"Your Highness, you are so beloved among them - the people have not forgotten that it was the Kingdom of the Stars, the Bright Star Royal Family, that ensured them such a prosperous life. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ”

It was Baron Limo, lord of the four local villages, whose castle stood at the central point of the four villages. To the south, you can see Fuxing Avenue with yellow leaves in the center, and to the north, you can see the birch forest unique to the north.

This was the morning of their fourth day north to Exter, and they stopped a few times along the way to replenish their supplies, and if it went well, they would be able to enter the north this afternoon, and they would be able to reach the Broken Dragon Fortress tomorrow night.

Although Baron Limore was only in his thirties, his obesity level rivaled that of the old Duke of Cullen. I saw that the baron was so smiling that he couldn't even see his eyes, and said enthusiastically to His Royal Highness Tails Bright Star, the second prince of the Star Kingdom, who was surrounded by smiling people of all sizes:

"The people are looking forward to your arrival and feel honored, the renewal of the Bright Star Royal Family is really the love of the Goddess of the Sunset," Baron Limo stroked his belly and said with a smile: "I believe that the stars of the future will be richer and more prosperous under your reign, Your Highness!"

"After all, we're the descendants of the Empire!"

Tails walked through the clean, spotless, snow-soaked village, smiling at the blistering crowds around him, all dressed in bright clothes.

Beside him, Wya, Jorah, and five of the Shining Star's privates nervously isolated him from the crowd, followed by Edda, who knew she was listless as she walked.

"We'd better leave at once, Your Highness," Jorah, the leader of the Bright Stars' privates, said with a serious look on his face, "It's not a good idea. ”

"Indeed," said Wya, stopping one of the squires, "your mission is to make an envoy, not to inspect - you are only passing through here. ”

Tails nodded, and in a casual moment, he made a few gestures into the distance that no one could understand.

[How?]

Waiya frowned as she watched the prince's gesture.

He looked in the other direction of the village with displeasure, and sure enough, Rolf's figure appeared in a secluded place in the distance, racking his brains, and gestured back to Tailsby.

[Back, fake, all.] 】

Fake.

Alas.

Tails' heart darkened, and he looked at the nearest seven or eight-year-old child.

About his age.

The child was dark-skinned, skinny, wrapped in a thick, obviously ill-fitting suit, with a pair of small hands in his sleeves, unable to take them out, and his eyes were full of fear and shrinkage, but he forced himself to smile falsely.

A middle-aged man with numb eyes, struggling to wave his rough and deformed hands.

A timid woman with a headscarf wears a completely mismatched top, which is significantly closer to the popular style of the royal capital.

An old man of nearly sixty years old, wearing a funny cloak like a nobleman's shelter from the rain, and a pair of thin pants underneath, shivered from the cold in a corner that no one else could see.

And also...... A spotless village, welcomed by the whole people—Tails sighed and looked at Baron Limore with a smile.

When he's a fool?

It turns out that in this world, there is also a Potemkin Village.

"The supply should be done," Tails made another unintelligible gesture to Rolf in the distance, shook his head, and whispered to Waia and Jorah, "Let's go." ”

Wyay also glared fiercely at the dark-faced Rolf in the distance, and followed Tails with Jorah.

Obviously, he is the second prince's attendant.

Under the reluctant retention of Baron Limo and the farewell of a thousand thanks, the mission convoy of the Star Kingdom to the north of Exeter was ready to set off.

"I thought you enjoyed that feeling of being embraced. ”

The deputy envoy of the mission, Lord Putira, took out a pipe out of nowhere, lit a puff of smoke that was unpleasant to look at, inhaled and exhaled, and looked mockingly at the second prince.

"Nope. ”

"I would prefer to enjoy the kind of sincerity, unpretentiousness, but genuine support," Tails smiled as he accepted the water from the guards, "rather than watching them being forced by their lord to put on the clothes they had prepared in advance, squeezing out the most deliberate smiles, and full of lies about the happiness of life, and unreasonably welcoming a prince whom they did not really like in the village that had been swept early." ”

Tails sighed softly: "Guess how many of them, with smiles on their faces, are actually full of hatred for me, the prince who came suddenly?"

"Not one," unexpectedly Putile denied him, "if anything, it's probably only the fat baron." ”

Tails raised an eyebrow.

"Don't take yourself too seriously, future Your Majesty," Putile exhaled a disdainful puff of smoke, "In the eyes of many, the weight of a nine-pointed star is not as heavy as an ear of wheat. ”

"Ears of wheat can feed them, what can the nine-pointed star do?, oh, it's still good," Putile smiled, "for example, the lord can feed them a full meal and give them some clothes that he doesn't want, and welcome a certain heir of the nine-pointed star in a dignified way." ”

Tails' face was heavy, and before getting into the carriage, he took one last look at this village on the border between the northern border and the central territory, and couldn't help but say: "This is the intersection of Fuxing Avenue and the birch forest, the special products of the northern territory, the goods of the central territory will pass through here, and there is no shortage of land and hunting forests, but the people here are still so poor - is it excessive deduction, land problems, or heavy taxes?"

"Let's change the word!"

"Baron Limo is one of the vassals of Count Talon, who sends taxes and responds to conscriptions, and the Tarun family is a distant relative and supporter of the Bright Star royal family, why are the villagers here so poor, to be precise," Putileh snorted from his nose and said sarcastically, "It's because the rulers of the territory are too loyal and patriotic." ”

Tails was silent for ten seconds, until Wya's musings interrupted.

"Your Highness, that veteran has been refusing to leave, and he is still following us. Waiya pointed to a staggering figure behind him and sighed:

"We've passed the Glacier City of the House of Talon, and I don't think he has enough food and supplies to support him on his return journey to Eternal Star - and he doesn't have any warm clothing, the further north he goes, ....... ”

"Let me say we can hand him over to the baron," Jorah stroked his red hair, "so that he doesn't have to worry about starving to death or dying on the road." ”

"You see him, I guess the old soldier isn't very good at dealing with nobles, and the baron, probably just throw him into the dungeon," Tails shook his head, looking at the stubborn figure of Jenard in the distance:

"And he's ...... after all The late Duke John's personal guard is also in the same vein as Bright Star. ”

Tails' eyes flickered, remembering the young brother of the former king in the tomb.

[Starlight God of War, Liberator of Sodara, Duke of Star Lake, John L.K. Bright Star, 613-660]

"Then take him with you. ”

Tails looked at his lieutenant suspiciously.

Lord Putirai was annoyed to find that his pipe had been frozen out again, and he hurriedly touched his pockets, but Waiya sighed, pulled out the flint, and stepped forward.

"Let me say that with such perseverance, he followed us on foot for three days and three nights—thank you, for saving my life—if not the most loyal of his men, but the most dangerous of enemies. ”

Putile lit his pipe, looked at the carriage with a coffin at the back of the convoy, and said disdainfully:

"Either way, you have a reason to bring him in and put him under your observation and control - anyway, you have everything in your smoky convoy, don't you?"

Tails frowned, pretending not to hear Putirai complain to him about his Bloodline companions, "Loyal subordinates and dangerous enemies—I don't want to risk one of these possibilities. ”

"It's hard to say," said Putile, taking a hard puff of his cigarette and closing his eyes comfortably, "Sometimes, it's possible to do both. ”

Tails rolled his eyes helplessly.

"Your Highness, the veteran?" asked Wya, tentatively.

Tails groaned for a while, and suddenly walked towards the veteran of the Starlight Legion, Rolf in the rear silently following.

Huaiya was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly caught up with the second prince, and at the same time glanced at the ghost with the wind with displeasure, and after overtaking him, he unconsciously took a step forward and became the closest person to the prince.

Huaiya felt that his position as an attendant was being seriously threatened by this silver-faced man who had to rely on prosthetics to walk.

For example, the kind of sign language that only he and the prince could understand.

"Veteran!" Tails said from afar, "What's your name?"

Jenard, who was shivering in the cold, looked up and saw the nine-pointed star embroidered on Tails' body, and his eyes lit up.

He remembered that back then, the lazy middle-aged duke came out of the barracks for the first time and bumped into his head.

Duke.

"Jay, Jenard. He shuddered.

"Still won't give up, huh?" Tails narrowed his eyes, "But you know, there's no way I'm going to let you follow us—you're sent by Jenn Cavendeer, and I don't trust him." ”

Jenard was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly defended: "I'm not with them, I was caught by them...... I don't know why they sent me ......"

"But it's been three days, why are you following me?" Tails interrupted him, staring straight into Jenard's face, "Give me a reason to believe you." ”

Jenard looked at Tails in a daze.

Yes, too.

He, after all, is not a duke.

He won't believe me.

If it were the Duke, he would probably smile mysteriously, then pat him on the shoulder, and let him go get a piece of food, then leave with a "I'll watch you" and leave with peace of mind.

But it is precisely the character of the duke that will ...... will ......

The veteran in his thirties gritted his teeth and raised his head:

"On my way here, I heard from those who had taken me prisoners, Your Highness, that you are going to Exeter, and that you will use your life to appease the anger and hatred of the Northlanders?"

Tails stared at him, silent.

Jenard clasped his arms and said tremblingly, "Please let me follow you, follow the nine-pointed star." ”

Tails didn't speak.

When Jenard was nervous, His Royal Highness the Second Prince slowly spoke.

"I've heard," Tails exhaled, "that you were a member of the Starlight Legion, Duke John, my father's uncle's personal guard?"

Jenard's eyes darkened.

"Yes. ”

And I failed him.

"If it's for the loyalty of the fellow soldiers of the Starlight Legion," Tails said coldly, "you can continue to return to the royal capital, serve my father, and serve King Kessel." ”

"I've been in the royal capital for twelve years," Genenard, who was in the dust, gasped for breath and looked at Tails, "And now, I have nowhere to go." ”

Oh, yes.

When the Starlight Legion was disbanded, most of them followed the captain to the Broken Dragon Fortress, fought three bloody battles with the Exeters, and after the signing of the Peace Treaty, they continued to guard the border of the stars in the bitter cold.

But he didn't go.

He wanted to stay and continue to work in the royal capital, for the nine-pointed star, and for the Bright Star family.

Atonement for oneself.

But......

That Kessel......

Jenard remembered his twelve years of insensitive career in the city defense team, and smiled sadly.

Tails looked at him and let out a deep sigh.

"Go to Jorah - the red-haired one," Tails pursed his lips in Jenard's surprised eyes, "since you're a veteran, let him give you a post - the mission can't leave useless people behind." ”

Jenard shuddered, toward Tails.

He was agitated, and two lines of hot tears flowed uncontrollably.

Tails was taken aback, he couldn't stand such a scene the most, and quickly turned around and left.

This time, Wyaa followed closely, not forgetting to glance at Rolf.

But Rolf looked at the veteran with tears in his eyes.

Another one, the lost?

Just like me.

Tails went further and further.

If he was John's personal guard, if he had fought in those wars.

Tails thought to himself: Then he must have experienced the truth behind the bloody years.

Those truths I want to know.

Without saying a word, the second prince boarded the carriage, and the convoy continued its journey, leaving the Boulevard of Fuxing and entering the birch forests peculiar to the north.

When the next evening, when the convoy with the double star flag finally reached the edge of the birch forest, the snow began to fall incessantly, and everything around it began to turn silvery white.

"Watch the temperature, Your Highness, from now on," as they paused to rest, Waiya lit a torch in the fire lit by the guards, and approached Tails, who was rubbing his hands in the cold, "Unlike the royal capital, the snow of immortality will become the norm. ”

"Have you been?" Tails gratefully took the warm torch and exhaled a hot breath.

"It's not just here," Wyaa chuckled, "The Tower of the End is in the southwest of the junction of Exeter and the Comas Alliance, in the mountains north of the Great Desert - at that time, the Desert War was raging, and the Western Wilderness was impassable, so I had to take a detour from the north to Exeter to report to the Tower of the End." ”

Arousing his interest and curiosity, Tails was about to ask further when Putileh approached.

"It's colder than usual this year, and the Broken Dragon Fortress will only get colder than here," Lord Putirai picked up a handful of thin snow on the ground, and his face began to be solemn: "It's both good news and bad news." ”

"How?" said Tails, who knew neither the North nor Exeter, humbly inquired about the Lieutenant Envoy, who was obviously well-informed, but had never been a minus to him.

"The good news is that the special 'desperate cold' weather in the north will come sooner than usual, and the Exeters, no matter how good they are at winter warfare, will not be able to mobilize a large army in formation or besiege a fortress in the dripping and icy weather, and their supply lines will collapse from the bitter cold. ”

"The bad news," Putile mused, "If Rumba is going to take the Broken Dragon Fortress, these two days will be the last chance." ”

Tails' heart sank.

"Yes, my Prince, the Broken Dragon Fortress is not far away—if you still want to put an end to the war, and not just to play in the mountains and rivers," Putirai unceremoniously snatched Tails' torch from Tyers and extinguished it in the snow amid the ugly faces of Waia and Rolf: "Better hurry!"

At this moment, the cloak woman and the secret guard, Ada, who had been languishing, suddenly sat up with a spirit!

"That's—someone—" Eda stammered something as she patted the snow off her body.

But she was interrupted.

"Enemy attack!"

In the distance, a voice shouted angrily!

It was the voice of the veteran, Jenard.

Tails stood up suddenly, and Waiya and Rolf were faster than him, one unsheathed and the other holding him back!

"Jorah!" Putileh cried out calmly.

"Array!" Jorah roared, and thirty Bright Star privates shouted, their swords unsheathed, shields formed a wall, and they surrounded Tails, forming a starry array known as the stars.

But Tails—who was caught between the two, the squire and the ghost of the wind—looked around suspiciously, at the evening birch forest.

Where is the enemy?

The next moment, he didn't have to wonder anymore.

The shadowy figure appeared behind almost every tree around him in an eerie instant.

There are at least twenty of them.

Tails' heart sank.

He'd seen this sudden appearance.

It's like an animation skipping frame.

The guards of the Bright Star set up torches as if they were near the location of the enemy, teleporting to several key points in the circle to provide illumination.

The firelight lit up the surroundings.

Figures dressed in fine clothes and armor (both of which appeared on each person's body at the same time) emerged from the dim woods one by one, male and female, each tall and handsome.

But all of them had sharp eyes and looked at them coldly.

As if looking at a mortal prey.

"Who's coming!" Putile, too, drew a sword, held a torch, and shouted calmly.

Under the astonished gaze of all the star people, a slender figure slowly stepped forward dignified and quiet.

It was a woman.

A woman who was suffocatingly beautiful for the first time after Tails crossed over.

What do you say about that sentence - breathtakingly beautiful?

She was dressed in a well-cut black gown, which showed her figure just right, her face was soft, her hair was silver, and her purple eyes seemed to be shining with tears, which was endearing.

If it is placed on Hongfang Street, it is definitely a duke-level nobleman, and it can only be seen.

Just listen to this cute beauty who can't tell her age, and slowly open her cherry mouth.

obviously has a cute face, but at this moment, she is like a robot, and she said coldly:

"Everyone, be well. ”

"Under ......"

"Corterina van Corleone. ”

"My enemies like to call me the weeper. ”

Everyone's breath froze.

For the first time, Tails looked behind him at the carriage with the black coffin, and was shocked.

Corleone?

Koterina?

The Weeper?

That's not ......

But what is in front of you continues.

I saw this, with a cute and pitiful innocent appearance, a beauty in black, who was flashing with watery eyes, but her tone was like a cold wind hitting her bones, and she said slowly:

"I now command (mand) you. ”

"Hand over my sister. ”

"Then ...... them all"

Her eyes were shining, and she pressed her hands to her abdomen.

"Rest here. ”