Reinforcements arrived a quarter of an hour after discovering that the lurkers had stopped attacking and retreating.

The reinforcement team was the Knights of the Praetorian Guard stationed in the other direction of the Royal Garden, and the distance between their garrison and the Plantagenet Manor was less than two minutes on horseback.

Perhaps it was precisely because of the concern for the nearby army that the mountain people infiltrated the manor like a gale, and then retreated silently.

When the knight in blue armor and white insignia stepped out of the plantagenet forest, all the nobles burst into cheers and crowded up as if they had seen their relatives.

However, Sir Komarin, the leader of the Order, was harshly interrogated because he was late in leading his troops to the rescue, and in the process of tracking down the assassins, he had foolishly lost the Assassin's trace by the deep river!

The sudden mountain lurkers, just like the rumors in their history, can easily hide their tracks wherever there are rivers and forests, and even Archmage Larry himself came to follow them where they disappeared, but could not find their traces.

"I thought it was the Grand Duke of Rincester who brought people to help?"

On the terrace on the second floor, Lin An stood on the balcony and looked down at the railing, Leonardo's voice sounded behind her.

Lin An turned his head, his brows furrowed slightly on his beautiful face, and he said with a faint worry: "I'm also worried about whether he has encountered any trouble on the road." ”

Leonardo looked at Lin An's expression carefully, and couldn't tell her truth at all, so he could only echo:

"May he be safe."

In terms of time, if Archduke Rinster had called for help, the reinforcements should have arrived earlier, and perhaps they would have been able to intercept the incoming lurkers.

However, even if Archduke Randster and Master Lynn saw something from tonight's incident, and Master Lynn stopped Archduke Randster from returning and meddling, what did that have to do with him?

Neither he nor the Bencente family suffered much anyway. There's no need to get to the bottom of it for some curiosity.

……

That night, the number of casualties was counted, and the results were somewhat unexpected.

There are not many nobles who are actually killed by assassination, and those who fell to the ground due to the poisoning of champagne inhalation, except for a Baron of Accord who drank too much alcohol, were poisoned to death, and the rest of them were treated and narrowly escaped.

In addition, there were some guards and nobles who were injured because of protecting the royal family, especially Prince Charles, and the injuries were mainly skin and flesh injuries, as well as fractures, viscera shocks and other injuries, and the nobles on the scene generously took out hemostatic and healing drugs. It doesn't hurt lives.

Therefore, the number of people who were pushed and trampled in the darkness and chaos accounted for the majority of the number of wounded, about thirty or forty people. All of them were minor, and the most unfortunate ones were cracked ribs and femur contusions, and they had to lie in bed for days – and of course, the psychological trauma caused by witnessing the scene of the assassination and the bloody images is innumerable.

However. In fact, the number and weight of those killed in this assassination can be called the first assassination of Merlin in the past 100 years, including:

The second son and only daughter of Prince Odin, the princess of Catherine and the fetus in the womb, the second minister of finance, the Earl of Sodley, the eldest son of the Marquis of Loew, Lord Christe, the second son of the Earl of Landin, the second son of Sir Randolph, and the Lady of Danting...... and other thirteen people.

In this list. There were quite a few servants of the guards who were dutiful to protect their masters, but they did not have the privilege of being on the list of victims with these many great people:

The servants of Plantagenet Manor and the guards brought by the nobles were infiltrated by the Assassins as they entered the manor. Most of them were slaughtered in order to stop the enemy, including Princess Victoria's beloved personal maid, who unfortunately suffered from being killed for staying in the princess's original lounge.

When the list of casualties was released, all the nobles on the scene fell into silent grief at the same time:

The various families in the imperial capital are intertwined and inextricably linked, and the people on the list of the dead are in the complex relationship between the nobles. You can relate to almost everyone, even a few who don't. I am also in the midst of physical injuries and other wounds.

When the news reached the palace, the emperor was furious!

After two magic hours, 20,000 Janissaries in neat armor appeared on the outskirts of the imperial capital and surrounded the Plantagenet Manor.

Five thousand of them served as escorts to the nobles who had been frightened all night back to the imperial capital;

The remaining 15,000 Praetorian Guards were divided into two groups, one to blockade the Plantagenet Manor, and the other to spread out all over the mountains and fields, weaving a large net with their hands, tracking down the lurkers who had the audacity to infiltrate the Merlin Emperor's capital like enraged hyenas.

After entering the scope of the imperial capital, he felt the familiar suppression of the forbidden circle, even the nobles who usually complained about this forbidden circle couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and felt unprecedentedly safe.

Back in the inner city, the Praetorian Guards diverted the guards and sent a group of nearly three hundred nobles back to the mansion.

The main road leading from the city to the aristocratic district of the inner city has already been cleared all the way, and it is late at night, coupled with the atmosphere of the nobles coming to return from the pain, the road can be described as cold and bleak, and it is extremely bleak.

Lin An sat in the carriage, watching the crowd outside the carriage diverge, more than two dozen Praetorian Guards surrounded her carriage with high vigilance, and even a wild cat running over the wall would be immediately noticed.

Lin An returned to the Earl's Mansion under such an airtight escort, and the Earl's Palace was brightly lit at this time, and the figures of the servants were constantly coming and going, obviously he had already received the news.

When he got out of the car, twenty-two guards surrounded Lin An, and his tall figure was tightly enclosed in an airtight circle, obstructing Lin An's vision, until Lin An walked near the door of the mansion, only to find that in front of the door, in addition to the greeting Angelia, Hannibal's butler and the servants in the mansion, there was also a strange man.

The strange man, about forty years old, wearing a silver hair cover, a traditional cardigan robe, white leggings and deerskin high heels, and holding something square in his hand, walked forward and nodded to Lin An, and then explained his intention:

"Lady Purple Rose, Your Majesty has summoned me from time to time, please enter the palace immediately."

After he finished speaking, he showed the token he was holding in his hand to Lin An, and the captain of the guard guarding Lin An also checked the token, nodded, turned around and politely whispered to Lin An:

"Then please let the lady get in the car."

Of course, Lin An will not have any objections. The carriage drove all the way to the palace gate, and after leaving those guards in front of the palace gate and changing cars, Lin An and the emperor's close attendants came to the Champs.

The Champs were also brightly lit at this time, and the light was as bright as day, but the guards and maids passing by were silent, and almost a little louder breath would be noticed.

Lin An walked into the Champs, and there were already some important ministers in the outer hall, but they all sat with bated breath, and when they saw Lin An being brought in by the ministers, they only raised their eyelids, and then drank tea with low eyebrows.

The whole Champs was eerily quiet. As if suppressed by an invisible coercion, everyone who walks in will unconsciously restrain their anger.

When he came to the door, the minister went in to report it. came out to invite Lin An to enter, but he didn't follow up.

Lin An stepped into the inner hall and immediately felt a low pressure in the hall, and the emperor was sitting behind a dark rosewood long table, already wearing a formal suit. Still in good spirits, I can't see the tiredness of being disturbed in the middle of the night.

His gaze was calm when he looked at Lin An, but this expression was more trembling than anger, as if bottomless anger was brewing.

Randster was sitting under the emperor's desk, and when he saw Lin An, he stood up, and the dress he hadn't changed on was very bright. Obviously, he has been staying in the palace and has not been able to leave.

Lin An glanced at Lancet twice and saw him smile faintly. There was nothing unusual, and he knew what to expect, so he bowed to the emperor succinctly.

"You sit down."

A guard appeared out of nowhere, brought a chair for Lin An, and then stepped back.

"Rodier was saved. What are your thoughts? As soon as Lin An sat down, the emperor asked directly to the point.

Lin An raised his eyebrows. "He's lucky."

"He is indeed very lucky, the two strongest powerhouses in the field are protecting him and his family," the emperor looked at Lin An calmly, "but since the person who protects him has the ability to mitigate or even stop the killing, why don't they take action?" ”

Lin An smiled and said lightly: "At this point, you may be able to ask another strong man." ”

Patrick is undoubtedly capable of fighting back against those Assassins, but if he leaves the Prince's side, then the Prince's wife is likely to suffer misfortune, and even if he ends up killing all the Assassins, he will be a failed protector.

This was similar to what most people thought at the time.

Thinking about it by extension, people such as James and Leonardo may not be as strong as Lin An and Patrick, but they definitely don't have the power to protect themselves, but they all chose to protect themselves first at that time-

It's human instinct, and it's the first choice for all people in that situation.

If someone jumped out to be selfish when everyone was choosing to be selfish, then perhaps he would not only have been besieged by the Assassins at the time, but he might not have been truly grateful to the people afterwards.

But this kind of thinking is inevitably damaging, so Lin An didn't pick it out, but just lightly threw the problem back to the emperor and let him understand it himself.

The Emperor was silent for a moment and nodded calmly, "You're right, at least that man saved Rodier." ”

He obviously didn't mean to be accountable at first, and after he said it coldly, he waved his hand and let Lin An and Lancet leave.

"You made a move?" As soon as Lancet left the Champs, he asked in the carriage.

Lin An snorted, "The only people who know about this matter are the Cyrills and Leonardo at the moment. ”

Of course, after the statute of limitations has passed, the scope of insiders may be expanded, but for now, the emperor will only learn about this from these two people.

"They should have good intentions," Randster said after a moment's thought, "Prince Cyril is in a very important position, and once he loses his heir, his influence is enough to affect the situation on the Southern Front, and even ...... Affected the struggle for the throne. ”

Prince Cyril seems to be low-key, but it is difficult to say how the father who lost his only son will react, but it is conceivable that Odin, who is on the front line, will inevitably face the greatest pressure from the prince who is eager for revenge, and the planner will definitely be more than this step of layout.

"You also found out," Lin An nodded, "The main target of this matter is Odin. ”

However, Odin was the commander sent by the emperor to the rock castle, so even from the results, many people could see this.

But because of the identity of the assassin, everyone will only take it for granted, and it is only doubtful if the target of the assassination of the mountain sleeper is concentrated on a few other princes.

"That's a ...... The city is deep! ”

Apparently aware of the origin of the Assassins, Lancet vaguely referred to the title before asking, "But how did he get the hillman lurkers?" ”

"Maybe he sent his men to provoke and kill people with a knife, or maybe it was just an assassin he had cultivated himself. Dressed in a veneer, I personally prefer the latter, because the Assassins never showed their faces, and Leonardo said that something seemed wrong with them. ”

Lin An said calmly.

Lancet nodded thoughtfully:

"In this regard, my hole cards are much worse than theirs, and the secret power of the Duchy of Stuart, although not in the hands of the Grand Duchess, is not in my hands either."

Lin Anyi frowned, "Assassins are secretly this kind of secret power. It won't be an ordinary minister, that person must be hidden in the shadows, could it be that he was stolen by the guards? ”

"I don't rule it out."

After all, there is no heir after the death of the Grand Duke. If the Commander wants to eat this fruit, it will be enough for the other party to digest it in the past few years.

Thinking of this, Lancet smiled with relief, "No, don't talk about this," he said. "Miss Heidi, I've sent someone to keep an eye on you."

Lin An's eyes lit up slightly, "Your people didn't show up to do it." ”

"No, until you give the order, I'm only sending someone to keep an eye on her whereabouts. Although they are not professional stalkers, they keep an eye on a delicate and frail aristocratic lady. It's still a breeze...... Well, it looks like they're hiding out of the city now. ”

After Ranster finished speaking, he asked again. "What are you staring at her and trying to do?"

"You've heard what they said that day, and I think she may have mastered something that Charles didn't expect, but I can't say for sure until I see them." Lin Andao.

"Are you going to arrest her? Under Charles's manhunt. She's afraid she won't be able to hide for long. ”

Lancet knew that Charles was not aware now. But afterwards, someone will definitely be sent to find Heidi's traces, after all, her disappearance is too sudden, especially listening to the meaning of the conversation between the two that night, Charles obviously has the intention of killing Heidi.

"No, she won't be found that soon. Don't forget, her infatuated admirer is Charles's new favorite to savior. Moreover, it is not difficult to pry open the mouth of a young lady, but if you want to maximize your chips, you need them to be willing. ”

Lin An smiled slightly.

……

A foul-smelling fishy fish market.

The potholed ground was covered with black sewage, and the silvery scales and foul-smelling entrails piled up like a hill on the side of the road, and a swarm of green-headed flies flew up to the ground with a chilling buzzing sound.

Between the low sheds made of planks and branches, the dirt and the feces of livestock, urine and feces are mixed together, and it is impossible to tell whether it is excrement or mud when you step on it.

The warbler with red spots on his arms laughs numbly in front of the door to attract guests, and the rogue fugitives hide in the alleys, spying with greedy and hungry eyes on every uninvited guest who enters the place.

If you don't set foot here, no one can imagine that there is such a place within the walls of the prosperous and majestic imperial capital - and in fact, no matter which prosperous city on the mainland, there will be no such corner, they will always be part of the city.

With his head bowed, his unarmored body was covered only with a rag that was difficult to wrap around, his pants were tattered and muddy, his face was yellow, his hair was unkempt and his skin was covered with weather, he looked like a poor dock helper, so that acquaintances could not recognize the celebrity who had recently come to Prince Charles's side even if they were face to face.

But his tall figure and clothes are still conspicuous in this slum.

Along the way, he dodged and deterred the solicitation of five wandering warblers, and did the pickpocketing of three short-sighted part-time robbers in the dark alley, before reaching a humble but relatively sturdy low wooden house in a deep alley in the slum.

As agreed, he knocked on the door three long and one short.

But the people in the door did not wait for the secret to begin to speak, and a crystal eye appeared behind the crack in the wooden door, and then the door was quickly opened, and Heidi, who was dressed in coarse cloth but did not hide her beauty, pounced out.

Love hugged her tightly with a look of heartache.

The two who reunited didn't know that their excited faces at this time were printed on a transparent crystal lens.

The crystal lens is set in the front end of a small but delicate brass monocular, which when shrunk is less than the length of a noblewoman's palm, but expensive as the cost of a two-wheeled aristocratic carriage, and is held on a soft lily that is as beautiful as a work of art.

Heidi's haggard face and clenching like a drowning man grasping a straw were clearly visible to the lacquered eyes on the other end of the lens barrel as the telescope enlarged.

Lin An retracted the brass monocular and gently twisted and contracted. Playing with it in the palm of his hand like a folded fan, he said with a hint of a smile:

"The delicate young lady has reached her limit."

"She's long overdue to the limit."

Beside Ranster, a young man with a fair face said softly, "She has only been here for less than two days, and my men have already driven away six groups of scoundrels and pickpockets peeping into this wooden house for her, a total of twenty-four people - I have to say that surviving in this environment is too harsh for a noble lady who has only a ribbon and a dancing skirt in her life." ”

"I heard she's been transferred seven times in the past seven days?" Lin An asked.

"Yes. From the outer city close to the business district, to the civilian area, to the ghetto. And here it was, at last—the two most peaceful days in this chalet, for Prince Charles could not search with great fanfare, and his men could not imagine that a noble lady, who had not even worn fine linen, could lie on a moldy plank bed in the slums. ”

"Seven transfers in seven days? The affection of this Captain of Love's Guard. Even I, an outsider, can relate to it, but I think he should understand that sooner or later Charles will find out about his little gestures. Lin Andao.

"It's all the magic of love." The young man said, "Isn't that good news for you?" ”

"Yes, indeed." Hearing this, Lin An smiled slightly.

The young man was slightly feminine. But a few simple sentences have already made Lin An understand what he wants to express.

"I'm sorry for you, Lord Bishop." Lin An bowed his head in satisfaction.

"My pleasure."

Bishop smiled in a good way. Then he glanced at Ranster with interest, and after receiving his signal, bowed slightly to the two of them, and got up to leave.

"You've recruited a good subordinate, if he's loyal and skillful. Even if you can't inherit the legacy of the previous Grand Duke, it's not a pity. "After Bishop left. Lin An said to Lancet.

"That's what I thought too."

Lancet understood what Lin An meant, and instead of receiving a group of eyes and ears who didn't know how to be loyal and treacherous, it was better to build it from scratch himself.

"By the way, how many times has this Captain Love been here in the past seven days?" Lin An suddenly asked.

"If I'm not mistaken, add this time, four times in total." Ranster Road.

What he didn't say was that, if Bishop was right, the two had unexpectedly become more intimate by the second time - of course, judging by their previous conversations, their previous relationship was clearly not innocent.

"It seems that even with the loss of the aura of Miss Noble, Captain Love has not changed his infatuation - Bishop is right, this can only be the magic of love - and it makes me feel a little soft-hearted."

Lin An said thoughtfully.

The reason why she said this was because on the second day of Plantagenet's bloody night, Heidi's father, Baron Domingo, had already announced Heidi's obituary, after all, a family of barons with little roots could not afford the scandal of his daughter's abduction and disappearance.

Of course, this was sued by the third prince, and when he learned of this matter, the poor father had no choice.

Ranster's eyes moved slightly.

The girl in front of her was so delicate, there were no words more seductive than the love in her mouth, but there was no other girl more cold and rational than her, like a contradictory fan, a net that would never give him what he wanted, but that made him willing to be captured.

Ripples rose in Ranster's heart, and he had to look away from Lin An's gaze.

"Are you going to close the net?" After a moment of silence, he asked.

"I think yes, seven days of suffering should be enough for the bird to fly out of the cage and feel the wind and rain outside, and she should be happy to accept the fate of returning to the cage,"

The momentary touch was fleeting, Lin An regained his senses, and said lightly: "What's more, in the past few days, Charles may have already reacted, and there is no time for me to be patient with this little bird." ”

……

In the wooden house, the clouds and rain stopped.

The man hugged his delicate lover and comforted him in a low voice, made a promise, and left the food and money he brought, locked the door tightly, and then reluctantly left.

The hopeful beauty looked at the clear water surface in the only basin in the house, and the wooden house door rang, and the beauty opened the door without doubt, but what she saw was not a lover who went and returned, but a pair of noble and outstanding men and women.

Lin An stood at the door, looked around at the old furnishings in the house, and smiled at Heidi:

“…… Miss Heidi, I think we might be able to talk. ”

(To be continued)

PS：

Character Cards:

Bishop - After being born into a down-and-out nobleman, he no longer has a title, and Lancet's future No. 1 Inspector and Spy Leader.