The Duke in the Spire of Thorns

It was an old diary, but it was obvious that the owner of the diary loved it very much.The damaged cover was re-wrapped and leather-bound, and some scattered pages were also re-sealed with thin thread.

Celeste flipped through the book at random. The content in this book was written in Latin, the notes were very scribbled, and the content was intermittent.Celeste couldn't understand.

"What is recorded on it?"

he asked casually.Escrit lowered his head and glanced at the notebook, and replied flatly: "The notebook of an alchemist records the experimental process and insights of that alchemist."

He nodded casually and turned to look elsewhere.

Celeste didn't take long to look at the minaret from inside to outside, and his curiosity was satisfied.Ready to go home.

He and Escrito rode towards Ulysses Castle. Against the backdrop of the setting sun, Ulysses Castle looked extraordinarily magnificent.

The two sides of the hall are full of packed furniture. Judging from the current progress, if everything goes well, Celeste will be able to go home next week at the latest.

Celeste is in good health and is no longer burdened by illness, which makes him think about where to play almost every day.His favorite thing is to ride a horse galloping across the grass, the wind blowing in his face, and the air filled with the smell of earth and grass, this feeling fascinates him very much.

The courtyard of the castle has always been a place for knights to train, but now it has been almost completely used by Hilles as a place for riding and having fun.However, the knights didn't complain at all about this - under the supervision of the captain of the knights, the diet of these knights was strictly controlled, black bread and snow water in winter, now black bread and ordinary water.

They always feel mentally and mentally exhausted without meat, and it's great not to have to train.

Celeste rode Bill around the courtyard for a few more laps, and reluctantly got off the horse when he was satisfied. He personally led Bill into the stable and fed another lump of sugar before leaving.

Today is his last day in this castle. Escrit has packed up his study, and the bedroom is almost packed up. After tonight is over, he will officially leave here.

He was sweating and his face was a little wet, but he looked even more attractive.The castle was in a hurry, and even an experienced butler couldn't make the scene orderly.His Excellency the Duke opened the door idly, and immediately retracted the foot he was about to step into the threshold after seeing the servants coming and going.

Hillest thought for a while, and simply walked to the left wing of the castle. There was almost no one there, most of the rooms were empty, and there was also a road leading to the top floor of the castle.

He memorized the internal distribution map of the castle before he came, so even if he had never walked through it, Celeste was not worried about getting lost.He quickly found the small door in the courtyard, pushed it open easily, and walked up the winding stone ladder.

Ulysses Castle is a very old castle. Three nobles once owned it successively. In its heyday, every room was full of people. There is also furniture.

Even now, the furniture is still there, but most of it is covered with dust.

Celeste walked through the narrow and dark corridor, with closed wooden doors on both sides, and the surroundings were quiet.Suddenly, he heard a slight voice.

He couldn't hear what the other party said. The speaker was obviously very cautious, his voice was very low, and his tone was very vague, like the muttering of an old cook alone.

Eavesdropping on people behind the back is not a gentleman's act, Celeste deliberately coughed a few times to signal to the person who was talking that he was coming.

As his cough sounded, the low voice disappeared immediately.

Celeste turned a corner, and a man in a black robe and a waiter's uniform appeared in front of him.

"My lord, good day."

They spoke in unison, in flat tones and in perfect sync.

"Marion, Yaris?"

In the dim light, these two people who could never get together stood in front of him at the same time.

Celeste looked at Marion, the alchemist who was born as a commoner was lowering his head timidly at the moment, like a little mouse.And Yaris's expression didn't look natural either, this attendant from the royal city was no different from a statue now, his facial features were extremely stiff, as if he had been nailed in place.

This is a bit strange.

But Celeste never cared much about the exchanges between servants. He looked at the two and shrugged lightly, "It seems that you get along well."

He had long forgotten Marion, and at this moment, facing the alchemist who once carried his hope, Celeste had nothing to say.But the other party stood in front of him, and he didn't seem to want to get out of the way.

I don't know if it was his illusion, Celeste always felt that Marion looked a little dangerous at the moment, his facial features were very similar to a poisonous snake.

This metaphor is extremely inappropriate and very lame, but that's how Celeste feels at the moment.Because of this strange feeling, instead of directly ordering the two of them to get out of the way, he found a topic:

"Well, Marion, are you going to Briarson with me?"

After a while of silence, Celeste asked.

"Thank you very much...but...but I still...want, want to stay here..."

Celeste couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He didn't care about having an extra mouth in the castle, but since the strange feeling Marion gave him just now, he really didn't want to deal with Marion anymore.

Perhaps this is the characteristic of an alchemist.

Celeste explained to himself: After all, most of the alchemists are babbling, and there are not many normal ones like Escrit.

Marion was back to normal again, and he stammered his answer, stepping aside in a daze of realization as he spoke, to make way for Celeste.

Yaris followed Marion step by step, almost like a little brother who couldn't do without his big brother.

But Celeste doesn't care about this, he just wants to get out of here as soon as possible.

As he walked forward, he carefully controlled his steps, trying to make his back look calmer.The seemingly invisible sense of spying behind him made him want to speed up his pace very much.

Soon, another corner appeared in front of him. He turned this corner, and according to the layout map of the castle in his memory, he walked around an empty living room and left the left wing of the castle.

The scene in front of him seemed a bit chaotic, but now this kind of chaos can make Celeste feel at ease. He saw the knight commander who was arranging things in his study, and almost couldn't wait to walk towards him.

"Eri."

Celeste walked quickly to Escrit's side, being close to the knight commander made him feel particularly safe, "What are you doing?"

"Get your stuff in order."

Escrito skillfully handled the things under his hand. He quickly packed and tied up a small statue, then lowered his head and kissed Celeste's forehead, "My lord, what's the matter?"

"It's nothing."

Celeste relaxed. Now recalling his performance just now, he felt that he was a little nervous, and he didn't want to tell his knight commander such a ridiculous thing.He shook his head and said nothing, standing beside Escrit and watching him work.

The knight commander is very good at these chores. In the past, Celeste often asked Escrit to do all kinds of things that he thought of. Although some things were not within the scope of the other party's functions, the unreasonable Duke But no matter what the scope of function is or not, since he ordered it, Escrit must do it well, otherwise he will lose his temper at the other party.

It wasn't long before Escrito emerged, and Celeste noticed him. An inexplicable feeling made him transfer him to his side. During that time, his mood was very unstable.He is also very harsh on Escrit, who is kneeling at his feet waiting for orders. If the other party fails to complete the tasks he ordered, he will be very angry and scold him in front of everyone. I cried for no reason.

Escrito never refuses what Celeste ordered, and he can complete it quickly and well every time.What's more, he never raised any objections. When Celeste fell into a low mood, he would take the initiative to comfort his master, which undoubtedly contributed to the arrogance of the Duke.

People around him, including his parents, sometimes feel that Celeste is too much, but this pair of master and servant is willing to fight, and the other is willing to suffer, so others are not easy to interfere too much.

"If you feel bored, just play this first."

Escrit didn't know where to bring out the live rabbit he hunted last time and stuffed it into Celeste's arms: "It's pretty obedient."

Celeste hugged the rabbit and muttered in a low voice: "...how can it be here...I want to eat it..."

Escrit didn't respond to his words and continued to get busy.Celeste hugged the rabbit in his arms, looked at it at the same level, and said in a stern tone: "Listen, rabbit, if you dare to disrespect me, I will have someone roast you immediately."

The rabbit kicked its legs inexplicably, and Celeste put it back on the ground, picked up the carrot provided by Escrit, and stuffed it into the opponent's mouth.

He didn't want to play after playing for a while, and threw the carrot on the ground, and the rabbit stayed quietly at his feet, motionless, like a delicate little doll.

Escrit began to pack the things in his room, and he cleared most of the things out of the bedroom, leaving only a bed and some furniture that did not need to be taken away.

"Huh?" Celeste picked up the incense burner beside the bed and handed it to Escrit: "Eri, you forgot this."

It's the last night, so it doesn't matter if you don't light the incense.

But Escrit did not put it away, but placed it next to the bed again, "It will be too late to collect it tomorrow."

Celeste nodded casually, his eyes swept over the incense burner, and suddenly, he remembered one thing:

When did this incense burner appear beside his bed?

He remembered that he never had the habit of lighting incense.