The Amber Sword

“An envoy of the Cruz? ”

“A man named Donalds. Bernie's man, identity is Viscount. ”

“Wait, I know this man," Brando interrupted Charles, remembering that Veronica had told him that name, that this man was the envoy of the Silver Queen, that an imperial mission had been dispatched to investigate the fate of the Crown Prince after the Blast of the Dead Frost Forest, that this man was the chief of the mission, and that Veronica had told him that the real purpose of this man was to confirm the death of the Crown Prince. “I also know about this mission," he finally remembered, and the successive events of recent times - mainly the Akidu War and the sudden letter from Her Highness - almost made him forget something else: “Are these Krutz ready to return to the Empire, why would she suddenly tell us this? ”

“No, Lord, in fact, the Krutz 'mission is still in Lantoniland, and now they are in charge of someone else, and as we understand it, this Donnas... Mr. Bernie never showed up.” Charles replied.

“What the hell is going on here?” Brando frowned.

“It is said that the Viscount returned with the convoy in Del Del Tal due to his sudden illness and that he did not disembark at all in Antilles. ”

Brando thought it was a clear excuse that since he was the queen's messenger, he would not return because of his physical discomfort. He first thought about what the Cruz perceived, but suddenly realized how Delphiry knew about it. The territory knew that the Knights of the Folds and Prince Leonard existed, but only a few people were around him, and he pressed down his mind and asked, “It's just an internal matter for the Cruz. Why would Miss Delphiry tell us this? ”

Charles naturally understood Brando's sub line, and he replied, "Lord, this is what happened. The Cruz fleet is said to have hunted a rare beast in the sparkling sea and wanted to dedicate it to Her Majesty in case the Temple of the Earth attacks, so they chose a more reliable land route. The fleet is landing at Greywind Harbor, Donnas. After Mr. Bernie and his servants and assistants passed through the gray mountain collar, they passed through the swallowburger, the swallowburger situation now, you know, the Earl of Swallow is unknown, some say he is seriously ill, some say he is dead, in short, he has not been in public since April and May, as for Miss Delphiry... well... Miss Delphiry is now in Tonigle... cough... as a guest," when he speaks of hospitality, it is inevitable that some embarrassment, in fact, everyone knows that Miss Count is worried about her father's condition, she is obliged to fly back to the swallowburger territory immediately with her wings, except that Brando is under house arrest in the Cold Cedar collar —— which, of course, was also granted by Her Royal Highness, in order to ensure the safety of the Countess herself and not to call her mothfire. He paused and continued: “All in all, now Swallow Castle is a group of dragonless people, and the guys headed by Baron Dahler spread all sorts of rumors throughout the day, trying to seize the power of the Count. But the fame of the Swallow Castle family is still there, and they won't get it for a while and a half, and the Cruz Empire has had a lot of influence for a long time in Swallow Castle, so of course these people won't let this Donalds get away with it. Lord Bernie's chance. ”

“I wonder if you remember that you and His Highness had instructed Count Janilassou to investigate the Swallow Castle, and that the Count sent a group of people into the Swallow Castle shortly thereafter, who were doing quite well and who quickly made contact with the old men of Delphiry to establish a secret network of relations.” Brando knew that the matter was actually ordered by Her Royal Highness, and he didn't meddle in it at all, but by the time he got inside Charles' mouth, his lord had split half his credit for nothing - of course he could hear the compliment, but it was hard to break it down, or rather he was used to it - and now he finally heard something.

Charles went on to say, "So these people routinely reported it to Count Janilassou and accompanied this convoy with a record crystal with Donnas. The images of Mr. Bernie and other servants and assistants, the Earl of Janilassou, sent the report and the crystal back to Miss Delphirie. This is not too important in itself, but Miss Delphiry heard more or less about you and Mrs. Veronica and Prince Leonarette entering the Dead Frost Forest together. After learning about the mission's purpose, she was worried that the Cruz would be detrimental to you, so she handed these things over to Metissa. I had no idea that Her Royal Highness had actually called our little princess to discover something...”

“What's weird?” Brando had slightly frowned when he heard this.

“This is Donalds. Viscount Bernie, he had no problem with himself, but Princess Methisa seemed to recognize a man among the men and women of the motorcade. ”

“Recognize a man?” Brando's heart moves: “Who? ”

“This man should be one of the Cruz and Veronica corps, and I was somewhat impressed with him, but not as impressed with Metisa. ”

“Lord,” the voice of Metisa finally rang, as gentle as ever, but structured: "If I recall correctly, the man should be called Boymer, whom I have heard before. He had entered the glacier with us and was one of the noble officers accompanying the Krutz, some young, but in his twenties. ”

Brando felt like there was a current flowing through his back ridge, making his cold hair stand up, he took a gentle breath, although he had not yet opened his mouth, but the god tone on his face was so thick that Antina and Freya both saw it, the two young girls looked at each other and looked at him with some apprehension. Brando had his hands on the desk, and his head seemed to flash through countless images, and he carefully conceived a moment and suddenly asked: "When did the Cruz mission arrive in Del Tal?" ”

“On August 19th, it was the Mountain People's Fire Festival.” Antitina answered directly, thinking and not wanting to.

“August 19th.” Brando muttered to himself: “We left Death Frost Forest for exactly one month. ”

“Charles, the Donalds. How long has Viscount Bernie been in Swallow Castle?” He asked again.

Charles calculates: "Miss Delphirie got the letter last week, but this letter arrived in Toniguer a few weeks later, at least a month later, only more, not less. ”

A month, Brando's heart was cold enough for the Cruz to walk back to Rusta. Freya watched his face change, so she finally couldn't help but ask, “Brando, what's going on? ”

“I think we neglected, Freya.” Brando replied word for word.

“Neglected? ”

“This is all my fault, I had no idea in this direction,” he couldn't help but shoot himself in the forehead and say in silence, "Charles, let's send our scouts out and ask them to search the area around Death Frost Forest again, spread the image of the guy out and see if anybody's seen him -- no, I'm sure anybody's seen him. The key is where and when, and I want to figure this out as quickly as possible. Also, find a way to send a group of people to the Cruz Empire, and if not, let Count Janilassou do us a favor - he will not refuse. ”

“Lord, Miss Roman had already sent her men before I gave you this message, and now the territory is fully activated," Charles replied, "but some of the mercenary commanders below are still unclear about the situation. I would like to ask you if this is too minor a problem, which is why Metissa and I came to ask you to show us. ”

“She did the right thing," Brando heard, exhaled, and then answered quietly, "Wait for the news, hopefully the Cruz won't regret--”

Brando felt someone pressing his arm, and he turned around and saw Antina looking at herself with some concern.

“Have you heard from Sy?” The clerk lady asked sharply.

He nodded slowly.

The victory of the Battle of Autumn Twilight has not yet spread to the South, but rumours of all kinds have spread widely in and around the war-affected areas, causing the Denels to panic within the first two weeks, but there are hidden expectations that are naturally worried about being liquidated, but that expectation comes from the legendary young and productive Count, who is likely to become their new ruler in the future. But in contrast to other parts of the southern realm, where rumours abound, Vieiro and Toniguer are often quiet and terrible - in Vieiro, Valendenburg sends a large number of messengers day after day, carrying this intimate letterhead from north to south, day after day.

And in Tonigal, only a handful of acute people can feel that there is a storm breeding beneath the calm surface. Businessmen in the port of Gris have gradually begun to feel that the number of security cavalry patrols has become more frequent, that the inventory has begun to be rigorous day by day, and that shipments exported within the territory have quietly changed - after several months of continuous decline in magic crystals in the Black Forest, it seems that they have finally run out, and fur and metal ore have been replaced by other commodities, while sailboats carrying goods have increased dramatically.

All hearts speculate privately that the Tonigars are preparing for a new war.

As the weather becomes colder than it is a day, the black pine in the forest seems to be pulling out more and more in cold weather, or the fading leaves support the symbol of these ever-younger eruins. Although rivers everywhere have not yet begun to freeze, most of them are already a white dew frost. At the beginning of November, in the area of Mintai, it was said that knights had been seen descending from the sky and coming out of the flames, and that these knights, as if the angels had descended, had paraded in the sky for a week before disappearing. Those who witnessed the scene swore to Dandan's assertion that it was a maid of war, and legend had it that when they appeared, they often meant the advent of wartime.

These myths of nothingness spread everywhere, while a message was tied to the pigeon's leg and fell into Charles's hands.

“We have news, Lord.” While Charles was speaking from his heart, Brando was telling his mother stories that had been happening since those days. This season the fireplace had been lit, charcoal had been burning in the iron fence, his experiences had been repeated a dozen times, but Ms. Windsor was not tired of listening at all - especially when she knew that her son still had a 'good heart and a good head of household' in Tonigal - this is Brando's description - and he thought that Roman was simple and could be approximated as having a good evaluation with a heart. As for being good at home, the merchant lady had the skill of a white wolf and should be able to barely say the past.

But when he heard Charles, he stood up on the couch and immediately made a gesture to his mother, as well as Antina and Freya, and walked aside and whispered, “What's going on? ”

“Lord, you're right, someone did see this man near Death Frost Forest, a farmer near Bernichel named Old Baird, and he had a daughter named Josh, who rented a carriage to him after the Big Bang - said to have given them a fortune and never showed up again, and there was another person with him, who, according to the girl's description of this man, Metisa thought was supposed to be a nobleman named Barban. ”

“They rented a carriage.” Brando said to himself, "Bernichel has a hostel, why do they go to the farmer's house to rent a carriage, the farmer's carriage is mostly a caravan with a large shed, and the average nobleman doesn't take that kind of thing. ”

“They're for loading things.” Charles replied.

“Then,” Brando asked, "Has anyone seen this carriage near Del De Tal? No, if I were them, I'd be more careful. Should they have changed carriages on the way? ”

“Lord, you guessed it all, they changed carriages in Arucher and Fort Winterrose once, but once we determined their route, it was easy to find out the details - the carriage they used for the last time, the last time it did show up in Del Tal, and someone saw them around mid-August. ”

“Mid-August.” Brando replied: "Del De Tal, Cruz. ”

He took a deep breath and his fist was already rattling, almost squeezing the last few words out of his teeth: "Donnas. Mr. Bernie, I'm afraid they're transporting the ‘Precious Beast', too, by a carriage? ”

“Exactly,” Charles replied after a moment of silence, "Lord. ”

Antina and Freya sat on the sofa and watched Brando's face drip almost shady.

……

The fireplace in the study also lit a flame, showing several faces.

“Go get the Countess, Mrs. Hill, please. ”

Princess Griffin dropped the letterhead and glanced at Makaro - the tenth letter she had received in two weeks, personally sent by the kingdom's sly fox - so that the King's Party could see the subtle changes in the situation. It is not surprising that an Earl is sealed in the Imperial Register, and may even be said to have nothing to do with Eruin, but rather with the birth of the Countess, a person of equal sensitivity in the kingdom at this moment - Griffin - after reading this letter, let go of the last blessing in his heart and gently throw the letter onto the desk, some exhausted to say to his own envoy. As the lady pushed out the door, she couldn't help but look back at the increasingly yellow leaves outside the window and sighed slightly.

“Her Royal Highness.” Makaro whispered a warning.

“You don't have to say anything, Lord Macaro, I understand.” Griffin glanced at him and said so.

Just moments later, Brando came into her study, and his face still seemed a little stiff, as if it had not yet been converted from the information he had received. He went to Griffin for a gift, looked up and naturally saw Her Royal Highness sitting behind the desk and Makaro standing beside her. Brando looked at the kingdom's cunning fox and turned his attention to Princess Griffin.

Neither of them said anything, but they all seemed to understand each other's mind.

Her Royal Highness lowered her head and looked at the letterhead on the desk and said softly: "Mr. Brando, I have to tell you about this.”

“It's about Tianqing's gun, right?” Brando said.

Princess Griffin looked up at him and her pale silver-grey eyes filled with intricate divinity, but she eventually went over the matter in detail - the Silver Queen had named her Count of the Empire, and for two weeks the news had been confirmed; even the origins of this young mountain girl and her relationship with Count Tonigle - she asked softly, “Lord Brando, what are you going to do? ”

“Your Highness, guess what I would do if the Cruz were to ask me,” Brando silenced for a moment? Then he answered a little coldly.

Princess Griffin laid her hands on the skirt and held onto it, of course she could hear Brando diving in a calm tone of rage.

But she looked directly into each other's eyes, and her eyes flashed with a fine light of thought, but she did not answer.

Instead, Makaro said, “Count, they are Krutz. ”

“I know.”

“My Lord Count, Her Royal Highness has told you this out of respect for you. But I have to ask you a question, have you given any clear thought to the relationship between Tonigal and the kingdom, Tonigal and the empire--”

“So what do you say?” Brando asked.

“Do not put the kingdom in danger because of a moment of anger. The Sky Blue Gun is important to the kingdom, but it has not yet been important enough to allow many innocent people to bleed to die for it.” Makaro sighed and persuaded patiently.

Brando looked at this man —— an important member of the Royal Party -- and he heard a joke, and he shook his head, and he said, "Mr. Macaro, you've made a mistake. I don't give a shit about the Tianqing gun. The only mistake the Empire made today was not to take her from this land against one's will. Of course, you may not care who this person is, but I have something to tell you--”

His voice was not very loud, but it was like an invisible magic force that left the house in silence.

Princess Griffin and Mrs. Hill beside her have never seen a nobleman speak with such indiscretion to his colleagues that Her Royal Highness still has a slight glimmer in her eyes, and that noble lady is almost staring.

Makaro's face was so ugly that he suddenly realized that it was not the first time Brando had reprimanded him so much.

Brando did not care what he thought, but answered softly: "If the Empire believes that war is the way to force the nobles of the kingdom of Eluin to take care of the whole situation, to fly the flag drums, or to retreat immediately, then I have only one sentence for them - Me - Brando, Lord of Cold Cedar City, Lord of the Tonigals, Count of the kingdom, has not yet developed a habit of condoning this logic of banditry. ”

He said to Makaro word for word: "I promise that the Eruites will not bleed for no reason, but the Kingdom protects its people, which is the most glorious thing in the world - that the Eruites' people can bleed for another Eruit today, and that there will be more bleeding for them tomorrow, Mr. Makaro, which is the pride and bone of a people, and if anyone thinks that it is weak and deceptive, then he is very wrong. ”

After saying this, Brando bowed to Griffin as if he were a knight and said goodbye to his king before marching out.

He turned around, opened the door, and said before leaving: "Your Highness, I promised a little girl that I would guard each of them and that I would keep my promise, whether the enemy was Cruz - or Madara - or even against the world, I would never regret it. ”

“Your Highness, if this is what the Cruz want, then I will answer them with these two words: war--”

Click and close the door in front of the three people inside.

Makaro's face was changing and he seemed to want to say something, but for a moment he did not know what to say, and finally he could only sigh helplessly and bow back to Her Royal Highness. Two people left the study halfway back and forth. As if Lady Hill had just returned to God from the previous shock, she couldn't help but pat her chest. Some hearts said in shock: “How dare you, this countess is so daring. He, he dare to fight the Cruz...? ”

Princess Griffin turned around and looked at her own envoy in a remarkable way.

“Did you know, Mrs. Hill,” she said in dismay, "that my father's noblemen, once faced the same question, do you know how they answered me? ”

She breathed gently, as if to return to the night of Ambesseur's wind and rain.

……

(PS: Thinking about the new plot later today, it took a little time, it was a little late, and to compensate everyone, I deliberately added 6,000 words.