Vanessa had a hunch that something was going on, that the Horst's gang were dressed neither as soldiers nor as robbers, and judging by the tavernkeeper's attitude towards him and the calluses on his palms, it was more likely that they were a gang of hired killers. In order to confirm her thoughts, she pulled the waitress just now and asked, sure enough, they were a mercenary group from the Ale City-State, and they couldn't get along in their hometown, so they came to the country of flames to try their luck. Since ancient times, mercenaries have no sense of justice, as long as they give money, they are willing to do anything, and Terrence, the prince of the Burning Flame Kingdom, is only the younger brother of the king in name, and he has no military power in his hands, so he raised these scum who do all kinds of evil as minions distributed everywhere, and I heard that the prince's mercenary group not only acts as a lackey, but also helps him find out the news, grasp the evidence, and eliminate the enemies on the political zhì.

Vanessa gave the waitress a ruby, which she had picked up from the Temple of Eternal Life of the Great Turtle Tertu, and she distributed the gems along the way, attracting the coveted of many bad people, but all the troubles she caused were secretly solved by Brandt. Even so, she failed to lure him out.

It seems that he really doesn't want to see me again. Vanessa sighed silently and got up and went back to her room upstairs.

There was already someone waiting for her in the room. It was the freckled boy.

"Why am I not surprised at all," Vanessa asked with a smile, "Tell me, who are you?" Who asked you to come? ”

"Please save me, Your Highness the Princess." The boy burst into tears, his hands clasped in front of his chest, "I, I can't tell who he is, but he has silver hair. ”

Brent!

"Where is he? Is he in trouble? Vanessa closed the door and stepped forward to ask sharply.

"I, I don't know, he asked me to find you in this room of the Fire Sands Tavern and said you would help me." The boy looked like a frightened bird, his eyes were vacant and restless, "You'll help me, won't you?" ”

"Don't worry," Vanessa said to the boy, and to herself, "take your time, and now tell me exactly what happened when you met. "The boy doesn't look smart, but he's apparently evaded Horst's countless pursuits, how did he do it? Who the hell is he? Vanessa picked up a silver cup from the table and poured some fermented ale for the boy, who almost snatched the cup and gulped down the spicy liquor, which seemed to be no stranger to him.

Taking a breath, the boy spoke, "I used to live in the castle, with two horsemen and a mounted archery master, and my parents. One morning, they suddenly stuffed me with a bag of gold coins and torn clothes, and told me to run away. I used to play robber games with the kids in the castle, and I played them so well, do you know my magic? I can doppelgänger," yes, I see, Vanessa nodded, the child's narration was incoherent and unfocused, but she still heard a rough idea, "I often use magic to escape the boys and leave them behind......"

"And who's hunting you this time?" Vanessa interrupts him, pulling the boy back from the topic of the game that is getting farther and farther away.

"Someone really tried to catch me this time," his eyes widened, "they're all adults, and besides, they—they think my horseman is me," his tongue paused, remembering the bloody image, "and they killed him." I can't believe they killed him, I thought we could both play castle games forever and never grow up, and just play happily. ”

"I'm sorry you lost your best friend," Vanessa patted Andy on the shoulder. Horst's gang even killed children, and the mercenaries were really animals with no moral bottom line. But on second thought, Prince Terrence must have been very important to him so longing for the child's death. "My name is Fanny, what's your name?"

"Andy." The boy replied, asking for another glass of ale.

"Andy what?" Vanessa prompted him to give his last name, "I know it's an 'adult' standing in front of me. ”

"Andy Freeman." The boy said reluctantly.

I see. In order to ensure that he is the only legitimate heir to the Freeman family, Prince Terrence did not hesitate to send someone to kill the young son of his fellow clan, and he was really a cold-blooded and ruthless qualified politician. However, there is a big doubt in this matter, if Terrence wants to kill, he will not be so blatant, and Horst seems to be deliberately promoting Terrence's brutality when he captures Andy, which is counterintuitive, unless Terrence is not as smart as he thinks, otherwise with his current situation, he should try to restrain his edge and sharpen his minions, after all, the crown of fire has not yet reached him.

However, it cannot be ruled out that there is another possibility. Vanessa's mind flashed to her—Horst's employer was someone else. She continued along this line of thought: it was entirely possible for a mercenary like Horst with no moral limit to eat double, and that Clearly was Prince Terrence's thug, but secretly was a weapon used by his political enemies against him. Come to think of it, this man is richer than the prince, and he wants to see the fierce opposition of the people against him and lose the right to the throne. As a professional mercenary group, will Horst kill a horseman by mistake, and will he let a sluggish boy who is helpless escape several times? All the clues Vanessa could think of pointed to the mysterious employer behind Horst, and whoever he was, his ultimate goal was the throne of the Burning Nation. But with Vanessa's knowledge of the Flame Palace, it seems that no one who has the ability to compete with Terrence for the throne has never appeared, and she can't keep her eyes on anyone, perhaps Terrence is also upset by this at the moment, the enemy is close at hand, but hidden among the closest friends

(l~1`x*>+``+