[The Silmarillion] Romimus

It was only a few months after returning from Anduenil, as if in the blink of an eye, Romimos started a new round of tour to Forosta with the troupe.

Romemos doesn't dislike such a tight schedule. In the past, she sometimes got excited, and she didn't feel much when she was busier than this. It was so boring that she was lazy and didn't talk much along the way.

Okanomu was very helpless with her appearance.

"Cheer up," he said to Romemos. "We'll be at Forosta this afternoon, and we'll be performing tomorrow! Why don't you seem excited at all? Look at Vespa."

Vespa was indeed very excited, even hyperactive.It is no wonder that Vespa came to the Arlando Opera House when she was in her twenties, and worked hard for more than ten years before finally waiting for her first opportunity to show herself on the stage.

But Romimos didn't take it seriously at all: "This is not the first time I have gone out on a tour, why should I be so excited?"

"It's not the first time, it's just the second time." Okanomu said with a smile, "And last time we went to Andunita, this time we're going to Forosta. You probably haven't been there yet. Forosta?"

"Not really," said Romemus, "but I've heard that it doesn't have the beautiful pastoral scenery of Anduenil, but is rich in stone, and there are many eagles—I hate eagles. Shall we go to visit Quarry?"

"Well, the scenery of Forosta is really not very beautiful." Okanomo stroked his mustache, "But Prince Forosta has always been very kind to our troupe, not only will he come to watch it in person every time he tours, There will be a feast for us, all the girls in the troupe are looking forward to this ball, dancing, food, beautiful dresses and jewelry, don't these all lift your spirits?"

"I thought it was something, it's more boring than visiting a quarry." Romimos snorted.

Okanomu shook his head with a wry smile, and complained in a loving tone: "You are still a maverick as always, Romimos."

But Romemos can't say that she has no interest in the ball mentioned by Ocanom, but her curiosity is of course not the ball itself, but Prince Forosta's enthusiasm for the Arlando Opera House that she did not expect.When meeting the prince, if the steward had not testified, it would be difficult for Romemos to associate him with a person who loves music. At least he doesn’t like operas, which require him to sit in his seat for hours. music look.Prince Forosta has a coldness and roughness unique to people from the north, and his attitude is very domineering, which may be second only to Farathon among the humans Romimos has seen.

It was Prince Forosta's son - who sat with his father in the best seat of the auditorium - with a very different temperament from his father. This young man had a pair of light gray eyes like glass beads, which endowed him with a slightly He has a melancholy artist feeling, and he was very quiet, focused and watched the whole performance without saying a word, only applauding politely at the final curtain call.

So perhaps it was because of his son's preference for theater and opera that the prince welcomed them so much, Romimos thought.

Of course, Romemos is not interested in confirming whether his guess is true, and this is not important.In any case, with the support and drive of the Prince, the performances of the Alando Royal Opera House are very popular in Frosta every year.Although the Forostas are by no means richer or more emotionally rich than the Antonitas, there are many who may only step through the doors of the theater once a year, but this does not prevent their enthusiasm from being the same as the Antonitas this year. The salty attitude was in stark contrast. Tickets for the premiere were sold out within two hours. The applause sounded from the opening of the first act to the last curtain call of the actors. Sometimes Romimos even wondered what was there to cheer here?

And to say who is most happy to see such a hot scene, it is definitely Vespa.Without Romemos as a backdrop, she really became the most beautiful girl on the stage, and she was quite charming. When she babbled and sang those silver-colored songs, instead of looking vulgar, she was charming and charming.There should be quite a few men who would like this, because during the intermission of the premiere alone, Romemos saw at least three groups of people who came to invite her to dinner, all of whom were rich local businessmen in Frosta. figure.

But Vespa declined all of them, and none of them agreed.

"Why don't you go?" Romeoski asked, "Didn't you come just for these invitations?"

"You make it sound like I'm such a vain and money-worshiping woman." Vespa said, but she wasn't really angry, and even her seemingly resentful tone was full of joy and pride, "I haven't seen such a Men with a little bit of money rush forward impatiently. Even if they fall in love with me, they must let me fall in love with them."

"You mean you don't like all those people?" Romemus asked, "but you haven't even met them."

"It's not that you don't understand, like this kind of man who can't hold his breath at all, and wants to pull him to bed when he sees a prettier woman. Even if he has a few filthy money, he is just a landowner and nouveau riche ’ said Vespa dismissively.

Romemos laughed: "Aren't you just trying to get their money? Now that someone gives you money, you despise them again."

"I'm only here for the money, and they're just here to sleep with beautiful women. Who is more noble than whom? They can judge women, but I can't pick my own benefactor?" Vespa took it for granted, "If I can hook up with you Rich, handsome and tasteful noble young master, why do I have to commit myself to a land rich man who has nothing but money?"

"That's the truth," Romimos said thoughtfully, "but the premise is that you can really hook up with a noble son, right? Are you already sure?"

Vespa bit her lip and didn't answer right away, but Romimos noticed her ears turned red a little bit, and a sweet smile appeared on the corner of her mouth involuntarily.

"Actually, during today's premiere, I felt His Royal Highness Ivanez was watching me from the audience." After a while, Vespa rubbed the corner of her skirt timidly, and whispered, "I wasn't sure at first. , maybe it was just because it was my big show at the time? But then I determined that as long as I was on stage, his eyes almost never moved away. So I thought, maybe, he might also..."

"Who is that?" asked Romemus.

Vespa quickly rolled his eyes, and said angrily, "Your Highness Ivanez is the son of Prince Forosta."

Romemus remembered: "Oh, that's the pale man sitting in the first row."

"That's because His Royal Highness Ivanez is not like those rude men who only like to be brave and fierce. He often stays in the study and writes poems." Vespa's face was deeply offended, "And people in the northern border are born with a natural complexion. Whiter than other places."

Romemos didn't care about the prince's son's skin at all. What made her find it interesting was another thing: "The name Ivanez is somewhat similar to that of Miss Naqueri."

"Is there? It's completely different." Vespamo said after reading the two names.

"Of course it's not that the pronunciation is similar." Romimos said, "but the etymology of the two names is Elvish, and they both refer to the month. Miss Naquili is 'October' and Ivanes is 'Nine moon'."

"Elvish language?" Vespa's eyes widened, but he nodded after thinking about it, "It's not impossible at all. I heard that the political stance of Frosta's former prince, who is also the father of the current prince, is biased towards the Loyalists." , His Highness Ivanes was born during the reign of His Majesty Tar-Palantyr, perhaps he was named after his grandfather."

"Oh?" This is new news, "In that case, is the current Prince Frosta loyal or loyal?"

Vespa curled his lips: "At this moment, besides Prince Anduini, who dares to claim that he is a loyalist? Moreover, the previous Prince Frosta was not very firm, but only because his wife believed in the gods of the West. He is a half-loyalist, but as for the current prince, since His Majesty Falazon came to the throne, he has been an out-and-out loyalist."

Well, it's to be expected.Romemos originally hoped to find an ally besides Anduini. After all, it is not her style to bet on one place, but judging from the current situation, the possibility of this is so small that it is almost impossible. up.

Oh no, there might be one more, Romemos thought of the cold-faced queen he met outside Farazon's study a few days ago.

The tour ended successfully after three days. After the usual performances, the Alando Opera House seldom stays in the local area for a long time. It will rush back to Armenillos the next day, but the situation in Frosta is different. After the performance on the last day , Prince Forosta will hold a celebration banquet for them in the mansion, so the Arlando Royal Opera Troupe will stay for an extra day.

It is said to be a celebration banquet, but in fact it is not an exaggeration to call it a sex hunting ball. Except for the Prince Frosta family and the troupe, some famous nobles, men and women, celebrities and wealthy businessmen in Frosta are generally invited to participate, except for a few people Except for no interest, for most people in the troupe, this is a good opportunity to hug their thighs and earn extra money, so both men and women are eager to try their best. Director Okanom also knows that this kind of behavior cannot be completely banned, as long as Can turn a blind eye and close one eye, implicitly remind everyone to pay attention to safety, don't delay the day after tomorrow's itinerary.

Romemos is indifferent to all the lively things, but it can be said that she is disgusted with the occasion of the dance, where there are so many drinks and exchanges between people. She waited patiently in the corner of the banquet for a while, and she really felt bored within 15 minutes. , and even wanted to go to the quarry, maybe she could get a few good stones there, but here she could only collect a bunch of vulgar and boring colored jokes.

Just as Romemos became more and more irritable, a figure suddenly appeared in front of her.

"May I have the honor of asking you to dance, Miss Romemus?" asked the other courteously.

"No." Romimos replied bluntly, and at the same time raised his head, he was surprised to see that the person who came was Prince Frosta's son, Vespa's sweetheart Ivanes, "Oh, it's you."

Evanius thought she was going to change her mind, but in the next second, Romemos turned away again: "That's not the case."

Ivanez was a little embarrassed, but he was not annoyed. He persistently invited again: "You don't seem to enjoy this place very much. If you don't mind, I can take you to the garden behind."

This suggestion was quite satisfactory to Romimos. The smoky atmosphere here really turned her off, but she still didn't nod immediately.

"Why did you invite me?" asked Romemos. "Is there no other girl here that pleases you more, Your Highness? Even if you invite our heroine Miss Vespa, I don't think she will refuse you. "

"Compared to you, those women are just vulgar fans." Ivanez quickly replied.

Romemos raised his eyebrows: "Then why did you keep staring at her during the performance?"

"That's because I thought you would play yourself on stage, so I mistakenly thought she was you. From the beginning, the only person I paid attention to was you." Ivanez said, with joy in his eyes, "So you noticed me before? Even who I was looking at?"

This is really embarrassing, Romemos mourned for three seconds for Vespa's unrequited love that died before it even started, and then probed around to search for her figure, thinking it's better not to let the poor girl know the truth so early. Good: "Let's stop talking here, you just said you wanted to take me around the garden?"

"Of course, please." Ivanes replied happily, stood up and stretched out his hand to Romemos, but Romemos didn't appreciate him at all, and got up and walked forward .

As soon as he walked out, Romemos took a deep breath of the outside air. The autumn night in Forosta was cool and fresh, and the breeze carried a bitter salty taste. Normally, Romemos didn't like this kind of sea water. But now this taste can make her feel refreshed.

The only fly in the ointment is that Ivanez next to her has been chattering endlessly looking for topics to try to talk to her, but Romemos only thinks that he is too noisy, and at the same time hopes in his heart that he can realize as soon as possible that she doesn't want to chat at all and hurry up Shut up.

In fact, Romimos did not dislike the topics he chose. As Vespa said, Ivanez has a certain degree of knowledge and understanding of the field of literature and art. Whether it is poetry, painting or sculpture, he can say a few words casually. sentence.But in front of Romemos, those insights and opinions are too simple and uninspiring, basically just copying the words of the predecessors.

That’s all, it’s not honorable to use Maia’s tens of thousands of years of experience to bully a mortal whose lifespan can’t even reach a fraction of the age that Romemos lived, and Romemos doesn’t just like being smart There are exchanges in the world, and she is also willing to teach knowledge to those who may be naive but have a desire for knowledge.

But that's how it was with Ivanez—he first made a point that he thought was insightful, and it either sounded reasonable or it sounded funny, and whatever it was, when Romeo When Romis wanted to discuss in depth, it often took a few rounds before Ivanes could no longer understand her words smoothly, and when Romimos wanted to explain to him in depth, he hesitated again and again. He quickly changed the topic to another new question to cover up his embarrassment and guilt, and then started the above process again.

After rolling his eyes countless times, Romemos finally couldn't bear it anymore and took the conversation away: "Actually, there is one thing that makes me a little curious, Your Highness, and that is your name."

Ivanez's face changed: "Oh, what's wrong with my name?"

"That's an Elvish name." Romimos pointed out bluntly, "You don't know it, do you?"

"Shh, please keep your voice down," Ivanez begged, looking around, and taking Romimos by the sleeve, he led her to a more secluded place in the garden. "Elvish language is now taboo in the Númenor Empire, especially with my identity. If someone with ulterior motives hears it and spreads it to the king, our whole family will be destroyed."

"Then you can talk now?"

Ivanez sighed helplessly: "Well, my name is indeed derived from the Elvish language, and it was chosen by my grandmother, because my grandmother's mother has a cousin relationship with Prince Anduini, and she is also a loyalist. But she died many years ago."

"If Elvish is not spoken in Númenorti, why didn't your father consider giving you another name?"

"He's thinking about it." Evanius said absently, always paying attention to the situation around him, "but he's not in a hurry, there are only a handful of Numenorians who can speak Elvish, and those who are interested in finding out the origin of other people's names It is even rarer, so my sister and I are still using the original name for the time being."

"Do you have a sister?" Romimos asked, thinking about it, "I don't seem to see anyone else coming to the show with you except His Royal Highness."

"Of course my sister doesn't need to watch the show with us." Ivanez laughed as if he heard some interesting joke, "It seems that you don't know, and it's no wonder that my sister has always hoped to be separated from our family. Clear the relationship. It is Miss Naquili, the deputy director of the Arlando Royal Opera House, she is my own sister."

This news really surprised Romemos. It was the first time she carefully observed the young man in front of her. Upon closer inspection, she found that he had many similarities with Naquili, for example, the same pale face. And the long face, and the high nose bridge carved out of a mold, even the demeanor of the whole body is a little arrogant and nervous, but Nakuili is more stubborn and mean.

"I've never heard of it, Miss Naquili? Is she the daughter of Prince Forosta?"

"It's absolutely true, but didn't I just say that? My sister doesn't want to admit her relationship with us in front of outsiders."

"why is that?"

"Because my father didn't really support her career." Ivanez frowned, but still told Romemos, "My mother was very fond of music and dancing, and my sister and I were deeply influenced by her since we were young." Influences, but it’s fine to treat them as a pastime, which is not the business we should be engaged in. But when my sister was an adult, she said she was going to be a musician, and she had a big fight with my father about it, and my father even threatened to Married her within three months, but within two weeks, she ran away first. For six years, we had no news of her, until we heard that the Arlando Royal Opera House had a new recruit for a year. A young woman composer with the same name as my sister, we know she went to Armenelos."

"and then?"

Ivanez shrugged: "Dad sent a letter to my sister, asking her to go home, but my sister flatly refused, and said that since the family does not support her, then we should sever the relationship, and I will never have her. This time, my father compromised. But In his heart, he still felt that my sister had lost face to our family, and it happened that my sister didn't want others to think that she became the deputy manager because of her family relationship, so I guess the two of them should have reached an agreement. Dad will no longer interfere with my sister's choice, My sister will not publicize that she is the daughter of Prince Forosta, unless one day she wants to go home and get married. There are probably no more than three people in your theater who know about this, but I only told you one person, Miss Romemus."

Romemos nodded: "I will keep it a secret for the sake of Naquili."

"I've said so much about our family," Ivanez couldn't help but say after wandering aimlessly for a while, "would you like to talk about yours?"

"Like what?" Romemus stopped and stared casually at a lily in the garden.

Ivanez hesitated for a moment: "Although I have not been to Armenelos to see your performance in person, I have also heard a lot of rumors. Most of them have different opinions. The only thing I have no objection to is that you... It seems that you are not Not what it looks like now."

"Your Highness can tell what I look like with your ears?" Romemos sneered, "Needless to say it so euphemistically, you actually want to say that the 'Romimos' you imagined should be better than what I look like now Much prettier, right?"

"I have absolutely no intention of offending you." Ivanez explained, "I'm just wondering why you refuse to face the audience with your true colors?"

"Of course it's for the character's needs. My character doesn't need to be so beautiful, does it?"

"Then you can play a more suitable heroine."

"You know that the heroine is more suitable for me?" Romimos walked away annoyed, "Okay, that's it. If you want to see a beautiful witch in a fairy tale like everyone else, you can Get ready to be disappointed and get away from me."

"I definitely didn't mean that." Ivanes caught up again, and followed her silently half a step behind Romimos.

In fact, Romemos didn't have a specific destination, he just walked around in a random direction, saw a gazebo not far in front of the garden, and walked straight there without thinking much.

Ivanez reached out and pulled her: "Wait—"

"Don't touch me!" Romimos snapped. Her voice was actually not loud, but it was like a thunderclap in the quiet garden. There was a panicked scream from the other side of the gazebo. The figure of the woman behind the pillar popped out suddenly, and jumped behind the nearby wooden fence like a hunted fox.

Another man poked his head out to take a look, and walked towards them tremblingly with his trousers up: "His Royal Highness Ivanez..."

"Don't come over." Ivanez quickly stopped and waved to him, "It's okay, you can continue."

The man quickly bowed and pulled the woman with disheveled hair away.

Romemus was dumbfounded.

"What is this doing? In the open-air garden?!" She lowered her voice in disbelief.

"This kind of situation is actually... not very rare," Ivanez said hesitantly, "I think the garden should be cleaned every day..."

Judging from the unpredictable expression of Romimos, this sentence did not have much comforting effect.She remembered that she seemed to be sitting on a garden bench just now, and suddenly felt a little sick.

Ivanez sighed: "I think you probably don't want to continue shopping."

"Isn't that obvious enough?"

"I think of another place, you will definitely like it." Ivanez thought for a while and said, "There will definitely be no one else there."

Romemos looked at him distrustingly.

"Or do you want to stay here?" He spread his hands.

"Let's go." Romemos said decisively.