Chapter 471 Broken Sword
Night gradually fell.
The central area seemed particularly bright, like daylight.
The street lights on both sides of the street are neat and bright, and the landscape trees planted are hung with various colored lights. Not only the shop signs, but also the residential areas are also brightly lit.
People travel together, carrying windproof candle lanterns that are only used on special festivals, and singing the hymn about the sun "Trisul at Dawn". These are the residents of the royal city, celebrating the birthday of the great prince in their own way.
Light means hope, and it also symbolizes that the Prince of the Sun is like the rising sun, spreading infinite light.
"Illuminating the world, the source of warmth. Loyalty follows, and the gift is eternal... The great and noble Trisul sheds light at dawn. We thank you for your protection. We thank you for your enlightenment. We thank you for your Gift..."
Floy nestled in Chen Lun's arms, feeling the gentle vibrations of the carriage, enjoying this short but peaceful time. In her ears, she could faintly hear men, women, old and young singing in unison, and the long and solemn melody accompanied the carriage. Far.
The two arrived at the long steps below the Palace of the Sun soon after.
Chen Lun held Floy's hand, slowly got out of the carriage, and climbed the long and spacious white marble steps. After nearly ten minutes of walking, he arrived at the palace gate.
They were greeted by a richly dressed steward.
"Mr. Jack, please come this way."
Following the guidance, the two bypassed the main building of the palace and went to the banquet hall where they had participated in the dance.
At this moment, there were a row of stewards standing on both sides of the entrance to the hall. They were well-dressed, with red and yellow cotton coats and satin vests, and they were respectfully and enthusiastically entertaining every guest.
As usual, for a high-profile royal banquet like this, guests are usually allowed to move around freely before the banquet begins, enjoy some snacks and drinks, and take a look at the art collection in the banquet room.
Chen Lun took Floy, like a young couple, strolling leisurely and comfortably in the banquet hall. Unknowingly, they passed by the wall where the royal portrait was hung last time, but this time, the one that symbolized Arnold The "No Man's Chair" oil painting was removed.
This made Chen Lun a little strange.
Just as he was secretly guessing whether this meant anything, a male waiter in white uniform pushed a dining cart past and asked politely:
"Sir, do you need anything?"
"Pour two glasses of juice."
Chen Lun turned his head, smiled and nodded.
The waiter skillfully took out one of the many exquisite glass bottles, poured two glasses of mixed drinks with unknown precious fruits, and handed them over.
In the process, a folded note fell into Chen Lun's hand against the bottom of the cup. He was slightly surprised in his heart, but remained calm on the surface. He took out two silver coins and put them into the waiter's palm, just like other guests tipping the waiter.
But in fact, Chen Lun took advantage of the situation and used his [Five Senses Awareness], using touch to connect vision, and "saw" the black sun mark imprinted on the back of the waiter's hand under his white gloves.
‘People from the Cross of the Sun…’
He thought to himself.
Soon it became clear that the note secretly passed by the other party should be Princess Anna's next plan instructions.
"Thank you, generous sir."
The waiter looked delighted and kept saying.
He then picked up a hard-cover booklet from the dining cart.
"This is the dinner menu. You can choose the dishes you like according to your own taste. The main course tonight is roast beef and roast goose. If you have any special needs, you can tell me..."
Chen Lun turned to look at Floy and asked for her opinion with his eyes, but the girl smiled and shook her head.
"No need, just leave it like that."
Chen Lun declined politely.
"If you need anything, you can call me at any time. I wish you a happy dinner."
When the waiter saw this, he saluted him and immediately pushed the dining cart away.
Chen Lun drank the delicious juice and deliberately took Floy to a crowded oil painting, pretending to appreciate the painting. He quietly shared his insights about the painting with the girl next to him, put his other hand in his pocket, and gently brushed the note.
[Five Senses] and [Multi-tasking] operate at the same time, which does not affect his ability to read the text on the note.
"-Dance with me later, that's the only thing you have to do tonight."
There was only such a short sentence on the note, which made Chen Lun think a lot.
‘Dancing… is that simple? Is there any necessary connection between this and her plan tonight? ’
He couldn't help but wonder.
Time soon came to eight o'clock in the evening, and the dinner officially started.
The royal steward, Babaye, acted as the prince's spokesperson. He stood on the high platform with a friendly smile, announced that the meal was next, and wished every guest could enjoy this wonderful time.
The guests present were either high-ranking church officials or high-ranking military officers, or at the worst, they were dignitaries and celebrities. The business class was rare here. They didn't make any noise, just applauded gently with smiles on their faces, and then sat down quietly.
The waiters pushed the huge dining cart and came in from one side of the banquet hall like a long queue, bringing the exquisite food to the table in an orderly manner.
The palace musicians quietly went up to the high platform and played melodious and beautiful music. In this comfortable and luxurious environment, everyone started to use their knives and forks.
After a few minutes, the prince and princess arrived.
As the protagonist of today's dinner, Dazlet naturally attracted the attention of everyone present. He first stopped, caressed his chest and bent towards the guests in a gentlemanly manner, and said with an apologetic look:
"Sorry, something has delayed me. I hope it didn't affect your mood."
"Of course not, Your Highness."
At the nearby table of guests, the middle-aged Earl responded humbly.
The prince smiled and nodded, walked to the main seat and sat down.
Princess Anna followed closely and sat on his left side. It's just that this young and beautiful Princess seems to be in a bad mood, with a cold expression on her face and a slight frown. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that something unpleasant probably happened between her and the prince, otherwise she wouldn't be in such an important situation. Put on a bad face when the occasion arises.
"Anna."
Dazlet glanced at his sister and whispered a reminder.
However, Princess Anna didn't even look at him, she just sat on the chair indifferently, not even touching the things on the table.
"Anna, today is my brother's birthday, don't be like this... I promise you, after the dinner is over, you will get that painting back, okay?"
Dazlet comforted him patiently.
"You really didn't order the move?"
Princess Anna frowned and said.
"I'm sorry that Anna has such a deep misunderstanding of me... I can swear to my father, it is absolutely not the case."
Dazlet whispered.
Anna was silent for a few seconds before starting to eat. The prince let out a sigh of relief.
The conversation between the two of them was not loud, but among the guests present, there were many extraordinary people, and the top leaders of the major forces were saint-level, so the content could be easily heard.
These guests couldn't help but be curious. What was the conflict between the prince and the princess over? Could it be some rare and precious painting in the world?
Only Chen Lun knew that the "painting" they were talking about should refer to the portrait area of the royal family, which represented Arnold's "unmanned chair". It was probably its mysterious disappearance that aroused Princess Anna's dissatisfaction, and she vented her emotions on her brother Dazlight.
After the meal session is over.
The dining table was removed by the attendants, and the vacant space became the dance floor area. The palace musicians on the high platform changed the slow tunes and replaced them with more upbeat tunes.
The guests gathered around, and the men took their female companions onto the dance floor and danced to the music.
At this moment, Princess Anna slowly walked up to a gentleman in black hat with elegant steps. Many powerful people present noticed this scene and expressed great surprise and envy.
I didn't expect that someone could get into Princess Anna's eyes.
Who is that man?
"Sorry, madam, I think I need to temporarily borrow the man next to you."
Princess Anna first looked at Floy and said softly.
Her tone was somewhat polite, but it always gave people a feeling of indifference.
Floy nodded slightly to show her agreement, because Chen Lun had just explained to her that Princess Anna would dance with him and had no other intentions. The reason why he acted so coldly was because he didn't want to expose the fact that the two parties knew each other.
"Okay."
Floy's ethereal voice said softly.
She let go of her hand and turned to glance at Chen Lun. There seemed to be some emotion hidden in her lavender eyes... Even though she knew it was cooperation, she still felt a little uncomfortable inside.
"Thank you."
Princess Anna said, and raised her white and slender palm towards Chen Lun. There was no invitation, but her actions had already shown her intention.
Chen Lun took off his hat, took the princess's hand, and the two slowly walked onto the dance floor. The surrounding guests couldn't help but cast curious glances, and even Prince Dazlater, who was sitting on the sofa beside the dance floor, also looked over.
"I heard that you made outstanding contributions on the Western battlefield and did many things for His Royal Highness?"
Princess Anna danced gracefully and nimbly and asked softly.
Chen Lun pretended to meet her for the first time and said politely and humbly:
"It's not an outstanding contribution. I just did what I should do and fulfilled my responsibilities, Your Highness."
"But I've heard a lot of good things about you."
Princess Anna turned around in a circle under the strong arms, and the white crystal-like skirt was driven to flutter.
Chen Lun was not affected by the dance, his breath was smooth and long, and he responded with a chuckle:
"It's just a false name, please don't worry about it, Princess."
"Huh...are you an extraordinary person of the destiny system?"
Princess Anna also laughed and changed the topic.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Chen Lun nodded lightly.
At this time, the dance music entered a more soothing stage, and the two people's movements slowed down, facing each other very close. The unique woody fragrance of the princess floated into the tip of his nose, and Chen Lun could even clearly smell a faint fruity aroma, similar to citrus.
[Five Senses] told him that the source of this fragrance was actually the diamond-encrusted crown on the princess's smooth blond hair.
'This is a strange thing...'
Chen Lun was determined.
"I would like to ask you a favor, Mr. Jack Spate."
Princess Anna raised her head and glanced at him.
"Your Highness, please speak."
"Help me restore this thing."
The princess took out a twenty-centimetre-long column from the lower back of her pleated skirt, wrapped in a black strip of cloth.
When Chen Lun saw it for the first time, he always felt something was strange.
After he took it, he immediately knew what it was...
An ordinary broken sword, except for the gorgeous decoration and exquisite carvings, there is nothing special about it.
‘Is it Arnold’s broken sword? ’
Chen Lun thought to himself.
"I'll try my best, Your Highness."
"Thank you."
Princess Anna said thank you.
After the music ended, the two parted on the dance floor.
At this moment, the head steward Babaya walked straight over and said to Chen Lun:
"Mr. Jack, His Highness the Prince invites you to sit with this lady."
"Of course no problem."
Chen Lun chuckled and agreed.
He had already realized in his heart that the purpose of Princess Anna inviting him to dance just now was probably to deliberately take out the broken sword to attract the prince's attention.
Holding Floy's hand again, the two followed Babaye's head steward to the rest area on the side of the dance floor. Princess Anna had already returned to the prince's seat first, drinking red wine boredly.
"Jack, and this beautiful lady, please sit down."
The prince raised his hand to signal.
After Chen Lun and Chen Lun sat down, he smiled again and said:
"Anna has never danced with the opposite sex. From this point of view, it is enough to show that I have a very accurate vision. You are indeed a rare talent in the empire... This cup is dedicated to you."
The prince picked up the red wine, smiled and nodded.
Upon seeing this, Chen Lun also picked up his wine glass, and the head steward Babaya poured wine for him in time.
"Your Highness the Prince is so complimentary..."
he said humbly.
Dazlet shook his head and said meaningfully:
"It seemed like Anna was having a great time chatting with you just now, and even gave you a gift?"
Chen Lun glanced at Princess Anna calmly, but she was indifferent and kept drinking. He had to speculate on the princess's intentions several times in his mind, and finally denied it out loud:
"Well...it's not a gift, but Her Highness the Princess wants me to help her restore an item."
"It turns out that the extraordinary person of destiny does have such ability."
The prince nodded.
"I have never seen such extraordinary power. Can you show it to me?"
Chen Lun's [Multi-tasking] was running rapidly. In a very short period of time, after some thought, he nodded without any suspicion on the surface.
"Of course, no problem, Your Highness."
He took out the columnar body wrapped in black cloth and slowly opened it, revealing the broken sword... During the whole process, Chen Lun also noticed that the prince's expression changed slightly. The emotions mixed with desire and jealousy were fleeting.
If it weren't for Chen Lun's amazing insight, he probably wouldn't have been able to catch it.
Princess Anna also sat upright at this time, frowned slightly and glanced at her brother Dazlet, seeming to be a little dissatisfied with his interference in her behavior.
Chen Lun touched the broken sword with his left hand and snapped his fingers with his right hand.
Snap!
Under the gaze of everyone, with a flick of the palm, the broken sword below returned to its original state, turning into a cross sword that was as long as an arm and two and a half fingers wide. The exquisite flame pattern was clearly visible on the blade, and the leather was blended. Under the wrapped hilt, there is a round convex sword head, showing the iconic sun face of the royal family.
Prince Dazlet sighed in admiration and immediately clapped his hands.
"What a wonderful power."
He naturally stretched out his hand and took the cross sword directly into his hand, looking at it with fascination. At this time, Princess Anna said from the side:
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Jack."
"You're welcome, Your Highness."
Chen Lun responded.
The two people's eyes briefly touched, but he read the smile in the princess's eyes.
"Is it time to return the sword to me, brother Dazlet?"
Princess Anna said in an indifferent voice.
"Isn't this the birthday gift Anna gave me?"
Prince Dazlet had no intention of letting go.
"Give it back to me."
Ana’s voice became colder.
When the prince saw this, he still did not back down, with a smile on his face.
"Anna, my brother likes this sword very much. How about giving it to me? In the past, I gave it to you everything you liked. Can you give it to me this time?"
"..."
Princess Anna took a deep breath and then leaned on the sofa in a daze.
"So what if I don't agree?"
She shook her head and said nothing.
The smile on Prince Dazlet's lips became even bigger. After thanking his sister, he lowered his head and kept playing with the cross sword.
Only Chen Lun noticed that Princess Anna's crown flashed an undetectable light. (End of chapter)