The Duke in the Spire of Thorns

In Yaris' vision, after he entered the castle and became a servant, he would have the opportunity to get along with the Duke from time to time, and he had inquired about all the preferences of Duke Ulysses in advance, and sooner or later he would be able to please the Duke.

However, the reality is completely different from what he imagined.

He couldn't even touch the Duke's side.Although he could often see His Excellency the Duke, he couldn't get close to him at all, because the Knight Commander was always by his side no matter what.

On the first day he entered the castle, His Excellency the Duke was riding on a horse, looking down at Yaris who had just arrived, "Aris Dahl, right?"

The wording and tone of this sentence are exactly the same as those in Yaris' memory. He was so excited that he couldn't help thinking about it: Could it be that Your Excellency the Duke also remembers the last time we met like me, so he said this sentence specially to remind me of it? ?

However, the fact was exactly the opposite of what he had imagined. Celeste did not remember that they had met before, and he had no impression of the new attendant in front of him, nor was he interested in learning more about it.He nodded casually, and drove the horses under him to leave.

How charming is the back view of him driving away!

Yaris was completely immersed in the unparalleled beauty of His Excellency the Duke, and he could not recover for a long time. He followed the butler into the castle like sleepwalking, dreaming of being favored by His Excellency the Duke.

Since Yaris had just arrived and his status was a bit special, the housekeeper didn't arrange anything for him. He took Yaris around the castle to familiarize himself with the environment, and it was time to prepare dinner.

A fire was lit in the dining room, and the room was warm. Plates of delicious dishes were brought to the table. Yaris sat down in the last seat. After a while, His Excellency the Duke arrived late.

Celeste walked towards the dining table, and Escrito pulled out the dining chair for him, tied the napkin for him, and then sat down on his right hand.

Escrito had been allowed to sit by Celeste's side ever since Celeste awoke from his dream that day.

The dinner was as sumptuous as ever, and the steaming dishes whetted Celeste's appetite. He didn't even need to open his mouth. Escrito, who was sitting next to him, delivered the dishes he wanted with a tacit understanding.

Yaris barely ate anything that night, he just kept staring at Celeste, and even the delicious dinner didn't arouse his interest.

He paid special attention to which dishes Celeste used, and was fascinated by his extraordinarily elegant dining posture.

Soon, he found the person sitting next to Celeste.

It was a man with short black hair, handsome in appearance, but Yaris couldn't appreciate it.He watched the scene where the other party served Duke Ulysses, and he felt jealousy burning in his chest.

However, no one paid attention to him.

After Celeste got healthy, his appetite improved a lot. He finished eating the dish Escrit served him, and raised his chin to let Escrit wipe the corners of his lips.

After dinner, Celeste went straight to the bedroom, Escrit following him.

Yaris also stood up subconsciously, intending to follow, but he was stopped by the butler: "Mr. Dahl, you cannot follow without the permission of His Excellency the Duke."

At night, it was raining outside the castle, and Celeste was still asleep. He was half leaning on the bed, and Escrito was sitting beside him, holding a book of travels and reciting softly.

This is a travelogue found in an underground library. The author is unknown, but the content is quite interesting.

"It is a castle full of darkness, but there are still countless alchemists and wizards trying to enter. The owner of the city is a powerful alchemist, maybe also a wizard, who knows, anyway, as far as I know, that As long as the alchemist appears, he will be accompanied by the two sisters of plague and disaster..."

"is this real?"

Celeste was a little curious: "This is very similar to a clumsy legendary story, a dark castle far away from the world, a powerful and evil dark wizard, and someone who can manipulate plagues and disasters... There will be no angels next, right?"

Escrit shook his head with a smile, "Who knows?" He said lightly, "No one can tell what happened hundreds of years ago."

Hillest nodded, not thinking about it--a non-essential bedtime story.

"how about you?"

"What's the name of the place where you live?" he asked.

"Coria City."

Escrit closed the book, lowered his eyes and said, "That's the place where I was born, do you think it's beautiful there?"

"good."

Celeste recalled the magnificent city and nodded: "It's beautiful."

"However, I don't think it was built by humans, right?"

"of course not."

Escrit replied with a smile: "However, now I am the only one left in my group."

Celeste was a little speechless. He felt that he had asked a question that shouldn't be asked. He felt a little guilty, but he was unwilling to apologize, so he slipped under the quilt, "I'm going to sleep."

"Good night, I wish you a sweet dream."

"...It's not up to you to decide what kind of dream I have."

Celeste muttered softly and closed her eyes.

The room is filled with a faint fragrance, which is incense from the East, which has the effect of helping sleep, and Escrit will light it every night.

Under the effect of the incense, Celeste soon fell into a dark and sweet dreamland.

Escrit got up, walked to the door quietly, and opened the door quietly.

"You need to know one thing." He politely said to the panicked people outside the door: "This is the private area of ​​Your Excellency the Duke, and no one can approach it without your permission."

Yaris took a few steps back, retreating under Escrit's gaze.

Escrit evoked an emotionless smile, and gently closed the door.

Most of the candles in the bedroom had been extinguished, and the few remaining candles gave off a faint yellow light, adding a bit of charming atmosphere for no reason.

Celeste was already asleep, and Escrito covered him with a dark red quilt.

He walked to the incense burner, gently lifted the lid with familiar movements, and extinguished the burning incense.He took out the lavender spice and lit it.

A mellow fragrance slowly diffused in the room, this fragrance was extremely aggressive, and even the air seemed to become sticky because of its existence.

Under the dim yellow light, the sleeping duke looked even more beautiful. Escrit looked down at the sleeping duke, thought of something, and slowly pursed his lips.

He blew out the remaining candles, and lay down beside Celeste's pillow as a matter of course.

Celeste fell asleep on a bed in her castle, and woke up on a soft couch in another tower.

This was originally Escrit's bedroom, but now it belongs to Celeste of course. When he opened his eyes, Escrit in black robe came into view.

"come over."

Celeste was leaning against the bed. Escrit wearing a black robe always gave him a different feeling. Escrit wearing knight-length armor was more docile, but being meek was a bit boring.At night, the Escrito in the black robe in the dream was not so docile, and his personality was stronger.

In some matters, Escrito's strength made Celeste more satisfied.

However, no matter which Escrites it is, they are generally obedient to Celeste.After hearing the instruction, Escrito sat down by the bed, Celeste narrowed his eyes, and gave him a kiss according to his mood.

Then he lifted the quilt and got out of bed, and Escrit put a black robe on him, "You asked me to teach you some alchemy knowledge yesterday."

He bent down to tie Celeste's robe, "I'm ready, let's start today."

"Did I make that request?"

Celeste asked back, he frowned and began to think back: sometimes he would make some weird requests when he was infatuated, but he probably couldn't remember them afterwards.

Duke Ulysses separates pleasure from life very much. Usually, after he gets out of bed, he doesn't think about what happened in bed.Therefore, Escrilt may not obey the requests and orders he made on the bed, but this overly honest knight commander will try his best to remind Celeste every time.

Celeste recalled it for a while, but couldn't remember whether he had said this sentence.But generally speaking, alchemists value their own skills very much, and they will never ask to teach others.Escrito is considered an alchemist, and he never offered to teach Celeste before.So, what he said was probably true.

Maybe it was indeed a request I made on a whim.

Celeste thought so, he glanced at Escrit, and said slowly: "Ah, it seems that there is such a thing."

Although alchemy is difficult to be elegant, Celeste is still very interested in it. After all, in his opinion, the effects of certain alchemy are as magical as magic.He is also very happy to have such an opportunity to learn.

"Then let's get started."

Escrito stood up straight and said softly, "So, will you be a good student?"

"What do you think?"

Celeste didn't intend to take a serious attitude towards studying, he felt the need to clarify his position first: "I just plan to play."

He raised his beautifully curved eyebrows, and said jokingly: "You have to relax with me, my dear..."

Celeste imitated the expression of his cousin when he was flirting with the noble lady, curled the word between his lips and teeth, and then said ambiguously: "Mentor?"

Escrito's eyes dimmed, and he seemed to be stunned. After a while, he nodded: "Of course, as long as it is your order."

When Celeste woke up the next day, he rarely felt a little sore in his body. He knew it was his psychological effect. After all, the fatigue in the dream would not be brought to his real body.

"What an ingenious means of punishment."

His Excellency the Duke complained: "Can't you act like a mentor?"

Escrito didn't speak, he accompanied Celeste downstairs, however, at the corner of the stairs, an uninvited guest bumped into them.

Yaris stared at Celeste in disbelief. His Excellency the Duke had a calm expression, and his brows and eyes were filled with the peace of mind after satisfying desires. He would never admit this!

He instantly understood what was going on.

Yaris cast his eyes on the black-haired man standing beside the Duke, his eyes were burning with jealousy, wishing to burn the person in front of him to ashes.

"Escrit."

Celeste didn't even bother to give it to the person in front of him: "You know what to do."

"Yes."

Eskrit nodded.

Afterwards, the master and servant continued to walk downstairs as if nothing had happened.