Back in the banquet hall, Todd finds Tristan searching for him everywhere.

Todd stepped forward, patted the other man on the shoulder, and gave Tristan a forced smile.

“Where have you been?!” Tristan paused, then frowned. “You look terrible.”

Todd glanced at the people in the hall, who were gradually leaving: "Is the banquet over? When are we going back?"

"The carriage will arrive shortly; we'll have to wait a little longer."

Upon hearing Tristan's words, Todd glanced at the nearly untouched delicacies on the table, and remembering that he hadn't had dinner yet, he sat down on his own.

Finding a clean fork and a knife for cutting hard bread, Todd skillfully cut off a slice of ham and put it in his mouth with the fork.

Tristan sat down across from Todd and exclaimed, "Your dining posture could be used as a textbook for aristocratic etiquette."

Todd smiled and was about to look for something else to eat when he looked up and caught sight of a familiar woman.

Dressed in her finest attire and radiating charm, Mary slightly opened her mouth and looked at Todd with the eyes of someone who had discovered the most incredible thing in the world.

Todd glanced at the knife and fork in his hand, then thought of Mary's "hyperthymesia" ability, and couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

A woman who can remember every detail must have noticed something from her daily habits and postures.

But now was not a good time to acknowledge each other, so Todd put his index finger to his lips, making a shushing gesture.

Mary quickly realized what was happening and averted her gaze, pretending to chat with someone else, but her eyes kept glancing in their direction out of the corner of her eye.

Knowing he couldn't stay there any longer, Todd quickly ate a few more bites of food and hurriedly left the banquet hall with Tristan.

Sitting in the carriage, listening to the sound of the wheels turning, Todd looked at Tristan, who had remained silent the whole way, and asked, "Aren't you going to ask me where I went tonight?"

“Ratchel only asked me to assist you, not to monitor you.”

Todd adjusted his posture, a strange tension creeping into his heart, and asked Tristan, "Honestly, I'm curious about what kind of relationship you and Rachel have?"

Tristan glanced at him: "I have the same problem."

Todd leaned back in his chair and said in a low voice, “I used some of my authority to help her with some tricky things; and she did the same for me.”

Tristan suddenly asked Todd a question that caught him off guard: "Do you have special feelings for her?"

After a brief moment of shock, Todd nodded and admitted, "Yes, I admit that she is special and irreplaceable to me."

Seemingly surprised by the other's candor, Tristan paused for a moment before asking, "So, does she feel the same way about you?"

Todd hesitated for a long time before finally shaking his head and saying, "I hope the answer is yes. But honestly, I don't know, she's sometimes too smart..."

Tristan closed his eyes and said softly, "Yes, sometimes she's too smart, like a ray of light you can never hold in your hand."

Each lost in their own thoughts, they didn't speak again and returned to the church in silence.

Todd returned to his room, sat in the soul space for a while, then came out to wash up and prepared to go to sleep early.

A knock on the door made him sit up in bed.

Todd stepped sideways to the door, placing his mutated right claw behind his back, and whispered, "Who is it?"

Tristan's voice came from outside the door: "If you're not asleep, come out and have a chat."

Todd opened the door and saw Tristan dressed in casual clothes. To his surprise, Tristan was carrying a wooden bucket on his shoulder.

Todd stared at the wooden barrel and asked, "What's in here...?"

“Red wine,” Tristan said, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. “It’s a fine wine I got from the banquet.”

Todd put on a coat, and without further ado, uttered a single word: "Where to?"

Tristan led the way, with Todd following. The two left the cathedral camp, navigated through several streets and alleys, and finally arrived at the foot of the bell tower of the Holy Guard.

Todd glanced at the towering building, then at Tristan, who was panting heavily while carrying a wooden bucket, and offered him a helping hand: "Let me do it."

Tristan handed the barrel to Todd, let out a long sigh, rubbed his sore shoulders, stepped into the clock tower, and climbed the spiral staircase to the top floor.

The two descended the stairs to the bell-ringing room on the top floor. A gust of night wind rushed towards them, and Todd looked at the view before him, marveling at it.

Under the bright moon, the quiet and dark city slept peacefully, with only the sound of the wind blowing in one's ears.

Tristan leaned against the wall, panting heavily, and said intermittently, "My body has really deteriorated over the years. Climbing stairs this height used to be no problem at all..."

Todd placed the barrel full of red wine on the ground beside him and looked around for a container to hold the wine.

Tristan plopped down on the ground, pulled two wooden cups from his pocket, tossed one to Todd, then uncorked the barrel and poured himself a cup.

Watching Tristan down his drink in one gulp, Todd shook his head helplessly and poured himself a glass as well.

“My father was a carpenter.” Tristan tilted his head back and downed his second glass of red wine in one gulp. “His craftsmanship was praised by everyone. He could make birds with outstretched wings or fish swimming in water out of lifeless wood.”

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