soul stone

"Come and meet your new bodyguard, Kuroro Roussillo. Kuroro, this is my fiancée, Shinkai Mito."

The moment she saw the other party clearly, Shinkai Mifuyu's eyes widened slightly, showing a look of surprise.

"What's the matter?" This subtle expression change was seen by the fiancé, "Is it someone you know?"

The turmoil on Meidong's face was fleeting.She pursed her lips and said with an embarrassed smile: "No. This Mr. Kurolo is very similar to my playmate when I was young. However, the name is different. Moreover, he... left when he was very young."

Seeing the loneliness flashing in his fiancée's eyes, La Roye put his arms around her waist in understanding and sent her to the car.

"The dead can't be resurrected," he said to Mei Dong through the car window, "Enjoy the present, girl."

Meidong smiled gently.Apparently La Royer interpreted her last "gone" as a euphemism for dead.In fact, that person only left temporarily when he was a child; now, he happens to be sitting in the driver's seat, holding the steering wheel!

Along the way, the two were silent.Mifuyu specially chose a position where the driver could not be seen from the rearview mirror, so that the driver could not see her expression either.

Mito rolled down the window.The bustling metropolis has just woken up, and office workers in suits and leather shoes walk in a hurry, occasionally mixed with unprofessional men and women.As soon as the car drove into the urban area, it caught up with the morning rush hour.There was no end to the long queue ahead, and the traffic jam seemed to last for a while.

"Which is harder, the puzzle or the solution?"

"What?" Meidong turned her face away, not sure if she didn't hear his words clearly, or she was surprised by his words.

"Although the former is more inclined, is the answer found unique? Is it the answer that the questioner wanted? To find out these, the difficulty is no less than the former."

"Although I don't understand what you're talking about, but if it's a joke to pass the time, this joke is too boring."

An urgent horn sounded from behind.Kuroro stretched out his hand to shift gears, and slowly moved forward following the flow of traffic.After turning an intersection, the road cleared up a lot.

"I can't believe it, that man actually believed you. How can I say, he is also one of the 'ten old men'. Is it the same ability as when he was with me...?"

Mifuyu crossed her arms, showing an impatient expression.

"I can't believe it, how could he hire someone like you to be my bodyguard." She frowned, "If you talk nonsense, you can go home tomorrow."

At the next intersection, a red light came on.Kuroro shifted to neutral and glanced at the rearview mirror. There was a silver-gray van parked behind the two cars and seemed to be following them.

Is that man really suspicious?

Kuroro evoked an imperceptible sneer.

Heh... Interesting.

With his right hand on the gearshift, he slipped through the slit between the seats.

At this time, hilarious singing sounded from far and near.A line of children in dark brown uniforms strode across the sidewalk with their heads held high.Their complexions were rosy, their eyes seemed pious and empty.

"Humble King, King of Glory,

You willingly humbled and obeyed, and gave up your life on the cross,

Humble King, King of Glory,

I was healed because of your stripes,

Wash me clean from my sins, from my filth,

Clothed in righteousness and whiteness,

Take me back to my Father's arms"

"Do not hit me!"

Kuroro opened his eyes wide, and the arc of the corner of his mouth froze.He didn't want to hurt her, but her first reaction was to protect her abdomen.Xin Haimei huddled into a ball, leaning her head against the car window, unwilling to look at him.

"You..." His eyes locked on his still flat stomach.

Silence is like a thick winter fog, condensing in the narrow interior space of the car.The man's eyes became colder and colder, and his breath became disordered, which even surprised him.

After a while, Meidong struggled to squeeze out a few words.

"...not what you think. I just want to see..."

The second half of the sentence was drowned in the harsh horn sound.The red light had already turned green, and the driver of the car behind was honking his horn like crazy.

"Go back. Now turn around and go home."

Ignoring the hostess' orders completely, Kuroro drove across the intersection and pulled over.As expected, the silver-gray passenger car also stopped.A man with half-white hair and pigtails tied behind his head stepped out of the car, striding towards them.He tapped on the rear window.What greeted him was Meidong's charming smile.

"Miss Xinhai, the master forgot an important matter, so he sent me here to tell you." The man smiled, his high cheekbones made his cheeks thinner, his eye sockets were deeply sunken, and his tanned skin pulled out several lines ravine.Under the protruding forehead, a pair of light brown eyes revealed shrewdness and ability.He was wearing an old but clean suit, without a tie, and the collar of his shirt was unbuttoned, except for the black leather shoes, the most popular pointed-toe style at the moment, which were well polished.

"What's so important?"

"According to the rules of the old man's hometown, the bride must go to the local church to pray for her future husband the day before the wedding."

In the driver's seat, Kuroro watched the person coming without leaving a trace.Kuroki is La Roye's steward and adviser, and he is deeply trusted by his master.His arrival was really just for notification?Or... stalking?

Xin Haimei looked into the butler's small light brown eyes, "Church? Why haven't I heard him mention it before?"

Kuroki didn't answer right away, he walked around to the other side of the car, opened the door of the passenger seat and got in.

"This matter involves confidentiality, let me explain later." He looked at Kuroro, but he was talking to Meidong, "Please allow me to lead you the way."

Kuroro started the engine again, and drove to the destination according to Kuroki's instructions, while looking at the half-old man sitting next to him from the corner of his eye.I can't feel the slightest bit of strength from him.He was obviously just an ordinary person, but he exuded unquestionable courage while speaking politely.For ordinary people, it's pretty good.

After driving for 10 minutes, you can see the light blue spire of the church from above the large dense forest.Before the car stopped, Kuroki jumped down.Kuroro opened the car door for Meidong.

"Please wait here for a while." Leaving this sentence behind, the butler led the future mistress into the open door.

The inside of the church is more modest than it looks from the outside.At the back of the hall, there is a prayer room on the left and right. A beam of light is injected from the zenith into the dark space, illuminating the traces left by the years on the rosewood floor.The smell of burnt candles settled in the air.

Shinkai Mifuyu looked up at the oil painting on the wall, in which was the Virgin Mary embracing Jesus.Although the painting is a bit rough, it is very vivid, and the soul of the people in the painting is ready to come out.

"This church is famous for its oil paintings. According to legend, a traveling painter once stayed here for a while, often came here to seek inspiration, and left many paintings at the same time." Kuroki explained like a tour guide.

"Can we talk about it now?" Meidong obviously lacks interest in the church's history, "The so-called secret..."

The housekeeper immediately said sternly: "Yes. In fact, the master is quite a devout believer. Because he was concerned about your feelings, he never mentioned it. Before you moved in, all the religious things in the house were put away, so as not to stir up trouble. Your bad memory."

"This is really..." Meifu turned around and covered her mouth in disbelief, "How can a place like a church bring back bad memories for me?"

"As for the details, I don't know much about it, but please bear with me for the time being, and pray for the master for a while. In the master's hometown, prayers before marriage are almost as important as taking oaths. I will wait for you at the gate. "

After speaking, Kuroki bowed deeply and left the room.

When the footsteps outside the door faded away, the bride-to-be paced to the wall, crossed her arms, and leaned against the wall to stare at the oil painting of the Virgin and Child.

Afraid of bringing back bad memories?Does he know that I am from a monastery?Impossible, Xin Haimeidong's identity proof is perfect...

Thinking of this, the smile on Shinkai Mifuyu-Oyagi Yukiya's face receded, and the bright black pupils showed gloom.

That butler, how much does he know?

The beam of light above the head moved slowly over time, and climbed up to the oil painting directly in front of it.Under the hood, the brown hair is like satin, the eyes are as bright as stars, and the rosy lips are slightly upturned, looking lovingly at the child in his arms.

The moment she saw the face of the Virgin, Xue Ye was dumbfounded——

Except for the difference in hair color and eye color, the Virgin Mary in the painting looks almost exactly the same as her.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.It was Hei Mu, he saw that there had been no movement in the past half an hour, so he came to urge him.

"I'm really sorry, today's schedule is very tight, please..."

"I see, here we come." Xue Ye still kept her eyes on the oil painting.

"Are you interested in this painting?" Kuroki pushed the door and approached, "It's very special... In this church, this is the only one, which is based on real people."

"...A real person?"

"That's right. It is said that during the temporary stay of the painter, he saw a beautiful woman here praying devoutly every day. He fell in love with the girl, and at the same time learned that the girl had a lover, and she prayed for it every day. The girl's lover is a character who dances on the tip of a knife, and she lives a precarious life, so the girl often comes to pray. Later, the girl got married as she wished. On the wedding day, the artist regarded this painting as The gift was given to her, and without saying a word, he left the city."

"Where is she now?"

Kuroki closed his eyes and shook his head, his expression distorted by pain.

"Shortly after marriage, she got a strange disease and passed away. Her husband was very sad, and since then he has worked like a dead man, disregarding life and death. The only person I love in the world is dead. What difference does it make if he lives or dies?"

Xue Ye smiled and said, "It sounds like you are very familiar with him."

The butler nodded.

"He swears that he will never marry again in his life, and would rather have no children and die alone...until the day he meets you."