On the road from Puerto León to Konue, many old farmhouses were abandoned, and since the development of industry, a large number of peasants have moved into cities and factories voluntarily or voluntarily, some villages scattered in the countryside with only a few families have also been abandoned, some have been razed to build factories, and some have been abandoned directly in the wilderness.

After walking for most of the night, the eldest princess still couldn't bear it. After all, she had been in the palace for a long time, and it was the first time she had walked such a long distance like this.

They found an abandoned farmhouse with nothing left and the few pieces of furniture that were in tatters and dusty. Sven hastily cleared a relatively clean area, found some rotten wooden furniture in the house, and lit a bonfire to warm up the house on all sides.

Sven looked out from the door without a door, the place outside that was once farmland was now completely occupied by weeds, and even the small courtyard in front of the house, which was once fenced, had now become a paradise for grass and trees. In this kind of wilderness, the prosperity of the empire is completely lost, and the night is as cold as water, only the chirping of insects and the moonlight add some color to the silent night.

Swain was used to nights like this, and nights meant loneliness to him, and no one could spend the same amount of time as him.

Caterina lay on Swain's lap, her handsome nose making a slight breathing sound, and her long eyelashes fluttering from time to time, as if she had been gently stroked in a dream. Suddenly, her eyelashes trembled much faster, and her long, thin eyebrows furrowed, as if she had had a bad dream.

It didn't take long for her to wake up.

Raising her face, Caterina looked at Swain's face.

"Didn't you sleep?"

Swain curled her hair and wrapped it around her index finger. "My night, there are no dreams. ”

This small gesture made Princess Celestia a little shy, she had never been so close to a young man before. "Why?" she asked, blinking her big, shining eyes.

Swain looked at Caterina in silence, and after a long time said:

"Because of the ...... of bondage"

"Bondage?" Caterina tilted her head, looking at Sven in confusion.

Swain looked up, the dilapidated farmhouse couldn't even keep the roof, he could see the stars directly. Maybe it's because he's going back to Midnight Castle, so he's talking a lot more tonight. "Do you know when the Earl of Midnight has been around?"

Caterina frowned, unable to find an answer in her memory after pondering for a long time, and she couldn't even remember when the Midnight County was placed on the map by the Empire.

"The Earl of Midnight, the keeper of Midnight's secrets, is older than any nation or royal family, and no one can say when it existed, not even me. The names of the ancestors of the Jericho family have been swallowed up by the river of history, and the irony is that we are the writers of history, the administrators of the royal library, but we can't even record our own family tree. ”

Princess Celestia stared at Swain's face, which was still not sad or joyful, as always mask-like indifference, but she could see in those eyes that there was a trace of emotion.

"Jericho is the writer of history, and the price to pay for this is not to be remembered by history, and even my mysterious ancestor, the first Earl of Midnight, who founded the Jericho family, did not leave his name. Nothing could be fairer than time, from which we have gained permanent territory and titles, and have also lost the memories of our families, from whom we have received the power of magic, and from whom we have lost our freedom. ”

The light of the campfire shone on Swain's face, and the pale face was also reflected red, as if the flames were really burning on his face. Caterina was fascinated by this look, she loved the feeling of Swain flying high in the air, the feeling of the night breeze blowing on her body, and the feeling of being so red that she was about to set herself on fire. Swain had everything she admired, whether it was his hidden melancholy or his ambition.

"That's what you're talking about...... What are the side effects of magic?" Caterina couldn't help but reach out and touch her red face, but instead of the heat of fire, she felt the coldness of the night wind.

"You just think so, it's too esoteric, I don't think you'll understand. Swain still maintained his normal expression, and his eyes remained on the flame, not glancing at the Celestial Princess.

Caterina propped herself up, resting her head on Sven's shoulder, her long blond hair halfway over him. "My grandfather, he was very strict with my father and uncle, but he was very lenient with us grandchildren and granddaughters. No matter what we did wrong, he would forgive us generously and would not allow our father to punish us. But, even then, we have a lot of restraints on us. When you take me out of that step, I feel that a new world unfolds in front of me, and it seems that all the shackles on my body have been lifted. The sky, that is the realm that we humans have always longed for, and it wasn't until I actually touched it that I understood," she stared into Swain's eyes, even though the focus of those black eyes wasn't on her, "the meaning of freedom. ”

"Free ......" Sven chewed on the word carefully, and his expressionless face also showed a look of confusion at this time.

"Yes, freedom. Caterina rubbed Swain's neck, the ends of her hair tickling Swain, "You said the Jericho family was shackled in exchange for the power of the magic you described. But if it is not the power of magic, how can we not be in chains? Or, who in this society is not bound by shackles? Man is such a creature that we give in exchange, and if we want to get it, we must first be bound. ”

Swain turned his face and looked into Celestia's blue eyes, a confused expression that seemed to finally understand something, but was immediately bothered by a larger question.

"So, freedom...... Can freedom really be obtained?"

"Do you want it?" Caterina asked Swain, "Didn't I tell you before, what is the use of making a determination but not doing anything? ”

Swain lowered his head, now his eyes were churning with thought, it was the first time for Caterina to see him with such a rich look, but Princess Celestia didn't hate it, but felt that Swain seemed to be more human.

"I like you a little bit now," she said, "and you're not an emotionless machine, on the contrary, it's because your feelings are so fragile that you have to hide them." ”

This sentence was like the sharpest poisonous needle, piercing deep into Swain's heart. He abruptly pushed Celestia away and turned her head, letting the drooping hair of her sideburns block his expression.

"Are you scared?" Caterina was not angry though she was rudely pushed away by Swain, she had never been so eager to understand a person's heart as she was now, and she was desperate to remove the mask from Swain's face.

"No!" Swain stood up suddenly, he let out a roar that Princess Celestia had never heard before, as if he was genuinely enraged, and his eyes were even bloodshot, "I will do it, no matter what, I will fulfill this sad wish! The sad curse of the Jericho family must end here, and no one can stop it!"

Caterina looked at him silently, silent. She didn't understand what Swain meant, but she could understand the intense emotion.

Panting for air, it took Sven a few moments to calm himself down. When he had calmed down, all the expressions on his face were gone, and he was back to the Midnight Earl Swain no Jericho.

"I'm sorry I lost my temper. He said lightly, the short-lived emotions just now seemed to have never existed, and his heart did not seem to waver.

Princess Celestia hung her head in disappointment, she still couldn't impress this person.

But—she looked up quickly, stubbornly looking Swain in the eye. You've already impressed me!

————————————

Michel VII opened his eyes with difficulty, it was such a small and ordinary movement, as if it had taken his strength.

"I ...... What is going on?" he saw himself lying on his bed, surrounded by his confidant Sinjid and his friend Edward, Duke of Corgas.

"Do you remember before you fell unconscious?" asked Duke Edward, frowning. When he got the Prince to attack Count Jericho like a madman, and ordered his troops to surround the Mission, the Duke could hardly believe his ears. He didn't understand why Michel VII did this just to get revenge on Swain, and why the 140,000 men of the Eastern Front of the Empire were to be killed in the south, and that there was no point in retaliating at all.

"Before the coma...... Did I do anything?" Michel VII's eyes were slightly distracted, and even Duke Edward felt that the prince's eyes were very hollow when he saw these eyes.

"You drew your gun and shot Count Jericho, and then you sent troops to surround the mission station, and you fell unconscious after giving the order. What, don't you remember?" said Singid. In fact, the order to encircle the embassy was given by him, but the prince didn't remember anything before anyway, and he wasn't afraid that the lie would be exposed, after all, many of the soldiers in the manor had seen the fact that the prince had shot Count Jericho.

"Did I really do that?" the prince asked in disbelief as he looked at the two men he trusted so much, knowing that they would not lie to him.

"Forget it, there's no point in dwelling into these things now. Duke Edward sighed, "I have surrounded the mission station, but in order to avoid a complete breakdown of negotiations, I have not yet ordered an attack, so it is up to you to decide now." ”

When the choice was put in the hands of the Prince, he hesitated, as always. He wanted to explain the misunderstanding to Princess Celestia right away, but he was worried that doing so would make him lose the initiative in the negotiations that followed, and he was extremely reluctant to apologize to the Jericho.

Seeing that Michel VII was silent, Duke Edward and Sinjid, who knew him well, knew that the prince hesitated again. Duke Edward was not willing to drag on like this, although he blocked the city, and the news could not be spread for a while, but if he kept dragging it out like this, sooner or later it would be known by the German side.

"Please hurry up and make a decision!" said the Duke anxiously, "whether it is a fight or a peace, we will obey you, if we hesitate now, we will really be finished—140,000 people in the east, but they are gathering towards Al day and night!"

Although the duke's anxious tone also made the prince anxious, he still couldn't make up his mind. In desperation, he looked at his most trusted staff. "Sinjid, what do you think?"

"Now, even if we tell each other that this is a misunderstanding, we may not be able to gain their trust, after all, Count Jericho almost died under your gun, and the other party is likely to suspect that our explanation is a trap. In that case, let's just be decisive, and directly arrest the people of the embassy and make our demands to the emperor as hostages. With the bargaining chip of the eldest princess, I don't think the emperor will easily turn his face with us. ”

When Sinjid said that Count Jericho almost died under his own gun, the prince didn't have the slightest impression in his mind, but for some reason, hearing this, a trace of murderous intent really rose in his heart. "Then do as you say. In the end, the prince decided to listen to his staff.

Duke Edward secretly glanced at Sinjid, who was not good-looking or even ugly-looking, and he actually did not agree with Sinjid's proposal, in his opinion, it was quite irrational to fight with the Empire. But since the prince had said so, he had no choice but to take orders to go down to the front line and prepare to attack the mission station.

"Sinjid," the Prince looked at his personal staff as Duke Edward left, "when did we meet?"

"Why did you suddenly ask this?" said Sinjid, smiling as he didn't seem surprised by the Prince's question, though Michel VII couldn't make out the look behind his glasses.

"It's so strange this time. The prince shook his head, he still found it difficult to accept that he had done something that he had no impression, "Although I have been in a trance a lot lately, and sometimes I am in a daze, why am I not at all impressed by doing such a thing? I can't help but wonder if my memory is really as loyal to me as you are." ”

"I can't explain this to you, the human brain is the most complex organ, and I study it like a baby's perception of the world. If you are worried about these confusing memories, then take hold of the reality, and in any case, your own feelings will not deceive you, and if we do not believe in what we feel now, then what else is real?

Sinjid's words caused the prince to fall into deep thought, as if he had grasped something, but he was immediately confused. "Maybe you have a point. The prince said. "Thinking about these things only makes it harder for me to make decisions. Forget it, don't think about it, what's the situation now?"

"During your coma, Duke Edward has taken control of the situation, and although the other dukes are suspicious of our actions, they have not yet acted rashly, and are all observing what we mean. ”

Hearing the small actions of the other dukes, the prince felt a little angry in his heart again, he snorted coldly, and said in an unhappy tone: "Those guys, they only think about themselves, but they don't understand the relationship between us and us. Alas—if only everyone were as sincere as you and Edward!"

Hearing the prince's praise of Duke Edward, Sinjid's eyes narrowed into a slit behind the lenses, and he said without moving: "Yes, thanks to Duke Edward, he is the only one who can replace you in commanding the army, otherwise those Siliurs would probably have run back to Dewei now." ”

Naturally, the prince could hear Sinjid's voice, and he frowned and pondered. "How did Edward do it?"

"As soon as he received the report, he sent his cavalry to surround the Legation and block all the crossings in and out of the port of León. Now that your army of 30,000 has completely surrounded the port of León, the Siliulans will not be able to escape even with their wings out. ”

"My 30,000 troops have been mobilized by him?" Michel VII immediately became vigilant, his own troops could be moved so easily by others, even Duke Edward, who was a friend, the prince had to have a snack.

"Yes, after all, he is a duke, and those generals still have to listen to him. But rest assured, my troops are still in my hands. ”

Hearing Sinjid's last words, Michel VII calmed down a little, but the wariness and doubts about Duke Edward had taken deep root in his heart.

"You go and gather all our troops and block the city with the forces of the other dukes. From now on, if I can't command the troops, the army of Pritown will only listen to your command, and no one will be allowed to use our troops. If anyone wants to seize power, send your men. The prince frowned and said with a serious face.

"I see. Sinjid bowed slightly, "What about Duke Edward, and now do I just ask him to hand over the command of Pritown's army, or do I use a more tactful way?"

The prince hesitated again, although he had begun to warn of this friend in his heart, but the loyal side of the emotion was trying to dissuade himself. "Just remind him. Someone like him should be able to understand what I mean. In the end, Michel VII was still reluctant to turn his face with his friend immediately, and he still cherished this friendship in his heart.

"Yes. After bowing again, Sinjid left the room to convey the Prince's meaning to the Duke.

Looking at the back of Sinjid leaving, the prince suddenly remembered a question.

Speaking of which, when did Sinjid and I meet?