Chapter 323: The Starry Sky
Chapter 323 The Starry Sky
The sound of people, music, and the clinking of wine glasses intermingled into a picture of a joyful ocean, and under the illumination of uncountable candles, the hall was as commanding as the day, in which mingling, singing, and dancing took place, and the guests were enjoying a wonderful banquet.
After finishing his socializing with a crowd of enthusiastic nobles, Siegfried Ephors stealthily walked out the door along the base of the wall to the outdoor gardens. Fresh air rushed into his nostrils and he took a big, beautiful breath, his head clearing.
The red-haired young man pulled out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his head before loosening his collar.
Today’s night sky was very clear, bright stars covered the night sky, Siegfried looked at the night sky and said to himself, “I can’t find you anywhere, so I really hid in this place to clear my head alone. Really ……”
He wasn’t talking to himself, another young voice responded, “Didn’t you hide out as well?”
Siegfried looked in the direction of the voice, it was an inconspicuous corner, a figure was leaning against the railing, holding a glass of wine and gazing up at the stars in the sky.
Through the bright moonlight, one could see that this was a handsome young man, with blonde hair paired with a fair googly-eyed face, a proper and handsome nose and lips, like a perfect work created by a sculptor in accordance with the most ideal image of his heart. But his ice-blue eyes were by no means the lifeless beauty of a sculpture, but were as sharp and divine as an eagle.
The red-haired young man said with dissatisfaction, “Hmph, Antonio, you’re the main character of today’s banquet, how can it work if the main character isn’t present?”
The one who was conversing with Siegfried Efes was none other than Antonio Griffin, the second son of the Emperor of the Gabella Empire, the son of the legendary witch, and the object of Siegfried’s sworn allegiance.
Bearing such a name as the son of a witch, even as a member of the royal family, Antonio had suffered a lot of ostracism and glares among the upper echelons of the empire, and coupled with the dazzling talent he had shown since he was a child, he had even aroused the jealousy and alienation of his peers.
But there were also many people who were willing to recognize and accept him, such as Siegfried Efes, who came from a famous family in the empire. Antonio Griffin and this red-haired young man can be said to have been friends since childhood, although on the surface the two are the relationship between the emperor and his subjects, but in actual dealings with each other as if they were brothers. When they were young, they studied together under the famous imperial maester Aldrich, and when they grew up, they joined the imperial army together to participate in the military affairs, and spent time together. Compared to Antonio’s older half-brother, Siegfried is the real brother and sister he recognizes, and in private, both of them call each other by their first names.
Hearing Siegfried’s words, Antonio snorted, ”Banquet protagonist? Haha, isn’t there still Lord MacDonald at the front? Besides, if it wasn’t for the fact that I was lucky enough to get a little bit of credit in this war, they would still be avoiding me, the son of a witch?”
Siegfried shook his head, “This time you have made more than just [a little] credit, we have been in a stalemate with the Nestorians for a long time now, no one can do anything about it, no one expected to be broken by you. The tradition of the empire has always been to emphasize only the merits of the war, this time after returning to the imperial capital, your status and popularity are not the same as before.”
A trace of indignation surfaced on Antonio’s face, “These are secondary. Hmph, if it wasn’t for those rotten trees that occupy positions without doing anything, the imperial army would have broken long ago.”
Siegfried spread his hands and said, “It can’t be helped, we have a large amount of rotten wood on our side, and Nesta’s side also has a large amount of rotten wood, that’s why it’s a stalemate. As you said before, it’s a time to compare rottenness ah, the less rotten of the two wins.”
“Ha ha ha!” “Ha ha ha!”
The two looked at each other and burst out laughing.
A clear female voice rang out in the night, “That’s why we threw ourselves under your highness’ command, in order to change this rotten era and give the world a new life.”
Accompanied by the voice, a beautifully dressed woman walked in a graceful manner, dressed in a white gown, her dark hair seemed to blend in with the night color.
Siegfried complained, “Really, how many times have I said, don’t move and hang on to statements like ‘let the world get a new life’, we’ll be mistaken for cultists.”
Antonio raised the glass of wine in his hand towards the Lillian and smiled, “Carol, you ran out too.”
Carole nodded her head slightly in greeting to Antonio and Siegfried, “Your Highness Antonio, Lord Aifis, as you know, I’m not quite used to this kind of banquet occasion.” Whether it was her other identity or the character she had developed because of that identity, it made Carol feel resistant to places with many people.
Antonio frowned slightly and said, “Carol, you have to learn to adapt. I swore that sooner or later, I will let you walk anywhere in the world with honor.”
Siegfried knew what group of people [you guys] was in his best friend’s mouth, and he looked at Antonio, the other man’s eyes were clouded with a layer of melancholy, as if he was caught up in some memories.
The atmosphere seemed to become a bit heavy, and Carol said softly, “Yes, Your Highness, I will try to adapt.” Seemingly sensing that her words had touched a certain heartstring of Antonio’s, she hurriedly started another topic, “Your Highness, Lord Aifis, are you guys just going to stand here? Many people at the banquet are looking for you.”
Siegfried cooperatively joked, “Haha, looking for Antonio, right? Then again, Carol, are you so eager to let His Highness go back? With the great battle achievements our imperial prince-sama has made, I’m afraid those people are looking for him because they’re eager to introduce their family’s girls to him, do you really not mind?”
Carol’s face flushed, “I …… I ……”, her eyes glancing at Antonio from time to time.
Antonio didn’t say anything, he just raised his head to look at the starry sky, Siegfried and Carole also looked up, only to see that the sky was dotted with stars, countless bright spots seemed to converge into a huge river flowing in the night sky.
All three of them were immersed in this magnificent scene for a moment.
Siegfried asked, “Then again, Antonio, since you were a kid you’ve always loved looking at the stars, do they fascinate you that much?”
Antonio lowered his head, “I sometimes think that compared to the vast river of stars, everything that happens on the ground is really small. If the stars are alive, they probably look at us like we look at ants.”
“Really, thinking about this kind of question too much can put you in some kind of cognitive block.”
“Then have you ever wondered what those stars in the sky really are?”
“What are stars? Aren’t stars just stars?”
“But why do they give off light, are they burning all the time? And you know that objects are near and large, right, so how far away are those stars? How big are they?”
Hearing the royal son’s questioning, Siegfried sighed, “I only know that they are in a realm that is beyond the reach of us mortals, so perhaps these questions of yours will become eternal mysteries.”
Antonio’s eyes mapped the starry sky, “If the stars are far enough away for us to see, and we can see them, it means they are actually very large, what kind of forms do they take? Could there actually be people living up there?”
Siegfried was speechless, “Antonio, you’re not taking mythology seriously, are you?”
Even Carol on the side also revealed a new look of surprise, not realizing that the prince he had always admired also had such a “childish” side. Of course, it was quite cute to her.
“Perhaps,” Antonio said, “If someone really lives there, I would really like to meet those alien people.”
(End of chapter)