough!" At the same time, Julian, who also took a sip of tea, suddenly coughed violently.

"Julian, are you okay?" Nick asked politely.

"He's fine, just choking." Samuel put down his tea and patted Julian on the back.

"Cough cough, Samuel, did you put the cup...cough cough!" Julian coughed and whispered in Samuel's ear-in fact, his cough was just to cover up.

"What's the matter? You said that you like different ones. I thought the chili powder was just what you wanted, so you specially smeared it on the rim of your cup." Samuel asked suspiciously.

Although Nick didn't know what the chili powder was, looking at Julian, whose face was flushed from coughing, it was obvious that it was not a good thing.But whether Samuel did it intentionally or unintentionally, he just told his lover's prank.His lover was poor, and Samuel was... lovely.

In an instant, you can be tempted, but he understands that nothing can happen with their identities.Therefore, that charming feeling was quickly suppressed by him.

In the end, Samuel couldn't bear the spicy taste, so he ran into the kitchen to pour water for himself.So people really can't do bad things, otherwise they will soon know what they have done to themselves.

"You know, his cup should actually be for me."

"Well, I know." Samuel nodded, and the answer was revealed. Samuel did it on purpose.

"Then why did you give him the cup?"

"You didn't do anything against Julian, so why should I cooperate with him to tease you?"

"But he is your lover."

"Is a lover more important than a friend?" Samuel expressed his doubt seriously, but Nick mistook it as a rhetorical question from Samuel, so he smiled with satisfaction.And Samuel, who didn't get an answer, became even more puzzled—feelings are really complicated things, no matter what kind of emotion——