Duke, who had been walking well, suddenly heard such a sentence, and immediately stood in place, staring at Hera. What does this woman mean when she suddenly says that she wants to help herself sit on the throne of the duke, and she wants to intervene in the battle for the heir of Duke Otto?

"What's the matter, even the lords of the Holy See, who are not afraid, don't even have the ambition and motivation to compete for the duke's position?"

Hera still had a smile on her face, but it was more of a mockery.

Seriously, Duke didn't think about this problem when he came here, the reason is very simple, even Storm Castle can't handle it, how can he have too much energy to pay attention to the duke's position?

But this does not mean that Duke is afraid, let alone wants to do anything himself, and he has to be provoked by others. At the same time, Duke also began to be vigilant in his heart, could it be that the Dark Witch Society wanted to take advantage of his antipathy to the Holy See and take the opportunity to control himself as a puppet?

Duke has always disliked to speculate on others with the worst malice, but he is not a naïve teenager, although he has not experienced the bloody storm of officialdom, he still knows the deceit in the workplace, so he began to have a deep defense against Hera's sudden proposal.

"Whether or not to inherit the position of duke, this is also an internal matter of our Otto family, so you don't have to worry about it. ”

Duke rebuffed Hera in a cold tone, and although Gandalf said that she was a crazy woman, Duke believed that she was also a smart woman and could hear the disgust in her tone.

Sure enough, when Hera heard this, the mocking smile on her face gradually disappeared. But she quickly pursed her lips and said in an indifferent tone, "Well, since you're not interested, I'll just say it." I can't leave the warm fireplace on this cold day, and when your hydraulic machinery is successful, let me take a look, I'm just as curious about science as Gandalf. ”

Seeing Hera's face change so quickly, Duke's heart became even more vigilant, there is a movie line that says well, don't trust women easily, especially beautiful women.

Back in the castle, for some reason, Duke began to think back to what Hera had told him, that is, whether he had the ambition to become a duke. But soon Duke temporarily erased this idea from his mind, ambition needs to match strength, he is far from this strength, first develop Storm Castle.

Not long after Duke returned and sat down, he saw Gandalf coming in from outside, followed by several young men.

Duke was very dissatisfied with Gandalf's move of treating his study as no man's land, but for the sake of Gandalf's thighs, Duke could only endure it!

"Gandalf, are they?"

"Viscount Duke, they are the low-level magicians and witches I asked for from the Dark Witch Society, and I will leave the control of the magic array to them in the future. ”

Gandalf's tone was very brisk, and he could clearly feel that he was in a good mood, probably because he was happy that he would not have to manipulate the magic circle in the future.

After Duke heard their identities, he glanced at the young people behind Gandalf, these people were wearing very ordinary clothes, which were distinctly different from the gorgeous costumes of ordinary magicians on the Europa continent, if Gandalf hadn't told them about their identities, it is estimated that Duke would have thought they were just ordinary people.

One of the little girls, in particular, should be about the same age as Princess Gina, but there was a hint of trepidation in her eyes. Moreover, her hair was coarse and her body was relatively thin, just like the poor peasant girl Duke had seen in the valley of the fort, obviously malnourished, and with her blond hair, she really looked like a "yellow-haired girl".

Of course, the doubts in Duke's heart will not be asked directly, and this politeness is still there. So Duke just nodded and responded, "I'm Viscount Duke, the Storm Lord, and welcome to Storm Castle. ”

"See Your Lord. The young magicians also bowed respectfully in return.

"I've come from afar, I don't know what to call a few young magicians?"

Hearing Duke's inquiry, the young people in the audience also began to introduce themselves, first of all, a dark-skinned young man on the far left said: "Lord Lord, my name is White, and I am a low-level magician of the water system. ”

The fair-skinned young man in the middle also spoke, "Lord Lord, my name is Blake, and I am a low-level mage of the wind system. ”

At this time, only the "yellow-haired girl" on the far left remained, and she looked at Duke without speaking, obviously a little scared.

Seeing her like this, Duke squeezed out as gentle a smile as possible and said, "Don't be afraid, Stormcastle is a tolerant castle, and this will be your future home." ”

Perhaps it was Duke's smile that eased her nervousness, and the little girl mustered up the courage to reply, "My lord, my name is Nicole, and I am ...... Be...... is a witch. ”

Nicole paused a few times when she said the word witch, because even a "heretical" magician was much higher than a witch. That's why Gandalf was only imprisoned, because magicians are naturally noble and have a chance of redemption, while witches can only be put to death.

The little girl naturally understood the special nature of her identity, so she hesitated a few times before saying it in the face of the strange lord. Because the identity of a witch has brought her too much discrimination and prejudice, and even a threat to her life.

However, Duke did not have the slightest prejudice and discrimination against the status of a witch, so he didn't feel anything, but smiled gently at Nicole and encouraged him. Looking at Duke's smile, Nicole felt an indescribable emotion in her heart, this smile represented a rare respect, and it had been a long time since a stranger had smiled at her after learning of her witch status.

Looking at the state of several of them, Duke estimated that he was cold and hungry, so he didn't ask too much about it, anyway, there would be opportunities in the future.

"Once again, welcome to Stormcastle, let the maid take you down for a rest, and then Gandalf will arrange for you to work. ”

"Thank you, Lord. Several of the young magicians thanked Duke as well.

After saying this, Duke shouted out the door, "Sophia." ”

Hearing Duke's shout, Sophia immediately went to the study from the maid's room next door and took the young magicians down to rest.

Seeing them leave, Duke turned to Gandalf and asked, "Gandalf, is the Dark Witch so miserable, and how do I feel that the living conditions of these magicians are not very good." ”

In response to Duke's question, Gandalf replied with a rare wry smile: "The Dark Witch Society is not only facing the pursuit of the Holy See, but also the joint attack of the major empires, and the common people also regard us as people who have been tempted by the devil, and it is good to survive with difficulty. ”

Gandalf's answer made Duke a little unsure of what to say, so the Dark Witch Society was indeed embattled, worse than when he first arrived at Stormcastle. Anyway, he still has an official status, even if he doesn't have the support of the Holy See and the Empire, at least he won't be attacked.