I will be crowned king

In front of the fireplace in the empty living room, Anson, who was still sitting on the sofa, looked at where Sophia was sitting just now, and then at the closed bedroom door on the second floor. He was in a state of confusion.

That state was as if the other person had stood up and left angrily just a few minutes ago, and the action of closing the door with a "bang!" seemed to leave an afterimage that lingered in front of him for a long time.

The little maid Angelica was still standing in the corner of the living room, with a very standard smile on her face, but compared with the one she had just entered, she was obviously a little more imposing and did not let strangers in.

This state lasted for less than half a minute. Anson turned his head hesitantly: "Uh, that..."

"Ah, are the guests ready to leave?" the little maid interrupted with a smile, and trotted forward quickly: "The carriage has been called for you, just wait outside the door for a quarter of an hour."

"Of course, if it's really too late, you can leave on foot and I'll get your clothes - you're welcome. This is what Angelica should do."

"I don't seem to be polite either..."

Anson's mouth twitched: "Besides, I didn't say I was leaving, right?"

"Oh, then you want to..."

"Can you give me a towel?" Anson pointed to his wet hair and collar: "And if it's convenient, can you lend me a coat to pass back - it's December now, so what's wrong with a soaked coat?" If you don’t do it well, you’ll freeze to death.”

That's right, a certain young lady who stormed back to her room did a very puzzling thing before leaving: she poured a whole cup of coffee on him.

"Ah, you want this." The little maid smiled and said, "This won't work."

"...Can I ask why?"

"I'm sorry, I can't." The little maid, who still smiled, rejected it quite simply: "Angelica thinks that as a gentleman, taking responsibility for one's own rude behavior is the most basic quality. Brigadier General Anson Bach, what do you think?"

Take responsibility for your actions... Anson took a deep breath: "What did I do wrong?"

"You should know this best." Angelica raised her eyebrows: "Or...do you really not understand?"

"I think it might be faster if you just tell me."

Anson's eyes widened: "I know it was a mistake not to see her as soon as I returned to Clovis City, but I shouldn't have such a big reaction - I mean, she seemed quite calm at first. !”

This answer made the little maid's eyes widen, and she gasped, rolling her eyes in a way that even Carl Bain couldn't do. The expression was so wonderful that it could be regarded as the finale of a theater performance.

"Okay, okay...Whether you are pretending or it is true, you really lack some common sense." The little maid sighed, with a rather angry tone: "Your Excellency Anson Bach, what do you think? Come on, which one is more important to Miss Sophia, you or the Storm Legion?"

What is this problem? Anson, who was suddenly asked, thought for a moment and gave the answer: "...Legion?"

"No." The little maid shook her head: "Guess again."

"……that's me?"

"No, please continue."

"Then... or the Legion?"

"You and the Legion combined are not as important as yourself in the eyes of the young lady." The little maid sighed: "And your attitude and decision at the moment put the young lady's status in jeopardy. Do you understand this?"

"I don't understand." Anson frowned: "Miss Angelica, please explain in more detail."

"Sofia Franz, her public identity is the honorary governor of the colony, but for some reasons related to you, her title is now unworthy of the name; not only that, because Clovis is about to form an alliance with the Free Confederacy, this important and important Her distinguished status even made her very embarrassed."

As if following the guidance, the little maid explained: "At this time, you and the Storm Legion are the only capital she can use to support her appearance; and you have never seen her from the time she arrived in Clovis City to the trial. On the other hand, he didn't give her enough respect in public, how deeply this hurt her, do you understand?"

"I didn't understand it before, but I just understood it." Anson said thoughtfully: "So...she got angry because I came to see her too late?"

"you……"

The little maid suddenly clenched her right hand, and veins popped out on her pure white forehead, but she still managed to squeeze out a smile: "Angelica should be more straightforward. The lady just mentioned the invitation. Do you think she What does it mean?"

"What she means..." Anson was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: "You mean she wants me..."

"Exactly!"

"Isn't this... not appropriate?"

"Why is it inappropriate?!"

"Why not..." Anson opened his mouth, but suddenly he didn't know what to say: "The invitation says that I will accompany you as a female companion. If I invite her, doesn't that mean..."

"It means you are very honored to have the eldest daughter of the Franz family to accompany you to the New Year's banquet at the Osteria Palace!" The little maid directly interrupted:

"Angelica thinks there is no need to explain. What a rare opportunity this is, right?"

"Yes, yes, but..."

"No buts!"

"But……"

"There is no but!" The little maid raised her eyebrows and suddenly came closer to Anson: "There is no just, maybe, maybe, probably... Miss Sophia hopes to attend the banquet with you, so that you will not look embarrassed when you have a female companion. , having you as my companion can also alleviate the problem that she has an empty title but no real power. Isn’t this the best of both worlds?"

Good thing? I just think it might be bad in turn... Anson took a deep breath, and then suddenly thought of another question: "Sophia... is the honorary governor of the colony. It shouldn't be difficult to attend the banquet, right?"

"Not only that, it's a piece of cake." The little maid immediately raised her chin proudly:

"Master Anson Bach, do you seem to have doubts about the status of the Franz family? To put it bluntly, unless it is in public, the young lady usually calls His Majesty by his first name."

"Don't say it's just an invitation. If the master decides not to attend the banquet this year and holds a family banquet instead, His Majesty will never say anything. It's not uncommon for him to even come to appreciate it."

"In other words, as long as she is willing, she can find me directly at the banquet without a special invitation?" Anson couldn't help but raise his eyebrows: "Or, what she needs is this situation to make others think that we... …”

"You finally understand!"

The smiling little maid breathed a sigh of relief - although the reason seemed to be wrong, fortunately the result was the same: "In this case, Angelica shouldn't need to talk too much about what to do next, right? Bar?"

"That's right, but I'm afraid I still need you to do me a little favor."

"Please say."

"Can you find me a towel or lend me a coat?"

"...Angelica thinks that maybe if you catch a cold, the effect will be better - if necessary, I can prepare a whole pot of coffee for you, how about it?"

"That's not necessary. I think the current state is very good."

Just as the two of them were singing and getting better and better, there was a sudden knock on the door outside the empty living room.

The little maid hesitated for a moment, but still walked over and opened the door. The moment she saw the figure behind the door, her unchanging smile suddenly changed color: "Lu, Mr. Luther?!"

"it's me."

The Archbishop Yun Danfeng nodded lightly. As he spoke, he walked into the house and handed the coat and hat to the little maid: "What, are you surprised to see me?"

"This, this is because... because..." the little maid suddenly stuttered: "Angelica seems to have never seen you before, coming home so early - usually you should be in church at this time. .”

"Indeed, but today is a little bit special, isn't it?"

"Special, special?"

"Yes, a guest who doesn't come often came to visit unexpectedly, didn't he?"

Before he finished speaking, Luther Franz's eyes swept across the empty hall, and then stopped on Anson Bach, who was soaked from head to toe.

And then...the room suddenly went silent.

In an awkward atmosphere, Anson and the maid, who were sitting on the sofa, looked at each other. Both of them were asking each other frantically: "How...how to explain this"?

Fortunately, the archbishop didn't care about this. After hesitating for a moment, he said silently: "It seems that our guests accidentally got caught in the rain on the way here."

"Uh...yeah, yeah."

Anson smiled apologetically and glanced at the extremely dazzling sun outside: "Today's weather doesn't seem to be very good. It's raining very fast, so..."

"Have you had coffee?" The old man obviously didn't want to discuss this topic further: "In addition to being a guest at my house, do you have other appointments and things that need to be done immediately today?"

"It should... be... gone."

"Then it must be gone. Just stay here for one night today. I will send someone to prepare the room and dinner. Come to me in the smoking room in ten minutes."

After giving the instructions, the old man looked at the little maid who was still in a daze: "Go get him a towel and a change of clothes, please."

"Ah...ah! Yes!" After using three modal words in a row, Angelica nodded repeatedly.

The two watched the Archbishop leave the living room, looked at each other again, and suddenly fell into the embarrassment of not knowing what to say.

………………………………

In the inner city, in an alley outside a pub on Red Brick Street.

Lieutenant Colonel Crowne, wearing a shabby gray shirt, pressed against the wall, took out a box of cigarettes from his pocket, and lit it with the match he had just snatched from the beggar.

The cold air in Clovis City in December was no longer a threat that could be blocked by collars and hat brims; after hanging his head and puffing away smoke for half a minute, his trembling body finally regained some composure.

And the moment he raised his head again, a smiling face came into his sight.

"It's somewhat inappropriate to go to a place like this to smoke, isn't it?" Fabian, who was wearing a black wool turtleneck coat, pressed the brim of his hat and couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth: "Why don't you just sit and wait in the pub - Lieutenant Colonel Tangtang With the allowance, you can’t even afford a glass of dark beer?”

"snort."

Biting the cigarette butt with trembling teeth, Lieutenant Colonel Crowne sneered: "I really can't afford to drink. After all, I only have one life - selling it for a glass of wine. It's a loss-making business no matter what."

Fabian did not answer immediately. Of course he knew what the other party meant: if there was an ambush in the tavern, whether it was his own or the Ministry of War's, Crown alone would not be able to escape.

In terms of vision in the alley, there are only two directions and it is close to the street. It is convenient to observe the environment and also easier to escape during the pursuit. It is obvious that the other party is as proficient in this aspect as he, a former Guardsman.

So he no longer concealed anything, took out a bottle of Tirpitz Rum from his arms, bit off the cork, took a big sip himself, and handed it to the other party with his backhand.

The suspicious Kroun took the bottle and then found the check stuck to the bottle: "This is..."

"Five thousand gold coins." Fabian said solemnly: "Take it to the bank where the invoice is issued, and you can withdraw the cash immediately. I will guarantee it with my life, and the Ministry of War will not find anything."

"Five thousand?!"

Crown's pupils shrank suddenly: "You Storm Legion... seem to be very rich. How much did you earn from the colony?"

"It's up to you to imagine." Fabian was not polite: "We have money, but we can only be so generous to those who are truly valuable. We earn money with a clear conscience, and naturally we hope to get something for ourselves when we spend it. value."

"Lieutenant Colonel Crown, in our eyes, you definitely fall into the 'value for money' category."

"Really?" Croun smiled: "I really didn't expect that I am actually worth five thousand gold coins. It's the first time I know the price of my life. It's really an amazing feeling."

"That's because you misunderstood. These five thousand gold coins are just the down payment; according to the rules, we pay 25% of the reward." Fabian shook his head: "When you start taking action, there will still be 100% I'll give you 50% of the middle payment; after everything is done, I'll give you another 25% of the balance, plus a full set of preparations for you to leave safely and start over with a new name."

At this time, Lieutenant Colonel Crown was completely silent.

He waited for a long time, waited until the cigarette butt in the corner of his mouth was extinguished, and waited until he drank the entire bottle of rum before he looked at Fabian again:

"Tell me, what do you want?!"

"It's great that we need candidates like you who don't hesitate!" Fabian praised without hesitation: "In fact, the matter is very simple, it is a piece of cake for you."

"To put it simply, we need you to take the initiative to expose yourself, lure the Army Department to send people to hunt down, and then... help us find some people within the Army Department..."

"...A big shot with connections to the Holy See!"