Water lanterns and dreams in 1 nights

Tighten control and eat away at my personal space.

Regarding the "gardener", I can't find any evidence of his existence, and the Duke has never kept it secret.But I can't rule out that possibility, because if the Duke wants to erase a person, he can always erase his traces of existence, and with time as the assistant of erasing traces, I can't be traced at all.From another point of view, due to psychological reasons, the Duke cannot have his own real child, and it is not impossible for the Duke to use the child born by his deceased wife secretly as his own.Despite his status, he never felt that Fitzgerald's blood was noble, but that it was full of seeds of madness; if he wanted revenge on his parents, he would not hesitate to accept other people's children as his own.In order to avoid the prophecy, he sent me away; in order to continue the family, he took me back, and because of my origin, he spoke sarcastically and strictly guarded me at the beginning, which is not unreasonable, because he believed that I carried the birth certificate from the beginning. crime.

He was determined to keep me in the dark, so I didn't know it. Since he had been his own prison guard all his life, keeping his mind firmly bound so that he couldn't deviate from it, I could turn a blind eye and live in a muddle.

At this time, by the pond in winter, I sat on the root of an old tree and looked towards the distant sky.The flock of geese had completely disappeared, and from the deeper dense forest came the monotonous and tireless calls of a few jackdaws.The dying sunset is glowing with an orange-red tinge, and this smear of temperatureless red is reflected in the gray-blue water waves in the center of the pond, making people feel the chill of winter even more.

Life after that is a daily repetition, time moves forward as usual, no one speeds up or slows down, as I grow up, the Duke inevitably gets old, he himself doesn't care much, and occasionally half-jokingly Said: "In this way, you are getting closer and closer to freedom." From time to time, he would say something like this, after his death, I will have no restraints, and all the dreams of the world he left behind are mine, and I can live any life. The life he wants, at this time, he never forgets to ask: "Will you be happy?" I don't have much choice in the answer, and I always deny, "No, it won't be happier than being with you." Happy." He sat down for a month and so on contentedly, and then entered the next cycle, and so on.

In such repetitions, I have successively passed through the age of marrying a wife, having children, and being independent. If I don’t marry, have children, and have no freedom, no matter how happy I am with the situation, such days are too turbulent and tiresome. .

Finally, one day, he fainted while processing official documents. Although he immediately summoned a doctor, his body was indeed getting weaker and weaker, his breathing and physical strength were not as good as before, but his methods and dignity were as usual.I saw his back, very thin and about to collapse, and thought: Maybe it's time to say goodbye.I was 26 at the time, prematurely a teenager, 12 years after the events at the White Tower.

After the Duke fell ill, he didn’t have as many affairs at hand. Only the most confidential documents would be handed over to him. Contrary to his physical weakness, his dependence on me was unprecedentedly high, and he didn’t need me to be by his side all the time. , read a book for him, bring a cup of tea, all such trivial things.Sometimes he called me, but didn't say anything, and told me to sit next to him, as if just to hear my name.

His appetite was gone, his cheekbones were high, and he could hardly get out of bed because he ate so little.When I look at him, I can't help but compare him with what he looked like ten years ago. At that time, he was not very strong, but he was far better than he is now. From this, you can easily see the power of time. It can easily killing everyone and everything.

His illness made him sleepy all the time, and he couldn't do extra things. At first, he could sit in the garden and enjoy the flowers and look at the surrounding scenery. Later, he couldn't even do this, so he had to lie on the bed every day.I saw that he wanted to go into the garden very much, and if he asked, either the guards or I could easily try to move him there, but he didn't say a word, and never said a word about going out.

One day he was suddenly in good spirits, he was willing to smile, and he became more lively. He beckoned me to sit by his bed.In fact, I would go there if he didn't beckon me. I was carefully holding the tea tray with the medicine newly developed by a famous doctor on it. With great difficulty, I placed it on the low table beside the bed.

"The medicine may be bitter," he said, examining the purple liquid in the narrow-necked glass vial.

"Maybe." I replied.

"I want you to taste it for me first, and I'll drink it if it tastes good."

"Don't be silly, you have to drink it even if it doesn't taste good."

"After you." He leaned against the head of the bed and said with a smile, stretching his brows in a rare way, tapping the edge of the bed with his fingers one after another.

I relented and took a sip.

"It's not bitter." I said.

"What's the smell exactly?" He asked me again.

In order to answer this question and avoid entanglement, I took another sip. "The taste is not bad, with a slight aroma of apples." Indeed, not only is it not bitter, but the aftertaste of this medicine can even be called sweet. If you taste it carefully, it seems that there is a soup made from apples in it, which makes me doubt the doctor's prescription.

"That's good." He breathed a sigh of relief, and became complacent for some reason, "I respect you very much, my child."

With doubts about his words, before I could open my mouth to ask, my eyes quickly blurred, without any pain, I lost control of my body, and fell down on the edge of the Duke's bed by gravity. "I'm a little dizzy." I murmured, realizing that something was wrong, something was beyond my expectation.

"Go to sleep." The Duke turned sideways with difficulty and stroked my face. "You are too sleepy and tired. I was sick and broke your body. It really hurts me."

"No, it's not... this potion..."

"It's a sleeping potion for your good sleep." He said calmly, paving the way for hints in his words, watching me tenderly as I tried to stand up again, "Andre, forgive me for breaking my promise , I can't let you lose me and live alone in this world. It's lustful and ugly, but you are so precious. Didn't I tell you that fate is preordained. I predicted this scene many years ago, when I Didn't have the heart to do it, and now I can. You may wonder why, and the answer may seem absurdly simple to you. I've made this family great long enough, and I'm tired of it all, when I die and you live alone, free , wealth, power, and beauty take turns to flatter you. The more you realize their benefits, the farther you will be from purity. Even if you can stay awake, the wolves around you will come around and bite, vying for the land I left behind , how do you think I will leave you in such a bad world. Go to sleep, close your eyes, and when you open them again, we will meet again in the glorious world."

I didn't hear all of his words, but read his cues.This is a death invitation from the duke, who kills me and himself, and perhaps burns us to our funeral.I understood at last how I would bury a family—who had no kin but me, who could teach other successors but would not take my place, who insisted on keeping me what he regarded as paranoid Purely, he willingly went to die with me in order to prevent me from retreating, regardless that he is the most outstanding leader of the family, and the lords of all sizes dare not act rashly because of his suppression.After the Duke's death, power disputes will begin. At least ten years from now, there will be few peaceful days in this land.That was the last thing I figured out, and after that, it was an intoxicating, sweet, eternal darkness.

I opened my eyes suddenly.Waking up before the scorching flame burned my body, I stared blankly at the snow-white ceiling for a minute, and then realized that I had finally returned to my world, the bed where I fell asleep in the first place.

I just woke up, and my body was not at all tired. Too many messages flooded my mind, and even my own bedroom, which I used to sleep in, was so strange at this moment.I collected my thoughts, motionless, and I remembered what had happened, every detail too vivid to be reduced to a simple dream.I don't know which variable went wrong to make me go through such a long journey in place, there are many possibilities, age may be one of them.I find it slightly unpleasant to know so little about it.

Not long after, the housekeeper knocked on the door and woke me up. He had prepared breakfast and was just waiting for me to show up.I ate a big meal after washing up, and the feeling of fullness in my stomach gave me a sense of relief, a guarantee of reality.At this time, I did not deny that my life after last night may be the reality of another world.

After eating, I locked myself in the study, and searched from all sides, trying to find similar cases, theories that could explain what happened to me, but all I found were some nonsense, fantasy, or even daydreaming. Talk, there is no useful information for me.I didn't use dinner, and the result of my energy was not worth mentioning. Seeing that the day was coming to an end, I ordered a bowl of supper to fill my stomach, so as to avoid another incident that night.It doesn't really matter to the other world that I'm full here, but I do it anyway because it's one of the few things I can do.

Regardless of the housekeeper's question, I slept in a different room that night, and the bedding was all new. I don't know if there will be a second time, but I tend not to, because in my world I can be my own master, but this may not be the case in another world .It is ironic to say that, contrary to the Duke's earnest exhortations and expectations, I am rather absurd about his arbitrarily insisting on me being a holy idol, and I am really sorry for him.