Secret Knight? " This was the first time Amber had heard of this term. After all, she had only roughly straightened out the aristocratic structure of the old kingdom. She had no idea about the more secretive and special titles and titles. "What do you do? Are you a prowler like you? "
"… Not really." Raven had only known his new boss for a few days, and it was difficult for him to get used to her speaking style. He paused for a moment before replying. "Secret Knight is the collective name for the secret nobles — the Royal Shadow Guards who have made special meritorious deeds, the Extraordinaries who are under the king's protection despite having a tainted past, and the 'secret hands' who are directly loyal to the king. There are always some people who secretly work for the king and are deeply trusted by the king. However, due to various reasons, their identities cannot be made public. These people are called 'Secret Knight'.
"The king will give these people surnames as a recognition of their merits and loyalty. But these surnames will not be recorded in the normal heraldic directory and aristocratic pedigree. Only the direct members of the royal family and a small number of people who are in charge of the directory will know of these people's existence. Generally speaking, more than half of the Secret Knight are the Royal Shadow Guards — the reason is self-evident. "
Raven's face showed a hint of pride as he spoke. There was no doubt that he was also a 'secret noble' with a 'secret surname'.
However, Amber did not take his pride seriously. "The royal family of Ansu … They don't work on production development and the national system. Instead, they work hard on these shady areas. It's just as the old dumpling said. It's been 700 years. You must have new tricks on the basis of the Royal Shadow Guards. "
"Old dumpling?" This was the first time Raven had heard this strange word. He repeated it subconsciously. "What do you mean?"
"It's a code. Don't use it casually. You'll be killed if you use it wrong." Amber waved her hand carelessly. She then looked at Raven from head to toe. "Let's not talk about this. It seems that you're also a Secret Knight, right? That's quite surprising … How can someone like you be a Secret Knight? "
The doubt in her words was obvious, and Raven was a little embarrassed. However, he really couldn't explain that he was actually an expert in the Path of Shadows to a 'master' who had kicked him out of the Shadow Realm three times in a row. This half-elf lady's Shadow Talent was unreasonable. In front of her, he, a top-ranked Shadow Guard of the Royal Family, was like a beginner apprentice.
It seems that as long as this half-elf lady continues to be my superior, I won't be able to make a name for myself in the Path of Shadows … If all else fails, I'll consider Gwen? Duke Cecil had once suggested that he should go back and practice two-handed swordsmanship?
Amber didn't know what was going on in Raven's mind, but she was obviously dissatisfied with her daze. "What are you doing? I'm talking to you! "
"Ah, yes, I … I'm also a Secret Knight because I made some contributions during the period of loyalty to the Royal Family," Raven hurriedly said and quickly skipped the topic. "If the person you're looking for has a noble surname and is not in the normal noble genealogy list, then he may also be a Secret Knight."
"I think he made up his surname … But what if …" Amber smacked her lips and looked up at Raven. "You have a list, don't you? Why don't you hurry up and find him? "
"Yes!" Raven immediately obeyed and left quickly.
After the former Royal Shadow Guard left, Amber glanced at the shelves full of books and files, as well as her subordinates and scholars who were busy between the shelves. She smacked her lips and her ears drooped slightly. She seemed to have a lot on her mind, but she didn't say a word.
"Chief …" A nearby Military Intelligence officer cautiously came up to her. "Then … should we continue to look?"
"Of course, continue to look!" Amber glanced at the subordinate impatiently. "Who knows if there are any clues in the list of 'Secret Knight'. What if there aren't any clues in the list? Won't we still have to search here?"
The Military Intelligence officer quickly returned to his work, and Raven, who went to get the list, didn't let Amber wait too long.
After a short ten minutes, the former Royal Shadow Guard returned to the archive room with several heavy and thick books.
"These are the names of the Secret Knight who have been secretly conferred by the Royal Family in the past few decades, as well as some of their information," Raven said as he put the large books, both old and new, on the table next to Amber. "The earlier files are kept in another archive, and if it's before the Misty Moon civil war … it's even harder to find because there are a lot of confusion and errors. If you need it, it may take some time and manpower to sort it out slowly. "
"Not for the time being. He's just an ordinary human. A few decades … a few decades is enough." Amber looked at the thick books, and her usually confident tone suddenly became hesitant, as if she had a premonition. She looked at the black covers, as if she saw a somewhat blurred, unshaven and decadent face in her memory. "Let's look here first. You guys, don't worry about those bookshelves! Come and help me look! "
Several subordinates immediately responded, "Yes, Chief."
"Be careful, don't spoil them. Some of the books are very old," Hu Po instructed as he distributed the books to his subordinates. "Remember, Surrey Seymour. "Remember, Randolph."
Soon, the only sound left in the archive room was the gentle and careful sound of pages being turned.
Hu Po climbed onto a high chair and slowly flipped through the book in front of her. Word by word, she confirmed the name that appeared in the book and the portrait that was attached between the pages. She almost held her breath, but after an hour, she still found nothing.
However, a member of the Military Intelligence Agency suddenly shouted, "Director! I found it! "
"Let me have a look!"
Hu Po received the name list handed over by his subordinate. "Surrey? Before the name came into view, the first thing she saw was a vivid portrait that was attached between the pages. It was a young man less than 30 years old. His black hair was neatly combed back, and he wore a formal suit. His appearance was not outstanding, but there seemed to be a trace of cynicism in his eyes.
Amber quietly looked at the portrait for a moment and whispered to herself, "Ah … So you were once young …"
"Is it him?" A subordinate came over and asked cautiously.
Everyone could see that the person who appeared in the secret information of the Royal Family must be related to their chief.
"It's him, my foster father," Amber muttered in a low voice and quickly looked at the "Surry Randolph" document. She skimmed through the relevant information of Randolph. It mentioned the young man's background, his family members, and some of his resumes. The information was very brief and had become worthless as time went by. But Hu Po still read it carefully until she noticed a black coat of arms stamp at the end of the information, followed by a few words: Defected or disappeared, removed from the list.
"What does this mean?" Amber pointed at the seal and the words and looked up at Raven.
Raven glanced at it and frowned slightly. He seemed to hesitate, but still said, "This seal shows that he used to be a Shadow Guard of the Royal Family, and defected or disappeared … is the literal meaning. But for the Shadow Guards of the Royal Family, disappearing will be regarded as defection. We know too many secrets, so as long as we lose contact and can't prove that we are dead, we will be regarded as a 'hidden danger'. "
"Defected … He was a defected Shadow Guard of the Royal Family?" Amber muttered to herself, "But why did he defect …"
Raven looked at the list in front of Amber for a while and suddenly said, "If it's the corresponding action record of this list … there should be. I have seen it. Please wait a moment, I'll look for it. "
This time, he returned even faster than before. In just a few minutes, he returned with a file that was obviously quite old.
"Here it is, Surry? The record of Randolph's last mission before he disappeared. Thank God it didn't involve any palace struggle, so it wasn't destroyed. " Raven handed the document to Amber and pointed at a line of blurred words. Amber immediately took the document and read the content in a low voice.
"… 690 … Went to the Gloom Mountains to look for Gondor's legacy, did not return. No evidence of death found, suspected of defection. "
This is about Surry? The complete description of Randolph's last mission as a Shadow Guard of the Royal Family.
"The Gloom Mountains … He went to the Gloom Mountains and did not return to the Captical, so he was suspected of defecting?" Hu Po furrowed his brows as his mind raced. "No … According to the rules of the Royal Shadow Guards, he really did defect … 690 years. After that, he lived incognito in the South for more than twenty years …"
She searched through all the memories of her adoptive father in her mind, trying to draw a clearer outline from those memories to explain the trajectory of her adoptive father's life and the choices he had made.
A Shadow Guard of the Royal Family, who was deeply trusted by the king and was even granted a secret title of nobility, went to the Gloom Mountains to look for Gondor's legacy, and then defected without warning. He lived in the Southern Region for more than 20 years, adopted a half-elf daughter, and cheated with a bad Druil. In the end, he was caught stealing books from the church and was executed by the local nobles and bishops. His death was meaningless, as if he was a lousy thief …
The turning point of everything seemed to have happened in the Gloom Mountains.
Surry? Randolph went there to look for Gondor's legacy, and now Amber knew very well that Gondor's legacy really existed there!
There was a Defiant Fortress there!
Surry? 'Did Randolph find the fortress? ' What did he find in the fortress? Or was it because he failed to find anything and had to live in the Southern Region in seclusion because he failed his mission?
Logically speaking, Amber felt that the second possibility was not very likely. A Shadow Guard of the Royal Family, who was granted a special title by the king, would not defect for such a reason. As for the first possibility …
According to Amber's information, Cecil's explorers had not found any traces of a third party in the Defiant Fortress. Except for Cecil's people, no one else should have entered the ancient fortress.
But this conclusion was not 100% reliable because the Defiant Fortress was too big, and many areas were hidden or unexplored for various reasons. So far, the commander of the explorers dared not say that he had controlled half of the Defiant Fortress. Even Kamel, the "Defiant", did not know how many areas there were in the fortress, how many different research teams occupied different laboratories, and how many attempts to defy the gods and fight against the Great Demon Wave were carried out.
Amber shook her head hard and suppressed all the messy and complicated thoughts. Then she grabbed the documents on the table, jumped down from the high chair, and ran to the door of the archive room.
Raven could not help but shout behind her. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to find the old dumpling!"
With these words, Amber's figure had already disappeared outside the door.
Raven scratched his head with a blank face. So, what did the "old dumpling" code mean?
At the same time, in the study of the Silver Castle, Veronica/Ophilia was reporting to Gwen about the partial progress of the reconstruction of the church's management structure.
"We have spread the Oracle, and the middle and lower level believers have no doubts about the Oracle. They have not raised too many doubts about the various reforms …"
"The upper echelons are a little sensitive. The interpretation of the Canon has touched their interests, but the situation is under control.
"Stopping the heresy trial will help ease the relationship between the Church of Holy Light and other religions, and help restore domestic order. But there is also the possibility that the oppressed heretical believers may be biased and resentful of the Church of Holy Light after the reform. We need the support of the Government Office …"
"The Grand Patriarch is beginning to incorporate and reorganize the original Knight Order of the Vatican. Because these Knight Orders have been severely reduced, they are in urgent need of reorganization and reconstruction, so the process is going smoothly."
"That's all for the report on the church," Gwen said after Veronica's report came to an end. "Let's talk about something else."
Veronica maintained a calm and gentle expression. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Let's talk about you, Miss Ophilia," Gwen said with a smile. "And what you know about the Disobedience Plan. I think it's time for us to go deeper in this topic."
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