The Book of Hibernation

As the night passed, the effect of the coma had worn off, and Simon woke up groggy.

He was lying on a bench, his hands and feet were tied, and the whole room was pitch black, as if there were no windows.He squirmed twice and rolled off the bench, but luckily the bench was not high.

Simon first tried to call for help a few times, thinking that this was deep in the courtyard, and calling for help might be useless, so he closed his mouth.Suddenly he thought again, what if this is not Aldin's house, but the cargo ship Martha?Perhaps the ship has set sail and is approaching the island where the pirates are located...

The more Simon thought about it, the more frightened he became, and he began to cry.While crying, he struggled to move his body on the ground, trying to get to the corner of the room.

At this time, a door opened behind him, and soft light came in.

Only then did Simon use the light to see his surroundings. The room was very small, with only tables, chairs and a small recliner, like a small room for warehouse guards on duty.

Simon turned over and saw Kanai walking in from the outside.Kanai took the crutches today and stood a little askew, with most of her center of gravity on the side of the crutches.

Kanai looked at Simon, who was full of tears, and sighed again and again.Two guards came in behind him, untied Simon, and hurried out again.

Simon sat up with difficulty, rubbed his numb hands and feet, and immediately began to cry and beg for mercy.Kanai frowned, leaning on crutches and slowly turned to leave.

Seeing this, Simon immediately got up regardless of the pain in his body, and walked to Kanai's side to make a gesture of support and protection.

Kanai didn't refuse him.Simon breathed a sigh of relief anyway, it seems that he will not be sent to the island.

Kanai took Simon all the way to the study.After entering the room, instead of going around behind the desk, he found a chair closest to the door and sat down immediately.

He made Simon sit down too, and said he wanted to talk.Of course, Simon was embarrassed to sit on the high-backed chair behind the desk, so he pulled a soft stool from the bookshelf and sat in front of Kanai.

Kanai knew what happened, so there was no need to ask.He said to Simon: "Now I don't have the energy to beat around the bush. Let's talk normally today and avoid those meaningless temptations and detours, shall we?"

"Of course, I understand," Simon said.

"I don't expect you to really understand," Kanai sighed, "Anyway, don't be afraid, Aldin didn't intend to do anything to you. You should thank your parents."

Simon opened his mouth and was about to say some polite words of thanks. Thinking of Kanai's attitude, he changed his mind and said, "But I'm really scared. Your brother didn't say he was going to kill me, he said he was going to give me to the pirates .He... really knows how to threaten people."

Kanai nodded with a smile.That's right.If Simon went to Percy Island and became the plaything of the pirate chief, he would either die at the hands of the pirates, or survive and become one of the pirates.Even if he survived, his parents far away in the royal capital would probably not be willing to see him, and would even remove him from the family when they heard the news about him.

In Sandonia, the Percy Island pirates are notorious.Simon's father often dealt with people in the court. In such a family, if there was a pirate, or even the pet of the pirate leader...then the family would definitely not accept this member, and would try to distance himself from him as much as possible.

"As far as I know, you are the second son in the family," Kanai said. "Your elder brother joined the Knights of the Royal Capital, and your older sister married into the free city of Rekelia. You also have a pair of younger siblings, and the younger sister is still receiving social education. The younger brother has entered the court and may become a servant like your father."

Simon nodded: "You know very well."

Kanai said: "I bring this up to say, if you don't know what to do after you leave Bellows, you might as well go back and rely on your family. I understand your thinking. You want to stand out on your own. Be the chief ambassador of the Chamber of Commerce. Not bad... but you've been misjudged. You've been misjudged since little Bellows."

Simon said regretfully: "I didn't learn much in the academy, and I really don't see that kind of little Bellos..."

Kanai said: "It's not your fault. Not only you, but many people can't see it. The problem is that you continue to see the wrong people. You think that Aldin has reliable value, and you want to approach him, or retreat. And secondly being close to the people around him... that doesn't work. It really doesn't work."

Simon thought for a while and said, "You're right. I've served the fake Bellows for so long, and my identity is rather embarrassing... I suddenly appeared by his side, and he couldn't accept it."

Kanai shook his head: "You still don't understand. Aldin and I don't intend to pursue those things before you. It's up to each other, I don't care. Aldin doesn't trust you because of your purpose Too strong, you approached him very utilitarianly, and even wanted to develop an ambiguous relationship with him... Am I right? Don't show a shy expression, you don't want to be so shameless. When you get along with me It's the same, and it's also a vague hint that we can be closer. Do you think others can't see it? It's really deliberate."

Simon smiled sarcastically.

"Aldin will not trust others easily," Kanai said. "Of course, he has many business partners who can trust each other, but the boundaries of this trust are obvious. We only talk about interests and rules, not those things that are heart-to-heart. .Someone like you, you basically can't earn his real trust."

Simon asked: "I am curious to ask, what type of people does he usually trust?"

Kanai said: "Let's put it this way... In his eyes, everyone is assumed to be untrustworthy. I mean, everyone. You have to prove your worth, and he will gradually trust you. If you If you want to quickly gain favor through other means, it will only backfire."

Simon asked: "What about the refiner? As far as I know, his relationship with Aldin in charge... Is it because he is a refiner? Because his skills are excellent and can bring benefits to the chamber of commerce, so Alden The person in charge is with him..."

Kanai smiled: "This is a bit complicated, I dare not say for sure. But according to my understanding, there must be this factor."

"It's kind of weird..." Simon muttered in a low voice.

Simon once heard something from his mother: the fourth prince of the Shandonia royal family married a female map maker. The princess was of ordinary birth, but she was amazingly beautiful.It is said that the two were not very happy after their marriage, and the princess was depressed because she could not continue to be a map maker.She once complained to people when some noble ladies got together. She thought the prince admired her talent, but after marriage, she gradually discovered that all the signs of "communication" between the prince and her were just because he liked her. It's just her beauty.Now the prince can't let her explore around like in the past, he just wants her to be an ordinary and beautiful court lady.

A person admires another person's appearance or status, and is not interested in his talents, but pretends to be in love with him—for Simon, who grew up in the capital, this situation is very common among nobles.

But with Aldin and the half-elves, the situation seems to be reversed.Could it be that...it's not that he loves a beautiful woman and neglects his talent, but instead, he shows his love for that person in order to get that talent?

The former situation is certainly sad, but the latter is also indeed a bit twisted...

"Then what does he do to you?" Simon couldn't help asking, "You are blood brothers, and you are said to be the most trustworthy people. Does he trust you? Or do you have to prove your worth?"

Kanai didn't answer.

At first, Simon felt that he had said something wrong and shouldn't have said it so directly... He was thinking about it, when he suddenly looked up and found that Kanai in front of him was not quite right.

There was a thin layer of sweat on Kanai's forehead, and his complexion was pale, but when he looked carefully, his cheeks were abnormally red.

He was leaning against the back of the chair, his shoulders were a little crooked, his eyes were straight, and he seemed a little out of focus.

In retrospect, there was something wrong with Kanai when he showed up today.A while ago he seemed to be able to walk freely, but now he is using crutches again, and walking is even harder than a few days ago.

"Kanai, are you not feeling well?" Simon asked in a low voice.

Kanai's reaction was a bit slow, and it took him a long time to reply "It's okay".Simon only thought that he was thinking about something, so he didn't ask any more.

After listening to Kanai's advice just now, Simon also somewhat understood the meaning.He said gratefully: "I was too stupid, and I thought I was smart... Now I understand. Kanai, thank you for being willing to tell me this, although you are definitely not for me, but because you are afraid that I will go there again because of wishful thinking. Do something stupid, but after all... Kanai? Kanai!"

As Simon spoke, Kanai's body gradually weakened and he slid off the chair.

Simon rushed to pick it up, but his reaction was not flexible enough, and Kanai fell to the ground.But Simon was not useless, he reached out to the floor in time and protected Kanai's head.

Kanai, who had squinted her eyes when she fell, is closing them now, and seems to be completely unconscious.Simon called him a few times, but he didn't respond.

Simon shuddered with fright.Only he and Kanai were in the study. If something happened to Kanai, he was obviously the most suspect. I am afraid that his family far away in the capital would not be able to save him.

Simon tucked the chair cushion under Kanai's neck and ran to the door to call for help.When I walked to the door of the study, when I pushed the door, the door couldn't be opened at all.

The door was not bolted, and no one should lock it casually outside... Simon grabbed the doorknob and shook it lightly twice. Judging from the stability of the door panel, it was not an ordinary lock that sealed the door, but a magic lock.

That's right, this is Kanai's study, and it must have a constant magic defense.But now that Kanai himself is in a coma, Simon doesn't have the ability to unlock the magic lock.

So Simon went to find a window, but found that the window couldn't be opened either. Outside the window was a dense garden forest, and I'm afraid no one would pass by.

Simon went back to the door, knocking on the door while shouting, and finally kicking the door again.He didn't know if the sound could be transmitted. If not, he hoped that the impact of kicking the door would be noticed by people passing by outside.

Not long after, there was a knock across the door.Simon stopped kicking the door and carefully dodged a little.

The person outside knocked again and asked, "Who's inside?"

Simon recognized the speaker's voice, Winter Thistle.

The sound did not come in through the crack of the door, but seemed to be close to the ear.Definitely a magical effect.It seems that the magic defense does isolate ordinary sounds.

Simon hurriedly replied. The embarrassing thing was that he could hear Winter Thistle's magic message, but he didn't know how to use spells, so he didn't know how to pass on his answer.

Just when he was at a loss, there was a fine wave on the door panel, and then the door opened.

Winter Thistle pushed open the door, looked at Simon in surprise, and then at Kanai who was lying on the ground.

Simon hurriedly declared that he had done nothing, that Kanai had called him here, that they hadn't eaten or had any physical contact... In fact, Winter Thistle didn't listen carefully at all, and he also knew that Simon couldn't possibly hurt Kanai.

Winter Thistle stepped forward to check on Kanai's situation.He was able to discover the strangeness here because he still had the magical defense authority of this house.

Just now, Winter Ji was in the laboratory and noticed that someone was attacking the magic lock in the study room. The intensity of the attack was very low, and it did not constitute any threat.So Winter Thistle decided to come and have a look.

He wasn't surprised when he found Simon, but he was also startled when he saw Kanai fell to the ground.

Winter Thistle is not a doctor, so he can only check Kanai's body temperature and pulse, but cannot identify the symptoms.He called two servants and told them to go out to get a doctor, and he also asked the guards on duty today to step up their guard in case of any accident.

Simon watched Winter Thistle busy, and asked cautiously, "Don't you need to tell Aldin to take charge?"

Dong Ji said, "He's gone out to do other things, and he doesn't know when he'll be back."

After hearing this, Simon breathed a long sigh of relief, and then heard Winter Thistle say, "Even though Aldin is not here, you can't leave. You saw Kanai fainting with your own eyes. When the doctor comes, I may need to ask you Some circumstances."

Simon begged: "I have said everything I should say. You have seen how Aldin treated me yesterday. Since you have spoken for me, help me to the end and let me go. You should also know Aldin What kind of person is Ding..."

Winter Thistle smiled: "I'm not here to help you. Aldin is indeed cruel, but you are not a good thing either."

Simon was taken aback by these words.From the time he came into contact with Winter Thistle to the present, in just a few days, the impression of this refiner has been changing.

Winter Thistle didn't dwell on this topic any longer.He went to take Kanai's arm and put it on his shoulder.

"Come here," he said to Simon, "help me take him back to the bedroom."

A large number of guards were added to the courtyard, and the servants also came out to check the situation.Simon guessed that he would not be able to run away, so he had to obey Winter Thistle's arrangement.