lord and his dragon

After visiting the dwarf king, Negrim's trip this time was over. They rushed all the way back to Gaedon, and took the carriage back to the castle.

The birthday celebration is just around the corner, and the festive atmosphere among people is getting higher and higher, but the affairs on Negrim's desk have not decreased at all, but he never criticizes his subordinates, and some people in the discovery castle want to go home and see After reading it, Negrim generously gave the guards a vacation, and then took the time to go to Gaydon and hire a few tall and strong orcs to help the castle.

Abel didn't think he needed anyone else to protect Negrim's safety, but Negrim just smiled and didn't explain his decision.

Soon, December arrived, and there were still six days left before the birthday.

Negrim had finished his day's work and was eating supper casually.

The mashed potatoes on the plate were pushed into a hemisphere by Negrim with a spoon. He was using the back of the spoon to try to smooth the surface of the hemisphere. His meticulous and dedicated attitude was comparable to Gaydon's most professional Mason.

Probably because of the inability to eat at a fixed time in the marginal forest, Nigrim’s picky eaters have become more and more serious during this period. Abel did not squat at his feet to eat with him today, lest Nigrim take all his food. Instead, he stood behind Negrim, trying to supervise Negrim's meal.

Seeing that Negrim began to crush the bread to decorate the lump of mashed potatoes, Abel finally couldn't help sighing, and said, "Master, no matter how you make it, you still have to make it yourself in the end." It ate it."

Negrim: "...I won't eat!"

Abel: "You have to eat, you haven't eaten much at noon today, you can't continue to be hungry at night."

Negrim shouted, "I'm not hungry!"

Abel: "..."

Abel looked at his stubborn and self-willed master silently. He really didn't understand that his master was so reliable in dealing with affairs. The leaders talked and laughed even more during the conversation. Why is it so difficult to eat?

He remembered that when he first came to the castle, his master still... oh, no, at that time Nigrim began to desperately feed him his dinner...

Abel sighed deeply, knelt down halfway, took the spoon and dug half of the perfect mashed potatoes, and then passed the spoon to Negrim's eyes when his eyes turned from anticipation to numbness Mouth: "Come on master, let me feed you?"

Abel tried his best to widen his green eyes, and looked at his master with pleading eyes. As expected, Negrim couldn't hold back, and opened his mouth slightly. Abel seized the opportunity and quickly fed the half spoonful of mashed potatoes After putting it in, he immediately dug out half a spoonful from the plate and handed it to Negrim's mouth again.

Negrim: "..."

Negrim kept a straight face, just sucking the half spoonful of mashed potatoes in his mouth, neither swallowing nor opening his mouth.

Just as the two of them were staring at each other, the butler came up, cleared his throat, and broke the deadlock.

Nigrim took the opportunity to push the spoon in Abel's hand aside, and said vaguely to the housekeeper, "What's wrong?"

The steward bowed to Negrim and said respectfully, "The guards who were on vacation before have returned to their jobs one after another. May I ask if the orcs you hired back will be paid and dismissed?"

Negrim seemed to have just remembered this incident, and wanted to open his mouth to speak but almost choked, so he swallowed all the mashed potatoes in his mouth, and said after drinking a saliva: "No, I'll keep them. Works...it's December now, isn't it?"

There were too many things to do, and Negrim was so busy that he almost forgot about this, he counted the time and said, "It's too late, let's do it now, ask the servants to remove the curtains and carpets, vases and so on All the decorations have also been sent to the warehouse."

Seeing that Abel and the housekeeper were stunned, Negrim took the opportunity to snatch the spoon from Abel's hand, fed all the mashed potatoes into Abel's mouth, and then put the plate and spoon on the table. Put it on, and ordered solemnly: "Don't waste time, you move too."

After so many years, Abel certainly knew what the order from Negrim meant—they were about to prepare for the arrival of the messenger from the capital again.

But Abel frowned when he stood up, and asked after swallowing the food in his mouth: "The envoys of the Royal Capital come every year on the evening of their birthday, isn't there still a few days left?"

Negrim glanced at him and said: "Although the matter of the Border Forest will not be known to everyone in just three months, it must be heard in the capital, and the king's envoy will definitely I will arrive early to try to find out the situation here, and if nothing unexpected happens, he will come to the castle tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."

-

The night was like water, the cold wind howled, and a gorgeously decorated carriage moved slowly in the cold wind.

The coachman was well dressed, still shivering with the horses, and could hardly hold the reins in his hands, but less than an inch behind him, the interior of the carriage, which was tightly wrapped in furs and thick blankets, was very warm.

Sitting in the carriage was one of His Majesty's favorite ministers, Viscount Pasil.

This is not the first time for Pasil to come to the border. In the past four years, every year on his birthday, he would bring the king's greetings to the current Earl Hugh Nordin, which also means that he has not only I haven't enjoyed the birthday celebration in the capital for four years, and when others are indulging in wine, meat, singing and dancing, I have to go to the desolate and dilapidated countryside alone to suffer from the cold.

Even nobles can't help but swear at this time.

Fuck!

When he thought of the little cripple from Hunotdin's family complaining and crying to him after arriving at that impoverished castle, Pasil couldn't help thinking, why didn't he die?

Pasil didn't understand. Someone tried to attack the cripple in his first year, but the second year, the third year, and the fourth year passed, and there was no movement at all. Every time I see him, he looks sick, but he is alive and well.

In fact, Pasil didn't even want to come this year. He even asked the king to ask him to change someone to be an envoy. But just at this time, he heard that the situation on the border seemed to have changed. It's not so chaotic anymore, and the border forest has also begun to circulate supplies, earning a lot of money for that area.

Pasil came to the border for four years in a row. He only endured hardships and suffered a lot, but he didn't get any benefits. He suddenly heard such rumors, how could he just let it go?So in the end, he went to the king with a shy face and took back his words about changing people, and decided to come to the border to take a look.

If it is true, as the rumors say, the cripple of Hugh Nuoding's family has made a lot of money from the marginal forest, he will find a way to ask the king to transfer this territory to himself, if it is false... Humph!When he returned, he pulled out the tongues of those who spread rumors!

It was really stuffy in the carriage, Pasir couldn't help but lifted the thick blanket that sealed the door, the cold air permeated in, and the scenery outside the window came into Pasir's eyes.

It hasn't snowed this year until now, and everything in the dark can't be seen clearly, but this is already the boundary of Harlan Town.

All the houses have been demolished, and all the land has been turned into ridges, where herbs are neatly arranged, standing in the cold wind, and when they mature, they will be exchanged for bags of gold coins.

It's a pity that the people who saw them didn't know the goods. Pasil snorted coldly, put down the blanket, and said, "The residents are gone, and the fields are full of weeds. It seems that Xiaoxiu Nuoding is not doing well."

Go back and arrest all those who tricked him into this kind of place.

Pasil slept in the carriage, and arrived at the lord's castle at noon the next day.

Except that the dead ivy vines on the walls are more dense, the castle looks the same from the outside as when he came last year. To be precise, because of the wreckage of the ivy, little Hugh Nordin's castle looks Even more eerie and dilapidated.

For the [-]th time, Pasil regretted that he had listened to other people's nonsense and came here.

He didn't have to wait long, and Earl Hugh Nordin came out to greet him with his steward and servants. The crippled lord was as attentive and happy about his arrival as usual, but there was resentment in his gloomy eyebrows and eyes, and it was obvious that he had saved a lot. Nian was full of complaints and wanted to confide in him, Pasil held his head up, squeezed out a smile, and followed them into the castle.

The habit developed in the royal capital made Pasil subconsciously want to take off his heavy coat after entering the castle, but he finally pulled up the collar, and the cold wind blowing in from the window made him shiver. After a while, he put on his coat again in embarrassment.

Earl Hugh Nordin smiled awkwardly, limped and invited him to sit in the study, and ordered the servants to bring hot soup and food.

In fact, Pasil already wanted to turn his head and leave immediately, but he still had to deal with the task, so he reluctantly followed him to the study.

The heat preservation in the study is also not good, but it is better than the hall with ventilation on all sides. After sitting down, Pasil heaved a sigh of relief, while casually responding to the crippled lord who made him look down, he looked at the study carefully. decoration in.

When he used to come here, it happened to be on the night of his birthday. Little Hugh Nordin's castle was still decorated with lights and festoons, which looked a bit gorgeous. This year, he came early, and the undecorated castle showed its original shape. It's shabby, and there seems to be more furnishings in the study than in the past, but the most expensive ones are silver sculptures, and there is nothing valuable. It can be seen that Hugh Nuoding has indeed earned a little in the territory this year. money, but it has nothing to do with those rumors in the capital.

He really fell for it!

And here, when Pasil was confirming his speculation, Nigrim also saw the result he wanted from the expression of the other party. He sneered in his heart, but he didn't show it at all on the surface. Exaggeratedly complaining: "The winter here is wet and cold, can you imagine what my legs feel like? I live in hell every day!"

After finishing speaking, Negrim let out a long sigh, and said distressedly, "I'm starting to think about the proposal you told me earlier."

Pasir responded absently, and then he came to his senses and said, "What? What proposal?"

Negrim blinked and said, "It's just a proposal to go back to the capital. Didn't you say that His Majesty has always missed me?"

Negrim said excitedly: "I finally found some tricks this year. I collected some money from the peasants down there. If I have money, I'll go back to the capital and life will be much easier, right? "

When Pasil heard this, he wanted to scold those people who spread the rumors even more, saying that Boundary Forest has made a lot of money, and Xiaoxiu Nuoding refused his invitation every year and refused to return to the capital. I went back, is this the way I made money? !

On the face, he pretended to be amiable and said: "Although Your Majesty misses you, Earl, you also have to share your worries. If you leave this place and leave, where will Your Majesty find someone to be the lord again? Even the people under your rule cannot do without you!"

Negrim didn't even bother to ridicule his words anymore, he just pretended to be a fool who had been persuaded, and reluctantly nodded in response.

At this moment, Abel came up with food, of course the roughest bread and soup that was as clear as water. In order to prevent these two things from providing heat to the waiters in the capital, Abel also carried them for a walk outside After several laps, it was not brought up until it was confirmed that it was cold.

The dry and hard bread and the soup without any temperature made Pasir feel full just by looking at it. He didn't move his spoon at all. He was full of remorse for coming here. After saying a few words, he hurriedly wanted to ask Nig Ram said goodbye.

In order to deal with him, Negrim took a lot of effort to remove the heat preservation facilities and decorations of the entire castle. How could he want him to come and sit for a while before leaving? Stay in the castle for a few more days, and go back after your birthday is over, Borderlands is not so messy now, don't you want to take a look?"

Pasil wanted to decline at first, but when Negrim said this, he was a little moved. Although Xiaoxiu Nuoding didn't get any money in this territory, those who spread the word swear by it, maybe Is there any other way to make money?If he can find out and make a fortune...

Negrim knew what Pasil was thinking when he saw Pasil's expression, he sneered in his heart, but there was no extra expression on his face, and said earnestly: "You can stay in the castle temporarily, the weather is relatively cold today. Tonight, tomorrow morning I will take you to the city to have a look."

Upon hearing this, Pasil agreed half-heartedly, and went down to the guest room led by Negrim.

The guest room was neatly tidied up, but there was only one word, cold, but Pasil thought to himself, he had suffered so much when he came to the border this time. He was really unwilling to ask for news, so he reluctantly agreed to stay, but he asked for a lot of quilts, and Nigrim didn't make things difficult for him, and he was satisfied with everything.

Dinner was also eaten in the hall, with bread and soup without temperature. Pasil could not bear the fire in his stomach after suffering from the cold all day, but because he hadn't got the information he wanted, it was not easy to talk to him. Negrim turned his face, and could only resist eating some, the more he ate, the colder he ate, the more he ate, the colder he was, he couldn't bear it after eating half of it, so he went back to his room to rest.

Of course, Negrim would not eat dry bread in the hall. After Pasil returned to his room, he took Abel back to his bedroom.

Negrim had long planned to keep the envoy from the king's capital for a while, and of course he would not force himself to suffer with him. The heat preservation facilities in the castle were indeed removed, but only the halls, corridors, study rooms and It was just the guest room. Not only was the bedroom in Negrim untouched, but even the room where the servants were resting was warm. In the whole castle, only the viscount from the king’s capital relied on the quilt to keep warm!

During the years when Borderlands and Borderlands were not completely subdued, Negrim played a lot in front of the messenger. Although he was forced to do so, he was really intimidating. Rem was actually very happy in his heart, but after all he cared about his own image, so he only had a slight smile on his face.

If others can't see it, can Abel still fail to see what Negrim is thinking?He felt funny in his heart, but he held a freshly baked hot meat snack in his hand, and coaxed Negrim: "People have teased you, and you are happy too. Have something to eat?"

When Negrim heard this, his face immediately turned serious, and he said shamelessly, "What are you eating? Dinner? Didn't I just eat it downstairs?"

Abel's sigh was longer than the whole winter. He knelt down halfway and used that trick again. He looked at Negrim earnestly and said, "Please, master, take a bite. Let me feed you." ?"

Negrim was about to refuse, but suddenly thought of something, looked at him blankly for a while, and said, "This pie is too dry, help me chew it."

Hearing this, Abel was of course very happy. He stuffed the pie into his mouth and chewed it, and then went to feed it to Negrim. Who knew that this was his master's plan, and Negrim covered him. mouth, parted his head, and said disgustedly: "You've already eaten, I don't want it anymore!"

Abel: "..."

Negrim didn't eat a single bite today, so Abel couldn't get used to him even if he committed the crime, so he bullied him and fought with Negrim with half of his strength. Mu was also no match for him, so he could only twist and struggle like a loach under him, wanting to reprimand Abel for being disrespectful, but also afraid that the other party would feed him food when he opened his mouth, so he could only purse his mouth tightly and be hugged by his dragon. Rolled onto the bed.

If Pasil knew what was going on in Negrim's bedroom, he would be furious. All he had to eat was cold bread and cold water. Not only was there pie in Negrim, but he would not even eat it if anyone else fed him. Ken opened his mouth, who is this!

Fortunately, this cruel news was not heard by poor Pasil. He was sitting on the cold bed, reluctant to take off his clothes no matter what.

It's so cold now, what should I do when it's night?

Pasil sat in the guest room for a long time, until he almost thought he was going to freeze to death, and then waited for the servant to come in with water for him to wipe his body.

There is a limit to everything, and it is easy to be discovered after passing it. Negrim is not so cruel that he only provides cold water to wipe his body, but this temperature is of no use to the Viscount who has long been accustomed to a good life. After wiping his hands and face, he stopped the servant and asked, "Is there no maid in the castle who warms the bed?"

Hearing this, the servant raised his head tremblingly, and replied according to Negrim's instructions: "Report to Your Excellency, lord, the lord said that women like to gossip behind their backs, so there are no maids in the castle..."

Of course, this was not the case, but Negrim had arranged all the maids in the castle to Gaydon in advance, and he had expected that the envoy from the king's capital would have his thoughts on them.

Little Hugh Nordin, why are there so many things!Why don't you let people tell you that you are lame?

Pasil almost scolded in front of the servant, but finally held back, he could only retreat and look at the male servant who was carrying the water.

The candlelight in the guest room was very dim, but if the servant had a little bit of good looks, he would be able to make it look very good, but under such light, Pasil still couldn't convince himself to call this ugly servant to him. bed—he might as well go and find the coachman he brought!

But after all nobles want to take care of face, Pasil was embarrassed to ask the coachman to warm his bed, so in the end he had no choice but to dismiss the servants, and got into the thick quilt by himself.

It would be fine if Viscount Pasil was full of fat like other nobles, but he is a skinny man, and he is really not resistant to frost. The quilt has been spread three times, and his whole body is almost suffocated. Unable to gather much heat, he stared at the dark ceiling with his eyes open, regretting in his heart that he shouldn't have come to the border, until it was getting dark, he couldn't hold on anymore, and fell asleep.

This sleep didn't last long, Viscount Pasil felt that just as he closed his eyes, a servant started knocking on the door the next second.

Negrim came to wake him up.

Other things are fine, only in the matter of waking up early, Negrim really made some sacrifices for the Viscount.

You know, under normal circumstances, Negrim would sleep until noon in winter, but in order to let Viscount Pasil deeply understand the hard work of being a border lord, Negrim had no choice but to get up early.

But no matter how bad Negrim was, he fell asleep in the warm quilt and Abel's arms the night before. Viscount Pasil was going to be much miserable. When he woke up, there were two huge Black and blue, it looked like a zombie that had just crawled out of a cemetery.

Negrim was startled when he saw him, then he smiled and said, "Did you not rest last night? How about we go to the Borderlands tomorrow?"

Still tomorrow?Pasil can't stay in this ruined castle for a second, so hurry up and finish it!

Pasil hurriedly said: "No, no, I rested well, don't wait for tomorrow, let's go now!"