The guards escorted Fern to the castle's gate, and then 'handed over' to the castle guards, who were no longer harsh with Fern, but only led him towards the castle one after the other, and the dark clouds were led away by the horsemen who were waiting aside. Except for the servants who were doing odd jobs in the 'flower' garden, there were no civilians around, and Fern could finally look up, and it was still the same as it had been before he had left not long ago, with little change except for the scattered snow on the ground.

Fern was taken directly to the big 'door' of the living room, and the guards on both sides didn't ask much, and immediately pushed open the thick dark brown 'door', and Fern walked in alone, and the 'door' was slowly closed behind him.

Lucius was already seated on the throne in the drawing room, Queen Leo Boud was standing behind the king on the left side, Rachel was standing on the other, and Morena was sitting on a chair on the side, smiling slightly as Fern walked slowly.

"Your Majesty, long time no see. Fern fell to one knee and bowed his head to the king.

Unexpectedly, Lucius actually walked to Fern's side in a few steps and personally helped him up. "I'm sorry, Fern, please accept my apologies, I should have sent some guards to keep watch at your residence, but luckily nothing happened to you. ”

Fern's eyes widened in flattery. "Your Majesty, you are serious, and I am careless, but fortunately, I came to you unscathed. ”

Lucius nodded, raised his hand and waved at the ** division. "But I'm on Morena's side when you're tied up here, and if she hadn't come up with this solution, I'm afraid you wouldn't know where you're going now, and you're putting yourself in danger again. ”

Fern chuckled dryly, and stole a glance at Jarena, only to see that she was smirking smirk. "Your Majesty, but I have broken my promise that I should not set foot in Durham again. ”

Lucius sighed and looked at the queen. "I have consulted with the Queen, and considering that it is really not safe outside the city, even Durham, she agrees that you will live in the castle, but ...... You can only live in the 'flower' garden. ”

"Thank you very much, Your Highness and Your Majesty, for your kindness, but I think it's better for me to leave here. Fern nodded to the queen in thanks, and the queen had no choice but to return the salute. "I can protect myself. ”

"Don't be stubborn, Fern, if it weren't for Ness, but me, who came to you today, you'd probably be dead. Jasmine sat still in her chair with her hands crossed on her chin. "Besides, you've broken your promise, you're in Durham now, can you redeem your promise by leaving here again?"

"Yes, Fern, there's no need to be so stubborn. Lucius patted the mercenary on the shoulder. "You're really like Barred when you were younger, but he's not just being casual now, and he's not obsessed with anything anymore. ”

Fern frowned and wanted to say something, but Lucius didn't give him another chance, and the king walked back to his throne. "Originally, it was not easy to find a suitable room in the 'flower' garden, those small rooms are used to store the tools of gardeners and servants, and I will definitely not allow them to be used to entertain you, so ......" The king subconsciously glanced at the ** master. "I consulted with Jasmine, and she agreed to set up a 'bed' for you in the room where she kept her books......"

Before Lucius could finish speaking, Fern couldn't help but interrupt him immediately. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I think the rooms where the tools are stored are more suitable for me, and the number of nights I spend in the field is almost the same as in the inn, and you don't have to worry about me. ”

"How can we let you live in the storeroom, you are your father's guest, you fought alongside your father in Fort Glory, and you are Uncle Barred's apprentice?" Rachel did not forget to add oil and vinegar to the side, and after saying that, even she couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.

Fern realizes that he has fallen into the trap laid by Molina, and this ** teacher will definitely become a more ruthless 'woman' than Adeline in time. Fern thought to himself, but he didn't dare to glance in the direction where Jarena was, but he could feel the smug gaze that 'shot' from there.

"So be it, Fern, I'll have the servant take you to the bath, and then you can go to Morena's house to see if the 'bed' is comfortable, and I've had the steward prepare a sumptuous dinner tonight, and both you and your companions will be invited. Lucius seemed pleased with his arrangement, and his face was happy.

Seeing that he could not tell the three people in front of him, Fern had to agree for the time being, but he secretly planned in his heart that he would escape from the city by himself at night.

Jarena's room was the same as the last time she came, except for the addition of a single 'bed' by the wall opposite the fireplace. Fern walked around the room at a loss, grabbing a random book from the shelf and flipping through it, but it was full of obscure spells that he couldn't read. Finally, Fern let out a long sigh and fell on his back on the 'bed', wondering what would happen if she let Ness see her sleeping here. Thinking about it, his eyelids gradually became heavy, and the comfort of the hot bath and the constant heat from the fireplace made him drowsy, and finally, Fern couldn't hold on and lost consciousness.

When Fern woke up again, the sky outside the window had turned dark blue, and it was time to get up and get up, Fern sat up on the bed, and suddenly found that there was a person beside him, and after being startled, he realized that it was Ness. "Ah...... Ness, when are you coming back, why don't you wake me up?"

Ness, apparently frightened by Fern as well, patted her chest. "I see that you are sleeping very soundly, and even the snoring comes out, so I didn't wake you. ”

Fern scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "It must have been the morning battle that consumed too much strength and fell asleep before I knew it. ”

"Good thing you're okay, Ferne, Rachel told us everything, I'm really worried about you. Ness looked at Fern with a smile. "But now, here, those mages will definitely not 'disturb' us anymore. ”

"yes, you know it, I thought you'd blame me for getting here. Fern tidied up his clothes that he had 'messed' up from sleeping.

Ness smoothed the collar for him. "I want to thank Morena for the scheme to trick you into Durham, and for providing you with this shelter, otherwise I can imagine you wouldn't have set foot here. ”

Fern suddenly felt that the Ness in front of him at the moment was very different from usual, but at the same time, she was glad that she didn't care that she was going to stay here tonight, of course, if he ran away tonight, there would be no problem. "Honestly, Ness. Fern glanced around the room, making sure it was just Ness and him. "I'm going to get out of here tonight, I don't want to live in this dangerous ** master's house. ”

"Dangerous ** Master, do you mean Molina?" Ness's eyes widened in surprise. "She helped you, Fern, not only did she save you in Tulsa, but she also helped you get rid of the mage's threat. ”

"She was too ruthless, Ness, two people were burned alive, and although I killed two of them, I regretted it from the bottom of my heart, and she took it for granted. Fern thought of the two people who were rolling and screaming in the flames, and subconsciously swallowed his saliva.

"I can imagine what happened at that time. Ness pursed her lips. "But in doing so, she has also drawn a line with the Mage Tower, and she is also dragged into the water by us. ”

Fern pondered for a moment. "What you said also makes sense, it seems that we hurt her. With that, Fern glanced at the 'door' of Morena's bedroom. "But, Ness, I live here, you won't ...... You know what I mean. ”

"Fern, listen to me. Ness took the mercenary's hand, and the girl's hand was smooth and delicate. "I believe in you, even more than I believe in myself, I won't think much about it. ”

Fern felt a warm current rise from the bottom of his heart and grasped Ness's hand firmly. "Thank you, Ness, for your trust in me. ”

Ness smiled and stood up. "Dinner is about to start, I'm going to get dressed, and we'll meet at the table. ”

The 'girl' child's 'fascinated' smile made Fern stutter for a while, but he couldn't say the words when he came to his mouth, so he had to nod mechanically, and watched the 'girl' child's slender figure walk out of the room, with a faint aftertaste of the 'girl' child by his side.

Ness turned a corner in the garden of flowers, and Jasina's house disappeared from view, and Rachel was fiddling with a few flowers in the garden of flowers, when she saw Ness coming over, patted the dust off her hands, and greeted her. "Well, is the method I taught you still working?"

Ness blushed and nodded. "It's shy, but it's really useful, and Fern looks at me differently than he usually does. ”

Rachel triumphantly elbowed Ness's arm. "My method will definitely work, if only we could have met sooner, Fern must have fallen under your skirt a long time ago, who knows that we haven't had a chance to meet since we were teenagers. ”

"But why are you helping me, Rachel? Olivina seems to have a crush on Fern too, so why don't you help your sister?" Ness looked at Rachel puzzled.

Rachel held her chin in her right hand and bit her lower lip. "The Queen Mother has been preventing her from approaching Ferne, and even Ferne's promise not to set foot in Durham was made at the hint of the Queen Mother, so I think that if Olivina and Fern really developed a relationship, it would also end in tragedy, and you and Fern would be more suitable than that, you say?"

Ness pursed her lips unconsciously. "What you say is so reasonable that it's impossible to refute. ”

Rachel burst out laughing. "You're really inexperienced, you don't understand anything, no wonder Fern will be 'fascinated' by that 'female' mage named Quiai, but you can only sulk yourself, you still have a lot to learn. With that, the princess giggled and ran away.

"I'm not sulking, I'm just ...... Rachel, you stop me. Ness stomped her foot in exasperation and ran after Rachel.