After entering the banquet hall, the atmosphere inside is somewhat different from that outside.

how to say...

Vivian felt that it could be described as "discreet".

Because it was already time for the dinner to start, it is conceivable that everyone sat in an orderly manner according to the seats they had arranged. Earl Sisle gave a speech and kicked off the fundraising event tonight. There was no scene. occur.

On the contrary, everyone was still at the venue, walking around casually, eating, drinking and chatting.

Tonight is obviously under the banner of a "banquet", an important "parliament" for the refugees outside the city, but as if it were true, it turned into an ordinary aristocratic social dinner.

And the main reason for all this...

With a worried look, Vivian looked at the empty host station in the center of the banquet hall.

At this moment, Earl Sisle, who was supposed to be hosting the banquet on the stage, was nowhere to be seen.

"Lord Earl...are you late?" The little girl had a bad premonition in her heart and muttered to herself.

The new friend who was walking beside him, Sima, after hearing this, immediately comforted her with a competent voice:

"I guess it was delayed by something. It doesn't matter, Vivian is a common situation, we can just wait."

"Ok."

Seeing that under her own comfort, the little girl showed a slightly relieved expression, but Sima actually sneered in her heart.

Because soon.

Counting the time, the news she deliberately revealed should be passed on soon, right?

Seema looked at the clock in the banquet hall.

as predicted.

That is, after a few minutes, there were servants one after another, hurriedly whispering something in the ear of their noble master.

"What did you say!?"

"Are you sure the news is reliable?"

"It can't be fake, can it? Who would have the guts..."

"Hmph, I know that as long as you dare to touch this piece of fat outside the city, even an earl..."

"Tsk tsk, it's fun now..."

Pieces of uproar sounded among the nobles at the banquet.

It quickly turned into a commotion.

Everyone began to whisper, gathering in groups of three and two, and discussing something in a low voice.

Some of the nobles looked surprised, some shook their heads regretfully, and more were watching the fire from the other side, looking forward to the follow-up revelations.

The already rambling dinner party scene is now even more noisy and chaotic.

"what happened?"

Seeing the sudden change in the scene, Wei Wei's heart sank, and she vaguely expected something.

After that, Seema, who was under the banner of asking someone to ask, actually only walked around half a circle, and then quickly returned to the little girl. With an unbelievable expression, she whispered to Vivian:

"It's broken! Vivian, Lord Sisle, he... something happened! No! It's not Lord Earl's accident, it's the earl's daughter, that eldest lady has an accident!"

"What!? Liz, what happened to Liz?"

Vivian actually felt something was wrong from the beginning.

Because Liz had clearly agreed with her that she would accompany her to the banquet, but the eldest lady has also disappeared.

"I heard what others said, and I don't know if it's true or not, but it seems that the earl's daughter was kidnapped by an unknown force on the way to the banquet..."

"Kidnapping?!?"

Vivienne stood up from her seat suddenly.

She clenched her palms tightly, and without thinking about it, she was about to walk outside as soon as her brain became hot.

As if it had been expected, Seema quickly grabbed the little girl.

"Vivian, what are you doing?"

"Let go of my Sima, Liz needs me now, I have to save her!"

After Vivian spoke anxiously, Seema did not let go.

Of course she won't let go. After all, everything tonight was prepared for the little girl in front of her. How could she let Vivian leave.

At this time, she played a key role in helping Vivian out of the siege, giving invitations, and the "temporary friend" that the little girl pretended to be.

"Vivian, I know you're in a hurry, but calm down and think about it carefully. What use are you in the past now? Do you know the identity of the kidnapper? Do you know where Miss Liz is imprisoned?"

"But..."

Vivian was interrupted just as she was about to retort.

"I heard that the Count has mobilized almost half of the city guards in the city to find his daughter. I believe there will be news soon. What's more, even if you give those kidnappers a hundred courage, they will not dare to hurt one. The earl's daughter, right?"

"But what I want to say is, Vivian, think about it carefully, why did those kidnappers take such a big risk to kidnap an earl's daughter at this juncture."

Seema persuaded Vivian little by little.

And what's even more terrible is that what Sima said is indeed not a lie, it is all the truth.

So it's no wonder that Vivian would be led away by the nose.

"What do you mean..." For the sake of this, it was impossible for the little girl to fail to react.

"That's right! Vivian, those kidnappers seem to be kidnappings, but in fact, their real goal is tonight's fundraising party!"

"They want to use this method to make the Earl's absence and the fundraising impossible! Stop the refugees outside the city from rebuilding their homes!"

After Seema came to this conclusion, Vivian suddenly showed a rare angry expression.

"Why, why are they doing this!"

"There are many reasons. After all, in the eyes of many underground forces, the refugees outside the city are all resources and a huge consumer group. They can make huge profits by selling the necessary supplies for refugees at high prices. Naturally I don't want to see this cash cow fall."

"How can... be like this!" Vivian frowned tightly, breathing a little too quickly,

One of the things that a little girl hates and hates most is to benefit herself by hurting others.

Seeing that Vivian's emotions had been mobilized by herself, the corner of Sima's mouth evoked a flashing upward arc.

Tonight, she is going to teach this innocent, innocent girl from the countryside a lesson.

Let the other party know that in Huodian City, the first rule of survival for the upper class... Don't be a good person!

"So, Vivian, do you understand? What you should do now is not to look for Miss Liz like a headless fly. The place that needs you more right now is here!"

"You can't let the earl's hard work to hold this fundraising dinner, and you can't let the underground forces behind the kidnappers succeed in their tricks!"

"Vivian, what you are carrying now is the hope of tens of thousands of refugees outside the city. I think Miss Liz, and I don't want to see you break the hopes of tens of thousands of refugees because of her, continue. The hard life of being homeless?"

Seema wears one ring after another, one high hat and another high hat on Vivian's body.

In terms of controlling people's hearts, indeed, how can a young girl be compared with a wily aristocrat.

Unsurprisingly.

After hesitating and struggling for a long time, Vivian finally chose the latter, that is, to stay, and she would replace Earl Sisle to host this fundraising dinner!

"Don't be afraid of Vivian, I will accompany you and be your assistant!"

"Thank you, thank you so much, Xima, without you, I... I might really make a wrong decision and live up to the expectations of the Count and Liz." Vivian's words came from the heart.

Seema shook her head.

"Don't be like this Vivian, although we have only known each other for a while, we are friends after all."

"Friends...should help each other."

With the encouragement of Seema, Vivienne took the position of the host that should belong to Earl of Sisle by herself.

From this, the little girl can still be seen growing up.

If it was the original village girl in the countryside, just a bunch of brightly dressed nobles in the audience can directly frighten her to the point of being paralyzed and unable to speak.

Where will it be like now.

Vivian first used a simple amplification magic to make the nobles who were still talking about the kidnapping of the earl's daughter forced to remain silent, and the little girl drowned out her voice.

After attracting everyone's attention, Vivian revealed her identity. Since the Earl was unable to attend, she would temporarily replace her. This time, no one questioned the little girl. The release of the magic just now was enough to prove it.

The first step was a success, and Vivienne cheered herself up in the dark.

Then, she began to explain to the nobles in the audience what she observed today, the difficult environment of the refugees outside the city, the current situation of urgent need for support and help in the city, and that she, Vivian, as the person in charge of the reconstruction work, Strong determination and belief.

From the current point of view, it seems that the effect is not bad. At least the nobles in the audience are still listening, and their eyes are all focused on the little girl.

Of course, how much of this is there, is it a concern for the refugee situation outside the city, or is it just out of curiosity, observation, or... admiration for Vivian, a rookie in the Fire Code City? Then it is unknown.

But the good times don't last long.

Or an inevitable outcome.

At the end of Vivian's speech, when she mentioned the most crucial "fundraising" and "money", under the expectation and hope of the little girl, only a few young nobles were willing to donate one or two selflessly pen.

As for the vast majority of the rest, especially the older, truly wealthy and powerful nobles, it was as if everything had been agreed, and they were all indifferent and drinking tea quietly.

But the cold field is not their purpose.

Soon, a representative of the early bird who should have been arranged for a long time, took the place of the others and said what they meant.

Simple.

i.e. distrust.

There is no doubt that Vivian's fighting ability is very strong, but in the management of fundraising, whether it will be corrupt, whether it can make good use of the money, and whether it can be competent as the leader of the reconstruction work, they expressed doubts.

No one wants to waste their money. This is human nature.

Vivian can understand, and has long thought about this situation.

But no matter what the little girl said, the big nobles in the audience were not moved, and at this time, it was Xima's turn to appear.

Seema was very obscure, and after exchanging glances with several great nobles who had made an appointment in advance...

She looked like she couldn't stand it anymore as a friend and was going to go on stage to help Vivian.

After walking to the stage, Seema first scolded the nobles.

The lines are similar to those of the previous guards, probably because you are all blind, how could Vivian not be competent, she must be able, and so on.

But at the end, as if in a hurry, Seema pretended to be angry and said to the nobles in the audience:

"Hmph, how on earth do you guys believe in Vivian? Do you have to force her to sign a gambling contract with you before giving up!?"

As soon as Sima said these words, the few great nobles who had agreed behind their backs immediately stopped being silent and spoke up.

"The gambling contract... Well, this is indeed a good way. If Miss Vivian is really willing, then we have nothing to say. We will absolutely trust Miss Vivian and be willing to serve the refugees outside the city. , donate a small effort."

"Really...really!?"

"Just sign a pair... gambling contract with everyone?"

Vivian, who came from the countryside, didn't even know what the gambling contract was.

She just saw that the nobles really let go after Sima's call.

As Vivian's "good friend", Seema quickly grabbed the little girl and whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear:

"You're crazy, Vivian! You dare to sign a gambling contract with them!? Do you know what it is!"

"Yes, what is it?" Vivian shook her head in confusion.

"Oh! It's very complicated. In short, it's just a bet between you and the nobles, and they bet on whether you can complete a certain amount of reconstruction work within the specified time."

"If you reach it, it means that they lose the bet, and they will increase the donation to you for free and unconditional in the follow-up, but if you don't reach it, it means that you lose the bet..."

"The consequences will be very serious! They will make you pay several times the amount they donated to you! Enough to make you deeply in debt and completely bankrupt!"

Seema explained to Vivian very dutifully, not the slightest lie, but just a little less about the consequences.

For example, according to the law of Huodian City, if the amount of debt is too large and cannot be repaid, the debtor will be deprived of his personal freedom and will be at the mercy of the creditor.

This is the law approved by the Vulcan at the beginning of the city, and no one can violate it.

Unless, of course, one day Vulcan is gone.

"No, Vivian, you don't understand this, the risk is too great, I know you have a good heart, and there are many refugees outside the city who are your fellow villagers, but... but you can't sacrifice yourself for them either. Get in!"

Seema pretended to stop it, but actually named it secretly. Among the refugees, there was also the information of Vivian's village.

In exchange, as expected, the little girl shook her head.

"You...!" I have to admire Seema, or in other words, the acting skills of those who borrow Seema's skin.

It's really like that kind of helpless anger after being persuaded.

The voices of the nobles in the audience also sounded in coordination at this time.

"Miss Seema, if Vivian really has the strength, this gambling contract might be a big loss for us. Or, is the confidence in Miss Vivian's mouth just a contract, Are you already delusional?"

Seeing that Seema was going to confront the nobles for herself, Vivian interrupted her, which was rare.

The little girl turned around and glanced at the eyes of the nobles under the stage.

"No more."

"If only in this way, can everyone really trust me and be willing to hand over the funds for fundraising and reconstruction to me..."

Take a deep breath.

Vivian closed her eyes, and when she opened it again, she was full of determination.

"Then I'm also willing to... sign this gambling contract!"

After the little girl said this.

The nobles in the audience laughed.

Standing behind the little girl, where Vivian couldn't see, Seema also smiled.

Of course, there was another one, a very young baron noble who also attended tonight's banquet, and also laughed.

Teddy recalled the secret conversation on the rooftop last night, under the night of Huodian City, which was illuminated by raging flames.

It really is...

It can't be said to be completely similar to what the big brother expected, but it can only be said that it is exactly the same!

Teddy would like to call it...

Game in game in game!

Now ~www.mtlnovel.com~ is waiting for the last protagonist to play.

Speaking of which, can eldest brother really find the kidnapped eldest daughter?

bah bah bah!

I haven't seen my eldest brother for a day, and I have committed the stinky problem of "supporting role life" again.

At this time, the unconventional statement should be...

Even if the kidnappers were rumored to be the largest underground black force treasure thief group, even if it was said that the city guards who had dispatched half of the city could not find them.

But...

Oh, for the big brother, it should be just a trivial matter, it's easy, right? No, maybe now the eldest brother has rescued the eldest lady long ago, and he is still fighting while the iron is hot, and they are talking about love!

All you have to do now is...

Teddy rolled his eyes.

For the banquet that has just been staged tonight, I look forward to it with great anticipation.