However, for Corneille, this rose not only has thorns, but also should not be open to him. So he moved Anne out of his sight and only looked forward. The two of them headed for the main castle, where a road paved with colorful bricks cut through the bushes and stretched straight toward the gorgeous, angular, symmetrical buildings. The shadows of the gray stone sculptures twisted, forming a roulette wheel in the courtyard. In the center of the "roulette wheel", a spacious circular pool spewed out a fountain, reflecting vulgar phantoms in the scattered sunlight - men and money, the two things that the Longueville family was fascinated with. Anne introduced the situation to Corneille as she walked. Every servant bowed respectfully to her when they saw her, but Anne ignored them. This kind of scene was rarely seen even in the homes of traditional aristocrats in the Federation. In order to win the support of young people, the royalists also raised the banner of "enlightenment" and formalistically respected the servants in their homes. Anne found a new topic: "I discovered the benefits of traveling with Mr. Corneille: before, the servants greeted me with awe, but Mr. Corneille made me look petite and cute, and they treated me more naturally." "According to my observation, the witches in Waite are almost all over 160cm tall?" "Magic makes us 'bigger' in every sense than women in other places. Well, what kind of women do you and Mr. Toledo like?" Corneille thought for a moment and said, "Dias likes strong, older people who know how to take care of him. As for me, I like people who are weaker than me, preferably those who are weak both physically and mentally." Anne smiled and said, "According to Mr. Corneille's standards, I'm afraid witches are also weak beings."
"My strength is just a bluff, Miss Longueville. Your curiosity and exploration will only disappoint you in the end." This almost explicit refusal made Anne angry. She walked quickly to the front of Corneille, leaving only the back of her head to him: "Mr. Corneille, do I make you so alert?" "You can be naive at 16, but at 25 I have to think one step further, and maybe that offends you." Anne said angrily: "This reminds me of the black cat I fed in the past. No matter how affectionate and friendly I was to it, it refused to get close to me and even scratched me. Finally, I lost my patience and threw it off my bedroom balcony. At that time, I learned one thing: it turns out that cats can also fall to death if they exceed a certain height. I used to think they were so strong. Mr. Corneille, I also have dignity. Do you want to be the second black cat? " The servant opened the door for Anne, and a black cat jumped out, circling around Anne affectionately and rubbing her ankles. Anne picked it up and suddenly smiled: "Oh, you are so uncooperative. I could have had a chance to scare Mr. Corneille." "You will not kill the cat, Mademoiselle Longueville, for the value of the little creature is not worth the trouble," said Corneille. Anne was stunned. Two seconds later, she turned around, raised the black cat's paw and shook it at Corneille, saying, "Mr. Corneille, you don't have love." Chapter 17: The Tenderness of Late Return "If I had 'love' for Mademoiselle Longueville, it would have been a great scandal that would have damaged the reputations of all those involved," said Corneille. "What I pursue is friendship, but in Mr. Corneille's opinion, there is probably no pure friendship between men and women." Anne sighed: "Alas, Mr. Corneille's thinking logic is too cold for people other than Mr. Toledo. By the way, I have sent someone to tell Mr. Toledo about your visit." Anne took Corneille to see her father, Henry, a well-proportioned, handsome middle-aged man, who was acting as a ruthless supervisor, watching the accountants sweating as they counted the accounts. The son-in-law who marries into the Longueville family rarely appears in public, but is allowed to participate in the core affairs of the family. Henry was delighted to see Corneille, for he was a fellow villager of Corneille, and had been sent to Waite by an accounting firm seven years ago, where he lived a life of high salary but heavy labor.
Once, when he was handing over work to Anne's mother, who was widowed at the time, he was spotted by her... Naturally, he didn't want to struggle anymore and became her fourth spouse. Anne and her stepfather were as polite as strangers in social circles. After the two flattered each other for a while, Anne took Corneille to visit her real relatives, who were also the power center of Longueville Castle. Charlotte Margaret Longueville, the contemporary king of the forest in the "devil" realm and the matriarch of the Longueville family. Among the twenty-two realms of Waite, only the "Demon" realm implements feudal rule. The throne of the King of the Forest is firmly held by the Longueville family and passed down from generation to generation. The Longueville family values the inheritance of the family name more than blood ties. Witches who join the "demon" realm will be forced to sever ties with their parents, be forcibly adopted by the Longueville family, and enter the four branch families for training. Among the 25 Kings of the Forest in the history of the Longueville family, 23 came from branch families, and only two were direct descendants of the main branch... Anne might be able to become the third one, and she is currently leading by a huge margin in the competition for succession rights. Charlotte's room had been transformed, with an interior height of more than 20 meters. Not only the height, but also the furniture, decorations, and even clothes in the room had unusual proportions, as if they were built by a giantess. Corneille looked towards the center of the room. The golden and red curtains interlaced to create a "secret room" with a huge, lying figure outlined on it. The air was hot and dry, and every breath made his heart and lungs ache. The shadow of a huge head with curved horns rose up a little, and an indescribable pressure gathered near Corneille's heart, causing his hand to instinctively reach for the hilt of the sword, but he overcame it with his own willpower. Isabella's sense of oppression comes from pure power, while Charlotte's sense of oppression comes from tense evil. "Hathor." A low, hoarse voice came from behind the curtain. Anne looked at Corneille, who nodded: "I have indeed been blessed by the goddess Hathor and can use her magic." "Apostle of Hathor, I am not able to receive you. Please forgive me. Anne, please entertain the guests on my behalf." "As you command, mother." Anne bowed to the curtain, like a subject meeting the king. After she left with Corneille, the latter said: "To prevent misunderstanding, let me explain: I am not an apostle of Hathor. That is a respectful title for the top leaders of the state religion." "..." Anne cast a hateful glance towards her mother's room, shook her head, and said to Corneille: "She is already extremely stupid. Sooner or later, I will replace her." "Is this something I can listen to?" asked Corneille. "Otherwise, why would I be so eager to win over Mr. Corneille? The King of the Forest has three privileges, the second of which is, 'All witches in the X area cannot harm the King of the Forest in the X area.' Therefore, if you want to kill her, Mr. Corneille's force is indispensable. If you can promise this, I am willing to do my best for the Duke of Alva... Are you kidding? Even if she is a witch, she would not harm her own mother for power. We don’t really have devil blood flowing in our veins.” Although you told it as a joke, Corneille thought, Mademoiselle Longueville, you are finally telling me the truth. Candlelight lit up the knives, forks and spoons, and Anne arranged a Maritime-style dinner for the guests. Corneille enjoyed the meal very much. This was the most thoughtful hospitality he had ever received. Due to the lack of witnesses to his life before he became famous and Corneille's unwillingness to reveal his family situation, most people mistakenly believed that he was a supernatural being raised by the Toledo family, that is, a Highlander, but he was actually born in the Maritime State north of the Highlands. "Is it still to your taste, Monsieur Corneille?" asked Anne. "What a wonderful treat!" said Corneille. "Mr. Corneille, hearing my joke about murdering the king of the woods, did not leave to avoid trouble. I suppose you have something to ask of me." "Discipline Tower, I want to fish a witch out of it."
"Who?" "It depends." "Let me think about Mr. Corneille's recent itinerary. It's the mischief of the prince in the 'Emperor' domain," said Anne. "Her 'naughtiness', I have to go all out." "Yes, my family has a good relationship with the Tower. Mr. Corneille has found the right person. Well, I am willing to help." "Is there anyone else whom Mademoiselle Longueville knows who could have a say in the Tower?" asked Corneille. "Have." "What are the conditions for helping?" "I'm not familiar with her. Do you remember the Holy Fool Church we talked about in Ixtapa yesterday?" Corneille nodded. Anne said: “Yesterday afternoon, while I was sitting in the carriage resting, Sister Helena of the Holy Fools Church came to visit me. We exchanged pleasantries, and the conversation turned to you—you, Mr. Toledo, and the little dog.” "why?" Anne smiled and said, "Yes, I was also confused. Then I got an even stranger answer. She said that the three of you were the three most confused people in the Ixtapa area that day." "..." "In short, she is interested in Mr. Corneille. Mr. Corneille can try to woo her at the charity dinner hosted by Her Highness Isabella next weekend." "Why would she go there?" asked Corneille. "Because of lack of money. The Holy Fool Church does not have much income, but the charity expenses are very high. They need donations from the outside world to maintain their charity." Corneille was calculating in her mind how much money she would need to "buy" Sister Helena's friendship, when she heard Anne chuckle. "What's wrong?" Gao Naiyi asked. "Mr. Corneille looks like a husband when he frowns and calculates his finances. You will definitely make a good husband. I really envy those who marry you." "Don't tease me, Miss Longueville. I'm a terrible person from a family point of view." "I have done the math for you and Mr. Toledo. Excuse me, it will be difficult for you to come up with enough money to impress Sister Helena." Anne pointed to herself and said, "I can pay for it." "What do you need me to do?" Anne took out her jewelry box, walked over to Corneille and opened it. Inside was a ring used to summon magic and conclude contracts. "One hundred dinars for the right of me to summon you three times. Will you take the deal, Monsieur Corneille?" The candlelight made Anne's eyes burn, and her red eyes were as enchanting as a devil... Even if this was a gift from the devil, Corneille would accept it in order to break the situation.
After a moment's silence, Corneille said, "Except for hurting Diaz, I will do my best for everything else." Anne was a little surprised: "I thought Mr. Corneille would think about it for a few days before making a decision." "Before coming to Waite, I had already realized that miracles come at a price, and when the time is right, I don't mind selling my personal strength in exchange for something," said Corneille. "Then I'll put the ring on you." "Don't tell Diaz about this. I don't want him to misunderstand." "I agree. Let's keep it a secret between the two of us." With Corneille's tacit consent, Anne took out the ring and bent over to put it on Corneille. The perfume on her body was like a mixture of rose and jasmine, light and ethereal. Her highlighted nails slid across Corneille's fingers, leaving two shallow scratches. When her breath sent moist air, a slightly itchy feeling spread over the scratches. Anne looked at the ring on the base of Corneille's index finger with satisfaction, just like watching a toy with her own label. The contrast between Corneille's previous resistance and his current submission to her for money made Anne's heart surge. Corneille looked at the ring. Just like last time, it was still inlaid with purple-red gems. The dark vertical pupil in the middle was open, emitting an ominous evil aura. According to Anne, this ominous evil aura is friendly magic, one of the undisclosed magics of the Longueville family, and its effect is to make the wearer more attractive in the eyes of others. Like the physical form of the ring, it could be opened or closed at Corneille's will. Corneille naturally closed it, making the ring invisible. Anne revealed the information about the "Imperial Killer" only at the very end, but unfortunately, Corneille also knew nothing about the "Imperial Killer". At nine o'clock in the evening, Anne sent Corneille back to the mansion. Corneille returned to her room and saw that it was clean and tidy. The scent of sandalwood and vanilla mixed in the air, which was the perfume Dias was using recently. Dias was practicing her first spell in her room, trying to draw water from a cup and gather it into a sphere. The sound of Corneille's footsteps made her nervous, and the water she was pulling suddenly splashed into the basin, splashing her face. She hastily wiped her face with a towel and said with an embarrassed smile: "I wanted to show you the results of my study, but I failed." For some reason, Gao Naiyi felt extremely guilty when he saw his friend's figure. He quickly put his hands behind his back and said in a gentler voice than usual: "It's okay, take your time." Diaz stopped laughing because her father Fernando sneaked out to fool around with a woman who was not even a lover, and then came back to treat his lover - no matter who it was, he would become more gentle. Just like Corneille at this moment. Even Diaz herself couldn't understand the complex taste that surged in her heart, but she felt that there must be jealousy here. She was jealous of those girls who had only known Corneille for a short time, but could steal his eyes and attention just because they were girls. They're not even as pretty as they are. The water ball that had originally been unable to condense not only took shape in Diaz's palm, but was also reshaped because of her bad mood, from a ball into a Q-version figurine of Annie without any details. Diaz stared at the Q-version man for three seconds, then crushed it, and water fell into the basin through his fingers. Chapter 18: Not observing male ethics Anne secured the funds to bribe Sister Helena, and also required Corneille to obtain admission to the charity gala himself and win Sister Helena's favor as much as possible. Before Gao Naiyi could take any action, Diaz helped solve the problem. On April 4, students at Merida Comprehensive College did not attend classes as normal, as a senior figure from the Federation came to visit. To show his concern, the dean made the entire college a riot. The witch in the same group as Dias asked: "Mr. Toledo, we are not familiar with the situation in the Federation. Is the Count of Marseille very powerful?"
Diaz briefly explained that Count Marseille was the illegitimate child of a nobleman and a foreign woman, and that nobleman adopted the mainstream solution at the time:
