caged robin

Sean skipped and ran upstairs, holding a beautiful blue feather in his hand. He wanted to tell his uncle the first friend he made today——Abna Apocassery, the eldest son of the Apocasserie family, This Master Abner has long light brown hair that reaches to his waist, his face is pink like a girl, he is full of stories, he can sing well, and what is even more amazing is that he can imitate it without a bird whistle. birdsong.The two played in Chidori Lake in the Duolun Palace until sunset. When the Duke of Apocasseri came to call Abner home, the two held hands and were reluctant to part.In the end Sean gave Abner a beautiful stone, and Abner gave Sean a bluebird feather.

"Uncle!" He ran upstairs and shouted in one breath.

"Why! I don't want anything, I just want a child..."

The aunt's crying covered Sean's cry. Sean hid behind the door, watching the usually dignified aunt crying on his uncle's chest, her hair was slightly disheveled, and her shoulders were shaking uncontrollably.

The uncle didn't hold the aunt in his arms, and his hands were hanging over her back in a daze. Finally, he sighed, one hand fell down, and patted her back lightly.

"I beg you, I don't care how many women you have outside, I just want a child, and I'm thinking about you. You are the future king, you can't be childless!" the aunt sobbed.

"talk later."

"What? Nero, do you think I don't know what you're doing?! Do you think there's no gossip outside?" Kana pushed Nero away, and Nero took two steps back unexpectedly.

"They said that the future monarch of Silver Bow City is a soft guy who can't be hard on women!"

Sean clenched the feathers in his hands. He didn't understand what his aunt was talking about, but he saw his uncle bowed his head and his face was pale. He had never seen his uncle so lost.

"They said yes, that's it." Nero said weakly.

Sean bit his lips tightly, and his instinct told him that his uncle was very sad at this time, and he should step forward and hug him.

"Master Sean." Suddenly a cold voice sounded behind Sean.

Sean turned his head, and saw that it was an unfamiliar face, with a delicate face and reddish hair, between a teenager and an adult, and at first glance, it seemed only quiet.

"Who are you? Why do you know my name?"

"Master, I'm Aubrey Fernando from the Fernando family. I just arrived here yesterday as the servant of Duke Nero Margeri." Aubrey lowered his eyebrows slightly, very politely.Sean had heard that the Fernando family was a small family in the south of Silver Bow City that was on the verge of decline. It was really rare for a child there to be a personal servant to the future monarch.

"Aubrey, do you know why my uncle is so sad?" Sean glanced at his uncle quietly again. At this time, his aunt had gone, and only his uncle was sitting alone in a chair, and the darkness outside the window was slowly engulfing him. his figure.

Aubrey stared at Nero for a while, then bowed slightly, "I don't know, master."

"Okay." Sean said, and hid behind the door and looked at Nero for a long time, the blue feather in his hand was soaked with sweat from the palm of his hand.

"Is there anything else, young master? If there is nothing else, I will go to the Duke's study to pack up his manuscripts."

"Well, let's go."

Aubrey glanced at Nero again, turned and left with a straight back.

At night, Sean made a fuss about going to Nero's room to sleep.After taking a shower, he sat beside his uncle's bed, looking around the room, feeling a little strange.He stopped sleeping with his uncle several months ago, and his father gradually relented, stopped beating him, and tidied up his room like a nobleman.

Nero walked into the room in his pajamas, except that he looked a little tired, he was no different from his previous uncle.Nero smiled at Sean, and Sean happily jumped over to hug his uncle's neck.

"Sean, you have grown up a lot." Nero held Sean's butt and weighed it.

"That's right! I've already been able to reach the holy platform of the minaret! And I recited two copies of the "Red Dragon Bible" in one breath today!" Sean proudly showed off his achievements.

Nero kissed him on the cheek, "Sean is so smart."

Nero put him on the bed and turned off the light, but Sean couldn't sleep no matter what, tossing and turning.

"What's the matter, Sean?" Nero asked.

Sean wanted to ask about what he saw in the evening, but he held back as soon as he uttered, "I want my mockingbird."

Nero relit the candle and found the bird whistle for Sean. Sean held the bird whistle and asked softly, "Uncle, you won't leave me, will you?"

Nero scratched his nose. "Of course not, little fool."

"Chirp Chirp." Sean chirped twice like a bird.

Nero was taken aback.

Sean yelled twice, patted Nero on the forehead, and said, "You should say 'I'm here', you idiot."

Nero smiled, "I'm here, little fool, go to sleep."

In the middle of the night, Sean woke up suffocated by urine.He touched around, but there was no one, "Uncle!"

No one responded.

"Uncle! Chirp Chirp! Chirp Chirp!" He hurriedly crawled and fumbled on the big bed, almost crying.

"Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp!"

No one responded.

"Liar! Liar!" he cried, peeing on the bed.

The warm current wrapped his buttocks, he blushed, and hurriedly climbed out of bed, his pajamas were damp, and the night wind blew, his buttocks were cool.

"Wow... Uncle is a big liar!" He cried and cursed, the tears dried up and he didn't wait for Nero to come back to change his clothes.The pajamas were so cold, he wiped away his tears, took off the pajamas, and ran out naked.

"I've grown up, I don't want a liar to change my clothes!" He walked to the bathroom angrily, the candles in the Silver Tower were all extinguished at night, he walked barefoot on the cold stone slabs and sneezed, the shadow of the laurel tree Shadowy in the night.He gradually became frightened and quickened his pace.

Suddenly, he faintly heard a strange cry in the dark night. The sound was suppressed in his throat, but pulled the nerves of his whole body.He slowed down and walked towards the source of the sound.The voice became clearer and clearer, and it was finally determined to be behind a door.

That was Nero's study.

Sean could faintly hear his uncle's heavy breathing. He gently opened the door a little, and hid behind the door to watch.

Suddenly he cried out "Wow--", which startled everyone in the study.

He didn't know what he saw, maybe it was two white phantoms, maybe it was two swimming white geese with their long necks overlapping.But he vaguely remembered his uncle's handsome side face dripping with sweat, his eyes shining charmingly under the moonlight, and the other face was very strange to him, and he seemed to have seen it before somewhere.There is also a melody, a fiery melody mixed with water splashes, like thunder, like a landslide, or like a stonemason hitting a fragile stone surface, hitting his brain again and again.

His legs trembled and he pissed again.

This year, when Sean was six years old, he saw another side of his uncle for the first time.

Sean's body has been growing rapidly recently, and he thinks he can afford a real sword before his tenth birthday.He straightened his clothes and was almost satisfied with everything around him. Although his father was still so mean, at least he could walk around Qiandiao Lake with him.To say that what dissatisfied him the most was that he changed a history teacher, not to say how good the previous history teacher was, nor how bad the current teacher was.He just felt uncomfortable when he saw the current teacher's face, and he couldn't tell what made him feel uncomfortable. In short, he would rather stare at the densely packed text on "History of the Four Kingdoms" throughout the class than look up at his teacher——Aubrey? Count Fernando.

He remembered Aubrey as a polite and modest quiet man when he was still his uncle's valet.Although he is still polite and restrained now that he is the head of Shi Yan, it always makes people feel that something is different.

By the way, jaw, Sean thought.

Aubrey walked to his side and gently turned to the corresponding page for him, "Master Sean, pay attention."

His voice was still cold, but he didn't bow his head slightly.

Sean has been in a trance for several days since he wet his uncle's bed and the door of his study. Although his uncle still hugs and kisses him, he feels that something is different.He won't bother to sleep with his uncle anymore, and won't run to his uncle every day or two.My father said that Sean had grown up, but my uncle's eyes dodged and he didn't speak.

But he still relied on his uncle from the bottom of his heart, and he was the first one to run over and tell his uncle about anything.This time, he wanted to tell his uncle about his birthday.

He walked through the empty meeting hall, which had been empty for two days.His grandfather, who is also the current King of Silver Bow City, suddenly became ill, moaning day and night, drinking Silver Vine Water uninterruptedly.He went to see his grandfather yesterday, and his grandfather’s health was not as bad as he imagined, and his ruddy face made him look younger. In fact, the king was not that old. He only celebrated his fiftieth birthday last year, and his eldest son, Nero, was only 31 years old. , the second son Rota is only 29 years old.

"Come on, Sean, show grandfather." Sean walked to the king's bedside, and the king grabbed his hand.

"Grandfather, how is your health?"

"Grandfather is fine, grandson, he is looking more and more like your father," said the king.

Sean forced a smile. In fact, he would like to be like his uncle, but his mean chin really looks like his father.

"Oh," the king sighed suddenly, "it's too deserted in Duolun Palace, if only there were more children like you."

Sean was silent, not knowing what to say.

"Your father is still in the pain of losing his wife, and he still refuses to marry another wife, so that's okay. Your uncle... well, why doesn't he have a son until now? Who should Silver Bow City pass on to..."

Walking up the hall, and just in time to see the bird's nest in the laurel tree, he stood at the door of his uncle's sitting room.There was an inexplicable sense of desolation here, as he continued to walk forward, the servants on both sides bowed their heads to Sean.

"Where's my uncle?" he asked a maid

"Master, the Duke is in the study and doesn't want anyone to disturb you."

Sean frowned and walked straight to the study.

Suddenly he saw Count Aubrey Fernando coming out of a room with a slightly disheveled neckline and a sly look in his eyes.Sean paused. If he remembered correctly, it was the small living room of his aunt.

The two looked at each other, and Aubrey's eyes were still as calm as water, which made Sean look embarrassed.

"Master Sean, are you here to see the Duke?" Aubrey smiled slightly.

Sean clenched his fists, feeling that he was a child being teased, "Yes, my lord, what are you doing here?"

Aubrey smiled, "The Duchess asked me to write papers for her father, and I sent them."

"Oh." Sean replied lightly, he didn't understand any bullshit paperwork.

"Master Sean is really a child, and he still likes to cling to the Duke so much." Aubrey smiled and rubbed Sean's head.

Sean dodged slightly, frowning.

Aubrey straightened his collar very naturally, "See you in history class tomorrow, Master Sean." Then he left generously.

Sean glared at Aubrey and went to his uncle's study.

The door of the study was closed tightly, and the thick oak door had already been wiped clean, but he glanced at it and still blushed slightly.

He knocked on the door, "Uncle, this is Sean. May I come in?"

"Sean? Come back later, uncle is busy now." Nero's voice was slightly hoarse.

"Uncle, I'll just say a few words..." Xiao En said aggrievedly.

There was a faint sigh from inside, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps, and the door opened.

"Sean," the uncle's face was pale, he forced a smile, touched Sean's face, "come in."

Sean walked in, and there were no books and documents on the uncle's desk, it was empty, just like his uncle's empty body.

Nero sat back on the high chair, "What's the matter, Sean?"

Sean lowered his head, without speaking, walked towards Nero slowly, and then sat on Nero's lap, the two of them faced each other.Nero was taken aback. It had been a long time since Sean sat on his lap like this. He supported Sean's back and smiled, "Sean has grown taller again."

Sean still didn't speak, and there was no smile on his face, his clear eyes sparkled.

Nero scratched Sean's nose and smiled, "What's wrong? Who bullied our Sean?"

Sean took his hand away, reached out to his slightly stubbled face, and smoothed his forced smile.Then he held up his face, slowly leaned forward, and a faint, slightly moist kiss fell on Nero's forehead.

Nero paused.Immediately afterwards, Sean straightened up, held Nero's head in his small arms, and clumsily kneaded Nero's hair with his little hands.

He said softly: "Nero is good, Nero is a good boy."

Nero's hand supporting his back trembled slightly, and then hugged him tightly, so hard that he felt that Nero's big hand was going to blend into his back.

Gradually, he felt warm wetness on his collar, and he was taken aback, "Uncle, are you crying?"

Uncle didn't speak, he hurriedly let go of his hand, wanting to see Nero's face.But Nero hugged him even harder, and he felt like he couldn't breathe.He continued to hug Nero, and buried his face in Nero's golden hair. He liked the softness that exuded the smell of grass, and kissed Nero's hair randomly with his small mouth, every piece, every strand, every strand, one at a time Time, time and time again.

He said softly, exactly what Nero once said to him: "No hurry, let's take our time, Nero don't compare with others."

That year, Sean was nine years old and felt his uncle cry for the first time.

Volume [-]: The Sword of the Sun