[Beauty and the Beast] Rose Castle

Ophelia's body froze for a moment, with obvious fear on her face.Although she is not a person who is so deep in the city that she can't show emotions, it is the first time she has seen such an expression.Behind him, there was the sound of the heel spurs of the armored guard's boots scraping against the floor.I didn't rush her, just quietly waiting for her to reply.

After a long time, she took a step forward, opened the small dark blue lace parasol in her hand, blocked the vague gazes around her, and said softly: "I don't know if Your Highness has seen an oil painting. In the painting, a beautiful queen Wearing a dress full of ears and eyes. Women love beauty, but the queen allowed the painter to paint herself so weirdly, does your highness know why?"

At first, I didn't understand what she meant, and I didn't realize it until I saw many people around me quietly looking at us.She probably wanted to say that Lambert's eyes and ears had long been scattered throughout the palace—why did the queen allow the gorgeous dress to be covered with ears and eyes?Because she wants to see and hear everything.

I never thought that one day I would learn something without telling Lambert.But his current state of mind is really worrying.I always thought that another Lambert was born because of the witch's curse.Thinking about it now, maybe another Lambert existed long ago, and the curse was just the fuse that detonated hidden worries.

I covered my face with my hands, tried to calm myself down with my cold palms, and pretended to be relaxed and said: "I don't know. Do you mean that one day I will wear this kind of clothes? What if I don't want to wear them?"

Ophelia understood what I meant, and said with a smile: "Your Highness and I have the same idea, and I don't like that style of clothes either. It's getting late, and I will visit Your Highness at three o'clock in the afternoon. Talk to His Majesty."

I held her hand and said solemnly: "I'll wait for you to come. The king's capital is not peaceful recently, so you have to be careful."

"Your Highness too." Ophelia put away the small parasol, slightly knelt towards me, and turned to leave with her skirt lifted.

Back at the queen's bedroom, the maid took off the heavy cloak for me, and I took off the olive leaf gold crown as I walked, and put it on the tray in the maid's hand.Just about to go upstairs to change into a simple long skirt, when he looked up, he saw Lambert sitting on the sofa in the center of the hall, with his right hand resting on his forehead, and a few strands of black hair hanging down, covering his eyes.

Are you asleep?

I gently picked up a blanket and wanted to cover him, but before I could spread the blanket, he heard the movement, opened his eyes suddenly, clasped my wrist, and said in a hoarse voice!Said: "Rosa."

"I'm here."

He seemed to have just had a nightmare, and his always rational and calm eyes seemed a little empty.After a while, he let go of my wrist, put his elbows on his knees, and clasped his fingers against his forehead.Looking at it from this angle, his jaw line is particularly sharp and distinct, but because the eyelashes are too long and thick, his expression is inexplicably revealing a trace of fragility.

"I want to know what you think of me."

"What's your opinion?"

He closed his eyes: "Anything is fine."

I sat down beside him, and put my arms around his broad shoulders: "Can't you perceive my thoughts? Don't you know how I see you?"

His Adam's apple rolled, but he didn't answer.

"I don't understand politics, so I can't judge whether your policies are good or bad, but I can see that you gave those witches a chance to walk in the sun, and you gave those farmers a chance to revive their businesses. Opportunity, it is you who gave this country a chance to revitalize itself. After I came to the Northland, almost everyone said that you are a great emperor, and you are indeed a great emperor."

I touched his temples with my fingertips, which were as hard and prickly as stubble that had just grown out: "To me, you are a lifelong lover and a perfect husband." I kissed his side face , I used the tone of coaxing children, "It is a dream fulfiller that Rosalind dared not even dream of."

After the words fell, he suddenly grabbed my wrist and pulled me into his arms.A shadow covered it, thinking that he was going to kiss me, but no, he just hugged me quietly, his arms were tightening all the time, the strength was so heavy that it was hard to breathe.After a brief silence, he let go of me.Like a flower absorbing enough nutrients in the soil, he regained his calm and indifferent expression.

I saw him standing up, casually picked up the white coat that was on the side, put it on his body, and slowly buttoned the cufflinks of the pigeon blood gem that he accidentally loosened, leaned over and kissed my forehead: "I will spend time with my little one at night." Rose."

"it is good."

He walked towards the outside of the palace without looking sideways, took a few steps, and then stopped: "Even if one day, you think that I am no longer worthy of being with you for the rest of your life, that I am no longer a perfect husband, and that I am no longer your dream come true." People... I won't let go."

Seeing him walking away without looking back, as if my strength was taken away by invisible forces, I slumped on the sofa and clasped my hands.Wondering more and more what happened to the old king and Ulysses, but nope!It's because of suspicion or fear of him, but because I want to figure out his thoughts and changes, and want to help him get out of this dangerous state.When you fall in love with someone, you only want him to be happier and happier, instead of seeing him sinking deeper and deeper into the quagmire of pain.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, I changed into a dark-colored riding outfit that was easy to move around, put on an embroidered cloak trimmed with white fluff as a cover, and sat in the garden of the palace for a long time, finally waiting for Ophelia.

I exchanged glances with her, and walked around the palace several times arm in arm, using the complicated terrain to get rid of the maids and guards behind me.When there was no one behind her, Ophelia frowned slightly, and her expression became serious: "I didn't make it clear last time, it's not that I didn't want to tell you the truth, but I didn't know how to say it... Rosa, how important are you to Your Majesty?" You may not even be able to imagine the extent. As I said before, after losing you, His Majesty has changed a lot... No, I suspect that His Majesty has gone crazy since you 'died'."

I am stunned.

She walked ahead, leading me through the arched colonnade, the garden full of bright red roses, and finally, on a Roman column that three grown men could not embrace, opened with the Lancaster family coat of arms. opened a secret door.The bottomless spiral staircase appeared in front of my eyes.Ophelia took down a candlestick in the groove of the hidden door, bowed her head and walked in.

I followed closely.The secret door closed silently behind us.

"Since you disappeared, Your Majesty has become more and more cruel and ruthless." Ophelia's soft voice echoed in the dark and damp corridor, "Restarting the witch department is not only to control and regulate the existence of witches, but also to , in order to find your soul. Over the years, His Majesty has read almost all the witchcraft related to spiritualism, and tried all kinds of methods, but no matter what, he failed to recall your soul. He thought about giving up. He devoted himself to the busy business, but even though his eyes were bloodshot, he couldn't help rubbing the ruby ​​ring you once wore over and over again."

I instinctively hold the finger with the ruby ​​ring on it. ! , but I found that, apart from deepening his longing for you and the pain of losing you, time did not play a role in diluting everything. "

Ophelia sighed softly: "At that time, I thought, such a deep and almost terrifying love, I am afraid that only the dead can bear it. Rosa, tell me the truth, do you feel scared after hearing this?"

I stood still and carefully distinguished the emotions in my heart. I was shocked, distressed, regretful, helpless... except that I was not afraid.

"not afraid."

I replied emphatically, "The truth."

She smiled: "Maybe this is why His Majesty loves you so much. When he turned into a beast, you didn't have any fear or prejudice against him; after his personality changed drastically, you still didn't have any fear or prejudice against him... I Although I respect and admire His Majesty, after seeing this side of him, I still feel fear."

I don't know how to answer.It's not that I wasn't afraid of him all the time, it's just that I stopped being afraid of any aspect of him after discovering that he couldn't hurt me.Why should I be afraid of someone who won't hurt me?

Speechless for a moment, I silently listened to Ophelia's footsteps.

"Your Majesty should have told you about his past."

Seeing me nodding, she looked forward and continued: "When I admired His Majesty before, I had a superficial understanding of his character, thinking that he was born so rational and calm, and his mind was naturally rigorous like a machine. Later, I realized that he The glory and ruggedness of fate were imposed on him by the old king."

I lowered my voice: "I know."

The old king's prophecy was a sharp knife, which not only carved Lambert's background, but also made his fate full of holes.

"Your Majesty also knows that in the past, he was more rational than emotional. Even if he had a quarrel with the old king, he would not vent it outright. Therefore, peace has been barely maintained between them. But your disappearance broke this delicate relationship. Peace."

Ophelia stopped in front of the two huge stone doors, and put the golden lion emblem into a groove again.

The stone door opened slowly, and the first thing that caught my eyes was an iron chain thicker than my wrist, which was covered with spots of rust.Ophelia seemed to be inconvenient to go, and handed me the candle in her hand.I took the candle and leaned over it carefully.The fear of the unknown made the heart beat faster and affected the steady breathing.No!I don't know what is tied with such a thick iron chain... At this moment, a pair of golden vertical pupils lit up in the darkness.My first reaction was Beast Lambert.

However, in the next second, I knew it was not.There was only an angry and hoarse roar, the jingling of iron chains, and a monster covered in black scales rushed towards me.I took two steps back and hit the stone door with my back.The monster failed to rush to my side. Soon, it was pulled by the heavy chain, and could only show its sharp fangs, roaring at me like a demonstration.

"Come out." Ophelia reminded softly.

The monster seemed to know Ophelia, and after hearing her voice, the roar became louder and more furious.The chains rattled and whipped against stone walls and mud, kicking up sand and gravel.I took a deep breath and quickly backed out.Ophelia took off the golden lion badge in the groove.The ferocious monster disappeared in the closed stone door.

"That's right, he is the old king. The witch's end is the same as his, in another dungeon." In the dim candlelight, Ophelia's eyes showed a slight sadness, "His Highness Ulysses also ended up like this. , but he escaped by chance. Rosa, in fact, I have been thinking about whether His Majesty is right or wrong to do this. Maybe it’s just because he was too good in the past, so as long as he behaves a little cruel and indifferent, it will make people feel helpless. Accept it. Just like people can't tolerate good people doing bad things, but they praise bad people who do good things."

Coming out of the bottomless dungeon, Ophelia's question kept ringing in my head.Whether Lambert did it right or wrong.He just returned what others had done to him with the same means... Why do you think he has become cruel and indifferent?

But whether he's doing it right or wrong, I don't want him to be haunted by hatred and pain for too long, and I don't want him to be haunted by curses anymore.I want him to be nice, not because I'm afraid his cruelty and indifference will hurt me, but because it makes life easier for him.

Back in the bedroom, it was already evening, and the air was filled with the rich and sweet fragrance of roses.The setting sun is a rose-colored flame burning on the top of the magnificent tower.I rubbed my cheeks, pretending to be annoyed that I was lost for a long time, and prepared to perfunctory the maid, but when I walked into the hall, I met a pair of beautiful blue-green eyes.