Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

"In fact, I only talked to Mr. Giovanni at the investiture ceremony, and the Secretary of State's face often appeared in newspapers - and often on the headlines - so I remember it quite clearly. But the Secretary of State probably doesn't know me, even though my current position seems so...delicate."

"Ah, you should be careful with your words, Lieutenant." Leopold chuckled. "If the Secretary of State hears this, he will think you are mocking the Executive Committee and may even order your arrest!"

"You will be arrested before I am, Captain."

Galeazzo de Barbacro responded with disdain.

"Where were we talking about? Right, the Secretary of State knows nothing about economics?"

"Not interested at all."

"not interested?"

"Yes. Mr. Giovanni has absolutely no interest in finance, fiscal matters, or anything like that."

"You even know such things."

"Mr. Gallezzo, have you finally been driven mad by the long-term police work and the poor alcohol tolerance of the police corps, so that you have forgotten what my father does for a living?"

"Senior clerk."

"It seems you still remember. Anyway, Mr. Giovanni doesn't like these things at all. In his opinion... well... in his opinion, the word finance can be directly linked to words such as fraud, bubble, and crooked ways. When the day comes when financial officials control the country's major policies, the country will be almost doomed."

"That sounds like a pretty radical view."

"It's not over yet. In Mr. Giovanni's opinion, our country should completely abolish the existing financial and fiscal system and hand over the financial power to the Production Development Committee... Of course, this will make the power of the Production Development Committee too great. According to Mr. Giovanni's idea, this over-expanded organization needs to be divided and decomposed. However, no matter how it is decomposed, there are still a few departments that use plans to decide production and market operations afterwards..."

Galeazzo couldn't help wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Well, it's a bit of a stretch to say it's radical... It sounds really crazy."

"Who says it isn't?"

"You know, Leopold, this kind of idea can be smelled from a kilometer away by the fanatics of planned economy. I understand this very well. After all, it is said that Mr. Giovanni was close to the Troven Party. I am not surprised at all that he would have such an interest."

"That makes sense, but it's not entirely true."

"Not entirely true? Then there must be something else going on."

"You are now seconded to the police force, specifically responsible for the security and defense of the Northeast Region."

"Yes."

"You know the situation in the Northeast District much better than I do... The situation there recently must not be very good."

"That's right. But I don't see how this has anything to do with the subject just now."

"I hope you won't tell anyone else what I'm about to say, at least not before it's officially published."

"no problem."

"You must swear, Mr. Gallezo. It is not that I doubt your character, but on this subject, I will never trust a simple promise more than a solemn oath, not only to you, but to anyone else."

"I swear on my family's coat of arms, on my sword and blood, never to mention what I am about to hear to anyone unnecessarily."

"Okay, then listen to me."

Leopold did not continue speaking immediately, but glanced in the direction of Secretary Giovanni. It seemed that the conversation between Christopher Nonay and Secretary Giovanni had come to an end. The former saluted the latter and then walked away quickly with the wine glass in his hand. However, the Secretary of State did not get some free time because of this. Soon, another figure who was quite familiar to Leopold came over and greeted the Secretary of State: That was Bissoro Michelini.

Bissoro Michelini...or in other words, Secretary General of the Production Development Committee, Vitaly Stuart's right-hand man, and cadre of the Hammer and Anvil Party. This series of titles is enough to show that Director Vitaly of the Production Development Committee has something he wants to talk to the Secretary of State about.

The hall was still a little noisy as before. Men and women, young and old, steady and impatient people, different people spoke different words, and different voices mixed together to weave a strange melody that seemed to have magic. It sounded complicated and disorderly at first, but it was easy to fascinate people and immerse themselves in it.

Leopold de Liario knew very well that everyone here, no matter whether he put his ideas into practice or not, no matter what he was talking about or doing, he must be paying more or less attention to those people who deserve attention, such as Secretary of State Giovanni and Director Vitali. Countless pairs of eyes were watching them and countless pairs of ears were trying their best to listen to their words.

After a pause, Leopold continued:

"In fact, there is a threat approaching this city, this country, our homeland, Muirand."

He carefully observed Galezo's expression, and the latter's reaction was somewhat beyond his expectations: Galezo de Barbacro looked calm and composed, and when talking about this topic, he no longer showed the youthful ability and lofty talk as before, but a more mature stability and composure.

"Yes, Mr. Leopold, I am aware of this matter."

"Do you have any idea?"

"As you said, as the person in charge of defense and public security in the Northeast, I think no one knows the situation in my jurisdiction better than me in recent years. Before the problem occurs, when there are only a few clues, I have already taken action."

"It seems that your verbal aversion to this job is not worth mentioning. In fact, you are really intoxicated by this job. The safety of the Northeast District is more important to you than fine wine."

Leopold was more and more surprised. He had wanted to give his friend the information he had, but now it seemed unnecessary. He knew more than Galeazzo, but it was limited.

"As for treatment, the salary, allowances and benefits of the guard are lower than those of the regular army. As for prestige, how can a position like the captain of the guard be comparable to that of officers? I can't bear this job with just these. The complaints I told you before were not false. The work of the guard in the Northeast District is numerous and dangerous. It's just that this job is related to this city - it's related to you and me, our relatives, our friends, and their safety. If I take this into consideration, I have to focus on this job. It is definitely not mellow wine, but pungent sulfur water. Don't envy me and give up the bright future of the army to come to the Northeast District to suffer together."

Leopold groaned for a moment and said:

"It seems that the lieutenant general is indeed interested in cultivating you. Putting this aside, since you already know that there is danger approaching, do you know the true face of this danger?"

"At least from my perspective, not yet."

"Then I will tell you now - in fact, according to the news received today, a monster is approaching the Seldon Great Wall. The true identity of the monster has not yet been determined. What we know is that the monster is extremely powerful, so much so that it has already begun to affect the Seldon Great Wall and even this city while it is still on its way south from Zhongbei. Perhaps the destruction of the Principality of Lanmen is also related to it. It was the appearance of the monster that caused the climate in the northeastern coastal area to suddenly become harsh and dangerous.

The Executive Committee may have known the news for some time before. It was with this news that the Secretary of State began to promote his planned economic model, and the Ministry of Finance also increased its intervention in the market to prevent certain speculators from spreading panic and driving up prices. This news was finally confirmed today. I don’t know when the Executive Committee will choose to announce it, but it is foreseeable that once this news is announced, the impact will be much greater than it is now. "

“…That sounds interesting.”

Leopold was surprised at Galeazzo's steadiness, and Galeazzo was surprised at the news Leopold brought.

Galezo de Barbacro did not answer immediately. He was in deep thought as if he was savoring the news brought by Leopold. Leopold did not rush him. In his opinion, what he had obtained today was enough and there was no need to rush to the next stage.

"Monster." Galezo considered the wording, "Is this a metaphor or an actual reference? If it is a metaphor, what does this word refer to? A storm? A new enemy country? If it is an actual reference, what does it refer to? A powerful monster? A legendary dragon or a giant with a hundred arms?"

"Neither, sir." Leopold said, "I can only tell you that it is a real thing. As for what it is, a dragon, a giant, or something else, I can only tell you that I have no comment. I heard that the front-line observers were unable to provide more detailed information. They only knew that it was a very tall and powerful being."

This answer once again made Galeazzo ponder.

Chapter 27: Night Banquet (Part 3)

"What do you think, Your Excellency, Lieutenant General?"

Not far from Galezo de Barbacro and Leopoldo de Liario, in a completely inconspicuous corner, there were two figures standing - one of them had pale short hair and a thick beard that almost covered half of his face. He was wearing a neat green army winter uniform. Like every honorable soldier, he was covered with medals and ribbons. What was even more eye-catching were the four gold stars on his shoulders. Only those officers with the most brilliant achievements and the longest seniority could win this rank.

The man next to him was not wearing a military uniform, but an ordinary dark gray suit, black leather shoes, a white shirt, and a blue striped tie. If you ignore the diamond tie clip or the mechanical watch from the Black Larum workshop on his wrist, he looked like an unremarkable guest. It would not be surprising if he was mistaken for a servant of a distinguished guest. For example, he had been mistaken for the secretary of the elderly soldier next to him several times.

In fact, one of them was Lieutenant General of the Army, Commander of the Eastern Military Region, Marino di Guerramanni, and the other was Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rupert Nicolas. The former was a genuine Muirand nobleman, while the latter was a foreigner from the southern countries.

In the eyes of Galeazzo and Leopold, their conversation was not eye-catching or noticeable at all. It was like talking about a new restaurant in the city or an opera performance tomorrow night. Such topics were not uncommon in the current venue. No one would pay too much attention to other people's conversations. They suppressed their tone and volume, found a round table that was some distance away from the surroundings and where there were no wandering people nearby, thinking that this would allow them to limit the topic to the two of them.

So what actually happened - in fact, their actions did not have much effect. Leaving aside other people, Lieutenant General Marino and Deputy Minister Rupert had been paying attention to Galezo's movements before their conversation began.

But it's not a big deal.

"It's no different from what the intelligence said."

Lieutenant General Marino Di Gualamani was a calm person. He did not change his expression just because he was talking about the life and death of Mulande. He still maintained a casual tone. I don't know how many eyes were watching him and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs beside him. The two of them were as eye-catching as Secretary of State Giovanni or Minister Christopher in this meeting. Therefore, they had to pay more attention to self-control than Galeazzo and others to avoid being snooped into too many things.

Of course, Lieutenant General Marino, a native Muirand nobleman, was somewhat different from his compatriots. For example, he was more introverted and not used to the Nasaran accent. Moreover, the person he was talking to was a "Southerner", which reduced the need for him to speak at length. He only said what he thought was necessary. In this case, no matter how the two talked, it would not attract excessive attention from the people around them, let alone alarm the two young men who were being "eavesdropped on".

"You are well-informed, sir."

"The lieutenant's intelligence network relies heavily on the army - not only on himself, but also on the young soldiers' club he belongs to." The lieutenant general did not comment, and then said: "This matter will soon be brought to the Grand Council for discussion and research to determine countermeasures... I'm afraid the House of Lords will not be able to reach a consensus before then. Howard's guys can still hold a banquet at this time. It's really confusing."

The military can naturally obtain the same intelligence that Galeazzo and Leopold can obtain.

In less than a day, the matter was no longer a secret among Myuland's upper circles. Even so, whether it was the military high-ranking officials, the House of Nobles, or even the four major families, they all chose to pretend to be completely unaware of it and only discussed it within their own small circles.

In this situation, everyone else's behavior was understandable, but there was no news at all from the four major families, as if they were a stagnant pool of water. They even held banquets as usual at this time - this seemed a little too abnormal.

"The Stuarts' attitude is normal. The Byrons have always been ambiguous. It is really intriguing that Stock and Howard have not expressed anything at all."

"Whether they are taking this opportunity to strengthen themselves or have a sense of crisis about this matter... I don't feel any sense of it from them."

Unlike Deputy Minister Rupert who was busy with official duties these days, Lieutenant General Marino was much more relaxed, so he had more opportunities to test the reactions of the four major families. At a time when there was a little commotion within the Grand Council, the four major families, who were not completely united, showed a very unified indifference, as if nothing had happened. It was impossible for them not to have received the news, and it was even possible that they knew more than the military. Whenever Marino thought of this, he could not help but squint his eyes.

They must have made a decision, but they chose to keep it secret. This kind of unknown is the most unbearable.

In a brief moment, a thought flashed through Lieutenant General Marino's mind.

What dangerous things are they going to do?

The brief, fleeting thought did not affect the lieutenant general's expression. He was still looking calmly at the distance. Galezo and Leopold stopped talking at the same time. Not only them, but it seemed that the whole venue had an indescribable tacit understanding. People did not communicate beforehand, but felt something at the same time, realized what was going to happen, and listened to the footsteps coming closer and closer.

Even Domenico de Howard, the head of the Howard family and the owner of this mansion, put down his wine glass as a matter of course and looked at the guests in front of him, as if the smooth conversation before had never happened. Everyone's attention was focused there, on the velvet carpeted aisle.

Da da da.

The high heels touched the floor lightly, making a sound that even the velvet carpet could not eliminate. Perhaps it was just an illusion. The owner of the footsteps did not want to deliberately show his presence. He just took ordinary steps, stepped on the ground, and made a slight sound. It was just because it was too quiet here for a while that made the insignificant sound particularly eye-catching.

Just by hearing those tiny footsteps, everyone present, no matter they were big businessmen, judges, nobles or soldiers, could recognize the owner of those footsteps at the first moment, so they chose to remain silent, so they chose to put down everything in their hands, so they cast their eyes, paid attention, and responded with expectation as if instinctively, expecting the arrival of that figure.

That’s right, this is not the first time this has been done, and most people present feel that it will not be the last time.

As the owner of the footsteps, the figure who stepped out of the brightly lit corridor, Collette Xi Caroline, known as the "Clear Voice", seemed to have long been accustomed to such gazes. Not to mention the gazes of the dignitaries in Howard Mansion, even the hot and dense gazes of hundreds of thousands of spectators, she could face them calmly. Those gazes could not put pressure on her, but instead, like bright stars, stained her with more dazzling brilliance.

Today, Colette was wearing a black evening gown with white satin inlaid on it like piano keys. She seemed to always give people this kind of black and white feeling. The style of the gown was not complicated, but it embraced the glittering jewels and silver chains on her neck, wrists, earlobes, and waist with a sense of natural grandeur. In people's eyes, everything on her existed for her, to make her more dazzling, and thus they were one.

"Rose seems to be ignored by everyone. All eyes are on you, Colette."

"What, are you jealous?"

"No, I just think Colette is really amazing—"

"You..."

The conversation between the two was as soft as a whisper. No one noticed, nor could anyone hear the whispers between the girls.

Perhaps it was because their lips moved too slightly, or perhaps it was because they deliberately lowered their voices so that others would not hear them, but more likely it was because Colette H. Caroline alone attracted everyone's attention, so that everyone overlooked the fact that there was such a bright and beautiful girl beside her.

The girl has bright red horns and a slender dragon tail, and occasionally some bright red scales like gems. She does not need to use jewelry and precious metals to decorate herself. Perhaps there is a habit of collecting glittering things in her nature, but this habit seems to have been worn out recently. After all, the girl named Rose really can't think of any jewelry that can shine more than the opera star next to her. She shakes the tip of her tail inadvertently, and does not hide her inner joy. The dress that wraps her body is made of shiny black and bright magenta, and the corners of her skirt seem to sway with the ups and downs of her mood, but no one cares.

The silent silence did not last long. After Colette and her female companions entered the venue, the surroundings quickly returned to the orderly noise. Or rather, it was even more so than before. People seemed to have new topics to discuss with the guests around them, and they couldn't wait to put them into words.

To have a chance encounter with the most popular celebrity in the whole of Muirand - no contact, no conversation, no even eye contact, just seeing that Colette Caroline at such a close distance, this kind of thing is enough to be a proud topic of conversation, to add luster to oneself at the dinner table.

Tickets for "Sitzberg" are hard to come by. The first-class seats and VIP seats have been divided up by various connections long before the tickets go on sale. The second-class seats with good angles are also quite expensive. Those tickets that are easier to buy from middlemen are basically either third-class seats or second-class seats with poor angles. If you are lucky, you can use a telescope to watch the show. If you are less lucky, even a telescope cannot be used, and you can only hope to watch the show on the small screen in front of the seat. This is largely due to Colette's popularity.

"Phew—I thought my heart had stopped beating."

"You're being too exaggerated."

Seeing Galeazzo patting his chest exaggeratedly, Leopold couldn't help but laugh and shook his head: "Why, haven't you seen this Miss Colette Caroline before?"

"To be honest, I've never seen it before!"

"Really?"

"That's not true. I've never been to her live performance, but thanks to my father, I was lucky enough to get a few first-class seats in the Crystal Image. It's hard to say whether watching an opera recording at home with a glass of wine and some snacks is a better experience than watching the performance live."

"The feeling of being there must be much stronger." Leopold snorted disdainfully, "Image crystal? Even the recordings of the VIP seats or boxes can't compare to the feeling of being there in the second-class seats! Didn't I give you two box tickets last time? Didn't you go to see it then?"

"That's true, but you may have forgotten that I was temporarily transferred back to Hill 305..."

"That's unfortunate."

It is hard to tell whether Leopold is genuinely sorry or gloating.

"In that case, Mr. Galezzo, who has only seen the non-live version, what is your evaluation of Miss Colette Xi Caroline?"

"Oh, that's a stupid question."

Galeazzo de Barbacro picked up his glass, now empty of ice, and pointed it toward the distance.

Colette Xi Caroline and her female companion were walking in the conference hall as if no one was around. It seemed that there was no chance for them to approach the nobles, merchants and officials who wanted to talk to them. Only when she was in a good mood would she chat with the people she met, and then she would once again take the arm of the dragonborn and walk towards another place she had not been to. The small conference hall seemed to be turned into a distant and interesting journey by her.

She seemed to be so independent that people who didn't know her would inevitably think that this would hurt some people's self-esteem. But today, here, among these nobles, big businessmen and officials, no one would have such a feeling - the head of the Howard family could only smile and greet her, so who would think that their status could be higher than Dominic de Howard?

"She is undoubtedly Muirand's treasure."

"Exactly."

Galeazzo and Leopold looked at each other, then laughed together in tacit understanding. It seemed that both of them were very proud of this consensus that came out of nowhere.

Perhaps some people present were more familiar with Colette than other guests, and therefore could sense something. She was different today than usual, and different from the one she had attended previous banquets. This difference was not reflected in her language or actions, but seemed to be a change in her mentality.

But for many more people, Colette is just like the always Colette, taking the same steps and shining the same brilliance.

For others, the difference in attitude is even more pronounced.

Some watched coldly, some turned a blind eye, some were at a loss, and some, like Domenico de Howard, could not help but smile bitterly and shook his head, shaking the wine glass in his hand as if to cover up, and muttering to himself that only he could hear.

"This is really troublesome..."

Chapter 28: Myland's First Night

“Is it really necessary to buy so many things?”

With her arms folded across her chest, Lunicia looked helplessly at the large and small bags piled up at her feet. The weight was not a problem for her, but carrying so many things out would inevitably make her mobility difficult. What if she was attacked? It was inevitable that she would be criticized for thinking about irrelevant things for considering such a problem.