Alien Knights

In the palace garden in the early winter afternoon, the sun is shining warmly on the earth, the temperature is suitable, and the cool breeze is blowing.

Todd, who was sitting on the balcony on the second floor, looked at the beautiful lady in palace costume across the dining table, and asked softly, "Snake fruit wine? Juniper tea?"

The bright and charming Queen Mary nodded with a smile and said, "It would be nice if there was coffee."

Todd paused for a moment, and said helplessly: "I tried to send people to the south to look for coffee seeds, but it seems that there is no such thing here?"

Mary shrugged regretfully and said: "Over the years, I have never forgotten the scent of the fragrance between my teeth, and always warned myself not to be addicted to certain things, but every time I think of it at night, I always toss and turn , unable to sleep."

Mary's words made Todd hear some implication, but the latter still chose to respond with silence and a smile.

Mary stared at Todd's face, saw that the other party didn't make any statement, and looked disappointed. She looked around and said, "This palace is really deserted. When I came here, I didn't even see a few servants and maids."

"I gave most people a long vacation." Todd poured some tea into Mary's cup, and said calmly, "I'm the only one living here, and it doesn't make sense to have too many servants."

Mary stared into Todd's eyes, and there was a trace of sadness in his eyes: "You are the strangest king I have ever seen."

Todd looked up at the sky, then took another sip of tea, and said slowly: "The palace is cold and windy at night, and the number of servants is small. You may consider a hotel at the foot of the mountain..."

Mary interrupted Todd's displeasure: "Since I came to the palace, I have only sat for four hours. This is the third time you want me to leave! I don't understand if my existence makes you feel distressed." , or is it restless?"

Todd put down the teacup in his hand and said slowly: "Mary, believe me, I'm for your own good..."

Mary frowned and said angrily: "Take a step back and say, even if you don't want to see me, facing the queen of the Holy Acropolis, is this the way a holy king treats guests?!"

Todd said with a wry smile, "Mary, actually..."

"I don't care! I won't go!"

The noble and inviolable temperament of Mary in anger made Todd briefly absent-minded.

The latter waited for the woman to calm down, and said to her, "Mary, listen to me, this palace under your feet will soon be in flames of war."

Mary, who was angry, turned her head to look at the scenery down the mountain, and when she heard Todd's words, she couldn't help turning her head in surprise: "War?"

"There is a group of enemies who have been lurking in Muxi City, waiting for an opportunity to seize the power of the kingdom. Today or tomorrow is the time for them to do it."

After the astonishment passed, Mary stood up and said loudly, "Where are those loyal knights? Where's the army of the kingdom?"

Todd shook his head and said: "Mobilizing the army now is tantamount to telling the enemy that I have seen their actions; moreover, the kingdom's army is riddled with holes, and I can't guarantee how many of them are still loyal to me."

The wide-eyed Mary was dazed for a while, then ran to Todd's side, holding the hem of the skirt with one hand and the latter with the other, and said without hesitation: "I have brought seventy loyal Knights, they are my most reliable companions in the Holy Acropolis. Come with me, we will go to the Holy Acropolis, and then gather the army and come back!"

Todd gently held Mary's catkin, shook his head slightly and said, "I can't go."

The smart Mary thought for a moment, and quickly guessed Todd's intention: "You...you want to be a bait to lure out those traitors?!"

Todd nodded.

"Are you crazy? How can a king risk himself?!"

Mary grabbed Todd's sleeve tightly, and her delicate and beautiful face like a flower was full of anxiety: "Why do you sacrifice yourself every time?! Is this kingdom really worth it for you? !"

Todd gently took Mary's palm, and said firmly: "Because I am sitting on the throne, I must stay."

Mary knelt down on the ground, leaned her head into Todd's arms, and murmured, "Why? Why do you do this every time?"

Todd gently raised Mary's chin, looked at her and said seriously: "While there is still time, you can leave this city as soon as possible and return to the Holy Acropolis to wait for my news. In a few days, the people here Everything will return to calm..."

Mary shook her head vigorously, and whispered, "I won't leave. First it was my father, then my ex-husband, and now it's you. I'm tired of running away, and I don't want to run away like this anymore."

Todd sighed: "You don't need to."

Mary looked up at Todd. "Rachel's not gone, is she?"

Todd hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"She is willing to stay in this city to live and die with you, why don't you believe that I can do the same?"

Mary put her head on Todd's lap and whispered, "In your mind, is Rachel the only person you can trust? No one else can really walk into your heart?"

Todd stretched out his hand to Mary's swan-like white and flawless back, but he didn't touch it. His hand stopped halfway, and he said to Mary in an unusually vicissitudes tone: "Being with me is a piece of cake." It's a hard and boring thing. Even Rachel, she suffered a lot and suffered a lot with me."

Mary retorted angrily: "When Rachel and I talked about you, it didn't look like a regretful expression at all. She told me that the greatest luck in this life is to meet you."

Todd lowered his head, looked at Mary in front of him, and asked curiously, "What did she tell you?"

Mary's voice was inaudible: "Secret."

In the sky of Muxi City, the afterglow of the sun makes the shadow of the city longer and longer, and dyes the scenery in front of you into a golden oil painting.

The king and the queen, sitting side by side, on the terrace, talking to each other, as if forgetting the existence of time, until the sun sets and the moon rises.

The night wind was getting stronger and stronger. Mary, who was only wearing a court gown, shivered involuntarily as she felt the temperature slowly dropping.

Todd took off his coat, put it on Mary, and said softly, "It's getting dark, go back first, I will arrange for someone to deliver dinner to your room."

Mary nodded, grabbed her coat tightly, and followed Todd towards the inner palace.

Before taking two steps, there was a sudden ear-piercing explosion sound from behind the two of them.

Todd turned back to the terrace and looked in the direction of Muxi City.

In the direction of the Muxi Knights' barracks, flames and thick smoke rose, and the sound of fighting and shouting could be vaguely heard in midair.

Clutching the railing of the balcony with both hands, Todd said coldly: "Finally, the curtain of the stage has been lifted."