Imperial Crown.

Chapter 195: Driving away wolves and devouring tigers
(Additional chapter for the enthusiastic [Scholar Swordsman Liufeng])
The climate in the north always changes very quickly. Winter comes before summer is long over.

I just took off my summer clothes and put on my winter clothes. When I walked on the road, the air I exhaled turned into puffs of white mist.

Raven and Lux ​​were walking on the path.

The first snow had just fallen, covering the ground with a thin layer and also giving the red maple trees on the roadside a layer of silver crowns.

The two people's footsteps made a crunching sound, thinning the snow. Occasionally, when their shoulders hit tree branches, fluffy snowflakes would fall, making Lux shrink her neck, and Raven would brush the snow off her shoulders.

It was still early, with just a hint of paleness in the sky. Lux was wrapped in a cotton coat with earmuffs on her head. Her golden hair stuck to her face, which was a little red from the cold. Her sapphire-like eyes became the most beautiful scenery.

Lux was admiring the street scenery, while Raven was admiring Lux.

Feeling Raven's gaze, Lux lowered her head slightly: "Raven, do you remember the first time we met?"

Raven was slightly stunned, then smiled: "How could I not remember? At that time, Donald wanted to use you for a ritual and drained half of your blood. I rescued you and put you on the bed."

"And the first thing you do when you wake up is to chop me with magic!"

The redness on Lux's face seemed to deepen. She bit her lip and said, "It's because of you, you..."

As she spoke, her hands were already protecting her chest.

"Well, I didn't mean it." Raven coughed awkwardly, "I'm a very decent gentleman!"

Lux rolled her eyes at him and had something she wanted to say but didn't say it out loud: Would a decent gentleman rub someone else's feet?
"In fact, for a long time, I didn't know whether I should believe you." Lux said, "Because my memory of Donald is actually very vague, and I have heard rumors about you a long time ago."

"for example?"

"Little bee... or Eric said that."

Raven rubbed his nose. He didn't expect that Eric, a rough guy, also liked gossip. "So when did you start to trust me?"

"It's early." Lux looked at the snow on the tip of her shoe. "Actually, when you made Angel's Tears, I had some trust in you, but Angel's Tears alone cannot improve people's livelihood."

"What really makes me think that you are different from the rumors is the horse thieves attacking Eagle Castle."

When mentioning this incident, Raven's face turned a little red. Looking back now, the handling of the matter at that time was not very sophisticated. If he could start over again, Raven could think of several safer ways.

"Over the years, I have met and interacted with many nobles, and I have read many records in books, but you are the only noble who would choose your own castle as the location for the final battle."

"From that time on, I was convinced that you were different from ordinary nobles. You cared about the lives of your subjects."

At this point, Lux's smile deepened. "The things that happened later made me more certain of this. You distributed land, poultry, and livestock to the people. Although you asked for money, I knew that you wanted them to cherish them."

Raven was rarely praised so directly, and he jokingly said, "Could it be that I am the one who has fallen into the money trap and I have to take money from the poor guy?"

"No." Lux shook her head seriously: "If you were that kind of person, you wouldn't have established this orphanage."

"Raven, you know, I once wondered if I had betrayed the teachings of the Lord of Light."

"From childhood to adulthood, I have always learned that everything is for the Lord of Light. The church is always absolutely just and spreads food, clothing, and kindness to every corner of the continent."

“I firmly believe in this and practice this.”

"But later, I slowly discovered that this was not the case. Many followers of the Lord of Light put their own interests above the interests of the church, and put the interests of the church above the interests of the followers."

Raven could tell that Lux was talking about Archbishop Thomas's transfer of priests before the Hand of Death caused chaos.

Lux looked up at Raven, her eyes filled with stars. "But everything you do is making your territory better. The people in your territory benefit from you. You have saved far more people than the church has."

"You are the one who practices the way of the Lord of Light."

Looking into Lux's eyes and listening to her words, Raven's heart trembled slightly and his heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

He knew that given Lux's personality, this was the boldest love statement she could make.

Raven lowered his head, wanting to savor the tenderness.

Lux's neck shrank back slightly, but she also closed her eyes, and her breathing almost stopped.

Just then, a shout was heard not far away.

“Ah!” Lux opened her eyes and jumped back like a frightened deer: “I still have to bless the children, so I need to prepare!”

After saying that, he left quickly.

Raven frowned and walked towards the direction where the voice came from. He wanted to see who was trying to pick a fight with him at this time!

There were hundreds of orphans who had come with the refugees before, and there were almost the same number of orphans among the residents who migrated here later, so the orphanage building itself was not small.

And because the orphanage itself also serves the purpose of military training, an additional large playground has been opened up that can accommodate thousands of people exercising at the same time.

Due to various factors, the entire orphanage covers an area of ​​nearly 130 acres. Facing the gate is the three-story main building, which is built in Gothic style. There is a huge bronze bell on the roof, which looks more majestic than a church.

A rain gallery extends from the second floor of the main building. Under the rain gallery hangs a three-meter-high oil painting. The content of the painting is of course Raven's heroic figure. He wears a baron's crown, his long black hair is loose, and he is dressed in a black suit. One hand is holding the rapier at his waist, and the other hand is holding a book, and he is reading with his head down.

The orphanage's wall is built with large pieces of bluestone as its foundation and is more than one meter high. Above it is a steel fence that is nearly two meters high.

Raven followed the sound to the fence and saw three children surrounding a child and punching and kicking him.

Judging from their ages, they all looked to be eight or nine years old, no more than eleven or twelve. They were all wearing blue and white clothes customized by the orphanage, but they kept cursing:

"You little bastard, hand it over or not, hand it over or not!"

"You are such a born bastard, would you feel uncomfortable if I don't beat you?"

"Don't think that just because the teacher praises you a few times, you are superior to others!"

The child who was surrounded on the ground held his head with one hand and protected his chest with the other. His body was already covered with mud and shoe prints: "Stop hitting me, stop hitting me!"

"I...I was wrong. Next time I see you guys walk with your heads down, I, I will recognize you as my boss!"

The three kids looked at each other. The tallest one with a deformed left ear sneered, "You think you can join the Banks Gang?"

"But that's fine. If you hand over the money, we will allow you to join."

Hearing this, the besieged child shrank his body and said, "Can I... change the condition? From now on, I will give you bread for every meal!"

The man with the deformed ear turned pale and said, "Can't you understand what I'm saying? Who wants your crappy white bread?"

As he said this, he suddenly kicked the child who was being attacked on the back.

The kick was too sudden. The child on the ground was already exhausted, and his body unconsciously bent forward. The purse in his arms fell to the ground with a thud.

The child on the ground reached out to take it back, but his wrist was firmly grasped by a foot.

Deformed Ear bent down, took the purse in his hand, weighed it, and opened it, revealing a look of surprise: "Wow, you pretend to be poor all day long, but I didn't expect you to be so rich. Did you find a godfather?"

There were more than a dozen silver coins and dozens of copper coins in it.

"Give it back to me!" the child on the ground screamed, struggling even though his wrists were bleeding from being rubbed on the ground:
"That's the money my mother left for me to go to school—"

"Don't you have a school to go to now?" The man with the deformed ear sneered, kicked the child's hand away, and swung his money bag: "Hey, we're rich today, brothers, let's go!"

The child on the ground stood up and tried to chase after him, but was kicked in the chest and fell backwards to the ground again.

Tears streamed from the corners of his eyes, and he sat on the ground, crying quietly.

Raven, who had witnessed the whole process, climbed over the wall, walked up to him, and whispered, "What's your name?"

The child shuddered, opened his eyes and saw Raven. Because he was wearing heavy clothes, he did not recognize Raven's identity, but he still wiped his tears: "My... My name is Hoyaz, sir."

Raven said: "What a nice name. Your mother must hope that you can grow up healthy."

When mentioning his mother, Heyaz couldn't help but shed tears again: "But...but the things my mother left for me have been taken away by others!"

"Don't cry. How can you, as a man, cry so easily?" Raven said.

Hoyaz's eyes sparkled with hope: "Then, can you help me get my things back?"

Raven shook his head. "This is your own business. I won't interfere."

"But the Banks gang is very powerful, with more than a dozen people." Hoyaz lowered his head: "I can't beat them..."

"The difference between humans and animals is that we use wisdom." Raven reached out and tapped his forehead. "Little guy, I can teach you a way to get back what belongs to you."

Hoyaz asked hurriedly: "What method?" "Drive the tiger to devour the wolf." Raven lowered his voice: "Next you need to..."

As the details were explained one by one, Hoyaz's eyes lit up more and more: "This method will definitely work!"

Then he lowered his head again: "But sir, I have nothing to repay you..."

"What do you mean by repaying or not repaying?" Raven laughed and said, "If you get into trouble, just remember not to tell anyone about me."

Hoyaz nodded heavily: "Yes!"

Raven left, and Hoyaz began to implement the plan Raven gave him.

In the orphanage, the Banks Gang is not the only underground organization. There is also a larger and more powerful gang called the Rhino Gang.

Their leader, nicknamed "Rhino", is the oldest of the orphans, already fourteen years old. He comes from a wealthy merchant family, has a strong physique, and has learned some martial arts. Many people have been bullied by him.

At this time, Rhino was sitting in the corner of the classroom, listening to the flattery of his gang members.

Hoyaz took a deep breath, went over his prepared words in his mind, and walked in front of Rhino: "Boss Rhino!"

"Hey, isn't this Hoyaz?" Rhino pretended to be mature: "What are you doing here? Are you looking for a fight again?"

"I know I was wrong last time. From now on, I will give you bread for every meal!"

"Actually, after the last time, I knew that I needed to find a backer, so I've always wanted to join you!" Hoyaz took a deep breath, "I had already made up my mind to give you my mother's inheritance in exchange for forgiveness, but somehow, the boss of the Banks gang, 'Rotten Ear' Banks, found out!"

"Then they took away the thirteen silver coins that I was going to give you."

Rhino's pupils shrank: "How much did you say?"

"Thirteen silver coins, and thirty-one copper coins." Hoyaz said with his head down.

For these orphans, this is an absolutely huge sum of money!

Their monthly pocket money is only five copper coins. They can't save up that much money even after leaving the orphanage!

Although Rhino likes money, he is also a little hesitant.

After all, today is a big day, and it is said that some important people will come to inspect, so it is somewhat unwise to cause trouble at this time.

"Not only did they steal my money, they also laughed at us!" Hoyaz used his last trump card: "They said that the Rhinos only look fierce, but in fact they don't dare to fight anyone. The Rhinos are just bluffing!"

"They also said that with this money, they would buy short sticks and daggers to teach you a lesson!"

Banks certainly didn't say these words, but Rhino didn't have time to confirm that.

As the boss of the Rhino Gang, he enjoys the feeling of being the center of attention, and he can "take a commission" from his gang members every month, and he can also collect protection fees from ordinary orphans.

If the money was converted into combat power after today, his position would definitely be threatened by the Banks gang.

"Let's go!" Rhino jumped off the table and clenched his fists. "I've disliked them for a long time, but considering our friendship as classmates, I didn't want to fight with them. But now that they dare to do this, don't blame me for turning hostile!"

"Rhino Gang, let's go!"

As he said that, he led more than twenty people and rushed into the classroom where the Banks gang was.

Banks was showing off his money bag to his gang members. When he saw this, he frowned and asked, "Rhino, what do you want to do?"

Without waiting for Rhino to reply, Hoyaz grabbed a stool and threw it at Banks!
Hoyaz was nominally a member of the Rhino Gang. Once he took action, the Rhino Gang certainly could not lose momentum, and immediately shouted: "Brothers, go!!"

Tables, chairs and benches flew everywhere and the classroom was in chaos.

Having more people does have its advantages, and Rhino's strength is not in vain. He quickly defeated the Banks gang.

Hoyaz mixed in the crowd and began to take revenge with punches and kicks. Seeing those who besieged him fall to the ground crying for their parents, a sense of pleasure began to grow in his heart.

However, he did not forget his real goal and kept observing Banks' movements. Just when Banks was knocked to the ground by Rhino's punch, he immediately rushed forward and grasped his purse in his hand!

"Well done!" Rhino hooked his finger at Hoyaz: "Give it to me!"

Hoyaz shook his head vigorously: "No, this was originally mine!"

"You dare to play tricks on me?" Rhino picked up a stool and said, "You've been beaten by me before, so you should know that I'm much more ruthless than Banks!"

Looking at Banks with blood all over his face, Hoyaz's heart trembled a few times, but he finally shook his head: "No!"

"Okay, then you can just lie down with them...!"

boom--

The door was suddenly pushed open and slammed against the wall, and the disciplinary nanny walked in with a sullen face: "What are you doing?!"

Hoyaz was the first to shout:

"They bullied me! They wanted to steal the inheritance my mother left me, and they started fighting each other!"

Rhino couldn't believe what he heard: "He lied, he-"

"Shut up!" The disciplinary nanny gritted her teeth and said, "You guys can do whatever you want at other times, but today, on such an important day, you actually made such a scene for me. Everyone, put them all in solitary confinement!"

Then, guards rushed in and took these people away one by one.

Hoyaz was no exception and was held in solitary confinement in a room.

About half an hour later, the matron came in and said, "I've asked Lennon and Banks."

Lennon is the real name of the rhino.

"We understand your motive, but this method is definitely not something a child like you could come up with. Tell me, who gave you the idea?"

"No one told me!" Hoyaz bit his lip, "They just wanted to steal my money!"

The disciplinary nanny's face became more gloomy: "You should know that this matter is not a small matter. If you don't hand over the mastermind behind the scenes, you will most likely be expelled from the orphanage."

"You are only eleven years old. How can you survive out there by yourself? Can you live up to your mother's expectations?"

Hoyaz still shook his head: "...No means no, this idea is my own!"

The disciplinary nanny pulled her handkerchief and glared at him angrily: "Okay, remember what you said."

After saying that, she turned and left.

Hoyaz sat in the house anxiously, and had already started planning how to live alone.

He held the purse tightly in his hand.

As long as it is there, I still have a home.

An unknown amount of time passed before the disciplinary nanny opened the door and said, "You are lucky today. The Baron has ordered that past events will be forgiven."

"The Baron is going to speak next, go change your clothes quickly, you look so dirty!"

After washing and changing clothes, until he walked into the auditorium, Heyaz still couldn't believe that he had succeeded!
Not only did he keep the inheritance his mother left him, but he could also continue to stay in the orphanage!

Along the way, other orphans always pointed fingers at him. Banks and Rhino both looked at him with hatred, but there was a hint of fear in their hatred.

From the fragments of conversation, Hoyaz heard that they gave themselves a nickname, which seemed to be... "Two-headed Snake".

A sense of enlightenment arose in Heyaz's heart. It is much better to be feared than to be despised!

For the first time, he walked into the team with his head held high.

Then Hoyaz saw a scene that stunned him.

On the high platform, wasn't that Baron Raven in a tuxedo the one who had taught him how to drive away tigers and devour wolves?

Raven winked at Hoyaz, his voice echoing through the auditorium.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Raven, Raven Ota Griffith."

……

(End of this chapter)