When Rod and Marlene returned to the ballroom, the banquet was still going on, and their departure did not attract much attention, and in most people's opinion, they were just walking away. And some people who vaguely know the relationship between the two are just thinking that Rhodes may have come out to comfort Marlene, after all, Marlene's voice is very high this time, and the rewards she received are all vain, and they are not as good as those young and promising nobles like her, who will be heart-to-heart, which is inevitable that Marlene will feel dissatisfied and depressed about this, and Rhodes went to accompany her to go out for a walk, and it is not difficult to understand that she is scattered——— but no matter who it is, I am afraid I didn't expect these two people to be so bold. Directly opened a room in this majestic and sacred golden city.........

Soon after Rhodes' return, many nobles came forward to talk to him under the pretext of praising Rhodes' swordsmanship and at the same time being full of interest in what he had done before. Some began to ask Rhodes how he had mastered his amazing swordsmanship, while others paid more attention to Rhodes' mercenary fortress in the Land of Atonement, while some young and beautiful aristocratic ladies also took the opportunity to come over and start talking to Rhodes in the hope of gaining his attention. After all, after Lydia awarded the Order of the Holy Cross to Rhodes, not a fool can see that this young man's future in the Principality is limitless, and in the history of the Principality, there has never been such a young recipient of the Holy Cross, but then again, it is not surprising that Lydia would do this, because there has never been a Archangel in the history of the Principality who is so flamboyant and fierce.

Extraordinary people must do extraordinary things, and the truth is always the same.

Politics is brutal.

A group of nobles surrounded Rhodes in the middle and asked for warmth, but intentionally or unintentionally, they squeezed Marlene, who was originally standing next to him, aside, and even those young people who used to admire Marlene did not go up to talk to her now, but let Marlene stand alone. And they are not to blame for it. In any case, it is very unusual that Marlene's reward is so simple, and from a certain point of view, it is likely that this is the result of the royal family's dissatisfaction with the excessive power of the Shania family, and it is not surprising that they would have such a conjecture. Because Lydia's desire for power and control is obviously much stronger than the Grand Duke in front of the Duchy. And what about the Shania family? With the help of their magic channeling techniques, the Shania family mastered the production of most of the magic equipment in the Principality of Moon, and it can even be said that it was almost a monopoly. And although they are one of the three major families of Moon, unlike the other two families, the Shania family never intermarries with members of the royal family, but maintains the purity of their blood. In other countries, such a powerful aristocratic family that is unwilling to integrate with the royal family may have been finished long ago, and fortunately, the ruler of the Duchy of Moon is not a human but an archangel, and he generally does not have much desire for power. And the Shania family has always worked closely with the royal family, so everyone doesn't dare to say anything.

But now it's different, Lydia takes power and prestige very seriously, and doesn't allow anyone to provoke. And Marlene's contribution this time is not insignificant, but the last thing will be treated like this———— is this the prelude to the high merit?

Thinking of this, many people immediately turned away from Marlene, the strength of the Shania family is still huge, they are like a towering tree. The tentacles have penetrated into every corner of the land. So even if the royal family wants to move them, it's not a matter of a while, but they are different. Their strength is not comparable to the three major families, and this is a perfect opportunity for them to expand their strength, if they accidentally make the royal family unhappy, they can't toss the Shania family, and can't they move themselves?

As for those young people who originally admired and had a crush on Marlene, they didn't come forward anymore now. They are not as worried about the future of the family as their elders. But Marlene has made it clear that she belongs to Rhodes, and Antonio before her has used her own experience to warn those who are ready to move, the tragic end of blind action. There is such a stark and bloody example in front of them, they are not so stupid that they don't even want their own lives.........

Marlene leaned against the wall not far away, smiling at the crowd gathered around Rod. There was no resentment or anger on her face that had been left out and abandoned, on the contrary, a soft smile appeared on Marlene's face. It wasn't a smirk on the part of a nobleman trying to maintain his demeanor, but rather, it was a heartfelt smile from Marlene, who looked at the crowd in the distance with a soft smile and said nothing. And at this moment, an old voice appeared in her ears.

"You seem to be happy? Marlene? ”

"Father."

Hearing this, Marlene quickly turned her head, and soon, she saw the patriarch of the Shania family who had come to her side at some point. Then, she smiled and nodded, and soon Marlene turned her gaze back to Rod.

"Yes, I'm glad I do, Father. You see, this is the first time I've gotten any attention at a banquet where no one will come up to me and no one will come up and try to make a confession to me. I had never imagined such a quiet day before, and it seemed that it would be a wise choice for me to turn down the bounty of Her Highness Lydia. If this is the case for the rest of the day, I may still miss the time when I attended the banquet. ”

"Hehehe........."

Hearing his daughter's words, the old man smiled and narrowed his eyes, and he also raised his head and followed Marlene's gaze to Rod, and only after a moment did he nod his head and continue.

"Have you already told him? About your decision? ”

"No, Father. But I can guess what he's thinking right now, so it's okay to just ask him to wait a little longer, whoever told him to leave me alone for such a long time is a little punishment........." With this, Marlene proudly held out a finger and put it to her mouth. "When that happens, would you like to ask your father to cooperate a little? Rhodes is very clever, and if he sees anything, then my little trick will be in vain. ”

"Of course, Marlene, you're my daughter. I'm not going to help you, but I'm going to help that stinky boy who cheated my daughter? ”

Seeing Marlene's expression, the old man also showed a smile of relief, and he withdrew his gaze and looked at Marlene standing beside him tenderly until a moment later. The old man let out a long sigh.

"Marlene, to be honest, from the time you were born to now, for so many years, I never thought to say this to you——— do what you want, Marlene, as long as you like it..............."

"Me too, Father."

Hearing the old man's answer, Marlene's complexion changed slightly. She looked up at her father.

"I never thought I would have such a day, I used to tell myself that my life belongs to my family, so whatever the family wants me to do, it is my responsibility. But now, I don't feel that this is a heavy burden and a shackle of fate, on the contrary. I consider myself lucky and happy. That's enough for me. Isn't it? ”

"That's true."

The old man was silent for a moment, nodded with a smile, and he looked at Rhodes in the distance again, this time, the old man's eyes were a little more serious.

"That's right, Marlene. I hear you say, it seems like Starlight is in a little trouble right now? If you wish, I can send some of the Shania alchemists to help. ”

"No, Father."

However, his words were not finished. It was interrupted by Marlene shaking her head.

"Rhodes is a very proud man, he doesn't like to get help and handouts, and this time I have my own way of solving this problem. The family is not going to make a move for the time being, and I am sure that Rhodes has sensed that the approach between me and the family to him is not as simple as being attracted to him. And after this incident, I think Rhodes must be convinced of this. Maybe one day we will need to tell him the truth, but not now, until the time comes, I will tell him everything myself............ Something about me, about the Shania family, and about himself........."

Saying this, Marlene bit her lip lightly, and a somewhat complicated look flashed in her eyes.

"It's my responsibility, and it's up to me to confess."

Hearing his daughter's answer, the old man shook his head, he couldn't say anything more, he stretched out his hand, patted Marlene on the shoulder, and then turned around and left, and went to the circle where the nobles gathered on the other side, he also has his own responsibility, this time Marlene did not get the reward and was considered by many people to be the beginning of the complete destruction of the Shania family, but they didn't know the inside story, and the Shania family would not go around talking nonsense. But even so, as the patriarch, he has the responsibility, and it is necessary to let others know that the Shania family is still a behemoth in the Duchy of Moon, and not everyone can bully them at will.

The feast ended in the middle of the night, and after the feast, the contented nobles left the Golden City, and for many of them, the feast of victory represented the end of an old era and the beginning of a new one. To some extent, the current Duchy of Moon and the Night Dragon Kingdom are actually a bit similar, both of them are young and powerful, and they are attacking the old-school gate lords. It's just that the paths chosen by the two sides are completely different, and the Night Dragon Kingdom has chosen to expand externally to digest the desire of the emerging power. And the Duchy of Moon chose internal adjustment——— as for the dead reformers, it was naturally the best victim.

But both externally and internally, this actually represents the same thing, that is, a new round of momentum expansion has begun.

It's the same with Rhodes.

Although Glen Bell is a barren mountain range with no inhabitation, it is not without harvest for Rhodes to be able to obtain this territory, as a veteran player in the Duchy of Moon, he certainly knows where in the Duchy of Moon there are labyrinth dungeon treasures or hidden quest events and even hidden professions and organizations, which is too easy for Rhodes. Although in the eyes of other nobles, Glen Bell is just a piece of excessive territory that Lydia symbolically compensates to Rod, but Rod is very clear that in this "excessive territory", there are rich treasures!

In the past, I didn't have the time or ability, but now............ Hehehe, if it really goes as smoothly as he imagined, even if the Night Dragon Kingdom will really invade his territory in the near future, Rhodes doesn't mind letting them go back where they came from!

But nothing is perfect. For Rod, he gained some and lost others.

Marlene is still gone.

After the banquet last night, Marlene left the Golden City with her father, and she didn't even say hello to Rod and Lijie and the others, and left quietly. Although Anne is still complaining about what Marlene is not with them. However, Rhodes felt that his previous conjecture was likely to come true. Although he couldn't figure out why Lydia had only given Marlene a symbolic reward, at least for now, she was still an important member of the Shania family. And from this incident, Marlene may have to pay more attention to the affairs of the Shania family. As soon as he thought of this, Rhodes felt that his fate with Marlene might end here, and this possibility was not small, especially in the Golden City. Marlene's unusually passionate performance also made Rod think that this might be a girl who also knew that she might not be able to follow her side like before in the future, so she simply went crazy, but after madness, she had to do what she had to do.

Rod is naturally reluctant to part, he is not hard-hearted, heartless, and it is not right to say that he has Lijie and Canary by his side, so he doesn't want Marlene. Every woman has the benefits of every woman, and not all women in the world are the same. If it's all the same, why do so many men cheat? Isn't it satisfying to hold your wife at home? But some things are really out of his control, he has no enmity with the Shania family, and Marlene is not the kind of princess who was imprisoned by the family and waited for the prince to save her, she has her own dignity and pride, if Rhodes rushes directly into the Shania family like a two-hundred-and-five, takes Marlene's hand and asks her to go with him. Anyone who dares to stop him must first ask about the sword in his hand............ Marlene didn't give him a slap first, and it was good to completely turn his face with him.

But now...............

The next day, Rhodes did not leave the Golden City immediately, although he packed up his salute early in the morning, but stayed in the inn for half a day. Until the end of the day, Rod still couldn't wait for the scene he hoped for.

Forget it, I have long known that this is the result, and now I just confirm it.

Thinking of this, Rod shrugged his shoulders, and then he turned and walked out of the inn.

"Let's go, Annie, Lijie, there's still a lot of work to attend to inside the fortress."

Lijie could feel that Rhodes was a little absent-minded, she was not a fool, she had always been smart, and she naturally knew very well why Rhodes would behave like this, it seemed that Marlene was leaving them.

Lijie and Rod, like Rode, are also reluctant to Marlene, they are the best friends, although the two were separated from each other because of some things before, but after meeting here, Marlene and Lijie's relationship has not become indifferent because of the separation for a long time. But this time is different, for Lijie, Marlene's departure is not only reluctant, but also a little regretful. Because she had made up her mind to confess to Marlene about the matter between herself and Rod, but now that Marlene had left them, I am afraid that she would never have a chance to talk about it again in the future.

Because of this, in addition to Rod, Lijie is also a little absent-minded, but Anne is the most pure, and the person who has no worries is relaxed, except for complaining about why Sister Marlene didn't go back to the guild with them, Anne is not as far-reaching as the two of them think, anyway, in her opinion, Sister Marlene is a member of the guild, then she will definitely come back. It's just that now she is entangled in family affairs, and when she finishes her work, she will definitely come back.

The carriage departed quickly, and sitting in the seat, Lijie looked at Rhodes, who was leaning against the window, enjoying the scenery outside, but her mind involuntarily remembered what her sister said to her yesterday.

"As your sister, I must wish you the happiness you have found, Lijie. You deserve it, and a diamond will eventually have its own brilliance after being removed from the dust. But, Lijie, I want you to understand that beautiful and dazzling diamonds bring not only happiness, but also danger. You must know that you are not following an ordinary person, and by his side, you will encounter unprecedented dangers, which are not as simple as you think, or as you have experienced in the life of a mercenary. Lijie, that kind of huge pressure is likely to overwhelm you, or even make you completely collapse. I'm not trying to scare you, Lijie, but you know very well that he's not an ordinary person. ”

Yes, my sister, I know that very well.

Thinking of this, Lijie moved her gaze to the outside of the carriage, on the clear blue sky.

On that day, if this person had not been rescued by the floating boat, would he have survived until now? I'm afraid she has already become a cold corpse like everyone else. At that time, she already knew that the man next to her was not ordinary at all, and he was not the kind of ordinary person who could be seen everywhere. Lijie was well aware of this, but now, she felt that she could accept it. As long as you can stay with Rhodes, then ......... No matter what kind of difficulties and dangers, she is not afraid.

She has such self-confidence.

“——————”

And just as he was about to leave the Golden City, in front of the gate on the outskirts of the Golden City, the carriage suddenly slowed down, and then slowly stopped.

What happened?

Sensing this scene, Rod and Lijie couldn't help but come back to their senses, they looked at each other curiously, generally speaking, it is rare for carriages to be intercepted when they go out of the city, could it be that there is something wrong and an investigation is being carried out? But they hadn't heard of any problems in the Golden City. Or did some of the reformers slip through the net?

And just when the two were surprised, suddenly, there was a knock in front of the carriage door, and then the door opened.

The three of them looked curiously in the direction of the car door, and then they were all stunned.

"Rod, why are you here so late?"

Dressed in the mage's robes, which were no different from those of a normal day, Marlene stepped into the carriage, and then she sat next to Anne, raising a frown at the crowd and smiling slightly.

"I've been waiting all morning." (To be continued.) )