Before these guards could come up with a better solution, Cesare carefully carried Crocia behind him. "Don't be afraid Crocia...I'm here."
As if hearing her brother's voice, Crocia's painful expression relaxed a little, but the girl's arm also began to ooze blood, and the blood mixed with black mucus stained the clothes on Cesare's back.
Then, Cesare tentatively passed by the guards. Although no one stopped him from leaving, no one took the initiative to get out of the way. The guards just stood there, like silent statues, watching Cesare leave with his sister on his back.
The sun was shining brightly, but it was so dazzling. Cesare walked out of the gate of the mission hospital and came to the gray street. When pedestrians on the road saw Cesare carrying his sister on his back, some avoided him, and some looked at him with distressed expressions. eyes, but without exception, no one chose to help.
Cesare's previous injury when he fell off the carriage had not healed. Since all the money he had was used to heal his sister's wounds, his own injuries were not treated at all.
At this moment, the wound that had barely healed itself opened again, and the boy's blood was flowing down his trousers, forming an ascetic's path of thorns on the street.
The pain in his body could not stop Cesare from moving forward. Under the pressure of time, he even accelerated his pace, heading towards a place that he was not sure existed.
Passing through the streets and several alleys, Cesare came to the old city, the slum area hidden under Karl's bright appearance. Cesare had visited it not long ago when he attended the auction.
Just like then, the entire area here is gray in tone. Old buildings stand twisted and twisted on the ground, forming a maze of obstacles. They seem to be in danger of collapse at any time. Black birds are circling in the sky, and the sand and dust seem to have solidified. Time has made it impossible for the poor people here to escape their fate.
Beggars and unemployed workers fell on the roadside, some of which seemed to have a rotten smell. Their eyes were like vultures looking at Cesare and the girl on his back. Speculating on what these people were thinking would only increase their inner uneasiness. .
Going around and around, Cesare relied only on his long-standing memory to find his target in the similar shabby houses on both sides of the path, avoiding the homeless people with suspicious motives who stood in front of him, and heard from the cries of children and the rustling curses. Staying awake in the sound, Cesare finally stood in front of an old wooden door.
There was a crude sign of a cross carved on the door, but otherwise there were no other signs of information in the whole house. Cesare adjusted his sister's posture and freed one hand to knock the wooden door lightly, but there was no response from the door.
Unwilling to give up, Cesare knocked on the door again. This time he knocked harder and louder than last time. At first, there was still no response, but then the sound of some glass bottles colliding with each other came from inside the door. Cesare suddenly saw hope, so he knocked on the door harder.
The door was slowly opened with a gap from the inside. The room was pitch black without any light source. An iron chain was vaguely visible tied to the door lock to prevent anyone from breaking in by force. A smell of low-quality alcohol rushed out from inside, almost making Cesare couldn't help but retreat. After getting used to it, he looked carefully into the crack in the door.
An old face was looking up and down at the sudden visitor...
There were many visitors in the ancient castle. They gathered in the hall to discuss something due to an unexpected situation. The sounds of quarrels and stamping of feet could not be heard.
The young boy stood outside the door of the hall. Next to him was a guard wearing a black veil who was guarding the door. The guard did not choose to drive away the little boy's approach or even made any move. He looked ahead as if he had not seen it. .
The little boy wanted to peek through the crack in the door to see what was happening in the hall. He raised his eyes and looked at the guard. Seeing that he had no intention of organizing, he carefully pushed the door open a crack and put his eyes on it.
There are no seats prepared for everyone in the hall. Some people sit, some stand, and some lean on the wall. People's clothing also varies, from luxurious fabrics of nobles to coarse cloths of common people. You can see all the dirty clothes, and the completely different status does not affect the distance and posture between them.
Even more exaggerated, there is an old man with pale hair and beard sitting on the ground, taking out a bottle of wine and drinking alone. Everyone present is participating in the most comfortable way. It was a serious meeting, more like a strange private gathering.
The Earl stood in the middle of the hall and paced back and forth. Janos and Garber could still be seen on one side of the hall. They were communicating with the people around them, with serious expressions, and sometimes they would argue fiercely.
The entire hall was extremely chaotic in the boy's eyes. Everyone was talking to themselves, and it was difficult to hear what they were arguing about. At this moment, the earl in the middle suddenly stood still, and he tried to straighten his back. His figure, tapping the ground with his stick, attracted everyone's attention.
"That's enough, everyone, calm down." The Earl looked around the crowd, and when he looked towards the door, he seemed to pay more attention intentionally or unintentionally. "Mr. Andel, you said you didn't agree to treat the girl...tell me why."
"With all due respect, Your Excellency, I think explanations on this matter are redundant, but if someone doesn't even want to understand such a simple thing, I don't mind elaborating on my point of view again." A well-dressed senior official said A gentleman stood up. He first bowed to everyone, and then said firmly.
"First of all, this herb is not a herbal medicine for treating diseases. Our understanding of it requires more experiments and research. Today, this plant is not only scarce in production but also difficult to preserve and store. Even our laboratory lacks this plant. Of fresh samples, it is obvious that this waste is extremely unwise!”
Just as the tall gentleman finished speaking, a dark-skinned man dressed in farmer's clothing at the other end of the hall stood up again, pointing at the tall gentleman's nose and loudly accusing him. "Do you think saving a child's life is a waste! Is human life more important or your broken grass roots!? If it were your child, would you be able to say such a thing!"
"You are blurring the essence of the problem and shifting the focus." The gentleman frowned in displeasure.
"Besides, I have stated very seriously at the beginning of this meeting that the ability of this herb to cure infection is only theoretically feasible. In fact, from experiments and real examples, the toxins of this plant itself have a certain probability of accelerating infection. The spread of infection may even distort the infection and produce unpredictable results. Is this ethical?"
However, the dark-skinned man didn't seem to give up, and he still retorted.
"If we don't do anything, the girl will die. Since we have a way to cure her, why not give it a try? Even if it sounds harsh, once it succeeds this time, maybe our crows will be like this too. Isn’t it okay to treat a milestone over the years as an experiment to cure a child?”
The man's words sparked another discussion, and the entire hall was slowly covered by people's quarrels. The little boy behind the door realized that the girl they were talking about was probably the silver-haired girl that Janos had brought before. Their discussion at this time would determine the life or death of the girl... The hall did not regain calm until the count knocked on the ground again. .
"It sounds really ugly to treat that girl as an experiment, but Mr. Andel, do you think this is feasible?" The Earl looked at the tall gentleman.
Ander rubbed his chin and hesitated for a moment, then spread his hands. "I personally still don't recommend consuming the reserves of Forgettable Grass for this kind of thing, but if you insist on doing so, then there is only one problem left." Andel's eyes glanced around, and then he shrugged helplessly.
"The girl's surname is not Hunyadi. We all know that Najib is a good man, but he and his family do not belong to the Crow Flock. We have no example of experimenting with the lives of outsiders since ancient times, and even if it is true, After curing the little girl, what should we do with the confidentiality? Do we have to lock her in a dungeon for the rest of her life to ensure that she will not leave the earldom? I don't mind."
"What if she is brought into the family?" a voice in the crowd said. The little boy followed the voice and saw Janos's serious expression.
"Then you need a reasonable reason. Merging into the Crow Flock is no joke. Everyone present should know very well that in our line of work... to put it bluntly, it would be better to die."
There was silence in the hall for a long time, and then discussions continued for a while, but no accurate answer was obtained. People obviously didn't have endless time to spend here, and it didn't take long for someone to ask to leave. Seeing that the meeting was about to end, the little boy hurriedly left the door and hid in the nearest corner.
Weird people walked out of the hall one after another, some with solemn expressions and others with indifferent expressions. The boy stared closely at everyone passing in front of him, including the gentleman named Andel, the dark-skinned farmer, János and Gabe. When the crowd finally dispersed, the sick count walked toward him with his cane. When they came here, the little boy suddenly jumped out and stood in front of the count.
"It's you, why are you here?" The count was very confused, but his expression did not look surprised at all, but he quickly showed a kind smile. "Let me guess...have you finished reading all the books, or are there places on the bookshelf that are out of reach?"
The boy looked up at the count and opened his mouth to say something, but then lowered his head hesitantly.
"It doesn't matter. Just say whatever you want. As long as it's your suggestion, I will try my best to do it."
"I think..." The boy raised his head again and finally spoke under the count's encouraging eyes.
"I want to save her..."
"Oh?" The earl's eyes narrowed to a slit, shining with a strange light in the afterglow of the setting sun.
"You want to save that girl's life? That's very good."
The candles on the copper candlesticks on the side were extinguished in a gust of cold wind. A faint musty smell came from Ali at the end of the corridor. The crow mural hanging on the wall seemed to stare at the two of them. At this time, a flock of crows was heard outside the castle.
