Ivy Manor, the hereditary fief of the Ensberg family.

It is said that two hundred years ago, the first head of the Ensberg family, "Sir Ensberg", made his fortune on the estate, and finally succeeded in breaking away from commoner status, obtaining the title of knight and becoming a member of the ruling class.

In the long years that followed, the unremitting efforts and struggles of generations of "Ensbergers" gradually made the Ensberg family grow from an insignificant "jazz nouveau riche" to a powerful local aristocrat with high prestige and solid heritage, and finally became the top three "Barons of Ensberg" in Kent.

The Ivy Manor, which flourished with the Ensberg family, has far surpassed ordinary aristocratic manors in size and shape after two hundred years of uninterrupted operation and renovation. Even among the estates of the other two viscounts in Kent, it was difficult to find a manor to match it.

Throughout the year, the Ivy Estate is always lined with delicate flowers, and the enchanting fragrance and pleasing colors can make people think that the goddess of spring is resident here.

Fiery roses, white moons, black tulips, blue orchids, and many other endemic vegetation of Kent, as well as other exotic products from the Kingdom of Erathia, can be found at Ivy Estate.

In addition, the many sculpture masterpieces collected by the Ensberg family from all parts of the kingdom and even the mainland at great expense are also important reasons why the Ivy Manor is remembered by aristocrats and scholars.

From the dwarven bronze master Barbarosa. The "Javelin Thrower" of Ale to the "Spartacus" of the century-old master Rousseau, from the "Maharaja" of the miracle barbarian Carew to the "Sacrifice to the Laurel Goddess" of the aestheticist Moon Elves, the sculptures in the Ivy Manor can even rival the collections of the royal family of Erathia.

Whenever you walk on the path of the manor, maybe it is just a casual corner, or a shade of flowers and leaves, there will be a sculpture masterpiece waiting for visitors to explore, to discover, to admire. It is no wonder that almost all guests who have visited the estate cannot help but marvel at the beauty and splendor of the "ivy", and will be firmly attracted by the art masterpieces in it.

Of course, to be able to support an aristocratic estate of this size and quality, it is not enough to rely on family tradition and artistic taste. The core and key to it is sufficient financial resources and a good business network.

In this respect, however, the wealth and shrewdness of the Ensberg family are well known throughout Kent.

Perhaps, if you compare the strength of the armed forces alone, the Ensberg family is still far from the other two viscounts in the county. However, if you compare financial strength and comprehensive heritage, the Ensberg family really deserves the title of one of the top three in the county. It's just that the Ensberg people, who are accustomed to keeping a low profile, are not accustomed to putting their might on the surface, which is why the two rather wrong viscounts are friendly with the Baron Ensberg at the same time.

As is customary in previous years, in the middle of a summer like the "Bud Moon", the Ivy Manor should have been filled with the laughter of young ladies and ladies from all over Kent. Because in the three hottest months of the year, the bud moon, the flower moon, and the shepherd month, Baron Ensberg will invite the nobles and well-known scholars of the county to come to the Ivy Manor to spend the summer. A multi-day ball, a lovely lady's game, and some unknown romantic encounters are the most unmissable events of the year for all the ladies of Kent.

However, in this year's "bud moon", the Ivy Manor is surprisingly deserted and lonely. Although it is still full of flowers and greenery, there is no trace of cheerful atmosphere. Not only that, but the servants and maids who served the Ensberg family in the manor were also silent. Be very careful in what you do, for fear of making any small mistake and incurring the punishment of the harsh butler. …,

In the large study room of the white main building on the third floor of the manor, a middle-aged man with silver hair was sitting at a large black oak table, slowly flipping through a booklet in his hand. The middle study, surrounded by layers of ancient bookshelves, was silent, except for the slight rustle of the pages of the man turning over the pages from time to time.

The man was a slender man, about forty years old, wearing a pair of delicate gold-rimmed glasses, and at first glance he looked like a knowledgeable scholar, but his gray eyes exuded a majesty and superiority that no ordinary scholar would have. It's just that the eyes of these superior people are bloodshot at the moment, and it seems that they haven't had a good rest for a long time.

"Sir."

Suddenly, the heavy door of the study was slowly pushed open, and an old man with white hair walked in silently, stopped at the silver-haired man's table, and bowed lightly.

"It's Hugo." The silver-haired man put down the book in his hand, turned his head, looked at the old man and said, "Has Dr. Edward read it?" ”

"Yes, Dr. Edward has already diagnosed the young master." The old man nodded.

"How's it going?"

"Dr. Edward said that the young master was not in danger of life, but he was only wiped a little because he fell from the second floor. In addition, even the young master's mental state does not seem to be very good, and Dr. Edward can recuperate properly. The old man replied in a low voice.

"Really?" The silver-haired man stood up and sighed softly, "I'll go and see." ”

"Yes, sir." The old man bowed and walked out of the study with the silver-haired man.

The silver-haired man was the owner of the Ivy Manor, the current Baron of Ensberg.

The Insberg family, though said to be powerful in Kent, was not a thriving family.

On this point, the other nobles in the county were either envious or sighing, and had mixed reviews. The scarcity of people can help the family's wealth not be diluted and lost, and can always stay in the backbone of the family; On the other hand, a sparse population, especially a small number of male family members, also means that the family foundation is unstable and fragile. After all, as the Erathian royal family gradually became stronger and intended to restore the glory of its ancestors, the severance of male heirs would open a gap for the royal family to meddle in the affairs of the local nobility and even seek the wealth of the local nobility.

And this generation of Barons Ensberg, like his ancestors, did not have any brothers or collateral male clansmen. And his eldest son, Moriarty, at the age of fourteen, automatically became Ensberg's first and only heir.

But since the tragic death of Baron Ensberg's wife, Moriarty's mother, a month ago, the heir to Ensberg has been immersed in untold pain and sorrow.

Even last night, Moriarty jumped from her room on the second floor of the manor with the relics left behind by her mother, intent on killing herself. Fortunately, the thick lawn of Ivy Manor managed to catch the poor young master, and apart from a few minor abrasions and a coma so far, Moriarty was unscathed.

"Lord Baron."

The two maids who were guarding in front of the Moriati room saw the baron and the butler walking slowly, and immediately stepped forward to salute.

"Open the door." As a steward, the old man commanded first.

"Yes." The maid cautiously opened the door, and immediately a faint smell of herbs wafted from the room into the hallway.

Baron Ensberg waved his hand and motioned for the butler and maid to stay outside, and walked into the room alone.

Behind him, the door slowly closed again.

Entering the room, Baron Ensberg saw his only son lying on a huge carved bed with his eyes closed.

Like her father, Moriarty had thick silver hair, but inherited her mother's blue eyes.

At the moment, Moriarty was still unconscious. A sickly flush spread all over the boy's cheeks, and the slight scratches on the corners of his eyebrows seemed to silently tell of the "feat" of jumping from the second floor of the manor last night. …,

Baron Ensberg looked at his only son, silent for a long time, and his eyes covered by red kept flashing faintly sad, disappointed, love, angry, and other feelings. Finally, when the baron's gaze rested on a portrait of a woman on the bedside table, he let out a long, silent sigh.

After another moment, the baron walked out of Moriarty's room, and the butler immediately followed.

"Take care of the young master, and then notify me when he wakes up." The baron walked through the long corridor, looked at the beautiful scenery of midsummer outside the window of the corridor, and said lightly.

"Yes, sir." Hugo, the butler, nodded in agreement.

"Have you found Madame's relics?" As he returned to the large study, the baron suddenly asked again.

"Not yet." The butler shook his head: "Nanny swears that she saw the young master leap out of the window with Madame's spell book in his arms, but we couldn't find any trace on the lawn. ”

"Keep looking, and, keep an eye on Nanny." The baron gave one last command, and re-entered the study.

"Yes." The butler bowed to the slowly closing door.

At the same moment, in the room of the young master Ensberg, the originally sleeping Morati suddenly began to struggle violently. It seems that a life-and-death war is breaking out within it.

Actually, that's exactly what happened.

Because within Moriarty's emaciated body, two souls are fiercely fighting for control of this body and the ultimate right to survive.

One of them, of course, is the original owner of the body, Moriarty, and a transparent spell book that accompanies him.

On the other side, there is a soul from another time and space, and a fragment that radiates a brilliant golden glow.

The confrontation had been going on for a long time, and in the end, the souls from the other time and space, urged by the golden fragments, pounced first. Moriarty's soul resisted behind a small halo of warm light released by the spellbook.

The battle of souls may seem simple, but it is the most ruthless. Either you die or I live, and there will be no compromise or concession. And as the confrontation between the two sides continued to escalate, the bodies wrapped around the two souls began to twitch violently, and they were about to be unable to withstand the impact from the souls and completely collapse.

Suddenly, the golden fragments once again emitted a brilliant light, and under the illumination of this light, the soul from another time and space said inexplicably solemnly: "Obey me, and in the foreseeable future, I will resurrect you and your mother." I swear by the true name of 'Mori'! ”

Hearing this oath, the soul of the young man who had been resisting for a long time suddenly shook violently, and then he slowly lowered his head, and actually gave up resistance. And the spell book dimmed.

The next moment, the golden shards suddenly shone up, and a void tower shadow appeared, and then the young man's soul and the small spell book were sucked into the shadow of the Babel Tower......

Later, on the big bed, Moriarty's body slowly calmed down.