(Two in one, today and tomorrow together)

There are two sources of candidates for the Imperial Guards. One is external recruitment, targeting elite warriors from various legions, or those strong men from civilian backgrounds.

Representative figures of this type - "Sword of Dawn" Dinisha and "Black Lion" Garrot. The former was a swordsman who traveled far and wide, and the latter was the vanguard general of the Kingdom's four elite Lion-Hearted Legions.

Another source is internal recruitment, which mainly targets blood descendants of the royal family, heirs of the king's collar, or orphans who have been taken in and raised by the royal family for various reasons.

For example, Neeko has this kind of background. She was originally the daughter of the famous swordsman "Hawkeye" Myne. Her father fought fiercely with "White Dragon" Sulla for a day and night during the Regnome Rebellion in the 500th year of the Lunar Calendar, and was ultimately defeated.

After her death, she became an orphan.

In order to repay his kindness, Perseus took the young Neeko into the royal family and raised her, and finally let her embark on the road of royal guard.

Since there are too many candidates for external recruitment, it is easy for good and bad people to get mixed up, so all kinds of standards will be set extremely strictly, and those with the slightest flaws will be eliminated.

The criteria for internal selection are much looser, and there are not many age restrictions. For example, Nicole was not yet an adult when she was selected into the reserve team.

As for the last candidate entering the field now, he is younger than Nicole when she joined the reserve force. She looks to be only eleven or twelve years old, and her immature face seems a little out of place with her surroundings.

Kino was already feeling a little sleepy, but when he saw this candidate, he not only narrowed his eyes and said with interest: "Does this person look familiar?"

Solandel and Lorna both stuck their heads out and looked carefully, and soon said in unison: "It's her.

"

Shangguan Xue walked towards the candidate, holding a pointer in her hand. She was just about to repeat her old trick to scare the opponent, but the moment their eyes met, she suddenly froze on the spot.

Shangguan Xue stared closely into the other person's eyes, her expression changing several times, and finally she fell into deep darkness. She turned to look at the high platform and nodded calmly, which meant - pass.

Passed without testing!

Looking at the 96 candidates in front, no one can enjoy this kind of treatment.

This was not because Shangguanxue was cheating for personal gain, but because she saw the other person's eyes clearly.

As a former three-clawed golden dragon, Shangguan Xue met countless people in the Far Eastern court. She only needed to look at most people to judge their life experiences from their eyes.

For example, among the previous candidates, those who have clear eyes, resoluteness, and seem extremely reliable at first glance, most of them have had a smooth life, have never been beaten by reality, let alone encountered desperate situations. Without exception, they have been tested in illusions.

was eliminated.

On the contrary, those who have deep eyes, seem to be hiding something, and even a bit depressed and gloomy, have often experienced the ordeal of blood and fire, and most of the people who can pass the test are this type of people.

And the girl in front of her had that cold, indifferent look with a hint of world-weariness deep down in her eyes, which reminded Shangguan Xue of one person - herself.

Every time I looked in the mirror, the self in the mirror had this look.

Shangguan Xue can conclude that this girl has seen dead people, many, many dead people. She has had a brush with death and crawled staggeringly on the corpses of her companions.

Moreover, just like herself, a close relative who was extremely important to her died in front of her, and her heart was torn to pieces, and she was left in a bloody mess.

…

It grew again, and finally formed a scar that was harder than iron.

This kind of person, let alone mere illusions, would not frown even when faced with a real scene of hell.

Solandel and others had already walked over at this time, and Lorna called out: "Candy."

That's right, this girl is none other than one of the orphans adopted by Dinisha at No. 24 Snowstorm Lane. She is also the only survivor among the 248 children, Candy.

"Sister Lorna." The girl nodded to Lorna. She was not overjoyed to meet again after a long absence. There was no expression on her face. She just said lightly, "Candy is my nickname, and I have stopped using it for a long time. If you are willing,

You can call me 'Healy', this is my new name."

After Dinisha's death, Candy, who had lost his home, was naturally adopted by the palace.

It's just that Solandel has been busy with government affairs in recent years, and it's really hard to see her personally, so I haven't seen her much, and I didn't expect that she would take the path of a royal guard like Dinisha.

Xili didn't look at Lorna anymore, she asked Shangguan Xue: "Can the test start?"

"You have passed the test. Go back and wait for further news." Shangguanxue finished her reply and came to Solandel's side. "Your Majesty, you are tired after watching it all afternoon. Please go back to the palace to rest first."

Solandel nodded and was about to leave when Hilly's voice suddenly sounded: "Your Majesty, please stay."

Hilly looked at Solandel, her eyes full of vicissitudes that were inconsistent with her age, and said profoundly: "In the past few years, I have always had several questions to ask Your Majesty. Your schedule is usually full and you can't see anyone. How are you now?

Easily face-to-face, if you can

I hope I can spare you a few minutes."

Facing Dinisa's orphan, Solandel had some sympathy, and since she was still free today, she stopped and said, "Well, you can ask."

Hilly asked slowly: "Your Majesty, in your opinion, what is the most important quality of a royal guard?"

This question is not difficult to answer. Kings of all ages should have given the same answer to this question. Solandel said without hesitation: "Of course it is loyalty."

"So -" Hilly's gaze became deeper and deeper, and the next question stunned both Solandel and Lorna, "In your opinion, is Dinisha a qualified imperial guard?"

This question cannot be answered by Solandel.

How to answer?

qualified?

Regardless of the reason, it is an indisputable fact that Dinisa became a traitor. If she had not suddenly defected, Andre's coup would have never made waves.

If the answer was qualified now, Perseus would probably become angry immediately.

But if the answer is unqualified and Denisha is denied, how should she explain it to Lorna?

Dinisha did many wrong things at the end of her life. She was sorry to many people, sorry to Perseus who trusted her, and sorry to the children who were picked up and abandoned by her, but she was the only one not sorry to Lorna.

14 years of life companionship, making up for the incomplete mother's love, enduring the dragon's blood at the cost of life, and finally giving her life to burn away the stigma.

No matter how much the world reviles Dinisha, to Lorna, Dinisha is her big hero.

Solandel knew very well that Dinisha had been dead for so long, and even though Lorna rarely mentioned it, she had never been able to get over the pain.

…

Lorna used to be a carefree person

Hey, a silly girl who loves to laugh, laughing and joking every day.

But in the four years since Denisa's death, she has not smiled once, not even once.

What would Lorna think if she denied Dinisha at this time?

Solandel was in a dilemma when she was asked this question. She was not a human being inside or outside.

However, after being the queen for so many years, her eloquence and thinking have become much more mature than before, and she quickly answered in an orderly manner: "Xili, you have to know one thing - there is not only right and wrong in the world, and many things are not black and white.

"

"As someone who has witnessed it, I think you should know better than anyone else that Dinisha was coerced by the tyrant and then abandoned her responsibilities. What happened after that was not her original intention."

Hilly did not fall into thinking because of this answer, but showed confusion: "Your Majesty, you seem to be going too far and did not answer my question."

"What I'm asking is, in your opinion, is Dinisha a qualified imperial guard?"

"In other words, would you like to see someone like Dinisa under your command again?"

Solandel was completely forced into a corner, without any room for mediation, and she could not help but feel entangled.

Just when Solandel was silent and Hilly was staring at her, another voice sounded: "She is not a qualified imperial guard."

Lorna stood next to Solandel. Even though she tried her best to cover it up, she couldn't hide the deep sadness in her eyes: "She is unqualified, and the queen can no longer have people like her under her command. Are you satisfied?!"

Noli was silent for a moment and nodded slightly to Lorna: "There is nothing to be dissatisfied with. I am just here to find answers, not to argue with others."

Lorna has been a little patient

Unable to control her emotions, she wiped the corners of her eyes with her sleeves, deliberately stepped forward and bumped Xili away with her shoulder, and left the training ground alone.

Solandel looked at Hilly who fell to the ground and did not reach out to help her. She just said silently: "Hillley, I hope you can understand that what Dinisha did is a tragedy."

"She was not unconscious at the time, and she was well aware of the consequences it would bring to herself, but she still did it because she loved you and those children, and she shouldered everything for you."

Hilly smiled half-heartedly, and it was hard to tell whether the expression was sarcasm or sadness: "But we were abandoned in the end - because she loved Lorna more."

Solandel no longer knew how to continue the topic. She sighed: "The reality is cruel, and each of us has times when we can't help ourselves. If you are worried about this matter, I can help you arrange it."

The best psychiatrist, let him help you out of trouble."

The unreadable expression on Hilly's face disappeared, replaced by the original indifference: "Your Majesty, you misunderstood. I am not troubled by this, let alone jealous of Lorna or hating Dinisha."

"I can understand Dinisha's choice. She has always been a person I respect extremely much, and it remains the same to this day. It's just that some things have been bothering me."

"You also know that I am an abandoned orphan. I have never seen my parents. My first memories are of the streets, cold, hunger, and the rotten smell of the garbage dump."

…

"Later I met Dinisha, and she took me to No. 24 Fengxue Lane, where I had a warm bed and delicious food.

There is also a group of partners who get along day and night.”

"Every time No. 24, Fengxue Lane, was overwhelmed, Dinisha would show up with monthly coins and give them to us generously. Whenever bad people came to harass us, they would come back the next day with bruises and swollen faces, crying and giving

We apologize."

"Dinisha saved everyone from the streets, making us no longer humble as dust. She played with us, gave us a big family, so that our childhood was no longer lonely, and even sponsored us to go to school, so that we can move towards a better future.

A glorious future.”
To be continued...