The Duke in the Spire of Thorns

The weather is getting warmer every day, and spring is here.

Celeste's health has also completely recovered, so he is preparing to return to the royal city of Briarson.

The butler has already started packing up the furniture. When Celeste came to Ratiu, he was in despair. He thought he would die in this remote place, so he brought many things he was used to. When you go home, these things must be brought with you.

The originally neat and elegant castle is now a bit hectic because the owner is about to move out. Although the butler has arranged everything in an orderly manner, the castle still looks chaotic.

The packed furniture was neatly placed on the open space, and all kinds of decorative trinkets were put away, wrapped in muslin cloth, and put into a large wooden box. Celeste’s bedroom and study room were left untouched for the time being. Those two places are the responsibility of the knight commander.

"It's delightful."

Celeste walked towards the outside of the castle with great interest. The two horses were already standing there waiting quietly. Seeing the owner approaching, the white Bill knelt down understandingly so that Celeste could get on the horse smoothly. .

"Good boy."

Celeste fondled Bill and fed him a lump of sugar. Bill stood up after he sat firmly on the horse.

Escrito turned on the horse directly, and his movements were neat.

The two walked out side by side, and Celeste said easily: "The house is a mess. Instead of wandering around at home, it's better to go out and have a look. Speaking of which, I have been in Latiu for several months, and I have never After stepping out of the castle, it feels really good to be able to come out and see it now."

"So, where do you want to go?"

Escrito thought for a while, and suggested: "I remember that there is a forest nearby. If you like, you can go there to enjoy the scenery."

"I didn't come out to enjoy the scenery."

Celeste laughed, and the sun shone on his face: "Is there a lot of prey there? I'm going to hunt!"

He specially brought a bow and arrow today, just to taste the taste of hunting.In the past, every time the nobles went hunting together, he could only stay with those noble ladies, which was very boring.

Celeste's bow and arrows were specially made for him by Escrilt. His Excellency the Duke is weak, he can't draw the bow, and he can't throw the gun too far, so Escrilt specially made a small murder weapon for him. For his hunting pleasure.

"There are quite a lot of prey."

Escrit said: "It's relatively remote, and usually not many people go there, so there are still a lot of prey."

Hearing what the knight commander said, Celeste couldn't wait to show his skills. He clenched the small bow and arrow in his hand, thinking about his heroic appearance in the future, and blushed with excitement.

As Escrit said, the location of the forest is indeed very remote. The trees in the forest are tall and lush, and the leaves are densely packed, covering the sky, and only a little sunlight shines through the leaves.

But at the same time, there are indeed many prey in this deserted forest. As soon as Celeste drove his horse into this forest, he saw a little furry thing sprinting up the tree trunk.

"I'm going to hunt a deer."

Celeste said boldly to his knight commander: "I want to catch a deer like my cousin, and then drink its blood alive."

The knight commander smiled gently, "You will definitely be able to get what you want."

Celeste is encouraged to be more active.Following Escrit's teachings, he held up a small bow and arrow in front of him, so that if any prey appeared, he could aim and shoot it immediately.

Your Excellency the Duke was very lucky. Not long after, there was a rustling sound in the undergrowth. Looking through the leaves, there was a deer grazing with its head down. I didn't notice anyone approaching.

"Your Mightiness?"

Celeste held the small bow and arrow and aimed for a long time, but he didn't press the firing mechanism. Escrito reminded him softly, and he seemed to wake up from a dream.

"Ok?"

He subconsciously uttered a questioning syllable.

"If you don't do it again, it will run away."

Celeste put down the small bow and arrow in his hand, and said with a serious face: "No, this one is too small, I don't want it, I want a bigger one than the deer my cousin hunted."

He rode forward on the horse, and soon startled the deer that was grazing. The deer raised its head blankly, with a few grasses in its mouth. It looked at the man, and then happily ran over to rub the white horse's leg. .

Celeste pointed a bow and arrow at it, threatening in a vicious voice: "Don't get in my way, get out of here quickly."

The deer looked at him with big black eyes, barked softly a few times, and continued to rub against Bill's body.

Celeste: "... Forget it, I can just keep it as a deer pledge..."

The Duke grunted a few times and walked on.

His luck today was really good. It didn't take long for a strong adult stag to appear in his sight, still grazing with its head down, showing no sense of crisis.

Celeste raised his bow and arrow, and put his hand on the organ for a long time before pressing it down.

"This one is too big." He said to himself, but his voice was quite high, as if he wanted to tell others deliberately: "So much blood, how can I drink it up? I don't want this deer."

The knight commander smiled, pretending not to know what he was thinking, and followed his words: "Well, this is an ordinary forest after all, and it can't compare to the royal hunting ground. You can hunt deer after you go back."

As soon as he finished speaking, Celeste said righteously: "Yes, the deer here are too inferior, not good at all, not to mention, if I can hunt a deer in front of my cousin, I will fight with him again." Let’s share deer blood together, that would be great.”

"I'm going out."

Celeste mercilessly drove away the fawn who was reluctant to part with Bill, turned the horse's head, and murmured: "There is no sun here, it's really uncomfortable."

Escrit didn't make any comments and left with him.

Suddenly, Celeste stopped, and not far in front of him, there was a small white thing moving. Because of the cover of the grass, he couldn't tell what it was for the time being.

"What is that?" He was a little curious: "Escrito, go get it back."

The knight commander complied without hesitation. He got off his horse, and his long leather boots made a slight noise as he stepped on the grass. He half bent down and lifted the furry thing from the ground.

"A rabbit?"

Escrito was grabbing its ear, but Celeste reached out to catch it. The knight commander took out a handkerchief, wiped the grass clippings and dew on it, and then handed it to Celeste.

This little thing is quite well-behaved, let Celeste rub it without struggling, quietly.

"So it was injured."

Celeste stared at its hind leg, where there was a gash where the blood had dried.

"Do you want to keep it as a pet?"

"...How is it possible!" Your Excellency the Duke threw the rabbit into Escrit's hand in a fit of anger, and said indifferently: "Take it back to the castle and raise it, and when it grows fat, I will kill it and serve it to my dining table. "

After finishing speaking, he added hesitantly: "Let's heal its legs first, maybe it can grow a little fatter this way."

This excuse is a bit clumsy, Your Excellency the Duke, who has never eaten any meat, is it worth thinking about the meat of that poor rabbit?

But Escrit didn't expose him, he nodded, threw the rabbit into the game bag, and continued to follow Celeste out.

Celeste watched as he tossed the little ball of rabbits into the game bag, and looked tempted to talk, but held back, putting her head aside to enjoy the view with an air of indifference.

However, he didn't last long. After a while, he still couldn't help turning his head back and asked, "Put it in the game bag. What if it dies?"

The knight commander smiled: "Under normal circumstances, it will not die, but if it is unlucky, that is also its fate."

He turned his head and glanced at Celeste with a smile in his eyes: "If it dies unfortunately, then I will hunt you a rabbit big enough to replace it."

Celeste: "...No, I will eat this one."

"Oh?" Escrit raised his eyebrows: "Why? Is there anything special about it?"

The best conversation skill His Excellency has mastered is to be unreasonable, especially when facing his knight commander, His Excellency the Duke is never unreasonable. He couldn't tell anything special, so he frowned and reprimanded, " Why are you asking so many questions? You just have to follow my orders."

"Yes."

Escrito responded calmly, then took the little rabbit out of the game bag and handed it to Celeste: "Come, Your Excellency."

Celeste refused to take it. He pretended not to see it, urged Bill to speed up, and chose a trail at random.

The trail wasn't the way out of the woods, but Celeste wasn't worried at all.Duke Ulysses always had a kind of blind trust in his knight commander, thinking that no matter where he went, Escrit could guarantee his safety, so he proceeded recklessly.

Escrito drove his horse to keep up with him, and Celeste turned around and asked, "Do you know where this leads?"

Escrit shook his head.

Celeste let out an "oh", and then ordered as a matter of course: "Then remember the route quickly, lest we won't be able to return later."

Going along this path, a cave covered by vines appeared in front of you.Immediately, various treasure legends appeared in Celeste's mind. He got off his horse, a little imaginative, and drew out his dagger to cut off some vines. Behind the dense vines, there was a dark cave hidden.

Accompanied by the knight commander, Celeste stepped into the cave, but the cave was very shallow, and a corner appeared after a few steps, and behind the corner was an open flat land.

In the middle of the plain, a tall tower stood silently.