When Anna opened her eyes, she saw a sea of red everywhere, and the hot air hit her face, burning her skin.
Flames.
There were flames everywhere, and thick smoke rolled under the shed, making it hard for her to breathe.
There were cries coming from the inside of the house, or maybe it was just an illusion. The wood crackled under the licking of the flames, and from time to time, there were sparks and burning pieces of wood falling from above. She climbed down the haystack and tried to take two steps into the house, but was quickly pushed back by the heat wave.
In the end, she could only crawl out of the wooden house, and helplessly watched the house being engulfed by the raging fire.
The neighbors also gathered around, and some people began to help put out the fire, but the nearest water source was the Redwater River outside the town, and the few jars of water that were difficult to fetch were of no help in the face of the fire.
After running back and forth several times, Anna finally saw the figure of her father.
He had just come back from the mine, still wearing a dirty coat, and his face was covered with gray and black dust. He was standing in front of the house with a blank look on his face.
As if she had seen her backbone, she could no longer suppress the panic and fear in her heart. Tears rolled down her cheeks like pearls, and she cried and ran to her father, hugging him tightly.
However, her father did not comfort her as she had hoped.
"Where's your mother?" He seized her by the shoulder with such force that she cried out. "And your brother, too! "
Anna shook her head, but did not expect that what followed was a slap in the face.
[I can't believe you escaped alone! Why didn't you save them? "
"Damn it, how could you only care about yourself? "
Anna suddenly sat up from the bed, gasping for breath. Her father's scolding still seemed to echo in her ears for a long time.
It was this dream again.
She picked up the cup on the bedside and drank the cold water. It took her a while to recover.
At the beginning of every month, Anna would dream of this scene, as if there was someone in her mind reminding her of it. She tilted her head and looked at the desk calendar on the desk. Today was the end of the first week of summer, and also the day when the Witch Union would pay.
She put on her clothes, washed up, and then walked out of the castle to the Witch Building in the backyard.
"Sister Anna!" Bell beamed as soon as she saw her. "You're early!"
"Good morning," Vendy said with a gentle smile. "The weather looks good today. Are you still going to North Slope Mountain?"
"Lady … Anna." Her two former classmates also hurriedly bowed.
"Just call me Anna like usual." She waved her hand, sat down at the long table, and hesitated. "I still have some other things to do, so I'll go there in the afternoon."
"Oh? That's rare. "Vendy showed an interested expression." Could it be that he and His Majesty … "
"Shopping!" Ling shouted.
Pearl and Gray Rabbit could not help but laugh.
Anna shook her head but did not continue.
Vendy didn't ask further. Instead, he took out an envelope from the drawer and handed it to her. "This month's salary is two Golden Dragon Stones."
"Thank you."
The witches did not have to prepare their own food, clothing, and accommodation. Even if they bought luxury goods from the Convenience Market, they would have to try them out first. Even if they wanted more, it would not be a problem. Therefore, most witches thought that the salary was useless and did not understand why His Majesty insisted on doing so. Anna could roughly guess Roland's intention, and this move helped her.
She returned to the castle hall with the salary. Chief Knight Carter Lannis was already waiting there.
"Miss Anna." He stood up and asked, "Is it the same as usual?"
"Yes." She took out a Golden Dragon Stone from the envelope and handed it to the Knight. "The same as usual."
…
During the reconstruction of Border Town, all the natives were allocated a house, including Anna's father.
After he sold Anna to the church for 25 Golden Dragon Stones, Anna never contacted him again.
From that moment on, he was no longer her father.
But there were some things that she could not completely stay out of.
For example, this Golden Dragon Stone.
Probably like most poor people who suddenly got a windfall, he did not keep the money for long. Gambling, swindling, and stealing made him destitute in just half a year. At that time, Anna had not yet become famous, but some natives had recognized her when she sealed the gap in the city wall with fire. He had tried to ask a neighbor to look for his daughter, but he was refused and ridiculed. Later, this matter reached the ears of Carter, who was responsible for forming the militia, and Carter disclosed it to Anna.
From then on, she knew that she had to do something to make her father, who had betrayed her, quiet down.
She did not want him to bring trouble to Roland.
They came to a quiet residential area in the east of the city and went up to the second floor of a building.
Carter turned around and said, "Miss Anna, wait for me here."
"Thank you."
"No, it's just a piece of cake." He walked to a door and knocked hard on it.
After a moment, the door opened with a squeak. "Ah … it's Sir Knight, I …"
"Why did you take so long to open the door? Are you deaf?" Carter scolded. "Get out of the way, don't block the door."
"Yes, yes …"
Maybe it was better this way.
Anna leaned against the wall of the corridor and sighed in her heart.
To be honest, she did not want to care about this former father at all, but she knew that ignoring him would only make the situation worse. And she could not do it herself. Otherwise, her stubbornness and arrogance that could not see the situation clearly would make him habitually show off his power as a father, which would not work as a deterrent.
Instead of begging him, it was better to let him realize that the status between them was as different as heaven and earth. As the Chief Knight that the people of the Border Area were familiar with, Carter was already a great noble in the eyes of ordinary people. Using this Golden Dragon as a fee to keep his mouth shut, coupled with some stern warnings, should be enough to keep him quiet, and His Majesty would not have to bear another burden for this.
Anna did not understand the relationship between them before.
Ever since she was arrested and imprisoned, she had lost interest in everything, and the world had turned into a lifeless gray. It was not until Roland rescued her that she saw a different color from the past. After living in the castle for a while, Anna gradually understood the complicated relationship between people, and she also had a new understanding of why her father would vent his anger on her.
But she did not like these twisted things at all.
She could only really relax when she was with Roland.
And those books that recorded wonderful knowledge — they seemed complicated and difficult to understand, but after in-depth contact, one would find that the relationship between them was so simple and direct, and would never change because of interests or desires. The formula that revealed the true face of the world was so clean and concise, so the world should be like this.
The door opened again, and with a flattering and flattering voice asking him to stay, Carter returned to her side and said, "Miss Anna, it's done."
"Yes." After finishing this, Anna suddenly felt a lot more relaxed. "Don't tell His Majesty."
"Of course … I understand."
She nodded, then turned around and walked down the stairs.
It was true that she could not get rid of these disgusting feelings, but with His Majesty, there would always be more and more beautiful things. She could not wait to go to North Slope Mountain and continue her research work.
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