"Good boy, Charles, and look, how beautiful you are." Isabel Walton knelt on one leg on the ground, gently stroked the face of a boy who was only about 30 inches tall standing in front of her, turned her face and smiled at the mother of the child sitting next to her, "Effie, I haven't seen Charles for a few days, he seems to have grown a little taller." ”

The child's mother, Mrs. Euphemia Frederick, gazed affectionately at the eldest son's face, "Charles, this is your godmother, you should take the initiative to greet her." ”

Charles, who was quiet and well-behaved like a cute little angel, took the nanny's hand and looked at the mother sitting in the seat, "Yes, mother." ”

Then, he raised his head and looked at the nanny beside him, "Betty, I... How do I say hello? ”

The young nanny squatted down and whispered in the child's ear, "Charles, you should face your godmother and stand up straight and nod to your godmother." ”

"Betty, it's okay, take Charles to play." Isabel didn't want to force a 2-year-old to do something he didn't understand.

Unexpectedly, little Charles suddenly saw something that he thought was a toy. Reaching out and pointing at the short sword on Isabel's left waist, "Betty, I want this." ”

"Charles, this is the godmother's saber, not a toy."

"I... I... Want... This one! ”

Betty, the babysitter, said softly again, "Charles, this is your godmother's thing, not your toy." ”

At this time, the cute little angel instantly turned into a little demon from hell. Not only did he lose his temper, but he also kept crying. Euphemia, who was sitting on the side, shook her head helplessly, "Betty, take Charles to the garden immediately." ”

Listening to the eldest son's growing crying, Sir Herbert also frowned, "Charles, stop crying. ”

Betty hurriedly picked up Charles, who was in a tantrum, crying and making trouble, and quickly left the living room after saluting the three people present with the baby maid. Isabel stood up and sat back beside Euphemia and laughed, "Isn't it like that every kid wants something they like?" ”

"yes, Charles thinks everything in this castle is his."

"If Charles had a brother or sister, maybe the kids would have an argument over the toy."

Euphemia burst out laughing, "Sister, you want to say that Charles will fight with other children, right?" ”

Upon hearing the fight, Isabel recalled the Duke of Richmond, who was about to be forgotten, "Effie, what did you say to Your Highness when He passed here this morning?" ”

Euphemia blinked at her and recalled, "Sister, this is what you came to me today to talk to me about?" ”

At this time, Sir Herbert also focused his eyes on Isabel's face. Isabel glanced at the two of them as they became a little focused, and the corners of her mouth grinned slightly, "Don't worry, it's not important." It's just that His Highness said some very strange things when he met the Duchess. ”

"Strange words?"

"Well, that's right......" Isabel repeated what the Duke of Richmond had said to his wife, Mary. When Yuphemia heard this, she covered her mouth with the back of her hand and giggled. Her husband, Sir Herbert, explained with a smile: "Your Excellency, I did not expect Your Highness to greet the Duchess like this. ”

"Well, Effie, what exactly did you say to Your Highness?" Isabel was still going to ask about it.

Euphemia picked up the glass beside her and took a sip of her wine, "Your Highness, having been invited to the castle by me and Sir I, spoke of the Duchess's coming to live in the North. Later, I told His Highness to improve the relationship with my wife as much as possible. ”

As she was about to continue, a servant hurried into the drawing room. After saluting the trio, he faced Sir Herbert, "Sir, someone is going to duel with Mr. John Neville." ”

Sir and Madame Sir were slightly stunned, only to hear Isabelle, who was sitting on one side, ask the servant, "Where is the duel going on?" ”

The servant hurriedly replied, "A few miles south of town, at the cattle and horse market." ”

Isabel immediately recalled the duel that had taken place at the cattle and horse market a few years ago, put down her glass, and stood up with a solemn expression. Turning her head to look at Euphemia and her husband, "Sir, you and Effie stay here while I take care of this duel." After saying that, he left the living room alone without looking back.

"Herbert, send someone to follow my sister." Euphemia stood up and paced back and forth, her emotions becoming very agitated.

"Ma'am, I know. Well, I'll go myself. Herbert called the servants and left the parlor.

Just as the remaining two guards were bringing the horses for Isabel, Herbert, who had walked out of the main building, caught up, "Your Excellency, this is the town that Your Majesty ordered me to guard, so I want to ensure that this is a peaceful town." ”

"Herbert, are you going to prevent this duel from happening?" Isabel waited on the stairs of the main building for the guards to bring the horses.

"Well, I think so."

"What if you can't stop it?"

Herbert was speechless for a moment, and Isabel shook her head, "You can't stop a duel from happening. ”

"Your Excellency, then you are going to the duel scene now......"

"John is still a child, and he can have an agent participate in a duel for him."

As he spoke, two guards on horseback brought Isabel's horse. As she stepped on her horse, she looked at Sir Herbert, the captain of the guard, "Sir, if you must go, you can be a witness or a referee to ensure that this duel is just and fair." ”

"I accept your opinion, Your Excellency." Herb nodded his head.

At this time, a large crowd of onlookers gathered in a clearing behind the cattle and horse market near the Skern River. Among these people were not only farmers and the wealthy men of the villages, but also the upper classes of gentlemen and knights.

John Neville stood on the east side of the clearing, unusually nervously watching a young man standing about a dozen paces away from him. The man glanced at him while holding a cross-handed half-handed sword that was glowing with cold light, "Boy, since you have already taken up the battle, why don't you pull out your short sword or... Battle-axe? ”

Speaking of tomahawks, the young man taunted John in public, "Look, this kid actually has a tomahawk?" Did he think he was a knight, or a longbowman who made a fence that hindered the cavalry? ”

The crowd giggled and laughed, and some pointed fingers at John. John, blushing, was about to draw the short sword tied to his waist on the left side. At this time, there was a rapid sound of horses' hooves from behind the crowd of onlookers from the south......