ninth dragon stone

Inge was glad that he was rescued, but troubles followed one after another-when he asked to leave after he was injured better, he found that his armor, horses and weapons had already been put away by the owner of the house.He found it difficult to understand at first, but he soon discovered the clues, but this not only did not help solve the problem, but also made his distress aggravated.

"Liana," he had said to her one afternoon, when the sunlight streaming in through the window sills made her golden hair look like a fire, "I can't stay here. Give me back my things, I really should go."

"Why?" The young girl held a bowl of crystal-clear purple grapes in her hands, her expression full of naive stubbornness, "Are you uncomfortable here to recuperate? Am I not careful enough to take care of you?"

"That's not what I mean, I'm grateful to you," Inge said, "but I serve in the Knights Templar, and I will be punished if I leave the regiment for too long without a reason. I have to go back quickly."

"Yes," Leyana nodded, "If you agree to let me be your wife, I can go back with you. The wedding is not important, as long as you promise verbally, I will go anywhere with you. "

"..." Inge tried to maintain a smile in front of her.This is the biggest problem he has encountered so far—this girl whom he had mistaken for a pastor before seemed to have fallen in love with him for some unknown reason, and she was unstoppable as soon as she came, and she insisted on marrying him, no matter what he gave No explanation seems to be able to shake her obsession.

"The Knights Templar belong to the Holy See, and they are also regarded as people who serve the gods. They cannot marry wives." Inge started talking nonsense.Anyway, he thought comfortingly, most of the people who entered the knight order had never been the protagonists of any famous love stories, so she probably wouldn't go to investigate the truth and falsehood carefully, would she?

However, Leiana quickly continued: "Is that so? But I remember that the last head of the Knights Templar was the grandfather of this head?"

... It is true that there is such a thing, Inge rubbed his forehead, Rolanders, the only head of the Knights Templar who has been with his family, he actually forgot.

So he straightened his expression, looked into Leiana's eyes, and said: "Well, there is no such rule. But I once promised others not to marry and have children, and not to dedicate my life to other places other than the Knights When I said this, many people watched, and the one who witnessed me was the regimental leader you mentioned just now. I made an oath that I cannot break the contract, sorry."

Leiana knew from the look in his eyes that he was telling the truth this time, so she also fell silent.She looked away from Yin Ge's face and fell to the ground. After thinking for a while, she raised her head again and said with a smile: "Then it's good if you stay by my side. You have suffered such a serious injury. If you don't go back , They probably think you are dead, right? Then we can be together forever without restraint, although you may never see your friends again, but I promise you will have a very happy life." She seemed Satisfied with his idea, he smiled again.Looking at her happy expression, Inge suddenly realized that he might not be able to persuade her to get back his things and leave, which made him feel a little anxious.

Counting the days, the tournament has been over for a week, and there has been no progress in negotiating with Leiana, and there is no way to get her parents and sisters out where she hides things.Alyssa had the key to the stables, and she did not agree to return Inger's horse.If he just dropped his things and left, he wouldn't last long without water and dry food, not to mention how dangerous it would be to spend the night in the wilderness without self-defense weapons.Inge really felt that he was a little cornered.

He felt that he had seen Leiana's state of mind very clearly, and knew that she was not necessarily willing to marry him, and it was more likely that she didn't know any other expressions besides "marrying the one she loves" The choice of admiration.And her passionate and sudden love for him may not have such a solid foundation. In Ge's view, it is more like a simple girl who is driven by enthusiasm and mistakenly regards the accidental admiration as Love at first sight is fated, followed by love at second sight and a promise of one's own body - just like the dramas in those stage and legends, the hero and heroine will love each other forever after smiling at each other.

She was just too naive and enthusiastic, so that she didn't even know who the person in front of her was, and she just wanted to give him the blood that had no place to rest—who didn't have such a time in their youth?Thinking about it this way, he became "unhappy" with her again, and only hoped that he could explain the truth to her and let her enthusiasm fade away, so that he could leave smoothly without hurting her too much.

However, Leiana patiently listened to his words, and the only response she made was to take a grape from the bowl and hand it to his mouth, and asked with a smile: "Would you like to try it, Lord Inge?"

Inge took it with his hands, feeling that there was really nothing he could do.

■

After that, he decided to give up convincing Leiana and pick a suitable time to leave by himself.That set of armor is definitely not going to be taken away, maybe it can be discussed in the future; but what must be found are weapons and dry food.After thinking about it, he finally found helplessly that if he didn't use any means that violated his principles, such as stealing, it was almost impossible for him to get what he needed and get out unscathed.Leiana's parents hoped that their daughter would keep the young man, and they would do nothing for him.This realization made him feel quite resistant, so he decided to wait and find another way.

The next day, when the sun was about to set, it began to rain, and it was pouring down in a short while.Leiana, Alyssa, and their parents hurriedly herded the animals into pens, locked up the dogs, and packed the hay where it wouldn't get wet.Inge also offered his hand very naturally, and after all this work, he saw Leiana's mother's approving expression, and realized with some regret that they would probably be even more reluctant to leave by themselves.

Leiana's third sister, Carla, was in charge of cooking the family's dinner while the adults were out, and she had just brought it to the table when the five of them came back dripping wet.The steaming soup and fluffy bread soothed the rain-soaked people well. As soon as Inge and Leiana's family sat down to eat, they heard a knock on the door.Leiana immediately wanted to stand up, but Inge got up and went for her on the grounds that she was sitting closer to the door.It must be that the people on the road wanted to take shelter from the rain. Thinking of this, he opened the door and then froze.

The passenger was wearing a black cloak, and the drops of water slid down and quickly gathered under his feet to form a pool.She took off the hat of the cloak, raised her head slightly and looked at Inge, the black demon pattern on her face was very eye-catching:

"Can I go in and get out of the rain?"

After Veronica came in, the atmosphere suddenly became very strange.Originally, the dinner at Leiana's house was a harmonious one, but now everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, not even saying a word.As soon as Leana's youngest sister saw Veronica's stern face, she nudged behind her mother beside her.Veronica took all of this into consideration, and didn't bother to explain anything. She only said that she was on her way to find a friend, but it was raining heavily on the way, and she asked to borrow a roof for a while.Carla wanted to go to the kitchen and get some more for her, but she said she had rations with her.

When Inge saw Veronica appearing here with a dog, she knew that she was probably looking for her.But she hasn't said a word to him since she entered the room, and even when she glanced at him, she was indifferent, as if she didn't know him.Inge hasn't figured out her plan yet, so she can't rashly point out the relationship between the two of them.

After dinner, the rain still didn't stop, so Veronica asked Leiana's parents if she could stay overnight.The farmer and his wife expressed embarrassingly that there was no vacant room. Veronica was about to say that she could make do with the living room or the kitchen, but was interrupted by Leiana:

"You can stay in my room," she suggested, then a little embarrassed, "but my bed is too small, you may have to sleep on the floor, is that okay?"

Veronica nodded: "No problem. Thank you."

At night, Veronica found an out-of-the-way place in Leiana's room to make the bed, and then began to undress for the day.Leiana was in the room, but she didn't seem to mind her stare very much—after the night was over, she and the little girl had nothing to do with her.In the evening, she found time to ask Inge what was going on, and the two exchanged information in a few words. Of course Veronica laughed at saying that you have today, but the other side also told him to leave here tonight, and the two of them together .

Can't get away?Illusion, it's just that you are embarrassed to be a villain, she thought to herself.

"Don't you have any scars on your body? Then you must be a very powerful fighter." Leiana said something suddenly, pulling Veronica back from her thoughts.

Veronica gave her a strange look, as if she felt that the topic started too abruptly, but Leiana didn't realize it, and continued: "Master Inge was rescued by us because of a serious injury. Yes, he was so powerful that he almost died at that time."

Veronica's heart moved, and she pretended to be nonchalant and asked, "Oh? What's going on here?"

As soon as Leiana mentioned Inge, she was immediately full of enthusiasm, and told her all the ins and outs in a short while.From what she said, Veronica could tell that Inge was undoubtedly the Red Helmet. She couldn't help but feel a little guilty, and at the same time wondered why he did this and the lady's token.Ask him when we leave at night, she thought, blowing out the candles, and chatting along Leiana's topic, until only the young girl's shallow breathing was left in the room, and her voice under the moonlight. The shadow of the slightly trembling eyelashes.

The next morning, Leiana woke up to find that the woman in black had left, presumably in a hurry.She recalled the conversation with her last night, and felt that the other party was also an interesting person. Although the first impression was cold and aggressive, she was surprisingly good at chatting, which allowed her to continue talking happily and at the same time It allows her to fall asleep with confidence after she is tired.It would be nice if she could stay for a few more days, but—Lianna thought again—once she left, only Lord Inge and herself would be left here again.Immediately, she felt very happy to make her so happy, and walked briskly to the living room, humming a little tune.

But in the living room, she found only her parents and sisters at the table, Alyssa was busy in the kitchen, and there was no shadow of Inge in the room.

"Is that adult not up yet?" She asked half-jokingly.

But her father replied with a bad expression: "He left last night." Thinking of the long knife stretched out to his and his wife's necks in the dead of night, and the woman's treacherous face in the flickering candle, his face became even more gloomy .

Her mother sighed, and said, "He left a letter for you in his room, but I didn't open it, so go and see for yourself."

Leiana didn't know what happened last night, the news was too sudden for her, upon hearing this, she immediately got up and left the dining table to go to the room where Inge lived.The room was neat and tidy, as if no one had been there, only a small piece of paper was placed on the pillow.Leiana opened the folded paper, a few gold coins fell out of it, she didn't care, just grabbed the letter and read every word without letting go.

She couldn't understand all of Inge's words, and she didn't know some of the words, but she could understand the main idea: he said he was grateful for her care for the past few days, because he left in a hurry, and could only leave the little money he had with him. She expressed her thanks and would come to the door another day to thank her; other than that, there was nothing else.Leiana looked at the gold coins scattered on the bed, there were about eight‖[-] gold coins, and the annual income of their family was only worth dozens of gold coins, which was not a small amount of money for her.But she didn't feel any joy.

He's gone, she thought.

But after waiting for a long time, she didn't get the sadness that she thought she would have. She was surprised to find that she was not very sad except for a little lost.Even the matter of what job she should do during the day got into her mind while she was not paying attention.

How did that happen?She felt unbelievable and a little unwilling, because she always felt that she liked Inge so much that she was willing to be with him for the rest of her life.No, she stood up from the edge of the bed, she couldn't just let it go - she was going to find him, like the protagonist in a bard's story who traveled all over the world to find a lover, she would bring her coils and her most beautiful clothes, in a bright If she appeared brightly in front of him, then he would definitely be moved by her sincerity, and would be willing to let her stay by his side.

After deciding this point, Leiana became happy again, and the disappointment just now was replaced by eagerness to try.After collecting the letter and the money, she left the room, and began to plan the day in her mind with confidence and boldness.

■

"Okay, I see what the prince means. Is there anything else you want me to know?"

"No more. It's late at night, and I will take my leave first. Please rest, the leader."

Rolanders stood up naturally and sent the other party to the door: "Thank you for your hard work."

After seeing off the cronies sent by the Crown Prince, Rolandes went back upstairs, only his footsteps and the creaking of the wooden stairs could be heard in the quiet corridor.He carried a candlestick along one side of the corridor, a small pool of light illuminating countless murals depicting ancient battles and heroes.Finally he pushed open the living room door at the end of the corridor.He heard himself breathe a sigh of relief the moment the door closed behind him.

Outside the window came the sound of the wheels of the carriage rolling over the small square bricks in the square, gradually drifting away, and finally submerged in the night.Silver Spring Town has long been asleep, and even the fountain on the square has rested.The long day came to an end here, thanks to the fact that the office of the knight order and the official residence of the leader had always been in the same place, allowing him to rest directly after seeing the guests who visited late at night.He took off his coat, thinking he had to hurry up and rest, there were other things to do after dawn.

Veronica still didn't come back, and neither did Inge. Thinking of this made him feel a headache, and most of his sleepiness disappeared.He calculated that it would take one day to travel from Silver Spring Town to the place where the competition was held, so she either spent five days before meeting Inge, or they met in four days and were already on their way back.To be honest, he would rather believe the latter.Inge probably won't come back by himself, he thought, everyone saw Veronica's final blow that day, and his situation must not be very optimistic.

Oh, what an impudence!

When the son of the blacksmith tremblingly explained the ins and outs to him, he immediately thought of that time a few years ago, and remembered the figure of Inge struggling to get on the horse and disappearing quickly, and his heart ached.Then all kinds of worries came to his mind. He really wanted to bring this matter to the front of his agenda, but he had other more important official duties, and he couldn't do it for a while.

He could easily guess what Inge was thinking, and he was really angry and helpless.When Inge comes back to him, he must first watch him heal his injury, don't let the old injury pile up with new ones, and then take the time to talk about him—what's the point of this?It's not like he doesn't know Veronica's temper!Thinking of Veronica also made him feel depressed for a while, and he found that he didn't know what this younger sister was thinking more and more. She had become more taciturn in recent years, never asked for anything or said what she thought, But every order given to her was carried out quickly and well.Moreover, regardless of her face of not getting close to strangers all day long, whenever there is a conflict between the interests of her and her teammates, she will always be the one to give in first-this also makes Rolandes feel that he can still find something in her. There are some familiar shadows in the past, but it is hard to say whether it is gratification or regret.In the case of Longshi, her logic must be very simple, if Inge wants it, just let him.Thinking of this, Rolanders sighed again.

I don't know when these two people will come back, it's really not letting him worry about either...

■

"Oh, so the token has nothing to do with you?"

"It's ok."

"It's a pity," Veronica pouted, without looking at him, "I thought you could stay away from my brother."

Inge said nothing.It was not the first time he had heard similar words from Veronica. He had known her for a long time and said it verbally. He didn't intend to really intervene, so he let her go after a long time.Veronica was silent for a while, and she put down her mocking tone when she spoke again: "But that little girl named Leiana seems to really like you."

"It's just an ignorant and momentary crush," Inge replied calmly, without moving her expression. "As soon as I disappear, she will see that it's not me she likes, but someone she has been longing for for a long time. No phantoms descend. When she understands this, the enthusiasm dies."

Veronica gave him a sideways look. "So sure?"

Inge smiled slightly, and the night wind passed through his hair, lingering with the scent of wheat fields. "A few years ago, wasn't I also a brat who was full of enthusiasm and had nowhere to put it, and was so burned that I was about to melt out of it?"

When he said this, he answered in his heart with self-deprecation, so what position do I have to deny her?His upbringing made him try hard not to be a selfish person, someone who hurt others in order to satisfy himself, but this time he knew very well that coming up with so many excuses to excuse Leiana came down to For himself.He said that he wanted to make Leyana feel as calm as possible, but in fact it was because he didn't want to respond to her, and he was bound by morality so that he couldn't trample on her intentions.

——But he really doesn't love her, his enthusiasm has already been poured on others, and she has no share.

Thinking of Rolanders, Inge could only feel a warm current flow from his heart to all his limbs, making him unable to help showing a gentle smile to the lights on the edge of the wilderness under the heavy night.His injury has healed a little, but it is still far away from being fully recovered. The jolting of the horse's back will only intensify the pain, and it may crack; How much it would be to pass through the gate of Silver Spring Town at dawn, step on the dewy stone steps, walk with the morning breeze through the corridors with freshly picked flower branches, and then hug him the moment the door is pushed open The lost lover.

At last he shook his head, thinking, why bother, it was just a small accident, he didn't leave for many days, and he didn't go very far.Rolanders is a calm and restrained person, he will not like this kind of exaggerated expression.Thinking of this, the enthusiasm that was like gushing out of magma just now gradually cooled down, leaving only a little warmth shrouded in his heart.Only Inge knew that the heat flow was still slowly surging under the cooled surface of the lake of fire, and there was a flame deep in the heart of the earth that was so hot that it could melt itself.He put his lover there, just like a devout believer who guards at the foot of the holy image every day to ensure that the light offered will never be extinguished.

"I am willing to give my life to you, to fight for you and what you cherish as long as I live."

"If necessary, I would also die for you."

At that time, amidst the fragrance of flowers in the cemetery, he once looked at his lover with a calm mood and said this with a smile.If he had a soul, then it must have been burnt out by his own heart fire from that moment on.

The author has something to say:

Distinctive emotional description of my flow (manual goodbye