"Actually, I have no ill will towards you, Your Highness Princess." The Duke looked at Vanessa with those sincere eyes.

"yes, I just agreed to your proposal." Vanessa teased, "Am I mistaken? It seems that I 'indeed' agreed to your unmarried, not to say no. Then why are you—" she pointed to the situation, and then pretended to realize, "Oh, I see, you must be crazy for wanting an heir. Then why did you come to me? Go to a free trade city-state and propose to a noble lady at random, you will have a child in less than half a year, and it will completely help you purge the genes belonging to the dwarves in your blood! ”

Duke Mouton, apparently the most polite of all the crown princes, not only did he not listen to Vanessa's taunt angrily, but went to the saddlebag of his horse to fetch water and a small piece of buttered buckwheat bread for the princess, "I understand your anger at this moment, my princess. Please forgive me for forcing you out of your home in this way, but I have no choice. ”

Family. Vanessa was stunned for a moment, the home he was referring to was Neverwinter. How long has it been since I've thought about Winterfell? Even back in the palace, I never felt like it was my home, and since I was a child, my memories of Neverwinter have never felt like home to me, except for Weimar's kindness and familiarity with the terrain. I didn't feel any joy when I was brought back to Winterfell by Ivan this time, and even if I left again, I didn't have the slightest attachment.

Neverfall is not my home. It's nothing more than an atlas with fragments of childhood, a secret passage to help you escape, and a weight to counterbalance your enemies.

My home is not in Neverwinter, not in Sleeping Dragon, not in Dionysus, not in Redstone.

Where is my home?

"Tell me you don't have a choice." When she raised her head again, Vanessa said coldly.

"There's someone very important to me," Muton frowned, "she's been kidnapped, and I have to take you to get her back, or the person who kidnapped her will be against her." That's all I can say. ”

"She?" Vanessa repeated the word playfully, looking up at Muton and not feeling like he was a man of love, so she asked, "Who is the other person?" Why do you want my life? ”

"I don't know, but they promised they wouldn't hurt you."

"Like the 'she' who promised not to hurt you?" Vanessa scoffed, "Why should I risk my life for someone I don't have to do with her, and besides, she could be my rival." ”

"That's why I'm going to tie you up." The Duke said apologetically.

"It's a joke!" Vanessa stood up from the ground, "Why should I risk it for your woman?" And you didn't figure it out, you couldn't protect her at all, and even if you gave me to those guys, she wouldn't be able to get out of it! She'll be beaten, raped, and even lose a few fingers before you arrive. This world is like this, darker and more terrifying than what you learn from aristocratic textbooks! "Are you stupid in the crypt of the Land of Mountains? Vanessa thought.

"As long as she lives." Tears welled up in the Duke's eyes, "I don't care, as long as she returns to me alive." ”

"What about me?" The princess pointed to herself, forcing her eyes into Muton's eyes, "I'm your rightful fiancée, how can you guarantee that I'm alive?" ”

Muton looked at Vanessa solemnly: "With my life." I won't let them hurt you, and if your life is threatened, I can't make up for it and can only die with you. ”

Vanessa almost burst out laughing, "Your life is useless to me. It seems that it is useless to say anything to you, your head is full of hard seeds like a stone pot melon in spring, I just want to know where you are taking me, and also, who is the person you want to save? Why is it so important to you? ”

"It's my mother." Muton bowed his head.

"Camilla, Queen of the Mountains?" Vanessa's eyes narrowed. If it was her, why would she send an envoy out to conclude a marriage as if nothing had happened?

"No," the Duke shook his head, "Camilla is not my biological mother, but the one I want to save is." She is the Queen's sister, the Queen was born with a disability and could not conceive, so she used her sister to give birth to me, she was afraid that the matter would be publicized, so she imprisoned my biological mother for life, and I only recently learned the truth. Muton gasped and recalled what had happened, "Just as I was rescuing my mother and was about to put her in a tavern, a group of strangers kidnapped her, all of them in full armor and armed with sharp blades, and demanded that I exchange Princess Vanessa of Midsummer for my mother, and they disappeared. I had no choice but to go back to the palace and tell Camilla the truth, and at this time, the letter from His Excellency Ivan also arrived, and I took advantage of the situation to propose to you, and I had planned to take you back to the land of mountains in peace, but when you were attacked, I had to act early and take you away from Winterfell. As for where to take, I have not received instructions from them, and I believe it is near the Barblan mine. ”

Vanessa listened as she pondered the reasonableness of what the Duke said, "Wait, I'm being attacked?" The princess looked up, "It's clear that you attacked me first!" ”

"I didn't," Muton spread his hands, "I inadvertently saw you fall from the sky, and the tree that caught you was beside me." ”

"Isn't that the spear you shot?" Vanessa's eyes narrowed.

"Of course not," the Duke said, holding up a pair of long-handled golden axes on horseback, "we mountain people don't use spears and bows and arrows, that's our weapon." ”

Yes, the mountain people live underground all their lives, and once they fight, spears and bows are useless in crooked passages and narrow caves, so their most skilled weapons should definitely not be spears.

So, someone else wants to kill Vanessa!

Author's Note: Thank you for your recent support! Thank you to my friend Xie Cheng! Thank you to all the friends who supported me and scolded me! You're all for my good, I know! I'm going to work harder and give me strength!!

The old king next door

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