"You have disappointed me," the aged duke, who controlled the power of life and death in the land of mountains, looked at the black-robed priest opposite him with cold eyes, and there was an undeniable majesty in his calm words, "I think—you, or you, must give an account—not only to me, but to Aarens, to the five hundred warriors who have died because of your mistakes. ”

"I'm sorry for that, Your Excellency." Facing one of the two most powerful people on the top of the mountain, the strongest man standing on the top of the warriors, the black-robed priest bowed deeply without humility or arrogance, and then gave his reply in the same calm tone, "The previous defeat is indeed a deviation caused by our lack of intelligence, in order to convince you of our sincerity, I intend to inform you of this key information that is enough to change the situation of the battle free of charge—and continue to assist you until you completely take this country under control." ”

"I hope the news you bring can satisfy me." The clergyman's reply softened the Lionheart's tone slightly, but he gently shook the bright red in the goblet and said to the Church's last remaining partner in a voice of implicit threat, "And ...... I hope that undeserved defeat doesn't happen a second time. ”

"Of course not." The priest affirmed, giving the reason, "Because the eyes of God are always on us." ”

"You know, I'm an unbeliever — I've never shied away from that, I don't believe in the gods, but in the power of the gods, the power that changes the world, the power that is unmatched." The old duke's eyebrows were slightly raised, and a razor-sharp cold glint flashed in his eagle-sharp eyes, and then he said in an unprecedented serious tone, "So, don't prevaricate me with your mysterious set—do you understand?" Priest. ”

"Rest assured, we are here with sincerity." In the face of the old man's questioning, which was no less powerful, the smile on the middle-aged priest's face never faded, "I remember that I said before that I would bring you a message, and now it's time for me to fulfill this promise—Lord Leon...... No, it's Your Majesty, and it seems that the biggest obstacle to your ascension to the throne is not the old guy who has been mad by power, but the helpers who have been invited, the sinners with ridiculous ears. ”

"Throne...... Hum. The old man, who was only one step away from the pinnacle of power, chewed on this simple word, and then let out a sneer for no reason, and said arrogantly, "I see—I'll listen to your church's opinions." ”

The priest didn't dwell on the unprovoked sneer and faux pas of the other party just now—he, or the church, didn't care what the Lionheart Grand Duke was having, all they cared about was his position. Therefore, the black-robed priest did not shy away from speaking bluntly: "Our dear future King, we must remind you that among the elven missions, there may be legendary-level mages. ”

Legend.

Even with Leon's concentration, he couldn't help but be slightly stunned when he heard this word - he was known as the strongest man on the top of the mountains, and he was already quite close to that realm, but ...... The closer he got to that forbidden realm, the more he knew what terrible power existed behind that chasm like the abyss.

- It is by no means a power that mortals can possess and contend with.

Therefore, after a brief moment of distraction, the old man raised his head and his gaze rested on the priest's face: "If this is the only news you have brought, then ...... I beg your pardon for terminating your cooperation—the Church knows better than I do what it means to be against a legendary-level powerhouse. ”

"Of course we know," the black-robed priest nodded naturally, but the expression on his face never fluctuated, "That's why I said...... The gaze of the gods is always on us. ”

"That is," Leon mused, "the great beings in heaven will make a move?" ”

"That's right—for the supreme gods, legends are the only prey worthy of their hands." It is naturally impossible for ordinary priests to know this, but it is no secret to the black robe who has just become a substitute for the will of the gods, "But all these years, they have been hiding in the shadows like rats in the sewers, and even the eyes of the gods cannot search for their footprints on the continent." ”

“……”

After a long silence, Grand Duke Lionheart nodded: "In that case, I understand. ”

"It's great that you're so reasonable, our future majesty." After smiling in agreement, the priest looked meaningfully at the old man facing him, and said tentative words, "But...... I have heard that our eldest son, His Royal Highness, the first in line to the throne of Gable, has returned safely to the top of the mountains tonight. ”

"What do you mean......" Grand Duke Lionheart raised an eyebrow and asked noncommittally, "let me find a way to kill him?" ”

"That's your business." Glancing at the old man deeply, the black-robed priest waved his hand, "I'm just giving some advice from the perspective of a friend, after all, what is in heaven is in heaven, and what is on earth is in earth, and our church has never intended to interfere with the changes of secular kingship, unless there is a blasphemy like this one." ”

"I see what you mean, but don't worry about it." The Grand Duke's expression was as calm as ever, and there were no waves and ups and downs of emotions in his eyes as sharp as a falcon, "That little guy Abel, the relationship with Ivesky is actually far from being as harmonious as you imagined. ”

The old man's answer was obviously beyond the clergyman's expectations, so he paused slightly, adjusted his train of thought before speaking, "Your Excellency, I need to know the reason for your so. ”

"Why...... That was a long time ago. Leon said with a sigh, frowning slightly like an old man everywhere on the street, and fell into a long reminiscence, until a long time later, when a different and hoarse voice came from his throat, which was different from the past, "I have thought about it more than once...... Could that be the starting point for the disagreement between me and Ivesky, but alas, a decent conclusion has never been reached. ”

The thing?

The priest was a rare curiosity piqued, and he made elaborate preparations before visiting the land of the mountains—few people know that the Lionheart Grand Duke Leon and the Lord of the Mountains, Avisky, did not feud from the beginning, and even from a very young age, they formed a deep friendship - they were playmates who grew up together, and were like-minded friends in their youth, until they broke up, and everyone thought that the friendship of these two young men would accompany them for the rest of their lives.

But apparently -

Something happened during that time that led the two to a break.

What could it be?

He thought and said, "I want to hear about it." ”

"I was going to bury all this with me in the grave." The old man's words were full of twilight atmosphere, "But since there happens to be a situation here that requires me to tell those past events, it also gives me a chance to tell it to others—when people are old, sometimes they will unconsciously recall those past events that have happened and those past events that I want to talk to someone about." ”

"It's an honor that I was able to be that lucky listener." The priest bowed slightly, "Rest assured, I will be a qualified listener. ”

"Say it if you want to...... It's not a secret to the people in the church anyway, and even if it is, it's just a secret between me and Ivesky. Leon glanced at the black-robed priest seemingly casually, and his tone and demeanor once again returned to the state of the Lionheart, with extraordinary courage in his gestures.

"If this is your will," the black-robed priest nodded at the old man, and then said half-emotionally and half-teasingly, "There is probably only one woman who can form a secret between two men." ”

"You're right." Leon did not shy away from admitting, "It is indeed because of a woman." ”

"A woman's words......" The priest was slightly stunned, partly because he did not expect that his casual joke, which was so ordinary, would accidentally touch the truth of the matter, and partly for the larger and most important reason...... If there were no mistakes or omissions in the files he had consulted before he visited the top of the mountain...... Then that woman could only be ......

"Looks like you already have the answer in your heart." The old man said in an extremely complicated state of mind - the secret that he had kept for most of his life had to be revealed in front of a person who was destined not to be able to keep his mouth, and the taste of it was only known to the person concerned, "I'm going to tell you now, you guessed right. ”

That's right? Other words......

The priest suddenly felt that this so-called secret, the so-called truth, was really an unusual mockery.

"It's Isabel." Archduke Lionheart said the name of the protagonist in a tone full of hatred and nostalgia, and his sharp eyes softened and hazy unconsciously, and even a little confused, "That's right, the woman I admired with Ivesky when we were young, and finally became the Isabel of Princess Gable, the biological mother of Her Royal Highness Abel...... Of course, before these identities, she was even more ......"

The old man paused, and all nostalgia vanished, and at last only the deepest hatred remained.

"A mage."

"Isabel the Mage."

PS: Step on Sunday's tail.

Ps2: I saw a book review about the problem of the emotional line, I've been busy lately, and I don't have time to reply, I guess this is also a question that many people are concerned about, so I'll give an answer here - the first thing to say is that this is a lily text, the heroine has, but the emotional line hasn't really started yet, and the real start is probably in the sixth or seventh volume (ten years - listen to the name to know the time of the occurrence). But the heroine has already appeared, you can guess who it is~