Chapter 15 Ending
Elena walked across the grass, her ears filled with the buzzing of insects.
A flock of sheep, like clouds, turned around at her feet. The beautiful shepherdess raised her face, tears falling drop by drop: "Your Highness, please save me... There is a wolf!"
Wolf? Where is the wolf?
She looked around calmly, but saw nothing except the irritating colorful clouds in the blue sky.
Kasha!
Oh, and there's a kitten.
Elena slowly lowered her head and watched the little white cat dodge left and right and step on a shiny spear.
The tip of the spear is very sharp and will scratch her.
She squatted down, gently patted the little white cat away, and grabbed the spear on the ground: "Go, go, there are wolves nearby."
Where is the wolf? I think I heard a sound.
“Ouch—”
Melia climbed up the spear and climbed onto her shoulder, slapping her cheeks with her little paws: Wake up, wake up, someone is killing people behind you!
In her view, the other guests had gone crazy to the music and were stabbing the slaves with their prepared daggers.
The actors were still singing around them, the elders upstairs were laughing, everything was weird and twisted.
"Stop it."
Elena frowned and patted the kitten's head.
Melia, who was annoyed, bit her earlobe and meowed softly: "Elena! Wake up! Don't sleep——"
【Elena——Wake up! 】
The name exploded in her ears, and when the real name emerged from her memory, Elena's pupils suddenly contracted.
Blood rushed through his limbs, and the illusion collapsed:
The masked shepherdess has no charm at all, and the fragrant grass and lambs around her are just slaves covered with fur.
The actors used music to fake the sounds of wind, insects, and false memories. The culprit who manipulated the potion was standing on the second floor, admiring all this from above.
From time to time, the slaves' cries of pain and excited shouts could be heard from behind: "Soina, here I come!"
The shirtless guest dropped the blood-stained dagger, happily hugged the actress beside him, and kicked the slave's body aside.
The two of them had loving smiles on their faces, biting each other as if no one was around.
What a shameless deception!
The sea-blue eyes suddenly froze and locked onto the elders who were drinking and having fun in the "clouds".
The next second, Elena raised her spear.
Whoosh—the metal reflected the glow of the candlelight, and the music around stopped abruptly.
"Bang!"
Two shield-wielding slaves blocked Sulla one after another, but the spears missed their shields, grazed Sulla's long hair, and sank into the pillar.
Sura's tense muscles slowly relaxed, and he forced a smile. He clapped his hands rhythmically, and masked slaves, carrying buckets of water, emerged from behind the screen one by one.
Crash, crash—
The water splashed downstairs in a crystal-clear manner and the smoke quickly dissipated.
Without the singing and potion, the illusion instantly cracked and dissipated into the air.
"Oh my!" Someone saw the body and screamed.
But like the people around him, he was not afraid or panicked, as if he was just startled by the cucumber that suddenly appeared around the corner.
None of the guests questioned the dead slave on the ground. They looked at each other, confirmed that everyone was alive and well, and called Sulla's name again:
They didn't ask him to explain, but to ask the master to send more slaves to replace the wet carpets and couches with new ones.
Sura took the wine glass from his supporter, raised it to Elena downstairs, and drank it all in one gulp.
He looked away and walked down the stairs. The slaves held up their shields, blocking every blind spot for him.
Elena pursed her lips:
Sulla enjoyed the trust of his father, the king, who was old and only willing to invest in the oldest princes and princesses.
This time I really caught his eye.
What a hassle...
Suddenly, I felt a furry touch on my temples, and a meowing voice rang out in my ears: "Old thing, don't let me see you again. I'm sure you'll be in trouble next time I see you. I'll pull out all your hair, meow!"
Pfft, this mischievous little fellow! He scolded so fiercely, but the sound only came out in a pinch. Isn't he too cute?
The gloom in her heart was swept away, Elena rubbed the cat's back with her fingers, and sat back on the couch calmly.
Her smile grew cold as she watched the slaves kneeling on the ground to clean up the blood.
…
Melia opened her eyes and it was bright outside.
The slave girls opened the bed curtains for her, and a strong arm and a pair of more delicate hands touched her wrists at the same time.
"Miss."
Ronnie and Taffy said in unison, and in the end it was Taffy who helped her step into the shoe.
"Yawn~"
Passing through the layers of curtains, as the door opened, the sunlight and sounds from outside gradually poured in.
Strong men and women, bare-chested except for leather skirts around their waists, carried wooden planks and placed them on carts.
Melia walked to the cart and bent down: There were wheels and axles in this era, but they were all made of wood, not covered with metal or leather rings.
"Master." Annie walked over quickly. Today, she had changed into a pure white long dress like the other female slaves.
Melia pointed to the wooden planks on the cart and asked, "Are these being transported to the city?"
Even if Muala was rich, building roads was still a difficult task. The estate outside the city had only one paved stone road that led directly to the inner city of Rome.
Ani lowered her head, the silver chain around her neck swaying gently. "Yes, they will circle the city and spread meat and bread all over it. On the morning of the last day, you, the master, will also need to ride on the float and throw coins for everyone."
I see.
Melia nodded in understanding. The original book also described a grand funeral.
People here believe that Pluto also controls wealth and has a greedy side.
If one wants to bribe Hades and reduce his sins, he must put valuable treasures in his coffin and let his descendants ride in a car and scatter money on the roadside.
Of course, when it comes to a wealthy man like Muala, throwing money on the roadside becomes throwing money to the whole city, which feels a bit like an emperor or a general.
Fortunately, there are many wealthy people who do this, and the public also wholeheartedly supports the act of spending money, otherwise they would not dare to be so ostentatious.
Entering the city...
"Ani, send someone to Uncle Mario quickly."
Melia thought thoughtfully: "Please ask him to release the gladiator in advance and go to the city with us in the next two days."
…
By the time Melia finished her breakfast surrounded by servants, changed into gorgeous clothes, and entered the city of Rome in a carriage, 64 gladiators had been waiting at the city gate for a long time.
Each of them had shackles on their feet, and Mario specially left behind several instructors who were usually responsible for training.
As slaves, they could not move around freely without their masters, so they stayed in the shanty areas at the door.
Seeing Melia lift the curtain of the carriage, a gladiator almost choked on the black bread in his throat.
"Morning, is this all you guys have for breakfast?"
Seeing them nodding blankly, Melia pointed casually at the long table stretching from the inner city to the outer city: "It will be ready soon. There are meat pies and fresh milk. Help yourself if you want to eat."
Most of the tables were brought into the city and assembled at the beginning of the funeral, and a large amount of food was provided every day.
Funerals are major events in life. Even the most stingy family members will at least prepare a few large soup pots, let alone the richest man Muala.
Melia woke up every day to the feeling that the yard was empty. That was because most of the slaves who were originally enough to fill the entire manor were busy in the city of Rome, doing their last bit of work for their old master.
The gladiators fell silent.
Ronnie, who was standing next to her, gently reminded her: "...Miss, slaves are not allowed to sit at the table."
Freedom is an expensive word. Even if star gladiators were worth more than gold, the nobles would never invite them to sit at the table with them.
Unless they entered the bedroom, the most respectful treatment they received was to let them sit outside the door and enjoy the cooled food with their most respectable slaves after the performance.
"ha?"
Melia smiled disdainfully. She was born with a bright face, and her little canine teeth gently pressed against her lips.
"Who dares to stop us?"
She walked to the end of the line, and the servants stopped immediately when they saw their young master and put down the last table.
They deftly took out bags of bread and packaged meat and placed them on the table one by one.
At the same time, someone took out the boiled honey water and continued to brew some fermented leaf tea. The hot water gave off a fragrance similar to lemon.
Melia stood by the table. She picked up a plate, tore open the bread, and stuffed it with roast meat and vegetables before the servants could do anything.
Then he handed the simplest sandwich to Ronnie: "Here, you eat it first."
No such rules? That's okay, Melia never follows the rules.
Ronnie took the plate and put the meat and vegetables between the bread... This way of eating it is similar to pie, but it is not pie.
She took a bite along the caramelized edge, and the rich aroma mixed with the sauce filled her mouth.
"Hmm..." The delicious notes came out of the nose, and everyone could hear each other swallowing saliva.
The master has spoken, so what is there to be afraid of?
The gladiators left the mounds where they had just squatted and followed her example, eating the meat with bread.
While eating, Ronnie was distracted by the sound next to her. Melia was chatting with the slave girl next to her.
"Ani, do you think we can make money if we open a shop that specializes in selling sandwiches? Sandwiches are made with bread, meat, and vegetables. I can also mix several kinds of sauce..."
A few words of casual chat about shops passed quickly, and Melia pointed to a dilapidated wall in the distance and said, "I want to go to the West City District first. You guys drive the carriage to the commercial district and wait for me."
"Master...is this a bit dangerous?" As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Annie quickly lowered her head and rubbed the hem of her skirt awkwardly.
"It will be much safer if they accompany the master, but it is best for you to go there by carriage, which is covered with metal sheets."
"Well, isn't Xicheng District the property left by my father?"
She had counted Muala's land deeds and found that at least half of the West City District was his property.
However, as the slums of Rome, the West City has extremely low housing prices and consumption levels. So Muala just rented out these places and didn't care at all.
She didn't want to collect rent this time, but just wanted to let the gladiators familiarize themselves with the route in advance and reassure them: Look, if I dare to send out executioners, you can run anywhere.
Ani hesitated to speak: "That is the most unsafe place in Rome..."
"It's okay. The alley is so narrow and it's inconvenient to take a carriage." Melia raised her feet, and her slippers made a clattering sound.
Taffy followed her silently, turning and nodding slightly to Ani.
A group of dozens of people marched into the city gate. Surrounded by gladiators, it was difficult to see the young lady's hairy head.
Ani put her worries aside for the moment and climbed onto her donkey: "Let's go to the commercial district first!"
The author has something to say:
Thanks to Luchen_piuma and Leilei from Zhengxiaohua's girlfriend~ Thanks to X, Kaltsit, Zheqie, Mo Se Dan Xiang, An, and 39323161 for their support~
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