Horn stood by the brazier, baking his hands covered in sword calluses. Pen ~ fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info "You tell me, what the hell is going on? The people in the whole northern city, even the peasant women who sell vegetables, are talking about it, but I, the acting lord, don't know, or are you uniting with my mother and deliberately hiding this matter from me?"

"We're not going to do that. Sersi said, standing aside.

"Hey, uncle, I always thought you were on my side. Horn left the brazier and sat down in front of his father's place, "Rumors grow like mushrooms in the shadows, and if they are uprooted, they will be fine if they are uprooted, but if they are given a little time, they will spring up everywhere." Now the whole North City is talking, even the washerwoman in Hornburg is saying, "I am not born to my father, so I want to ask you, when will this farce end?"

"My lord, this is not the work of one person. Next to Sersi, a minister dressed in fine clothes said.

Horn turned to look at him. This man is Loras, the new Minister of Intelligence in the North City, who was promoted by Uncle Mike before his expedition to help Uncle Selsey run the government, and is now a marquis, known as 'Big Ears'. "Go on, don't just talk nonsense, Mike must not have asked you to talk about it. He replied angrily.

"My lord, I am a straightforward person, please forgive me. Loras took a step forward, put his hands on the table, leaned forward, and continued in a low voice, "The Northern City has been established for seventeen years, and there has never been a war, and now the Southern Expedition has aroused the interest of almost all the noble knights, and those eunuch heirs need to establish their military exploits on the battlefield in order to consolidate the family's position in the Northern City. He glanced back at a minister behind him, then at Horn.

"Go on, there's no outsider here. Horn said.

"I heard you messed up Mike-sama's mission?" asked Loras with an eyebrow.

The corners of Horn's eyes twitched a few times, and then he looked up at Uncle Sercy. "The mission was a success, but we were ambushed on the way back, including Ulf, the eldest son of Lord Sercy, and we were a group of twenty-six people, plus one traitor, and only three of them came back alive, and I was one of them, and if you think this is a mess of the mission, then all I can say is, yes, I messed up the mission. ”

"That's not what I meant, my lord," Loras pulled his face, "we have a total of twenty-six noble heirs in the northern city, but only two have returned, and I heard that you even killed one who escaped by luck—"

"Traitor! He's a traitor!" Horn slammed his feet and slapped the table, angrily, "That kid flinched, claiming that he wasn't a Confederate army! and surrendered to the enemy on the spot, and finally stripped off his bare ass!

"Don't be angry, my lord, that's not the point at all. Loras's voice remained calm, "Truth be told, I've been ordered to investigate the matter thoroughly. The news came from our castle in Hornburg, and the crows in the Bachelor's Tower were distributing sheepskin leaflets, which explained the matter so clearly that the whole of the North City saw it. ”

"Whose order did you take?!" Horn flew into a rage, "Why don't I know?!"

Loras straightened up, her head bowed, her face solemn.

"On my orders. Sersi couldn't help but speak, "Horn, don't be angry yet, I just want to tell you after this matter is settled, after all, you have just taken over the position of lord, and there are many things to learn." He paused, walked over to the table and sat down, "Besides, your mother's reputation is at stake, if you don't handle it well..... Child, you can't mess up in the northern city, your father is on a southern expedition, and there can't be any mistakes at home, understand?"

Horn couldn't be angry in front of Uncle Sersi. He was to blame for Ulf's affairs, it was he who insisted on taking the shortcut to meet the damned Lord of the West of Nippur, and Zira had saved him on the battlefield several times, and he knew that it must have been Uncle Sersi's pride before he left. "Except for Lord Sercy, let's go out of here. He said with his head down.

"I'll get to the bottom of it as soon as I can, sir. Loras was the last to go out.

After the door to the study closed, Horn flipped over a wine glass, poured half a glass and pushed it to his uncle. "I'm sorry, I didn't make it back alive. He said apologetically.

Sersi took his glass and drank it down. "No need to apologize, this matter has nothing to do with you. ”

"But the situation was that Zira and I were shot down and the battlefield was in chaos, and if Ulf wanted to escape, he would have been able to escape. Horn sighed, "But he saved me twice, and I know you must have taught me, because I'm Kenny Dalton's only son, right?"

"Kenny only has one son, and I have three. Sersi said, filling his glass, "Son, you are the future of the North City, if Ulf escapes, I will kill him with my own hands!"

Horn watched as his uncle drank another full glass, the crimson liquid running down his chin and onto his collar. "Am I my father's own?" he asked suddenly, coldly.

"Are you crazy?" said Sersi suddenly.

"All of you, including my father, often say that I am like Uncle Ellen. Horn's gaze flicked to the side of the mirror, looking at himself in the mirror, "I really look like him, how much is it, more like my mother and father, what does he look like?"

"I know your father, after Allen. "But I can tell you explicitly, Horn. Your father lost contact with your mother after the defeat of Karta, and it was only after he came to the First Continent that he met your Uncle Ellen. Later, the torrent poured into Nippur, and it was only after that that I met your mother with your Uncle Ellen. At that time, your mother was pregnant. ”

"How long have they been separated?"

"Three months? or four months, I don't know. Sersi said in a deep voice.

"Mother was with Uncle Mike all the time, wasn't she?" Horn asked again.

"Don't ask such questions again, she is your mother. "Listen, kid, it's clear that someone is trying to destabilize the North City, and the perpetrators may be the nobles who lost their children, as Loras says, or someone else, anyway..... Do your lord's duty, don't bother with this matter, I'll get those guys out soon and hang them all!"

Horn leaned forward. "Uncle Sercy, may I ask one more question?"

"There's no outsider in the study now, and I'm your uncle, if you want to be beaten," Sersi said, gesturing to the piles of parchments on the table, his other hand clenching his fist and making a crackling sound, "you can go on." ”

"I don't seem to have a problem, say hello to Aunt Winnie on my behalf. Horn leaned back in his chair and smiled.