Deep in the rolling Melsa Mountains, there is a castle known as the "Throat of Helbo" called the Grey Pigeon Castle.

And it is none other than the Duke of the Grey Dove, one of the four dukes--- Horay Herbert.

Duke Grey Dove is 27 years old, the oldest of the four dukes.

He is not only the brother-in-law of King Girshas, but also the guardian of the eastern frontier of the kingdom.

This person has a deep and delicate mind and a gloomy personality. According to the guards around him, the Duke had never been seen laughing. And his gloomy character is also directly reflected in leading troops to fight.

Surprise soldiers to win, use soldiers treacherously, and play cards not according to common sense! The "Iron Mountain Army Gun Array" under its name is even more famous around the entire Mersa Mountains!

But it was such a man whose coat of arms depicted a dove with an olive branch....

His domain was separated from the fiefdom of the Grand Prince of Holger, the Duke of Sunflower, only by a mountain range and a river. Although the road is not very smooth, the two have not been less frictional at the border.

In terms of foreign strategy, the Duke of Grey Dove has always advocated taking the lead in annexing the territory of the Kingdom of Holger.

Although Holger is still a small third-rate country, according to his unique vision and opinions, he believes that this future powerful enemy by the couch should be strangled in the cradle.

However, the king of Herbo was a completely unenterprising hedonist, and he even married the sister of Holger III as his princess, and claimed that the two countries had been friends for generations.

The strategically minded Duke of Grey Dove certainly didn't take this seriously, so he built a strong garrison in the eastern frontier, building fortresses and lookouts, and even establishing a military buffer zone deep in the Melsa Mountains.

That forest was full of all kinds of traps and stumbling blocks, and even if he couldn't spare his hands to clean up the Duke of Sunflower now, he had to be fully prepared for the future expedition.

Just like this time, the secret medicine point he set up in the borderless land in the north of the Demon Forest was one of the secret moves.

But he didn't expect that just yesterday he received the news that the pharmaceutical site had been destroyed. The Hidden Pile died, and the Pumpkin Town Mayor reported in a secret letter that the destruction of the pharmacy was due to the "ghost guys" betraying themselves through foreign enemies.

Of course, Horay Herbert wouldn't believe what the greedy fat man wrote.

He would send his best men to investigate, and check out all the other pharmaceutical factories that were hiding in the shadows.

Although he has the formula for the devil's elixir in his hands, this kind of business will inevitably go wrong after a long time.

For example, at this moment, a death row prisoner who took the latest upgraded version of the devil's elixir turned into a puddle of pus five minutes after taking the medicine.

"Lord Duke, this is already the third prisoner on death row this week, do you want to stop the test first?"

Turan, the chief knight under Duke Grey Dove, reported the results of the test with a sad face.

He felt that Lord Duke should not devote so much energy to this pill. Although this magic elixir can make people's strength and speed increase instantly, the serious sequelae are beyond the human body's ability to bear.

After a long period of experiments, it was found that people who consumed this pill were addicted, and at least they were dehydrated and fatigued, and they had to stay in bed for a week after one fight. Chong Ze threw himself into the arms of the new god on the spot, without any hesitation.

On the throne of Grey Pigeon Castle, Horay's gray hair was combed back to the point where he was meticulous. The slender tails of his eyes drooped slightly, and the deep dark sockets made him always look so gloomy, and he looked several years older than his actual age.

At this time, Horay folded his hands on his chin, and his eyes were silently fixed ahead, as if he had not heard the knight speak.

However, as the chief knight of the Duke Lord, he has been accustomed to the style of this lord for many years.

Turan knew that he should not easily interrupt the Duke while he was thinking about the problem, as the consequences would be serious.

In this way, in the dimly lit castle chamber, one sitting, the other standing, and the two were relatively silent.

Five minutes later, the adult finally spoke.

His voice was low and slightly hoarse, and the sound it made echoed back and forth in the empty castle, making it feel as if it came from the abyss of hell.

"I'll send someone else to follow up on the devil's elixir, the trial of the new product can be slowed down a bit, and we need more death row prisoners. Also..."

He paused at this point: "The plan to radicalize the Holger brothers must be quickened. There is news that the third prince who is called a waste is not as simple as it seems.... He's been living for three months in a place like the Demon Forest Abyss, and he's still alive and well.... Send someone to see, I need to know the details. ”

"Yes! My lord. ”

"Also, the ruins of the ancient battlefield in the Mersa Mountains have been cleaned up, you can take someone to deal with it."

Turan's heart moved, he knew what the Duke meant by "processing". Because this adult didn't want the workers involved in the excavation construction to expose the news, so.... These people must all die!

This adult is like this, he is ruthless and resolute in his methods, and he will never leave himself a trace of trouble! It's just that....

Turan was secretly thinking about something, but the Duke of Grey Dove spoke again.

"By the way, the Duke of Hain of the South has replied, and he has agreed to my request. Tomorrow, according to the conditions of the secret letter, you will personally escort 10,000 gold coins to the southern border of Rousseau. ”

Knight Turan froze, and a strange feeling appeared in his heart.

His own Duke spent 10,000 gold coins! Just to buy a flying ship from the Duke of Hain in the South....

Well.... In my own impression, the Duke is not the kind of person who likes to enjoy! His castle didn't even have a single decorative painting, except for a few necessary pieces of furniture! But this time....

"Mr. Wren, are you there?"

At that moment, a crisp voice pierced the darkness of the council chamber, instantly giving the gloomy castle a touch of life.

Hearing this, the knight Turan sighed softly, he seemed to know why the Duke would buy that flying ship.

The Duke of Grey Dove glanced at the man who had walked in through the door, and whispered to Turan, "Go down, and pick a group of soldiers to set out for the south tomorrow morning." ”

Turan didn't say anything more, he saluted the Duke with one hand on his chest and then retreated silently.

Just as he was about to walk out of the door and pass by the man who came in, he heard the man whisper to him, "Hello~ Lord Turan." ”

Turan smiled and nodded in response, but suddenly remembered that the other party couldn't see him, so he added: "Hello, Miss Sophia, you are so beautiful today!" ”

Yes, the person who came in was a girl with curly brown hair. He is young and beautiful, and he has two shallow dimples when he laughs, which makes people feel like a spring breeze.

"Thank you for the compliment~~ Your Excellency, please walk slowly."

The girl lifted the hem of her skirt slightly and saluted the knight, and then walked into the council chamber with a thin cane.

As he walked past the girl, the Captain of Turan wondered why the Duke had told her that his name was "Wren".

Seeing his chief knight walking away, the gloomy face of the gray dove Duke stood up and greeted him.

"Sophia, why are you here so early today?"

If Turan was still present at this time, I believe he would have shocked his jaw! Because of the dead face of his beloved Lord Duke.... A smile on your face!?

Yes, although the girl could not see, he smiled.

"The tulips in the garden are blooming! I'd like to ask Mr. Wren to take a look. ”

The girl said happily.

"Oh? Blooming during the month? That's a rarity. It seems that this is inseparable from your careful care Sophia. ”

The Duke of Grey Pigeon approached the girl and reached out to hold the other's arm, looking so gentle and careful.

"Hehe~ Because the tulip fragrance of this season is light and long, not as strong as the smell that blooms in spring~~ I prayed to that flower field, but I didn't expect it to really bloom!"

Duke Gray Pigeon looked at the girl with a loving smile on his face: "Maybe it was your sincerity that touched those flowers, and it is precisely because of you that they have the meaning of existence." ”

The girl smiled and shook her head: "No, everything in this world has its own original meaning. They don't live for anyone, they only live for themselves! Just like you, Mr. Wren~ You don't have to accommodate me in everything, that day I just said a yearning from my childhood, and you really bought a flying boat! This makes you break the bank..... Do you think Sophia will feel better? ”

A gloomy look flashed on the face of the Duke of Grey Dove, and he asked, "Who told you that?" ”

The girl still smiled and shook her head: "No one told me, but I will listen to it myself, you know?" Blind people always have better hearing. ”

Duke Gray Dove took a deep breath and replied calmly: "Didn't Sophia just say that everything in this world has its own original meaning of existence?" Then this flying ship, its meaning is to fulfill your childhood dream. If you refuse today, then its meaning will only become a fire. ”

"Mr. Wren...."

The Duke put a finger on the girl's lips to prevent her from continuing.

"Sophia... You know, I'm willing to do anything for you! ”

The girl lowered her head a little shyly, she bit her lower lip, and said softly, "I just don't want to trouble you, it will make my heart feel uneasy." ”

"Trouble? I don't think it's a problem. On the contrary, if Sophia rejects my kindness, that's the real trouble, and a lot of people will be in trouble. ”

The girl shook her head helplessly, reached out to hold the duke's hand, and said softly, "Will you accompany me to the garden?" ”

The duke said, "Okay, I'll change my clothes and go, you wait for me for a while." ”

After saying this, Duke Gray Pigeon turned around and walked out of the door of the council hall, his originally gentle smiling face was instantly covered with dark clouds, and a terrifying cold light shot out of his eyes.

He walked up to one of the knights and whispered, "Find all the maids around Miss Sophia, cut out their tongues, sell them to the slave traders, and replace them with new ones." Tell them what happened to their former maids, and if you let me know that someone is chewing on the root of their tongue.... I will make them regret being born into this world. ”

"Yes! Lord Duke! ”

With a soft exhale, the Duke of Grey Dove walked back again.

"I've changed, Sophia, let's go."

He walked up to the girl and stretched out his arm, and the girl took advantage of it. The two walked side by side to the garden at the back of the castle.

The early morning sun poured down on the two of them, reflecting the girl's brown curls into a dull blonde, while the duke's gray hair turned a faint lime yellow..... Everything seems so harmonious and beautiful.