[Beauty and the Beast] Rose Castle

I will not die.

Don't be afraid, I won't die—

Like falling into the long river of memory, the hands and feet were firmly locked by the river, and even the fingers could not move.I wanted to open my eyes, but my eyelids could not be opened as if they were stuck.A mess of sounds poured into my ears: the sound of conversation, the sound of horses' hooves, the sound of wheels rolling over fallen leaves...

"Master, I have bought everything the two young ladies wanted. Do you really only bring one branch to the third young lady?"

"Hmm." A man's indifferent voice sounded, "She is just like her dead mother, she doesn't care about these things. Bring her jewelry or silk back, and she will complain that I don't care about her."

"Okay, master. In half a month, we will be able to return to the Northland. Would you like to write a letter to Madam and tell her that you are on the way..."

North?

Lambert...

In an instant, all the memories flooded into my mind.I saw tens of thousands of acres of rose fields, a castle shrouded in leaden clouds, a terrifying and ferocious python... and, the golden light when the curse was lifted, and a pair of chaotic and painful blue-green eyes.

I don't seem to be dead.I'm alive.

The witch didn't lie to us.

He opened his eyes suddenly, but was stunned by the sunlight flickering like water waves.I remember that after the curse was lifted, my body inexplicably turned into air and floated to the sky above the castle.Now his body is fine, he still has consciousness, he can clench his fists... By the way, where am I?

At this time, the sound of flipping a book came from the side.I looked back with difficulty, and found myself in a luxuriously decorated carriage, with small tables, some floppy, and sofa-like seats.A good-looking middle-aged man was sitting not far away. He was wearing a dark purple shirt. The buttons, brooches, and watch straps were all made of gold, and he looked very rich.I still couldn't control my body freely and almost fell.He seemed to be very cultivated. When he heard the movement, he didn't look at me rashly. Instead, he pushed the teacup on the table over with one finger: "You're finally awake. Moisten your throat."

There was only one teacup on the table, and I didn't want to share a cup with a stranger, so I shook my head and asked dryly, "Who are you?"

"I should ask you this question." He glanced at me and said jokingly, "You are so courageous, you ran out wearing a wedding dress. Fortunately, I met you. If other men saw you passed out by the side of the road It's grown up like this again... Now it's hard to say whether it's life or death."

I passed out on the side of the road?I looked at the skirt on my body, it was still the wedding dress in the castle, but the skirt was covered with a lot of mud.I wanted to stand up and take a look at the scenery outside the car window, but my feet couldn't use the strength.I had no choice but to look at the middle-aged man for help: "Well... I didn't run away from marriage. I live in Vine Village. My family and lover are over there. Can you send me back?"

The middle-aged man said in surprise: "Are you kidding, little girl? The village of Vine was called a year ago, and now it and its country belong to the Northland. The whole village has been bought by a rich man and is going to be built. Cheng Manor, the villagers have already moved to other places. How could your family and lover be there?"

"...A year ago, how could it be possible?" I rubbed my temples, "I went home yesterday."

"You have been in a coma for two days and two nights."

"It's impossible even if it was the day before yesterday." There was a sudden sharp pain in the head, as if it was about to split open, and a picture emerged in his mind: in front of the magnificent and solemn cathedral, a young and handsome man walked to the top of the square, lowered his head, He was crowned with a crown set with a huge ruby.His expression was like ice and snow, and his eyes were cold.He is... Lambert.

A terrible guess arose in my mind: Did the pocket watch conflict with the witch's curse, causing me to not only lose five years of life after the curse was broken, but also inexplicably fell into a coma for a year?

No, how could it be possible to be in a coma for a year without any injuries.Moreover, if I really disappeared for a year... what would father and Lambert think, would they think that I was dead?Even, a funeral has been held for me?

Find them quickly.But I don't even know where they are.I don't know if the picture that flashed in my mind is true or not, whether Lambert has become the king of the Northland.

Too many questions, but I don't know how to ask them.What can I say so that middle-aged men don't think I'm crazy?

At this time, I saw a middle-aged man with a newspaper in his hand, and could still smell the ink.To be able to read the newspaper of the day in the carriage, this man is indeed a rich man.I hesitated and asked, "Can you lend me a newspaper?"

It's strange to ask like this, but he didn't say anything, and stretched out his hand to hand me the newspaper.

The front page is a profile portrait of a man, his eyebrows and eyes are very close together, his eyes are cold and aggressive, wearing a crown woven of golden olive leaves, dotted with several pigeon blood gems, wearing a black gold thread robe .The title is succinct but shocking: At the banquet, the Northern Kingdom declared war on the kingdoms, and the speech said that the kings had two choices, one is to surrender, and the other is to surrender after defeat.It is self-evident who said this sentence.I didn't expect Lambert to become so ruthless and strong after becoming king... I thought that people like him would hate to use war to solve problems.

Seeing me staring at the profile portrait on the front page, the middle-aged man shook his head and sighed: "Like my two daughters, I can't take my eyes off His Majesty Lambert, daydreaming about marrying him all day long." .”

I don't know if it was because the weather was too stuffy, but when I heard this sentence, a layer of hot sweat oozed from my palms and back, and my heartbeat also accelerated inexplicably.I swallowed my saliva and moistened my dry throat: "Your Majesty...has he married?"

"Now I believe you are not from the Northland." The middle-aged man replied, "Everyone in the Northland knows that our Majesty has never been close to women, not even the maids." He smiled, "Your Majesty is the only one who still The single king is also the only king who has been proposed by a princess from a neighboring country for so many years. This is funny, the princess heard that His Majesty planted roses in the entire capital, and forbade the people to name them 'roses' , I thought His Majesty liked roses, so I sent several carts of roses to the palace to show love to His Majesty in public. Who knows, His Majesty still rejected it."

I looked at the sideways portrait in the newspaper again, unable to explain how I felt.There is no doubt that the entire royal capital was planted with roses, and the people were forbidden to be named "roses"... all because of me.I don't know how he spent this year.If I lost the news of him for a whole year, I would definitely feel bad and go crazy.However, he is such a rational person, his knowledge and experience are far beyond mine, so he shouldn't be uncomfortable for too long.I can only comfort myself like this.

Just as he was about to open the newspaper and look at the next page, his eyes were suddenly attracted by the date.September 1701, 9 in the new calendar... How is it possible?Is it the wrong date?

How could it have been five years?

I rubbed my eyes and looked at the past again, it was still 1701 in the New Yuan calendar.Unbelievably turning to the second page, it is an overview of the agricultural situation in Beiguo this year. It says that the Ministry of Wushu has cooperated with the Ministry of Agriculture for two years, and the total output has doubled compared to last year.Then, there is praise for Lambert's decision, and praise for his daring to break the stereotypes, so that the farmers have something to do and food to eat.Turning another page, the style of painting changes suddenly, and it talks about the people's worries about the vision of the Northern Palace.They suspected that the Witch Department was researching powerful magical weapons and wanted to provoke a war between the Northern Kingdom and other countries.The Home Secretary denied the claim.

After that, there are some small news related to people's livelihood, such as whether the residents with pollen allergies bought high-priced alchemy spray, or chose to move out of the capital, and whether the state has subsidies for this; there are also some tourism promotions about the capital …It amazes me how many people refer to the Northland as the "Rose-Colored Kingdom".

Seeing this, I have to believe that five years have indeed passed.A middle-aged man can lie, but the newspaper in front of him cannot lie. There are so many news that take time to present, it is impossible for a middle-aged man to print such a newspaper just to lie to me.

Has it been five years since the curse was broken... If it was only a year or two, I could still convince myself that Lambert still loves me.However, five years.Five years is enough time to change a lot.Even I can't guarantee that this year's thinking will be consistent with next year's, not to mention love, a feeling that tends to retreat from passion.I can only comfort myself. He forbade the people to be named "roses" and planted roses all over the capital because of me.He...should still love me.

Anyway, let's meet him first.I folded up the newspaper and looked at the middle-aged man: "I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Rosalind... Since Vine Village is already part of the Northern Kingdom, I am also considered a Northerner. Thank you for saving me. Can you tell me?" If I want to go to the capital, how should I go?"

"I live in Wangdu. It's a long way. Even the fastest carriage, like mine, will take half a month to arrive." The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes and looked me up and down for a moment, "Except for 'Rose ', derivatives of 'rose' are also banned. When you arrive in the capital, you can't be called 'Rosalind' anymore."

I didn't expect the king to be so far away.I thought about it and said, "Can I trouble you to give me a ride... I will pay you the commission according to the market price."

"Do you think I look like someone who is short of money?" The middle-aged man chuckled, "Since you are about the same age as my daughter, I can give you a ride. But you have to change this wedding dress. Just right , there is a small town in front of me, and I also have clothes for young girls here."

"Thank you, thank you so much." I said shyly, "I will return these to you at the market price."

He shook his head and said irrefutably: "No. If you really want to thank me, be friends with my little daughter. Her personality is very similar to yours... I hope she won't sneak away in a wedding dress like you in the future come out."

"...I didn't sneak away."

But he leaned back on the sofa seat and continued to read as if he hadn't heard.

In the afternoon, after talking with the middle-aged man's valet, I learned that the middle-aged man's name is Rockefeller, and everyone calls him Mr. Rockefeller.He was the first person to respond to the policy of encouraging business, so he was named a lord, and he was a new nobleman in the Northland.He can be said to be the richest group of people in the Northland now, but unfortunately he was not favored by fate. His first wife died of illness a year ago. Because he was worried that he would go out to do business all the year round, and the youngest daughter at home would be left unattended, so he married another beautiful and capable woman. His wife, who also brought two stepdaughters over.He told me that I could live in his home for a while if needed.Anyway, his family is all women, so don't feel uncomfortable.

I asked him, "Aren't you afraid that your wife will think too much?"

"My wife and I are in a cooperative relationship, not love." Mr. Rockefeller said lightly, "She wants to make her life better, and I want her daughter to be taken care of. There are only interests between us, how could she Think about it."

A rich businessman will marry for profit, will a king also... I get rid of these meaningless thoughts.Let's talk about it when we see Lambert.

We live in a small town.Mr. Rockefeller's valet handed me a long apple-green dress.When I got the dress, I was at a loss. I didn't expect this dress to be so gorgeous. Although the skirt was not inlaid with many gemstones like the wedding dress on my body, gold threads and silver threads were interlaced, and the edges were also inlaid with jewels of the same size. Pearls, it can be seen that the value is not cheap.

I put on the bullet and went downstairs to dine with them.People around have been watching us, whispering from time to time.Their accents are not as elegant and easy to understand as Mr. Rockefeller's, with a strong accent.I listened for a long time, but didn't understand anything. I couldn't help looking at Mr. Rockefeller: "What are they talking about?"

Mr. Rockefeller said with a smile: "They thought you were my lover, and they were envious that I found such a beautiful girl."

I blushed: "I, I have a husband, sir."

Mr. Rockefeller ate with his head down, unable to see his expression clearly: "Don't worry, I'm not interested in women who are the same age as my daughter."

In the following days, I intentionally kept a distance from Mr. Rockefeller, but rumors spread like wildfire.This is all due to Lambert's policy of encouraging business. The emerging aristocrats like Mr. Rockefeller who became rich through business are big celebrities in the entire Northland.As long as he is a businessman, there is almost no one who does not know him.Soon, all kinds of rumors spread.

Half a month later, when the carriage entered the capital, even the person in charge of checking and accepting the name cards joked, "Mr. Rockefeller, you and your lover are finally back. Now, even His Majesty probably knows about your affair."

I can only be expressionless and pretend to be deaf.