After entering the banquet hall, the atmosphere inside is a little different from the one outside.
how to say...
Vivian thinks it can be described as "undisciplined".
Because it was obviously time for the dinner to start. As you can imagine, there was no scene where everyone sat down in an orderly manner according to their assigned seats, and Earl Thistle came on stage to deliver a speech to kick off tonight's fund-raising event. occur.
On the contrary, everyone was still at the venue, walking around casually, eating, drinking and chatting.
Tonight was clearly under the banner of a "banquet", an important "parliament" for refugees outside the city, but it seemed like it had really turned into an ordinary social dinner for nobles.
And the main reason for all this...
Vivian looked at the empty host table in the center of the banquet hall with worried eyes.
Count Thistle, who was supposed to be hosting the banquet on stage at this moment, was nowhere to be seen.
"Lord Earl...are you late?" The little girl muttered to herself with a bad premonition in her heart.
After hearing this, her new friend, Sima, who was traveling with her, immediately comforted her competently:
"I guess I was delayed by something. It doesn't matter. This kind of situation is very common Vivian. We can just wait."
"Um."
Seeing that the little girl looked a little more relieved after being comforted by him, Xima actually sneered in her heart.
Because it's fast.
Counting the time, the news she deliberately revealed should be transmitted soon, right?
Seema looked at the clock in the banquet hall.
as expected.
A few minutes later, one after another, servants began to whisper something in the ears of their noble master.
"What did you say!?"
"Are you sure the news is reliable?"
"It can't be fake, right? Who has the courage..."
"Hmph, I know that as long as you dare to touch this piece of fat outside the city, even the earl..."
"Tsk, tsk, this is really fun..."
There were uproar among the nobles at the banquet.
It quickly turned into a commotion.
Everyone began to whisper to each other, gathering together in groups of twos and threes, discussing something passionately in low voices.
Some of the nobles looked surprised, others shook their heads with regret, and most of them looked like they were watching from afar, looking forward to the subsequent revelations.
The already scattered dinner scene became even more noisy and chaotic.
"what happens?"
Seeing the sudden change in the scene, Vivian's heart sank. She vaguely anticipated something.
After that, Sima, who pretended to be looking for someone to ask, actually only walked around for half a circle, then quickly returned to the little girl, and whispered to Vivian with an expression of disbelief:
"It's broken! Vivian, Lord Earl Thistle... something happened! No! It's not the earl who is in trouble, it's the earl's daughter, the eldest lady!"
"What!? Liz, Liz, what happened to her?"
Vivian actually felt something was wrong from the beginning.
Because Lisi had obviously made an agreement with her to accompany her to the banquet, but the eldest lady was still missing.
"I heard what others said, and I don't know whether it's true or not, but it seems that the earl's daughter was... kidnapped by unknown forces on her way to the banquet!"
"Kidnapping?!?"
Vivian suddenly stood up from her seat.
She clenched her palms tightly, and without even thinking about it, she was about to walk outside as soon as her mind became hot.
As if she had expected it, Xima quickly grabbed the little girl.
"Vivian, what are you going to do?"
"Let me go, Sima, Liz needs me now, I have to save her!"
After Vivian spoke anxiously, Sima did not let go.
Of course she wouldn't let go. After all, everything tonight was planned for the little girl in front of her. How could she let Vivian go?
At this time, she helped Vivian out of trouble, presented invitations, and the "temporary friend" she pretended to be with the little girl played a key role.
"Vivian, I know you are anxious, but calm down and think about it carefully. What is the use of your past now? Do you know the identity of the kidnapper? Do you know where Miss Liz is imprisoned?"
"But..."
Vivian was interrupted just as she was about to retort.
"I heard that the earl has mobilized almost half of the city's guards to look for his daughter. I believe there will be news soon. What's more, even if the kidnappers were given a hundred courages, they would not dare to hurt a single one. The earl’s daughter, right?”
"But what I want to say more is, Vivian, you have to think carefully about why those kidnappers took such a huge risk to kidnap an earl's daughter at this juncture."
Sima was good at persuading Vivian little by little.
And the even more terrible thing is that there is indeed not a single lie in what Sima said, it is all the truth.
So it's no wonder Vivian was led away by the nose.
"What do you mean..." It's impossible for the little girl not to react at this point.
"That's right! Vivian, the kidnappers seem to be kidnapping, but in fact, their real goal is tonight's fund-raising party!"
"They want to use this method to make the count absent and prevent the fundraiser from being held! To prevent the refugees outside the city from rebuilding their homes!"
After Sima came up with this conclusion, Vivian suddenly showed a rare expression of anger.
"Why, why do they do this!"
"There are many reasons. After all, in the eyes of many underground forces, the refugees outside the city are resources and a huge consumer group. They can make huge profits by selling the supplies necessary for the refugees at high prices. Naturally, they are I don’t want to see this cash cow fall.”
"How could... be like this!" Vivian frowned tightly and breathed a little faster.
One of the things that a little girl hates and hates the most is to benefit herself by hurting others.
Seeing that Vivian's emotions had been aroused by her, the corners of Sima's mouth curved upward for a brief moment.
Tonight, she was going to teach this simple and innocent girl from the countryside a lesson.
Let the other party know that in Huodian City, the first rule of survival for the upper class is... don't be a good person!
"So, Vivian, do you understand? What you should do now is not to look for Miss Liz like a headless fly. The place where you are needed more right now...is here!"
"You can't let down the fundraising dinner that the Earl has worked so hard to organize, and you can't let the underground forces behind the kidnappers succeed!"
"Vivian, what you are carrying now are the hopes of tens of thousands of refugees outside the city. I don't think Miss Liz would want to see you shatter the hopes of tens of thousands of refugees because of her. Continue A tough life without a home, right?”
Sima put one ring after another on Vivian's body, one high hat after another.
In terms of controlling people's hearts, indeed, how can a young girl who is just starting out be compared with a scheming nobleman.
As expected.
After hesitating and struggling for a long time, Vivian finally chose the latter, that is, to stay and let her host the fundraising dinner instead of Earl Thistle!
"Don't be afraid of Vivian, I will accompany you and be your assistant!"
"Thank you, thank you so much, Sima. Without you, I...I might really have made the wrong decision and failed the Earl and Liz's expectations of me." Vivian's words came from her heart.
Sima shook her head.
"Don't be like this Vivian, although we have only known each other for a short time, we are still friends after all."
"Friends...should help each other."
With Sima's encouragement, Vivian took the hosting position that should have belonged to Count Thisle alone.
It can still be seen from this that the little girl has grown up.
If it were the original country girl, just a bunch of brightly dressed nobles in the audience would be frightened to the point of paralysis and speechlessness.
Where will it be like now?
Vivian first used a simple amplification magic to force the nobles who were still talking about the kidnapping of the earl's daughter into forced silence, and their voices were drowned out by the little girl.
After attracting everyone's attention, Vivian revealed her identity. Since the Earl was unable to attend, she would temporarily take his place. This time, no one questioned the little girl. The release of the magic just now was enough proof.
The first step was successful, Vivian encouraged herself secretly.
Then, she began to explain to the nobles in the audience what she had observed today about the difficult conditions of the refugees outside the city and the urgent need for support in the city. She, Vivian, as the person in charge of the reconstruction work, Strong determination and belief.
So far, it seems that the effect is pretty good. At least the nobles in the audience are still listening. Their eyes are all focused on the little girl. They don't say anything, get up and leave, or burst out in anger.
Of course, how much of this is due to concern for the refugee situation outside the city, or is it just out of curiosity, observation, or...admiration for Vivian, a rookie in Fire Code City? That's unknown.
But the good times didn't last long.
Or maybe it’s the inevitable outcome.
At the end of Vivian's speech, when she mentioned the most important "fundraising" and "money", under the little girl's expectant eyes, only a handful of young nobles were willing to selflessly donate one or two Come on.
As for the vast majority of the remaining people, especially the older, truly rich and powerful nobles, it seemed as if everything had been agreed upon, and all of them were indifferent, drinking tea quietly.
But the silence was not their purpose.
Soon, a representative who should have been arranged long ago took the place of the others and said what they meant.
Very simple.
That is distrust.
There is no doubt that Vivian's fighting ability is indeed very strong, but they have doubts about managing the donations, whether she will be corrupt, whether she can make good use of the money, and whether she is qualified to lead the reconstruction work.
No one wants to waste their money, this is human nature.
Vivian can understand and has thought about this situation for a long time.
But no matter what the little girl said, the nobles in the audience were unmoved. At this time, it was Sima's turn to appear.
Xima was very cryptic, and after exchanging glances with several high-ranking nobles who had made appointments in advance...
She looked like she could no longer stand being a friend and wanted to go on stage to help Vivian.
After walking onto the stage, Seema cursed the nobles.
The lines are similar to those of the previous guard, probably because you are all blind, how can Vivian not be qualified, she must be able, and so on.
But at the end, as if out of anger, Sima pretended to be angry and said to the nobles in the audience:
"Hmph, how can you trust Vivian? Do you have to force her to sign a gambling contract with you before she will give up!?"
As soon as Xima said these words, several nobles who had made secret arrangements immediately stopped being silent and spoke.
"The gambling contract... Well, this is indeed a good idea. If Miss Vivian is really willing, then we have nothing to say. We will absolutely trust Miss Vivian and be willing to help the refugees outside the city. , make a small donation.”
"Really...really!?"
"All we need to do is sign a... gambling contract with everyone?"
Vivian, who was born in the countryside, didn't even know what a gambling contract was.
She just saw that after Sima's call, the nobles actually relaxed.
As Vivian's "good friend", Sima quickly grabbed the little girl and whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear:
"Are you crazy Vivian! How dare you sign something like a gambling contract with them!? Do you know what that is!"
"Yes, what is it?" Vivian shook her head in confusion.
"Oops! This is very complicated. To put it simply, it means you make a bet with the nobles. They bet on whether you can complete a certain amount of reconstruction work indicators within the specified time."
"If you reach it, it means they lost the bet, and they will increase their donation to you free of charge and unconditionally in the future. But if you don't reach it, it means you lost the bet..."
"The consequences will be very serious! They will make you compensate several times the amount they donated to you! It is enough to make you deeply in debt and completely bankrupt!"
Sima explained to Vivian very conscientiously. There was no lie at all, but there were just a few consequences.
For example, according to the laws of Huodian City, if the amount of debt is too large and cannot be repaid, the debtor will be deprived of his personal freedom and will be at the mercy of the creditor.
This is the law recognized by the God of Fire when the city was founded, and no one can violate it.
Unless, of course, one day Vulcan is gone.
"No, Vivian, you don't understand this. The risk is too great. I know you are kind-hearted, and there are many refugees from your village outside the city, but...but you can't risk yourself for them. Come on in!"
Sima pretended to stop it, but actually secretly named her. Among the refugees was Vivian's villager.
As expected, what he got in return was a shake of the head from the little girl.
"You...!" I have to admire Sima, or in other words, she is borrowing Sima's acting skills.
It's really like the kind of helpless anger after being unable to persuade someone.
The voices of the nobles in the audience also sounded in cooperation at this time.
"Miss Sima, if Vivian is really powerful, this gambling contract would rather mean that we have suffered a big loss. Or is it that the confidence Miss Vivian talks about is just for a contract? Are you already feeling guilty?"
Seeing that Xima was going to confront the nobles for herself, Vivian rarely interrupted her with a voice.
The little girl turned around and scanned the eyes of the nobles in the audience.
"No more words."
"If only in this way can everyone really trust me and be willing to hand over the funds for reconstruction to me..."
Take a deep breath.
Vivian closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she was filled with determination.
"Then I am also willing...to sign this gambling contract!"
After the little girl said this.
The nobles in the audience laughed.
Standing behind the little girl, out of sight of Vivian, Sima also smiled.
Of course, there was another one, a very young baron who also attended tonight's banquet, and also laughed.
Teddy recalled the secret conversation last night on the rooftop under the night of Huodian City, which was illuminated by blazing flames.
It really is...
It cannot be said to be completely similar to what the elder brother expected. I can only say that it is exactly the same!
Teddy would like to call it...
A game within a game within a game!
Now, just wait for the last protagonist to appear.
Speaking of which, can eldest brother really find the kidnapped rich lady?
Bah bah bah!
After not seeing my eldest brother for a day, my bad habit of "supporting role" happened again.
At this time, an unconventional way of saying it would be...
Even if the kidnapper is the largest underground treasure-stealing group rumored to be, even if it is said that the city guards dispatched half of the city, they still can't find it.
But...
Ha, for the eldest brother, it should be just a trivial matter, a piece of cake, right? No, maybe the eldest brother has already rescued the young lady by now, striking while the iron is hot, and talking about love!
All I need to do now is...
Teddy opened his eyes.
I was looking forward to it with great anticipation for the banquet that had just been staged tonight.
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