When Li Jia came to the gate of the castle, he found a middle-aged man in a wide robe waiting at the door. He had a large physique, but he was a little emaciated, but this made his face more sculptural. His temples and mustache were as dark red as wine, a little gray, but they were neatly groomed, and his orange-red eyes were shrewd, and Selinda was the same.

The man stood lazily with a shallow smile on his face, watching Li Jia and Selinda both come to him.

"Welcome, welcome, it's a good day to meet a magician from the Enchanted Castle. The man opened his hands and greeted Li Jia with a very relaxed attitude.

Li Jia hurriedly dismounted and made a mage salute, "You are Count Arias, right?"

"That's right, didn't the mischievous little Selinda tell you about her father?" the Count winked at Selinda. The latter puffed his face away.

Li Jia glanced at Selinda a little embarrassed, and then said, "She told me about some of your deeds, but it's better to be famous than to meet, I finally came to you today." ”

The earl didn't care, stepped forward and patted Li Jia's shoulder and said, "I know, there must be nothing good to say." When the god of nature made her, he must have made her face with water, her legs and feet with wind, her head with stones, and finally her temper with fire. ”

Li Jia was sweating profusely in her heart, did she "praise" her daughter so much? No wonder these two people couldn't get along together. He smiled and said, "She's just talking about a little bit of the past." ”

"I understand, I understand. The Earl turned around and led Li Jia inside, "Actually, I also have a lot of her little stories, which I can share with you at the dinner." ”

Selinda snorted, ignored them, and walked into the castle alone.

Although Li Jia didn't expect the earl's performance to be so strange, the earl's attitude made him feel at ease. So he walked side by side with the Earl.

"The gods of nature have arranged a legendary way for us to meet. The castle that fell from the sky was a miracle. Unfortunately, I was knocked unconscious and couldn't see the scene at the time. The Earl nodded his forehead a little helplessly, and there was a scar of more than five centimeters near the hairline.

"It was just an accident. Li Jia said vaguely.

"It was a big surprise. The Earl smiled, seemingly oblivious to the fact that his ancestral home was in ruins beneath the school.

Li Jia couldn't figure out what the earl meant, so he had to tell the truth: "We came here this time to discuss with you about your ancestral mansion and the surrounding territories. ”

"There's no rush, there's no hurry, we have a lot of time to sort out these little things. Let me show you around this little castle first. Count Arias said.

The castle is really small, and after entering the gate, there is a ten-meter square patio, and the earl pointed to the wooden swing on the side of the patio and said, "This is where Selinda used to come when she was a child, and I made that swing myself." At that time, she loved to play in this corner with her mom the most. Sometimes knitting something, sometimes reading a book. At that time, his mother carried a string of shell necklaces every day. ”

"Shell necklace?" Li, subconsciously touching his neck.

The earl looked at Li Jia's collar and said, "It's the string you brought in the collar." ”

"Did you find out?" Li Jia was a little embarrassed.

"I only saw the rope, but I recognized it, because I had given it to her mother. It was the first time I saw the sea in the south, I picked up seashells from the beach. At that time, I suddenly felt that the world was so big. Big enough to easily arouse a desire for conquest. Later, this necklace was always carried by her mother, she simply liked the color of the shell, and later, after her death, this necklace became the thing that Selinda cared about the most. The Count asked, "May you let me see it again?"

"Well, of course. Li Jia took out the necklace from his collar and handed it to the earl, who took it in his hand, gently stroked it a few times, and handed it back to Li Jia.

"Time runs faster than a horse. He said, then sighed lightly and smiled meaningfully.

Walking down a low stone staircase into the gate of the main castle building, Li Jia found that the castle was smaller than Viscount Irus's, but it was much more detailed. The doorway was carved with intricate vines and flowers, and some winged goblins flew in it, and the door was a thick wood with reinforced copper bars and nails nailed to it.

Entering the main building, Li Jia found that the foyer was very dark. The foyer rises above the roof to the roof, and on the second and third floors there are small windows that leave a few square spots of light on the stone floor. Several square columns run from the sides of the foyer through three floors to the top. Some oil lamps glow dimly on the columns and walls, slightly reducing the gloomy feel of the first floor of the castle.

The Count led Li Jia into a side arch and then up the stairs to the second floor of the castle.

It is a long cloister with light shining through a narrow window on one side of the façade. Much brighter than downstairs. On the wall near the inside, there are seven or eight large and small oil paintings. Li Jia noticed that at the beginning of the corridor, the closest painting to him was particularly large, two meters square, and the protagonist of the picture was a shirtless man holding an axe. The man was resolute in appearance and in great stature, leading countless warriors to charge.

The composition of this painting is very peculiar, and the direction of the man's charge is actually the audience outside the painting. Li Jia stood in front of the painting, looking at the man's tiger-like eyes, and could clearly feel the indomitable momentum. After staring at it for a while, there was a sudden palpitation, as if the man was about to rush to his eyes and cut off his head in the next second.

The Earl stood aside and was silent until Li Jia came back to his senses, and then he said, "This is Merlot Arias, the history of our family in the kingdom began with him, and I am already the eighth generation. ”

"I heard that your ancestors were the most powerful berserkers of their time?"

"Not only then, but even now. The power of this ancestor of mine has reached the Holy Realm, beyond the limits of mortal power. Now the territory of the kingdom is he, and the magicians Matthew Doria and Alan Dias have fought together. ”

"Alan Dias, Dias, is it?"

"That's right, the founding king. The three of them are very good friends, good enough to wear a pair of pants. They fought together, overthrew the hapless Black Dragon Empire, and swallowed the lands of countless lords, large and small, and in those days, they were the real pride. However, the fate of the three people in the end is very different. Alan Dias became king, but my ancestor and Matthew Doria disappeared shortly after the founding of the state. ”

"Missing?, both leaders disappeared suddenly?" Li Jia said in surprise.

"Do you smell a conspiracy?" the earl stood beside Li Jia with his hands behind his back and looked at the portrait of his ancestor together, "I have read a lot of historical materials, and I feel that if it were not for the conspiracy, it would be difficult to imagine that the two of them such a powerful person would disappear inexplicably. Not only have they reached the pinnacle of human strength in their personal strength, but they also have their own armies in their hands. If you want to use force to deal with them directly, it will definitely be a shocking war. ”

"Did you find any clues in the historical records?" asked Li Jia.

The Count shook his head, "No, there is no record, history is like this, like a loach wandering at the bottom of a lake." Whether it's silt, aquatic weeds, or waves, you can't see its shadow clearly. ”

"However, your family has passed on. Li Jiadao.

"yes, yes. Come and see my family, Duke Carter Arias. The Earl walked forward with Li Jia, pointed to the half-old man in the second painting, and said, "This is when Merlot Arias disappeared, and Carter was only five years old. For the aristocracy, he was a little fat pig on a dinner plate. Many of the heirlooms in the surrounding lords' homes were 'exchanged' from 'Carter'. ”

"This is the 'eternally young' Francisco, who always likes to hunt in the forest, and was only seventeen when he was killed by the goblin, but fortunately he had a son when he was fifteen. "In the third portrait is a young man with a hunting bow and a hound.

The man in the fourth portrait has a strong figure, but there is a lot of anger between his eyebrows. "Ah, this is François 'the 'Bug', and it was in his time that our family went from duke to count, and a large chunk of the territory was cut off. This fool did all kinds of bad things in the royal capital and territory because he was undisciplined since he was a child, and finally was beheaded because he was jealous and killed a prince. Well, his only contribution was to give birth to a son in time. ”

Who are these people? For such a family, Li Jiazhen doesn't know how to comment in order not to lose the face of the master. However, he noticed that the person in the latter portrait was much more normal, and it was a knight leading the march of the people.

"This is my grandfather. A man with a diametrically opposed personality to his father. Maybe Merlot's blood has become a little thicker with him. God knows how he was able to put his family territory and vassals in order at the age of fifteen or sixteen, and also re-raise a berserker army. He fought a lifelong war with the Empire. In the end, he fell ill and died on the battlefield of the attack on Fort Guide. "It's a good thing," said the Earl, when he said of his grandfather, with a clear solemnity. At least it's much better than dying in the machinations of sinister villains. ”

The last portrait is of a thin old man, dressed in fine armor and wearing a magnificent sword, with a dignified posture and dignified appearance, but from his eyes, you can see a deep melancholy. The Count stared at him for a long time and said, "My father, a man who is suspicious and unwilling. When you are young, you are sharp, and when you are old, you are ...... Hehe. ”

He didn't say anything for some reason, patted Li Jia on the shoulder and said, "To hell with these ancient things." Come, my friend, try my wine, it's a good thing for years. ”

Li Jia was dragged by the earl, but there were some waves in his heart. I always felt that there was a completely different side behind the earl's laughter.