Although the golden sun has long since risen over the hills of Marcherus, the quiet river still drifts through the mist, washing the clean cobblestone avenue with a new one. The aristocracy of Turin had never been in the habit of getting up early, so the streets looked a little empty, with only a few pedestrians, and the benches along the road were empty, except for the distant chapel with a bell announcing the dawn.

With a few brisk sounds, the boy who rode his pony down the road looked at the scenery around him very leisurely—it was just a street whose name was not even known, but it was also as beautiful as a garden palace, and the tip of his nose seemed to smell the faint fragrance of flowers, and even his sleepy head seemed to relax a lot.

Of course, if you didn't have someone behind you, you might be more comfortable. A helpless smile rose at the corner of the black-haired boy's mouth, and a pair of obsidian-like eyes glanced behind him, as if the cold gloomy gaze would never leave him.

"You know how sad it will hurt me, and I think you're starting to trust me. Edward said to Gaio behind him in a somewhat sad tone, but there was still an uncaring smile on his cheek: "Am I so unworthy of your trust, do I have to stare at me like a prisoner all the time?"

"Don't take yourself too seriously, you're just a mere servant, and you're not worth watching over. Gaio Valens, who followed closely on horseback, sneered: "Lord Mercer Kane was ordered to go to the royal palace to meet His Majesty, and he has not been able to return to the headquarters of the Knights, I just report to the Lord on the progress of this time according to my duty, that's all." ”

"The Knights are blessed with a loyal knight like you. Edward shrugged his shoulders and glanced quietly at Gaiyo, dressed as a foreigner and wearing a hood, which did not look like his style - even when he went to Spear Street, the knight had no intention of hiding his identity, which showed how much he valued this mission.

Edward had also learned a little about the rank of the Knights of the Sacred Tree with Sir Leonardo before, and the title of Knight Chief was equivalent to the commander of the Knights, who was generally responsible for guarding the castle fortresses on the border, and was the backbone of the army during wartime, second only to the deputy commander and flag bearer.

Gaijo and Leonardo, on the other hand, are even more special - as the guards of the headquarters of the Knights of Turin, they are responsible for the operation of the headquarters in peacetime, and once they enter the time of war, they are both "chief knights", and they are also qualified to participate in military meetings, represent the Grand Master in battles or negotiate.

And more subtlely, before Leonardo, Edward's former "master" Tornier Cambray Knight was the other "chief knight", and it was precisely because of his death that the Knights of the Sacred Tree took this matter so seriously, and it was because of Edward that Mercer Kane finally believed that words.

"But you're right about one thing, I still don't believe you. Gaio Valence still did not hide his distrust of Edward, and said with a cold expression: "I will never believe you until you completely kneel under the banner of the black tree on a white background and swear allegiance." ”

"That's a nice thing, at least that's what I thought. Edward shook his head, "I thought you were so 'different' to me because I had served the Minest family." ”

"That's just one of the reasons. Gaio replied coldly, his eyes narrowed into a slit towards a courtyard standing under the hills of Marcherus in the distance, and the one-horned seahorse coat of arms that could be faintly seen on the gate made his right hand subconsciously touch the hilt of the sword at his waist: "More importantly, it is my responsibility - to eradicate a qiē that may threaten the existence of the Knights, and you are only one of them." ”

............ "Bang Chang!" Allen raised his sword and flew away the sword in the blonde youth's hand, and the fierce momentum even made the other party stumble and fall directly to the ground.

The faint scent of flowers came from all around the garden, and Allen, who stood proudly behind his left hand, pointed at the blonde young man who was lying there with a pale face, his chest rising and falling.

Gasping for breath slightly, Alan withdrew the sword in his hand and reached out to pull the other party up from the ground, with a slight polite concern on his face: "Sorry for pushing a little harder...... You're not hurt, are you?"

"Oh...... No, it's just a few minor injuries, it's not in the way!" Obviously his face was already as white as earth, and cold sweat broke out, the blonde young man still waved his hand nonchalantly, and quickly stood up from the ground, and even showed a little "light-hearted" smile: "Also, please call me Lusen, dear cousin Ellen." ”

"All right, Cousin Ruthen. Allen's face showed a bit of indescribable depression, and he returned the salute meticulously: "Thank you, you are willing to accompany me to practice sword here." ”

"It doesn't matter, in fact it's a novelty to me - I've never seen a noble lady with such good swordsmanship as my cousin, and most of them only know how to use knives and forks and embroidery, or some games of poetry and the like. Lusen smiled and looked at Alan with great enthusiasm and concern: "We've been playing for almost a morning, do you need to take a break?"

Alan had no choice but to nod her head, and agreed with a little embarrassment - this little exercise was at most a warm-up for her, but the cousin Russon was already in a cold sweat, his hands were trembling, and the girl couldn't bear to embarrass him any longer.

Lu Sien breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately beckoned to the little maid who had been watching nervously beside him, brought over a pot of lemon tea, smiled and took Alan's hand, and sat on the bench under the laurel tree panting rapidly.

After a short rest, the young man with the same hair color as Alan returned to normal, smiled and chatted with Alan very actively, and his voice was also very gentle. But I don't know why, the girl just can't get motivated, and she just reluctantly smiles and echoes what he said.

Lusan Minest, who Alan only knew as a nephew of his mother, and who was highly regarded by his maternal grandfather, the Marquis of Hollard, was also a direct descendant of the Mineste family, and according to the handmaidens, he would one day inherit the title and domain of the Mineste family and become the new Marquis of Minest.

Of course, the girl knew what her mother had arranged for her cousin to come to her for, and even took the initiative to tell him her own gender—even now, only a few people, including Sir Lawrence, knew her true identity, but her mother did not care to tell him.

The blonde young man said, his eyes were also quietly looking at his cousin, the close-fitting trousers and shirt highlighted the girl's gradually perfect slender body, unlike those girls who stayed at home and in the garden all day, Alan was neither thin nor fat, and his body was full of endless vitality, as if it was a sculpture that could be called a work of art.

Sweat soaked her shirt, and Lusen could even clearly see the curve of Alan's back, which seemed to be microwaved, as smooth as if it would slip off at the slightest touch of his hand.

He could see that the girl was in a low mood now, and there seemed to be some resistance to the Minest family - this was normal, any girl would have a similar situation when she arrived in a new place, and in the eyes of Lusen, they were naturally like this, wrapping themselves in a hard shell, and then as long as they believed in the other person, they would open their hearts and accept a qiē.

So although he was very curious and interested in this cousin, Lu Sien was still very gentle and considerate, as if he was a brother who was generous enough to protect the girl's willfulness, even if he was actually not interested in such a barbaric activity as sword fighting.

"Alan, my dear cousin, you must know that we are family. Lusen suddenly took the girl's right hand and looked at her still somewhat wary face with great tenderness: "Whatever you want to do, I will do my best to satisfy you - for no reason or reason, just because you are my family, understand?"

"Anything?" Alan looked at him in some surprise, and after receiving an extremely positive answer, the girl asked tentatively, "Then can you tell me who the man who went to my grandfather's room this morning was?"

"That guy, you still don't want to know...... Oh, I'm sorry I shouldn't have done such a backshit. Lusen apologized to Alan with a wry smile: "Please believe that this is not intentional, I just said this out of concern for you." ”

"Then are you willing to sue me?"

"How did you get interested in this guy? The man's name was Cortez, he claimed to be a descendant of some old family, but he was really a hungry ranger, who had recently gotten a fortune and had been favored by his grandfather, and it seemed to me that this guy had nothing to praise at all, like a wild dog foraging in the streets. ”

Lusen didn't hide how disgusted he was with that guy named Cortez, and patted Allen on the shoulder with concern: "Don't have anything to do with that kind of person, you're the daughter of the Kwyn family, and you're also Aunt Angelica's child, even if you want to get in touch, you should be in contact with those decent people, promise me okay - never get involved with that Cortez again." ”

"Well, you're right. Alan nodded faintly, without any smile on his cheeks: "I promise." ”