Lothair, Eagle Hunting Castle

The bitterly cold rainstorms of the end of summer made the already majestic castle eerie.

In a world where the sky is obscured by dark clouds and the earth is shrouded by rain, through the "curtain" of steaming water vapor, all that can be seen is the swaying fire behind the iron windows of the castle.

With the mud splashing from under the horses' hooves, the rain-soaked knight rushed over the drawbridge that raised the iron gate, then dismounted, his mud-covered iron boots stepped up the stone staircase, and smashed open the main entrance of the castle gate.

The two rows of braziers on the left and right of the hall were blazing, bringing light and leaving a faltering shadow on the walls, and although the "fluorite chandeliers" from Byrne had already been introduced to Lothair, and even placed on the ceiling, the whole court of Lothair seemed to be very uninterested and even a little disgusted with this kind of "wizard's thing".

At the end of the hall, an old man with a gray beard but full of energy was waiting for him.

Sixty or seventy years old, he was still dressed in armor in the hall, his figure looked more muscular by the dark black coat, and there was no frills on his body, except for a signet ring in his right hand, and an ocean-blue gemstone carved with the coat of arms of the Fred family, and a blood-stained cross.

Although he is old, his still sharp eyes and sassy and handsome face make time seem to be sluggish in this old man's body, and it does not bring him the shackles of illness and decay.

For he is Lord of Lothair, Duke of Fried.

Throwing away his rain-soaked cloak, the chief knight stepped forward calmly, only to notice a thin young man in a hat and robe, dressed as a scholar, standing there silently in the corner of the hall, with his hands down.

"This is my clerk, don't think about it. The old man on the seat spoke slowly, and his eyes revealed a little doting: "Lu Wen recommended it, what kind of dignified duke does this kid say, the courtier who has never studied in the court except for the priest, it is really not true." ”

"Since he likes it, then I'll stay... Then again, since he was on the sidelines, the counts finally had a little rule when they came to see me—they were afraid that if they lost their ugliness, they would discredit their family and their descendants, and of course, he only showed me what he wrote, haha!"

Seeing that the old duke was so happy, the always serious knight chief also smiled in agreement and withdrew his gaze.

"You're back, and the kid Levin hasn't come back. ”

Putting away his smile, Grand Duke Frid raised his head upright, staring at the knight chief with eagle-like eyes: "That is to say... He won, didn't he?"

"It should be said that... Victory. The chief knight nodded, and handed the duke a long package from under his cloak: "This is Duke Byrne's trophy, and it is also a coronation gift for Levin - it is the greatest achievement of the imperial mission!"

"Oh?"

His eyes widened suddenly, and the old man immediately took the package, took out the letterhead on it and quickly glanced at it, and nodded constantly: "Okay, very good... It is worthy of the blood of the Turin family, the descendant of that man, and this kind of death-like task has been accomplished by him!"

"Aaron, the letter is too general, tell me more about what is going on from beginning to end!"

The startled knight stumbled on the soles of his feet and nearly fell.

I almost forgot that my duke was illiterate......

So the chief knight, Loren, who was very patient, told him the information, and repeated it to the duke in its entirety, adding a lot of his own understanding in order to make it easier for him to understand.

While the two were talking, the young clerk in the corner picked up the notepad and began to write it down stiffly, and the knight chief, who was still skeptical, remembered what the Duke had just said, and did not think much about it.

Really... As the chief knight finished speaking, the young clerk put down his notepad and stood motionless in the corner of the hall like a statue.

“...... In other words, even if the Kingdom of the Azores attacked the empire from the direction west of Lothair, without the assistance of the Ancientwood Forest Elves, there would only be one direction left to attack the Deep Forest Fort, and it was destined to be unable to invest too many troops due to the narrow and tortuous roads and logistical supply difficulties. ”

Archduke Fried, who exhaled lightly, had an incomparably shrewd look in his eyes: "And the child Ruben can become a hero against the invasion of the Azores by virtue of his contribution to guarding the western gate of the empire... That's what he meant, right?"

"Duke Byrne has promised that the elves of the Morning Star Forest will send information as soon as the Azorean army appears in the Woods, and that he will provide us with as much assistance as possible to keep the Azores at the west of Lothair, so that they can sink in the Deepwood. ”

The Knight Chief nodded, "He probably wanted to use this opportunity to make friends with Lothair and find new allies in the west of the Empire, because Arles in the south rejected his wooing, and Elems always obeyed only the Emperor's orders." ”

"So he'll have to find a way to win us over – and even if that doesn't work, stay neutral and not get Lothair on the side of Crown Prince Conod. Grand Duke Fried nodded: "Very well, you can promise him, but Aaron, you have to find a way to secretly reveal this matter to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." ”

"Leuven, this kid... It's too simple, let him choose and he must not hesitate to stand on his friend's side, I have to make arrangements before I retreat, no matter what, I have to let Lothair and the Fried family remain neutral and never participate in this matter. ”

The chief knight bowed silently, as a close confidant of Leuven, he was probably one of the people who understood the duke's actions best.

"As for Byrne's support, hey, hey... It's better not to expect too much. Grand Duke Fried chuckled: "There are no stingy ghosts in the Turin family, but... Being involved by them and owing a debt to people is not a good thing. ”

"The Archduke of Ellemont in the last generation is the best example - I owe Roland once, I sold him half my life, and in the second half of my life, I have to find ways to help the orphaned and widowed Turin family, as if I became Roland's vassal;

"Yes!"

Putting his hands behind his back, the knight chief looked solemn and lowered his head heavily.

"You're the Knight Captain of Leuven, and you shouldn't be away from him for too long. A smile appeared on Archduke Frid's face, and there was a hint of doting in his expression: "Go back to the Deep Forest, don't let your master wait too long!"

Raising his head, the knight-chief turned to leave.

As soon as he stepped out of the gate, the wary knight paused, and his eyes swept into the corner again, and the thin clerk still stood motionless, like a puppet.

Shaking his head, the knight no longer hesitated and walked out of the main gate quickly.

Sitting alone in the hall, Grand Duke Frid bowed slightly, and finally drew the Azorean long knife from the package—the delicate hilt and brilliant scabbard that almost immediately took his eyeballs.

Pulling out the blade slightly, the mirror-like blade reflected the flames on both sides, and the refracted light almost made him unable to open his eyes.

Only the clerk in the corner remained motionless, continuing to record like a puppet.

The delicate Azorean long knife made Archduke Fried's eyes full of praise.

Even in his opinion, this sword was among the top three weapons he had seen in his life, second only to the sword star of Brandon I the Sage, and partly because of its reputation.

"Don't let this knife go silent, ......"

Grand Duke Fried sneered under his breath, his pupils shining with wisdom.

Loren Turin... Perhaps he had good intentions, and indeed regarded Levin as his friend from the bottom of his heart, but that did not mean that he would not use this friendship for the benefit of the Turin family and Byrne.

The traditions of the Turin family have long been vividly displayed in the "black duke" - the people of this family can have extremely rich and surging emotions at the same time, but also maintain a high degree of calm and absolute sanity at all times.

It is precisely because of this that they can impress and gather a group of followers who are loyal to them with sincerity and have no regrets, and then lead them to their goals, ideals and ambitions, to take risks, to give, to sacrifice themselves.

They are born adventurers, commanders and dictators—and they are willing to obey others and serve without reservation.

Chivalry, knighthood and traditions... It is simply a system tailored to the strength of the Turin family.

This is true of Roland Turin, and so is Charlotte Turin.

Loren Turin... Could it be an accident?

Archduke Fried squinted, slammed the hilt of his sword, and sheathed the long knife.

Whether he is or isn't, Lothair's House of Fried is no one else's vassals - if Loren Turin is really sensible, he should try to keep Lothair neutral, not pull his best friend into his chariot!

Again too young to be easily blinded by personal likes and dislikes and illusory friendships in this kind of court struggle, he must pave the way for the next twenty years to become the true lord of Lothair, who is in charge of the western gates of the empire.

Lothair has no knights to roam the earth, no black-winged dragons, no hussars to roam and roam the sun... All we have is a warbow hidden in the forests and hills.

Hand-to-hand combat has never been Lothair's strong point, and a hundred paces away is our battlefield.

A hundred paces away, before the enemy notices it, in the interval between the prey imitating and looking around, shoot a rain of death that is bound to hit, or if you don't move, you have to defeat the enemy with one blow!

The current situation in the empire is still uncertain, and it is not yet time for Lothair to bet, Byrne wants to win over the Fried family, a knife and a few verbal promises are not enough, and if he wants to get Lothair's support, he has to show some sincerity.

Well?

Archduke Fried looked up, as if he heard something.

"Clerk, did you write it down just now?" The old man who suddenly reacted looked at the corner of the hall with a puzzled expression: "Didn't I say that you don't have to pretend when no one is around—don't you be tired, anyway, your duke can't read!"

As if he hadn't heard, the young clerk still held up the notepad in his hand, and waved the quill stiffly in his right hand to make a "rustling" sound.

"What are you doing, didn't I say you don't have to write?"

Frowning, Grand Duke Fried's expression was a little ugly: "My court needs loyal courtiers, but loyalty is the most important thing - do you know what loyalty is? It is my order, it must be carried out, I will let you stop now!"

The clerk in the corner still ignored it, holding the notepad firmly to his chest.

"Why don't you know any rules, young man?"

The wary old man got up and walked away, but his face still did not change, as if he didn't notice anything, and his right hand had already pressed the hilt of the "Folding Shadow Sword":

"Is there something wrong, who is embarrassed by you, it doesn't matter, as long as you have something, you can tell me, I am a very tolerant ......"

Poof——!

His complexion changed suddenly, and the figure of Archduke Fried shook suddenly.

A sharp Azorean knife poked out from behind his notepad and pierced his throat!

The old man, whose throat was gagged, lowered his gaze with difficulty and looked at his motionless clerk.

His right hand holding the pen had already been pierced by the blade, and the blade of the knife stabbed out from under his armpit, just stuck in the dead corner of his vision.

"Why, why did you ......"

Archduke Fried, whose lips trembled, struggled to squeeze out these few words.

"Why...... Hehe, this sentence should be what I want to say. A cold, disgusted voice came from behind the clerk:

"Why... Middel, that idiot, is dead!"

The old man's eyes froze, and behind the clerk, at some point, there was a petite figure.

Beneath her long dark blue hair are a pair of pointed ears.

"The second seat of the dignified royal court, he actually died in that kind of rural place for no apparent reason... I told him a long time ago that all those hillbillies were killed, so how should I, the adjutant, explain it to His Majesty!"

The milky voice, the petite and cute figure, but said the creepy words:

"And... This old man, stop struggling in vain, don't you understand yet?"

"Once you get hit, your body will immediately be under my control - hehe, thanks to your illiterateness, otherwise this little brother of the clerk would have been debunked long ago. ”

"It can't be helped, because he's been dead for more than two months. ”

Fried's eyes widened with rage... But now he could do nothing but be afraid.

He found that his hand began to move uncontrollably—like a stiff puppet, twitching mechanically, and he picked up the Folding Shadow Sword in his hand and handed it to him "respectfully".

"More than two months... It's almost the limit of people - after all, toys will break, wood will rot, ropes will slacken. ”

"So, Lord Duke, rejoice, even though you are dead, you can continue to live like a living person for about two months. ”

“...... Speaking of which, Middle's guy likes to name his knives, his knives are called Shadow Breakers, and mine ......"

“...... It's a puppet show. ”