The Law of the Silent Gentleman - Chapter 103

The kitchen is very easy to find. The air is filled with the aroma of food, and the more you walk into the kitchen, the more attractive the aroma becomes. Soon, Giuliano found an open door. From time to time, servants entered with piles of plates or left with freshly baked delicacies.

right here! He touched the mask on his face and walked towards the kitchen after confirming that he hadn’t revealed his identity. He didn’t dress like a servant, and of course he didn’t look like a guest, so he was stopped by the kitchen assistant as soon as he entered the door. Giuliano said nervously, “I’m looking for Patty,” and received a strange attention from the chef. The cook asked him to wait at the door, then walked into the kitchen and yelled something, but Giuliano couldn’t hear it clearly. After a while, a tall and strong woman came out.

“It’s you?” The woman was taller than Giuliano, overlooking him like an iron tower.

“Yes…I…I’ll get the beans.”

Patty wiped her hands on her apron, and using that movement as a cover, with imperceptible quickness, pulled a dagger from the pocket of her apron and thrust it into Giuliano’s arms.

“Hold your beans.”

Giuliano covered the dagger with his arm and carefully tucked it into his clothes.

The cook looked at him boredly: “Is there anything else?”

“Gone…”

“That’s good. I’ll ‘set off fireworks’ on time in an hour, and you’d better throw out the ‘beans’ before then.” This is the code word agreed between Malcolm and them. “Fireworks” means to ignite the underground gunpowder.

Giuliano nodded and turned to leave the kitchen. When he returned to Enzo, the assassin was putting his fingers in his mouth and making strange noises.

“Here’s the stuff. Let’s go.” Giuliano grabbed the clothes on the ground and put them on one by one.

“Call out,” Enzo said.

“what?”

Enzo suddenly touched Giuliano’s lower body forcefully, and the latter screamed out in fright. Enzo said loudly in a contented tone: “It’s so cute, if you **** like this, then I will too…”

“You…” Giuliano was speechless immediately, “Are you addicted to acting?”

Enzo grabbed a handful of leaves and sprinkled them on him: “Don’t dress too neatly, so that it looks real.”

Giuliano rolled his eyes. He intentionally buttoned two buttons wrong, stuffed some weeds into the cuffs, pretended to have just rolled on the ground, and walked back to the garden with Enzo. The guard who took their money saw them as if he saw a vermin, and hid away.

As soon as they returned to the banquet hall, they heard someone shouting: “Your Excellency Governor is here!”

The crowd roared and gathered towards the stage. The music stopped. A team of guards stepped onto the stage one by one, skillfully divided into two rows, and stood neatly on both sides of the stage.

Giuliano and Enzo blended in with the crowd, moving forward with the others. If he could, Giuliano really wanted to rush to the stage and kill Boniwell just like that, but he knew it was impossible. He can’t fight that many guards.

“Calm down, now is not the time.” Enzo patted his hand.

“I know.” Giuliano bit his lip, “I’ve been waiting for so long, it’s not too late.”

“Your Excellency the Governor!”

“Lord Boniwell is here!”

A tall and thin man walked out from the left side of the stage, facing the crowd with open arms, accepting the cheers of the crowd like an actor, bowing continuously. He was wearing a low-key black dress, the neckline and cuffs were embroidered with dark purple thread, but it was almost invisible under the night light. He wears a falcon half-mask, with the beak sticking to the bridge of the nose, which looks like a hooked nose.

He waved his hand, and the cheers gradually died down. After the crowd was completely silent, he walked to the front of the stage and bowed down. “Welcome, compatriots, welcome to this poor banquet of mine. Since the guests are all my closest friends, I think you will not blame me for my poor hospitality.”

His voice is deep and graceful, like a professional theater poetry reciter, and his voice alone can make people as intoxicated as drinking alcohol. He has a straight back, standing like a fir tree, and waving his hands gracefully like a willow swaying in the wind.

Amused by his opening remarks, there was a short burst of laughter. Giuliano laughed disdainfully in his heart: the sad people, deceived by Boniwell’s appearance, did not see the filthy heart under his elegant appearance!

“Today is Carnival, a beautiful festival to bid farewell to winter and usher in spring. Everyone must be eager to enjoy food, drink wine, and dance with handsome gentlemen and beautiful ladies, instead of standing here and listening to an old man. But… who told me to be the governor? Isn’t the governor’s duty to stand up and say a few words at this time?”

Everyone laughed again.

“I prepared this little banquet for everyone, and I hope everyone can have a good time. Our Vanessa is a great city-state. It does not have the deep-water port of Zanodia, nor the historical sites of Akdon, and more Dorothenia does not have an excellent geographical location and rich products, but it has a group of the most enthusiastic, simple and hardworking people in the world! They moved to this strange land, although they did not know each other, but they chose Mutual trust and cooperation. It is the diligence and hard work of the ancestors that made this city-state rise and become the pearl of the Yod Coast, and become a well-deserved ‘Great City’! Now it is our turn! Let everyone present become friends Come on, proud people of Vanessa, let us join hands in friendship, continue to develop and grow the city-state founded by our ancestors, and leave the most precious wealth for our descendants!”

Boniwell raised his hands, and everyone cheered. The Governor bowed to a flood of applause, then retreated to the audience. A team of jugglers somersaulted onto the stage, and the show officially began. At the same time, the band played a prelude to dance music, reminding the guests that it was time to dance. Guests willing to dance choose their partners and enter the dance floor in pairs, while others make room to eat or gather to chat.

Giuliano was not in the mood for dancing, and his full attention was on Bonniewell. After the speech, the governor disappeared for a short while, and reappeared in the garden shortly afterwards with two bodyguards. He has always stayed away from the dance floor, and no matter where he goes, the guards never leave. Someone recognized his identity and came forward to talk, Boniwell politely stayed away from them, even if someone wanted to assassinate, the guards could stop them in time. Several ladies politely invited Bonniewell to dance, but were also turned down.

“Damn it, I can’t find a chance at all!” Giuliano was burning with anxiety, “The cook said that the gunpowder would be detonated on time in an hour, and it has been more than half an hour now!”

“I’m afraid we can’t wait until he gets an order. He won’t get an order at all.” Enzo murmured, “We must create opportunities.”

“But how?”

That’s when the song ends. Enzo counted the time and smiled slightly: “Ah, the fourth dance. The opportunity comes as it comes.”

Giuliano looked at him puzzled.

“You are a nobleman from Vanessa, don’t you know that? Dances in multiples of four at the banquet…”

“It’s always a folk dance!” Giuliano was surprised and delighted. How did he forget this? Most of the group dances in the Yod city-states are similar. Although all dancers are in pairs, they need to constantly exchange partners and change formations when dancing. Nobles learn to dance group dances from an early age, so that they know how to move no matter where they are. Vanessa’s folk group dance is slightly different from other places. Everyone must form at least two circles. There is very little physical contact, but people sing and dance, and the atmosphere is very enthusiastic. Sometimes there will be a selection of which circle dances more neatly and more aesthetically pleasing.

“I’m trying to get Bonnieville onto the dance floor, and you can do it while you’re dancing.”

“But the group dance has almost no physical contact, how can I…”

“Listen, the prelude is playing. This is “Under This Ancient Starry Sky”. You stand at the four o’clock position on the second circle.” Enzo pointed to the dance floor, “Wait for the third time to sing ‘Ah , friend, under this ancient and eternal starry sky’.” He squeezed Giuliano’s shoulder hard, “Your chance has come!”

“Your Honorable Governor, I wonder if you can condescend to have fun with the people and dance with everyone?”

A man in a blue mask stepped up to Bonniewell and bowed humbly.

Boniwell said again what he has said countless times tonight: “Thank you very much for the invitation, but it was waived. I am old, let the young people dance.”

“The annual carnival banquet, and it’s a group dance, it’s a pity if you don’t participate.”

The blue mask said and turned to the guests around the Governor: “Do you think so? His Excellency the Governor won the title of ‘King of the Ball’ when he was young!”

The guests nodded. The few women who wanted to dance with Rabonievere but were turned down were louder in their approval.

“The music has started, please!” The blue mask made an inviting gesture. When the people on the dance floor heard his voice, they all thought that the governor would also be leaving, so they deliberately reserved a place in the circle, waiting for the governor to join.

If you refuse at this time, it will be too embarrassing. Boniwell winked at the guard, then smiled approvingly at the blue mask.

“The kindness is hard to refuse, then we will not refuse.”

He walked onto the dance floor and joined the dancing circle, followed by two guards who took up positions on his left and right to prevent others from approaching. The blue mask had to stand on the left side of the guard, with a person separated from Boniwell.

“Wow, are you the Governor General!”

A female voice suddenly came from the right. It was a young lady in a red mask, with elbow-length silk gloves wrapped around her hands.

The brown-haired young man on the right side of the young lady laughed dryly: “It’s…what a coincidence, haha… I never thought I would have the honor to dance with the governor…”

On the right side of him is a man with frosty white hair. Because he is wearing a mask, his age cannot be seen. It is not known whether his hair is naturally this color, or his head is full of gray hair due to old age.

“It’s a once in a thousand years.” The white-haired man said. The voice sounds very young.

Both circles were almost full, and the orchestra ended its endless loop of preludes and began to play the main movement of “Under This Ancient Starry Sky”. The circle turned, and everyone stepped on the rhythm in tacit understanding, moving while spinning, and singing loudly at the same time. This song is well-known in the city-states of Yord, and children on the side of the road can sing it, but the brown-haired young man not only can’t sing a word of the lyrics, but also dances very clumsily. Two of his friends reminded him many times that he would definitely make a big fool of himself.

Listen, friend, the party bells are ringing

put your worries behind

Friends and family have gathered

It’s time for the nightingale to sing

The stars are shining, the bonfire is more prosperous

under this ancient and eternal starry sky

Let’s toast tonight

The song is divided into four sections, each section has a similar melody and the last line has the same lyrics. After each verse, the dancers turn around, face outside the circle, and bow deeply to the onlookers. When the second verse was sung, people from beyond the dance floor joined in the chorus.

…a poet from afar

play a familiar song

singing spring and travel

And immortal vows and love

Why don’t you take your lover’s hand

Kiss her on the lips?

The night wind howls, the singing is louder

under this ancient and eternal starry sky

Let’s toast tonight

The two circles rotate slowly clockwise and counterclockwise, like two meshing gears. People outside on the dance floor admired the dance and whispered, whispering which dance was better. Governor Boniwell’s circle got more praise, but the awkward dancing young man near the Governor lowered the overall rating. But some people think he is naive and very cute.

Friends, Zhijun will leave tomorrow

Leave your worries behind tonight

keep this good memory forever

Even though the road ahead is long…

The singing became louder and louder. The brown-haired boy quickly mastered the basic dance steps and kept up with the rhythm of the crowd. Boniwell moved slowly following the rotating circle, gradually approaching the point where the two “gears” meshed…

Flowers are fragrant, wine is more mellow

under this ancient and eternal starry sky

Everyone turned back together, facing the outside of the circle, and bowed deeply.

“Let’s toast together tonight.”

Boniwell straightened up.

He turns exactly to the “engagement point” and when he looks up, he’s facing another dancer in the circle who happens to be in the same position. The opponent also raised his head at this time.

The governor saw a grim smile on his lips.

A blade slipped out of the dancer’s right sleeve, reflecting cold white light. He grabbed Boniwell’s shoulder with his left hand, and with his right hand he pushed forward so that he was almost on top of him. The blade accurately pierced the soft belly, and then cut down cruelly. Boniwell coughed dryly and felt something come out of his stomach.

“Greetings from Cesare, His Excellency the Governor-General Boniville.”