Ronald had only spent one night at Fort Orleans, and after entrusting it to his faithful old servant, they left the city in a hurry. And Anina, with them, went to Yorktown.

After leaving the city, in order to avoid excessive tremors, the experienced coachman deliberately slowed down the speed of his horse.

Bone and bone.

The carriage drove slowly along the official road leading to Yorktown, and under the control of the coachman, the carriage was like a cradle, drowsy. The four of them did not make a sound, and they all chose to close their eyes quietly to recuperate.

Lovingly looking at his daughter, the Venerable closed his eyes in relief and began to meditate. But his mind can't be as focused as before.

He didn't quite know why his daughter had suddenly changed her attitude, but he knew that Anne must no longer believe in the existence of the Most High God. Perhaps it was because they learned that the Turings intended to start a war. He speculated.

He guessed correctly, and it was for this reason that Anina chose to follow her father.

As a thief who mixes fairly well, she naturally got the news of the border tension from the guild a long time ago. She would love to talk to someone, but unlike in countries where the Church is in power, there are no enlightening priests in Falken. Most of the friends in the Thieves' Guild are related to interests, but they don't have time to listen to her complaints.

After being confused between faith and family affection for a long time, she still chose to follow her father. Sensing the warmth in her father's gaze, she lowered her head blankly.

High God, please forgive me for being an ungodly believer here. She murmured in her heart, hunched over, hunched up, burying her head in the crook of her arm, her thoughts complicated.

The road had been peaceful, and while Ronald was resting, he asked the mage about some knowledge of spells. Only Bruno can't bear the loneliness, and often has nothing to say about it. Seeing that Anina's spirit was not very good, he often joked with Ronald and them: "Look at their two stuffy jars, it's good that you accompany me this time, otherwise I will definitely be bored to death again." ”

Thanks to Bruno's efforts, Anina finally became much more cheerful and gradually became a little more lively.

Seeing that his daughter was a little energetic, the mage who had been secretly paying attention finally breathed a sigh of relief.

By the time they arrived in Yorktown, seven days had passed. After asking for directions in the town, they continued to the village of Beckley, where the princess was.

Law.

The carriage stopped at the edge of the forest.

After getting out of the carriage, Ronald couldn't help but shake his head.

As far as the eye can see, the village is in a depression, and there are few families in this so-called Beckley village. There is a field nearby, but only a small part of it is planted with vegetables, and most of the rest of the fields are barren. In addition, the fields are littered with freshly cut tree rings, apparently the result of not being fully cleared.

"Let's go inside. ”

The mage showed no surprise, he straightened the folds of his robes and walked in first.

Bruno patted Ronald on the shoulder: "Without force as a basis, it is difficult to attract civilians to come and take refuge." ”

"Perhaps. Ronald was quick to reaspersure: "I hope it's the same as the previous analysis." ”

The village is built directly from logs, covered with burrs of bark, which is rough and rudimentary. In the square, there are still many trees with verdant branches, which have obviously been brought in from the fields and have not had time to deal with them.

Ronald waved his hand at a few people in the distance and greeted him loudly: "Hello, is Lord Blair here?"

The men looked over to Ronald, and one of them, dressed in light armor, walked over quickly, "Who are you?"

The mage suddenly spoke first: "We plan to defect to His Highness Victoria. ”

The man looked at the mage for a moment, and soon a smile appeared on his face: "Look at your outfit, you should be a mage, right? Ladies and gentlemen, please come with me. ”

The mage smiled at him.

Under the leadership of this lightly armored knight, they walked for more than half an hour, and then they came to the foot of the mountain--- a circle of wooden fences more than one person high, and a barrier was scattered at intervals. Next to the still rough gate, there stood two guards with serious expressions.

The man beckoned to the guards, and continued to lead the four upwards. After walking for more than half an hour, they finally came to the mountainside.

"Wait a minute, I'll go and report it. The knight bowed slightly, and hurried to the construction site.

Ronald looked there --- a hand-hewn mining site on the left side of the mountain, where several large rocks were piled up. Next to the mining site, there are many logs piled up. But there were not many people at the construction site, and he squinted his eyes and counted them carefully, and there were only about thirty people. The so-called construction site is only a few wooden houses, and there is not even a shadow of the foundation.

"There are so few people. He turned back to the mages and asked, "If there are only these people, it should be busy for a long time, right?"

The mage nodded, "It's the same as expected." If the information is accurate, the princess's financial resources are at most to build an inner castle. ”

As he spoke, Blair walked over quickly.

After seeing the person clearly, he was stunned for a moment, but soon smiled: "It turned out to be you, Ronald, this is really a surprising surprise." He pouted at the mages, "They are?"

"Please introduce me. The mage performed a standard aristocratic salute: "Christine Torren, a wandering mage who is not tolerated by the Church. He pointed to Bruno again: "Bruno, a doctor from the Confederation of São Paulo, like me, is not tolerated by the Church. Finally, he pointed his hand to his daughter: "This is my daughter, Anina Torrein, born in the Fort d'Orleans since childhood. ”

Hearing that the mage directly pointed out that he was being pursued by the church, Ronald was inevitably a little uneasy, but the mage's words had already been spoken, and he had no room to turn back. Glancing at Kerry with a full stomach full of worry, he felt a little relieved when he saw his calm face.

Blair was silent for a while, obviously he didn't expect that there were so many characters with complex backgrounds.

Seeing Blair silent, Ronald became more and more worried. Although his face was as calm as water, he was on guard in private.

Let's hope it doesn't go for the worst......

Fortunately, the silence only lasted for a short time, and soon, Blair showed a smile on his face, which eased the slightly depressed atmosphere: "You are really outspoken, since you are so sincere, then I will no longer be polite." He opened his hand and gave Ronald and the others a warm hug: "On behalf of the owner of this territory, Earl Victoria, I welcome you to join. ”

Ronald breathed a sigh of relief, and he also smiled: "Well, thank you very much." ”

Blair waved his hand magnificently: "Now we are a family, aren't we?" shrugged his shoulders very casually, and he led his hand forward: "Please come with me, you have come from afar, you must not have eaten yet." ”

"It's still very basic, though. As he walked, he said enthusiastically: "However, it is still possible to prepare a refreshing dinner." I don't want to be used as an excuse for this reason in the future. ”

"Hahaha. Bruno laughed unbridledly, "Then thank you for your hospitality, Lord Blair." ”

Arriving at a large wooden house in the middle of the camp, Ronald and the others saw that the princess was still wearing a full-body armor made of pure gold--- but the eagle feather helmet had finally been removed.

The mage stared at the bright golden armor, sensing a trace of magic power fluctuations on it, and he was indeed wearing demonic armor. A princess is a princess, no matter how poor she is, she is still a princess. He casually glanced at Ronald and noticed that there was some admiration in his eyes.

Although this kid is trying his best to hide, a discerning person can still see it......

The mage looked at his daughter again, and when he saw that Anne was still the same, he didn't think much about it.

"Uncle Blair. The princess raised her head and followed the nightingale's voice, "Who are you?"

"Let me introduce you. Blair owes his body, and then he explains the identities of the mages one by one.

Only her brows furrowed, and soon the princess nodded slightly: "I trust your vision, Uncle Blair." She raised her hand and beckoned a knight: "Go and prepare food." ”

After speaking, Victoria deliberately glanced at Ronald, feeling that this young man seemed to be a little familiar, but she couldn't remember it for a while.

Ronald hurriedly saluted: "We met once, Your Highness the Princess. ”

"That's right. Blair smiled and continued: "It's the young man who led the way in Snow Bear Valley." ”

"I see, I had some impressions. Then the princess remembered that there was such a person: "By the way, please call me Count Victoria, or Your Excellency." ”

Seeing that everyone was still standing in place, Blair hurriedly ordered the attendants to bring the chairs: "Hehe, the castle is still under construction, and many things have not yet been fully prepared, so I have to adhere to the principle of simplicity, and please don't care." ”

A smile appeared on the mage's face, "It should be our honor that Lord Earl has decided to take us in so easily. But Lord Blair, you are too polite. ”

Ha ha.

Blair laughed heartily: "In that case, then let's stop being hypocritical." He stretched out his hand and politely led everyone to sit down: "Then, before dinner comes, let's get straight to the point and talk about business first." ”

When they were seated, he waved his attendants to leave and closed the door. He glanced at the princess again, and after asking for her approval, Blair directly asked Ronald and the others about their intentions: "As you can see, there are no soldiers or food in our territory, and even the funds for building a castle are not abundant. He paused and looked around at the crowd: "So, can you tell us your intentions?"

He spread his hands and smiled kindly: "After all, mutual trust is the foundation of cooperation." ”

As agreed, all the negotiations were to be conducted by the mage. So they didn't respond to Blair's question, Ronald, they just tilted their heads towards the mage.

"You're right. The mage cleared his throat: "Then allow me to introduce you in detail again." ”

Then, he carefully explained the reasons why they were wanted by the church, and the reasons why they chose to defect to the princess.

After hearing that the mage Christine was actually a dark necromancer, a trace of surprise appeared on Victoria and Blair's faces. But they didn't interrupt, but sat there and listened intently.

"That's how it happened. After some talking, the mage felt a little thirsty in his mouth. He breathed a long sigh of relief, and then moved his gaze to the princess: "I don't know, after hearing this, will Her Royal Highness the princess still have any plans to take us in?"

Unlike those great powers, there are not many mages in the territory of Falken.

After thinking for a while, and making eye contact with Blair, the princess opened her mouth with a calm expression: "If the matter is true, then I welcome you to join." The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and this is what my father taught me. Besides, you are not wanted for committing crimes. ”

She slowly swept her gaze over the crowd: "I can understand the helplessness of being innocently wanted just by doing something that is not allowed by the church." ”

The mage smiled, "Then thank you for taking you in, Honorable Earl. ”

"However, I would like to ask your forgiveness for the time being. The princess raised her hand slightly: "I also need some time to verify the authenticity of these things." Anyway, there's always a bit of a risk in taking one side of the story, don't you think?"

The mage chuckled, "Of course. So, let's stay in the village down the hill for the time being, and let us know when you've made your decision. ”

Tuk-tuk.

The voice of the guard came from outside the door: "Your Royal Highness Princess, dinner is ready." ”

"Bring it in. After the attendants had finished the dishes, Blair stood up and offered Ronald and the others wine: "Then, let's toast each other's sincerity." ”

The princess also raised her glass and smiled at everyone, "Cheers." ”

"Cheers. ”

Bite!

The glass touched lightly, and everyone drank it all in one go.