ninth dragon stone

Leiana and Alyssa said goodbye to their parents and started from home. They walked along the main road for safety reasons, and they only traveled during the day. It took two full days to get there.As a result, when I wanted to stay in the hotel the next evening, I found out that the money had been stolen as soon as I entered the city.The two sisters looked at each other in blank dismay. They had no relatives in the city, and the only one they could claim to know was Inge. Going to him now became the only option.But even though Silver Spring Town is called a town, it is much bigger than the market towns Leiana had been to - this place was created for the stationing of the Knights Templar, and the Knights had several establishments. A hundred people, plus the servants, servants, craftsmen, cooks, merchants, etc. who serve them, can be regarded as a small city.They had no idea where to find Inge.Wandering on the street for a while, Leiana remembered that she had heard that there would be a city hall in the city to manage affairs, and everyone could go in, so it was always right to ask there; so she took her sister to ask for directions, and went to The square in the middle of the town went.

The city hall is located on the side of the fountain square covered with small square bricks. Leiana easily asked Inge's residence from there. It is not far away, just across the square, the official residence of the head of the knights. .She wondered why Inge didn't own a private house as she walked across the square with Alyssa.But when they reached the door, they were turned away. The guards at the door stopped them when they saw their faces. After hearing their intentions, one of them called the housekeeper to come out. Naturally, the housekeeper didn't know them and didn't receive the notice.Leiana explained for a long time, but it was a pity that she forgot to bring Inge's letter with her before going out, so it was useless to talk for a long time.Helpless, she could only take her younger sister back to the square, wandering aimlessly in the city.

Seeing that the sky was getting darker, and the golden clouds illuminated by the setting sun had receded to the horizon, Leiana heard the sound of Alisha's stomach growling beside her, and felt anxious because of lack of money for food and accommodation. It became more and more intense.Alyssa is very well-behaved, and in turn comforted Leiana not to rush. When Leiana was holding her hand with complicated emotions, Alyssa suddenly pointed in the direction they came from: "Look, this is not the hotel that day the one from?"

Leiana's eyes lit up immediately, thinking it was Inge who had returned, but she looked in the direction Alyssa pointed, only to find that it was Veronica.She wasn't worried about identifying the wrong person, because the demon pattern on Veronica's face was very recognizable, but she realized that she didn't ask the person's name.At this time, Veronica was no longer a traveler on a rainy night. She came in from outside the city on a horse, followed by a group of knights, all of them in armor, as if they had just returned from some mission.At this time, she was turning her head to listen to what another person said to her. The bright sunset in the western sky illuminated half of her face. She gave a very calm expression, and the subordinate nodded and retreated.Then Veronica turned her face and saw the pitiful sister Leiana standing by the side of the road, with a trace of surprise on her indifferent face: "Why are you here?"

Leiana stood there in a daze, until the other party repeated the question, she quickly explained: "Oh, I, I came to find Lord Inge, but now I lost my money and have no place to stay, so I can only stay in the street shake……"

While talking, she thought dizzily in her heart, how strange, she obviously thought that woman was very fierce, why did she suddenly feel that she was quite... good-looking just now?No, it's not good-looking either. Leiana's vocabulary is limited, and she can't describe the fleeting feeling just now, so that when she answered Veronica's question, she didn't know exactly what she said.

When Veronica saw her, she could guess what she was here for, so she didn't delve into it, and instead asked, "Have you had dinner yet?"

Both Leana and Alyssa shook their heads.So Veronica asked the two knights behind her to come down and help them mount their horses, and brought them back to Rowlanders' mansion, which was also her residence.

■

Veronica originally wanted to wait for her brother to come back to have dinner together, but after waiting and waiting, there was no one there, and the two little girls were so hungry that their stomachs were growling again, so she could only tell the housekeeper Dwork not to wait.As a result, just as their table was set up and ready to sit down, the two pushed the door open and came in from the outside.Inge was originally talking to Rolandes about the visit of the crown prince's cronies a few days ago, but interrupted mid-sentence: "—— Leiana?"

Leiana stood up abruptly when she saw someone, and Veronica, who was opposite her, cast an interested look.Leyana said with some reproach: "Lord Inge, why did you leave without saying goodbye? Even if you are dissatisfied with my care, you should at least tell me that I will not let you go? In addition I helped you out of pure kindness, so I don't want your money, please take it back—" After looking for her, she realized that the whole purse had been fumbled away just now, and stood there for a while and got stuck.

Rolanders roughly understood what was going on from her words, and Inge had indeed mentioned to him that a farmer's daughter had saved him, so he smoothed things over for Leiana: "So you are the one The girl who saved Inge? You and your family are really kind, may God bless you."

Leiana sighed, and sat back in frustration, her voice lowered by an octave: "The money was stolen when I first entered the city, and I will pay you back after I save it... Besides, who are you?" She Turn to Rowlands.

"My boss, Knight Commander," Inge had recovered from the surprise just now, and replied calmly as he walked to Veronica and sat down next to Veronica, "I'm sorry, I left in a hurry and didn't think so much , you don’t have to pay back the money, just let it go.”

Rolanders also took a seat on the other side of Veronica, and took the topic in a different direction: "So you met my sister in the city later, and she brought you here again?"

Leiana's eyes flicked back and forth a few times on the three people opposite, sorting out their relationship, and then nodded and hummed.Rolanders immediately said that since he helped Inge at the beginning, it is also appropriate to entertain them well, please don't be polite, and have a good rest in his mansion tonight.

At first Leiana was still a little stiff, especially after knowing Rolanders' identity; but soon she dispelled her worries under his intentional or unintentional guidance, and opened up the conversation.She told them about herself, the village she lived in, her hard-working parents and six younger sisters with different personalities, and all kinds of travel notes and stories she heard from travelers and storytellers; Roland Si made a couple of comments from time to time, and so did Inge, and Veronica kept silent most of the time, occasionally popping up to choke him.Leiana saw that there was a smile in Inge's eyes, not the kind of smile that was only polite when she was in front of her, but the kind that came from the heart and the eyes would bend slightly—this is His home, where he feels at ease.She suddenly felt a sigh of relief, glad she didn't mention him as her lover just now.Now thinking about the original intention of starting out, she actually felt that it was very far away.

■

That night, Leiana and Alyssa were arranged to live in the guest room next to Veronica, and they had a good night's sleep contentedly, without a dream.When they got up the next day, they were told that Veronica had sent her attendants to accompany them, so that they could go anywhere they wanted in the city without worrying about spending money.Leiana wanted to decline, but Alyssa was obviously happy, so she let it go.The two of them walked around the city from morning to night as if they were here to play. The market in this city was not exactly the same as the ones they had seen in the past, probably because a considerable number of people living in the city were professional fighters. The proportion of shops related to combat is much higher than other places, and there are some capable merchants who have made some weird reinforcement materials; but it does not mean that there are no shops for ordinary people in the city. In the west of the city, I found a very good tailor shop. There is a kind of flexible and shiny fabric with patterns on it but it doesn't look like embroidery. She has never seen it before, and she can't put it down when she sees it.

Silver Spring is so nice!Even though her legs were very sore from walking, she still didn't want to stop, wishing she could walk all the streets and alleys of the city in one day.There are so many things here that she has never seen or even imagined, whether it is a wide variety of medicines, or various weapons that she can't name and don't know how to use, all of which arouse her curiosity and interest in new things. desire was greatly satisfied.She felt that she had received more messages in one day than in the past year combined. If she could live in this kind of place, it would be fine for her to be separated from her parents and younger sisters temporarily.

It was almost time for dinner again, and she and Alyssa dragged their tired bodies back, expecting to have another pleasant evening like yesterday.However, she was told by Mr. Dworker that only she and Alyssa had dinner tonight when she was eating: Rolanders went to Gloria City, the residence of the mage academy, and would not return until tomorrow morning even if there was a teleportation array; Ka is the person in charge of instructing the alternate knight training today and the next three days. After work, she will directly have dinner with them at the intern dormitory in the lower city; Inge left Silver Spring Town early in the morning. It is Roland The task that Des entrusted to him may not come back until ten days and a half months later.Leiana's enthusiasm was splashed with cold water, and she had to give up disgruntled.

The dining room is not too big, but at least it is designed according to the space needed by a family. When there are only two people, it immediately becomes empty.There was only the tinkling sound of knives and forks colliding with the plate in the air. Leiana couldn't help eating half of it, and asked, "Mr. Dwork, have you been working here for a long time?"

"It's not a short time," the butler replied, "I have been in charge of this house since I was in my twenties, and I am now 60 years old."

Leiana wondered, "Huh? Do Lord Rolanders' parents also live here?"

"No," Mr. Dworkk still answered patiently, "This official residence is the property under the name of the Holy See, and I was appointed to manage it, no matter which lord is the head of the knights. Leiana Miss, your soup is getting cold."

Leiana snorted, knowing in her heart that she had nothing to talk to him about, so she stopped talking.She finished her meal in silence, and went upstairs with Alyssa in silence, leaving the space that did not belong to them to the housekeeper and servants.

The following day was similar to this, and she learned from Mr. Dwork that such a deserted situation was the norm for dining at the Rowlands family, because the three people living here each had their own schedules, and there were many things. Sometimes it even needs to be divided into three times to take care of everyone's meal time.The day they came just happened to meet a rare day when everyone was relatively free.

Before going to bed at night, Alyssa told Leiana that she was a little homesick, and there was nothing interesting in Silver Spring Town, and she wanted to go back.Although Leiana thought Silver Spring was quite interesting, she also knew that they should go—she came to find her lover, which was not here.She used to think that the moment when Inge opened her eyes and tried her best to smile and say "thank you" to herself was the moment when she fell in love, but now it seems that it is just a kind of pity mixed with love. The favor of a stranger of kindness and grace, just as Rolanders and Veronica also easily won her favor.Inge is not different, nor is she the lifelong lover she hoped for, he is just better than the people she met before, and such a person——she realized after coming to Silver Spring ——There are many more in the world.

Thinking of this, she sighed: Sure enough, I still don't want to go home!

But she still waited that night, when Veronica's footsteps sounded outside the door, she opened the door to stop her, and told her that she and Alyssa were going to leave tomorrow .But as she spoke, she still revealed her sincerity. Veronica saw her contradiction and told her: "I'll give you another night to think it over. If you really don't want to leave, then tomorrow morning I'll take you with you." You go to meet someone, maybe you can stay because of his words."

This sentence really kept Leiana up for almost the whole night.She weighed it over and over in Alyssa's even and steady breathing, and the breath in her ears was as long as the eternal land.She thought of the long summer that just passed, day by day, she took the dog and the sheep to the rich pasture, the footsteps of the sun were as slow as the river under her feet, never ending; she also thought of the coming winter, the plank shop The roof of the house was covered with snow, and she would doze off with a sweater needle by the smoldering fire in the house, and even forget to get up to prepare dinner.She suddenly felt that her life in the past 18 years was like the annual rings of a tree, round and round, over and over again, the same people and the same things, with the eternal breath of the earth, safe, stable, gentle, the departed Will come again.

Afterwards, she was probably tired at last, and fell into a light, restless sleep groggyly.Half asleep and half awake, she saw a light shining into her eyes, and realized that it was the blue-purple sunset that day, and Veronica led a group of knights riding from outside the city.She saw her turn her face towards her, the setting sun burned out in her purple eyes, the rays of the sun gilded her cloak with a layer of gold, and the golden clouds in the sky came down to the world, it was beautiful, warm and solemn that she had never seen before— —

She couldn't help but feel a fever in her eye sockets for no reason.He opened his eyes in a daze, only to realize that the curtains were not drawn properly, and a ray of light fell on his face.Thinking that Alyssa was still sleeping, she got up lightly and went to the window to close the curtains.And at that moment, she saw that the fountain on the square outside the window had started to work. The light golden sunlight not only made the running water look like broken gold, but also covered the high and low roofs of the whole city irresistibly, driving away The last shadow in the alley wakes up those in the window.

——It’s dawn, and it’s another day for a makeover...

When Leiana appeared in front of Veronica again, she had already firmed her position, and she wanted to meet the person Veronica said.But Alyssa still wanted to go home, so Veronica arranged for a guard to escort her back.Veronica had no business this morning, so she waited patiently for Leiana to see off her sister before taking her out.When I went downstairs, I met Rolandes on the stairs. For the past two days, he has been in a hurry. When he saw Veronica, he suddenly reminded him: "Remember to make some preparations in advance. When the crown prince comes, you should Attending the banquet as hostess."

Veronica was a little surprised at first, and then she refused expressionlessly: "I don't have the dress and jewelry for that occasion." She continued to descend the steps without delay.

Rolanders disagreed: "It doesn't necessarily need..."

His words were interrupted by Veronica, who patted him on the shoulder when she passed by him and said, "I have something to do, I'll talk to you when I come back," and led the bewildered Leiana Passed by him.

■

On the way, Leiana learned that the person Veronica was going to take her to meet was the bishop stationed in Silver Spring Town.Logically speaking, Yinquan Town should not be considered a bishop-level diocese, but because of the presence of the Knights Templar, the Holy See specially sent a bishop here to maintain the timely and smooth flow of information between Minghui City and Yinquan Town .

Veronica explained: "When I came back from your house that time, Inge told me that he had a little spiritual resonance with you. If he said that, at least it can show that you may have a little potential to be a pastor, But whether it is suitable or not needs to be judged by a full-time priest. This is the purpose of taking you there."

Leiana couldn't believe it: "Me? Pastor? Then can I stay in the church and stay in Silver Spring?"

Veronica glanced at her, and the girl's bright eyes were full of excitement, which made her voice softer: "Maybe."

After sending Leiana off, Veronica went back the same way and went to Rolanders' study to find him.As she got closer to the door, the gentle ripple in her heart that was just stirred up by Leyana gradually calmed down, and finally returned to a lonely calm.The door of the study room was closed behind her, blocking out all the extra voices at once, her words resounded in the quiet air, like a silent lamp in the distance in the dark night: "About going to the banquet, it's not very important." I can't."

She said: "They all know that you are not married, so they will not force you to have a mistress. Even if you need someone to accompany you, you can arrange Inge, or other young knights with quick responses and excellent qualifications. I don't How can I talk, I don’t have a sense of humor and desire to express, and I lack affinity, so it’s useless to appear on occasions like banquets, so it’s better to let me be responsible for their security during their stay.”

After she finished speaking, she felt a voice in her head affirming her, and she couldn't tell whether it was "her" or herself: That's right, my duty is just to make a sharp weapon. Things like talking and laughing have nothing to do with me.

After listening to her words, Rolanders sighed and said, "I knew what you said before was just an excuse."

He leaned against the window, looked at her quietly, and said: "Veronica, if you stay in the Pope like me, you may be a paladin at most for the rest of your life; Gross, the future of serving as a military officer in the court of the ordinary kingdom is not the same."

"—So, in what capacity you appear in front of the crown prince and his wife, it's actually not very important." He concluded lightly.

Veronica understood what he meant.But she also calmly noted: "It's still a little bit early."

The central figure of their topic is the eldest son of the current king of the brother and sister's homeland, Angeros, who is also the current crown prince, and a distinguished guest who visited Silver Spring Town this time on the occasion of autumn hunting.Perhaps the change of the throne of Anglos is the only transfer of power that deserves the Pope himself to care about, because it is the most powerful of all countries. Anglos kings also need papal recognition to fulfill their aspirations or ambitions.Now, as their current king is getting old and his health is getting worse, the Pope of Minghui City and the cronies around him have become more and more supportive of the suitable new king in their minds, but this person Not the eldest crown prince, but the third prince Inks who is not the legal heir.

The Knights Templar and the College of Masters, the two most important non-religious organizations under the Holy See, have clearly supported the current Crown Prince on this issue.This is also the choice of most Anglois citizens. In fact, the pope is the weaker side, which is rare in history.The crown prince was very nervous about this, because he was well aware of the power and influence of the Pope, so he had to grasp the two forces of the Knights Templar and the School of Mages so that he would not be in danger when he competed with his younger brother for the support of the Holy See. too passive.

"Veronica," Rolandes suddenly turned his gaze out of the window, and said softly, "Do you still remember how the nine dragon stones were divided?"

Veronica was taken aback by her question.

Then I heard him go on to say: "If you insist on asking, then I will listen to you."

She thought it would take a while to convince him, but she didn't expect it to be so easy.But what is so surprising?Rolanders had always been a reasonable brother.

"...Thank you," she said.After a while, he added another sentence: "I have no plan to return to Anglos to be a general."

Anyway, as a double-edged sword, she still hopes to be held in the hands of the Knights Templar.People may have a higher tolerance for "her" here, because it plays a prominent role in confronting real powerful enemies; people may not see it that way in other places.What's more, she thought a little self-deprecatingly, she was already used to doubts, suspicions, and criticisms of a certain taste, and finally developed a good immunity, so she shouldn't start from scratch in another place.

The author has something to say:

Inge is not online in this chapter, mainly about Veronica.

She was classified wrongly in the introduction, not a supporting role, but a genuine protagonist (.