Winter Fire (1)

There is one more week of classes after the final exams, after which the students begin their winter break.

During the coldest season, everyone goes back to their own homes.

A similar story can also be found in a children's book in the library:

Legend has it that the goddess of time descended from winter, and the first spell she brought to mankind was "fire".

Fire itself is a symbol of light and heat.

Most of the time in Qiuye's winter, the weather is cloudy, dry, cold and cloudy in the north, and wet, cold and cloudy in the south. It is difficult to see the sun in winter.

Fire is hot at all times.

But the fire in winter warms people's hearts even more.

At the end of each year, when the weather is coldest, people who have been busy all year will return home.

Every household placed candles in the doorway and window, and lit braziers and stoves in the courtyard. They stuffed various herbs, onions, and grains into washed and drained fat geese, put them in the oven, and served them on the dining table. The family drank champagne, exchanged gifts, and built a tower of candlelight.

People on the street gathered in the square to light a big bonfire. A group of people clinked glasses, barbecued, confessed their true feelings in a drunken state, danced wildly around the bonfire, and made love and kissed under the hot firelight and the quiet night.

This revelry would last for a whole week.

This is the Winter Fire Festival.

Inger stood at the window, drinking sweet white wine. This vineyard was also the property of the Neka family. It was directly picked from the wine cellar in the forest. It was not very old, but he particularly liked the perfect sweetness and lemon flavor.

He drank it for three days in a row and figured Jason had memorized his preference.

The Neka Mansion is located on a higher ground, and one can see the bustling city from here. As the dusky sunset falls, candles and bonfires are lit one after another in every household.

The warm candlelight slowly rose from below like a tide, while the purple-blue night above spread out evenly.

He gazed at the scenery quietly.

Anyone who sees it will be enchanted by the scenery.

Comics do not depict such everyday scenes too much, but mostly focus on the main plot and the protagonist, and some major events that affect the direction of world history.

There is little record of this in any history book.

Only those who are living at this moment can feel the taste.

The shots of what he was watching with his eyes closed and the ruins destroyed by war that flashed in his mind appeared alternately, creating a huge sense of disconnection.

He remembered what kind of hell this city had become after the demon invasion.

After that, more than half of human cities, especially in the east, became barren wastelands.

He remembered all of this.

He finished the wine in his glass, sat back down, and finished writing the final part of his thesis.

It is impossible for the tutor to compile and write the thesis on the application of magic in combat. Thanks to this, he has been very busy recently.

But he actually doesn't mind doing this. Although he will stay away from the battlefield in the future, he will try his best to do something helpful before that. It can be regarded as a kind of guilt and compensation.

Every day is too full and the end of the year comes in the blink of an eye.

[Winter Fire Festival... Isn't it just the Spring Festival or Christmas here... Oh no, I'm distracted again...]

A few things happened during this short one-month period.

The previously mentioned insulated rock mine was dug out as planned, located in a suburban area of ​​the Central Region. A temporary branch line was added to the north-south railway track.

Before this, Norihua Midibai had already used the funds and magic stones supported by Inger to purchase several plots of land, including cheap wasteland and expensive commercial construction areas.

Of course, before attending the land ownership lease auction, Inger personally confirmed these plots of land and nodded his approval.

Norihua's vision did not disappoint him, she got everything right.

The land in the central direct-controlled areas belonged to the royal family, but the nobles could purchase the right to use it for 100 years, which was a lease.

The money to buy the land was not a small sum, and Inger had to borrow money from his family to get it. But when Kalena heard this, she didn't even blink, and just said:

"You have learned how to invest in such a small thing. I will ask the financial department to make a budget for you and you can just take money from it."

It's to the point that anyone who hears it would want to say "capitalism is abominable".

The old aristocracy does have more accumulated wealth than the truly emerging bourgeoisie.

Once news of the railway spread through the national newspapers, businesses began to flock to the towns along the planned line, and the value of these plots of land soared.

Norihua's eyes were constantly blooming during that time.

She is really crazy about making money.

Later, without Inger mentioning anything, she went to find the inventor of the generator and the electric light.

The material of the filament has been tested to the best, the cost of the electric lamp has been reduced to the lowest, and the luminous power has been increased to the highest. As long as the power supply is successful, the cost of using it is definitely cheaper than candles or gas lamps. It’s hard to say for the nobles, but ordinary people definitely like it.

Surprisingly, in this world, both were created by the same person.

The other party is also an emerging bourgeoisie who bought a low-level noble title and is a creative businessman.

But he has been researching and developing generators and electric lights for a while. Now he is short of funds and is borrowing money from everywhere. He wants to try to build a power plant and lay electric wires outside Nantes.

At that time, Norihua went to him angrily and asked: "We have been arguing for a long time. That hairless cat insisted on using direct current! Experiments have clearly proved that alternating current is more suitable for high-power and large-scale power generation!"

The hairless cat is the most hated wild cat by the flute players of Nantes. It is ugly and ungrateful. If you feed it a fish, it will give you a claw, but it is easily caught in small traps. When stealing food, it will hold the fish in its mouth and refuse to let go. Later, it became a proverb to insult people for being stubborn and stupid.

Inger then said to her: "Then tell him that if he doesn't use AC, his sponsors will cut off all his sources of funding and all his networks to recruit investors, even if he goes outside of Nantes."

Special privileges are used at times like these. It is no exaggeration to say that with the strength of his family, the other party will have no way to resist unless they flee to Levi's or Salambra. The one with money and power is the master.

Norihua laughed: "Wow! The second son of the Neka family should have such courage!"

"You've been waiting for me to say this, haven't you?"

"You are a tolerant lord, and you are graceful in using your power at the right time."

"Miss Midi's mouth is always filled with honey and flowers."

This matter was finally resolved smoothly.

However, there are still many problems in laying the power lines, and construction is expected to begin in early next year.

These were not things Inger had to worry about. He was happy to be a hands-off manager and let Norihua take care of everything. He was only responsible for providing money and making some key guiding suggestions.

Inger, who had not been in the habit of putting things off until the last minute, finally sat down at the table before the clock struck.

Lanmore came back last, and before he could wipe the snow off his body, he rushed over, hugged him, and kissed him on the forehead.

Inger hadn't quite gotten used to this way of greeting yet and was a little stiff.

Lanmore said: "I miss you guys so much!"

He ran over to kiss his parents again.

Lanmore has been under the control of the princess recently and has established a firm foothold in the political arena. As a temporarily "neutral" pragmatist, he has a heavy burden on his shoulders. Except for the fact that he often visited Inger's home when he was recuperating at home, it has been difficult to see him since then.

Duke Pendlija is also slowly transferring the territorial power to his eldest son.

When Inger sent him greetings by letter, he discovered that Lanmore and Alex had been in contact for some time. He often praised him, and Alex would occasionally make very constructive suggestions.

The protagonist did not slack off at all, and everything went very smoothly.

In this way, Alex will be able to sit on the throne after a series of struggles. His family will successfully support the king, earn enough money and merit, and retire after success. In times of war, they will generously provide financial support in the rear.

Inger was content with this future that he could see the end of.

However, what shattered his beautiful vision were two invitation letters.

"Royal... invitation..."

Inger held two invitation letters in his hands, completely confused.

Lanmore sighed, he was also in a difficult situation.

In fact, Inger had received numerous invitations before, but he asked his butler to accept them all and wrote a polite letter of refusal.

He hated socializing. And the Neka family had the ability and power to reject all invitations from the nobles.

The original person seemed to like parties very much, but his family attributed this change to the psychological sequelae of a serious injury. They were so distressed that they would never force him to go out and socialize. In fact, as a second son, there was no need for him to do so.

But the Neka family also has an invitation that they cannot refuse - the royal family.

A handwritten invitation letter from the acting emperor, the eldest daughter Aura.

Another one is an invitation from Queen Lucia.

They all fall into the category of irresistible.

For Inger himself this was a bit creepy.

He did not welcome this development at all.

His principle is to avoid contact with the protagonists as much as possible. For example, he temporarily ignores the few people in school, and those guys also have other ordinary friends. But the villains are definitely the ones he least wants to contact.

What's more, one of them made him suffer a lot when he first arrived here.

December 25th of every year is the Winter Fire Festival.

On this day, the royal family would distribute grace coupons, a type of tax exemption coupon that could be used by citizens or businesses at any time to exempt them from income tax for one month. The coupons were valid until the person's death and could not be inherited.

The royal family would also hold a banquet to entertain all the nobles and perform the Winter Fire Ceremony, which was actually just a performance of using magic spells to light a fire in the Holy Grail.

The nobles slid onto the dance floor, toasting each other, engaging in intrigue and conspiracy.

The dukes and generals who guarded the borders of various territories returned to the capital once a year to report to the emperor.

The country's dignitaries gathered together. Of course, members of the House of Representatives were not on the invitation list.

It is also the best time to review the situation of all parties.

It was normal for the royal family to send invitations to the Neka family, but these two letters specifically named him.

Inger looked at his parents and brother and understood without any explanation that they had already received what he and his family had given.

"...I don't understand. I haven't been very high-profile recently?"

He was afraid of any leaks, so he kept postponing the wizard level certification test.

Pendlija, Lanmore, and Karina looked at Inger's confused face and fell silent at the same time.

Perhaps Inger didn't mean to, but word of his performance on the final exam had spread among the aristocracy.

Orbid's student, Archbishop Bixi's only magic disciple, a gifted young combat wizard...

Compared to these, the name of the second son of Duke Neka's family is not so dazzling.

After waking up from being poisoned, Inger Nyka never attended any noble banquets.

He had long been an object of curiosity.

It was not unusual for the students of the academy to spend every day together at school. The noble family heads would not go to the academy to see the real thing because they were waiting for the royal banquet.

Because he couldn't refuse.

The Church of the Goddess and the Royal Military and Political College of Nantes are both neutral forces. The Church of the Goddess generally likes to adopt orphans, only trains wizards and priests, and never interferes in political affairs. The college specializes in research and academics, and also provides many military and political talents. However, the current president, Orbid, has intricate connections with the military and the Royal Knights.

Thus, his position is very delicate.

He could understand the eldest princess, after all, the Neka family was now openly "leaning" on her side. Both kidnapping and holding her hostage were possible.

The Queen's party was simply a banquet at Hongmen.

Inger had every reason to suspect that she would have someone poison her again, and this time the method would be even more sophisticated.

Going to the banquet under such circumstances is like dancing on the edge of a knife.

"..." Inger looked at the two invitations and pondered for a long time, but didn't say something as childish as "I can't go." "I know, I will go. Let's have dinner."

Lanmore touched his head and said, "I know you don't want to go from the bottom of your heart. Even if you go, you don't have to say anything offensive. We are all there and will protect you."

His father, mother, and brother all looked at him with firm and warm eyes.

Inger lowered his head and took a bite of his salad.

He still finds it a little difficult to adapt to the feeling of being surrounded by love.

But he would not suppress the upward curve of the corners of his mouth.

He will learn to adapt to this love and then return it.

He and his family will live well until the world war comes, and if they are lucky, there will be a future.

He sincerely hoped that they could sit at the same table to eat New Year's Eve dinner every year and sit by the fireside waiting for dawn.

When Lanmore is at home, he occasionally shows some childish tendencies.

Of course, in his mouth it became Inger acting coquettishly to him.

"Let's go light up the Tower of Light together!"

Inger was extremely sleepy in the middle of the night and was dragged up by him to the candlelit stairs.

It is filled with long candles of various shapes and colors. The base is also very delicate and beautiful.

Just as Langmore was excited and was about to light the fire with a match, Inger yawned and stretched out his right hand.

"Snap", a sound of fingers clicking.

Hundreds of candles lit up in an instant.

Lanmore drooped, "My dear brother, you can't do this. It's so boring."

"Pop", it went out again.

The parents also came over.

Following Inger's fingers moving in the air.

The candles lit and went out, with only a few of them remaining lit. In the flickering candlelight, I could see Inger's peaceful face and the soft smile on his lips.

The lit candles formed the names of his family members.

The three people standing in front saw it clearly.

They all know that this is their child's subtle way of showing them love.

Finally, the candles were lit one by one.

Next to the candlelit stairs is a window, and outside the window is the light of thousands of houses. The darker the night, the brighter the ground. This is the winter fire white night.

Inger leaned against Lanmore, with the orange-yellow flame flickering in his eyes.

He recalled that when he was a child, the orphanage often had power outages, and the children liked to play with candles. Some read books, some liked to cut wicks, and some liked to stare at the candlelight motionlessly.

In the pitch-dark environment, the candlelight can only illuminate a small area, but it is so warm, so mysterious, and so charming.

After growing up, the bright electric lights day and night are not as romantic as the dim candlelight at that time.

When I was a child, I liked to use a craft knife to cut out the melted wax dripping from the bottom of the column, put it into the flame, and watch it melt again.

When the wax melts, the color is very clear, and the wax drips like tears, solidifies, and is melted again by the fire.

He likes that very much.