Liu Ge looked at Mei Ke, his eyes a little surprised.
She heard respect for Lecco from Meiko's tone, which Meiko had never shown before. When talking about Lecco, Meike's words are closer to the way he would comment on the legendary figure when chatting in the market - "This guy is really awesome."
To put it bluntly, it is a kind of "admiration" that arises because you have never met a real person, but because the other person's deeds are real and amazing.
In fact, this attitude of respect is not that easy to generate. Most people are proud. Unless, you can realize how amazing this person’s actions are, and this is divided into two different situations:
First, you and the other party are doing or want to do the same thing. You have not done it but the other party has done it, and you are convinced by the other party's results.
In this case, even if you have never met the other person, the respect generated will not be compromised at all. Because you are also the one doing this, you can understand the hardship of the process and the difficulty of the results.
Second, you have gained tangible benefits from the other party's actions.
More than half of the people in the empire are in this second situation.
Generally speaking, compared to the former, the latter will be slightly less emotional. After all, you don't know the other party. Although you have gained actual benefits, it is not easy to understand that it was hard-won.
When you talk about the other person, you will be more filled with admiration and affection, similar to the way you would a character in a storybook.
But if you see the process of the other party's efforts, the situation will be reversed.
When you can understand that the benefits you receive are hard-won and are the result of the other person's hard work, you will respect the other party more. If you have actual contact with him, the attitude of respect will usually gradually transition to respect and love.
People in the imperial capital have this kind of feeling towards Lecco.
Logically speaking, such feelings should not appear in Meiko. Liu Ge knew that although Mei Ke and An were also from the Empire, their hometowns were far away from the Empire. If the empire's territory hadn't experienced expansion, Mei Ke's hometown would have been almost on the border.
If Mei Ke admires and loves Leko, then Liu Ge can understand it, and the same attitude that Mei Ke has shown in the past. But now Liu Ge feels from Meike's words that they are very similar to the residents of the imperial capital.
Liu Ge didn't think about it, so he simply asked: "Who is that adult?"
"It's Lord Regent Leko..." Mei Ke reflected for a while before she understood what Liu Ge was really asking, "By the way, I haven't mentioned it to you."
"What?"
Mei Ke scratched her nose in embarrassment and said, "I've seen Lord Lecco before."
"...Huh?" Liu Ge's eyes widened unconsciously.
Meiko actually met Lecco? ?
"Why have you never mentioned it before?!" Liu Ge's voice got louder uncontrollably.
This is almost something that can completely shatter the expectations of the Leonhardt brothers and sisters. As long as Meiko opens her mouth, she will be convinced that Shi'an and Leko are two different people.
"The reason is very complicated... I will tell you slowly." Meiko was silent for a while, and then said in a low voice, "The opportunity to meet Lord Lecco is not worth being happy at all for me and An."
"Do you remember that I said that our hometown is a border area on the old map of the empire?"
"Um."
"Then do you remember what An told us about how Mr. Hutto got acquainted with Mr. Lecco?"
Liu Ge suddenly recalled what An said and understood what the opportunity was that Mei Ke said.
--war.
Liu Ge also figured out the reason why Mei Ke said that the opportunity to meet Leko was not worthy of joy, and she fell silent.
"Yes, it's war, a hateful war."
Mei Ke continued to talk, her mood was calm, as if she was talking about other people's things.
"As you can probably imagine, border areas are always the most prone to conflicts between countries. Before the Unification War, such conflicts were particularly serious. When I was born, the situation was intense, and those who could afford to move People have basically left the village, and those who are unable or unwilling to leave have two things they are most skilled at: hiding and building.”
"There's no way. If you're not skilled, it's easy to..." Mei Ke spread her hands and slumped her shoulders.
Liuge pursed her lips.
"...Don't be like this, I'm not saying this to make you pity me." Mei Ke smiled and touched Liu Ge's cheek, "It sounds serious, but it's actually not bad. Because I'm good at hiding and rebuilding, life in the village is very different. It's not bad compared to other places with similar conditions, otherwise my parents wouldn't have thought to give birth to An."
"When Ann was born, our family was very happy, and it happened to be a relatively stable period at that time. We made a very sumptuous dinner by the standards at that time. Unfortunately, I could still eat it at that time, but Ann couldn't do anything about it. ." Mei Ke smiled.
Smiling, Mei Ke's expression slowly calmed down: "Maybe it's because of lack of nutrition. An was a bit dull when she was young, and she still can't speak at the age of four. In other respects, she is normal, and her physical fitness is even better than that of her age. The children in the village must be good. People in the village, including parents, simply thought that An was born mute."
"If I hadn't accidentally heard him calling me sister in a low voice, I would probably have thought so." Mei Ke smiled bitterly, and then sighed and felt proud, "At that time, who would have thought that he would grow into such an outstanding person today."
Mei Ke's narration stopped, and Liu Ge did not disturb her.
After a while, Mei Ke got up and sat on the sofa, hugging Liu Ge.
After doing this, she continued: "On the eve of the Unification War, when I was almost ten years old, the situation became more serious than before. The frequency of border conflicts became more and more frequent. On several occasions, people in the village Before they all hid, someone rushed in. Needless to say, the consequences for those who didn’t have time to hide..."
"I was frightened. An also buried her head and refused to lift her head. My parents kept trying to comfort us. But no matter how good the words are, it is true that life is getting worse and worse. The atmosphere in the village is getting more and more depressing, and some people even He said that if this continues, even if he is not killed by people from other countries, he will be sent as cannon fodder by the empire."
"People started to leave the village again. Some people ran to the mainland, and some ran to other countries. Even if it was later learned that the situation in the mainland during that period was not better than the border, everyone's understanding at that time was that there was no place like the border. It's worse."
"Those who stayed think that after all, they are more familiar with the village. After so many years, as long as they are quick and quick, there won't be any big problems. Our family also thinks this way."
Mei Ke buried her head on Liu Ge's shoulder and said with dark eyes: "But some people regard us as surrender certificates - in order to gain a foothold in other countries."
Liu Ge trembled, and she hurriedly hugged Mei Ke back.
After a long time, Mei Ke's complexion finally improved due to the transfer of body temperature.
"Only An and I are left at home..."
"Stop talking!" Liu Ge interrupted.
"It doesn't matter, it's been so long..."
"Stop talking, Mei Ke." Liu Ge interrupted again, and she hugged Mei Ke tighter.
"It's really okay, Liu Ge. Thank you." Mei Ke patted Liu Ge on the back, "I walked out a long time ago, otherwise I wouldn't be able to build a theater troupe."
Mei Ke talked for a long time before Liu Ge let go. Leaving the hug, Meiko turned her arms around Ruge's shoulders.
She continued: "An and I were rescued by Mr. Leko who arrived with troops. Hui An had already fainted. I hugged him and ran until my strength was exhausted."
"Master Leko dealt with all the people who caused trouble in the village and buried the unfortunate villagers. Those who survived are very, very grateful to him."
"When I was holding An and sitting in front of my parents' graves in a daze, I saw Mr. Leko standing alone by the villagers' graves and crying, saying that he was late. At that time, I felt that this man who was not a few years older than me , How amazing!" Mei Ke cried a little, but also smiled at the same time, her words were full of respect for Lecco.
"Master Leko discovered us quickly. After understanding the situation, he took us with him and took care of us for about half a month. After settling the people in the village, he took them outside the border."
"More than ten days later, he came back with a man tied up and knelt beside the cemetery. The man looked familiar to me, but later I found out why our hiding place was known to others."
"Sir Leko did not let the villagers take action and dealt with this man himself. As soon as he said hello to me and An, someone ran up to him and said something, and then he ran away to another place."
"Everyone in the village thought he went to save other people."
Mei Ke's mood improved a lot.
"Later on, life began to get better and better, and there were more and more people in the village. Many people came back. After the food got better, An's performance became more and more brilliant. However, he was stimulated and could not remember clearly. It was about my parents, and I was afraid that he would have another accident, so I never told him the truth."
Mei Ke sighed. She noticed Liu Ge's depressed expression and laughed a few times:
"You know, because Lord Leko took care of us for half a month, many people came to the village to see us, including those big shots with status. Later, those people's behavior became more and more excessive, and I was I was so annoyed that I ran out of the village."
"An only knew that I was very popular and protected me closely, but he didn't know that as he grew older, he was actually more attracted to those people. The people in the village almost broke down the doorstep when they knew about Master Leko's appearance, and they kept coming to the door. Promote your own girl.”
"After I discovered that he looked more and more like Master Leko, I quickly roped him into the troupe."
"The reason why I don't mention my acquaintance with Mr. Leko is to reduce such trouble."
