While the female lords of the Partridge Hill and the White Tower were in a frenzy, the heir to another, much larger, richer and more important territory did almost exactly what seemed unwise to others.

"You should understand," said Fouquet Constable, who had gone through three kings, and on the elaborate tapestry where the first king of the Highlands Norman was crowned, with his ancestor, his surname, one of the owners of the twelve towers, who controlled the finances of the largest northern kingdom, and whose guilds and merchants were all over the continent, said sincerely. Dear Princess Leona, you were the daughter of the Norman King, and now you are the niece of the Norman King, and you are still the first heir of the Norman of the Highlands, before your uncle could give birth to a cousin. ”

"The Norman women of the Highlands had no right to inherit. Leona flipped her hunting knife and didn't lift her head.

Compared to the suspicious and stubborn previous king and the unreasonable current king, the princess's little temper could not shake the barrier of Faucet, and his eyes fell on the hunting knife, which was given to the heir by the previous king, inlaid with gold and rubies, but that was not its most precious place, its scabbard and handshake part were wrapped in the skin of the flame lizard, which is usually only visible in lava and volcanoes, and many times, their caves are combined with the cave of the red dragon, and it is dangerous and difficult to obtain them- The other is its blade, the light of pure gold like moonlight, the gift of the elves, "as long as you wish," he said kindly, "the women of the Highlands Norman will be given the right of inheritance—and that is your father's wish." ”

Leona raised her head suddenly, her gaze was so sharp, and her expression was so cold: "Isn't that what you are trying to veto?!"

Fouquet smiled slightly, as if time had never stood on him, he was older than Princess Diane, the same year as Duke John, but the two had already shown signs of aging, and had been lingering on the sickbed. The frail Duke aside, for a moment the eldest princess Diane was as obsessed with youth and beauty as any mortal woman, and she had a wealth and power that most men did not have, and even then she was not so willing to stand side by side with Fouquet—the Chancellor of the Exchequer looked like the brother of his son, Dylan Donclay, not the kind who was several years apart Among the many rumors in the royal capital, there are several legends about his age: some say that he was given a magic pin that would keep him young, and that he pinned it to his shirt every day where no one else could see it, some said that the mage he raised summoned the devil of the endless abyss for him and made a deal with the devil, and some said that it was because he inherited her blood from his mother, who was not a native of the country. And the secrecy about her family and family name should have been questionable, but what convinced the people of the royal capital was her extraordinary wealth and beauty, and that she had brought her green eyes, and that her eyes were as bright as emeralds until her husband, who was not much different in appearance, did not emit the smell of decay until her death.

"As long as you wish," he said in a voice that tugs at the heartstrings of a stone, "there will be this law." ”、

"Fouquet Constable ......"

"Always at your command. He humbly bent over and whispered, "As long as you are willing to give your orders, no, as long as you have a little finger." We will fulfill all your wishes. ”

"Is it clear of Birdwin Donkray?" Leona pulled out her hunting knife, the glimmer of the blade illuminating her formidable face that resembled the previous king.

"Ah, please don't mention that vile and filthy name. Fuquet said with an unchanged face: "That is an insult to your identity......"

"I have only one wish," said Leona, "or may you bring my father back into this world?"

"That's the realm of the gods," Fouquet said. There was a subtle displeasure in his tone: "I'd love to grant you what you wish - but if you really want to pardon Birdwin, well, if you like it," he raised a hand and motioned for Leona not to interrupt him: "Clarifying his sins can only be done by the gods, but worldly sins can be washed away with earthly rights and gold coins - very vulgar, but it is true, you can see and do it - as long as you become the ruler of the Normans of the Highlands, your scepter, Both the army and the mouthpiece can do this for you, and you'll find it no more difficult than breaking off a lilac, and you can do whatever you want - even if you want to marry Baldwin...... That's not impossible. ”

"So," said Leona, in a calmer tone, "where are you going to put my uncle?"

"My dear friend John would be a good king," said Fouquet bluntly, "but he is too weak." ”

"He had a son. ”

Fouquet laughed, "No, in fact, he always suspected that this boy was not of his blood, because his mother gave birth to him after being deported to her husband's mansion. ”

"And Dylan, isn't it good to be the king's father?"

"Dylan is a spellcaster," said Fouquet, "and a spellcaster is not fit to be a ruler - to get rid of the elves, but their king and the king of the mortal world seem to be two different concepts. ”

"Lie," Leona retorted sharply, "as far as I know, there are more than two countries or regions ruled by the caster. ”

"Don't mention the red and gray robes," Fouquet complained, "they don't call it a country, it's an archmage tower, and think about it, thirty percent of the people in a country are spellcasters—so dense that it almost makes me vomit." He let out a long sigh: "Anyway, don't mention Dylan, I know him well, I know what kind of temper he is, he will not be the king of the Normans of the Highlands." ”

This time it was Princess Leona's turn to smile: "Isn't it because you don't want your only son to step into the trap you have arranged?"

"With all due respect," said Fouquet mildly, "I don't think the Norman throne of the Highlands will be a trap, and even if it is, Your Highness, there will be thousands of people who will not hesitate to kill their parents and children just for a try." ”

"But that's not me," said Leona, "I don't believe you, yes, Fouquet Constable." My father believed you, and he used to say to me that Fouquet was a cunning fox, but he was trustworthy, because you were Constable, and he pointed to the tapestry to show me the surname of your ancestors, Constable, who in the Norman language was one of the royal courtiers, and you were loyal to the king, and only to the king—until you. Fouquet, you are not faithful to my father, but you are also not faithful to my uncle John, and I don't know what you are thinking, for you seem to be happier to see the country in chaos - I will not accept you, no matter how wonderful and correct your advice and ideas may sound, I know that I am not a brilliant man, but I know at least one thing, and that is that I will never listen to you. ”

She paused. "I'll tell my uncle about it, maybe he'll be as blind as my father is to believe your lies, or think I'm scheming, but I'll say it—you can start thinking about how to explain it. ”

Fouquet looked at her. It was like seeing her for the first time, and finally he let out a long sigh: "Since you think so...... All I can say is that I'm sorry. ”

"You can leave, Fouquet. ”

The Chancellor of the Exchequer bowed deeply to Leona and took two steps back. I opened the door and walked out.

It was no longer bright outside, and the princess's maid came in with a candlestick and served her to freshen up before bed. An unfamiliar maid presented a box to the princess, and the princess's maid opened it to find that it was a blonde hair comb inlaid with pearls, and the Norman of the Highlands had no territorial seas, and only a small dull pearl could occasionally be found in some inland lakes, and such a large, round, lustrous pearl was expensive, "It was given to you by His Majesty the King." The maid said.

"Please express my gratitude to Your Majesty. Leona said that as a sign of his kindness, the new king had sent all kinds of fine jewels every night since he ascended the throne, and Leona did not know what to say about this act, but since she had made up her mind, she thought it was good.

When the maids had all left the room, Leona quietly jumped up from the bed, and took out a small piece of fluorite from under the pillow, which could provide only as much light as a candle, but it was enough, and with its help, the princess took out a black dimensional bag from the carved compartment on the side of the bed, which was not as small as she expected, but it could hold something that could be carried by two horses, and Leona dumped the contents on the bed, and almost drowned herself.

Food, water, clothing, armor, weapons, etc., as well as gold coins, gems that can be used in place of gold coins if necessary, jewels and weapons of Mithril Adamantic - the Norman king of the Highlands was indeed very protective of Leona during the last part of his life, and magic tools - wands, scrolls, and rune disks, the first two of which could only be used by the caster, but Leona remembered that among the people who helped Baldwin escape from the royal capital, the black-haired young man was a mage.

She sorted them out once more to make sure she didn't leave anything she shouldn't have left, and then wrote a letter to the new king in the faint light of fluorite, fulfilling her promise.

That was her decision—she was going to leave the royal capital, to leave the Highlands Norman, to leave her home and her country, but she would one day come back and step into the place again with Baldwin, in the sun, the lilacs, and the cheers of the people.

&&&

"We went south. Carey Ben said.

"Where do you go?"

"Leave the Highlands Norman first. The Elven Ranger opened the map, it was a map that made the thieves mutter in their hearts what the elves wanted to do, at the very least, the outline and dimensions of the Azores that the thieves were familiar with were more complete and accurate than those stocked in the guild.

"The Silvercrown Forest has been excluded," Memy interjected, "how is the Grand Duke of Luzel? the guy worth half a million gold coins, and his territory is quite large, and he also has his own army. ”

Gülen pursed his lips contemptuously, "That's a grand duke, little cutie," he said, "a ruler, for these people, there is nothing that cannot be betrayed, and if we go, he will surely greet us with ecstasy, and give us the privilege of honour as the Norman king has given him, and then see if the Norman of the Highlands is willing to pay him a satisfactory price." ”

Baldwin supported the thief's claim, and his mind was quite clear when he didn't have to face Penny or the King, "Where's the White Tower?"

"The White Tower may not have been very peaceful lately," said Kerribben, "and we're going to the Pitney Fort." ”

"Pills of Billy Fortress......" Glenn repeated unpleasantly, for thieves like him would be caught and hanged as soon as they stepped into Pillland, and thieves who were able to hide themselves after repeated cleansing would not be happy with their multiple companions—they would fear that the new hubacy would draw the attention of the Archons of Pillland and summon them a calamity, for which they might preempt the outsiders.

"No, the Castle is only temporary," Kerribben said, "and we're going to the Dragonfire Islands eventually." ”

He looked at Kremar and said, "The islands of the Dragonfire Islands, which are also the home of your mentor, are as dense as stars, and almost every island has a lord with their own laws and different beliefs, and they are far enough away from the Normans of the Highlands. ”

"Sounds pretty good. Gülen was the first to say.

"It's not the main thing," Carey Ben said, "the main thing is that there are some gnomes gathered there, and I want them to build a new arm for Berdwin." ”

"Can't a dwarf?" asked Gülen.

"Of course the dwarves can," said Kerryben, hesitated for a moment, and then Baldwin took his words, "but the dwarves will not accept a depraved man who has been banished by Tyre," he said, looking at his mutilated right arm, "and they will drive me out." ”

“...... Then let's go to the Dragonfire Islands. "It's been a long time since I've enjoyed the scorching sun. ”

The thief let out a low sneer.

"That's right...... It seems that tonight is Frow's celebration day," he said, "the first day." ”

Unlike in the past, Mamee was not furious by this, and only smiled at the thief's provocation, "That's right," she said calmly, "I'm Flo's priest—I'll dance and sing tonight," and she turned to Birdwin, "Want to see it?"

I love. (To be continued......)