Princess Celestia and Charlotte stayed in the back mountain after enjoying the hot springs at Fort Midnight. Although Caterina was still hard-mouthed in the face of Swain, she was still full of praise for this excellent enjoyment, and she didn't want to stay in the castle that made her a little uneasy in Midnight Fort now, and it was a good choice to stay in the villa in the back mountain, and it could also keep Charlotte away from Swain, so that the little girl would not be forced by Swain again.

However, in fact, even if Sven didn't force Charlotte, she had already begun to be captivated by the power of magic. She now held the book Swain had given her, and although she had obtained it from her enemies, Charlotte endured the humiliation and succeeded in starting her own magical path.

"In this way, the glory of the universe will be reaped, and the darkness will be retreated. Comparison is the best of all things, because of its overwhelming subtlety, and the solidity that permeates all things. And so the world was created because of it. Because it has three world wisdoms, it is called ......"

Charlotte's voice paused, she held the book in front of Princess Celestia, pointed to a line on it and asked, "Sister, what does this mean?"

Glancing at Charlotte worriedly, Princess Celestia didn't want to see Charlotte have anything to do with magic in her heart, but she could also tell from Charlotte's expressionless face that revenge on Swain was the only motivation for the little girl's life now, and she didn't know how to dispel Charlotte's thoughts of revenge. And, even if she did, would Charlotte really be able to let go of everything and smile innocently?

With apologies, Princess Celestia took the book, looked at the words Charlotte pointed to, and read slowly: "Therefore it is called Hermes Trismi. ”

"What does that mean?" Charlotte twisted her slender neck slightly, "Hermis Trismigistos" sounded like a man's name, but she had never heard of it, and it sounded awkward.

"'Hermes Trismigistus' is a god in Maude mythology, and of course, this deity is considered the same god by both races because of its proximity to the name of a god in the culture of the Nachkhahara, the indigenous people of the Red Continent. Legend has it that Hermes Trismigiestus was the embodiment of wisdom who had come to the mortal world from the heavenly realm and given people a great deal of vital knowledge, including writing, irrigation, drama, painting, and so on. However, after the Nakh Kahala people were completely wiped out by the desert people, the legend of this god became extinct on the Red Earth, and later the culture of the Maud people also changed, after the death of the last emperor of the Maude people, the tyrant Emperor Caesar, the Maud people abandoned their original traditions, and everything related to Caesar was regarded as ominous, because these remnants of the Mord Empire believed that continuing to retain the original Mord culture would bring the tyrant emperor back from the dead, so they created a new culture, and also began to call themselves the Polysians, and established a new culture that continues to this day, the oldest country, Hadrian's Empire. After that, the cultural heritage of Hermes Trismigiestus was severed, and the deity became a story, and no one worshiped or worshipped it. ”

Charlotte held her cheeks and listened very carefully to what Princess Celestia had to say. "So, this god is a wise god, he can teach humans so much knowledge, he must be very clever himself. ”

"Indeed, the Maud and Nakhkhahara did worship him as a god of wisdom. Celestia nodded, but suddenly, her movements paused, and it occurred to him that if something as magical as magic existed, then did gods really exist?

"Sister, what's wrong with you?" Seeing the solemn contemplation on the eldest princess's face, Charlotte couldn't help but ask.

"No, nothing. Celestia smiled reluctantly, her face was ugly at this moment, and it was clear that the question was very irritating to her.

There was a noise outside the window, but it was not loud, because the villa was located on the hill behind the Midnight Fort, and the road connecting it to the outside world was very far away, so the sound was only sparse here. Princess Celestia didn't hear these sounds at all, she was bothered by the question that had just occurred to her, and Charlotte's ears were so sharp that she could hear even the slightest hint of the wind and grass clearly, just like the ships that could spot pirates from a great distance on the Vincent, and her ability to see and hear seemed to be beyond the ordinary.

She walked to the window and looked out, but the trees on the hill obscured her vision, and no matter how good her eyes were, it was impossible to see through the dense foliage of the Midnight Castle.

Charlotte didn't care if she didn't see what was happening, she didn't know that she had special abilities, she just thought she had misheard, sat back down, and continued to read the book. Princess Celestia, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to Charlotte's actions and remained immersed in her own myths.

The sound Charlotte had just heard was not an auditory hallucination, in fact, it was the sound of thousands of military boots marching in unison as Michel VII arrived at Fort Midnight with his troops.

There were more than 1,000 soldiers under Sinjid, and their strength was as good as Sinjid described, and along the way, the prince only heard the sound of one footstep, and the pace of the footsteps of more than 1,000 people was exactly the same, which made Michel VII have a lot of confidence in taking the Midnight Fort.

Now the prince doesn't think that he will not be able to take the Midnight Fort, although he only brought more than a thousand people here, but the last time he took here, the prince actually did not use a single soldier, and the Midnight Fort was completely despaired. So this time Michel VII is also full of confidence, his only worry is that Swain will run away with the eldest princess again, if that is the case, even if he takes the Midnight Fort again, it is meaningless, an empty castle cannot be used as a bargaining chip.

The outline of the Midnight Castle had already caught the Prince's eye, he had only been here once not long ago, and the scenery was no different from that time, the scenery had not changed at all, but the people, which were very different from before.

"This is the so-called right of things and people—" Michel VII suddenly sighed, riding on his horse.

Sinjid did not answer, he just looked straight ahead, at the gate of the Midnight Castle, almost exactly the same position as the last time the Prince came to the Midnight Castle, and the Baron Deniz stood at the door with his back straight and waited for Michel VII.

"Greetings, His Royal Highness Prince Knoyes, and welcome back to Midnight Castle. ”

The welcome statement was exactly the same as the last time, and even the amount of the bow was exactly the same, and it seemed that the time had rewinded more than ten days ago. The prince couldn't help but be in a trance, such an almost repeated scene made him have a problem again, he looked at the Baron Deniz in front of him, everyone seemed to be confused, and began to wonder whether he had really returned to more than ten days ago, and had a chance to start again.

"Your Highness?"

Sinjid's voice pulled Michel VII back to reality, and he sighed, not having the heart to wonder if Baron Deniz was mocking him.

"Mr. Baron," said the Prince, pointing at the old baron, raising his horsewhip, "are you going to surrender again this time, or are you going to show some backbone?"

"Neither. The baron bowed slightly to the Prince, "My master would like to talk to you, in any case, there was a chance for peace talks between the two sides, but it is an indisputable fact that you attacked His Excellency the Earl, and if you want to put all the fault on the head of my master who has fallen to this point, then it is too much to lose your identity." ”

"Jericho is still here?" said Michel VII looked up at the castle, as if trying to find Swain in it, "he didn't run away? I thought he was a complete coward who would only let others be substitutes for himself." ”

"I think Duke Edward, who is now a prisoner of Germany, would have a different idea. "The lord was insulted like this, and Baron Deniz naturally had to fight back, "His relationship with you is so deep, and he is willing to stay for you, Duke Edward will not regard you as a coward who left him and ran away, will he?"

Michel VII's cheeks trembled, he learned that the news of Duke Edward's arrest was when he arrived in Nanterley, and at that time he knew that even if he caught the eldest princess, the best outcome would be to save his life and go into exile, and the southern princes were about to completely withdraw from the stage of history.

Taking a deep breath, the prince took his eyes off the calm Baron Deniz, the old baron's words pierced deep into his heart, and when he looked at the face that changed everywhere, he would think of Duke Edward, and the feeling of regret would inevitably fill his heart.

"Alright, take me to Jericho, and I'll give him a decent one, as long as he hands over Princess Caterina. ”

Baron Deniz did not say such righteous words as "We will not hand over Her Royal Highness the Princess", nor did he say anything about the scene, he just bowed slightly to Michel VII, and then silently led the prince into the Midnight Castle, and everything was the same as the last time.

Michel VII rode slowly into the manor, which he knew very well, and Sinjid followed the prince with more than a hundred men, and the rest of the troops remained outside the Midnight Castle. The Prince believed that even if there was an ambush, Sinjid's troops would be able to protect him from Fort Midnight, and he did not think that Swain would be able to muster many militias from his territory. Even if the Midnight Castle was recaptured, Michel VII didn't see how many people were here, and the huge manor was so large that it was so empty that he could see everything clearly.

"Please come with me. Arriving at the door, Baron Deniz opened the door and made a "please" gesture to the Prince.

The prince jumped off his horse, and he gave Sinjid a look, and Sinjid, who was following the prince, immediately understood, and entered with the prince with a few soldiers.

"This way, please. Baron Deniz walked ahead, leading Michel VII through the hall to the door behind the stairs, "His Excellency the Count was waiting inside. ”

Michel VII looked at the door, for some reason, he always felt that this door was very familiar, and the lock on it was broken, Michel VII always felt that he knew the reason for the destruction of the lock in his memory, but he couldn't remember anything.

"Down here?" said Michel VII looked at Baron Deniz suspiciously, although he didn't remember going down, he still subconsciously felt a little afraid of this door, "Jericho is going to meet me in the basement?

"Your Highness, this should be no problem. Singid leaned into Michel VII's ear and whispered, "Anyway, it's all now, and they can't play any tricks, so what's the point of going down and seeing?"

Sinjid's words dispelled the prince's doubts, and although his instincts told him not to go down, in his subconscious, Sinjid's words were more convincing. "Well, you're right. Michel VII nodded, "Open the door." Sinjid, you go down with me. ”

"Yes. Sinjid bowed in response, and then commanded the soldiers behind him, "You watch from above, don't have any 'accidents'!" He used a strong tone on the word "accident", and the soldiers nodded at once, and there was only obedience to the commander on their faces.

Baron Deniz opened them for Michel VII, and Michel VII was the first to enter, followed by Singid, and before entering, he also glanced at Baron Deniz, and the two exchanged glances, and then Cinjid's figure disappeared into the dark staircase.

Walking on this dark staircase, with each step, Michel VII's inner uneasiness became heavier, and he even began to retreat in his heart, but when he wanted to turn back, Singid raised the lantern in his hand a little more to make the light brighter. Seeing the light that illuminated the road in front of him, the prince's heart calmed down a little.

The stone door at the end of the staircase had been opened, and a faint blue light came out of it, and the eyes were illuminated by this light, and the prince could not immediately see what was behind the door. And when he walked in to find out, the door behind him suddenly closed.

"Sinjid!" was taken aback by Michel VII, who was still outside the door, and was immediately surrounded by fear and anxiety when no one was around, and now the prince began to regret it, and he felt more and more that it was like a trap.

"His Highness Knoyes. Swain stepped out of the depths of the library and slowly walked in front of Michel VII, "This time, you shouldn't have pulled out a gun and shot me, right?"

"Jericho ......" Seeing Swain coming, Michel VII immediately frowned. Although he was very scared and uneasy in his heart, as a dignified prince, he did not allow himself to show his cowardice in front of Swain, and habitually put on a majestic appearance.

"What the hell are you doing!"

"Hell no, it's just a matter of asking you to come and talk, and you're here to remember something, aren't you?" Swain said in a flat tone, as if he was as calm as he wanted to clear up the misunderstanding between the two sides in the face of this enemy with extraordinary grievances.

Hearing Swain's words, the sense of incongruity in Michel VII's heart became heavier and heavier, as if something was about to pop out of the depths of his mind, but he was pressed by something, and he couldn't think of it for a long time.

"Is this your first time here?"

This question made Michel VII stunned for a moment, and he looked at Swain blankly with a blank look on his face. The shackles that hindered his memory were finally opened by Swain's prompting, and some sporadic memories slowly returned to Michel VII's mind, and gradually, he remembered all the things he had forgotten.

It was his third time in this place, so everything here felt both familiar and strange to him. He didn't show the surprise of Princess Celestia when he saw the strange blue light and the central pool in the library, because in his subconscious, he already had a recognition of these strange things, and he didn't have any special feelings.

The first time he came here was a year ago, when he came to ask Winston for advice on whether to rebel, but when he received the news that Winston had died, he showed his distress on his face in addition to his grief. Before that, he had been to Midnight Castle several times, and had met Swain, although he didn't have a deep impression of Swain when he was a child, but after all, he was the grandson of Mr. Winston, whom he admired the most, so he didn't hide himself too much. Swain saw that he had something on his mind, so he took him to the Great Library and used Atropos' power to get Michel VII to tell all the secrets in his heart.

"You, you ......" Michiel VII's eyes widened, remembering how he had been controlled, and after being forced to tell the plan of rebellion, he finally remembered that something was wrong with Swain, and that thing that was terrifying.

"Do you finally remember?" Swain slowly approached Michel VII, and the prince seemed to be terrified of Sven, and with every step Swain took closer, the prince would take a step back until he reached the stone gate, and there was no way back.

"How the hell did you, and that monster, do you!, how can you, how can you control my mind!" Cornered, Michel VII began to hysterical, and he roared loudly, trying to use this voice to reduce his fear.

"It's so easy to want to control you. Sinjid's voice came from outside the stone gate behind Michel VII, "You are inherently indecisive and indecisive, and someone like you can make you do what you say, even if you don't use magic, just a few simple psychological cues. Thanks to your 'obedience', our plans have gone smoothly so far. ”

Sinjid's words were like the last straw that crushed Michel VII, and after hearing Sinjid say the word "we", the prince finally remembered, one thing he had been puzzled about before, but could not remember.

When exactly did Sinjid and I meet?

When he was in Port Leon, Michel VII wondered about this question, but at that time, he completely trusted Singid and forgot about it because of his health. Now he finally remembered, completely remembered.

"Sinjid, you...... A year ago, when I was controlled by you here, you changed my memories and made me think that you were someone I could trust for years, and then you stayed with me. Now I finally understand that when I was in Port León, you instigated me to tear up the armistice agreement, and said that Edward was not trustworthy, and that you were simply sowing discord! It was you—you who had been leading me to this point, and it was you who pushed me down the abyss step by step!" After the absolute trust was shattered, Michel VII got absolute despair, he went crazy, he didn't even have any fear, he just wanted to vent the resentment in his heart, "Ha, what else in this world is worth trusting? The most trusted subordinates are nothing more than false memories, not even my own memories, what else in this world can be real? No! No- it's all lies, it's all fake! Did I really exist? Am I really alive? Now I can't even confirm whether this world is real, ha, hahahahaha, haha......

Michel VII laughed maniacally, he had gone mad, and the biggest blow for him was not to fall into a desperate situation, but to be betrayed by the people he trusted the most, by his own memory. He doesn't believe in anything anymore, and he even denies his existence.

"Perhaps in your heart you will accuse us of being too mean, treating you so cruelly. Swain walked up to Michel VII, who was sitting on the ground, and looked at the prince's expression, Swain knew that he was already mentally dead, how could a person who didn't even believe in his own existence be considered alive, "However, don't forget, you yourself gave us such an opportunity, and you are not completely innocent." If I am completely guilty, then what is happening to you now is also self-inflicted, you have less sin than mine, but there is not much good in you, so even if you die here today, you have no reason to complain. ”

Michel VII did not react to Swain's words at all, he could no longer listen to anyone, so whatever Swain said, he would not pay attention to it and believe it.

However, when the dark green orb in Swain's hand was about to fall on Michel VII, he saw the prince's stagnant eyes move, and it seemed that at the end of his life, he had a little, a little more insignificant hope. Although Swain saw the change in Michel VII's eyes, he didn't care, the dark green magic ball hit the prince's chest, and Michel VII immediately stopped his heartbeat.

What Swayn didn't know was that Michel VII heard a sentence at the end of his life:

"This society is fair, and all people have their responsibilities and the punishment they must face for evading their duties. One day, what you have suffered today will be fulfilled in those who have betrayed you. ”