The Witch and the Doll Swear

That day, Liliana and Alice, who had gone to nowhere, returned to the room very late.

"Aren't you asleep yet? Miss Tina."

"...It's very late..."

"Because...Miss Liliana and Alice...don't know where to go without saying a word...I'm, worried..."

Sleepy, sleepy, sleepy, sleepy.

It was as if her eyelids were fighting if she wanted to say it. Ting Na, who was already extremely sleepy, was sitting in front of the desk in her bathrobe, patted her cheek vigorously, and protested the two of them for their own actions.

By the way, resist the infestation of sleepy bugs.

"...Actually, there is no need to worry."

"You can't say that, Lily."

Alice sighed when Liliana made a speech that was not considerate of an ordinary girl's heart as usual.

"The same goes for Miss Tingna. Although Alice can understand your worry about Lily and Alice, you still need to go to bed earlier. Staying up late is not good for your health."

"I know……"

Tina was literally falling asleep.

The moment of change has passed, the day when many things happened has passed, the day of the tasting has come, when the night is illuminated by the Saigon, and then the Saigon sinks into the horizon, the tasting of Holly Valley will begin .

Both the drowsiness and the warmth of the fireplace were stirring up the girl's drowsiness, but even so, facing Liliana who was taking off her clothes and walking towards the bathroom, she tried her best to cheer up and asked where they went .

"...something I care about."

In front of the bathroom door, Liliana answered the girl's question without looking back.

She walked into the bathroom. At this time, only the night watchman was left in the fire room of the castle, but the witch filled the bathtub with cold water indifferently, and then used magic to summon a salamander the size of a puppy.

It seems that this ruby-polished creature is not called out by the witch for the first time. It moved its body lazily and consciously climbed into the bathtub. Only its head and the burning tail tip were exposed. After a while, Warm white steam rose from the originally icy water.

"Miss Tina didn't notice? Today...to be precise, yesterday, the reason why Mary went to buy the so-called snow green husks to add to the wine was because she 'heard that someone was peddling that it can add a special flavor to food and drinks Magic plant'."

Still maintaining her spotless nun attire, Alice floated in front of Tina, reaching out to caress the girl's cheek.

"Go to bed and get ready to rest. After taking a bath, Lily will also be resting?"

"Well... so the thing I care about is..."

"Miss Tingna, do you still remember those merchants who came to the river valley to participate in the tasting, and at the same time came to pursue liquidated damages for the winery's inability to provide suitable products due to the disaster? The businessmen who had been working happily with the winery suddenly changed their faces Like hungry wolves, they said in unison, because they 'heard' rumors that Masura Winery would go bankrupt."

"Are these two things related...?"

Tingna, who lay directly on the bed, threw away the bathrobe, hugged Alice, and got into the soft and thick quilt.

In the girl's arms, Alice followed Liliana's words.

"If you look at it as a coincidence, then it is a coincidence, but if you assume that there is a hand behind it manipulating such public opinion, spreading such rumors before the businessmen don't know the situation, and taking care of Miss Mary when she is depressed. The rumors of the news reached her ears..."

"ah!"

The voice from under the quilt was muffled, but most of Tina's drowsiness disappeared.

The girl hugged Alice to the pillow and looked at her in disbelief, then at the witch who soaked in the bathtub with the salamander.

If there was such a big black hand, what kind of wrist would it be?

He just hid in the dark and never showed up. He pushed the winery into such a situation only through rumors.

"...The difficulty and success rate of this kind of induction is open to question. However, if this is the case, it will be difficult to dig out the mastermind behind the scenes. Alice and I went to Shetis' prison to interrogate the snow green shell seller. He said that he also heard from a distant relative that Olympian’s Holly River Valley is full of tourists at this time of year, and that the northerners don’t know poppy shells at all, so they came here a week ago.”

Maybe because it was late, Liliana didn't soak for a long time, she used another magic to send the salamander back, and she walked out of the bathtub, the water droplets slipped from the snow-white skin, and every step she took, there were drops of water on the carpet. There is a lovely footprint that slowly fades away.

Then, when Tingna picked up the towel that was stacked next to the pillow, the witch snapped her fingers, and the drying magic swiped away the moisture on her body surface.

"..."

Tina was silent.

"...But he was arrested after today. The charge is of course illegal trafficking of controlled drugs. If it is just a coincidence that he came here, then he was arrested...Miss Tingna?"

"I am listening……"

Silently putting back the stack of towels warmed by the hot water bottle, Tingna lowered her head and got back into the bed, and rolled up the quilt vigorously.

- Lily...

The little puppet sighed in the spiritual link, and the witch glanced at her wordlessly, her night-like eyes seemed to be asking, "What's wrong with me?"

——Saigon taught us not to bully others maliciously, and of course not to bully others unconsciously.

...

The witch was silent, after thinking about it, she decided to finish talking.

"... Judging from the methods, the two sides may be the same. Maybe what Miss Mary said is true. This is the handwriting of the Edwards family. What evidence, because I haven’t added Jester’s background for many years, the Furster family has almost no advantage in terms of aristocratic discourse power and influence.”

Alice sighed, and pulled the pillow from under Tina's head, replacing it with her own thigh.

"Miss Alice..."

Tina put her arms around the doll's waist and rubbed her face against her belly.

"It's okay, it's okay, Lily just doesn't understand the heart of a girl."

While talking, the little puppet nun looked over with some reproachful eyes.

...I always feel that if this continues, the topic will shift to other directions.

"...In short, without evidence, nothing can be done. This time, the suspicion of the Edwards family is only confirmed. There is still a big difference between suspicion and guilt."

Miss Witch thought for a while, got into bed, and leaned her head on Alice's soft thigh.

"... Where is Miss Tina?"

The tip of the nose can be touched directly, and at such a close distance, Ting Na's face turned red all of a sudden.

"...Miss Mary said that she was the one who went against everyone's advice to build Sulla and this castle, and made the winery's funds tight."

She looked away in a panic.

However, thinking of the two tear trails falling in the darkness of the conference room, Tingna's mood became very complicated again.

"I can't do anything, not even comfort Miss Mary..."

"..."

"Tomorrow is the judging session. Ms. Liliana said in front of Ms. Mary that she would participate and win the championship, but what should I do now... Is there time for the formula to be given to Mr. Jeste..."

"...That's not for tomorrow's tasting session, and the success of that formula also depends on the blessings of nature. I will think of a way for tomorrow's tasting session... Good night, Miss Tingna."

"...Good night, Miss Liliana."

The exhaustion was blown away, after all, it was an illusion, the drowsiness was finally uncontrollable, and the girl slowly closed her eyes.

The memories of last night end here.

It's Moonless Moon, the 22nd.

On the day of the tasting, due to staying up late last night, it was already lunch time when Tingna woke up, Liliana was not in the room, and the winery was quite quiet, and then...

"……cake?"

After shaking the drowsiness away from her eyes, looking at the things on the desk covered with a clean white cloth, Tingna thought for a moment that she hadn't woken up yet.

——This is... pancake, right?

It was a round, thick cake, dry, with a golden skin, round, thick, and that size, it didn't look like it could be eaten with a bite...

Tina turned her head to look at the little doll sitting on the pillow.

"Miss Alice, that is..."

"Wine cake. It's a kind of brewing material used by brewers in the Eastern Kingdom. It is usually used to brew grain wine, but it can also be brewed with a recipe. As for Lily... use that to cheat."

"……Cheating?"

"Cheating."

Looking up, Alice smiled brightly at Tina.

Alice on the pillow re-covered her soft legs and bare feet under the hem of a lace overcoat, looking.

"Good morning, Miss Alice..."

Seeing those white calves that were more dazzling than the sun being covered by the skirt of the nun's dress, Tingna felt her heartbeat slowed down by two more beats. She hurriedly greeted Alice to cover up her gaffe.

"Good afternoon, Miss Tina."

"Huh? Eh, is it already noon?"

"Miss Tingna is sleeping very deeply. Lily has already gone to the site of the tasting with everyone in the winery. Although the tasting will not start until evening, it is necessary to go to the venue to make some preparations, especially if Lily plans Cheating."

"Then these cakes..."

Tina got up from the bed and came to the desk.

It was the first time she heard the word [wine cake], and she didn't know much about Dongguo's winemaking process, and of course she didn't know how Liliana planned to cheat.

But if it is a key prop, why is it still placed here?

"These are not ordinary wine cakes. Magic is needed to stabilize the wine cakes. It will be ready in half an hour. Miss Tingna can bring them with her when she goes to the venue."

"Yeah……"

If you look carefully, there is indeed a faint shimmer of magic power floating on the clean white cloth, and various gem-like gels are embedded on the golden cake, which is very gorgeous.

Probably prepared it when she fell asleep, Tina thought.

"...Wait, this is very important, right? Is it okay for me to take it with me?"

Then, the girl tensed up.

"It's okay, the judging session won't start until night, Lily plans to perform a reversal performance in front of everyone at that time, it doesn't matter even if it arrives at the last second."

"...Let's send this over as soon as possible."

Tina seemed to have a stomachache.

Cheating, acting, Alice didn't explain more about Liliana's plan to deal with the tasting, but obviously these wine cakes mixed with various gels and made of unknown materials are a very important part of the plan.

So the girl didn't dare to relax at all, she got up from the bed, walked into the bathroom, and after washing and bathing carefully, picked up the suit that the old man in the winery had ironed for her.

But at this time, Alice told her that the solidified magic hadn't been processed yet, and she had to wait until the processing was completed before leaving. There was no other way, so Tingna had to go back to the bathroom and take a bath in satisfaction...

Finally, after finally changing into a suit and wrapping these "wine cakes" with that piece of white cloth, Tingna deliberately emptied out a corner of the space storage ring, and after confirming that there would be no problems, the girl took the The tension left the bedroom.

The winery was quiet.

According to Alice, all the hired workers are on vacation, and the members of the Forster family were brought to the venue of the appraisal meeting by Liliana. Now there are probably only a few old people who are really old and inconvenient to move around, and some family guards—such as Jon, still looking after the castle and the brewhouse.

"Ah, Mr. Jester."

In addition, Jeste, who is in charge, is also there.

Just after walking down the stairs, in the hall of the castle, Tingna saw the back of the manager of the winery.

Jester was followed by several strange workers, who were pushing huge wooden boxes on four-wheeled carts. Hearing the girl's voice, Jester, who was leading them to the corridor on the right side of the hall, raised his head, showing a polite smile on his tired face.

"Good afternoon, Miss Tina, are you going to have lunch?"

He pointed to the long corridor on the right, "The second one, those wine tanks marked with white lime." With that said, the workers nodded and walked towards the corridor with the big wooden box.

At this time, Ting Na also came down the stairs, and the girl holding Alice looked at the workers with some curiosity.

"What is this doing?"

"Replace the wine tank. The tasting meeting is a big or small festival for Holly Valley. Every day is a holiday. Everyone goes to the site of the tasting meeting to participate in this festival. After 11 p.m., even the archbishop can't help it." Keep people in their jobs."

"So we have to finish it in the morning, right? It just so happens that the winery is on holiday today, and the workers followed Lily to the venue of the tasting to prepare for the performance in the evening, just to prevent too many people from knowing what happened yesterday, killing two birds with one stone. "

"Well, that's it..."

Alice nodded and said her plan, and Jester just smiled.

It was a common smile of nobles, polite, calm, and concealed everything. When Liliana was not here, they were First, and they were nobles. It is not surprising to have this kind of smile, it's just.

Even such a smile could not conceal the tiredness and uneasiness in the man's eyes.

"Miss Tina, Miss Alice, is there really a way for the lord to stand out in the judging?"

After the workers walked away, the middle-aged man looked at them anxiously.

He has been in charge of the winery for more than 20 years, but he has never encountered such a predicament—the cellar of the winery is empty, the grapes in the wine tanks are still fermenting, and their lord, who has no head but no tail, only brings the last Good grapes go to the venue of the tasting, and make a statement that they can stand out with a blank face.

Even if Liliana solves the winery's economic crisis, breaks the rumors, and even asks her secretary to solve the last poisonous weed in the orchard, this promise is too whimsical, and he can't rest assured no matter what.

Seeing him like this, Alice tilted her head and said only one sentence. .

"Mr. Jester, trust Lily, there is nothing else to do anyway."

Tina showed a strange expression.

"That...Miss Alice...this can't be called comfort..."

"...Isn't it supposed to be?"

This is no consolation at all.

But it is indeed a reassurance that is effective. Anyway, I have no choice, and there is nothing else to do. If that is the case, what can I do if I am worried?

Jester sighed with a wry smile.

"I might have to trouble Miss Tingna to go to the [Big Antler Pavilion] for lunch. I will go directly to the venue after I am done. Where are Miss Tingna and Miss Alice?"

The puppet lady who has been serving as Lord First's identity is not wrong, not at all.

"I'll probably take a detour to see that orchard again. If the golden magic tree hasn't been completely wiped out, I'll spend some time cleaning it up, and then I'll go directly to the venue."

"Is that so... Ah, please wait a moment."

A worker came over and took a piece of paper for Jester to sign. After reviewing the text on it, Jester signed his name with a quill, and then...

Handed the paper to Tina.

"Please take a look."

"Eh? No, no need, Jester, you can figure it out."

Immediately understanding the meaning of this move, Tingna waved her hand. She is indeed Liliana's secretary, but in fact she has never done any work that a secretary should do, let alone the operation of the winery...

...seems like this is a way too?

The worker looked at her and Jester blankly, put away the signed documents, and walked away.

"Then, see you at the judging session, Miss Tina, Miss Alice."

Slightly nodding his head, Jester walked behind the workers. Now he is the only person in charge of the winery, and he has to supervise the replacement, installation and disposal of the wine tanks.

"Wait a minute, Mr. Jester, where's Miss Mary?"

Ting Na, who was thoughtful because of a certain idea of ​​her own, quickly opened her mouth.

She almost forgot, apart from the judging session, what she cared about the most.

"Mary..."

Hearing his daughter's name, Jester stopped in his tracks. He turned his head. His expression seemed to be something he didn't want to think about but was forced to think about. He rubbed his forehead in distress and sighed deeply. gas.

"Mary hasn't come out of the room yet, this incident really hit her hard..."

"Indeed, that's true, but it's not just that..."

Tina lowered her head, Alice looked into her eyes and nodded silently.

No matter what she thinks about or what she plans to do, Miss Doll always seems to have such an encouraging attitude, Tina thought.

But this attitude is just right.

It can just make up for the decisiveness and courage that girls often lack.

In any case, this is me, at the end of this journey, what I think I should do and how to do it.

"May I have a moment for Mr. Jester?"

……………………………………………………………………………………

The venue of the tasting was located in the Holly River Valley, a somewhat special location.

This is an island in the middle of the river. When the gurgling Holly River passes by here, it will roll up a fierce vortex on both sides of the spindle-shaped island. The complex underwater terrain and sandy mud are the geological features here. Emptiness and desolation are the biggest features here.

If ever there was a place in the Holly Valley that was completely devoid of grapes, this is it. The barren soil cannot grow crops, but the spring water gushing out of the ground is filtered layer by layer, and mixed with the customs of this land. Some people find the excellent water quality here and think it is a miracle bestowed by the goddess of water. The first monastery was built on the island.

In that distant past, Olympion hadn't even been established, and people's beliefs were not so unified due to geographical differences.

"The monks were the first to learn how to make wine. In other words, this is where the Holly Valley brewing industry started."

Stepping off the overcrowded ferry, the passengers scattered from the crowd, leaving a large footprint on the beach.

They couldn't wait to pour into the ruins of the ancient monastery on the island. Only a few people stood on the beach like Tingna and looked around curiously.

"So, this is the oldest winery in the valley? Older than Masura?"

"This is just a monastery. The monks are good at making wine, but they didn't build a winery. The last time Lily and Alice came here, it had been abandoned for many years. Now it is the property of the Winemakers Association. Various venues also sell the luscious spring water here, and more than half of the local wineries use the water here to make wine.”,

Whispering to Tina about the history here, Alice looked at the ancient rock building with a very solemn expression.

After there was no one around, the little puppet adjusted its posture and sat on Tingna's arm. Tingna looked at her, and then at the ruins of the monastery in the distance.

"Miss Alice, would you like to go and pray?"

I always feel that I have a better understanding of the characteristics of this little puppet.

"It's just that Alice now has some sympathy for this kind of building, but this is not a shrine dedicated to Saigon, and you won't be here if you want to pray. What's more, the venue of the appraisal meeting is not in the monastery, but in the garden of the former monks. Li...Miss Tina, go find Lily."

"Um."

Tina nodded, and subconsciously pressed the space storage ring on her finger with her hand—according to what Alice said, the key to Liliana's Marsoula winery standing out from the tasting, those wine cakes Now it's in her own hands. When she thinks of this, she feels a rush of pressure.

Find Liliana quickly.

Thinking of this, the girl quickened her pace a little and walked towards the ruins of the monastery.

This island is not big. After approaching the ruins of the monastery, she immediately contacted Miss Witch with the black pearl on her ear clip. Saw that familiar figure.

The long hair almost reaches the calf, and it gradually changes from bright gold to flawless white. The skin that has completely recovered from the influence of the black dragon's blood a few days ago is like warm white jade, wrapped in a dress that is as dark as the night. middle.

A circle of fur hung over her shoulders, wrapping her expressionless little face. On her fingers, she wore jewelry that Tina had never seen before, not many, but full of gorgeousness, making her look as noble as the princess of the Northland .

Behind her were two women from the winery. They also put on expensive dresses, and their veils covered their ordinary faces. Looking at it this way, they looked like two mysterious and beautiful maids.

"Look, it's right there." The young man who showed Tingna excitedly pointed in the direction the girl was looking at. The tall and muscular man who was about the same height as Tingna, with a face that was a bit dark because of his work, actually flew up. A girlish blush.

"Miss Forster is there. She is so beautiful, she is the goddess of the night."

A look of being fascinated.

No, not only him.

Everyone who asked for directions along the way showed the same expression after Tina mentioned the name "First", whether it was a well-dressed nobleman, a waiter with pomade on his hair, young A magician, or a muscular peasant woman.

Either the face is flushed, or the expression is in a trance.

Regardless of gender, regardless of status, everyone has an expression of "ah, I'm in love".

——This is almost brainwashing.

This is the second time that Tingna has seen Liliana's [Magic Charm] fully activated. The first time was when she faced the lava dragon beast in Salt Sand City, but that time Tina herself was also fascinated by it. So the feelings are not so deep, but this time, seeing the emotional expressions of these people, the girl still feels a chill.

After the chill, there are complex emotions with pride.

Proud that Liliana is so beautiful and attracting everyone's attention, and complicated by Liliana like this, but I can't monopolize it... No, what am I thinking.

Shaking her head, Tina thanked the young man, but he didn't seem to be listening anymore, her gray-brown eyes were staring straight at the fascinating silhouette, and her saliva was about to flow from the corner of her mouth.

At this time, Liliana was crossing her legs, revealing her fair and lovely calves from under the skirt of the dress. If you want to say whether she is healthy or not, she is absolutely healthy. At most, she is a bit unreserved. Ting Na couldn't help but swallowed, and looked around.

See at least twenty faces that are about to drool.

...Miss Alice, I seem to know what Miss Liliana wants to do. Is there a factor of public rating in the scoring items of the judging session?

——Not at all, the scoring right of the tasting is entirely in the hands of the five judges. They taste wines from different wineries, make ratings, and finally select the wineries with the highest average scores to go to Linlun to participate in the Kingdom tasting .

--Eh? Miss Liliana used [Magic Charm] to charm these people like this because...

——Well, you will know when the time comes?

In the spiritual link, the puppet sold a small pass.

"Then, I wish Ms. Forster and Masura Winery can stand out, and salute the holy fire and light!"

"...and Earl Eswald."

When Tingna walked along the corridor to Liliana, the middle-aged noble opposite the witch drank the wine in a toast, then got up, glanced at Tingna, bowed his head slightly, and then looked affectionately at Liliana. A glance at the witch at the table.

"You are always welcome at Eswald's castle, Ms. First."

After speaking, the elegant nobleman turned and left.

Tina suddenly wanted to pretend not to pay attention to him when he came to her side—but considering Liliana would provoke the comments of a careless secretary, after thinking about it, the girl still held back, And bowed slightly as the earl passed by, showing a decent smile.

Then he clicked his tongue softly after he left.

The girl came to the table with Alice in her arms, and the witch put down her wine glass and raised her head silently.

"Miss Liliana..."

"...Good afternoon, Miss Tina, wine cakes..."

"I brought it here..."

Tina put Alice on her shoulders, handed the wine cake wrapped in a white cloth to Liliana, and finally felt relieved after seeing her calmly nodding and putting it away.

"Such an important thing, why not let Miss Alice take it..."

Sitting where the aristocratic man was originally sitting, Ting Na complained with some dissatisfaction.

"...It's not that important. It's quite convenient to make, but it takes a little time to disguise."

"That's right."

"...That's right."

Liliana beckoned, and a nearby maid came over to change a pair of glasses for Tina, and poured bright red wine into the goblet.

This promenade is the "Noble Rest Area" at the tasting, equipped with guards, maids, fine wine and pastries, although Tina and Alice detoured to the completely destroyed orchard on the way here to confirm that the Golden Demon The tree didn't appear again, but the time now was almost noon, and it was still early before the judging session began.

"How are you preparing for the judging session?"

Ting Na picked up the wine glass, but didn't drink it. The girl knew her poor wine taste, she shook the agate-like wine, and looked at the girl in front of her who was showing everything except where she shouldn't be.

"...The preparations that should be made have been made, don't worry, you will definitely be able to advance."

The witch spoke softly, and slowly drank the wine in the glass.

"Well, I believe Miss Liliana..."

"..."

"..."

"……that……"

"...Actually, Ms. Tingna always feels very boring when she is by my side."

"……Eh?"

Tina froze.

She didn't expect Liliana to suddenly talk about this kind of thing after the silence that ended with a topic.

A jumping topic that hadn't been seen for a while came up, which made her unable to react at once.

Alice also looked at Liliana in surprise, but the witch just talked to herself.

"...I'm always busy with things that Miss Tingna can't participate in, planning things that I will tell Miss Tingna after I finish, and I don't have time to do magic experiments that Miss Tingna likes to watch during the trip, Miss Tingna, Would you find it boring?"

"...It's better to say that after traveling with Miss Liliana, I almost forgot what it feels like to be bored."

"……Yeah?"

The witch stared at her expressionlessly, and under those eyes, Tina surrendered in less than a minute.

"More than 90% is true, more than 90% is boring... After all, it is unavoidable, but apart from a little bit of boredom, I have come to places I have never been to, and I have seen scenery I have never seen before. , these are very interesting."

--stare--

"Woo...it's true."

Although I don't know why Miss Witch suddenly brought up this matter, but being stared at like this, my face seems to be a little hot.

Tingna had no choice but to turn her face away, not to look at Liliana's unwavering expression.

Under the midwinter sky, there is almost no greenery on the island. Looking beyond the low wall, on the other side of the river bank, among the lush grape orchards, white walls and red tiles are connected together.

"No, I'm lying."

What kind of mood did you have to say those words?

"..."

Liliana remained silent, and put a sound-proof barrier on the table.

"...The man just now, the Earl of Edwards, who is also the head of the Edwards family, when he came to strike up a conversation with me, he mentioned that Mary went to buy the so-called snow green husk—that is, the poppy husk."

Here we go again, the topic suddenly changed.

But this topic couldn't help Ting Na not to listen carefully.

"Then, it really is them..."

"...If the Masura Winery goes bankrupt, the Edwards family adjacent to Forster Territory may indeed become the biggest beneficiary. But there is no evidence. Mary's red hair is too unique a feature, and the sale The peddling of the reporter has attracted a lot of attention. There may not be many people who saw her buy the "magic plant that is said to add a special flavor to food and drinks". The problem is that if they publicize this matter... "

"It's going to be bad..."

"Then, what should I do..."

Tina was a little flustered at this juncture.

But Liliana and Alice didn't care, the little doll sat on Tina's lap and smiled softly.

"Don't worry, Miss Tina didn't notice the count's expression when he left?"

"……expression?"

Ting Na did not pay attention. At that time, her eyes were all focused on Miss Witch's hair and the neck of the wolf fur scarf, which could not help but want to imprint a hickey. She had no time to pay attention to that. what earl.

"... He was deeply influenced by the [Magic Charm] because he coveted me, and it didn't seem like he really planned to spread it around, but he wanted to use it as an excuse to coerce me, so I just said it casually." It's very hard for a woman to be in charge of the whole family by herself, and occasionally at night, she always wants to rely on something... so he suppressed that matter with a blushing face."

The witch said, slightly raised the corners of her mouth.

"...Although I don't know how these words sound to him, but in fact I didn't hint at anything. I just said the facts. The more I covet, the easier it is to think wildly. There is no gender limit. Human beings are such creatures."

"So, it's okay now?"

"...At least until he breaks free from the [Magic Charm]."

"Speaking of which, Miss Liliana, I think of one thing. You said that because you, a foreign aristocrat, had been granted the territory of Forster, Olympian was a little afraid of this territory. Could it be because Miss Mary defies all suggestions to build castles and towns to make them feel dangerous—although Miss Mary herself just wants to let them who have been managing this land have a symbol of nobility..."

"Impossible, Miss Tina, even with castles and towns, a nobleman without private soldiers is just a toothless tortoise. As long as the First Family does not recruit private soldiers, it will not attract the attention of the kingdom. A little Alice and Lily have reminded Mr. Jester..."

Before the tasting, the whole afternoon was spent talking among the three of them.

The topic jumped around in a very Liliana style, and when the sky was getting darker, the topic of chatting had long been completely irrelevant to the beginning.

This is the first time that Tina has chatted with Liliana and Alice for so long. When the nobles around got up one after another, Miss Witch drank the 20th or 30th glass of red wine, and the girl twitched a bit. In the memory of this afternoon, I feel like I talked a little about everything, but I didn't talk about anything.

What a luxury, doing nothing all afternoon, just chatting irrelevantly under the bright winter sun, with Liliana and Alice, accompanied by fine wine and snacks.

This is the one, the aristocratic decadence that often appears in various novels. In order to reflect the decadence and incompetence of the aristocratic class, the author often spends a lot of time describing it.

But now Ting Na feels that there is nothing wrong with being so decadent. There is sunshine, snacks, and good wine for the whole afternoon wasted. There are people who are cuter than everyone else. The witches and dolls she likes are warmer than the sun. A little happiness that is sweeter than dessert and more intoxicating than fine wine.

"...Let's go, Miss Tina."

But now, it's time to break out of the decadence and do something that needs to be done.

"Um."

So Tingna patted her face lightly, took Liliana's little palm who was holding Alice in her arms, followed the flow of the crowd, along the gravel road on the grass to the venue of the judging meeting .

This place was originally the garden of the monastery, but it has already been occupied by wine bottles, long tables and crowds.

In front of a trendy ring-shaped fountain, a canopy made of criss-cross wooden strips is entwined with green leaves and vines, submerging every square hole, like a box made of green leaf curtain walls.

On the long table covered with purple velvet, there were pure gold candlesticks. In front of the table, a blond man struck a match, and the big firelight illuminated the clear wine glasses and also illuminated them under the darkening sky. His emerald eyes.

"Holly Valley has never disappointed me."

When he opened his mouth, there was still noise all around him, but his voice was louder than the noise. This was the brief opening remark. After he finished his first sentence, the crowd was quiet for a moment. During this short period of time, he declared again:

"I have been a judge of the Kingdom Tasting for more than 30 years. During these 30 years, I have been to the northernmost White Sail Mountain in the Kingdom, went boating on the Riel Maras Lake in the east, and climbed the Chris Mountain in the west. Taste the ancient mead there in the Grand Canyon, but only here, only the Holly Valley, has never disappointed me, the largest wine region in the kingdom, with its harsh winter green and luscious springs, the oldest winery, and There are the best winemakers in the kingdom!"

"well said!"

"That's right!"

"Holly Valley is the best in Olympion!"

The crowd became noisy, and the nobles who were closer to the judges and had special seats applauded neatly and politely.

The hustle and bustle of the people made this handsome man slightly frowned. When he looked at the noble seats, he smiled.

Of course, Tina, who was also in the noble seat, gave him a suspicious look, then turned to look at the witch who was sitting on a chair with Alice in her arms, like a big doll.

I don't know if it's an illusion, but Tina always feels that his smile is for a specific person...

——Is that person one of the judges Miss Liliana met at the banquet?

... Viscount Cullens, said to be the most famous wine taster in the kingdom, is also a playboy.

——Ah, the one who has a special preference for Miss Liliana...

The image he had built just because he struck a match to light a candle, and exchanged a few words for applause and applause, suddenly collapsed, replaced by a complex sense of camaraderie, and an equally complex sense of disgust. [1]

No matter how much time Liliana has spent, that appearance is still frozen at the age of 11, and it takes a little effort to raise her arm to hold Tina's hand. Although it is very small and cute, but I like a child of this size... Generally speaking, it is really necessary to notify the city guards, right?

"Today, we came to this ancient monastery as usual to start this year's Holly Valley tasting. The best wine will be selected by our five judges and go to the capital to participate in the final selection. It's the same as before, but, It's a little different, this time, an important scoring item has been specially added to the judging session, which is—"

The man at the table obviously had no way of knowing the conversation in the spiritual link, but his words aroused people's doubts.

Especially the nobles, these keen and cunning old foxes, became alert almost immediately. Tingna could feel the change in the atmosphere, this change.

"Innovation."

There was a little commotion when the man said the word.

——Innovation? what does that mean?

——The new scoring item, this has never happened before.

——Hey, what's going on, why did this happen all of a sudden?

The voices of nobles, civilians, and especially the winery operators were louder than before, questioning, confused, and shouting, and these voices became a mess.

"I know everyone is very confused, but this is the oral order that the president of our Linlun Brewers Association got directly from His Majesty."

In this mess, Viscount Cullens waved his hand vigorously, his voice seemed to become the blade and edge of his swing, cutting through all the hustle and bustle neatly.

"Three years ago, His Majesty signed a trade agreement with several surrounding countries. Originally, His Majesty hoped that the kingdom's fine wines would go abroad, but the reality is that after the tariffs on wine were reduced, a large number of foreign wine industries poured into Olympian. Originally, The vigorous domestic wine industry has been strongly impacted, from north to south, from Linlun to Holly Valley, I believe everyone can feel it."

"This is not possible. Your Majesty thinks that this is completely unacceptable. The winemaking tradition of Olympian has a long history and must not be defeated by foreign brands. For this reason, the winery needs to innovate. For this reason, starting from this tasting meeting, there will be tasting meetings every year thereafter. , will have different themes, so that the brewers can think and innovate, instead of competing with each other with wines brewed ten or even twenty years ago."

He put down his hand, and this time, because of his words, the venue fell into silence.

Everyone was silent. The unexpected turn of events caused even the oldest and most cunning nobles to fall into deep thought.

"Well, let's get started."

After a while, these people—no, almost all of them, their eyes were focused on the most petite figure on the noble seat.

He even ignored Viscount Cullens' words announcing the start of the tasting.

"Ms. Forster."

Their eyes were full of doubts, and the young man from the Edwards family who had come to the night banquet held by Liliana turned this doubt into a direct question.

"Since the morning, the people at Masura Winery have been publicizing that you will make wine in a novel way at the tasting. Could it be..."

"This is my first visit to Holly Valley and I have never participated in a previous tasting."

The tone of Liliana's answer was unwavering.

"Because of the disaster of the Golden Demon Tree and the turmoil of the merchants who were originally happy to cooperate, in order to pay the bills, there is almost no barrel of old food in the wine cellar, only the young wine that is not yet ready to drink is left. As for the Earl, I want to perform like a dancer, using novel methods and tastes in exchange for people's attention, now it seems that maybe the Holy Light and the Holy Fire are protecting First."

"I think Ms. Furst should know that no matter how grand the performance is, the judges only care about the quality of the finished wine."

A certain nobleman he didn't know also spoke at this time.

"But the attractive show keeps the customers coming."

Those gazes made Ting Na feel so nervous that she didn't dare to vent her nerves.

She finally understood why Liliana said calmly that she had a chance of winning.

before this moment. She still didn't realize how important the subject the witch got was, thinking that it was the same as the requirement of "analyzing the scene, characters' expressions and psychological activities" written on the final review topic of the literature test paper.

But no, the degree of importance is not at the same level.

The request from the king is bound to make [innovation] an important scoring point, and these wineries, as in the past, have participated in the competition with aged wines brewed ten or even twenty years ago.

Only Masura winery.

Only Liliana, from early this morning, let the people in the winery publicize that she wants to make wine on site in a "novel" way!

This is the only one that has anything to do with innovation!

It was obvious that other people had noticed it too, and it was impossible not to notice it, so now they were casting suspicious glances at Liliana.

"...then expect Ms. Forster to show us the so-called 'novelty' brewing method."

But the witch's words themselves can't find any faults. If they got this topic in advance through some small means, as long as no one inside reveals it or gets troubled by those judges, it will never be exposed.

So the nobles could only stop asking questions resentfully.

After the little commotion subsided, the judges stopped talking nonsense. They rang the bell, and after a random draw, the wine from the first winery had been poured into the glass and placed in front of each judge.

"Cross Star Winery, 2 free wines, [Southern Cross Star] and [Northern Cross Star], cellared for 15 years, classic wines of Cross Star Winery."

"Light purple, clear, thin hanging glass."

"Balanced taste, citrus, oak aroma, acidity and tannin are very even, just like the four corners of the cross star, compared with [Southern Cross] the smell is more intense, [Northern Cross] is slightly sweeter Gao, excellent as always, but in this tasting, it has to be said that it has not changed."

The judges held up the wine glasses, stared, shook, sniffed, drank, savored, talked and commented with each other, and wrote quickly on the cardboard with a quill pen.

Then, when the judges who rinsed their mouths with luscious spring water thought that their sense of taste had got rid of the influence of the previous glass of wine and could taste the next glass of wine, they rang the bell again and told the young women in maid clothes to serve the wine. Zhuang sent another glass of wine.

Waiters in white shirts and plaid vests and burgundy ties collected the jam as they put down their wine glasses.

After a while, the two bottles of wine with the crest of the Cross Star winery were placed side by side on the long table surrounded by railings. A piece of folded cardboard was fixed in front of the wine bottles with hot wax, and it was written that the final two bottles of wine ——that is, the score obtained by the winery at the tasting.

"According to the five aspects of taste, flavor, terroir, structure and innovation, they are listed separately, and then the average score is the final result. The innovation of these two wines is 0, so although the other four items are not bad..."

"Does Cross Star Winery score 3.3 in the end? The highest score for each item is 5 points. Usually, if you can get 4 points in the end, you will be promoted, but in this way, you will have to get full marks for all four items except for the new score. This is obviously impossible. The final promotion The line will definitely be lowered..."

Some nobles were talking in low voices, while the evaluation on the stage continued.

"Malong Winery, free 2 types of wine, [Black War Horse], [Blood Red Rein], cellar... 50 years of aging, this fragrance...Damn it, you should open the wine before our eyes!" Cullens, There was another male judge who almost impatiently snatched the wine glass from the tray in front of him. This kind of fine wine does not need to be sobered up when it is just right for drinking. Draining, they shook the wine glass and took a deep breath, then poured the dark reddish wine that could almost stick to the glass wall into their mouths

"Oh, this taste is so rich that you can chew it."

"The throat seems to be burning. Do you men like this kind of hot wine? For an elegant lady like me, the taste and alcohol are too strong."

"It's the same for a refined musician like me, Mrs. Brace."

The voices of the judges can be clearly heard by the people at the noble table, and their judgments seem to be mixed with personal preferences for the same wine.

Hearing them say familiar words one after another, but seem to have different meanings, Tina's curiosity surged again.

Because Liliana was chatting with a nearby nobleman about how to explain the so-called innovation, Tina hesitated for a moment, and conveyed the words through the black pearl on her ear.

——Miss Alice, what do the judges' adjectives mean...

——Those are adjectives for wine tasting. Although they are used in daily life, their meanings are quite different.

——For example, the hanging cup?

——That is a physical phenomenon. After rotating, the finer liquid attached to the glass wall slides down the glass wall to form droplets and then slides down. That is called a hanging glass. In simple terms, the thicker and longer the hanging glass means High alcohol concentration and sugar content.

——The balance, being able to chew, burning and so on refer to...

——Those are adjectives to describe the taste and flavor of wine. "Balance" means that the wine's fruity, tannin, acidity and oak flavor are well integrated and well-balanced in all aspects. Chewiness indicates that the wine has a rich and viscous taste. Full-bodied, as is often the case with wines made in good vintages. As for the burn...the burn is what spirits in wine often get, describing the burning sensation of the wine running down the throat.

Although she was wearing a nun's attire, the Sun Cult who believed in Saigon's Sun did not seem to be a sect that prohibited alcohol. Alice could answer the girl's questions fluently.

Although these are small knowledge that will probably be forgotten after a while, the satisfaction of getting the answers to the questions still makes Tingna feel quite happy, and the comments that she didn't understand at first are no longer just lingering. It's opaque.

She began to remember the evaluations of the winery from the judges with great interest. The [Crimson Pomegranate] of Alfara Winery has a strong fruit flavor and has the characteristics of the variety, but the [River Elegy] of Sidi Winery is too dull. [Silver Pearl], which is also from Chateau Sidi, has a wonderful flavor of minerals, and the five judges debated for a long time on the pros and cons of this.

There is also brandy, and the brandy wine industry, which cooperates with the Edwards family, also sent selected wines to participate in the tasting, two types of cognacs more than ten years old.

Mrs. Bai Jiesi fell in love with this "fruity and floral" wine as soon as she smelled it. It is medium-bodied and full-bodied. The taste of honey, oak and sweet orange is very prominent. Although it is a strong wine, it has a long aftertaste. unanimous praise.

After discussion, the judges believed that distillation—although this is also a craft that has existed since ancient times, it is innovative in the Holly Valley, where traditional brewing has always been the mainstream, and gave it 3 points for innovation, which made brandy The wine industry's cognac has become the highest score so far.

It is also the first 4.1 points, and it is almost certain to advance.

However, not all such fine wines were sent to the tasting.

One after another, the wineries slowly obtained their scores through tasting, but it was not yet the turn of the Marsula winery.

"Miss Liliana..."

Ting Na turned to look at the witch, gradually, she became a little worried.

Even she could see that although the judges would rinse their mouths and rest every time, no matter what, their tongues would only become more and more numb to the wine. After drinking so much wine and the irritability caused by the long time, the After the winery, the performance has become more and more sluggish.

In particular, some wineries that were newly established or even less than a year old come in to gamble. Their wines have neither commendable innovation nor satisfactory taste. After "too high acidity", "rough mess" and even spit out and smashed wine glasses to give several 0 points on the spot, the scores of the wineries behind them dropped by a small layer.

It has been more than two and a half hours since the tasting began. Seventeen wineries, most of them choose to give away two bottles of wine, that is, thirty-four bottles of good or bad wine.

No matter how professional the judges are, they are just ordinary people, and their tongues have begun to lose their sharpness. Even if they spit out poor quality wine from their mouths after tasting, the rest time between wine and wine will become longer and longer. It also gradually began to play its due role, the more behind the winery, the more scribbled the numbers on the cardboard.

Still not the turn of Masura winery.

"...It's normal. Some wineries are purely here to make trouble, and according to the regulations, they can't be turned away, so there is a saying that if they are drawn late in the lottery, the tasting will be over."

And Liliana still looked indifferent.

"...and I just have to do my show well."

"Number 19, Masura Farah de Lisucia Winery!"

Before the words were finished, the name of the winery was called from the magic broadcast.

Tina hasten

A total of 20 wineries drew No. 19. It is really not good luck. At this time, no matter the audience or the judges, even the nobles who only sat on the warm noble seats created by magic arts were already quite tired.

But this long name gathered everyone's attention, whether they were commoners or nobles.

They had known the performance that would be shown at the judging party from the people of the various Forster families early in the morning, and it would be played by the beautiful lord who had suddenly returned here.

Although there are traveling entertainers and circuses passing by from time to time in the valley, but the personal performances of the nobles? Or a countess whose beauty and wealth soon made the valley famous?

This is enough to make them think about it.

Following the sound, the witch turned a blind eye to the sights that gathered. She handed Alice into Tina's hands and stood up gracefully.

"Ms. Forster, you've been touting your 'novel way of brewing' since early in the morning, and you've also promised to brew it for us on the spot."

Even one of the judges, whose face was about to break through the elegant mask of aristocrats, tried to pull himself together. Tina didn't know this person, and Liliana didn't introduce him, so he probably wasn't at Edwards' house. Attended the banquet.

"That's right, I have ordered the family to prepare the best grapes and wine barrels. Next, I will follow the ancient method, but in an innovative way, to brew a special barrel of fine wine for you."

When putting the little doll into Tina's arms, Liliana gently gave the girl a reassuring look.

"Therefore, I hope that Bishop Marus can perform holy water purification for me."

"……What did you say?"

The nobleman who was chatting with Liliana just now was stunned, no, not only him, including Earl Edwards, but also Bishop Marus who was wearing a priest's robe, the people in the noble bench and the judges, all Unanimously stunned.

"Holy water purification? Why?"

Viscount Cullens was interested. Facing his question, Liliana looked at the bewildered bishop, and her tone seemed to say, "Don't you know?"

"...Wine was originally known as the 'drop of God'. Only the church mastered the method of brewing wine. Every year they would only brew a small part of the wine, select the best grapes, choose the most beautiful girl, and perform holy water purification for her The ritual of breaking the skins of the grapes with her feet and offering the wine to the gods, this is the oldest ritual of wine."

The expression on Marus's face instantly changed to "Yes, that's right". The young and promising bishop immediately smelled the fragrance of the roses handed out by the girl, and nodded knowingly.

"Then, Ms. Forster, are you planning to follow the ancient method to brew fine wine? This is indeed a novelty, but it is just like the distillation of brandy, which is not a great innovation."

Mrs. Bai Jiesi reminded, but of course Liliana would not make such a mistake.

"...the innovative part is here."

Liliana raised her hand, and a golden wine cake appeared in her hand.

"...Do you know anything about the brewing technology in the far east? The mainstream there is grain wine. They harvest rice and sorghum, steam them and seal them in altars for fermentation. In order to quickly produce wine and give the wine different flavors, they use What I use is this, wine cake, the so-called innovation is that I will add this to the brewing of wine.”

"But Ms. Furst, this seems to have the same effect as the distillation of brandy...?"

“[Short-term soul restraint technique] was first invented by evil cultists to extract people’s souls and torture them. When a doctor used it to save the lives of emergency patients, he was credited as the creator of medical treatment New Era."

Earl Edwards fell silent. He saw the president of the Jamie Association and the taciturn young man wearing the seven-winged coat of arms of Magnus on the judging table nodded.

No one questions that anymore.

"Then, Bishop Malus, may I trouble you?"

"Ah, of course, Ms. Furst, please change your clothes first, and I will let the pastor prepare clean spring water."

The young bishop stood up, but Liliana blinked.

"... Clean spring water? As for spring water, isn't there right in front of you?"

……………………………………………………………………………………

It was a fountain with a trendy shape.

The curved stone ring is bent into an "Ω" in the marble pool that has become smooth after years of washing, and the crystal clear spring water is transported from the lower part of the stone ring to the beautiful arc, turning into a water curtain and falling.

The mist filled the water, and in the constant temperature enchantment set up by the Brewers Association at a large price, even in the severe winter when the drops of water turned into ice, the water surface did not show signs of solidification. This is the largest spring on the island, and the expensive premium brewing water comes from here.

And today, perhaps for the first time ever, a girl stepped into the well.

No one objected or questioned, even the most precious spring water, the caretaker who would be furious if a leaf fell into it, thought from the bottom of his heart that if there is a girl in the world who is worthy of this spring water, she must be There is only her in front of me.

Her soft and cute little feet left tiny footprints on the soft sand at the bottom of the spring.

Her bright and holy long hair dragged beautiful and gorgeous ripples on the surface of the spring.

The ankle-length skirt was soaked with water, like wet glass, and the girl was pacing, and it soaked up more and more. Until passing through the water curtain, the sleeveless dress was tightly attached to the girl's fair skin. There was no moon or stars in the night sky, which was enough to shoot the lights that illuminate the night in all directions. The flames and shadows were alluringly entangled , into gorgeous clothes on the girl's body.

She went on, to the fountain, and knelt before Malus in the bishop's robes. With his head bowed in prayer, the young bishop looked solemn. He bent down to pick up a handful of spring water, prayed in a low voice, and the water shone with brilliance and ignited a bright golden flame.

"May the holy light and fire wash away the filth of your body, and may you bathe in holy water pure and flawless."

Light, flames, and water fell, and the gleam coated the girl's body. The wet and jade-like clothes outlined a sacred curve, and the shadows were washed away. Liliana opened her eyes, and even in her dark pupils, there was Hosted a brilliant light. [2]

The coquettishness was gone, replaced by the divine.

The cleansing ceremony is over and the ancient brewing process begins.

The monk in cassock knelt down and held up the dry oak with both hands. Liliana stepped on it lightly and lifted the heavy skirt that absorbed water from the pool. Leaves drying marks on a piece of wood.

Go all the way to the one where the judging table has been removed, a hut built with green leaves and grids.

If your feet don't touch the ground, you won't be stained with dust.

It's really rare that Bishop Marus is a knowledgeable person. When the girl changed into this long skirt that would reveal her skin when wet, he prepared everything for this simple ceremony, so that the girl could Stepping on the fragrant oak, step those crystal clear feet into the barrels filled with spring water and the best quality grapes.

Since ancient times, the process of peeling wine has been dominated by beautiful girls. Today, many people question its hygiene and practical significance, and many people pursue it.

But at least for the moment, no one doubted that the girl was clean enough to use her bare feet to break the skins of First, or even Holly Valley's finest grapes.

Liliana lifted the skirt sticking to her body without any hesitation, revealing her tiny knees, her legs soaked in water, and even her slender thighs. [3]

But no one looked at it with obscene eyes.

Originally, this ancient wine-making ceremony was sacred, and no one wanted to desecrate such a sacred and beautiful girl.

What's more, just imagine yourself wearing such thin clothes, wading through the spring water in the icy wind in the middle of the Holly River, taking the full body bath, and dancing in the cold at this moment, no one can use obscene eyes To peek at the skirt of the girl whose lips have lost all color.

The soaked clothes are not so light, and the water drops are swaying like the wings of a water bird.

"Holy Light..."

"Let the warm sacred fire warm Ms. First's body..."

The wind brought whispers, people who believed in light and fire began to pray, and Liliana began to dance.

To break the skin of the grapes is to dance! This is the traditional craft of the Holly Valley. Under the sun and the breeze, the boys hold hands in a circle and sing loud songs, and the girls put their tight skirts in the bucket and dance with the singing, and the sweet grape juice splashes and dyes that one. pieces of clothing.

Old people can't help but think back to the time when they were young, beautiful girls, and they remember that the girl who danced the best was called the Moose of Wine, and after the dance everyone wanted to kiss her stained A foot of sweet juice.

A Moos goddess dances!

Liliana danced a fierce dance, but the fierceness was the flying skirt, the rotation like a flower bud, but her footsteps were very gentle, stepping on the fruit, burying and lifting from the gap between the fruits, bright red The juice from the juice slowly submerged her insteps, but only the hair and crystal water droplets flew up, accidentally hitting the flaming torch, causing the flame to flicker for a while.

As if using those little feet to cast a spell on the grapes.

"Holy Light, this is so, so beautiful..."

This dance seems to have magical powers, or some kind of divine charm.

Including the five judges, the nobles did not pray, but they also bowed their heads before the overwhelming beauty.

It doesn't matter who it is, whether it's a commoner or a nobleman, a priest or a magician.

only one person.

Only a pagan who is neither a magician nor believes in the holy light and the holy fire watched her with her sea-blue eyes, saw her dance among the green leaves, saw her shine in the firelight, and see her through the translucent wet clothes. outline of the body.

"Miss Alice...now...is Miss Liliana using [Magic Charm]?"

"Of course."

The girl even forgot to talk to Miss Doll through the pair of earrings when there are so many people.

But no one noticed her.

People only dare to look at the simple but beautiful dance from the corner of their vision, otherwise the soul will jump out of the chest and chase after it, and of course no one will notice the girl's "talking to herself".

"But I can't feel it, I just feel...the heartbeat is so fast..."

"That is, of course."

Alice, who was hugged tightly, also hugged Tina's hand tightly, as if giving courage and tenderness to a girl who has witnessed the unattainable frost again and again.

No one still remembers the passage of time. When the girl finally put down her skirt and bowed to the people as a dancer, the serious Earl Hakuta talked to several other people about the time he used to use the [Black War Horse]. The all-powerful man on the battlefield leaped past everyone and rushed in front of the girl.

"Madam Moose of wine, allow me to kiss your feet in honor of the birth of this fine wine."

It's like a dark war horse.

No, the ex-soldier aristocrat who is taller than Tina is as strong as a bear, but now the bear is kneeling on one knee, as humble as serving a goddess. Tina stared blankly at this scene, she originally wanted to I wanted to applaud, but now I was at a loss, and after Liliana glanced at her, she handed the toe that was stained red with grapes to the man.

It looked like a small ice cream handed to the bear, but the bear picked her up by the waist, put her on a nearby chair, and licked her clean with the gentleness and grace of a lady.

After that, the feet fell to the ground, stained with dust, and the wine Moose disappeared.

Liliana, who shrunk her body slightly, stepped on the ground with her bare feet, and directed the people in the winery to pour the grapes and juice into the ceramic jug.

"...Put the wine cake in, store it at 25 degrees for about half an hour, shake it with ice before drinking, and pour it into a glass that is also iced."

A piece of wine cake had already been placed in it. After sealing the mouth of the pot, she turned to look at the judges and spoke in the tone of Lord First.

At this time, the people who were a step behind Earl Hakuta seemed to wake up from a dream.

"Right now, I need a tub full of hot water, and I don't want to burn myself out while you're judging."

I didn't care about people's reactions, or I don't need to care, Liliana said this, and a priest came to her immediately and motioned for her to come with him——Bishop Marus had people ready, he said with.

—Miss Tina.

"Ah, um."

Ting Na quickly got up from her seat and chased after her.

The stunning dance moves captured everyone's attention.

Farmers who don't know how to dance are also boasting that they have seen the divine light from the dance steps that are more intoxicating than wine. The ladies and ladies began to discuss whether the dance is a variant of ballet or a variant of waltz. The person from the winery behind the Masura had the most bitter expression. After waking up from the trance, the judges were still seriously evaluating, but no one paid any attention.

Below the hall of the monastery, a group of bards are arguing over new lines.

"Hey, Brother, what's the matter with you? How dare you copy the metaphor I racked my brains for!"

"Huh? This is slander! I saw a swan flying past the window just now and I associated Ms. First's soft body with a swan. How can this be considered plagiarism!"

"Holy mother's light! There are no swans in Holly Valley, and a winter mallard just flew by!"

"Shut up, you quarreled so much that I wrote a poem, ah ah ah ah, the wonderful inspiration is tumbling in my mind, it's going out! It's going out !!"

"Then write it out and have a look. If this time it's still a dirty joke piled up with a bunch of rhetoric, I will cancel your contract on behalf of the River Bay News!"

"Oh, Editor Fostelone, what a cruel man you are to kill the unborn child."

"The poem you wrote last time ridiculed 7 knights and 3 baronesses! The newspaper was almost forced out of business by them. How dare you write something like that, you dirty poet!"

"Art will not submit to power!"

Of course, in addition to poets who have contracts with newspapers, there are also editors for newspapers.

The judging is an annual event, every newspaper hopes to write the most interesting reports, and sell them all at the end of the year, their voices are very noisy, and the monastery, which should be quiet, is messed up because of these noises. It's an early market.

"Gentlemen, please keep your mouth shut and write! Otherwise, Ms. First needs to seal your mouth with magic, and you will never be able to separate again?!"

The voice was thin and high, almost like a soprano singing solo in an opera.

In the bathroom upstairs, the conversation between Tingna and Liliana had been interrupted several times. The girl, who couldn't bear it any longer, angrily went down the stairs and yelled at them, and by the way, used the [Silk Pulling and Spider Web Technique] to kill the group of people. The loudest one in the play, kept shaking the maracas and shaking the bell. It is said that the guy who could write masterpieces only in the sound of these two instruments was stuck on the ground.

In the Northland, due to the proximity to the city of a thousand towers and the continuous integration of the Holy Fire belief, the Templar Church in Olympion has a milder attitude towards magic, and the dual oppression of magic and nobles is still very effective.

The noise in the hall immediately disappeared.

Only the man who declared that art will not submit to power raised his quill and scratched his beard to shout something, but the editor beside him immediately punched him in the waist.

"Shut up!"

Immediately afterwards, everyone around rushed over and gave him a punch, just like the death of a famous dictator in history. After a while, the poet succumbed to the power, drooping and picking up a quill to draw on the paper wearing something.

The noise disappeared, and Tina, who felt a little relieved, turned around and walked up the stairs again. In her arms, Alice smiled gently.

"It seems that Miss Tina will show her talent as an actress when she is in a hurry."

"Huh? Huh?"

"On the grassland, it was the same when the group of nomads broke into the hot spring. Their voices and temperament have completely changed. When Alice and Lily arrive in Glory City, should Miss Tina try to study in the opera department? "

"That, that kind of thing, Miss Alice! Say, agree not to mention that embarrassing..."

"good--"

Alice smiled softly, like a warm sun.

Forced to recall something she wanted to throw into the corner of time no matter what, Tina felt her face burning hot. After she carried Alice back to the upstairs bathroom, Liliana took the water out of the amber bath water. He took out an empty bottle of brandy that seemed to be used as a bathing agent, and stood up from the bathtub.

The combination of spirits and hot water dyed the witch's fair skin a lovely pink. Liliana stepped out of the bathtub at this time.

"Ah, Lily."

"...?"

Alice hurriedly stopped her who was pressing her finger on her body.

Liliana looked at Alice suspiciously, then at the steamy white towel, and Tina's nervous expression.

After a little hesitation, she put down her hand and walked over to the girl's reluctance.

"...Miss Tina, I'm sorry to trouble you..."

"Good! Good!"

The girl looked at Alice gratefully, and her chest jumped because of that warm smile.

She hurriedly waved away such thoughts for a while, picked up a warm towel, and began to gently wipe Miss Witch's cheeks.

It's like treating an extremely precious treasure.

"...the way you wipe it is very gentle."

"Hmm, um. This is what I learned from Ms. Alif. Ms. Elev used to be a real nobleman. After Miss Liliana and Ms. Alice left, she let me be her secretary. It taught me a lot. The knowledge of the nobility, this is also a business trip with her, and I saw her method of wiping the body is elegant and fast, so please teach me Miss Alif."

"...Although it doesn't look like a nobleman normally."

"That's because Miss Liliana is an ancient and noble nobleman. In Salt Sand City, Miss Elif would praise me for looking good... Ah, Miss Liliana, raise your hand."

"...Aristocrats are not called nobles because they look good."

"I know this too..."

"...The people below have become quieter."

"Everyone is fascinated by Ms. Liliana, and I am too... What a beautiful dance."

"...It's a dance, but it's just that I randomly took some dance steps that I danced alone and connected them together, [Magic Charm]... Even in my own eyes, it's really scary."

As she spoke, Liliana leaned against the bathtub and raised her bare feet that were still dripping with amber water droplets.

"Miss Liliana...is she also afraid of her own power?"

The feet that can be held up by just bending over slightly, Ting Na naturally knelt down in front of the witch, changed into a warm towel, tightly but not forcefully wrapped the feet that seemed to be carved from snow-white marble. Toes, left foot, right foot, then.

Tingna raised her head to look at Liliana, and was driven by something, to look at the little puppet on the witch's shoulder.

"?"

Alice tilted her head, wondering why Tingna wanted to look at her at this time, the atmosphere was so good.

In the end, the girl just wrapped her feet tightly with a towel, carefully wiping away every trace of wetness.

"...Of course I'm afraid. It's not through study, training, and it's not my innate ability. Whether it's [Wugou], [Magic Charm], or [Immortality], it all comes from an accident. What is the principle of these powers for a mystery that has not been understood so far? What is the price that needs to be paid, have I already paid it? Or is there more price waiting for me to pay?"

fleeting.

The witch whispered, with a little tremor mixed into her voice.

"... I don't know how many points I can get in the end."

This is not such a pleasant topic, and Tingna also realized her gaffe, so she quickly untied the towel and changed the subject.

"...Don't worry about that, although it is indeed a hastily prepared wine."

A complex aroma brushes the nose.

Oak, a touch of fruity, floral fragrance, diluted but still retains the aftertaste of fine wine.

The girl was stunned, and Liliana sat beside the bathtub in a swan-like elegant posture, raised one foot straight and high, and handed the toe to the nose of the girl who was much taller than herself, disdainful of her worries Take a look to answer.

"...I should have told Miss Tina on the airship. Although I never took it seriously, my feet were once called [God's feet] by a critic who also left his name in the history of wine. Feet bestowed], when I was young, I didn’t take it seriously, I thought it was just flattering the Einsteins family, but then I thought about it, he had been famous for many years at that time, and his family background was no less than mine, The harshness of wine is like a ghost...so."

Liliana stared at her own toes, her pitch-black eyes seemed to see through distant time.

"...Probably so, maybe I do have that kind of blessing, so don't worry, the performance for publicity is a success, the name of Masura Winery and my dance will be here, and even Olympia Grace spreads for a while, and wine will succeed, not to mention."

The high raised slender legs were put down, and both feet stepped into the fur boots. Liliana wrapped a luxurious fur coat on her body out of the bath, and after buttoning the buttons, she pulled up the Tina's hand.

"...I even cheated."

When walking down the stairs, everyone in the hall looked up at Liliana and Tingna.

A certain poet who had just staged the death of a famous dictator in history with his body tremblingly raised the quill in his hand, the fist almost knocked him out of breath, but seeing the most noble and beautiful girl tonight Appeared, he still opened his mouth tremblingly.

"Ah, beautiful swan, holy and noble Lady First."

"Damn, that's a metaphor I came up with!"

A poet next to him had blue veins on his forehead, and he really wanted to give this vile and shameless guy a hard time, but Liliana had already looked over, and those black eyes made them maintain their gentlemanly demeanor involuntarily.

Except that dirty poet.

"Honorable Duchess, although I know that my voice and poetry may not be able to move your heart, but for this inspiration that flashes across the night like lightning, I still have to ask for your consent."

"... what is it?"

Liliana looked at him expressionlessly.

"I want to go deeper and use more beautiful words to describe your beauty, specifically, the long neck like a swan, the moist water droplets accumulated in the navel, the toes like cherry blossoms, like strawberries wet in the morning dew, The curves connecting the waist and legs are green and slender, and the gorgeous shells are tightly closed and beaded..."

The faces of the poets changed, the front ones were fine, but what was behind them? Delicious fruit is certainly a beautiful image, but what does he want to use it for?

This was to offend or even blaspheme a nobleman. The editor turned pale. He didn't expect this guy to be so bold as to say such obscene words directly in front of a countess! [4]

Almost as soon as Tina heard the third metaphor, she cast a murderous look over her.

In the literature department she studied in the college, some boys like to write this kind of cryptic and obscene love letters, thinking that this is like the handsome wandering poet in the story, who can impress the noble and unworldly noble lady with a passionate poem , Let her sneak out from home at night, come to the agreed hotel, and drink a glass of sweet spirits with each other.

Some boys with insufficient brains have really done this, but girls always come to puberty earlier than these little boys, and it is even more impossible for children from noble families to be really ignorant of world affairs. The day after these poems were stuffed under the door of noble families, Only their homework tripled.

"... If I don't say yes, you won't use these metaphors?"

Liliana was still calm. She looked at the poet silently and didn't say anything immediately.

"No, nothing can stop my unstoppable admiration for you, but I am not a knight, I cannot hunt monsters and make meritorious deeds to you, I am just a little poet, I can only write the most ardent poem with all my pen and ink, But I won't put this poem in the paper if you don't want to."

The poet spoke frankly with fiery eyes.

"...Then use it, or is there any taboo in my body?"

After speaking, Liliana took Tina's hand and left the monastery, not caring about the excited cheers behind her.

Half an hour has passed, and the score of the last winery has been written on the cardboard, together with the lonely bottle, poorly under the firelight, no one pays attention.

The nobles who left the table sat down again, and they looked at the five judges who finally had a rest for a while, and the five judges were pinching their pocket watches and staring at a clay pot on the table.

In the past, now should be the time to announce the results, but this year, it was postponed because of a performance and a jar of wine.

This may be the only bottle of wine that can be called truly innovative in this tasting in Holly Valley. It uses the oldest and most sacred method of breaking the skin, adding the brewing technology used by the East to brew grain wine, and it takes only half an hour. The vinification time, all of which challenged the common sense of the judges who had soaked in the wine for many years.

It's not that they haven't drunk fast-brewed wine, but it's the first time they've seen such a short-brewed wine.

But at the end of the day, wine has to be drunk.

No matter how innovative the brewing method is, if the quality is not good enough, then it is just meaningless ostentation.

Conversely, as long as the taste is good enough, or simply passable, this kind of wine can get a good score. The only question is... is there only this kind of wine...

Well, let's tell that beautiful lady about this matter after the evaluation is over.

The five judges looked eagerly at the moving pointer on the pocket watch, and at the back door of the monastery not far away. With 2 or 3 minutes left, they held the hand of their secretary. The young but beautiful Foll Lord Sturt appeared in their eyes.

"Mr. Judge."

At this moment, the lady's two maids came to the table and opened the air-conditioned wooden box in their hands.

"The lord asked us to convey that this altar of wine is ready to drink, and the mouth of the altar has been fitted with a filter, please shake it and pour it directly into this chilled glass for drinking."

"Oh, I can't wait."

"Then let's start, there is one last minute before half an hour... half a minute..."

"The judges have started to drink."

Holding Miss Witch's hand, Tina felt the sight of her surroundings.

The eyes that looked at Liliana beside her were almost half the eyes that looked at the judges' seat. The judges had already poured the bright purple wine into the cups and drank it little by little.

"Oh, this taste is... really worthy of the best grapes grown in the most fertile land in the Holly Valley, and the sweetness and sourness are perfect!"

"What a rich fruity taste, it's like crushing grapes and black fruits in your mouth, and there is almost no astringency in the soft taste mixed with the trace of alcoholic coolness..."

"Hmm... like the La Ay wine that Ringo's Year of the Roque Winery is proud of, this soft taste melts into the tip of the tongue, and the fatigue of drinking so much wine seems to be washed away all at once. "

"It's as if a girl's soft toes are dancing on her tongue... Sure enough, only a girl can make delicious wine from grapes with broken feet—"

"I like this wine, Ms. Forster, I like this wine very much, but..."

Approaching the judges' seats, the first thing I heard was full of praise.

It's not a very exaggerated praise, but it is indeed unanimous praise.

But—after Madam Bai Jiesi finished her praise, she sighed with some regret.

“However, I would say that the tannins are quite shallow, like drinking a perfectly prepared cocktail of grape juice mixed with a low-alcohol base wine. If there is no mouthfeel, it will disappear completely. In terms of structure, I will give a very low score."

There was a thump in Tina's heart.

It seems... not right?

"Yes, this glass of wine is suitable for washing the tired tongue after drinking a lot of wine, but... it is not long enough, and the touching fruity taste will disappear soon after the entrance... Yes, after the strong taste at the beginning Will be thinned out quickly with low potential for continued maturation..."

"...But it's still a delicious and novel wine, right? No wine can be perfect, perfect, only the drops of God."

Liliana answered without changing her expression.

The five judges were silent, they exchanged glances, discussed in low voices, and the quills were floating on the cardboard.

In the comments, they can substitute their own subjectivity, but the rating needs to be objective and fair. Then they drank some of this wine, and the expressions of satisfaction and regret changed on their faces.

at last.

"That's right, this is still a delicious and novel wine. The rich and gradually thinning taste is really suitable as the finishing touch after drinking a lot of wine, but."

Viscount Cullens put down the wine glass and spoke to Liliana.

"One more thing, I think Ms. Forster, who participated in the judging meeting for the first time, may not be very clear... Even if she stands out in the provincial judging meeting, before the kingdom judging meeting, the judges of the finals will still be judged. A round of screening, as you know, the tasting is not so much a selection of fine wines, but rather a selection of wineries that produce fine wines, so..."

Looking up, Liliana frowned.

"……therefore?"

"Therefore, they tend to brush off wineries that can only offer one kind of wine to participate in the tasting. The reason is very simple. There must not be only one kind of wine for the offerings of the new year's festival and the year after entering the palace. This is not written in plain language. The rules, however, are very important, and if the Masura cannot come up with a second wine..."

The Viscount shrugged exaggeratedly, staring at the petite witch with an expression of pity from the bottom of his heart.

"There is no way to deliver this wine to the mouths of the final judges."

The judging session got a little boisterous.

Some people were surprised that Liliana didn't know this, and when they looked around, they didn't see Jester and Mary.

Even though the tasting meeting has come to this time, the managers and successors of Chateau Marsula have not appeared?

There are also some people who don't know about it and are asking people around them.

Most of the nobles remained silent, looking at Liliana's frowning eyebrows with expressionless faces.

"...Really, this is really a miscalculation."

The black eyes narrowed, and the witch fell into deep thought.

Even she couldn't react immediately in the face of such a sudden situation.

Tina was completely flustered. She had never heard of this matter from Jeste or Mary, and no one in the winery mentioned it. The two girls in the winery who were still standing in front of the judging table seemed to be Also bewildered.

If you look carefully, the long table displaying scores and wine bottles, indeed, there are very few wineries that do not have two kinds of wine, and all of them are small wineries with low scores.

…Could it be that the reason why Mosula winery often advances in the Valley Tasting but has only won the third place once is actually——

"—Of course Masura Winery can pour our wine into the mouths of the final judges!" The sharp female voice cut through the deadly silence.

When a horrifying thought popped out of Tingna's mind, everyone turned their heads in unison. In the back door of the monastery that Tinna and Liliana had walked through and opened, a cluster of flames paced slowly.

No, that wasn't a flame, it was—red hair like a flame!

It's Mary.

Beside her, Jester, who said he would come after work, was also there, and the father and daughter had not arrived until now.

Like the hero who comes at the climax of the story, he is dressed in costumes, such as red lotus dress and garnet jewelry, overwhelming the fire on both sides of the road.

Where else is the lioness snarling at the witch for a brewing disagreement? This is clearly a proud and beautiful girl. She puts on armor called a gown, uses foundation, lipstick and eye shadow to create a glamorous makeup, and holds the hand of an elegant and steady father to go to the battlefield where there are no swords and blood. !

They walked past their lord and secretary, and when they passed by, Tingna heard a faint "thank you".

The judges saw the weapon in her raised hand—it was a wine bottle, decorated with ancient paper and gold leaf, and the dark glass was so deep under the firelight that the night sky was illuminated at the moment!

"It seems that it's not too late. Since the judging session is not over yet, the judging should still be going on, right?"

Mary spoke, and Jester just stood behind her, like a burly pillar. The judges were hit by this wild voice and looked at each other.

"Then let's try this bottle of wine. Anyway, there is only one wine that Masura Farah de Lisucia winery will give away, isn't it?"

But Mary didn't give them any time to react. This was the second time Tina heard the full name of the winery from Mary. The girl's voice was high and loud, carrying unparalleled pride and glory.

Even the flames flickered.

"However, it's past the time to deliver wine."

The judges looked at each other. This time, Earl Hakuta stood up and used his burly body to fight against the arrogance of the girl like a female teacher.

"...What does it matter, because [Angel's Footsteps] you have already made an exception once, so what does it matter if you make another exception, or rather, if a few of you want to refuse at this time."

At this time, Liliana spoke.

She let go of Tina's hand and stood in front of Mary.

"...The editors of the newspaper office will not let it go."

His face was expressionless and his tone was flat, but the witch's words had incredible power. Earl Hakuta was stunned and looked around. Those manuscript editors whose eyes were bloodshot from the excitement tonight seemed to have a silent cry coming from them. It's like bursting out from the body.

This is a big news that is rarely seen in several years or even ten years. If several judges really refuse, they will use quills and paper-this pair of gadgets that makes countless tyrants and their mistresses fear Treat them well.

This is no joke, and.

"...I see, then, let's taste the second wine of Masura Farah de Lisucia."

They are actually curious about what else is special about Masura Winery.

"very good!"

The new wine glasses are lined up on the flannel table. Mary didn't care that she was wearing a gorgeous dress that almost swept the floor. She walked to the table and poured a deep glass for each judge.

"This, this wine is?!"

Viscount Cullens' expression changed the first time he saw the glass of wine. Is it really wine? It's dark, sticky, and can't see through the light of the fire, like an endless abyss. Anyone who holds this glass of wine must have great courage to lift it up.

But what is this smell?

It was the first time Tina saw this kind of wine, and it was also the first time she smelled the strong, spicy aroma that drifted from the judges' table. She couldn't tell what it was, but Liliana also raised her eyebrows. To begin, take a deep breath.

"...it's an aroma of black cherries, mixed with complex fruit and floral notes..."

The witch's eyes suddenly widened.

But faster than her, Ms. Bai Jiesi called out a name.

"245 years, the great year of Eboldo, [Black City]?!"

"No, although it looks similar and smells similar, it's a completely different thing. It only took 8 hours to complete this bottle of instant wine with the knowledge and experience of my father and me. It can't even be called wine. But drink and watch, this will leave you speechless—”

Mary slowly uttered the extremely heavy words, as if threatened by the female teacher, the elegant lady brought the cup to her lips, and at the same time as the girl said the words, she took the first sip.

"remorse."

"cough!!"

Then sprayed it out immediately.

"so bitter!"

Can't even take into account the lady's elegance, bah bah bah, Mrs. Bai Jiesi turned her head to try to get rid of the smell.

"Drink it, please drink it!"

"Please, please don't go too far! No matter how you say it, can this really be called wine?! It's more bitter than coptis!"

"Of course! If you really know enough about wine and really love wine, you will definitely understand! So, drink it."

"How could it be possible to drink—"

The dispute came to an abrupt end.

The lady who was about to put down the wine glass suddenly seemed to be stunned, and covered her lips with her hand.

"How is it possible! Nutmeg, cloves, nuts, and this wet rock-like mineral smell... so many kinds..."

It lost its voice for the second time, and stared blankly at the hanging cup that was slowly sliding down in the cup with those blue eyes, hesitating, hesitating, her eyes widened, and she took another sip suddenly.

That graceful face was almost wrinkled, but this time she didn't spit it out, she endured, endured, and finally leaned back on the chair as if she was tired and paralyzed, staring blankly at the starless night sky.

"That's right... this is wine... there is such a wine... so tired, the structure is too complicated, too many flavors emerge, it's very tiring to drink, and I don't want to drink it at all, but... but..."

She picked up the glass again.

It's just that this time it's really not drinking.

"... You said, this glass of wine is your regret, isn't it?"

"Ah, the regret for the immature self, the regret for the self-willed self, and everything I have done to myself."

Mary looked at Earl Hakuta fearlessly, her eyes burning like flames.

"Regret is very bitter, very bitter, so bitter that people want to die to be relieved, but it is impossible to be relieved when you die. Remorse will be engraved on your body and on your tombstone. If you want to be free from remorse, you must Just drink it, taste it, until—”

"—until the bitterness fades away, the deepest memory remains forever."

The magician wearing the badge of the Eye of Magnus slowly put down his wine glass.

"What did you guys end up with? Mine were fiery spices. Dried nutmeg, star anise, tangy pepper, yes, after a failed experiment my grumpy teacher grabbed a handful of spices and threw them at me I didn’t realize it for a while, my eyes, mouth and nose were all stuffed, and the smell lingered in my mind all day... Oh, it’s really unbearable to look back on.”

"The last thing left on my side is the sour fruit. After a certain defeat, I was lying on a marching carriage, surrounded by the corpses of my comrades, wrapped tightly in white cloth. The medical soldier told me that we had suffered a complete defeat, and she gave it to me. The unripe berries are nourishing, and the fruit ... is really sour."

Earl Hakuta shook his wine glass, just like Mrs. Bai Jiesi, leaning back in the chair feeling extremely tired.

"This is wine, this complex taste, this rich aroma, all the bitterness and bitterness mixed with a faint grape sweetness, although it is not perfect, but this is wine ... unique aroma, complex structure, but this mouthfeel The taste is so terrible that you can't drink it even if you pinch your nose, and the terroir, the flavor of the First Collar grape is completely ruined!"

"Even so, this is a delicious wine, right? Although the taste is different! It hasn't been brewed for a long time, but..."

Not caring about such comments, Mary slapped the long table hard, causing the quill and cardboard to jump.

After finishing speaking, Mary turned her head back and looked at Liliana, Tina, and Jester standing behind them.

"Grapes and magic plants, baking and fermentation, my stubbornness and my father's flexibility, what is the taste of this bottle of wine infused with regret?"

She smiled confidently, almost arrogantly.

Tina nervously looked at Mary's back. If such an attitude caused resentment, then——

"...I remember that until last year, the wines of the Marsula winery were still very balanced, traditional and excellent wines, but this year is so extreme..."

But the girl's worry seemed unnecessary. Viscount Cullens shook his head, put down his wine glass, and looked directly into Mary's fiery eyes.

"Back off, we are going to write the score."

"excuse me."

Mary nodded, turned and walked off the stage.

When she walked to Liliana and Tingna, this time, the girl looked at Liliana.

"...I'm sorry for causing you a lot of trouble."

Lifting the hem of the skirt awkwardly, she bent down towards Liliana.

"...are you no longer attached?"

"Hey, I'm still stuck with Masura's glory, and what I want to do hasn't changed, it's just..."

Mary waved her fist in protest.

"It's just not cutting corners anymore, is it?"

Jester added lightly, and Mary, who was still aggressive at first, drooped all of a sudden.

She turned her face a little dissatisfied, but the ears leaking from the hair were as fiery red as the hair that was shinier than usual.

Liliana and Alice looked at Jester, tilted their heads to look at Mary, and finally stared at Tina.

"...Did Miss Tina do something?"

"Why, why does Miss Liliana think I did it?"

"...Because Alice said it?"

"...Miss Alice?"

Ting Na's heart skipped a beat, she quickly looked at Alice in Liliana's arms, but the little puppet blinked innocently, looked at Ting Na and sighed.

"Alice didn't say anything, Miss Tingna was the one who got tricked."

"..."

silence.

Tingna messed up Miss Witch's hair without saying a word.

"...So what did you do?"

"It's a secret."

"……Yeah?"

"That's right."

Tina puffed up her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

"It's not a secret between Miss Alice and me, it's a secret between Miss Mary and Jester's father and daughter."

"...Understood, then, I won't ask too much, Mary, come here and say hello to the Eswald family."

"??! You and that despicable—"

"Despicable or not—"

Before Mary could speak, Liliana's sudden increase in volume overwhelmed her.

"Wild or not, don't let anyone know what you think, and remember, hug your enemies so that you can stab them deadly in the chest."

"oh……"

The ferocious lioness turned into a docile kitten in front of the little queen.

Watching this scene, Ting Na couldn't help laughing, after Liliana took Mary away.

"Thank you very much, Miss Tina."

The man standing upright thanked the girl.

"...I didn't do anything. I just heard the reasons for her confusion from Miss Mary, understood the reasons for her stubbornness, and then told these to Mr. Jeste. It's better to let the family members handle this kind of thing. It would be better to enlighten..."

Jester shook his head, he was smiling, very relieved and relaxed, as if the fatigue and stress of the past few days had disappeared.

"That's enough. Mary's child hides many things in her heart. I don't know at all. Although the lord is knowledgeable, he is still a child when faced with emotions as delicate as wine... probably , still can't understand..."

The middle-aged father who changed today's itinerary because of the girl's words looked at Ting Na solemnly and bowed to her.

"...No, I don't understand, I just forgot."

"Miss Tina?"

"Please don't say that about Miss Liliana, it's not that Miss Liliana doesn't know about such things, it's just that."

must.

Tingna tightly tightened the ring on her hand.

Just because of too long time, too long journey and forget, just.

"It's just, that's all..."

"...It was me who overstepped."

Jester was silent for a long time, then lowered his head slightly.

"Now, Mr. Jester, although the question has already been asked and is very rude..."

After Ting Na hesitated for a while, she still spoke cautiously.

"I know what Miss Tina you want to ask, and my answer will not change."

Jester closed his eyes calmly, and looked at the gorgeous red hair among the nobles—the men in the Northland were all tall, and when they gathered together, Furs could only be seen from the gap between their legs. The beautiful long hair of the special little lord.

"I love that woman, and I love Mary. At first, I got Mary back because of that love, but now, Mary is my daughter, and I am Mary's father. Is that enough?"

"...No, ten is enough."

Tina nodded quietly.

At this time, the group of writers and editors who had already been red-eyed suddenly started making noise. Tina and Jester turned their heads and saw them rushing out of the venue like a pack of hungry wolves. towards the pier.

"???"

Tina was stunned when she saw this for the first time, but Jester shook his head as if he was surprised.

"In order to compete for the first extra issue, these people are also working very hard. From this point of view... the score has also come out. So far, thanks to the blessing of the lord and Miss Tingna, they finally won. Today There will be a grand celebration banquet at the party, so the crisis of Masura Winery has finally been completely passed."

"...Well, I finally won."

On the long table where wine bottles and scores were arranged where they all dispersed, a clay pot and a wine bottle were placed.

The score written on the card in front of that is.

——【4】

There is a more detailed score next to this number. Except for the taste which is 1, the other scores, especially the innovation, are all very high.

Looking at the number, Ting Na was stunned for a long, long time, and then she showed a smile of relief or regret.

"...It's just that I can't be with you in the future."

"Miss Tina?"

"No, nothing."

The girl smiled and shook her head, her blond hair fluttering in the firelight, she looked at the calendar somewhere in the corridor where she and Liliana were sitting and chatting in the afternoon, turned and walked towards the person who had already greeted the nobles and came over. Liliana and Mary with a stiff smile on her face.

Tongli, the year of black flowers, the 22nd day of the month without stars and moon, at 2:63 in the middle of the night.

There are still 6 days left until the final of the Olympian Wine Tasting.

………………………………………………………………………………

A letter from a certain day:

Sincerely,

Miss Tina Von Sia. After noticing that this snow pigeon was standing still on the mailbox outside your house, I got the letter in it on my own initiative and wrote this reply letter. For this matter, I would like to apologize to you here, and I hope you can Forgive this last resort. As far as the conclusion is concerned, your parents survived the trip to the Glory City unscathed. To them, the incident that caused many casualties was like "an extraordinarily exciting episode", and they even saved their lives. I bought an orc trader, these are their words at the end of the trip when they invited me to several dinners, and in my opinion, they were basically unaffected. They miss you very much. After your long journey, they often say that, but not long ago, they accepted the invitation of the businessman they rescued, and now they are traveling to the far north, and the estimated travel time is until the month of Advent. So even if you don't see them when you come back, they leave me a message and hope that if you write, it will be conveyed like this. ——Sure enough, you will know that the trip is very happy after you have experienced it. Remember to come back for the New Year in the Advent month. above. ——Ai Lifu's calendar, the year of the black flower, the moon of star frost, 22nd