Griffith silently watched the people in the room, and they all looked at him expectantly. No one spoke, only the crackling of wood in the fire.
"I am the commander of the second-class assault squadron of the Guards, Griffith de Ravenel." Griffith still held up the flintlock gun, the muzzle of the gun was at eye level, "Ladies and gentlemen, What are you doing here? What is this place?"
The dignitaries sitting on the couch on the left are Earl Hill and his wife. They are well-dressed and look elegant yet steady and noble. They are simply the embodiment of authority among a group of people. The Count was respected simply by sitting there and not participating in other people's conversations. One look and one movement made the cotton mill owner and shipping tycoon not far away respectful.
The wizard Labienus sat on the sofa on the right with his beautiful young wife. He had a beautiful goatee and sparkling eyes, and was complimented by several others. Like all wise men, the wizard seemed to be a leader of opinions wherever he went. After hearing Griffith's question, the wizard replied:
"Good evening, Mr. Knight, this is 233B Baker Street, a mansion that should not exist. The citizens gathered here were not invited or planned to be here. Take my wife and I as an example, At half past eight tonight, we were taking our carriage back to our residence, but halfway, we arrived at this mansion without any warning. My servant was here, but the carriage and luggage were nowhere to be seen.
"According to my investigation, this is a two-story house with an attic. Some rooms are inaccessible like the main entrance. Only the reception room and the bathroom next to it can be used. Once everyone enters, they cannot get out."
"In other words, this place is the product of some mysterious phenomenon?" Griffith asked.
"Yes, without a doubt," Wizard Labienus nodded. "I think this is a supernatural phenomenon called a 'realm'. We must decipher the secrets here before we can leave."
"The wise wizard has already got a clue!" Mr. Ram, the owner of the cotton mill, said quickly. "He discovered that there is something unusual about the fire in the fireplace, which can give clues."
"What hint?"
Griffith asked. He found Ram, the owner of the cotton mill, and Mr. Beble, the shareholder of the shipping company, sitting on the couch in the middle, exactly between the earl and the wizard. There were three other well-dressed men with rosy faces crowded beside the wealthy businessman and his wife. They looked nervous and carefully sat down halfway.
Besides them, there are many others. There were dozens of them, wearing half-new cloaks or short coats. They had no seats and were just crowded in the area behind the sofa shivering.
Suddenly, Griffith spotted a familiar figure. Tina was also among these people. She was holding a small bag, looking uneasy and looking at Griffith with a pale face, but she did not dare to come over and talk to him.
What's happening here? Why didn't Tina call my name right away? Griffith was confused for a while. He wanted to call Tina when he saw her, but he felt something was wrong, so he temporarily suppressed the idea of speaking.
"Master Wizard, please tell the knight what is going on?"
"According to my observations," the wizard continued. With the introduction of the cotton spinning boss, he could formally explain his opinions without losing his identity. "This fireplace will give us some guidance. I feel the ripples of psychic energy. "
The people sitting on the sofa in the middle and those standing in the corners listened to the earl and the wizard's teachings, and did not dare to speak or even breathe loudly.
"The flames speak of the will of this mansion," the wizard said. "I watched its fluctuations and discovered that this realm is waiting for us to make certain decisions, otherwise it will not let us leave."
"What is the decision?" Griffith asked.
"Knight, you just came in, so you haven't noticed anything unusual yet," Earl Hill suddenly said, "After we got here, the temperature in the room has been decreasing, and the fire has gradually been extinguished. It won't be long before we are Freezing to death here."
Griffith was shocked.
But this was not beyond his expectation. Domains are often dangerous. If their secrets cannot be cracked or destroyed with brute force, the lives trapped in them will be imprisoned forever. It is normal to encounter danger.
"My dear, can we start?" Count Hill's wife hugged her husband's hand and said, "I can't stand the cold anymore."
The count comforted his wife softly, then leaned on the sofa, closed his eyes and stopped talking.
"Then, please allow me to explain the secret of this realm," said the wizard Labienus. "The fireplace is asking us to throw some of the people in this room into it, so that the fire will get fuel and restore warmth."
What? !
Griffith was shocked. He was convinced that he heard the wizard talking about sacrificing some of the guests in the drawing room to the fireplace, but the understatement was as if what was being burned was not people but wood.
"Some people, well, maybe one, maybe seven or eight," Mr. Beble, a shareholder of the shipping company, suddenly spoke, "I am not an extraordinary person, and I don't understand mysticism, but since this is a mysterious realm, then , my logic tells me that people with powerful psychic abilities may be more in line with the expectations of the fireplace."
"Put away your baseless speculations," the wizard Labienus scolded, "Do you want to interpret the mysterious rules on my behalf?"
"I, maybe can't do it," Mr. Beble smiled gently, "No, according to the will of the fire, we need to wait for the last guest, the majestic cavalry officer to be the host?"
After saying this, the shipping tycoon stood up and bowed to Griffith: "Please take a seat, Mr. Captain of the Second Assault Squadron. There must be a reason for inviting you to this living room. Before we freeze to death , please do something.”
Griffith felt a chill. He even suspected that the malice of the citizens in this room was causing some mysterious chain reaction, making the room colder and colder.
Now, he felt cold too. Although his physique exceeded the limits of a mortal, he still felt the coldness that penetrated his bones.
According to this trend, maybe everyone will really freeze to death here.
"Where are the others? Do you have anything to say?" Griffith asked.
He looked in Tina's direction to hear what she and the other people standing had to say.
Before these people could speak, a gentleman sitting next to Mr. Bebble shouted: "Why are you wasting your time on our servants and the beggars on the street? By the Seven Gods, do they understand what mysterious phenomena are? I It’s almost freezing to death!”
"Let's vote," Earl Hill opened his eyes, as if he had been waiting for this moment. "According to the ancient traditional discussion tradition, we should vote according to the seats. My suggestion is to ask the person standing there to enter the fireplace , if there is no obvious improvement, ask Mr. Knight to select some from the citizens on the middle sofa.”
"I agree," the wizard replied immediately, "that's two votes. Considering there are only three votes in total, we can already get a resolution, Mr. Knight."
"That's not fair!"
"This is ridiculous!"
"We haven't spoken yet!"
The person sitting on the middle sofa, Tina, and the person standing in the corner all shouted. The reception room suddenly became a mess.
"Silence," ordered the wizard Labienus in a thunderous voice.
Hearing his voice, the speakers lowered their throats even if they did not shut up immediately.
"Your Majesty Earl, Master Wizard, please wait a moment. Such a hasty decision would be unavoidable..." The cotton spinning boss said politely with a flattering smile.
"It's ridiculous. We have seven people on the table, but only one vote." Mr. Beble, the shipping tycoon, interrupted his speech bluntly. Then, he said to Griffith firmly, "Knight, as I just said , it’s perfect to use the most powerful wizard in this room as fuel. If that’s not enough, the earl must be able to provide some support. This is the best strategy to keep the majority of people. The minority obeys the majority, and it is also very democratic."
Anger is spreading.
Griffith found that the anger of the earl and the wizard was taking shape. They felt offended, stroking the swords and wands at their waists, and their attitudes became more and more determined and severe.
At this time, Wizard Labienus suddenly stood up. He waved his wand and recited a spell.
"Stop, knight, tell him to stop!" Mr. Bebble suddenly screamed like a little rabbit and ran to Griffith. "Knight, you are the only soldier in this room, and you are the only one who can legally use violence. Don’t let the wizards hurt us!”
Before Griffith could take action, a man standing in the corner of the room suddenly burst into flames. He only had time to scream before he turned into a ball of ashes.
"No!"
"Ha-fu-na-z!" Many people cried in horror, "He, he is dead!"
It all happened so fast that even Griffith didn't have time to react.
Immediately afterwards, the temperature in the room seemed to rise a little, and the fireplace became brighter.
"Don't be nervous, gentlemen," the wizard smiled and sat back in his seat, "Is it a little warmer now?"
"Well, sort of," the cotton mill owner said with a smile, then turned to the frightened men standing in the corner and gestured with his fist, "Shut up, we are discussing democracy."
"But it's not enough," muttered Mr. Beble, a shareholder in the shipping company.
"Don't worry, I will gradually add fuel," the wizard said. "Of course, we also have to have a result as soon as possible. In order to make it easier for Mr. Knight to decide, according to the rules of procedure, each seat can lobby our host, Mr. Officer, separately. Please, Your Majesty, please begin."
Earl Hill stood up, came to Griffith who was sitting on the main seat, and looked down at him:
"I am Count and Senator of Byerland."
Griffith thought briefly. Then he stood up.
The tall, powerful officer of the Praetorian Guard appeared in front of the count like a rock breaking through the turbid waves. The noble man looked at the barrel of the flintlock gun and the sharp eyebrows of the flintlock that were at eye level with him. He felt his throat was dry for no reason and wanted to swallow before taking a half step back.
However, his status and dignity did not allow him to do this. He was angry at the knight's rudeness:
"I am Count Hill, a senator of the Senate of Beyeland. You are a member of the Young Guards. I can see that it must be Shutoral. Listen, your commander ordered you to eliminate these thugs. Do you hear me? ,Soldier."
Oh, how empty.
Griffith didn't care about the earl's order and even wanted to laugh. He even had the idea to jokingly ask the earl if he had any unmarried daughters.
