The corridor was as dilapidated, narrow, and dim as he remembered, and the dusty wooden boards were full of holes left by years of disrepair. Brando came to a door based on his memory and stopped to ask, "Is this the one?"
"Yes." A voice behind him replied softly, it was Amandina's voice.
Freya followed behind the two, frowning as she looked at the place. As they stood on the walkway, the wooden boards creaked, and the air was filled with a choking smell of dust. She thought that even the stables in the countryside of Bucce were slightly cleaner than this. She could not imagine that someone would live in a place like this.
"It seems to be locked." Brando said as he fiddled with the doorknob.
"I locked it before I left." Amandina replied softly.
"Do you have a key?"
"Yes, I've always had it with me." Amandina fumbled around and took out a copper key. Brando had a good memory and recognized at a glance that the chain on which the key was hung was her original necklace. He remembered that he had seen this necklace once or twice. There should have been a beautiful crystal pendant on the necklace, but this pendant had long since disappeared. He took the key and weighed it in his hand, a little surprised, "Why do you have this?"
"I don't know when I'll need it." Amandina replied with her usual seriousness.
"Looks like it did come in handy." Brendel smiled and glanced at her. Amandina also smiled faintly in return.
He turned the key and opened the door. Behind the wooden door was like a monster's huge black mouth, waiting for its prey to walk into the trap. The three of them stood at the door for a moment before they adapted to the sudden darkness. The room was as small and dusty as they remembered, but it was very clean. It was obvious that its owner had carefully decorated it before leaving. "Amandina, you used to live here?" Freya looked at the room with some surprise. Back in Bucce, even the militia's old warehouse was much more spacious and bright. She had always thought that Amandina was of noble birth, but she did not expect that she would live in a place like this before she followed Brando.
"Yes."
"But I heard from Brando that you're the daughter of a noble family …"
"Sir Lord is right. I used to be." Amandina replied: "But after my father went missing, the creditors came knocking on my door. In order to pay off the debts, I had no choice but to sell off my family's assets. I remember that not long after that, my mother died of depression, and life became tight. In order to reduce expenses, she had no choice but to do so. "
"I'm sorry, Amandina. I didn't know you had such a past. I shouldn't have mentioned it." Freya replied awkwardly.
Amandina smiled and did not mind.
Brando came to the desk and lit the remaining candles. The candlelight was like a bean, barely illuminating the room. The room was filled with dust, but Amandina walked to the bed and lifted the curtain, revealing a clean wooden bed with only a slight musty smell. Brando looked at her with some surprise, his eyes full of praise. Freya was also of low birth, and did not feel uncomfortable in this small and dilapidated room. She saw the two's actions and silently helped to clean up the room. The three of them did not speak. Since the last time they left Braggs, they rarely had time like this. The room was quiet for a while, and there were only a few faint noises. It didn't take long for them to clean up the room.
Amandina opened the window next to the desk. She looked through the window and frowned. She gently closed the window and opened the drawer again. "Someone entered the room." She suddenly said.
Brando was a little surprised: "What's wrong?"
"After I left, someone entered this room."
"What's going on?" Brendel's brows furrowed.
"There should be more than one person. They came in through the window. After they came in, they first checked the drawer. "She walked to the side and opened the cabinet:" They should also have checked my cabinet. The books inside have been rummaged through. They seem to be looking for something. "
"Are you sure, Amandina?" Brando asked with some vigilance.
"Yes, I put the things I put away myself. I never remember wrongly. Someone must have touched them."
"Do you want to ask around?" Freya whispered.
"No, they definitely don't know anything," Amandina shook her head: "Whether it's a thief or some other uninvited guest, they definitely wouldn't deliberately let people find them."
"Do you have any clues?"
"It's a little strange. It seems that these people came early. When we cleaned the room earlier, we didn't pay attention to footprints or anything else. The dust in the room is very natural, which means that these people at least didn't visit in the past few months."
"A year ago?" Brando thought for a moment. At that time, they seemed to have just left Braggs not long ago. They were not well-known, and it seemed unlikely that anyone would have noticed them at that time. He thought about it for a year and replied: "If it really was at that time, then it could only be a thief."
Amandina smiled: "Then I'm afraid that the thieves will regretfully return empty-handed."
This sentence made Brando's heart grow suspicious. The people who lived in Gravedigger Street were the poorest group of people in the city. It was unlikely that the people who mingled in the gray areas of the city did not know this. In fact, thieves rarely visited such places because they mostly knew that these places were not profitable. He hesitated for a moment, and suddenly heard Freya say: "There's only one bed here, Brando."
Brendel paused for a moment before he realized the awkward situation. He had almost forgotten that Amandina was the only one who lived in this room, and there was only one bed in the room.
Amandina paused for a moment before realizing this point. After all, the only furniture in the room was a desk, a small cupboard, two chairs, and a bed. It was hard for her not to think of the problem of sleeping in such a simple environment. "The two of you can sleep together. With my current strength, it doesn't matter if I sleep or not." Brando thought for a moment and said.
"That won't do," Amandina shook her head: "You're the lord, how can a retainer let the lord suffer for him? Besides, this is also because of my lack of consideration."
Since Amandina did not agree, Freya naturally would not agree. Her face was not thick enough to be selfish to the point where she could enjoy it alone.
Brando seemed to have expected this. He looked at the two of them and sighed: "Let's talk about it later. I'll go get you something to eat first."
Amandina nodded her head lightly.
In the game, there were many places that sold food in large cities like Braggs. As long as you could afford it, you could even buy food from the workshops on the streets. But in this place, if you wanted to get food, you would have to go to the inns, taverns, or the bakeries in the city. If you wanted to go further, you would have to go to the mills outside the city. There were many eyes in the inns and taverns, and no one knew if there were spies there. Brando naturally did not want to go there, and there were no bakeries near the gravedigger's street. But this little trouble was not a problem for him. The slums did not lack idlers, and he casually spent a few Tor to find a boy who was willing to run errands for him. He also showed off his skills in front of the boy and used his sword to carve a nightingale's mark on the wall, so that the boy would not dare to take the money and not do the job.
Of course, with his current status, he did not lack money, but he could not let Amandina and the future Valkyrie of Erouine starve. He was a noble of the kingdom, and he could not act so incompetent in front of the ladies by his side.
When the boy saw the deep mark he left on the stone wall, he revealed a look of bewilderment. Brendel knew that the boy was not afraid of his swordsmanship, but the symbol that he left behind. Most of the people who grew up in this place had dealings with the Brotherhood of Thieves in the gray area, and there were many of them who were spies. That was why the boy was able to recognize the mark he left behind. It was a more advanced method of communication between the Brotherhood of Thieves in Grinoires. He had learned a little about Nightingales in the game, and even though it was only a little, it was enough to scare the boy who did not know much.
The youth was frightened by him. After taking his money, he stood there timidly and looked at him carefully and asked, "Sir, do you have any other orders?"
"You live nearby?" Brando asked.
The boy nodded.
"Do you know the tenant of that room?" Brando asked as he pointed to the window of the second room next to Amandina's.
"Yes, there's an old man who lives there. People call him Nightingale. He used to be a loan shark, but I don't know who he offended, so he came here to hide." The boy answered straightforwardly.
Brando raised his eyebrows slightly. He did not expect that the person he randomly caught would be so well-informed. But then he felt relieved. These young people who came from the lower class had nothing to do and wandered the streets all day. Except for a few who could endure hardships, most of them were unwilling to be apprentices and be controlled by others. In this era where information was limited, it was normal for these people to be well-informed. It was just that nine out of ten rumors that they knew were rumors, but some of the local customs could be found by asking them.
"What about this room?" He pointed to the room next to Amandina's.
"This room has been empty for a long time, my lord."
"And the one next to it?" Brando's heart skipped a beat, and he pointed to Amandina's room. The boy hesitated for a moment, as if he was thinking for a moment, and then answered: "The owner of this room seems to be a poor noble lady, but I haven't seen her for a long time. I heard that her health was not good, and she probably died of illness."
You're the one who died of illness. Brando thought in annoyance. But he saw that the boy was talking about it as if it was normal for him to talk about eating and drinking, and he knew that the so-called death was a common occurrence in this place. In the slums of Gravedigger's Street, there were many people who froze or starved to death every year. Everyone knew this, and the nobles turned a blind eye to it, as if it was natural. Brando sighed. At least this guy was not lying, and he really did know this place well.
He asked a few more irrelevant questions, and then suddenly asked: "Do people often 'visit' this place?"
Of course, by 'patronage', he didn't mean that they had come to visit openly, but that he was talking about the thieves. Naturally, the boy understood what he meant. He couldn't help but look at this stylish gentleman in awe. He was certain that this gentleman was the legendary Nightingale. Otherwise, how could he have drawn that symbol that he didn't even recognize? That symbol must be the kind used between thieves, but it was much more complicated than what he knew. Now that he was talking about the Brotherhood's slang, he was even more certain of this point.
"Of course not, my Lord," the young man hurriedly replied. "There's not much profit here, so it's unlikely that they'd be interested in such a place. Other than those poor mercenaries and old prostitutes, who would be willing to live in such a place?"
"There are always some people who are blind."
The boy thought for a moment, and he probably understood Brando's meaning. He thought hard for a while, and then remembered something: "My lord, a year ago, the patrolling cavalry came here. That's right, they seemed to be looking for the noble lady. "
Brendel frowned and asked a few more questions, but the youth could not say anything else. Just like what Amandina said, whether it was a thief or an uninvited guest, it was unlikely that they would be willing to let others notice their whereabouts. Brendel frowned and asked a few more questions, but the youth could not say anything else. Just like what Amandina said, whether it was a thief or an uninvited guest, it was unlikely that they would want others to notice their whereabouts. In the end, he shook his head and threw a silver coin to the boy: "Alright, go and come back early, I'm still hungry."
"My lord, don't worry, I promise I won't spend a single coin." The boy hurriedly replied in fear and trepidation.
"There's no need for that. You bought enough food for three people, and the rest is yours. I don't lack money, but you better not cause trouble for me." Brando purposely replied coldly.
He asked for the boy's name again, and the boy quickly ran away after he answered, as if he was afraid to stay by Brendel's side for even a moment longer. Brendel could not help but let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had not completely forgotten some of the old tricks in the game. In this world, being a noble for a year had been too easy. Other than the basic swordsmanship, he was almost out of practice with other skills. In the past, these things were done properly by Amandina, Felaern, or Carglise. Today, it was rare for him to do it himself, and he found some of the feeling of the past.
He stopped and looked at the scenery before Braggs. The sky in the west was crimson, and under the clouds was a golden hue. This scene was not much different from a year ago. But at this time, he heard a cold laugh: "It seems like my lord is quite knowledgeable. You're not unfamiliar with these things at the bottom."
Brando raised his head. Amandina's house was located by the Bucce River that passed through Braggs. There was a small courtyard behind the house, and beside the courtyard was the Bucce River. There was originally a staircase that led down to the river, and it was equivalent to a small pier. Those who had a little money would tie a small boat to a pillar beside the staircase as another way to travel. But the people who lived here were naturally not so extravagant. The staircase outside the courtyard had been abandoned for many years, and there were weeds that were almost as tall as a person growing in the gaps between the stairs. At this moment, there was an additional figure in the bushes.
He narrowed his eyes and recognized the person: "Tirste?" That man was Viscount Tirste. He had seen him once at the auction in Bruglas. Even though his appearance had changed a lot, his blonde hair had turned white, and the wrinkles on his face made him look like he had aged by decades, Tirste could still recognize his facial features and that unique gaze of his. Tirste was able to call out his name without any hesitation.
"I didn't expect my lord to be able to recognize me." Tirste sighed as he stood on the stone steps. Back then, when he fought with this man in the underground auction house of this city, he almost killed him. Who would have thought that in a mere year, the man's strength would have grown to such an extent. He used to think that he was a genius, but now he understood what a true genius was like. But all of that was meaningless to him. He came here to seek freedom.
Brando heard Tirste's hoarse voice and asked curiously: "How did you become like this?"
"It's a long story. That experience was a nightmare to me," Tirste replied: "But it has something to do with my lord."
"What does it have to do with me?" Brendel furrowed his brows. He remembered that the only time he had interacted with this guy was during the underground auction, and after that, they had not interacted with each other. When he saw this guy appear before him, he thought that he was here to take revenge for what happened back then.
"If my lord has the time to listen to my nonsense, I can slowly tell you this story. In return, I will tell you some secrets about the past." Tirste said with a hoarse voice.
[Did this guy come to me just to tell me a story? Is this guy crazy?] Brendel thought to himself. But from the looks of it, there was an eighty percent chance that he was. Still, he was interested in the secrets Tirste spoke of. He had a feeling that it had something to do with the Unifying Guild, and the biggest threat to him right now was that damned organization. He nodded and asked: "Here?"
"Let's do it here. There's no one around. Every second is torture to me. I don't have the time to look for another place." Tirste replied.
Brando looked at Tirste curiously. What kind of experience did Tirste go through to become like this? After a moment of silence, Tirste suddenly said: "It's because of the Lionheart Sword."
"The Lionheart Sword?"
Tirste nodded and told the story of how he started searching for the Lionheart Sword for the Unifying Guild.
… …
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