In Madame Angelica's mind, there could not have been a better and greater wise man in this world than her noble father, Horad Minest, Minister of the Interior of the Kingdom of Turin.

He served as the Minister of the Interior for thirty years, commanding the kingdom's fleet, defeating the combined navy of the Kingdom of Dominica and eliminating almost all the pirates along the coast of the Kingdom of Turin...... The great Marquis Holard Minest dutifully guarded the prosperity of the kingdom and the prosperity of the family.

And now sitting on that high-backed chair, bowing his head is an old man, his skin has appeared senile waxy yellow, his cheeks have begun to sag, but there is no trace of beard on his lips and chin, and his forehead is still extremely full of luster, and it can be vaguely seen that he was also heroic when he was young.

Only those eyes, the sky-blue eyes, flowed with the depth of the years and the hardness that were still strict, and the Lady Angelica standing before him was a little relieved—my father looked even older than he had been two years ago, as if ten years had passed at once, and only a thin white patch of hair had been left in the thick hair.

"You shouldn't teach Alan like that, a child like her is not fit to stay in a place like the garden. The old man's voice, though faint, still carried a heavy force, and he still wrote on parchment with a hose pen in his hand: "I have asked the servant to go to the bazaar to buy her a horse, and in two days I can let your cousin take her to hunt in the countryside." ”

"She's your granddaughter, but she's also my daughter, and I know best how to take care of her. As soon as it came to little Allen, Mrs. Angelica would become extremely tough, and sat beside the old man with a slight trembling face: "She is almost an adult, if she doesn't look like a lady, who would want to marry her?"

"Her mother came from the richest family in the country, and anyone who married her received a rich dowry, and her father, a knight whom even His Majesty the King praised, was not able to enter the Knights of the Sacred Tree because of the continuity of the family and special reasons, not to mention the fact that her husband would inevitably be able to inherit the Hague Fort - this child has an incomparably large capital, and does not care at all about the so-called vision, and will still have a large number of suitors!"

The Marquis of Holard's tone was very relaxed, he folded the parchment with both hands and put it in the envelope, then stamped it aside, and slowly raised his head to look at Lady Angelica who was sitting in front of him, the old man's face was only as calm as an ancient well: "I can't understand your worries at all. ”

"I am also your daughter, born into the richest family in the country. Lady Angelica looked at her majestic father with a slight self-deprecation: "Didn't you also raise me to be the most standard lady?"

"Of course, because you're good at it, it's what you're best at. Holard nodded his head as he should, "And you're also proud of what you've been doing, aren't you?"

"I am only proud that I was born in the Minest family, and I am proud of you, my esteemed father. Mrs. Angelica shook her head, and finally regained her previous proud demeanor: "Then what are you looking for me for, it must be just because of Alan's education, right?"

"Partly yes, but beyond that...... There are also some things that worry me. The Marquis of Holard leaned back in his chair very tiredly, propped his arms on the armrests, and looked at Lady Angelica with a bit of sternness: "I don't mean to criticize you about that Edward Wittwood, but this time you have clearly done something wrong. ”

"Do you think I should kill him?" Lady Angelica looked at the Marquis of Hollard in amazement, and shook her head: "I tried, but failed, this little squire is indeed quite powerful-remember the blood wolf I mentioned to you before, the leader of the group of monsters was killed by him." ”

"Then you should buy him, gold, titles, promises...... And so on -- have you been with me for so long that you are not familiar with even the most basic means? It seems that the idyllic life at Fort Hague has made you quite tired. ”

"Of course I tried, but this squire is as stubborn as a stinking stone that is almost full of silt, and even the knighthood I promised him has been denied, do you think you can make a higher price?"

"But I'm curious why you care so much about this little squire—is he so important that even you pay so much attention?"

"He's certainly worth my attention, and I'm still pretty surprised that you would be suspicious of it. Marquis Holard's eyes flickered, as if he remembered something that made him unhappy: "Do you know where this little squire is now?"

"The headquarters of the Knights of the Sacred Tree - where else can he go?"

"Yes, but he had gone to the Glorious Cross Chapel, only to be taken away by the Knights of the Sacred Tree the next morning - the Knight Captain Leonardo Gombray, who had escorted you through the forest, with a team of sergeants, took Mercer Kane with a warrant. The old man stood up from his chair angrily: "This is enough to prove that he has something on his body that the Knights of the Holy Tree need, and it is a matter of importance!"

"Kane has always been cautious, but his men are all mad dogs, and at the slightest smell of blood and something is wrong, they will bite like crazy - and that's what I've always tried to avoid. Marquis Holard Minest propped his right hand on the table, "Do you need me to explain to you why we have to be careful about the Knights of the Sacred Tree?"

"If you're going to sue me...... "Lady Angelica, like a child being taught by her parents," said Mrs. Angelica, "of course." ”

"Because this group of people is a burden to the Kingdom of Turin, a powerful force full of the so-called 'sense of honor' and 'sense of responsibility'!" As he spoke, Holard took a copy of "Kingdom Kanyu" from his desk: "Since I was a child, I have always asked you to familiarize yourself with history, and you should be no stranger to how the Knights of the Sacred Tree came to be. ”

"The original Knights of the Sacred Tree, an ancient sect of eastern Turin who believed in the 'World Tree', insisted that the world we live in was one of the branches of the so-called World Tree, and after being suppressed, it became an armed clergy warband, and has been confronting the barbarians east of the Blood Cliff. ”

"In the war of conquest of His Majesty Levy Marchelus, they chose neutrality and agreed to convert to the teachings of the Radiant Cross, while still carrying their ridiculous banner of black trees on a white background - and since then they have become the National Knights of the Kingdom of Turin, and it is undeniable that the exploits of this group on the battlefield are indeed commendable. ”

"However, this does not hide their problems in other respects - the entire eastern realm of the kingdom is almost completely shrouded in this banner of black trees on a white background, and it is regarded as an unparalleled honor for the local lords to send their last sons to the Order for training, not to mention how much the kingdom has to spend from the treasury every year in order to maintain their high expenses!"

"And how much have they contributed to the kingdom of Turin? The war with the barbarians does not earn half a copper plate, but instead puts a heavy burden on the kingdom to maintain those few castle fortresses that are dispensable on the border!"

"Of course, the main thing is the Order's power in the East, and its influence on the kingdom - in their heyday they even had an elite army of six hundred knights and five thousand sergeants, not to mention the support of all the lords of the East, and even if they are in decline now, they are still a force to be reckoned with. ”

The Marquis of Holard paused slightly, closed the book in his hand, and raised his head to look directly at Lady Angelica, who was sitting there looking up at him: "There are no two lions left in the world - the Minest family will either fall into submission and bow down, or they must become the only lion who can stand on the top of the mountain, and there is no second way!"

.................. The cramped room, with no extra "furniture" except for a bed and a window, looked not much bigger than a coffin, and only a place to put boots.

Edward lay on the bed, his black pupils never leaving the sunlight coming through the window—he had been "living here" since the end of the conversation that day, and there should have been two guards at the door who had never left, the same two men who had been escorting him that day.

Although Edward was almost imprisoned, he ate and used surprisingly well - clean bedding, thick woolen blankets, a change of clothes...... Even the sword given by Lady Angelica was returned to Edward's hands, as if he was not at all worried that he would escape with his army.

There was no shortage of even food - bread, hot soup, stew, cheese, even fish and lamb, which seemed a little too good even as a target of surveillance.

Then there is only one reliable explanation - they are hesitant, and they still have not made up their minds about what they have confessed and what to do with them. And it's been two whole days and one night since I came to this room that day, and if I'm not mistaken, I'm afraid someone will come to inform me of something soon......

"Bang!" the door opened.