[The Silmarillion] Romimus

Midsummer has passed, but the hot and humid air in the air still lingers for a long time, causing the guards and servants in the palace to gather in the shade of trees and by the mouth of wells whenever they can steal a moment of leisure. In a cool place, naturally, gossip and gossip between each other is also indispensable.

"It's really calm recently." Someone sighed.

"Hey, why don't you just stop? You just think about watching a show every day. If something serious happens in this palace, we servants whose lives are worthless will not be the first to suffer?"

"That's what you say, but this is the palace, and nothing happens like this, don't you think it makes people feel agitated?"

"If you want to say this, you really mean it...By the way, didn't Prince Anduini come to Armenelos in person two days ago to ask to see His Majesty? Maybe something big is going to happen." Someone said said worriedly.

"Why? Isn't it common for princes to ask to see His Majesty?"

"Are you new here?" The man glanced at the little girl who asked the question, and lowered his voice, "Although we can't say this, everyone knows it well..."

The relationship between Farazon and Prince Amendil of Andunil is very stiff. This is a secret that is tacitly shared by everyone in the palace. It is a bit surprising to say that this is because according to the senior old people in the palace Many years ago, when the two were young, their relationship was still very close. As long as Amendil came to visit the palace from Anduenil, he would always be inseparable from Farathon.But probably in the few years before and after Farazon usurped the throne, their relationship took a turn for the worse. Amandil began to stand up frequently to oppose a considerable part of Farazon's political views, but Farazon was stubborn and never listened to the opinions of his young friends even once. .Until now, except for the time when he had to report to the king every year, Amendil rarely came to Armenelos, and it was even less likely that Farazon would take the initiative to call him to reminisce about the old days.

"Hey, it turned out to be like this?!"

"Shh, let me know this in my heart and let it be over. Don't say I told you."

The young maid timidly nodded her head several times, and involuntarily lowered her voice: "Then what is the purpose of His Royal Highness coming to the palace this time?"

"Hey, who can tell, the minds of these grown-ups are more elusive than a needle dropped in the sea. But let me say—" the man looked around, "[-]% of them still follow the middle-earth. The two are related."

"Why do you say that?"

"I heard this from others too. I don't know if it's true or not, but if you really want to know, I'll just whisper it to a few of us. Don't spread it around." The man stretched his neck and looked around. He circled around, "I heard that in the two days since Prince Amendil arrived at the palace, the woman named Romimos has asked to see His Royal Highness two or three times."

"Huh? Then what?"

"You don't need to ask? It's not like you don't know the attitude of Prince Anduniy towards the two Chinese captives. When His Majesty wanted to bring them back to Númenor, the prince was the one who opposed the most fiercely. Now the woman She even wants to go directly to Anduini to perform a splendid tour, who would not believe that she is going to show off her might? It's really embarrassing, it would change me, and I would—"

"What are you?"

A voice interrupted suddenly.

"I can't bear it either..." The person who was spitting all over the mouth suddenly got agitated and stopped his mouth suddenly.

This voice is not any voice he is familiar with, and it is better than all the voices he has heard before, but it is not pleasant in any case, just like the face of the owner of the voice, no matter how beautiful it is, it is difficult to make people live With complete admiration, I can't wait to grow four legs, turn around and run away.

"Lord Mai Rong." All the servants bowed their heads and stood silently.

In fact, there is no need for these people to be so respectful to Sauron. Although their status in the palace is low, Sauron (at least so far) as a defeated prisoner is no more noble than them. This is evident: the king valued this foreign captive much more than many of Númenor's insignificant natives.Although Falazon's attitude is very ambiguous, he neither really locked up Sauron as a prisoner, but never gave him a proper title to serve him, but how can a smart person not see through——Obviously it should be The sinner was not condemned, and he became a celebrity beside the king in a daze. It was only a matter of time before he became favored, and it was only a matter of time.

"Don't be so nervous, just chatting together. It's such a hot day, you should pay more attention to rest, don't get heatstroke." Sauron smiled lightly, his appearance was still very deceptive, almost Covering up the coolness in the depths of his eyes, "What were you talking about just now? Can I listen?"

……

"I heard that you have been trying to meet Prince Anduini for the past few days," Sauron said.

Romemos was concentrating on designing the sketch of the new dress stroke by stroke without raising his head: "Oh? Who did you hear from?"

"Have you acted foolishly during this period of time?" Sauron said in a bad tone, "This is the palace of Númenor. There are so many eyes and mouths. There is no impenetrable wall."

Romemos smiled nonchalantly: "If people know it, they will know it, so what's the matter?"

"What are you looking for him for? And you didn't even tell me in advance?"

"Of course it's to show my sincerity. I hope His Royal Highness will not forget the villain's mistakes and agree with me to perform in Andusta. Otherwise, wouldn't our plan be ruined?"

"Don't you know the old man's attitude towards you and me?" Sauron sneered, "If Amendil is the kind of old fool who can soften his heart just by listening to a few false repentances, he still needs to be let go. I put so much thought into it?"

"Don't you also know that Amendil can't agree, so why come to me with a stern face to ask me for a crime?"

Sauron was slightly taken aback, and only then did he realize that his reaction was a little too aggressive. After hesitating for a moment, he managed to soften his tone slightly: "I didn't come to blame you..."

"Obviously, as long as there is any trouble, you are not suspicious. At first, I suspected that I and Vera were broken, and later I was not clear with the elves. Now I even suspect that I and the Númenorans, or Andu Niel That faction is on the head. Even if I am willing, might Amendil agree to enter into a cooperative relationship with me? What a daydream!" Romimos snorted coldly.

"I just didn't want to understand. Since you know that you can only be rejected, why bother?" Sauron asked, "I said it before, and I will solve it."

"Of course the result is the most important thing. However, no matter how deep the conflict between Amendil and Farathon is, his position in Númenor is after all important, and his stubbornness is a headache. If he bites his teeth and does not let go, Farathon Now it is unlikely that we will fight him just because of you or me, and it is obviously not wise to let everyone know that we and Amendil are not going to die together." Romemos said, "As the saying goes, take a step back and see the sky, now this I'll take one step back first. If Amendil is willing to come down the steps, even if it's just pretending, that's the best. But if he insists on making things difficult for a little girl like me, that's what his dignified prince is "narrow-minded" and can do I did what I had to do.”

But as the saying goes: "Romimos lied thousands of times, and at least half of them fooled Sauron."

Did Romimos visit Amendil?That's right.

Was it blocked by Amendil with a gate?That is also necessary.

Is Romemos' intention to see Amendil really just an act?This is a question mark.

So, if Romemos really wanted to have a face-to-face meeting with Amendil, would Amendil's unilateral refusal be of any use?

the night before.

The moon had already climbed behind the high clouds, and the people in the palace who had been busy all day slowly fell into a deep sleep.

But in the darkness, there was still a candle burning in a small window.

"Aren't you resting yet?" A young man's low voice came from the room.

"It's so dark tonight, it always makes me feel panicked." Another voice was older.

"The moon is covered by clouds," the young man complained.

The elder coughed twice: "Don't worry about me, you go and rest first, Isildur."

Isildur persuaded him a few more words, seeing that his grandfather had no intention of letting go, he respectfully left.

It was almost pitch black outside the house. I don’t know if it was a psychological effect. Isildur even felt that even the little candles that lit up every few meters were much dimmer than usual. Walking along the corridor from the furious silence and darkness in my heart, the steps under my feet unconsciously took a little longer. I thought that there would be no one in the corridor now, but as soon as I turned a corner, I bumped into a black figure head-on , Even though Isildur reacted quickly and turned sideways abruptly, the boots on the soles of his feet rubbed harshly against the floor, his elbow inevitably rubbed against the shadow, and the other party let out a "Yeah"—it was a woman.

"Sorry." Isildur apologized subconsciously.

The woman was holding a large tray with several plates on it. She frantically kept the balance of those fragile items, and her clumsy movements made Isildur terrified and wanted to help her, but still Before he stretched out his hand, the other party stood still miraculously, without even spilling a drop of water.

The woman let out a breath of relief, and then raised her eyes to look at Isildur in amazement, and Isildur was also looking at her at the same time.

The woman in front of her was unremarkable in appearance, wearing the gray-black long dress and yellowed white apron that ordinary maids in the palace uniformly wore, her hair was wrapped in a turban with several large pieces of oil stains, and the strands of hair were in her ears. Her sides were raised upright, and she seemed to be frightened when she saw Isildur, and stayed there with her mouth half-opened without saying a word.

"It's so late, what are you going to do?" Isildur asked.

The maid lowered her head in a panic and stammered because she was nervous: "My lord, forgive me. I am here because I am on duty tonight..."

"Since you are on duty tonight, just wait and listen to orders. What are you doing wandering in the corridor?" Isildur's suspicious eyes moved from her face to the plate in her hand, "What are those?"

"Millennium porridge, warm milk, honey, and white bread and a few potato sandwiches..." The maid showed Isildur the same way, and then explained, "I see that Lord Amendil's room is still lit with candles." I was worried that His Royal Highness could not fall asleep because of something on his mind, so I thought about preparing some food to send over. Drinking a bowl of hot porridge might make it easier to fall asleep. It’s really not possible, I can’t be hungry if I don’t sleep all night.”

"You are quite careful, so it's hard for you to think so much." Isildur said casually, still dubious.

"It's all as it should be." The maid said courteously, "You haven't rested yet at this late hour, why don't I send these things to His Royal Highness in a while, and then I'll make some for you?"

"No, that's not necessary..." Isildur twitched the corner of his mouth, and suddenly dispelled his doubts about this woman.In his capacity, this is not the first time this kind of thing has happened.But even if he did such a bold thing because of his beauty, he must have some beauty first, he cursed in his heart.

"Oh." Sure enough, the maid showed a disappointed look, "Alright then."

There were a few knocks on the door.

The old prince looked up from his book. "Isildur?" he asked.

"Master Isildur has gone back." An unfamiliar low female voice responded, and then the door was gently opened, and a maid carrying a plate came in with small steps.

Amendil frowned without a trace: "What's the matter with you?"

"My lord Isildur said that you were worried and didn't sleep much for a few days, so I prepared some food that is said to be able to help you sleep on my own initiative and brought it to you." The maid said.

"You have a heart." Amendil said lightly, and there was no praise in his tone. He is upright and honest, and he doesn't care about all the tricks of the people who try to please flattery, and even feels a little disgusted. For those people whose intentions are obvious and their flattering thoughts are almost written on their faces, there may be two or three points of genuine concern hidden in this maid's behavior. Maybe they really just want him to fall asleep early, so She wouldn't have to stay awake all night in fear, waiting for orders.

Thinking of this, Amendil's tone softened a lot, and he looked down at the text on the book again: "Just put it on the table, you can go down and rest too."

"Thank you, Prince, for your concern, but I am too happy to see you, why would I want to leave so soon?"

The tone of this voice is completely different from just now, where is there any restraint and timidity?Just listening to this voice, one can already imagine the shrewd and conceited outline of the speaker.

Amandil was taken aback for a moment, and then the hairs on his body stood on end.

He straightened his upper body slowly, and a smiling woman stood in front of him, her golden eyes were brighter than the moon, her beauty was unsettling.

"It's harder to see you than to see the emperor, but it took me a while." Romimos complained, stretched his hand behind him, and clicked the lock on the door.