[Hunter] Flowers and Hymns

When daylight broke, the train pulled into Atlan.At that time, Xiaojie and Qiya were still sleeping, and Veronica leaned against the window quietly, looking at the notes in her hand.The cover of the cowhide was a little damaged because it was rubbed too many times, and the paper was yellow with age.She turned a page, and the blue-black handwriting was reflected in her eyes, and the color was baptized by time to be almost black.

"...

Atlan, the capital of drama, was once the capital of the Principality of Castile 257 years ago.Later, the dictator Iberia moved it to Astasia, which is now known as the capital of the wind country.Yet Atlan remained the capital of art.The 'bloody princess' Mariana, who kicked the dictator off the throne, established the largest opera house in the world at that time in Atlan, and a music university that brought together the best composers, performers, and singers at that time Laurel College.Later, although Laurel College disappeared in the flames of war, the Laurel Tower remained as a landmark building.

I went this time because I wanted to witness the Laurel Tower in the sunset, a scene that has been sung repeatedly in countless operas.

It is said that before Laurel Academy disappeared, all opera singers in the world had Laurel in their hearts.

I'd love to see that haunting Laurel.See the tower that once witnessed the golden age of opera singers, and walk the 99 steps they once walked.

……

It's prayer time, so let's stop here today. "

White fingers lightly rubbed the paper, accompanied by the long whistle of the train approaching the station, Veronica closed the notes and stretched out her hand to wake up Xiaojie and Qiya.

"We have arrived."

she smiled at them.

……

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"Queen Mariana used to be the princess of the royal family of Castile. When the dictator Iberia moved the capital to Astacia in order to get rid of the influence of the royal family, she was left in Arte as a young child. Lan. She once witnessed her mother being hanged, and also saw the executioner of the revolution / party / party raised her father's bloody head amidst the cheers of the people. She spent her childhood in a farmer's house, because As a princess, she suffered a lot of abuse until she was very old. She suffered from an old injury on her right arm. It is said that she was interrupted by the peasant woman who adopted her when she was a child. Because she did not receive treatment, she fell root of the disease."

When the three were walking together on the streets of Atlan, Veronica stood in front of the bronze statue of Queen Mariana and introduced the queen's life to Xiaojie and Qiya.

"Perhaps because of this, the Queen's heart is always full of hatred. Her most trusted confidant described her in his memoirs--'When those iron-blue eyes looked at me, there was a great shock. Fear rose in my heart, what a pair of surly eyes! Colder and more violent than the winter blizzard in Astacia, with a hatred that seemed to be cast from steel.  …The queen hates everyone, In front of her, not even a cat dares to smile, for fear of attracting the wrath of the thunder.'——Look at the eyes of this statue, can you see it?"

The bronze cast statue has a sinister face, and the two lips are tightly pressed together, forming a violent line.What attracted the most attention was her eyes, the corners of which were tense nervously, tearing out more than a dozen sinister lines.The slightly protruding eyeballs are always staring at you, fiercely and surlyly, with unspeakable hatred.Veronica slowly grasped the bronze knuckles of the statue, and kissed lightly on the twisted and clenched right hand.

Xiaojie looked at her curiously, and said, "Veronica, has your sister been here before?"

Veronica closed her eyes and nodded silently.

She saw Cosette.

Wearing a black nun's attire, her long flaxen hair was meticulously pulled into a hat, and a blue agate rosary was worn on her chest, which was a gift from Veronica for her 14th birthday.She was stroking the bronze statue's fingertips, which were slightly transparent in the sunlight.

Veronica just watched Cosette turn her head and smiled at the male companion beside her.

"Why do you think Queen Marianne did that?"

Veronica knew what she was talking about.

During Queen Mariana's reign, at least 30 people were killed.Among them are the revolutionary/party who followed the dictator, the royalist who secretly supported her cousin, her first husband, the bishop who was pro-pope, the Protestant, and the common people.Even her most beloved lovers tremble when the queen's often nervously trembling right hand grips the sceptre, and a wave of that surly hand can knock heads off.Perhaps because of the shadow of her childhood, she abolished the hanging that the dictator loved, and the gallows fell like a forest. However, during her 33 years in power, hundreds of guillotines were added to the Principality of Castile .

Bloody Princess Mariana.Her madness and violence finally left her such a name in the history books.

"...Well, how should I put it?" The handsome man with black hair and black eyes covered his mouth and thought, "Her actions seem to be a kind of neurotic violence, but in fact, if you understand the historical background at that time and Cass If you understand the surrounding situation of the Principality of Tia, you can understand that every bloody cleansing of her is purposeful. The followers of Iberia, the revolution/party/people who believe in the so-called freedom, want to restore the pope The theocracy of the Pope, the new aristocrats who support the crown prince representing their forces... Every action of Mariana has a clear political purpose. In fact, it is precisely because of her iron-blooded skills that she suppressed the domestic and foreign All forces."

"is it?"

Cosette stared at the statue of the queen, her amber eyes met the sun, and were reflected into an almost gorgeous golden color.She held the hand of the bronze statue and leaned gently on the queen's shoulder.The hat was scratched a little crookedly, and a few strands of long flaxen hair came out.

She said softly: "But I think hatred is the most fundamental motive. Because no matter what, there is no way to forgive."

"Resentment is like poisonous fire. Even if it is pressed under the black rock, it can melt the rock into hot magma. It is hot and surging under the cold surface, and it will spew out at the slightest crack."

Cosette slightly bent her eyes, and the lines of her eyes became softer and softer, but the tear mole under her right eye made her smile inexplicably melancholy.Veronica looked at her smile, followed her mouth shape, and whispered the following sentence together——

""—In order not to let the flame burn itself, only by releasing it can we get a moment of peace. ""

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Memories interrupted.

Veronica opened her eyes.Facing Qiya's strange gaze.

"Hey, what have you seen, you haven't spoken for so long?"

"My sister has a companion." She looked at the two of them quietly. "A very handsome man with black hair and black eyes, wearing a pair of strange blue earrings and a cross on his forehead. He looks very knowledgeable, Listening to their conversation, he has dabbled in history a lot. I want to find this man. He should know the whereabouts of my sister...huh?"

Both Xiaojie and Qiya looked like they had seen a ghost.

Just kidding, hearing black hair, black eyes, blue earrings, and an equal-armed cross on the forehead... If they still can't remember who this is, they should give their brains an electric shock.

Just as Xiaojie was about to say something, Qi Ya calmly pulled him from behind. Although he didn't know why, he still reflexively stopped his mouth. He turned his head to look at Qi Ya in surprise, but saw the other party Putting his hands in his pockets nonchalantly, he looked at Veronica with black cat eyes.

"How are you going to find him? Do you know what that guy's name is?"

Veronica nodded with a smile.

"Yeah. I heard my sister call him Kurolo. Kurolo Rusilu."

...Xiaojie finally fell to the ground.

"Is there any problem with this name?" Veronica looked at the reactions of the two and tilted her head in confusion.

Qi Ya spoke again before Xiaojie.

"No, there's nothing wrong with it. It's just that we've had trouble with this guy before."

The youth of the transformation department lied as naturally as breathing.Veronica didn't notice anything wrong, so she just nodded.

"Next, I'm going to see an opera. It's a band I like very much. They are going to perform at the National Theater of Castile. I booked tickets online... Do you want to go together?"

Of course, the two hunters who had no sense of art shook their heads immediately.Veronica could only sigh regretfully, and waved to them.

"So, see you at the hotel?"

"Ah."

When Veronica's sight disappeared from the sight of the two teenagers, Xiaojie broke free from Chi Ya's hand and looked at him puzzled.

"Ki Ya, why don't you let me tell Veronica Kuroro that it's dangerous?"

Qi Ya scratched his hair in annoyance, and finally chose a concise and easy-to-understand explanation method that can be understood by a reinforcement system.

"I know who her sister is."

"Huh—?! Why didn't you tell Veronica, Chiya!"

"It's not a good thing to look like that face." Qi Ya put his hands in his pockets and looked into the distance with his black eyes. "If her sister really looks that much like her...then she's still a very famous woman."

"Ah? Qi Ya, please explain more clearly!"

"I once saw that face that looked very similar to that woman named Veronica in the intelligence network that beat the enemy Hakka." Qi Ya's eyes slowly sank, "That face is indeed like her As I said, there is a tear mole in the corner of my eye."

"An official once paid 5000 million precepts to buy that woman's life. The family arranged for the elder brother to kill her, but the official died before our family did it. So the mission is invalid, and the elder brother is a little unhappy about it. .”

"Her sister is quite famous in the world of human body collectors."

"Nightmare puppeteer on Meteor Street, Cosette."

"That's a woman famous for collecting hearts from the living."

☆、September 2003, 9, Atlan

The author has something to say: BGM: Avantasia-《Farewell》

The CD was originally a metal opera, so I moved it to an opera house.

The lyrics are in the text, conscience suggests that you don’t skip the lyrics, there are quite a lot of keywords [laughs.

The picture below is the blond youth who is (not) dating Veronica in this chapter.