Meanwhile, in the Castle in the Sky.

【System prompt: Player Hongtao has logged into the game. 】

[Player Hongtao obtains the game identity (Son of the Saint)]

Sleeping in the soft couch, he slowly opened his eyes. When he saw the familiar burgundy velvet curtain in front of him, his pupils shrank for a moment, and he took out his weapon - a poker card - and slashed forward, almost like an animal that was stimulated.

The hanging curtain was cut into pieces by the sharp edges of the playing cards, and fell like a bloody rain. On the table opposite, a pair of playing cards were overlapped ambiguously, and the bottom one was the Queen of Hearts - which represented hearts.

The top card usually represents the person who stayed over the previous night.

After reading the game instructions, Hongtao calmed down. He stood up and walked forward, slowly stretched out two fingers to touch the heart poker card on the table, then lowered his eyes and chuckled lazily:

“So it’s this game map.”

Reality, Heretic Management Bureau 3, 2:00 AM.

A helicopter landed secretly at the top of the third bureau, and a group of men in black bodyguard uniforms came out with briefcases. As soon as they landed from the top of the third floor, they were surrounded by members of the Heretic Management Bureau with guns raised.

The Third Bureau is a dangerous heretic storage room. It was originally built on a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, but later the island sank. The current head of the Third Bureau, Georgia, rebuilt the Third Bureau on another coast closer to the island at his own expense and expanded it in larger scale.

The current three bureaus have stricter guards and store a lot of dangerous heretics. Their main responsibility is to guard the heretics who have been taken in and to lease some of the heretics who have been determined to be taken in and are relatively safe to various countries.

The group of people in black bodyguard uniforms who were walking at the front raised their hands in surrender, indicating that they were harmless. They carefully showed a reservation ticket and said cautiously in English: "Hello, we have made a reservation to rent the heretic and have already paid the deposit."

The Heretic Management Bureau member took a look at the reservation ticket in his hand, slowly put down his gun, tilted his head and gestured to follow him.

The group of people breathed a sigh of relief and followed the people from the Heresy Management Bureau all the way down to the reception room on the first floor.

The member of the Heretic Management Bureau knocked on the door of the captain's office. A serious and dignified male voice came from inside, saying softly and politely, "Come in."

The man holding the reserved ticket pushed open the door and went in.

When he saw Georgia sitting in the office chair and turning to look at him, he couldn't help but take a deep breath - no matter how many times he saw this person, he would still be shocked by her overly eye-catching appearance, especially in such a solemn and well-organized place, the overly dark tones were really incompatible with her appearance.

"Hello, Captain Georgia." The man bowed respectfully to Georgia and sat down opposite her. He took out the reservation ticket and pushed it over. "We are here to pick up the low-risk heretic, the seven-single eel, that we reserved before."

Georgia lowered her eyes and glanced at the reservation ticket he pushed over. She didn't move, but folded her hands in front of her and said, "I need to examine your rental qualifications again."

The man got anxious and spoke with an accent: "Why do we need to inspect again? We have already inspected three times and we have passed all the tests!"

Seeing Georgia's calm and unmoved face, the man seemed to calm down. He realized that such an urgent attitude would not convince the cautious person in charge of the Third Bureau. He took a deep breath and looked at Georgia with the most pious eyes:

"Captain Georgia, the water pollution in our country is really serious. It has reached the point where even after multiple purifications, boiling and drinking the water will have an impact on everyone. You see."

As he spoke, the man eagerly took out his cell phone and played a news video to Georgia:

"…Water pollution in the country is getting worse. This year, 23 infants have died from drinking unpurified water. We sit in front of the government every day to protest, hoping that the government can come up with a solution."

"Hospitals and restaurants have almost all come to a standstill because of water pollution. The suicide rate and death rate are rising every day. The damage caused by water pollution is like an invisible disease spreading among the population. With nowhere else to turn, the people have begun to turn to various major religious sects, and the power of the Church has risen."

“Everyone started praying to God to solve the water pollution problem, but we all knew it was impossible…”

Before the host finished speaking, someone in the background started shouting frantically, "Who said it's impossible? God will definitely be able to solve it!"

"If God doesn't solve it, why don't you solve it for us?"

The host was soon beaten and dragged off the stage in the chaos, and the video screen went black and ended there.

Georgia's eyes moved slightly, but he still said nothing.

The man began to advise earnestly: "Captain Georgia, I believe you have read the report on our water pollution. It has reached an orange medium-risk mortality rate caused by the spread of heretics. According to the United Nations International Regulations of the Heretic Management Bureau, if you have heretics who can solve this crisis at this time, you must rent them to us!"

"This is to save all the innocent people in this country!"

Georgia finally spoke up, his eyes calmly glancing at the Vatican accessories on the man's cuffs: "But we usually only rent to government departments, not to the Vatican."

"But you have seen the current situation in the country," the man sighed with regret. "People do not trust the government, but only the Vatican. Under such circumstances, the government also intends to bring the Vatican under its jurisdiction."

The man smiled with a reserved and proud look: "--Without the help of the government, the Holy See would not have been able to obtain the reservation ticket from the Administration. You can now completely regard the Holy See as our government department. Our public support and voice are very high."

Georgia still didn't move.

The man's patience seemed to be running out, but he didn't dare to act rashly. Instead, he glanced at Georgia carefully, slowly put a large check on the table and pushed it over to her, then said carefully: "If you think it's a deposit issue, we can discuss it again."

——This is blatant bribery.

Georgia opened her eyes and looked at him coldly: "Do you think I'm short of money?"

The man immediately knew that he had touched a bad spot, and quickly took the check back. He smiled awkwardly and said, "Of course not. I have heard of your identity. How could you be short of money?"

"You are the heir to the Kingdom of Gold." The man smiled flatteringly.

He might have been kicked in the head by a donkey just now and came up with the idea of ​​bribing Georgia with money. No one in this world may be short of money except Georgia.

Georgia is the eldest prince of the [Kingdom of Gold], with countless gold in his hands. He even rebuilt a third bureau that is larger than an island, and has not asked the headquarters for a penny to run it until now. How could he accept a bribe as small as a fingernail?

"Don't mention this title anymore. I'm just a civilian now." Georgia said in a normal tone, "My country has been destroyed."

The man nodded and said, "Okay, okay."

The country was indeed destroyed, and the gold was indeed inherited by Georgia.

"Really can't you lend it to us?" In Georgia's silence, the man asked again, the anxiety in his eyes almost overflowing, "We will return it immediately after we deal with the water pollution. Now you and I are in a stalemate here. I can sit here and show my sincerity in order to pass your test. I can use ten years to show our sincerity, but in my country, children are dying every moment because of drinking polluted water!"

"You don't want these children to be like you once were, helplessly watching their own people perish and their country fall, right?"

Georgia finally moved. He looked up at the man, stood up and said, "Show me the application documents again."

The man let out a long sigh and handed the document over with great trepidation. After Georgia read it carefully again, he raised his head and said, "It does meet the rental requirements."

"Come with me."

Following behind Georgia, who was walking quickly in front, she explained in a calm tone: "The seven-seven conger eel is a low-risk heretic that we have recently taken in. It is not very dangerous and the containment method is very convenient. We recently discovered that it can dissolve many pollutants in the water and has a unique effect on purifying water."

"After I came up with this report, I sent it to areas around the world where water pollution was so severe that it exceeded the risk of low-risk heretics, suggesting that heretics could be rented to help solve the water pollution problem."

Georgia turned around and looked at the man: "This is the seven-conger eel."

In front of the man were two coiled eels sleeping in two tanks. He tried his best to control his greedy eyes and showed an ecstatic expression: "This is the low-risk heretic seven-spotted eel that can solve water pollution, right?"

"Yes." Georgia nodded, and soon his tone became serious, "But no matter how low-risk it is, it is still heresy."

"Seven-seven eels are not harmful in other ways. Their only danger comes from reproduction. They reproduce very quickly. If you put a male and a female in a tank, the whole tank will be filled with their offspring in just one night."

"So to prevent any accidents, we rent them separately and only rent the males."

The man's greedy eyes suddenly turned cold. He paused for a moment before carefully asking, "Can't we rent the mother body?"

“不能。”喬治亞毫不猶豫地拒絕了，“七星鳗只有被困在人體內部的腔道才可以溶解，溶解之後的液體雖然不會對人體造成過多危害，但會造成一定變異。”

“雖然目前還不清楚原因，并且七星鳗的溶解有一定性別取向，雄性體的鳗魚只能靠男性內部的腔道溶解，雌性體的鳗魚只能靠女性內部溶解。”

男人看着鳗魚的嘴巴，頭皮有些發麻：“男性內部的腔道？！”

喬治亞眸光淺淡地掃他上面和下面一眼，态度尋常地開口：“女性是唾液溶解力強，但男性是腸液溶解力強。”

“？！”男人尴尬地笑了兩聲，下意識地夾緊了臀部，“喬治亞隊長，說起這些的時候，你不覺得可怕嗎？”

“可怕？”喬治亞将視線移了回去，他目光深深地看着觀察櫃裏的鳗魚，恍然輕語，“如果只用到這種程度就可以拯救我的家鄉，那這有什麽好可怕的？”

很快，喬治亞恢複了平靜：“雄性體的七星鳗無法自體繁衍，所以租賃是安全的，你們不用想太多。”

“但一條鳗魚，淨化速度也太慢了。”這男人直勾勾地盯着觀察櫃裏的雌體鳗魚，“不能把雌體的一起借給我們嗎？”

“不行。”喬治亞冷酷地拒絕了，“雌體的鳗魚現在還不穩定，我們之前觀察了它繁殖，發現它有明顯的過度繁殖傾向——它最近繁殖的都是雌體，幾乎沒有雄體，一看就要擴大繁殖規模了。”

這男人的眼睛一亮：“全是雌體？”

——那豈不是只用女人來溶解就可以了。

“所以母體不租賃。”喬治亞簡單地下了決議，他看向着男人，“過來辦理租賃手續吧。”

“哦，好，好的。”男人幾乎是把自己的目光從雌體鳗魚上戀戀不舍地扯開，“喬治亞隊長，您讓我打個電話先向國內通知一聲，告訴他們只借到了一條鳗魚，我們好優先确定使用區域。”

這要求完全合理，喬治亞點頭：“你去吧。”

喬治亞回了辦公室，這男人去了異端處理局頂樓的直升機停放坪打電話。

辦公室裏，喬治亞仿佛凝固了一般拖着下颌望着那份男人遞上來的水污染資料沉思，旁邊的隊員見他這樣，詢問：“隊長，你是還不放心嗎？他的程序手續都沒有完全沒有問題。”

“而且只是一個低危異端啊。”

喬治亞蹙眉：“我知道。”

“我只是覺得……”

隊員好奇地追問：“覺得什麽？”

“有些巧合。”喬治亞看向那個男人的資料，他的眉頭越蹙越緊，“前腳這個國家爆發了嚴重的水污染問題，後腳我們就收容了剛好可以租賃給他們解決水污染問題的低危異端。”

“就像是……”

有什麽看不見的東西，在安排他們。

頂樓上，男人遠離了異端管理局隊員回到直升機內後，打出電話的一瞬間，臉部迅速興奮地變形：

“喂，我看到七星鳗了。”

“這東西真的和你們說的一樣，溶解了之後骨骼剝離出來，就像是金屬礦産一樣可以用來鍛造武器？”

“教廷需要武器，大礦産都被把持住了，七星鳗如果能到我們手裏，就會是一座取之不盡，用之不竭的礦産，我們可以用這個東西從上到下将教廷武裝起來。”

“……錢不是問題，我們得到了大財閥的支持……”

“但唯一的問題是。”這男人驟然放低了聲音，他目光陰狠地看了一眼三局，“三局的負責人只肯借給我雄體，沒有母體就沒辦法繁衍。”

電話裏傳來主教沙啞的笑聲：“權振東神父，不用擔心這個問題，神會保佑你的。”

男人眼神一振：“我要怎麽做？”

“我們得到了一些神明的饋贈，那些被供奉到我們這裏的奇特道具堪比異端。”主教又沙啞地笑了兩聲，“這方便了我們偷盜。”

男人皺眉：“但是三局的把控很嚴，母體不見了我會被立即擊斃。”

“不，我們不是偷盜母體。”主教低笑了一聲，“你忘了那位負責人說的話嗎？他說母體繁殖很快，而且誕下的下一代都是母體。”

“我們只需要讓兩條鳗魚迅速地繁殖一下，然後偷走母體誕下的那條雌體鳗魚，加上我們租賃到的雄體——”

主教滿足地嘆息：“神愛世人，教廷偉大。”

權振東也哈哈大笑起來，他看向異端處理局，眼睛裏閃爍出鬼魅的光：“神愛世人，教廷偉大。”

淩晨三點。

權振東幾乎是小跑上的直升飛機，他語氣狂熱地看向缸子裏正在交纏的兩條鳗魚：“拿到手了，主教！”

“幹得不錯。”主教在那邊愉快地大笑起來，他似乎是在和誰碰杯，電話裏傳來了清脆的玻璃酒杯相撞的聲音，他的語氣也變得醉醺醺的，“将鳗魚送回去，然後來副島上放松一下吧。”

“你在副島上？！”權振東聽到這個名字沒有開心，反而大驚失色，“你瘋了嗎！你忘了正島上的那些人是什麽下場嗎！”

“天空之城原島已經被皇後給控制了，上面每個人都是他的奴隸和走狗！”

“現在你們背着皇後建的這個附島也遲早會被他發現的！到時候他一定會折磨死你們的！你居然還敢上去！”

主教那邊沉默一會兒，變得呼吸粗重了起來：“你說得對，我今天實在是太高興了，想着皇後最近好像在忙着別的事情，都沒有巡島……”

“我立馬下島！”

“千萬不要上天空之城副島了！”權振東越權地，惡狠狠地警告主教，“如果你不想被發現之後，我們的教廷大業被皇後這個瘋子給攪得一塌糊塗的話！”

挂掉電話之後，權振東那種偷到七星鳗的興奮之情已經完全消失了，他滿頭冷汗，閉着眼睛靠在直升機的座椅上，隔了很久才敢打開手機，翻閱裏面的照片。

有一個專門的，叫做皇後的相冊，權振東幾乎是抖着手點開了這個相冊。

相冊裏第一張是一個非常美麗的男孩，看起來只有十三四歲，有一雙極其動人的紫色眼睛，就那麽冷淡又慵懶地看着正在給他照相的人。

權振東控制不住自己眼神的癡迷，又控制不住那種發自內心對于這個人的恐懼，他半閉着眼，将手機的照片放于胸口，恍然呢喃着：

“……皇後。”

每個見過皇後的男人，對于皇後應該都是這樣的态度。

二十五年前，他們的國度內出現了一位享譽世界的舞劇女演員，以歌劇《莎樂美》最為出名，無數人都為她曼妙的舞姿傾倒，而她才十九歲，是一個非常年輕的舞蹈演員，可以說是前途無量。

她擁有一個良好的家庭環境，父母恩愛，家庭和諧，她被養育得善良又天真，很快就有了自己的舞蹈工作室，在名譽最盛的時候，第一場全國的巡演居然是義演，将所有的收入都捐了出去，捐給了需要幫助的組織和教會。

再加上她有虔誠的信仰，從此之後大家都呼喚她為聖女。

聖女據說有一定外國的血統，她非常美麗，一雙紫色的眼睛就像是寶石一樣閃閃發亮，雖然跳的是《莎樂美》這樣有些邪魅，女巫一樣的角色，但每次結束彙演後，她在臺上舉着大家送給她的鮮花害羞微笑的時候，舉止的确還是一個十九歲的大女孩。

這種反差讓大家都很喜歡她，稱贊她敬業，稱贊她美麗。

但在一次慈善巡演中，聖女出了事情，她被一個神父強迫了，但這位神父強行指證說，是聖女和他有情侶關系，并且給出了一系列的證據——比如聖女在舞臺上看着他笑的照片，聖女微笑和他握手的照片。

這些照片裏聖女看着他的時候，都很含情脈脈，聖女百口莫辯——她看誰都是這樣。

但神父威嚴的地位和國內對神父的崇敬讓這些撲風捉影的東西變成了鐵證，同時神父還深情地表示，他為聖女放棄了自己的神父之位，說願意舍棄自己的信仰和聖女永遠在一起——神父和修女是一樣，是将自己的所有都奉獻給了上帝，是不允許結婚的。

這下引發了全國的感動，大家都希望聖女和神父在一起。

但聖女拒絕了。

盡管她也是一個虔誠的信徒，但她不想和神父結婚。

很快圍繞在她身上的争議越來越多，在她被發現懷孕的時候到達了頂端。

他們的國度中，信仰教廷的人是不允許誅殺還未誕生的生命的，這是原罪——聖女最終選擇把孩子生了下來。

在這種情況下，大家撺掇聖女和神父在一起的意願越來越強烈，甚至到了一種聖女不嫁給神父，就是對不起肚子裏的孩子，沒有給它一個父親，不識好歹的程度——你也要把孩子給生下來，你也和神父在談戀愛，你也信仰教廷。

那你為什麽不願意和神父結婚呢？

He has done so much for you.

If it were me, I would be willing to marry a priest - many girls who believe in the Vatican advise the saint in this way.

But the saint was unwilling to do so. When the situation was about to escalate to an irreversible level, a heroic bishop appeared.

This bishop was also a believer in the Vatican. His status was higher than that of a priest and his identity was purer than that of a priest. He fell in love with the saint at first sight and did not care about the child in her belly at all - he was willing to quit the Vatican and marry the saint.

The bishop boldly expressed his love to the saint in front of everyone. He said, "When I saw you, a 14-year-old, stepping onto the stage for the first time to play Salome, I was deeply fascinated by you, but I knew that your heart and mine would be dedicated to God, so I never disturbed you."

But now, I feel I can bother you, will you stay with me?

After much protest, the saint finally gave in. She married the bishop and moved abroad under his protection. She was no longer disturbed by rumors and lived a very happy life for a while.

The bishop seemed to really love the Saint. His house was filled with photos of her when she was in her teens and had just stepped onto the stage. He also had copied every one of her early performances on videotapes and saved them. He often watched the Saint in those videos to the point of being fascinated.

"You are so beautiful." The bishop exclaimed, "I really regret that I didn't meet you when you were fourteen years old. I would have pursued you madly at that time."

"It's a pity that when I first saw you on tour, you were already eighteen years old."

The saint looked at the bishop's infatuated photo of herself who was too young. She felt something strange in her heart, but the man's genuine love made her let down her guard.

"Will you like my child?" asked the saint.

"Of course, she will be as beautiful as you." The bishop said humorously, "Why should I not like her?"

The saint looked at the many girls' supplies piled up in the nursery room. She asked hesitantly, "You seem to like girls?"

"Yes." The bishop smiled softly, "A girl as beautiful as you were when you were fourteen."

"What if this child..." the saint looked up at the bishop, "is a boy?"

The bishop was silent for a moment, the expression on his face gradually disappeared, but soon he smiled again: "No, it must be a girl, I hope it is a girl."

The Saint paused and said, "You can go check your gender."

"No, I will not use any measures to disturb her coming." The bishop gently supported the saint's shoulders. He looked at the saint's belly, patted it gently, and murmured, "Have you forgotten? In our doctrine, it is extremely impolite and disrespectful to casually test an unborn child. It will disturb their coming."

"They will fly out of my hands like angels."

Days passed and the baby was born.

It's a boy.

The saint will never forget the disappointed look on the man's face when he saw that the child was a boy - it was like opening a gift that he had been waiting for for a long time, only to find that the gift inside was not what he wanted.

It's like the delicious fruit you've been waiting for so long, but just before it's about to ripen and enter your mouth, you discover it's made of plastic.

"I'll take the child away," the bishop said coldly, "and you just stay here."

The saint looked at the man in disbelief: "Where are you taking him?!"

"The Island in the Sky." The bishop looked at the saint and explained casually, "It's a holy land built by the Vatican. It's just right for a newborn child like him to go there and receive education from the Lord. There will be priests who like this child there and they will teach him well."

The saint stared at the bishop and asked, "What is that place?"

The bishop looked at the saint, her wild hair, her face that was no longer youthful and attractive, and her eyes that had become sharp and determined. He couldn't help but sigh with regret: "You are no longer the girl I once liked. I can choose to let you go, and you can go up if you want."

"That's right, you have dedicated your best years to me." The bishop laughed again, "Next, you can return to the island and dedicate your body to God and other people in the Vatican again."

"There are still many people who like you."

Castle in the sky.

Before setting foot on this island, no one could imagine that there is such a dirty place above the sky.

The man who had put on his bishop's uniform again introduced the saint who had climbed up to the sky city in a normal tone. He also smiled and said, "It's amazing, right? There really is a magical island floating above the sea in this world."

"We bought this from a mysterious gentleman. He has many such magical things, but the prices are ridiculously high - such as this island that cannot be easily explored and cannot be landed without someone's introduction."

The bishop smiled and said, "The Castle in the Sky is a membership-based one. You can't get in easily without the introduction of a senior member of the Vatican."

"Those who can come here are those who have a sincere faith or can provide some help to our sincere faith."

The saint looked at the faces of many important figures from other countries who had just walked past her. They were people she had seen on TV. They all looked well-dressed, and were surrounded by at least two or three men and women in Vatican service uniforms, who seemed to be discussing something.

"They are not of high enough status, so they can only stay on the outer perimeter of the island," the bishop said lightly. "Only the truly important people can enter the inner perimeter of the island."

"Inner circle?" she asked softly.

The bishop smiled and said, "To enter the inner circle of the Sky City, you need a higher-level business card. A recommendation from a member of the Vatican is not enough."

"What business card?" She instinctively felt something was wrong.

The bishop felt extremely creepy as the business card was slowly spat out from his mouth.

The bishop looked at her with a smile. He reached out and touched the saint's long hair with sympathy: "Those who enter the inner circle must have very close interests, otherwise we might betray each other."

"So in order to unite everyone and to connect us closely to the greatness of the Holy See, we created a very special calling card."

“——That’s a human.”

"We will bring our closest person to the island as a business card, and then exchange them with each other, giving each other the feeling we once had, so that we can feel like brothers, and we will never betray each other again."

The bishop stroked the saint's blank face and chuckled, "I used to love you very much and didn't want to use you as a business card."

"But now you can be."

"Of course you can refuse. God is merciful and will give everyone the right to refuse." The bishop smiled and said, "Then I will change my business card. The child can also be considered a close person of mine. I don't like boys, but many priests do. There are also many little boys on this island."

"But none of them are as pretty as your child. I believe no one will refuse to use him as a business card."

"What's your choice?" The bishop seemed to have understood something from the saint's eyes. He smiled and said, "I still suggest that you don't think of resisting. The influence of the Tribunal is spread all over the world."

"I can easily kill you on this island, and no one will find out. At that time, I will still have the custody of your child, and he can still be my business card."

"It's just that I don't like to force you to choose this. Just like back then, I also liked that you chose to marry me, but that doesn't mean I don't have the right to force you."

"By the way," the bishop laughed, "the child's biological father is also on this island now, staying with a certain name card."

The saint remained silent for a long time. She glanced at the island floating in the sky and closed her eyes.

The child grew up day by day. He stayed alone in a large villa on an isolated island all year round and was not allowed to leave. His father was a bishop and his mother was a saint. Logically, he should have been a devout believer, but he hated the Vatican very much.

An indescribable, instinctive disgust.

His father was so cold to him that he thought he might even kill him one day just because he accidentally cut an extra rose he liked last night.

But his mother was very kind to him.

His mother was the most beautiful and best person in the world, although she was away from home all year round and could not be with him - this was one of her few shortcomings.

But she was very gentle. She would hold him and talk to him about the outside world and stories. So he magnanimously chose to forgive her shortcoming!

Although his mother was a saint, she never told him stories about the sect.

"Why?" he asked puzzledly.

She paused. "I would rather you believe in what you believe in, not what others believe in."

"Then what should I believe in?" he asked seriously.

She looked at him with mixed feelings, then smiled: "Love, respect, kindness."

"What's the use of believing in these things?" he asked puzzledly.

"My belief in these things once made me very painful. I was constantly hurt. Then I realized that I was one of the few people in the world who believed in these things. Most people would only use these things as reasons and excuses to hurt others." She paused, then smiled with relief, her purple eyes sparkling as she looked at him, "But my belief in these things gave me you."

"You are the best thing my faith has ever given me."

His mother was a dancer who could perform the beautiful Dance of the Seven Veils, which in his eyes was the most beautiful dance in the world. Of course, she still goes out dancing now.

She would dress up very, very beautifully, and then stand in the flower fields outside the villa on a sunny afternoon, smiling and waving at him, with a gentle glow in her purple eyes: "I'm going to dance!"

She said that.

So he lay on the balcony and responded to her loudly: "I'll wait for you to come back!"

She would usually come back very late, with her father, the bishop, whom he hated, and her clothes would be tattered. Then she would go back to her room, change out of her tattered clothes, take a long bath, and then walk up to him, still smiling and hugging him: "Today's dance is over."

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