It was only when Brando had his first encounter with Gwendoline, the Dragon Queen, outside the Bear Lake area, that the offensive of the Jorgandegan army had not ceased for a moment, and that after the Varges region had first lost news, Nafer and Tharis had fallen one after another, and it was only then that Cruz finally figured out who the enemy on their side was, the Lizard King. Grey-Eyed Moksha, who commanded his army to the north, swept across Merlin to the north of the Bear Lake, and the last remaining resistance in Anzlova collapsed, and the intentions of the Jogendegans were already clear.

Obviously, their target was Asaph.

Once Asaph is lost, the empire will face the danger of losing the evergreen walkway, thus isolating the wilderness of the four realms, until this moment, the people of the empire who were beaten seem to react, the lords and local legions in various places are quickly mobilized, just waiting for the queen's majesty to give an order, they will go to support, and the white army will advance south to the vicinity of the evergreen walkway, ready to help this most important lifeline in the south of the empire.

But how easy is it to save the war?

In the previous offensives, the dragon's existence was even observed, and this was confirmed by the news from the high and low levels of Rokozy, that at least two of the five underground kings were involved in this war, and this news shook the entire empire.

It was as if the empire had never faced such a dangerous situation since the last war, from politicians and soldiers to ordinary people, almost everyone was inquiring about this sudden war from all sides, the nobles were concerned about what kind of harm this war would bring to their interests, and the commoners were worried about whether the war would spread uncontrollably, thus dragging the whole of them into the quagmire of war.

At this moment, the battle in Anzlova is plunging the southern part of the empire into a bewildering fog, from the Violet Valley to the Mez region in the north of the sublime inland sea. From Cloak Bay to Banker, countless eyes were converging on the place in all sorts of ways, and everyone waited in a restless mood, waiting for news from Asaph.

But there are always people who think further.

……

"What if Asaph is gone?"

The question was posed by a little girl with big sparkling sea-blue eyes and a blond shawl like ocean waves. She sat on a chair in a princess dress, with her hands folded and placed on her skirt in a manner that looked like a well-bred aristocratic lady, who was staring up at Madame Merrier, their teacher of history and aristocracy. Not far away, Faina was sitting in a high chair looking out of the window, a floor-to-ceiling arched window with a view of the winter landscape of the four wildernesses of Rovov Castle, and the forest still had a deep blue color. But above the canopy, there are snow-capped peaks.

Mehotofen, a basin of plains and hills south of the snow-capped mountains of Ludwig, is a fertile field washed out by rivers of melting snow, and the hillbillies from the Alkash region in the east call it the land of spring flowers, because the cold winds that blow from the glaciers in the east make Greysius bathe in snow all year round. In contrast, this fertile region in the south is a warm place.

It did later get its name, the Collar of Flowers and Leaves. This is exactly the name of this side of the land.

And his master, before the year of Tachibana, was the noble Brooke, who died of typhoid fever in the year of the ears of wheat, and then the now called gloomy Archduke Helix succeeded to the throne as the actual owner of the land. The Duke was not a pure-hearted ascetic, but he had only two sons, the eldest of whom had died in the last war, and the second of whom had died. There is only one pair of granddaughters.

Fayna glanced at her carefree sister with some envy. In my heart, I have already mercilessly despised the stupid question of the other party, but this disdain is out of a certain sister's doting heart for my sister, and it is not expressed in the slightest.

The relationship between the two sisters has always been very harmonious.

Elise is a well-behaved little angel known for the Flower Leaf Collar, and Faina, the latter's temperament Brando has been personally taught, she has always been lawless outside, and she has done evil everywhere with a group of fox friends in the imperial capital, and she has only recently returned from the Ring of the Trade Winds a little more restrained, and she looks a little more ladylike, which has made Archduke Herix thankful.

But what she had been doing all this time was to compile the stories of her adventures when she returned to the realm, and to prepare for the future to be used as a bragging capital - of course, these stories had long been heard by her only sister before that, and the little girl in the ignorance period was not bored, but was full of admiration for her sister, so much so that the latter was also full of longing for the outside world, but she could not be as bold as her sister.

After Elise asked that question, the hall was silent for a moment, and Madame Merrier seemed to be thinking about this question - not in a practical sense, but purely in academic theory - so she was not affected by the current situation in the Empire in the slightest, pushed her glasses, thought for a moment and replied: "Purely from a military point of view, the Empire is likely to lose the Evergreen Walkway, but the symbolic significance of this blow to the Empire is far greater than the practical significance, and the Empire can support the battlefield of the Four Realms from the Flower and Leaf Territory without the Evergreen Walkway, This is a rare opportunity for the Grand Duke, if it weren't for the bad relationship with Faenzan back then, the geographical location of the flower and leaf collar is actually not inferior to the ...... of the Evergreen Walkway"

This lady's vital interests are closely related to the flower and leaf collar, and she is haunted by the fact that the last holy war guide zhì flower and leaf collar business withered, and as soon as she talked about this matter, she immediately gushed endlessly.

Elise listened to it with relish, and Faina was bored, and she didn't know how many times she had heard these things, and she heard calluses in her ears.

What's more, she didn't have the heart to listen to these things at the moment, and the reason for it all came from the letter that had been handed to her by her father's butler the night before.

The letter came from the imperial capital of Ruthta, and the Kirk family, like many other great families in the empire, had many eyeliners and connections in the center of the empire's power, and there were many letters between these families and their eyelines and networks, both in times of crisis and on weekdays. These letters were no secret in the Empire, but the one that came to Faina was exceptional.

The letter bears some special secret marks of this ancient family, and this mark can only indicate that the letter came from some important member of the family.

For example, Duke Helix, who is in the imperial capital at the moment, and Faina's father, the Count of Efe.

The content of the letter is very simple, just saying that the trip to the imperial capital has encountered some trouble, and it may be a little later to return to the territory.

But it was the letter that aroused Faina's suspicions.

There are no male members of the family at the moment. And by the character of her grandfather and father, it was absolutely impossible for her to be informed solemnly by such a letter—it was this precedent which had never been seen before that aroused her alarm; For the past week, she has asked the imperial capital for news through the guò housekeeper Elliot, but strange things have happened, the family's previous eyeliner in Rustat seems to have evaporated out of thin air, and none of them can be contacted.

The news about her grandfather and father is also half-true, and some news says that Archduke Helix still lives in the 'Tulip Mansion' in the imperial capital, but it is not reported by those sent by Eliot. All this information was false, and the Duke and Earl had left for their return two weeks earlier.

All kinds of contradictory news hung like a dark cloud over Faina, and she only now began to regret that she had not followed her grandfather's instructions earlier and seriously participated in the daily affairs of the territory, and now that she had to start all over again, and there was no one to rely on, she only felt that her eyes were black.

"The last group should be back soon, too." This young lady is on pins and needles. Secretly thought in her heart, and the gushing Madam Merrier could not help but become more hateful in her eyes at this moment. "This abominable old virgin!"

Faina was so annoyed that she cursed in a low voice, but it was a pity that Lady Merrier had a high position in the realm, and in the past, her grandfather, the Grand Duke of Herlix, would never do anything to the latter because of her slander, and most likely she was punished and confined instead. This is already a commonplace for Faina. And now, it can be said that she is in charge alone, but she is not in the mood to retaliate against the other party.

And just as she was about to fall asleep, there was a long-awaited knock on the door outside the hall, and Madame Merrier stopped again. A stern gaze swept over Faina—who hurriedly made an apologetic gesture to her, jumped out of the high-backed chair, and ran out of the door in three and two steps—she did not reveal anything about what had happened in the past week and a half, not even Elise, for the noble lady at least understood what it meant.

Outside the door, the butler in the castle had been waiting for a long time, and when Faina saw this close confidant of her father, she hurriedly asked, "How is it, Mr. Eliot, is there any news of my grandfather and my father?" ”

Halfway through her words, she suddenly and naturally stopped.

Because Fayna saw that her father, a butler named Elliot, had a terrible face, and it was the first time she had seen such a look in this guy who had always shown his poker face.

Without warning, a bad premonition rose in the heart of Her Royal Highness the Princess of the Flower and Leaf Collar, and she hesitated slightly, and asked, "Butler Elliot, is something wrong with them, grandfather?" ”

Elliot nodded stiffly: "Miss, something has happened in the imperial capital, I think you should prepare early." ”

"What the hell is going on!" Faina seemed to have hit a blow in the face, her face turned a little pale, and she couldn't help but ask with a little fear, "Is it my grandfather and father who are ......?"

"You're thinking too much, Miss," Eliot realized that the little master had misunderstood, and hurriedly explained, "The Duke and the Earl should be safe for now, but just a few days ago, Her Majesty the Queen issued an order to put them under house arrest. ”

"House arrest?" Faina was slightly stunned, she seemed to be relieved and at the same time asked a little puzzled, "Why?" ”

She knew that since the queen ascended the throne, she had not been on good terms with the Kirk family, but it didn't seem to be bad enough to put a duke under house arrest at will, which meant that the royal family of the empire had openly broken with a powerful family. She believed that it was for Her Majesty the Queen, and for the entire empire. It's all something you don't want to see.

"Her Majesty the Queen thinks that the Duke and the Earl have betrayed the Empire." Elliot replied with some stammering.

"Betrayal of the Empire!" Faina almost jumped up: "What is that woman kidding, how is this possible!" ”

Elliot did not dare to answer this sentence, because it was too rebellious, but fortunately there were no outsiders here, and he cautiously glanced left and right, before reminding himself of the little master: "Please be careful with your words and deeds." Miss, the Duke and the Earl have been placed under house arrest in the Imperial Capital, and Her Majesty the Queen will definitely attack us before this news spreads, you have to have an idea. ”

Faina was stunned.

If she wants to take an idea, but what idea can she take, the only thing she can rely on at this time seems to be her teacher Veronica, but the problem is that Veronica has long been under house arrest because of her previous trip to Eruin. After listening to Eliot's words, Faina couldn't help but feel isolated for a while. She felt that her mind was in a mess, and she couldn't help but say to her father's butler, "Elliot, I understand, you tell me to be quiet for a while, and I'll tell you what to do later." ”

The old butler seemed to see the embarrassment of his little master, but he did not expose it, but just nodded and replied, "If you need it." Feel free to command me. Then he turned and left.

Fayna was the only one left, distraught, standing by the door.

She never dreamed that an ordinary trip between her grandfather and father to the imperial capital would evolve into this. She didn't know if she was crazy or if the queen was crazy, because under normal circumstances, even if her grandfather and father really betrayed the empire, the royal family should not have dealt with it so hastily. After all, the impact of this is too great, and there are other reasons for how you look at Her Majesty's hand, but the key is. In her head, she couldn't figure out what the real problem was.

"If only that guy were here now, he must know what's going on, as if there's nothing to hide from him." Faina couldn't help but mutter.

She stayed by the door for a moment, and was about to turn around and tell Elise about it—it had come to this point, and she knew she couldn't hide it any longer. If the current situation is not careful, the Kirk family may be doomed. Of course, the same was true for Her Majesty the Queen, and this was what Faina couldn't figure out, wondering why the Supreme of the Empire seemed to suddenly go mad - and it was at this moment that a guard came running in from outside.

When the guard saw her, he was slightly stunned, he probably didn't expect the eldest lady to stand by the door in a daze, and then hurriedly said, "Miss, there is a group of knights outside. ”

"A group of knights?"

"No, to be exact, a group of knights and another person came." The guard hurriedly explained.

"What a group of knights and another man," replied Faina angrily, "I'll give you a chance to explain what you're trying to say, or I'll throw you into the dungeon!" ”

The guard was startled, obviously not expecting to hit the anger of Her Royal Highness the princess of the Flower and Leaf Collar, and hurriedly and cautiously explained: "There are two groups of people outside the door, one group of people seems to be the knights of the town, and the other group of people has only one, it seems to be a messenger. ”

"Knight?" Faina's heart skipped a slight beat, the so-called knights in the town were actually the knights of the inner court, and it had long been an open secret that these knights were stationed in the private territories of their nobles - in the more remote places, the local lords might only know that there would be such people in their territory, but they might not know who they were. In a grand duke like the Flower and Leaf Collar, the royal family has to care about the attitudes of the various dukes, so most of the knights stationed here are semi-public.

And these people, as monitors, will naturally not have a good relationship with the monitored, and they will come to the door, and most of them will not be a good thing.

Faina almost immediately connected to Elliot's words, and she frowned, and was about to refuse, but it was then that she stopped and asked, "Isn't the messenger with them?" ”

"Yes." The guard replied honestly, and couldn't help but be glad that the little witch princess was so gracious that she didn't really throw herself into the black dungeon under the castle, this is not a joke, the last time there was a certain maid who was just a little less than the eldest lady's intentions, she was thrown down by this young lady and locked up for several days, so scared that the little girl is still a little nervous.

"Is it our messenger?" Faina asked again.

The guard shook his head: "Probably not, he said he was from Anzloa, I think he looks like a liar, the place has long been locked down now." ”

"Shut up," Faina interrupted him coldly, "I didn't ask you this, you said he was from Anzlova?" ”

The guard nodded.

…… (To be continued......)