Alien Knights

After Cumberland left, Todd returned to his bedroom with a full heart.

Pushing open the door at the end of the second floor, the first thing Todd saw was a spacious hall full of wardrobes and wooden models.

Evening dresses, safari suits, capes, hakamas... all kinds of styles and different styles of clothing make this room a fashionable ocean.

Walking through these wardrobes, Todella opened two thick and heavy screen doors and walked into a studio full of books and oil paintings.

The Queen of the Holy Acropolis, the Mary in Todd's memory, the stunningly beautiful woman who was always high above her like the flower of a high mountain, now she is wearing a casual nightgown and sitting cross-legged on the sofa without any makeup On the board, he was concentrating on drawing the design drawings there.

Todd walked up to Mary, and lightly squeezed the latter's stiff shoulders, causing her to let out a pleasant sigh.

"Back from the trip, I thought you were taking a nap in bed."

Mary picked up the paintbrush, pointed at her neck with the end of the brush, and signaled him not to stop: "For me, this room is a place for me to relax and enjoy myself compared to sleeping. Here, I can let go of all the burdens on me. , just do what I like..."

Todd massaged Mary's satin-like fair skin with his fingertips, and said with a smile, "Just do what you like?"

Mary, who was indulging in the joy of touch, turned her head with difficulty, two blushes rose on her delicate face, and she whispered, "If you want, the bedroom is at the back..."

Even though he has seen this flawless alluring face many times, Todd still expresses emotion for her beauty in his heart once again.

Todd smiled and shook his head, let go of his hands, sat beside Mary, put his arms around Mary's waist, and wrapped her in his arms: "You need to rest."

"You are really different from other people." Mary wrapped her arms around Todd's neck, and leaned her whole body against Todd's chest: "Is it just you, or are all men in your world like this?"

Todd smiled and said nothing. He poured some liquid from the glass bottle on the table and drank it all in one gulp.

Reminiscing about the aftertaste in his mouth, Todd frowned and looked at Mary: "This taste..."

"It's similar to coffee, isn't it?" Mary said with a smile, "Some Yuncao, some Nadona fruit, plus agave powder and several condiments, this drink is blended."

Mary picked up the cup and took a sip slowly, then sighed and said, "However, the taste is still different from real coffee. It doesn't have that peculiar aroma, nor does it have the refreshing effect."

Todd smiled and said, "I think this is more delicious than coffee."

Mary smiled and hugged Todd a little tighter, closed her eyes, and after a while, she asked in a low voice, "Why didn't I see you sooner?"

Todd was a little strange: "See me earlier?"

Mary's voice became lower and lower: "If we met in the Holy Acropolis of my childhood, if it was before I married in Silver Ring City, if it was before that woman saw you..."

Todd was silent, and he patted Mary's back lightly, as if he wanted to comfort the woman in front of him in this way.

Mary raised her head slowly, looked at Todd's face, and suddenly asked, "Do you have something on your mind?"

"why would you say so?"

Mary sat up straight and stared into Todd's eyes: "Tell me, what is it?"

Todd sighed helplessly: "In the kingdom, there is indeed something that is bothering me."

"After the conversion ceremony, human beings will become alien races, that is, the "Crusaders" that are often mentioned in daily life."

"These alien races no longer have anything to do with humans, regardless of their physical structure or genetics. Now, various problems have arisen in the relationship between the two. Such as religious status, living habits, value orientation, etc. "

"Among these problems, the conflict between alien races and humans, I can also use faith as a buffer to reconcile the contradictions between them. But what really worries me is the combination between them, which will bring unpredictability s consequence."

Mary's eyes widened: "Unpredictable consequences?"

Todd said with a headache: "If humanoid species and humans combine with each other, the offspring may have unpredictable mutations. In my world, this phenomenon is called reproductive isolation."

Mary asked again: "Are all the mutations produced by this reproductive...isolation bad?"

"There are good and bad. Let me illustrate with an example. The offspring of a donkey and a horse are called a mule. Although the latter has a long lifespan and strong ability to adapt to the environment, it has lost the basic ability to reproduce; the offspring of a tiger and a lion are called mules. They are called ligers, they have better physical strength, but they have almost no reproductive capacity; sheep and goats will give birth to hybrid sheep, which are good at running and can produce high milk and wool, but they are still sterile."

Mary summed up Todd's case: "So, the offspring produced by the union of two similar organisms is likely to inherit the characteristics and abilities of both parents, but lose the basic fertility?"

"There is nothing wrong with saying that, so I have been worrying about the combination of non-human species and humans." The light in Todd's eyes was a little dim: "Although this combination satisfies the temporary pleasure of both men and women, it will give their offspring , Bringing indelible physical defects, this may be an irresponsible behavior."

Looking at the expression on Todd's face, Mary guessed the other's mind in an instant.

Although Todd was talking about the combination of the crusaders and humans, he was actually talking about himself.

Todd and Deirdre gave birth to a daughter—Aurora. Todd lived in worry and self-blame for this every day. He always felt that most of the responsibilities for Aurora's hidden dangers should be his to bear.

That's why Todd was so hesitant when facing humans and crusaders, he didn't want these believers to suffer the same fate as himself.

After thinking through all this, Mary stretched out her fingers, gently smoothed the wrinkles on Todd's forehead, and said softly: "You seem to have forgotten one of the most important things."

"the most important thing?"

"emotion."

Mary rested her head on Todd's chest, and said slowly: "It doesn't matter whether it is a human being or a foreign race. The union between the two parties is voluntary and no one forces it. When a creature falls in love with another creature, race, origin, Wealth, appearance, family...everything will not be an obstacle to their love."

"Emotion is the most powerful force in this world. It can turn the most timid coward into the bravest warrior, and it can also turn the cruelest thug into the most devout believer."

Mary kissed Todd's chin lightly, and said softly: "Even you, the holy king, cannot stop a woman from pursuing and longing for love."

Todd lowered his head, looked at the light in Mary's eyes, and said helplessly, "So, your opinion on this matter is...?"

Mary leaned forward and pushed Todd down on the sofa. She bent down slowly, touched her body with her hands, lowered her head and smiled and said in Todd's ear, "Let it be."