[Count of Monte Cristo] Love and hatred

r056

When all the pain was over, Plum Tess finally regained some sobriety.The Duke of Buckingham undid the rope that was tied around her left arm to keep her from struggling.She raised her hand slightly, and found that there was a black star mark on her arm.

"This is the symbol of the Dark Star, and it originated from the lily brand on the shoulder of the first Dark Star, Milady." The Duke of Buckingham explained, "Milady was a nun when she was young, and she married a The priest fell in love and made an appointment to elope with him. However, after they were captured, the elder brother of the priest who was the executioner thought that Milady had seduced his brother to fall, so he branded Milady on the shoulder of Milady without any trial. down the lily."

The Duke pondered for a while, "At that time in France, the lily flower was the symbol of a female prisoner. Since then, it has become a secret for Milady's life. She dared not open her heart and love until she met Count Raphael. Count He pursued her passionately, regarded her as the supreme goddess, and his affection finally made her let go of her guard to marry him. However, when the earl found the lily on Milady's shoulder, he didn't ask her if she was framed, and didn't give For her fair trial, strip her naked, tie her hands behind her back, and hang her from a tree to die..."

Mei Tess looked at the statue. She never knew that there was such a sad story behind the snake-hearted and unscrupulous woman that the Duke said.

"But no one thought that she survived. Or, the former Milady died, and the one who survived was an avenging angel. She was ruthless and unscrupulous, but she was also the most outstanding dark star. It can be said that the The lily destroyed her, but also made her. Later, the planets of the successive dark stars will have a special star pattern tattooed on their bodies to commemorate her, which is a variation of the lily."

Mei Tess looked at the black pentagram on her arm unwillingly. Like Milady, she could never wash off the mark, and she would never get rid of the mark given to her by the dark star.

"Saturn's logo is three inches above her navel, which is a metaphor for the legend that Saturn, the king of the second generation of gods, devoured his own child; Jupiter's logo is at the position of her chest heart, representing her in mythology the status of Mars; the symbol of Mars is on the right arm of the mythical god of war wielding a spear, and the symbol of Venus is on the left arm of the god of love and beauty holding a mirror."

The Duke of Buckingham continued, "And the pentagram is the symbol of Venus. The orbit of Venus, Venus, in the sky every four years is exactly the shape of a pentagram. After the ancients observed this celestial phenomenon, they were very concerned about it. We are in awe of the star and regard her as a symbol of love and beauty."

He went straight around the statue of the first dark star, Milady, and tore off the first piece of silk on the wall, revealing the portrait that also belonged to Milady.The rest of the silk fell down one by one, and all the paintings showed beautiful women, the dark stars of all the Dukes of Buckingham.

In the last few blocks, Mei Tess saw at last familiar faces, Saturn, Mars, and the most beautiful woman in their midst, whom she guessed was Jupiter.

There are also the last two paintings, still tightly covered by the curtain, which are reserved for Venus and Mercury.

"Actually, the first time I saw you, I knew you would be my star of love and beauty." A charming smile appeared on the corner of the Duke's mouth, "Plum Tess, only you are worthy of it." title of Venus."

"After I betrayed you, do you still think so?" Mei Tess asked suspiciously.

The Duke answered her with action.He went straight to the penultimate painting, and the moment the curtain was drawn, Plum Tess saw herself.Her long hair is as beautiful as a waterfall of black jade, her eyes are as gentle as those of an antelope, and her slender fingers full of the beauty of ancient Greek sculptures are holding a delicate mirror. In alchemy, a mirror It is the symbol of Venus star.

Especially the one in the painting who was also wearing a long black dress, which made Mei Tess surprised that the Duke knew her well.He had expected that she would choose this long dress like Saturn's!

Although Mei Tess was not too surprised by this result, when she saw her portrait lined up with the stars like a tarot card, thinking of Wu Ji's words, she suddenly had a strong feeling in her heart. Sense of fate.

She became Venus after all.

"From now on, you are my star of love and beauty." The Duke had already walked to her side at some point, and he approached her tenderly, as if he wanted to kiss her, but Mei Tess pushed him away with the last bit of strength .

The Duke didn't seem to be angry. He smiled and said, "There is a strong gravitational force between the sun and the stars. I believe this mysterious force also exists between me and you. Mei Tess, I will not force you, but One day, you'll find that your inner compass points to me..."

"What if I say there won't be that day?" said Mei Tess courageously.

At that moment, the Duke of Buckingham's eyes became gloomy, but he still didn't show the slightest emotion, "It's too early to say so, let time tell."

He turned his back and pondered for a long time, "Next, I will send you on a mission. Maybe you have heard about the chaos on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. I am going to arrange for you to go to Greece and let you enter the royal court of Yanina , you are going to do a great thing for me there."

"What mission?" Mei Tess asked.

"Ali Tiebelin, the governor of the Yanina Pasha Kingdom, is an extremely cruel person." The Duke folded his hands and said, "I still remember that in [-], Ali Tiebelin's army attacked a group of French troops and The coastal town of Preveza, where the native Greeks were stationed. When the town was finally captured, Ali's army carried out a massacre of the town in retaliation for the resistance of the local population. You can get all this when you get there Verify."

"You want me to assassinate Ali Tiebelin?" Mei Tess narrowed her eyes slightly.

"No, I don't need you to deal with him directly. That will only make people forget his brutality and respect him as a hero." The Duke pondered for a while, "What I want you to do is to instigate the French under Ali Tibelin's Brigadier General, Count Malcerf, let him unite with Ottoman Turkey to deal with Ali Tiebelin."

Mei Tess searched quickly in her mind, no matter in her experience in Marseilles or in the history she had learned, she had never heard of a nobleman with the surname of Morcerf.

"Now Saturn is dead, and Mars is obviously not suitable for such a task," the Duke of Buckingham added, "That is to say, you must complete it independently without help."

"Aren't you afraid of me running away?" Mei Tess asked curiously.

There was a stern smile on the corner of the Duke's mouth, "You won't run away, just like Jupiter back then."

Mei Tess suddenly understood what the Duke meant, and her eyes widened in horror.

But the Duke didn't seem to notice her expression at all. He looked straight at the deep sky beyond the glass dome, his blue jewel-like eyes sparkling:

"Thousands of years ago, Venus lured the prince of Troy to kidnap Helen, the beauty of Sparta, and brought a war to Troy... and now, Venus, my star of love and beauty, will put blood and The fire is directed to Greece again!"