The Duke in the Spire of Thorns

After putting the box back into the cabinet, Celeste went to the thin post on the side of the bedroom and unchained the panther, ready to take it for a walk in the garden.

The garden was well maintained by the gardener. Celeste walked along a quiet cobblestone path, and the black panther followed him step by step. Even though he was holding a chain in his hand, the passing servants were still very frightened , Celeste turned around for a while, scaring many people. He felt that it was not interesting, so he went back to the bedroom sleepily.

After returning to the bedroom, he took out a Latin grammar book and sat at the table, seemingly planning to start studying, but in fact, he sat there for a while without even turning the pages.

He was out of his mind, the cabinet in the corner seemed to have a great attraction for him at the moment, he always had to separate his mind to control himself not to look away.He struggled for a while, but the effect was still not obvious, so he took out his painting tools and prepared to start painting.

He is very precise in controlling the lines, so he never used an eraser when drawing with a pencil, but now, after looking at the outline of a human figure that has taken shape on his canvas, for the first time, he wanted to The urge to find an eraser.

Celeste hesitated for a while, and finally took out a pencil and continued to draw.

The panther was lying motionless in front of him, dedicated to being a good model, Celeste glanced at it from time to time to hide his guilt.

The image of Escrito is very clear in his mind, even if the real person is not standing in front of him, he can still draw him from memory.

His movements were faster than his consciousness, and it didn't take long for the gray lines to roughly outline the appearance of the knight commander. He was standing in the sun with a smile, bent slightly, and seemed to be saluting.

Celeste's heart was pounding, and he suddenly felt a little out of breath, but soon, he turned his head and began to adjust the paint pretending to be calm.

Soon, the basic color blocks were spread out on the white drawing paper. Originally, he only planned to draw a small portrait of a black panther, which could be completed in one afternoon, but he changed his mind midway and decided to draw a more complex one. Naturally, it will take longer for human portraits.

As the sun sets, the orange-red sunlight shines in through the window sill. Celeste's painting has only been filled with rough color blocks, and has not had time to refine it.

The panther lay motionless all afternoon, and now it stood up, intending to come over to see Celeste's results.

Celeste didn't draw it at all, feeling guilty, after discovering the intention of the black panther, he quickly covered the drawing board with a white cloth, threw away the paint tray, jumped off the high stool, and half-coaxed and half-deceived Coaxed the panther out.

"It's time for dinner. Let's go."

He said righteously.

As he walked out, he was ashamed of what he had done just now, and he scolded himself for being obsessed with ghosts in his heart. After self-examination, he decided to find a chance to burn the painting when he went back.

However, after sitting down at the dining table, he began to think again. The green paint just now seemed not bright enough, it was a little too dark, and there was a color difference with Escrit's pupils. He should add some white paint to adjust it...

"...!"

After he realized what he was thinking, he took a bite of the steak in a fit of anger.

Although Celeste had burned the painting viciously in his heart countless times, in the end, it was completed properly. Celeste coaxed the black panther to fail and rolled up the portrait of Escrito Well, I found another time to make up a portrait for it.

During this period of time, he received many letters from the "Marquess of Smedley" in succession. He did not reply to any of them, but he read each one at least three times, and then took advantage of no one's attention. They hide in boxes.

"So what about the letters?"

Noyce asked curiously, "What did he write to you?"

Celeste: "I don't know, I burned them all without even looking at them."

Noyce looked at him suspiciously, but he didn't have time to get to the bottom of it, because he was having a hot fight with a girl from a down-and-out noble family recently, and he was going out in a while.

"You'd better be careful, Your Majesty."

Celeste was very disdainful of his behavior, he snorted coldly, "I don't want to hear from the doctor that you have a love disease."

"How could it be?" Noyce raised his eyebrows indifferently: "My mistresses are all lovely and pure girls."

Celeste frowned even tighter: "Don't you think about them? They will all get married in the end!"

"Oh, come on, my dear Hill."

Noyce said a little funny: "First of all, I never provoke those really pure and decent girls. Those who are willing to be my mistresses all come with the ambition of the queen's throne. They are not qualified enough, so naturally they can only pin their hopes on My love, it's just a deal I know, but I'm always the winner."

He paused, and then said, "As for marriage, oh, my dear, the love history with me will greatly increase their value in the marriage market, after all, marriage..."

Noyce didn't finish speaking, he stopped talking in Celeste's slightly blank and curious eyes, and didn't continue to cut it down. He reached out and stroked Celeste's blond hair, and straightened his collar , The brocade clothes made him look even more handsome.

He looked at himself in the mirror and was very satisfied. He blew a kiss to Celeste, and walked out proudly.

Celeste, who was standing there, waved his hand in disgust: "Come back soon."

"Oh, my dear." Noyce laughed: "I won't be coming back tonight."

"If you feel scared that your brother is not at home, you can hug your little leopard to sleep, it will protect you."

Celeste: "..."

He looked down on Noyce's playful behavior very much, and snorted heavily to express his disdain.

As the night gradually deepened, Celeste washed up, changed into her pajamas, and went to bed.

The panther quickly jumped onto the bed, its body was soft and warm, Celeste lifted the quilt to let it in, buried his head in its fur, and fell asleep peacefully.

In the dark room next to the bedroom, an oil painting covered with a white cloth suddenly trembled unnaturally.

The white cloth fell to the ground with shaking, revealing the true appearance of the oil painting.

The painting depicts a handsome black-haired man wearing silver knight-length armor and smiling in the sun.

However, this beautiful oil painting suddenly began to distort, the picture began to blur, and the color blocks began to separate from each other. It didn't take long for a large blank to appear on the painting.

The man who was originally in the center of the picture is now standing on the ground.

His stature began to rise, and soon he was similar to a normal human being.He moved his hands and feet, walked slowly towards the door of the darkroom, pushed open the door, and entered the bedroom connected to it.

"I never thought about it."

He stood by the bed, looked at the sleeping person on the bed, and whispered with a smile: "So you like me so much."

The man's tone was extremely cheerful, he bent down, and stroked the other's cheek with his fingertips, "Don't be sad, we will see you again soon, my dear...Master."

He murmured and blew out the flickering candles in the bedroom.

The author has something to say: Thanks to the little angels who threw the landmines: Mu Yue, 1 big love little fox;

感谢灌溉营养液的小天使：木越30瓶；兕是兕20瓶；梅林的面包10瓶；桑2瓶；白雪1瓶；

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!