Chapter 92 Taking without Notice
He failed to grasp the dazzling moon, and the crown was hit hard, shaking and falling.
The moonlight illuminated the courtyard, making the palace look even more eerie.
The Athenians claimed they didn't need a king, but the beauty of the royal palaces was too great to abandon. So they converted it into a meeting hall, open to all citizens on holidays. Artists brought their works and inscribed their names and those of their sponsors.
The meeting hall was completely silent at night, with guards in groups of two taking turns patrolling the various routes: although the meeting hall on the surface contained only some simple works of art, the underground treasure house was filled with the accumulated wealth of the citizens.
Those were the accumulated taxes and public funds of the Athenian city-state, which even the archons could not use at will.
With a thud, Elena landed lightly on the pillar. Antonio slowed down a few steps, slightly panting. "Your Highness, why don't you let your men guard the outside?"
"They're too conspicuous. Instead of hoping the Romans won't be discovered, we should have more spies."
Elena's tone was tinged with sarcasm. Antonio straightened up helplessly, looking left and right at the path before explaining, "I know. I've tried. Something's wrong with them. They've become very...sluggish."
He stopped at the point. No one would entrust an important task to a slow-moving subordinate. Moreover, this slowness could be caused by magic. Perhaps the mastermind behind the scenes was holding the strings and kicking them into a trap.
The two men fell silent, stepping into the courtyard one after the other. The surrounding pillars cast long shadows in the torchlight, resembling dancing ghosts.
The night was thick and oppressive, and it spread in the dark environment, as if solidified in the dark corner, ready to pounce at any time.
With a rustling sound, they reached the door without any difficulty. Antonio had made some arrangements, and the guards wouldn't be here for a while.
He walked expertly along the edge of the carpet, missing the stone busts that shrouded the picture frames in scarlet draperies, a fashion imported from the Roman Empire.
Very good, very safe, those slow subordinates are still useful.
Antonio quickened his pace as he passed through the corridor, turning along the edge into an inconspicuous secret passage. There was a door leading directly to the basement, known only to successive consuls and their commissioners... and his smile vanished.
The entire carved door was shaped like two large hanging paintings, nested inside each other and connected by metal buckles. Originally, you only needed to press the ring into the buckle to automatically release it, but now...
Elena knocked on the completely sealed iron door with the handle of the knife: "Yes, there are two layers of stones stuck underneath." It can be opened, and the noise it makes is enough to alarm the parliamentarians outside the street.
Antonio held the ring he had finally obtained in his hand, sweat running down his cheeks. He took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat while trying to find a gap in the middle of the frame.
The ring was inserted and twisted for a long time, but puff, only the vent at the top of the iron plate was open. I don't know who it was prepared for.
He placed his hand on the edge of the vent and gestured desperately: "Oh no, only a cat can crawl in this width."
Meow~ A crisp reply came from the darkness: "I think~ I heard someone say [cat]~~?"
The snow-white kitten hopped in from the window, strutted between the two of them, and lashed Elena's calf with its tail. She shook her paws dramatically, gave a strong push, and—snap! It was stuck.
"Ahem, look, cats are so relaxed~" Melia clung to the edge and squeezed her head into the gap: "Ai, Elena...help."
"Haha, don't forget what we are looking for, a ruby laurel crown - the Crown of Alexander."
After a chuckle, a strong force pushed towards the buttocks, and with a puff, the white cat rolled into the secret passage.
Melia quickly cheered herself up, licked her hairless paws, and walked forward with a paw-pa-pa sound.
Treasure troves should be kept dark and dry, but as I was walking, I felt something wet on my paw, similar to jellyfish skin. I sniffed it, but it didn't smell like anything.
The secret passage twists and turns, and a cat's head pops out from the corner from time to time, then slips to the next intersection.
The kitten advanced cautiously, not encountering a single guard. For some reason, many figures were erected in the narrow passage, some stone, some in armor, reminiscent of old horror movies.
Gurgle.
The cat's eyes can see things clearly in the dark. She stepped over the iron boots carefully, not daring to look up at all, for fear that two skulls or big spiders would suddenly fall down.
I ran like this in fear for more than ten minutes. The secret passage was like a spiral maze.
Just when Melia suspected she was lost, a carved secret door appeared before her eyes. It was locked with chains, and there were at least three keyhole-like patterns on it.
She didn't have a key, but there was a vent hole on the side of the secret door, just like the entrance and exit holes that some houses specially opened for cats, making the cat nod its head when it saw it.
The cat ears gestured twice and then slipped in smoothly.
Bang! Melia wiggled her ears and tapped the floor tentatively. The trap didn't trigger. Perhaps the cat wasn't heavy enough to trigger it?
She quietly moved past the boxes. The cat was a little weak and couldn't do anything with the locked iron boxes.
Fortunately, perhaps due to the Athenians' dedication to art, a bright red light reflected from her made her raise her eyes.
The golden laurel leaves are glistening and shining, illuminated not by lights but by fluorescent rubies.
They are cut into cardamom-sized pieces and can light up clusters of flame-colored light even in the dark.
The cat's eyes contracted violently: Wow—treasure! It carved the word treasure on its face.
Melia stepped on the wooden box and jumped onto the portrait, gently took the laurel leaf crown in her mouth, and slid into the darkness.
It is said that the emperor's crown is heavy, but the laurel leaf in the mouth is extremely light, making people suspect that it is not made of gold and jewelry, but real laurel and red beans.
The cat jumped onto the box and prepared to return the same way, but suddenly it pricked up its ears and froze in silence.
She opened her mouth and stepped on the crown under her claws to examine it carefully. After a few gestures, she discovered a cruel reality: it was too high.
The bay leaf looked long and thin, in a ring shape, and could be handed over sideways - the problem was that it was inlaid with too many gems. In addition to the flaming ruby with its own luminous effect, there was also a layer of broken diamonds of unknown meaning.
These broken diamonds form a second crown, forming a crescent shape on the back, it is not known whether it symbolizes dragon horns or the moon.
It has sharp edges and prickles. Will it be comfortable to wear on your head?
The cat lowered its head and thought hard. It was definitely impossible to get through the cat hole it had just made... How about biting the crown of its head into pieces and carrying them out piece by piece?
The image of a cat demon tearing a computer into small parts and the poor social people wailing came to my mind.
No, no, no, no, I can't do that. Elena needs the complete crown. This isn't a pay-to-win card game where you have to combine 100 fragments into a large crown.
Send small fragments to Caesar, or you will be broken into pieces.
It was too tiring to hold it in her mouth and it kept pricking her chin hair, so she simply put her head in and let the crown hang around her neck.
Hey yo, jump! Jump again!
The cat's claws struggled to touch the top of the cabinet. She looked down and finally saw a hole that she could crawl out of. This hole should be a secret door reserved for internal employees. Even a thin adult could crawl through it.
No matter what, even if there are people outside, I can still escape.
If you can't escape, you can just sleep on the spot~
Melia rubbed her paws, put on the crown and ran out of the cave. Her four legs trembled slightly, and her beard poked back and forth vigilantly, guarding against one or two mice sneaking out from the dark.
She quickly rushed to another spacious corridor. Like the previous secret passage, this corridor was filled with a large number of human figures, some stone sculptures, and some in iron armor.
Maomao's pace gradually slowed down, and she began to wonder: Who would place so many dummies in the corridor? Wouldn't it be better to hire some real guards with the money?
Anyway, the crown is already in hand, so it won’t kill you to take a look at it, right?
The little paws stopped. Melia looked around and chose a statue to step on its boots.
Stone sculpture? No, stone isn't that soft. Wax figure?
No, not a wax figure, it looks like... a stiff person.
“Meow—”
…
“Meow meow meow meow meow meow——”
The miserable meows came one after another, creating the stereo surround sound of spring.
Antonio immediately turned away: "Hurry up, she must have alerted the guards."
"Wait a little longer."
Elena was not in a hurry at all. She leaned against the edge of the secret passage, her muscles tense, her hand on the knife.
Without Elena to draw the fire, Antonio really didn't dare run out. He could only turn back and continue to persuade: "If you don't leave now, it will be too late. My father and those council members have spent a lot of money to hire a group of experts..."
"Oh, can they fly?"
"…Won't."
Elena looked away briefly, at the open window and the tower staircase. "I will."
Antonio was dumbfounded. He was stunned for a few seconds and said slowly, "What about me?"
"you?"
Elena asked back with an expression as if she was meeting him for the first time: "How should I know?"
Okay.
Antonio took a deep breath and said, "You can fly, you are awesome."
"If it weren't for the crown, His Highness would have definitely turned and left the moment he saw what was happening in Athens, right?"
He lowered his eyes in self-mockery: if he were not an Athenian, he would be the same.
"Miya——"
The bloated white cat screamed as it came around from another direction and rolled in front of them, with a laurel leaf crown ridiculously tied around its neck.
Fortunately, they have never seen an Elizabethan circle, otherwise they would have laughed like pigs.
"Ai ai ai Elena, the crown is for you, run! Get out of the city now! Everyone here has turned into statues! Athens Pills--" The white cat fell headfirst into Elena's arms and disappeared with a puff.
Athens, disappearance, statue.
These words are very crucial, but the two men's eyes are deeply attracted by the crown in their arms.
In the eyes of cats, it is nothing more than laurel leaves and red beans, but in their eyes, this crown exudes a sacred and fatal attraction.
The pure golden crown towered like a tower, a silver moon spinning behind it. The scattered diamonds were the thorny trials leading to the prophecy.
That is the right granted to the king by "God" and the singularity of the birth of destiny.
【As long as you touch it, you will win the predetermined fate of "Alexander the Great".】
No one spoke, and the room was extremely quiet, but they could feel a strong premonition: this was the crown itself extending a cordial invitation.
Desire, every cell in my body is screaming! My hands naturally raise the crown high, wanting to put it on my head.
"Elena, is it really that good to be the emperor?"
"Of course. Very good."
"Hmm~ But have you ever thought about the emperor's responsibilities? What does he do after becoming the emperor?"
Of course I thought about it, I want to...
His thoughts were interrupted by memories, and his fingers relaxed. The surging ambition that had been channeled out was like a torrent that had found a dam, washing away it intermittently.
In a flash, another person moved.
Antonio's eyes were dyed blood red by the gems, and he threw himself towards the crown "in the sky", vowing to climb the starry stairs.
Greece has no emperor - so, how about I become Alexander the Great?
Bang!
He failed to hold on to the dazzling moon, and the crown was hit hard, shaking and falling.
With a hiss and a gentle sound, the laurel leaves hang gently on the golden waterfall, almost blending into one.
A sword cut through the darkness and penetrated the body with force.
The blood drained from his eyes, scattering to the ground. Antonio dropped his hands helplessly, looking at the sword-wielding girl: the moon hovered just above her head, shimmering in harmony with the golden crown.
Sword...?
The memory of the scimitar flashed by, and she didn't hold a sword at all tonight.
The young man smiled as he was on the verge of death: "You are not... Elena."
The world fell into darkness.
The author has something to say:
Thanks to Lei Lei from Lily yyds~
Thanks to Lily yyds and Magnolia for their help~
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