Situated on the banks of a small lake called Stroy west of Rusta, at the turn of summer and autumn, the water of the lake reflects the castle and the distant sky, the snow-capped line of the Hazelroy Mountains, and the reflection of the upright forest and white maples, it is one of the most famous viewing spots near the imperial capital, but it is also a royal forest garden.

However, the imperial royal family did not often live here, and often only stayed here during the long summer, and after the accession of the silver queen Constance, the castle was used for a shorter time, not necessarily once in two or three years, and even if they did, they often stayed for less than a month.

But even so, the castle was filled with servants and a permanent Praetorian Guard. As early as half a month ago, a group of mountain maids were replaced in Mulberry Castle, and the Flame Blade Knights who exchanged guards with the forbidden army added a lot of popularity here.

Only tonight, this ancient and elegant castle standing on the shore of the lake is eerily quiet.

The silver moon 'Timi' moved slowly over the nearby forest, and the long shadow of the white maple extended forward with the movement of the moonlight, over the fence, over the avenue in the forest, leaving a shadow on the city walls.

The wind pushed the clouds above the night, and a moment later the shadows on the walls wriggled and slowly rose from the ground, gradually forming a woman dressed as a witch in a veil.

The woman stood for a moment by the battlements, and looked suspiciously into the courtyard, which was pitch black, with no light in the stables on one side, and no sentry or patrol on the wall.

If it was this time of day, the servants would have already fallen asleep, but at least there was a minimum of defense in the castle, and it would not be as dead and silent as it was at this moment.

She frowned and walked to the edge of the wall, where the moonlight pouring down from the clouds seemed solid beneath her feet, forming a staircase. She descended one step at a time into the courtyard.

A faint silver bloom spread out in all directions around her body, sweeping the entire castle in the blink of an eye.

The woman's eyebrows furrowed. It seems to realize something, but it is at this time. She suddenly glanced behind her in the direction she was coming from.

As if she heard something, she was about to leave, but it was at this moment that a hint of anger suddenly flashed in her eyes. She raised her right hand, and a palm-sized crystal ball suddenly appeared in her palm, constantly switching several pictures on it, like a glimpse of floating light, if ordinary people don't have time to see clearly, but she just engraved one of the pictures in her eyes in the blink of an eye.

If Brando had been here, he would have recognized it as the scene inside the Cat and Beard Hotel.

The woman raised her hand, and the crystal ball in her hand instantly turned into a piece of silver dust, and she herself shattered, like broken glass, and melted into the moonlight in an instant.

As soon as the woman's front feet left, a few small black shadows landed lightly on the wall behind her.

That's a couple of cats.

The black cat at the front had a big bow tied around its neck, and it looked around curiously, and as soon as it opened its mouth, it was the characteristic sweet voice of the sugar jar: "It's weird, why is there no one." Even if the Knights are lured away by adults, there will be at least guards in the castle? ”

A yellow and white flower cat behind the black cat suddenly showed a nervous look when he heard this, and hurriedly reminded softly: "Shhh Be quiet, Miss, no one is good, do you want to bring everyone in? ”

"Babasha, what are you afraid of, haven't we confirmed, the knights of the Flame Sword have long since left, either to support the battle on the lord's side, or to deal with those strange guys in the city. Anyway, it won't be here. The rest of those guys don't add up to my match. ”

"Miss. Don't be afraid of 10,000, just in case. It's better to be cautious. Babasha looked around nervously, "This is the Empire, don't forget that Agatrice and the others are here." ”

"There's no one here," the sugar pot that turned into a black cat glanced at the castle immersed in darkness indifferently, she raised her head, sniffed around with her nose, and wondered: "But there is a strange smell in the air, it seems that there are our own kind, strange, I can't be sure, is that woman such a powerful guy under her, is it the witch king?" ”

Babasha was taken aback: "That woman can't be here." ”

"Hmm," Sugarpot nodded, "It's not her breath, it's strange, is there such a powerful guy in our generation of witches." ”

"Let's get down to business, miss......"

The sugar pot leaped from the rampart of the city and landed firmly on the meadow in the courtyard, like a real feline, without making a sound.

Behind her, three witches in the form of cats, including Babasha, jumped down one after another, and several people walked around the courtyard, but no one noticed them.

"There's no one here, miss." It was the white cat behind Babasha who spoke, and although it looked the smallest, it was the voice of a middle-aged woman.

"That woman is really unreliable, be careful, miss, this may be a trap."

Hearing the word trap, Babasha's hair stood on end, and she subconsciously glanced back, but the courtyard was silent.

"Take it easy, Babasha, even if there is a trap, it's for the lord, and the Silver Queen doesn't have much interest in you old woman."

"Miss," the white cat who had spoken earlier suddenly spoke again, "there are still people in the castle." ”

The sugar pot nodded, and she noticed it too: "Left front, third room." ”

She came to the window of the room with graceful cat steps, and with a slight leap she jumped onto the windowsill, stretched out her paws and flicked twice, opening the window a gap, and a strong smell of wine came to her face.

"That's why I hate drunkards—"

……

Hobbes. Barek is indeed a drunkard, he is a dwarf, from Ambros, he is a heavy drinker, but he is also the best horse trainer in the entire empire. The royal family hired him to be the equestrian of Samburgh, and he did not dare to touch a drop of alcohol on weekdays - no matter how arrogant the dwarfs were, they would never dare to take the strict rules of the royal family seriously, and he cherished the job at hand.

Not to mention how rich the collection in Her Majesty's stables is, the status of being the strongest imperial horse master is enough to make him extremely proud.

Today is a special case, though. The Praetorian Army was replaced by the Knights of the Flaming Sword, and the servants in the castle were also transferred earlier, because he had to help take care of the knights' horses. So it was left a few hours before the results. The knights also left.

Now the empty castle is in his hands.

He didn't dare touch the royal cellar in the basement, but the few large barrels of wine stored in the kitchen were fine, although they were not as good as the royal treasures, but they were enough to make him addicted to alcohol.

He lay dazed on a few bags of flour, and he couldn't remember exactly how much he had drunk, like a small barrel of dwarven spirits, then three bottles of Landfield liqueur, and one bottle of whiskey. The alcohol seemed to form a thick cloud that enveloped him.

Hobbes. Balek burped, this was the life he pursued, and he dreamed in a daze that he had made enough money to return to his hometown and build a wine cellar like no other in the world, from the Griffon's Feather of 366, the Black King of Phyllis, to the famous Cold Moon wine. This wine was produced in the year of the cold moon and was almost destroyed by a snowstorm that winter, but it developed a unique cold taste. It is a top treasure of various royal and aristocratic families.

He dreamed of a banquet full of well-known drinkers and high-class people of high birth, and a long white cloth table with a variety of silver plates, piled with famous wines from all over the world and brightly colored fruits and vegetables, and a black cat with a bow walking around it.

Hobbes. Barek was stunned for a moment, almost thinking that he was wrong, why is there a black cat on the table? He couldn't help but rub his eyes subconsciously. It turned out that there was not only one cat on the table, but also two white cats. A flower cat.

He couldn't help but sit up, subconsciously preparing to lash out at his dream servants. But before he could speak, he saw the black cat speak to him:

"Hobbes. Balek," the black cat stretched out his paw and fanned his nose with a look of disgust: "Damn drunkard, I'll give you a few words, or I'll send you to hell!" ”

The dwarf trainer's eyes widened, and the cat actually opened his mouth to speak, and he shook his head, thinking that he was really dreaming.

But after a while, he suddenly woke up, and the qiē in his dream came to naught, and the surrounding environment turned into a dark kitchen, and the small space was filled with the strong smell of alcohol and the fishy smell of raw meat.

On the wooden table directly opposite him, no more, no less, there were four cats, the black cat at the head, staring at him with eyes that glowed in the dark.

"Hell!"

The dwarf screamed in fright, kicked his legs and crawled backwards, slamming into the bucket behind him, and there was a chaotic thud above his head, and the various spice jars that had been placed on the shelf suddenly overturned and smashed him in the face.

"Poof," Sugarpot couldn't help but laugh out loud at the guy's stupidity, but she hurriedly put on a straight face: "Hobbes. Balake, do you hear me? ”

Witches are good at manipulating dreams, and they have already known each other's names in their dreams.

But the dwarf trainer was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, and it was not a good sign that he would meet a black cat in the middle of the night in Vaynd, and that some country legends often believed that black cats were messengers of death like crows, and that these animals that brought bad luck were often associated with witches.

Hobbes. Barek didn't know that there were several witches in front of him, but he was extremely frightened in his heart, and he contacted the black cat before, only thinking that the other party was indeed the messenger of death, and he had come to send him to hell.

Did you drink and get drunk?

He couldn't help but feel sad in his heart.

Sadly, I haven't drunk enough.

"I'll ask you a question," but Sugarpot didn't care what he thought, and there was a charming sparkle in her eyes that seemed to make people dream: "Where has the mistress here?" ”

……

St. Contipe's Palace, the Garden of the White Roses -

Two columns of knights came to a halt outside the gates of the Rose Garden, and it was ten o'clock in the night, and the Imperial Avenue was deserted, and rows of oak trees stood on either side of the avenue, casting dark shadows on the ground.

Outside the stately palace was a large open meadow, and there were no other buildings within a few hundred meters of it, all of which were royal gardens, but the knights who visited late at night woke up the inhabitants of the distant block.

The citizens took advantage of the cold light of the moonlit night to sneak in the direction of the St. Cantipez's Palace through the window, and could see from a distance that these black-clad knights in black armor were not the forbidden army, nor the Yanjun knights of the Temple, but the guards of the duke, and why they were visiting so late?

And in the palace of St. Contipe, there is also a gaze that is falling on this group of knights.

Constance could clearly see the Rose Garden and the Imperial Avenue from the floor-to-ceiling arched windows of her study, and she sat behind her desk, the crystal ball in her hand had long since lost its former light, and the view of the mountains and forests near the Colddew Manor was no longer visible, and it was dark and dull, with a glimmer of moonlight reflected on the edges.

The room was empty at the moment, only the dragon queen stood silently in the darkness beside her, she did not speak, and Her Majesty did not speak, her eyes looked through the glass of the window, looking at the black carriage guarded between the two columns of knights.

She watched as the door of the car was opened by a knight, and a maid stepped out of the car, with long fiery red hair and bronzed skin, typical of mountain people.

The maid got out of the car and bowed slightly, and then helped a princess in full costume.

It was her countess.

Only then did the Silver Queen look smug.

"When will our Royal Highness the Prince arrive?" She asked.

"On the way, Your Majesty." The dragon queen replied in the dark.

"The ministers have been waiting in the hall for a long time," and after a while, she said again, "Your Majesty." ”

"All right," replied the Silver Queen, "let me be alone for a moment, Gwendoline." ”

The dragon's head was bowed, but her body did not move.

"Those rats were making a lot of trouble today."

"Yes, I just asked, the city guards were led over there by the battle over there."

"Then you go and tell my dear Knight Commander what he should do now."

The dragon queen nodded.

"Go ahead, come back before the main meal begins, that's the theme of today's feast."

The dragon's form retreated into darkness, then the sound of the door opening, and finally the 'click' and all the sounds fell silent.

Constance silently looked at the night scene outside the window and said nothing.

“…… You were once the kindest princess of the Cruz, if you are willing to return to the right path. ”

"I've never been more convinced that I'm on the right path than I am now."

"Bigotry obscures your gaze, Your Majesty."

"On the contrary, it is you who cannot see the way forward......"

There seemed to be an illusion stretching out in front of her eyes.

…… (To be continued)