"Yes, your mother."

James sighed and looked at Chris with a hint of apology in his eyes, "I'm sorry for mentioning her, dear little Chris, I know she left you early." Vulcan is above! May her spirit in heaven rest in peace. ”

Chris Murran.

It was a wound in his heart that would never heal.

Because his mother could have died peacefully, but his birth caused her to wither in the cold wind early.

Although this outcome was not up to him, and no one resented or blamed him for it, he himself could not let go of it.

"Can... Can you tell us about her? ”

He let out a long breath, a little suppressed excitement in his voice.

"Well, where to start?"

James put his hands behind his head and lay down on the back of the horse with his eyes closed, "She's beautiful, and your pretty face is due to her genetics, and your father should have said that." She was a gifted genius of the Einske family, and before the age of twenty she had already stepped into the pinnacle of warriors. Oh, the god of fire, your father should have told you about that, too. Damn it! Well, tell me what your mother taught me, do you want to listen? ”

"Okay, if you will."

Perhaps it was a rare time to see James incoherently, and Chris's mood calmed down inexplicably.

And James didn't seem to wait for his answer, and continued to speak in a faint voice after asking.

I was only eight years old, and I had just been brought back to my family by my father.

Oh, by the way, my father's wife is from the Mills royal family of Middle-earth, and this is a marriage that the old man cannot object, and my father has no choice but to accept. But my father didn't want the Einske family to be mixed with the Mills family, so he didn't have any offspring with that woman, so he also raised my mother outside, and then I was born.

Perhaps it was because I had bright red hair, but when I was seven years old, the old man asked my father to take me and my mother back to the family and gave me the surname Einsk.

When I returned to my family and had an identity, I began to participate in the monthly competition of the children of the family.

Because I practiced martial arts relatively late, I was the last one every time, so I was always bullied by my peers. But after a year, I became number one every time, so I started being bullied by several cousins joining forces.

Hehe, you can't think of it, right?

Little Chris, the Einske family is not as good as your father said!

Once, when I was practicing martial arts in the garden, some of my cousins sneaked in without telling the adults and threw me into the pool again, just as your mother walked into the garden and happened to witness the whole thing.

But she didn't stop it, just stood there and watched quietly.

It wasn't until my cousins had run away that she came over and put me back in the pool that I had just crawled out of the pool. I crawled out again, and she threw me in again... This was repeated several times, and I stood in the pool and cried.

I was really sad at that time.

Because after I was taken back to the family, your mother was the first Einske in the family to come and see me and bring me gifts.

So I couldn't figure out why she was bullying me like her cousins who treated me like an outsider.

Why not rebel?

Why don't you scold me or do something with me?

When she saw me crying, she asked me this; I said it's not fair, you're so much stronger than me, I can't resist.

Speaking of this, James opened his eyes, turned his head to look at Chris and asked, "Little Chris, can you guess what your mother said?" ”

"Can't guess."

Chris, who was listening quietly, shook his head slightly.

At the moment, his heart was full of mixed feelings.

The mother in his memory is a very gentle and smiling person. In the spring, they will take him to look for new shoots, in the summer, they will take him to pick flowers and catch small insects, in the autumn, they will sew clothes for him, and in the winter, they will cover his frozen red hands to warm ....... There are all kinds of them, and they are all very different from what James said.

James snorted and closed his eyes again.

"Your mother's exact words are this: The world is inherently unfair! If you are short, don't blame others for looking down on you; If your strength is too poor, don't blame others for bullying you. If you don't want to be bullied, then try to become stronger yourself, and bully others in turn! That's what I said. Since then, I have practiced martial arts more diligently, and eventually became a bully to others, and the scars on my forearms were also left at that time, heh~"

James's words were finished, but the few people who rode slowly forward were silent.

The taciturn Jessica is still in a state of disengagement.

Sien looked ahead blankly, his stunned eyes vaguely filled with remembrance.

Chris, on the other hand, was stunned.

He couldn't imagine that his mother's outlook on life was like this...... Well, so strong. Or maybe James was talking about the same mother as he remembered, so big that he couldn't believe it was the same person.

Could it be because my grandmother was not injured in an ambush at that time and was still known as the proud son of heaven?

Chris, who was a little dazed, tried to find the answer in his heart.

Then I also began to feel that the trip to the south that I had been looking forward to for a long time was not so exciting.

For example, Sien, who had been in the north for many years, deliberately attracted robbers to rob him in order to adapt him to killing; For example, James just put a long dagger around his neck and taught him not to let his guard down on anyone; And the other side of his mother that he heard now shocked the softest part of his heart.

"Thank you for telling me, James."

It was a long time before Chris gently thanked him.

"Uh-huh....."

James, who was still lying on horseback, responded in a nasal voice, and his mouth was also slurred, "Little Chris, I am telling you this because you are too kind. Kindness is a good quality that will make you popular and respected in Eton's territory, but now that you have come out, it will become a stumbling block for you. Whether you agree with this or not, please take my words to heart and do not forget that you are your mother's only child. ”

"Okay."

....................

It is not far from the Dwarven Border Pass to Edin City, only five hundred miles.

It took only three days for the four men with horses to see the outline of Edin City. It was a city several times larger than the city of Gardinaras.

Although the walls were only fifteen meters high, they were all made of huge strips of stone, so thick and strong that even the most elite griffon legions of the empire or the snake people, who claimed to be invincible in land battles, would not dare to attack it.

Because of the many expansions, Edin City is divided into an inner city and an outer city.

Civilians, traders, junior officers, and ordinary soldiers lived in the outer city, which was home to sheriffs, financial dignitaries, high-ranking members of the Vulcan Cult, and the Einsk family.

Unlike the North, the South has a strict class that does not allow a single step forward.

Half of the Einske family lives in the inner city, which makes Chris feel the extraordinary power of this family.

What kind of person was the ruler of such a family, his grandfather Raphael?

Walking through the bustling streets and crowds of people in the outer city, entering the inner city where church knights patrolled everywhere, Chris came to the gate of the Einsk family, and his heart was a little anticipatory and a little apprehensive.

The Einsk family's mansion has only one door.

The lintel was high, and the door was large enough for six knights to ride out side by side; In front of the door, two rows of soldiers with Einsk family crest corroded on their armor were guarded, their bodies straight and solemn expressions like stone carvings.

Perhaps it would be more appropriate to call it a military fortress.

Not long after James let him in, the door opened, and an elderly man walked out first, followed by a sturdy middle-aged man with an expressionless face and a knife at his waist.

Obviously, he was the former's bodyguard.

Rafael Einsk, one of the most powerful men in the south-east of the empire, was a very kind old man from the outside.

His beard had been dyed gray with time.

However, it is neatly combed, especially the beautiful goatee and the handsome face that vaguely shows the young appearance, which makes people feel very amiable.

The dress is also very exquisite.

a moon-white silk robe, embroidered with flame patterns on the placket and cuffs; The waist is tied up by a fiery red band, which makes the body look very thin and straight; Underfoot were a pair of gray, very ordinary boots, I couldn't tell what material they were, but the white edges of the shoes were spotless.

There is no pendant decorated with gemstones, let alone gold jewelry, and even the buttons on the upper body are made of cloth, which makes the whole person look elegant and dusty.

"Dear little Chris, welcome to Edin City!"

As soon as he walked out, he opened his arms and hugged Chris, patting the young man on the back gently before letting go, but still holding the young man's shoulder and looking carefully, full of emotion, "I finally see you, and, as your father said in his letter, you have Einsk hair." ”

"Good day, dear grandfather."

Chris took two steps back and respectfully performed a northern courtesy, "My grandfather and father asked me to bring their greetings. ”

After saluting, without waiting for Raphael to speak, he turned around and unwrapped the package under the saddle, took out the snow fox fur from it, and held it in both hands, "This is the snow fox skin I hunted last winter, there are two in total, my father suggested that one should be given to grandpa and one to you." I'm sorry, but it's almost summer. ”

"Hahaha, this is the best gift I've received in all these years!"

Raphael diluted the memories on his face with laughter, reached out and took the snow fox skin and draped it over his shoulder, and asked as he pulled Chris inside, "Dear little Chris, what do you think of making it into a shawl?" Or is it better to make a hand warmer? Oh yes, how did your grandpa use it? ”

"Originally, I wanted to make a shawl for my grandfather, but he used it to cover his knees. He likes to sit in a chair and bask in the sun all these years, while his old cold legs like to find trouble in the cold winter. ”

Chris replied with a smile, much less restrained and respectful.

The homely conversation made him feel that his grandfather, whom he met for the first time, was very kind.

"Alas, the wind and snow in the north hurt ....... the most"

Raphael stopped talking, and after a brief pause, he decided, "That's it, I'll make it a hand warmer." ”

After handing the snow fox fur to the expressionless middle-aged man behind him, he reached out and gestured at Chris's waist and asked with a smile, "How has your father been all these years?" I've heard he's as wide as the two of you. ”

"My father is very busy now, and he takes care of the affairs of the territory, and often stays in the study, and only goes out when the spring ploughing, the autumn harvest, or the caravan departs and returns. His hair was gray, too, but fortunately, he was in good health and had no illness to bother him. ”

"That's good, that's good, your father hasn't been easy all these years, and he doesn't even have someone to say intimate words."

.......

While walking and talking, asking and answering, the footsteps of the two stopped in front of a courtyard.

A very spacious courtyard, the martial arts training ground and the houses are separated by a winding stream, rockeries, pavilions and stone benches are scattered, and many unnamed southern flowers and trees are lush and green, giving people a very quiet feeling.

"Come in and see, Chris. This is for you, and this is where your mother lived. This is the study, and this is the ......."

Raphael walked in with Chris, pointing to the various sections of the yard and introducing, but as he spoke, his face was sad, and he couldn't help but put his hand on Chris's head, "Little Chris, your appearance is almost exactly the same as your mother......"

Chris didn't speak, and stood quietly.

He knew that Raphael's hand had fallen on his head, but his mind had gone back to when his mother, Avril, had left the South more than twenty years ago. Moreover, along the way, James also talked about many things about his mother intermittently, so that he had learned to face it with a calm mind.

"Hey, people love to nag when they're old, why am I talking about this!"

I don't know how long it took for Raphael to come back to his senses, laughed at himself and continued, "By the way, little Chris, your cousin James is next door, if you feel that something is missing, just go to him or tell the servant." ”

"Thank you, grandpa, in fact, I only need one room."

Chris is not polite, but very sincere, he has not enjoyed life in nineteen years of his life.

"Well, I know life in the north is hard. You live first, and James will show you the style of Edin City these days. ”

Raphael waved his hand and instructed James, "James, put away your hanger, and take your cousin around for the next few days, or I'll throw you to the Horror to feed the snake man!" ”

From this insincere threat, it can be seen that he loves this grandson very much.

"Yes, dear grandpa."

James replied with a grin, "The Vulcan is above, and I swear that the snake people will never have a chance to eat your grandson." ”

It seems that he has long been accustomed to it, Raphael didn't wait for James to finish speaking, then turned his head and fell on Sien's body, "Sien, I haven't seen you for a long time, I heard that you have several children?" Haha, I have time to visit your father and the rest of the family, they have been thinking about you all these years. ”

"Listen to your will, Your Excellency."

Sien bowed his head respectfully, and knelt on one knee with one hand on his chest, "May the god of fire bless you." ”

Having lost his allegiance to the Einske family, he could no longer call Raphael his master.

"May the god of fire bless you."

Raphael, who had spoken to everyone, nodded at them and turned away as they watched.