The Magic Thief Chapter 3:

When the early morning light shone into the deep alley of the nest, the old man got up early, opened the bedroom door and walked into the study.

Leaning against the sofa on the side of the study, the boy slept extremely sweetly.

The old man didn't want to disturb the young man. He quietly opened the door of the room and walked down the stairs to the door of Brother Faying.

In the lair, no door is locked, because here are experts in unlocking, those things are useless here, on the contrary, it is easy to make those golden fingers itchy.

Open the door and walk into the room. It is completely different from the young man. Brother Faying is an old thief for many years. Any abnormal behavior in the room will immediately arouse his alertness.

Seeing the awakened brother Faying immediately, the old man was quite satisfied, nodded and said: "Get up, you go call Ted, we have to meet the boss."

"So early?" Brother Faying was a little confused.

"Leave before everyone gets up, I don't want to make the mess like yesterday." The old man said.

"Understood." As he said, Brother Faying jumped out of the bed and ran out of the room quickly.

It was a long time before Faying came back, still carrying a piece of clothing in his hand.

"The carriage is waiting outside. Ted said the alley is too deep for his carriage to get in." Faying said.

"Go and wake up that kid." The old man ordered.

Brother Faying agreed and walked upstairs.

It is not very difficult to wake up the boy.

Brother Faying handed the dress to the teenager, then stepped back to the window and looked out the window. Brother Faying was not interested in watching a boy change his clothes.

Looking down from the window, the old man was whispering something to Ted, and Ted nodded repeatedly.

"I'll change it." The boy's voice came from behind.

Brother Faying glanced back, the young man in the new clothes looked very energetic, and it seemed that he had recovered from yesterday's turmoil.

"Then, let's go!" After speaking, Brother Faying took the lead.

Outside the alley, the carriage is already ready.

Following the old man and Brother Faying, the boy got into the carriage.

The carriage moved slowly and quickly left the gate.

After exiting the city gate, the carriage did not drive on the wide road, but on the country lanes.

The branches on both sides of the road kept beating against the carriage. The three people sitting in the carriage did not speak.

The carriage traveled very slowly, and there were several up and down ramps. There were so many forks on this road, and the boy felt that the carriage kept turning along the way.

The boy had already lost his sense of direction. He prayed in his heart that the coachman must not get lost on the road, otherwise, even if he wanted to go back to the road, it would be quite difficult.

The young man is wondering why he lives in such a remote place with complicated roads. In the future, if he goes out to do something, it will be too hard. Just being familiar with the road will probably cost a lot. Months.

As the boy looked out the window with a sad face, the carriage finally drove onto a neat boulevard.

In the distance are rows of neatly green fields. Spring is coming, and the crops in the fields are green and growing. The wheat fields are swaying from side to side as the wind blows, swaying waves like rippling waves. In addition to the wheat fields, there are rapeseeds. The new rapeseed is like a thick dark green carpet spreading over the fields. The broad rapeseed leaves densely cover the fields, without revealing the color of soil.

I can't see what bird is flying happily in the sky, looking for their first meal of the day.

Along the boulevard, the horse-drawn carriage drove faster and faster. This is obviously a relatively remote place. Not to mention the horse-drawn carriage along the way, even the pedestrians are not visible.

After a quarter of an hour, the carriage finally stopped in front of a spacious and luxurious villa garden.

Getting off the carriage, the boy's first impression was white.

Everything is white.

The ground is covered with white gravel and unusual white pebbles. The trees, flowers and plants in the garden are also planted in flower beds built with white mud bricks.

The tall iron railing wall surrounding the garden was also painted with white paint.

As for the villa, not only the floor is made of snow-white marble, the nine pillars that can just be hugged by the arms are also carved from white marble. The walls of the villa are all white, I don’t know if they are lacquered. The bricks used are white.

The most prominent thing in the entire building is the large white dome.

Buildings with huge domes, the youngsters have only seen the cathedral in Nangang look like this.

Although the dome is beautiful, it is difficult to build. Therefore, the construction cost is quite expensive. The rich people in Nangang are shrewd businessmen. No one wants to spend money in such a place.

Only those nobles who do not often appear in Southport are interested in the domed buildings. I heard that there are several such domed buildings in Searthburg.

The young man guessed in his heart, the identity of the person who lived in it who was about to become his own boss.

Looking at this posture, it is very likely that the new owner is a big man with noble status.

The young man became a little embarrassed. He tugged the corner of his clothes again to tidy up his clothes.

The old man pulled a long bright yellow silk ribbon hanging in front of the door. With a crisp bell, the door opened, and a neatly dressed man with a waiter bow tie appeared at the door. Middle-aged man with a face.

"Mr. Paim, the master has been waiting in the study for a long time. But I think you haven't eaten breakfast yet. The master has ordered me to prepare it for you. When you have finished eating, go to see the master." With that said, the butler took everyone to the kitchen.

Along the way, the boy looked around this completely strange place.

The decoration here is luxurious and elegant. The owner obviously does not want to show off his wealth, so there is no such gorgeous decoration and finely carved furniture in the homes of most wealthy people in Nangang.

However, the entire building itself is a masterpiece of incomparable elegance.

In the eyes of a teenager, the whole building is like those precious works of art from the far shore of the ocean. As Mr. Madilde said, only those peoples in the East really understand art. They can use simple lines to depict wonderful and unforgettable art treasures.

When we arrived in the kitchen, the kitchens of the rich were all the same. Several cooks were busy in the kitchen, and there was a tempting smell of food in the air. There was a long table in the middle of the kitchen. On the table are freshly cut meat, good flour, and clean vegetables.

The butler gave an order, and the cooks cleared an empty space in the corner of the table.

Around that corner, the old man, Brother Faying and the boy sat there.

The cook ladies took out the food in the same way from the steaming basket.

"I don’t know when you will arrive, so I asked the cooks to prepare the food long ago and heat it in a steamer. The taste may be slightly inferior to the current one, but I think, in order to prevent the owner It's worth the loss if you wait impatiently," said the butler.

When Brother Faying saw that the first dish he brought was a golden grilled tuna sprinkled with onions and peppers, he had no dissatisfaction. Coupled with the grilled quail with mushrooms and his favorite ham and eggs, this meal is no less than the celebration banquet on the day he was released from prison.

French and English enjoyed it contentedly.

And the boy was obviously too nervous, so even in the face of such a table of delicious food that he would never have the opportunity to eat, he didn't have much appetite. He ate two bites carelessly, and left the rest for Brother Faying to enjoy.

After breakfast, the butler took them to the entrance of the study. The study is on the second floor of the villa. The second floor and the first floor are connected by a spiral mahogany staircase. On both sides of the study’s entrance are two huge portraits, depicting the story of the angel of dawn fighting against the night demon. The picture on the left shows the Night Demon defeating the Dawn Angel, and the Demon King drives the Moon Chariot to drive the Dawn Angel to the west. The painting on the right depicts the Angel of Dawn launching a counterattack at dawn, and the Archangel of Light drives the Sun Chariot to tear the Night Demon Legion to pieces.

When working in the store, the young people’s favorites are the artworks from the East. Those exquisite paintings have fascinated young people countless times. Now they have the same feeling when facing these two paintings.

Just as he looked at the painting in a trance, the door of the study opened.

The young man followed the old man into the study.

The study room is extremely spacious. To the teenager's surprise, the study room was filled with various books against three walls, and an escalator was placed against the corner.

The bookshelf is so tall that it leads all the way to the roof. Without the escalator, there is no way to reach the upper floor.

In addition to the tall bookshelves in the study, the most conspicuous thing is the only side where no shelves are placed.

In order to let in more light, that side was completely opened and a whole piece of glass was installed.

A young man has never seen such a large piece of glass. France does not produce glass. Although there are one or two glass workshops, it is absolutely impossible to make such a thing.

Such a huge glass can only be customized specially from Yi Lei.

However, glass is quite fragile, and it is more difficult to transport such a large piece of glass. The teenager can hardly imagine how much money must be handed to the transporter to transport such a piece of glass, but there is no doubt that it is far more broken than he broke. That porcelain plate is much more expensive.

The young man's heart is becoming more and more certain that the new owner is a prominent nobleman.

"This was given by the chief consul of Ilei to the tall windows of Paro Cathedral to decorate the church. In order to prevent accidental damage to the glass during transportation, fifty pieces of such large glass were made. Fortunately, there were more than 20 pieces left after the cathedral was built. I just wanted to build such a wall, so I bought it."

Just as the boy was surprised by the window, an old voice came from the upper right side of the back.

Everyone turned their heads and saw that an old man with gray hair and a thin face was slowly climbing down another escalator, holding two thick books under his arm.

The young man looked at the old man carefully, and he guessed that the old man was his new owner.

As the years passed, the old man's face was covered with wrinkles, gray hair, and the number of black hair was far less than that of gray hair. A wide gold framed eyes covered the towering cheekbones. Up. The old man's hands were thin and covered with thick calluses. With this face and hands, the young man would definitely not think that the old man was a rich man.

In his impression, even if a wealthy person like his old club is thinner, he won't be as thin as a tree branch that has dried out of water.

Wealthy people know how to maintain, no matter how old they wrinkle, they will not look like such a weather-beaten and aging look.

However, the clothes worn by the old man proves that the old man is a very wealthy person. It is exactly the same as the layout of the room. The clothes of the old man are absolutely superior in texture, fine work, simple in decoration, but quite tasteful. Good things from Lei Yun. The crocodile leather belt alone is very valuable.

"Is this the kid you found?" The old man said to Pam.

"Yes, yes, I don't know if it suits you?" Pam asked with a bow and a smile.

"It's not appropriate, you ask Eckert." The old man said.

"Isn’t that French and British? How are you doing? During the three months you traveled, I discussed with Pym. Pam said that you have been able to be alone, and he said that he is also old. , So you will gradually be responsible for things in the future, you have to work harder." The old man said a few words to Brother Faying, then turned to the housekeeper and said: "Please bring Eckert here." /

The butler agreed to turn around and leave.

The old man sits on a leather recliner and reads a book on his own.

Pam and the three of them had to stand quietly on one side.

It was quiet in the study, and the young man didn't dare to take a mouthful, for fear of giving the old man a bad impression.

As for Brother Faying, it was much easier. Hearing the boss personally told him what the old man said yesterday, Brother Faying was even more relieved. He really wanted to shout three times to congratulate him.

Long time passed, when Faying gradually felt a little uncomfortable to stand up, the door of the study room opened.

A middle-aged man with two neat and beautiful moustaches walked through the door.

I saw that the middle-aged man also wears gold-rimmed glasses, a black velvet soft vest and a white silk shirt look noble and elegant, loose black woolen breeches and a pair of polished soft-soled riding boots. , Proving that he just came back from walking the horse.

"I just went out for a circle. The pony I just bought is not too tame. It seems to be a bit dangerous to learn how to ride. I think if it doesn’t work, I’ll use the grey-spotted mare. , That mare is quite honest." The middle-aged man said.

"You are an expert, you decide. Paim brought the person you want, this kid." The old man pointed to the young man and said, "In the next six months, you have to teach him a lot."

The old man turned his head and said to the young man: "You will follow this Eckert from now on. You have a lot to learn, but you only have half a year. I heard Pam say that you are very easy to learn and give well. Let me see."

Speaking, the old man waved at the middle-aged man, motioning the middle-aged man to take the young man out.

The middle-aged man led the young man out of the study and gently closed the door.

He took the boy to a room in a remote corner of the West Building.

Although the decoration in the room is far inferior to the study and lobby, it still reflects the owner's elegant taste. Because the room is located on the west side of the whole building, there are windows on three sides, through the blinds, the sun shines on the teak floor. Leaning against the north window, there is a big bed. It is the kind of big bed with four pillars that can only be used by rich people.

There is a rosewood screen in the middle. The boy once saw the same one in the shop. It was shipped from Xibai and it was very valuable. This screen naturally divides the room in two.

Under the south window, there is a desk with carved phoebe wood, a floor-to-ceiling window sill to the west, and a balcony outside.

On the right side of the door is a row of bookshelves. Although they are not as spectacular as the bookshelves in the study, they are much more exquisite.

On the left side of the room door, facing the head of the bed, there is a beautiful portrait, which is a very beautiful portrait of a lady full of mature charm.

This lady won't be Eckert's wife, the boy guessed.

"From now on, this will be your room." Eckert said.

"What? No." The boy exclaimed, obviously surprised by this arrangement.

"In the next six months, you will live here and learn a lot of things. One of the most important things is that from now on, your name will be Ribo Byndit. Remember this name. "Eckert ordered severely.

"Why?" the boy asked, puzzled.

"You can’t ask why. When I think you’ve learned almost, I’ll explain all your questions, but it’s definitely not now." Eckert’s tone has no room for slowing down: "Ribo· Byndit, let us start your first lesson."

Speaking, Eckert took a thick book from the shelf and placed it on the desk, and dragged a chair over. He pointed to the chair and motioned the boy to sit down.

The teenager with his mind full of doubts walked towards the desk in a daze but obediently.

Class has started.

……

In the study, the old man sat on a recliner, flipping through a thick old book in his hand. Paim and Faying had already left. The warm sunlight shining into the study made the old man a little drowsy. He had forgotten where he saw when he was reading. The old man closed the book and leaned on the couch to doze off. coming.

I don’t know how long it took, the door of the study was opened, and the old man was awakened. The skills learned in most of his life are not likely to be completely forgotten because life has become comfortable. The old man still treats himself as he did in the past. Just as alert and happy when walking on the street.

The old man glanced at someone, and it was Eckert.

"How? Are you satisfied?" The old man asked with a smile.

"Very well, Paim did a good job this time." Eckhead replied.

"Are you sure to complete the first step of the plan within half a year?" the old man asked.

"As Pam told us, this newcomer is quite easy to learn. There should be no problem in changing his face within half a year."

"Is there any news from Fez? His work is as important as yours." The old man asked again.

"Several important witnesses have been bought out, especially the captain of the guard. He has a big handle in Fez’s hand. There is no need to buy them, or they can’t achieve the goal with money. Si plans to find a reason to replace them one by one. This matter can be done by the butler who was bought."

Hearing Eckert’s answer, the old man nodded, and he stuffed the book into Eckert’s hands: "You should watch this kind of thing. Hey, I have never developed the habit of reading. I want to doze off when I read a book."

"Heraldry is indeed a rather boring science, and, in my opinion, it is of no use at all. If it were not for this project, I would not be interested in studying this aspect." Eckert accepts After reading the book, he said casually.

"What about the kid?"

"I got an exam paper for him to do, wanting to see what he would have done. It seems that I underestimated him. After watching him answer a few questions, I can see that this exam paper is for him, There is no problem. It seems that you can learn a lot in Nangang."

"Knowing too much is not a good thing," the old man said.

"Can Kierler go to Nangang once? The kid has an aunt named Betty. Ask Kierler to get a token from this aunt. I think it will be easier to control this child."

"Kierle? Is it necessary for Kierle to show up?" The old man was a little questioned.

"I very much hope that Kyle will be able to participate in our plan. He will be of great help to the plan." Eckert explained: "From some recent intelligence collected, I found the real Ribo. Byndit did not get sick and died, it was more like poisoning, and there was always someone who was inquiring about the life and death of this Ruibo six months ago.

"Fortunately, the butler was afraid of letting people know that his little master was dead, that he was afraid that he did not perform his duties, and even more afraid that the judge would investigate the property under Ruibo's name and found that part of the property had been taken by him. This housekeeper embezzled him in various names and wrongly sentenced him to the gallows. Therefore, he blocked the news that the real Ruibo had died under the pretext that the young master was ill and needed treatment. Fortunately, he was desperate to come to us, Provided us with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This will be the biggest plan we have ever implemented.

"However, there are obviously some people who don’t want Ribo to exist in the world, or some people don’t want to have a direct heir to Searthburg. Searthburg has recently changed owners one after another. The old Earl Medin was accidentally hunting. He fell to his horse and fell to his death. One of his two sons was smashed to death by a chandelier on the day he inherited the title. The other son fell seriously ill and died more than two months after taking office.

"It is said that before he died, he was planning to sign an important document. The Ferguson declared that this document will make Surthburg through the most difficult period. No one has ever heard of Surthburg encounter Whatever the crisis, everything is working well in Surthburg, and the lord does not have any debts that are difficult to pay off. On the contrary, through the trade between Nangang, the lord can have 20,000 gold Francs income every month, enough to equip it. A heavy armored cavalry squad, this does not include the investment in Nangang.

"Although there is no exact figure, the earl’s investment in Nangang brings him at least half a million gold Francs’ income every year. I can’t imagine what other financial aspects will be encountered in Surthbourg with such income. Question. The death of the earl has made the whole thing even more confusing. It seems that the inside story is definitely not that simple. "Therefore, I have great confidence in believing that the real Mr. Ribo died because of that. People know the reason, so I hope that Kyle will be the bodyguard for our children, at least until he obtains the status of heir, Ribo Beendit will never die because of illness. "

Eckert reported his findings in detail over the past few days.

"This is an obvious thing. News of the lord's death came one after another from Surthborough. I guess what happened. Do you think that the butler really came here by himself? He was guided by someone else. Come to me. I can even guess who the person who pointed him is and why he pointed him to us. Kyle has been helping you a long time ago, but he is definitely not suitable for appearing in public. Kyle is only available The shadow has the greatest power," the old man said.

"Yes, but, do you think the person behind the scenes will betray us at a critical moment?" Eckert couldn't help worrying.

"Betraying us will not do him any good. On the contrary, it will hurt him much more than us. That person just wants to maintain the current situation safely and securely. Once the legal heir is lost, there will be someone who can. I took this position with dignity. Any change is not good for that person. Whether this plan is successful or not, that person cares more than us." The old man smiled and continued: "Eckert, the only thing you lack now is right. The grasp of the actual situation, you see too few things, although there are far more things hidden in your mind than mine, but you don’t know which are the most important and which are the most useful. You are much more. Understand human nature, you have enough knowledge."

"But, I prefer to stay in the study," Eckert said.

"I hope you can take my class. This plan may be the last action I made. I am old and want to change to a more peaceful way of life. Maybe be a rich man like Pam. Maybe I will live in Nangang in the future." At this point, the old man waved his hand, indicating that Eckert can leave.

Before leaving, the old man seemed to think of something and said: "The little thing you want Kyle to do, I will tell him to do it."

Out of the study, Eckert thought about what the boss said just now. In recent years, the boss told him more and more secrets that he didn't know before, and he had guessed that he was going to retire. , But I don’t have much interest in it. If the boss gave him the study without any conditions, he would be happier.

After sorting out his thoughts, Eckert returned to the "classroom."

His student is sitting upright at the desk, doing the exam paper.

Eckert leaned over and took a look. The exam paper answered quite well, which shows that the student did not waste time when he was in Nangang.

"Okay, Ribo, you can stop." Eckert said.

The teenager looked at his teacher in confusion.

"What do you know, I have a rough idea, I have arranged a thorough study plan for you." As Eckert took out a circled piece of paper from his pocket, he spread it out In front of the teenager.

"Wake up at six o'clock every morning, eat breakfast at six thirty, and learn the etiquette and manners that the upper class should have at the table. Start learning horsemanship or swordsmanship at seven thirty, and drink morning tea at nine. You must learn this An elegant art, and this is also your language class. Can you speak Xibai, Yi Lei, and Dali Zhiyu?"

"Know a little, can count, or simply say hello." The boy replied.

"That won't work, you have to be able to speak fluent Sibai, Yilei and Delizhiyu can be a little sloppy, so I will give you a period of language class time before going to bed at night." Saying that Eckert picked up a pen from the desk and added another hour of language lessons at the end of the note: "That’s it. Ten to eleven is entertainment time, but it’s not for you to play. , You have to learn everything popular in the upper-class social circle, and the etiquette that fits your new identity.

"Eleven o’clock is a cultural class, I will see what you lack and I will supplement you with this knowledge. Twelve o’clock is lunch time. After lunch, you can rest for half an hour. Religious classes start at one o’clock. I’ll see you. There is a lack of common sense in this area. Two points are drawing lessons, three to four points are politics lessons, and four to five points are history lessons. You don’t understand at all in these two aspects, eat dinner at five, and at the same time accept your study for a day Results of testing.

"Mechanical class starts at 7 o’clock in the evening. It teaches you how to assemble or destroy it. At 8 o’clock is a physical class, so you can digest the food for dinner. From 9 to 10, it’s just added. In the second language class, you can go to bed after ten o’clock, but before that, there is a punishment class. I have strict rules for your daily study. If you can’t finish it, you will have to go to bed before going to bed. Whip, understand?" Eckert said, pointing.

The young man nodded repeatedly, especially when Eckert took out a pointer woven from a cane with his thumb thick from the top of the bookshelf, the young man's head nodded more vigorously.

"Okay, it's almost nine o'clock, I'll let the servants prepare morning tea." As Eckert pulled a long yellow silk ribbon in the room with a certain rhythm.

"But, it hasn't been long since I just had breakfast, and I am not hungry in my stomach..." the boy explained.

Before he finished speaking, the pointer that Eckert was holding fell on his left hip.

With a crisp sound, the boy felt a fierce pain. He clutched his **** and screamed and jumped away.

"The time of punishment is not just before you go to bed. Once you make a mistake, you will be punished anytime and anywhere in order to remind you to pay attention. Do you understand?" Eckert asked blankly.

Continuously stroking the painful part, the boy nodded fearfully. He didn't want the whip to fall on him again.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door. Eckert opened the door and the butler pushed a small cart. The cart was filled with various delicate snacks. In the center was a set of silver. The tea set and a jug do not know what drinks.

Eckert picked up a stack of dim sum in the hands of the teenager with a very elegant movement and said: "Morning tea and afternoon tea are one of the most important parts of the upper-class social circle. Someone invites you to drink morning tea, indicating that they have Accepting you to enter their circle, as for the invitation for afternoon tea, it means that others have regarded you as their own person, or there is a very important thing to ask you for help. Therefore, the tea party is your first official entry into the social circle. This is a test, you must fully grasp the essentials, now pick up the points in your hand... Don’t be so rude, follow me, see my appearance, pay attention to my actions."

……

"When pouring coffee, be slow, don’t bend your back, you are not a servant... Look straight at the cup, don’t pay too much attention to the cup, only look out of the corner of your eye... When inviting people to drink coffee, speak with sincerity. And be strong, speak clearly... You are no longer the original clerk, don’t look so respectful, hold your chest up and look at my eyes... Don’t look at my chest. If you meet a lady, yes Quite disrespectful behavior....When you get up, you should act lightly and cannot hold the chair. It is quite unreasonable. That is the privilege of the elderly..."

……

Amidst the scoldings, the young man finally finished his day of schooling. He has never been so tired before. Even in the shop, the hunchback arranged for himself to do all kinds of heavy tasks. He felt as if he was about to fall apart.

I was in an extremely nervous state all day long, my mind was filled with all kinds of unheard of knowledge, and a wrong pointer would be shot down, which made myself more nervous, and there was no way to relax.

The teenager lying on the bed stroked the wound on his buttocks, and now he can still feel a burst of fiery pain. He doesn't know if tomorrow's course will be more difficult.

But despite the hard work of learning, despite the fact that you must always beware of the falling pointers, despite living in a very tense atmosphere all day, the teenager feels extremely fulfilled, because he has never been immersed in the ocean of knowledge like he is now .

It can be seen that Eckert is an extremely knowledgeable man, and Mr. Madild is slightly inferior to him.

There are many things, Mr. Madild can only make a clear outline, but for Eckert, it seems that it is just as simple as common sense.

The young man thought to himself that he didn't know when he could be as knowledgeable as Eckert.

However, he understands that the most important thing for him now is to learn the courses that Eckert has prepared.

For a teenager, it would be nice if Eckert was as amiable as Mr. Madild. That pointer and the pain it caused to his **** is the only thing the teenager regrets.

The course on the second day was not as difficult as the teenager imagined. On the contrary, because he has gradually adapted to this highly stressful study life, the course on the second day has become less difficult than the first day. The only whip that I suffered on this day was because he didn’t control the horse well in the equestrian training, but the young man cried out in his heart. He has never rode a horse in his life. It was the first time he was able to ride a horse like this. The results have been quite good.

As he imagined, in the next few days, horse riding became easier and easier for him, and the lessons became easier and simpler. He even has the energy to spare the extra time to learn and read some knowledge he likes.

The teenager has gradually become accustomed to his new identity. When others call Ribo Byndit, he will automatically call him a name.

However, the teenager is always full of doubts about his studies, because these studies do not look like serving others, but like being served by others. Eckert seems to teach him to be an elegant and decent rich The children of other people are taught to be the kind of children who wander around in a carriage every day, are served by many servants, can do nothing all day long, but can have the best enjoyment of those wealthy children in the world.

Is there any use for the owner to train him to be such a person? The teenager was full of doubts about this.

This doubt has accumulated more and more with the passage of time. The swordsmanship and equestrian classes have basically ended. At the same time, the performance of the teenager in the morning tea and afternoon tea, any banquet has already made his stern teacher. Can't fault it. As for talking, under Eckert’s training and the boy had seen all sorts of weird things when he was in Nangang, Eckert was most satisfied in this regard. Even if this student is placed among the noblest aristocratic group in the Kingdom of France, the young man is absolutely outstanding with this talk.

In the eyes of a teenager, Eckert is simply a tutor or private secretary employed by a wealthy and aristocratic family.

When I was in Southport, I often saw the nobles of Surthburg bring their servants to the store to buy things. They always brought a servant who was obviously different from ordinary servants, but certainly not the unique identity of the master. People.

These people all seem to look the same, the same old-fashioned, the same serious and meticulous.

And these people have the same characteristics, they are all knowledgeable and well-informed scholars.

They are not so much the entourage of those nobles, they are more suitable as think tanks or consultants.

In the store, whenever those nobles fancy a beautiful product, they will let these think tanks and consultants carefully appraise it. Until these people give a positive answer, the nobles are willing to pay for it. Out of the pocket.

In the young man’s impression, these people absolutely do not take bribes. He once saw the treasurer secretly stuffing money into the hands of the close maids or housekeepers, but he has never seen them being far better than the maids, Aristocratic think tanks with high butler status have squeezed money.

The teenager once asked the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper told him that these people are real scholars, and many of them even own their own properties. Just like Mr. Madilde, the young owner, he used to be the personal secretary of a prominent nobleman in Searthburg. The same is true for the old boss. Many businessmen in Nangang have established contact with the nobles in this way. In fact, this is the quickest and most direct way for merchants to get through the upper-level doors. If they can satisfy the nobles and become close friends, then it is tantamount to establishing a deep popularity in the upper-level social circle of Francis.

The young man is quite curious. Will Eckert be a successful businessman, or a higher status, the descendant of which little nobleman? Eckert was quite aristocratic, which Mr. Madild did not possess.

Also, Eckert’s riding skills and swordsmanship are extremely brilliant, and ordinary merchants will never spend too much attention on these two things.

Businessmen prefer to travel in a horse-drawn carriage. Horse riding is not their hobby.

As for swordsmanship, it is used for duels. Once something happens, merchants would rather use money to solve everything. Swords are definitely what they try to avoid.

Because of this, the teenager became more and more certain that Eckert was the descendant of a declining nobleman.

According to the shopkeeper, these people enjoy special respect as private secretaries of the nobles.

This is firstly because of their aristocratic ancestry, and secondly, these people are often also the personal political advisers of the aristocrats at the same time.

Skillful guidance on political strategy is something businessmen would never have.

Eckert obviously wants to train himself to be a child of the same nobility. Just look at the difficulty and breadth of those history courses and political courses. If this were not the case, it would be impossible to explain the past.

Seeing that Eckert is quite satisfied with his studies, the teenager finally mustered up the courage to ask Eckert about his purpose.

Unexpectedly, the young man was surprised that the pointer in Eckert's hand did not fall on his ass.

"Do you really want to know?" Eckert asked, "Well, anyway, I will tell you what you know sooner or later, the man who brought you in did not tell you the truth, our The host is not a'philanthropist'. Mr. Hyde is the head of the thieves' union in the 16 provinces of southern France. People call him'the chief'.

"I am the commander of the scammers. Everyone calls me an actor. Pem is a thief who specializes in the control of the thieves in the city, and Brother Faying is the boss of the thieves.

"We now have a new plan, but in this plan we need a new face that no one has ever seen before. That’s how Faying found you. And you didn’t let us down, at least not now. We are disappointed."

Hearing Eckert and telling the inside story of the matter, the boy felt cold all over. He never thought that he would fall into the hands of a group of thieves. Although in the place where French and British lived, he once doubted French and British. Brothers and their identities, but the many books in Pam's room immediately dispelled his doubts, which thief would have so many books? I didn't expect that I would end up on such a well-organized big net.

Thinking of all this, the young man couldn't help feeling in a trance, but fortunately this month of training allowed him to deeply reflect most of the things in his mind, and every move became a natural habit, so nothing came out. Blunder.

At night, when the teenager was lying on the bed alone, he felt more and more scared. He didn’t know that this was a den of thieves. Fortunately, now that he understood everything, he always felt that someone was watching him from inside the door. , Or a man with a dagger in his hand is standing at the window quietly waiting for him to fall asleep.

"Can't stay here anymore, I have to find a way to escape." The boy thought to himself.

He got up quietly, put on his clothes, and opened the balcony window, which was not high above the ground on the second floor.

The young man climbed onto the fence of the balcony and carefully rolled down the balcony. As he approached the ground, the young man jumped gently, making the smallest noise possible and fell to the ground.

When he stepped on the flat ground, the young man wondered whether he should go to the stable and take out the horse he has ridden. Perhaps it would be easier to escape this way.

But then I think about it again. In this month, I learned a lot from Eckert. Riding was also taught to me. If I steal his horse before leaving, it would be too much to explain. NS. Thinking of this, the boy turned his head and walked towards the back of the house. There was a small door inserted from the inside, so there was no need to look through the iron fence door.

As he turned around, he suddenly saw Eckert and another middle-aged man standing facelessly behind him.

The two people are equally well dressed, obviously they have been waiting here long ago.

"Your patience is good, but we have been waiting here long ago." Eckert said in a teasing tone.

The door opened with a creak, and the butler walked out of the door wearing a nightgown.

"Your apprentice didn't learn very well, and he made such a loud noise. What did he use as a nursing home? I think most people woke him up." The butler said with a smile.

Of course the young man guessed that the butler will never be a real butler, and the servant here will never be a real servant.

The young man walked into the house behind the housekeeper with his head down.

Back to the room, the middle-aged man walked to the bed, and he knocked on the four pillars at the head of the bed, and the solid wooden pillars made a dull sound.

The middle-aged man slowly turned back to the desk. He pulled out three quill pens from the pen holder on the desk, and suddenly turned around, and the three quill pens shot at a pillar of the big bed like lightning.

If you can only hear it, the three crisp sounds of "Tutuotuo", the quill pen is neatly and deeply nailed into the hard wood.

The teenager writes with those three quill pens all day long. Of course, he knows that the pens of these quill pens are not so sharp, but at the same time they are quite soft and extremely comfortable to use. The big bed is made of jujube wood. , Very hard.

Being able to use such a soft tip to pierce this hard knife into the jujube wood, which may not be able to cut into it, can only say that the strange middle-aged man in front of me is an extremely dangerous character.

The young man looked at the two expressionless middle-aged men in front of him tremblingly, silently wondering his possible fate in his heart. When I was in Nangang, I heard others say that the thieves would tie a big rock to the feet of the betrayers, and then throw them into the river and drown them alive. Maybe they will feed those little fishes and shrimps soon. Thinking of this, the boy trembled all over.

Eckert never spoke, but the middle-aged man took out a necklace from his pocket. It was a very cheap necklace, which was bought everywhere in Nangang.

"Do you recognize it?" the middle-aged man asked.

The young man took two steps back in fear and nodded.

"I went to Nangang once and took it off your Aunt Betty’s neck. It’s extremely easy for me. I can also pluck other things from your Aunt Betty’s neck instead of Do you understand this necklace?"

Seeing the teenager's eyes widened in fear, nodding his head up and down, his face pale, his nose and wings trembling twitching, Eckert was quite satisfied and said, "Okay, I think you know what to do When it’s done, you can continue to rest, but before taking a rest, I have to give you the last lesson."

Hearing what Eckert said, of course the young man knew in his heart that the so-called last lesson was to be punished for this matter, but in this way he would feel relieved, at least his life would be covered.

The young man lay on the bed obediently, but he never thought that the punishment this time would be so painful. Every record made him let out a hoarse scream. He wanted to struggle to get up, but he was caught on his back. Eckert stepped on it firmly, unable to move at all, he had to endure this extremely painful whipping, until he passed out without any consciousness.

When the young man came to his senses, it was noon on the third day. He was in a coma for two days, but the injury still made him extremely weak. Eckert particularly exempted equestrianism and swordsmanship from courses that require a lot of exercise, and at the same time exempted the last punishment class, which is a rare gospel for teenagers.

A lot of time is spent on learning knowledge from books, especially language learning. During the whole day, Eckert always talks to him in different languages.

Since the teenager knew that this was a thieves’ den, Eckert no longer concealed anything, and the so-called mechanics class naturally became a course on how to unlock locks and how to use thieves’ special tools.

Moreover, from that day on, the teenager had a new course-heraldry. For teenagers, this course is simply memorizing genealogy. Francis has more than three hundred ancient aristocratic families, and more than half of the families can be traced back to the time of Leituke the Great, which was three hundred years before the founding of the Kingdom of Francis.

In the past thousand years, these families have intermarried with each other. Some of the best have created a number of branch families. It is rare that one or two short-lived families can contribute to the reduction of this huge system. Most families It is quite deep-rooted and leafy.

If it hadn't been for the wise Francis V to issue a decree declaring that the title can only be inherited by direct lineage since his time, and cannot be split or merged, then these noble lineages would not know how complicated it is.

During the days of reciting the family pedigree, the teenager has gradually identified with his new identity. He is Ribo Byndit, a direct descendant of a family that does not know any noble lineage, but from Byrne It seems that Dieter's surname should be a descendant of the ancient aristocratic lineage from Sibai, no wonder Eckert must learn Sibai well by himself.

Ribo thought to himself that, fortunately, he only needs to understand Francis' aristocratic lineage instead of Xibai.

You know, on this continent, France is still a new country, such as a country with a long history like Xibai. Many families have been quite active during the ancient Loletta Empire, a total of fifteen thousand. A century of history has made the pedigrees of these families as complicated as silk in the same bundle of silkworm cocoons.

After a month of self-cultivation, Ribo finally recovered, but since that disastrous day for him, he never saw the strange middle-aged man again, that man has never been at the dinner table. Once there, Ribo guessed that he didn't live in this place like Paim.

It might be better for the extremely dangerous stranger not to meet him.

But that can’t be done.

Ribo must get the necklace back from him.

Because that necklace is the only relic left to him by his parents.

When my father died of the plague, the house was set ablaze and burned down by the sheriff’s leadership. There was no property in the home. The little valuables that could not be burned were collected by the sheriff. Only this A worthless necklace.

However, this necklace is of great significance to him. Ribo gave the necklace to Aunt Betty, who is closest to him, to express his gratitude to Aunt Betty. Aunt Betty also knows his intentions, so she never I took off this humble necklace.

Although this necklace is not valuable, it represents the love of parents and Aunt Betty for themselves.

This is the most important, valuable, and meaningful thing in his life.

He must get this necklace back, even if it falls into the hands of a killer who is more dangerous than the devil and terrible than death.