.

"Okay, okay, I know you're not a child, you're a man who can protect your sister, go back to your room. ”

"Well, good night mom!"

Christopher let go of Williams' young body and watched him walk down the hallway, waiting to make sure he hadn't fallen back to the room before re-entering the dining room, waving at him before turning his head.

Bill tried to turn his head, but all he could see was his back in the afterglow, Christopher turned away, and Williams snuck into Cheryl's bedroom after returning to the room.

His consciousness was trapped in this dream, and he was trapped in this body, and there was no power under his empty limbs to hear his call.

At this time, Williams had not yet awakened the power of wizards, or he had no idea what wizards meant in this world.

Without waiting for Williams, who was sitting next to Cheryl, to secretly kiss his sister's forehead, the scene in front of him shrank rapidly, and a faint trance sound came into his ears in the chaotic blurred vision, and the voices were male and female.

"Honey, I'm leaving, take care of the kids at home, and contact me the old way if you have something. ”

"Don't worry, it's going to be fine, I often go to church to pray, and the bishop won't suspect it. ”

"Don't go to church during this time, it's going to be a very chaotic time, as far as I know, every century of witch hunting is full of extremes and madness, so stay at home. ”

"Needless to say, dear, I know that you must be safe, I love you. ”

"I love you......"

The sound of the kiss sounded, and the picture in Bill's eyes finally became clearer, the door creaked and swayed, accompanied by the sound of curtains.

Williams got out of bed, staggered to the window and looked out, the sunlight outside the window was a little harsh, and the back of old Cliff disappeared into the woods......

The days that followed seemed to be somewhat uneventful, except for the three people who were left to eat each day, and the governess would visit the house on time to teach Williams etiquette and culture.

In this way, Bill quickly followed Williams's memories through several accelerated days, during which time he felt that he loved Christopher more and cherished the beautiful moments of having 'home' more.

Eat, sleep, and study every day.

Watching Christopher's suitor take advantage of Cliff Sr.'s absence to deliver love letters and be rejected again, chase butterflies in the yard with Cheryl, help Christopher with household chores, and do the childish games that teenage boys love to play......

Although he had not yet been able to see Christopher's appearance, Bill knew that she must be so beautiful that even the bishops of the Holy See would write letters to express their affection.

The days went by, and it was all so good, so good that Bill didn't want to wake up from his dreams, and he didn't want anyone to ruin the peaceful days.

It wasn't until winter came, on a snowy day, that something happened in the midst of a heavy snowfall that was rare for many years in this climate in Ceylon.

"Mom, when is Dad coming back?"

"Mother Chrissy, the doll you sewn is so ugly, I want my dad to sew it for me!"

On this night, Cheryl, who was lying by the warm fireplace, asked as she played with the ugly dolls, and she was not happy with her holiday gifts, because they were really indecent.

Christopher also lay on the carpet to play with Cheryl, but after receiving this evaluation from her daughter, she showed a very distressed expression, it seems that sewing is not her strong point.

"Daddy is back in the spring, Cheryl, you can't be willful, Mom's sewing doll is not bad!"

Williams picks up a doll from the ground, which Bill knows and still uses to play games with her.

"Mom used to be very powerful, Dad once told me that Chriss's mother was on the battlefield, and she was still a technical soldier!"

Williams suddenly put the doll in front of Cheryl and taught his sister like a little adult, Bill knew that it was because he loved his mother more, and of course he loved Cheryl's sister too.

Christopher scratched her head a little embarrassed, she didn't expect Williams to say that suddenly, and her face seemed to become rosy and shy......

Bell bell bell!

Bell bell bell ......

Suddenly, a bell rang without warning, and Cheryl and William looked at Christopher in confusion, a mechanism that the children didn't know.

Bill couldn't see Christopher's expression clearly, but from Williams's feelings, he knew that the expression on her face was mostly surprised, or at least negative.

"Bill, you take your sister back to the room first, and I'll go out and see what's going on outside. ”

Christopher's voice was calm, but Williams felt uneasy, he had never seen a solemn expression on his mother's face, not even when his father went out.

"Mom, don't go out, let's stay together tonight. ”

"It's okay, Bill, you don't have to worry. ”

Faced with Williams' concern, Christopher got up from the carpet more determinedly, patted Williams on the shoulder, and pushed him towards Cheryl.

"Go to your father's study, there is a passage under the floor of the third block on the right side of the cabinet that leads to the secret room, you and your sister go inside and hide first. ”

"Bill, you are an older brother, no matter what happens, you must definitely protect your sister!"

Christopher put on her coat and ran out of the villa gate quickly with a windshield oil lamp, and Williams could only lead the sleepy Cheryl up the steps step by step.

Old Cliff's study is directly across the hallway, and the overhanging design also allows a direct view of the living room from the study, as the villa's shelves are high enough to have a wide view.

According to Christopher, Williams found a secret door in a very hidden secret room, which fit perfectly in the crack of the floor, and Williams would not have been able to find it if he had not been told the exact location in advance.

"Brother, what's wrong with Mom, why are we hiding inside?"

"Brother, I don't want to go in, I'm afraid of the dark ......"

Cheryl's immature little hands held Williams, and she was still holding an ugly doll, her eyes full of refusal to enter the hidden weapon.

"Cheryl, don't be afraid, I'll be with you. ”

"I'm thirteen years old, I'm an adult, and I can protect my mother and sister!"

Williams suddenly shouted, not only to comfort Cheryl, but also to strengthen his own belief in his heart, telling himself that he was not afraid of anything.

This was what his father had said before he left, and he had promised Christopher that he would take care of his sister......

"Come on, Cheryl, you close your eyes, I'll lead you down, there should be a bed in the next few years, you can sleep with the doll in your arms!"

"Hmmm......"

Cheryl listened to her brother very well, she closed her eyes, her little trembling hands firmly grasped Williams's hand, and the other arm held the doll.

Williams pulled out a match from the drawer, quickly lit a white candle, and led his sister's hand with the candlestick into the dark room.

Then he closed the door to the dark room and prayed that Christopher would come back soon, and that everything would go well......

I don't know how long it took, and there was only one candle in the dark room to illuminate the low space, and Williams took Cheryl's hand and finally coaxed her to sleep.

Cheryl's steady breathing came through the silence, and Bill could hear more sounds, all from above Williams' head, like messy footsteps.

「...... Is it Mom?"

"No, it can't be Mommy, they seem to have a lot of people, Mommy would never bring so many people into Dad's most important study. 」

Williams's inner thoughts are transmitted directly to Bill, but this transmission is only the transmission of thoughts in the moment, and does not allow Bill to get the information in a directional way.

Rising with more and more restless thoughts, Williams looked nervously overhead, even breathing carefully, lest the men would discover the dark room.

Luckily, the footsteps had been chaotic in the room for a while before fading away, and Bill could still hear someone pushing the door away, and the sound of the door coming from was the door of the study.

"Those people are gone, why hasn't Mom come back yet?"

"Mom, mom won't have an accident, right?"

Williams's mind was suddenly in turmoil, and in a world illuminated by the ghostly light, crankiness was the easiest thing to happen, and it was also an existence that could not be restrained.

Williams walked around with his head bowed in a space of only eight square meters, and he had to throw away the area of the bed, in fact, only the palm-sized area could move.

Bill wanted to know what was going on outside, and he was equally worried about Christopher, hoping that she would come back safely.

The silence lasted for another two hours, and Williams swallowed, hoping to survive the longest night, but it was all the more precious as time passed by by a second.

He couldn't help it.

"Those people should have left the study, maybe these guys are just thieves, I should go out and stop them from emptying my father's things. 」

Thinking of this, Williams' hand on Cheryl's body finally secretly pulled out and touched his body, he was going to get out of the dark room to see what was going on outside.

The secret door opened quietly, and the empty room was littered with traces, and no one cared if Old Cliff's broken notebook was compensated, but Bill knew that the study had been checked.

Williams cautiously moved forward, for he felt that the men had only left the house, not the Nardo Manor......

There was also dead silence in the dimly lit room, and suddenly there was a strange sound outside the door, and Williams was a little curious, and he felt that he heard the woman's voice.

The cry was so strange that even Bill couldn't confirm if it was coming from Christopher's throat, and the agitation in his body was suddenly awakened, and Bill suddenly couldn't tell if it was Williams's restlessness or his own......

"Williams, don't be afraid!"

"Williams, didn't you say you want to protect your mom and sister, you've grown up and want to protect your family!"

"Don't be afraid, I'm not afraid ......"

Williams, who was circling in the study, finally mustered up the courage, he turned around and closed the secret door, tiptoeing to open the door of the study through a crack......

As if a special smell had wafted in, Williams frowned unconsciously and looked down through the crack in the door, in the direction of the living room, where the fire was still burning.

He saw ......

"Hey, how come there are so many uncles in the living room who I've never seen before, it's strange, where did they come from?"

"Where's Mommy?"

Williams began to wonder, and through his eyes, Bill realized more keenly that the men were actually surrounding a wooden chair......

Is that!

Christopher!

Yes, Christopher was tied to a wooden chair, her arms and legs tied to the feet and armrests of the stool, no seals or twine gagged, but she remained silent.

There was a sudden shock and horror in his head, and Bill knew that Williams had finally discovered this scene, and he slowly sensed Williams's contradiction after these two feelings.

The men were armed with weapons, and each man was tall, strong, and fierce (at least as far as Williams could see), and dressed in strange rags.

They wore missionary clothes, but they weren't identical.

Williams was behind the crack in the outer door, peering at everything that was happening in the living room.

"I'm going out to save my mother!"

"No, no, those people look so scary, I can't beat them. 」

The emotion called impulsiveness first appeared, but cowardice followed, and Williams was nervously swallowing his saliva, shaking all over his body.

"I—I promised my father that I would protect my mother and sister, and I would go out and help my mother escape......

"No, Mom just said that I should protect my sister, I have to protect my sister, I can't go out, they will find my sister hiding in the dark room. 」

"Mommy was tied up by them!"

Williams' pupils continued to dilate, but his body trembled even more, and the men in the living room had not yet made any further moves to hurt Christopher, but he saw someone remove the whip and knife from his waist!

「...... What should I do?"

Williams had a fierce battle of thoughts going on in his head, but whenever he was about to rush out and do something, or calmly think about the problem at hand, fear immediately prevailed!

He watched as the men sat on the soft leather couches and smoked cigarettes, the warm fire melting away the snow marks on their heads and bodies, and further awakening more things that Williams could not understand.

The man with the leather whip in his hand sternly lifted Christopher's chin with a hard leather whip, his eyes rolling up and down, and asked in his disgustingly hoarse voice.

"You witches from a foreign land, tell me where the witches are in Ceylon, and if they are all hiding in the Anagua Mountains?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm the most loyal believer in Ceylon, how can I be a witch, you caught the wrong person. ”

Christopher was neither humble nor arrogant, her limbs were red and swollen, and there was not the slightest pain in her voice, only the most determined eyes looking directly at the man.

"Tsk, don't pretend to be with us, we came here after receiving a real-name report that a witch appeared here, and you are so beautiful, how can you not be a man-eating witch!"

"Brothers, don't you say?"