At this moment, he was standing in front of the soul monument of the temple of Lok Ma Town, praying for the dead little manservant Rhoda, offering flowers to represent remembrance.

No one seemed to mention the young man, neither Catherine nor the others, as if he had gone away so quietly, and no one remembered him, except the old mother of the house.

From the brothers, Phil learned a lot of things he didn't know, including Edward's bravery, including Rhoda's last persistence, and the inner ghost who had cut off the clue.

"You're not a traitor, Rhoda. These are the words that Phil said to the Soul Monument.

Finally, no matter how deliberately he delayed, Phil finally stood in front of the gate he knew so well.

The front door that was originally full of guests is now deserted, and even the small cracks on the wall look bigger.

He was as familiar with the mansion as Snape Manor was not far away, for he had spent almost half of his entire childhood here.

Originally, I thought that I would keep it like this until I was 14 years old, and then go to middle school with Anna, just like the two of them made an appointment, and then they will be separated from each other in middle school.

But in the blink of an eye, all that changed.

Hampton died in the line of duty, and according to Imperial law, the title was not reduced after his death, but was inherited by his eldest son when he reached adulthood, during which time his widow took care of him.

Saddened, Lady Demi decided to move her family to the imperial capital and join Hampton's eldest son, Ladd Stewart.

Give this child under the fence a family business and support, so that this family on the verge of being broken will be complete again.

In less than two months, the two families who were originally the highest, most lively, and closest in Luoma Town have all left this land in smoke.

It makes people sigh and sigh, and the creation of fate makes people.

Phil mustered up the courage to step in, and the moment he looked up, he was fixed there.

On the familiar steps, Anna was standing there, her head bowed, not knowing whether to walk down from it to greet her once closest friend.

Phil looked at Anna and found that she had lost weight, and her originally full apple muscles seemed to have lost their elasticity.

What made him most uncomfortable was those eyes, and the familiar bright smile seemed to have been completely erased from the little girl's face.

Instead, helpless, tangled, and overwhelmed.

There seemed to be a little resentment, Phil didn't know, and he panicked and avoided eye contact.

He greeted him in silence, subconsciously trying to take Anna's hand, but was slammed away by the little girl, as if there was something unclean in his hand.

In the hall, Phil greeted Lady Demi respectfully and bowed deeply.

After all, it's an adult, although it's just as sad, but on the surface the response is quite decent.

Whether the friendship between her and Catherine will end here, Phil doesn't know and doesn't care.

At the moment, he only cared about the small figure hiding behind his mother.

Daughter?friend?

Phil doesn't know how to define his childhood relationship with Anna for several years.

But he didn't want to lose her, he didn't know if he was too much and greedy like this.

Phil walked up to Anna, took a box from Paul's hand and opened it, and a broken sword lay quietly inside.

Demi couldn't help but shed tears and covered her mouth vigorously to keep herself from crying.

She was familiar with it, it was the ancestral sword of the Stewart family, a symbol of the bravery and fearlessness of its previous masters, always kept in her husband's study and wiped it with her own hands every morning.

And now, the sword is broken, and its owner is gone.

Anna also looked at the severed sword, at a loss, her mother's crying infected her, and the tears instantly sparked her little face.

Phil took the sword out of the box, laid it flat on top of his hands, and said to Anna in a deep voice, "Lord Hampton, on his deathbed, let me bring you a message." He asked me to tell you that he will always be with you. ”

"He's lying!"

"Lie!"

"He said he would be back!"

"He said it!"

Little Anna burst out completely, screaming incoherently, picking up the broken sword and throwing it to the ground, her little feet stomping on it fiercely.

Phil hugged Anna, who was crying bitterly, but his small body had great strength and broke free.

He also punched and kicked him, scolding loudly: "Liars, you are all liars." You go, go, I don't want to see you. ”

Phil didn't leave, and stepped forward to hug Anna again, this time he was so hard that no matter how much Anna struggled, he didn't break free.

He just hugged the little girl, put it against her forehead, and kept whispering in her ear, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry...... Tears welled up in his eyes, and he hugged Anna and cried.

Ten minutes later, until the little girl was tired of crying and no longer struggling, Phil let go of his hands.

Picked up the broken sword from the ground, raised his hands flat again, and handed it to Anna.

Then, he knelt down on one knee and said to Anna, who was still choking, "Uncle Stewart is brave and fearless, a hero to the Wards, a hero to me, and a hero to you. Now, I will carry out his instructions, take over and continue to carry out his duties. ”

"Anna Stewart, my princess, would you accept that I, Philip O. Snape, be your guardian knight.

I swear that I will always follow in the footsteps of Master Stewart and protect you as he did until the end of my life. ”

"Phil!"

It was the mother, Catherine, who uttered the exclamation.

Although she knew that her son must have expressed something, she didn't expect it to be so heavy.

Guarding knights is a custom that has been passed down on this continent for thousands of years.

It is not a legal agreement, nor does it have a formal rank, but it is a common name among the people.

Every man, whether he was a samurai or not, could offer his allegiance to the lady to whom he was allegiant.

This is not just a title, but an agreement, a confession of heart.

Every man, in his lifetime, can and can only be loyal to one lady.

In the ancient era of the Great Lords, the knightly class was a unique system derived from the nobles restraining their samurai and privatizing the armed forces.

It is usually a knight who expresses his allegiance to a lady he respects or admires, both as a sign of allegiance to the lady and to a lord.

It means that in order to maintain the honor of this loyalty, he can fight to the death.

In modern times, the knightly class has been formalized and deprivatized.

The retention of the title of Guardian Knight has evolved into a form of commemoration.

It is usually the man who swears allegiance to his first wife or his daughter at the wedding, and the form is more important than the substance.

But today, Phil expressed his attachment and guilt to Anna in front of everyone in such a way.

dedicated the only time in his life to her.

Although it may seem like child's play, there is nothing more serious and serious for the Ward men who have always kept their promises.

Anna was a little frightened, not knowing how to reply, and turned to look at her mother.

With tears in her eyes, Lady Demi said to Anna, "Your father died heroically to save your friend, and that was his choice." So, don't have hate, just nostalgia and love. ”

It seemed that the answer was not the answer, but Anna seemed to understand what her mother meant.

She thought about it for a moment, took the broken sword, and said, "I, Anna Stewart, daughter of the Grand Knight of Hampton Stewart, accept your allegiance.

Philip O. Snape Knight.

Please love your homeland as much as you love your mother.

Be as faithful to your bloodline as you are to your soul.

Please take care of your body as much as your honor. ”

Although his voice is immature, his eyes are unusually determined.

Then he tapped the broken sword on Phil's left and right shoulders and handed it to Phil again.

Phil took the broken sword, still on one knee, and uttered the knight's declaration.

"Humility, integrity, mercy, valor, justice, sacrifice, honor, soul!

At the moment of the strong enemy, we are not afraid, we are bold and loyal, we are worthy of God, we are loyal and upright, we would rather die than give in, and we will protect the weak, which is not against the principles of heaven!"

Two little guesses, two childhood sweethearts, have practiced the same process countless times in the past, and it was just a child's game.

But today, the two of them are doing it very seriously.

Although I don't know what kind of intersection I will have with the little girl in front of me in the future.

But Phil secretly swore that no matter what, he would do his best to protect her with the sword in his hand and the power behind him until she found her own happiness in the future.

The two brothers, Jones and Paul, who had been standing behind Phil and were silent, seemed to be infected by the atmosphere of the scene, and looked at this unattractive little master differently.

What's more, they are witnesses who witnessed the heroic scene of Hampton, and they inevitably feel a little guilty and moved in their hearts.

Especially his brother Jones, there was a hint of complexity and incomprehensibility in his eyes.

The two brothers looked at each other, drew their swords in tacit agreement, and sang the knight's ballad.

"I swear to be kind to the weak;

I swear to stand up to rape bravely;

I swear to fight all wrongs;

I swear to fight for the unarmed;

I swear to help anyone who asks me for help;

I swear not to harm any woman;

I swear to help my brother knights;

I swear to be sincere with my friends;

I swear that I will die for what I love. ”

At the end of the ceremony, everyone present was moved by the generosity and heroism of the song, and shed tears.

Phil hugged little Anna even more, greedily sucking the fragrance on the other party's hair, not knowing when the next time would be.

Anna finally put aside that resentment for the time being, with fear of the future, speculation about the unfamiliar environment, and missing Phil, let the little fat man hold her.

His hands were pinching the fat on Phil's waist, and he didn't know when the next time would be.

Mrs. Demi will stay for a while, and it will eventually be the Phil family who gets on the train first.

As they parted, Anna and Phil each gave each other a gift.

What Phil gave Anna was a doll made of countless strips of paper stacked on top of each other, which he had spent several days making.

He told Anna that every time she thought of him, she would open a note with a message he had left for her.

When all the notes are opened, he will go to the imperial capital to see her.

What Anna gave to Phil was a silver necklace with an inch pendant on it, and when it was opened, there was a photo of Phil and Anna.

This was taken last year when the two of them celebrated their birthdays together.

She asked Phil to take it with her, and he couldn't take it down except for taking a shower.

Naturally, Phil gladly accepted the order.

The whistle sounded, the parting was imminent, and the car was in and out of the car, with tears in mind.

gradually lost sight of the face of the old man, leaving only that young childhood.