This temple was square in shape. Each side of the wall was about twenty-five paces long, and the central spire was about three stories high. In the spacious city of Ventona, it could only be regarded as a small temple. But if it were in the city of Salencia, it would be a building with a large floor area.
The outer wall of the temple had originally been painted pure white, but due to years of disrepair and neglect, the white outer wall had turned brown and dark gray. The difference only lay in whether it was stained with yellow mud or smoked.
Because its appearance was too dirty, although the temple was not small, it didn't look very imposing. The two of them didn't have the idea of admiring it more. Under the guidance of Baron Carrick, they entered the temple together.
In a normal temple, once you passed through the main gate, you would enter the hall. Near the gate in the hall, several rows of seats would be placed for people to rest. In front of the seats, there were several carpets laid out - people would kneel on the carpets to pray. In the distance was the altar, on which only some candles were placed. There were no statues, neither sculptures nor paintings. Because idol worship was a serious violation of religious doctrines. Another strange thing was that although the god had a name and seemed to be known to everyone, believers or priests were not allowed to mention it.
Whenever Aurelio entered a temple, he would always be curious about who they were praying to when they knelt on the carpets. "Neither talking to someone's face nor calling their name, who would know who you're talking to?" That was his thought. Most of the carpets in temples in various countries were produced in Salencia, but the people of Salencia prayed on them the least. Born in such an environment where people were indifferent to religion, it was no wonder he had such doubts.
However, the situation in this temple wouldn't make him curious anymore. The furnishings such as seats, carpets, and the altar in the hall had all been removed. The vacated space was used to accommodate the wounded soldiers.
The Salencian army had encountered another group of militias near the city of Ventona yesterday after the night battle the day before yesterday. In the two battles, the total number of soldiers killed was less than ten, but there were nearly a hundred wounded. They were all集中安置于此 now. Military doctors and priests were going back and forth, extremely busy.
General Corne was inspecting the situation of the wounded here and then began twirling his mustache - he would do this whenever he felt irritable. There had been too many worrying things in these days, and his mustache had been rubbed countless times by himself and had become a bit asymmetrical.
Aurelio and Gloria finally returned to the team, which really relieved the general. He at least unloaded part of the burden and didn't have to think about how to explain to their parents. After simply asking about the situation and experiences of the two, he gave the order: "It's good that you're okay. Go to the camp to report and then have a good rest. The whole army will be temporarily stationed in this city for a few days."
Although the general gave such an order, Aurelio didn't leave immediately. He was looking around for Valentino's figure but found nothing. Valentino was a doctor. If he was safe, he would definitely be here taking care of the wounded. If he was injured, his hair was so conspicuous that he should be easy to find. He began to feel uneasy again. He walked around the temple once and then returned to the general's side and asked, "General, how is Valentino now?"
"Valentino, he..."
Before the general could finish speaking, another voice came from nearby. "He's not doing well at all."
Aurelio looked down and saw an injured soldier sitting on the open bedding at his feet. The soldier's head was wrapped with several circles of bandages, almost covering all of his hair. He observed carefully and finally found a few strands of green hair showing through the gaps in the bandages.
This injured soldier was undoubtedly Valentino. He wasn't wearing his usual old velvet coat, nor was he wearing his标志性的圆片眼镜, and his hair was covered by bandages - under such circumstances, it was really hard for Aurelio to recognize him.
Aurelio was happy in his heart, but his face showed no expression at all. He leaned close to his friend and bent down and said, "I think you're fine. You didn't lose your memory from the fall." He looked serious but said such a joking remark.
"I'd rather lose my memory!" Valentino pretended to be angry and said, "If I had become stupid from the fall... I wouldn't have been sad for a whole day because of your disappearance!"
"Should I say sorry?"
"Of course! I thought you were dead, but how come I couldn't find your body?" Valentino smiled and said, "Such a good human anatomy experiment material was just gone. I was really worried at that time!"
Aurelio shrugged his shoulders and then pointed at the other's broken arm and said, "With you injured like this, could you dissect me before I started to rot?"
Valentino said, "I still have one hand! And do you think you can't be dissected when you're rotten?"
"I can't die earlier than you." Aurelio said, "Fortunately, you don't practice necromancy. Otherwise, I'd be summoned back even after I died and wouldn't have any peace."
"Ha ha! Let's not talk about life and death issues anymore! Did you bring a watermelon to see me?" Valentino said, raising his hand and pointing at Aurelio's shoulder, "How about opening it and sharing it?"
"Watermelon?" Aurelio was stunned.
"Yes... it's me." A rather familiar voice reached Aurelio's ears.
He turned around and found that Gloria was standing behind him. When he bent down to talk to Valentino, her head and that green hair were just above his shoulder - at least from Valentino's perspective. There was still some dust on her face, making it look a bit darker. To Valentino without his glasses, it might really look like a watermelon.
"Aren't you leaving? You've worked so hard today."
Gloria shook her head and replied, "I came with you. It would be too rude to leave without saying goodbye! Is this the friend you mentioned? He doesn't seem to have a big problem." She took another step forward and smiled at Valentino and said, "Hello. He was really concerned about you. He was always worried about you on the way."
Valentino smiled and looked at Aurelio, asking him for confirmation, "Really?"
"No, I just thought you had already left. I'm just glad that I'll live longer than you."
"If I died, don't think you can get your debt back."
"Debts can be inherited." Aurelio said expressionlessly, "If it's passed on to your brothers, I'll charge interest."
Gloria pointed at her own head and asked, "However... do I really look like a watermelon?"
Aurelio said no with his mouth, but thought in his heart, "You really do. Green on the outside and red inside when opened."
"Doctor Valentino, is your eye injured?" She asked again.
"No. His eyesight has always been poor. Without glasses, he's almost blind." Aurelio said, with a slight curl of his lips. He coughed gently to suppress his laughter.
Valentino smiled apologetically and said, "Sorry... It's really as he said. My eyesight is not good. My previous glasses were broken, so I couldn't see clearly. No offense intended."
"It doesn't matter. I don't mind!" Gloria replied readily, "The color of my hair is quite rare. It's normal to find it strange."
Aurelio thought, "You're trying to teach fish how to swim... He's even greener than you."
Valentino didn't answer and just gently pulled open the bandages, revealing a patch of hair.
"Are you... from the Molin family?" Gloria was stunned.
"Yes. And you? Why haven't I seen you before?"
Aurelio teased from the side, "You haven't really seen her even now." Valentino glanced at him and waited silently for a response.
But before Gloria could speak, Aurelio said again, "Didn't you say that there are too many people in the Molin family and you can't remember them all?"
"Enough!" Valentino pretended to be angry and raised his voice, "Don't undermine me like this!"
Aurelio coughed gently again and returned to his usual seriousness. "Yes, I'm done. Let me introduce you to each other."
"This is Valentino Di Claudio Michelot Molin. He is the eldest son of Lord Claudio, the Count of Liadell."
"This... Wait, what's your full name?"