"Amandina, you open it." Brando looked at the box and said.
Amandina was stunned for a moment before she reacted. She looked at her lord carefully, feeling a little touched, and then nodded gently.
She placed her hand on the cold iron box and suppressed the excitement in her heart. She chanted the incantation in a low voice. Word by word came out from her soft lips, low and clear. The lock of the box seemed to be lifted by an invisible hand, and then quietly slid open. Finally, it fell to the ground with a bang. She took a deep breath and slowly opened the box. Below was a layer of waterproof tarpaulin, and under the tarpaulin were three tightly bundled packages. The wrappers were also made of the same tarpaulin material, and on top of the packages was a letter. The seal on the letter was also printed with the emblem they had seen before.
Amandina opened the envelope and carefully read through the contents of the letter. The contents of the letter were similar to the will. If someone else found this inheritance, he hoped that the person who found it would split it into three parts. He would be able to inherit the richest part, while the other two parts and some miscellaneous items would be left to Amandina and Sadie. At least they would have something to rely on in life, and at the same time, it would also be a memento. There were also some words left for Amandina in the letter, probably hoping that she could be happy and forgive his irresponsible father. After reading the last sentence, Amandina held the letter with both hands for a long time without saying a word. She lowered her head, and her thick eyelashes trembled slightly like feathers.
Brando and Freya looked at each other behind her. The future Valkyrie's eyes were full of sympathy, and she almost wanted to share the sorrow in Amandina's heart. She thought of her own background, and her heart also softened.
After a while, Amandina put down the letter. She looked as if nothing had happened, but her face was frighteningly pale: "My lord, let's open these packages."
Seeing her like this, Brando couldn't bear to say anything, so he just nodded. He suddenly wondered if he had really made the right decision to come here. He thought that Amandina had long forgotten the haze of the past, but he didn't expect that these sorrows were buried so deep in her heart. Amandina opened the largest package first, and the gold and silver rays immediately illuminated the three of their faces. There were gold bars and silver ingots neatly stacked together, along with some jewels and deeds to houses and lands. Amandina quickly estimated that there were at least a hundred thousand Tor's worth of wealth, which was a large sum of money for a small noble family. However, this money was prepared by her father for the person who discovered the inheritance. Amandina silently put it aside and opened the second package.
The second parcel contained similar items, but the amount was only half of the first parcel. This parcel was for her mother. There was also a letter signed by Sadie, her mother. Amandina did not open the envelope. Instead, she stared at the letter for a long while before putting it down gently. Then she picked up the third parcel. This was the smallest parcel, about the size of a dressing box. This parcel was left for her.
When she held the parcel, she almost suffocated, but she still held her breath and carefully opened it. She separated the layers of oiled paper, and inside was an exquisite walnut box. When she opened the box again, there was a ring and a thin necklace on top of the velvet cloth. The moment she saw the necklace, she couldn't help but cry.
Brando and Freya looked at the necklace in silence. It turned out that the crystal pendant of the necklace was a beautiful Recording Crystal. When the box was opened, the crystal shone and reflected a man and a woman standing side by side. The man had a head of black hair, and his face vaguely resembled Amandina's. He smiled gently at Amandina.
"Anna, if there is a day when you open this box with your own hands, I believe that at this time, I will already be dead. My beloved daughter, I dare not ask for your forgiveness as an irresponsible father, but please believe that your father's life is to pursue the most righteous and just things in this world. Because I know that a person who takes responsibility for this world will never be a sinner. Anna, I hope that there will be a day when you can use your clear eyes to see the truth of this world, and not be blinded by falsehood. Because you are so intelligent, you are my pride. "
"This ring is the token of my engagement with your mother. After obtaining your mother's permission, I will leave it here. I hope that one day it can be a witness to your happiness, to your other half."
"Anna," the gentle woman who resembled Amandina said with a smile: "I hope that one day, you'll be able to find your own happiness."
"Liar …" Amandina sobbed, as if the emotions that she had been suppressing were finally bursting out like a flood that had broken through a dam. Her beast-like whimpers finally turned into howls of pain. Brando had never seen his quiet and calm Amandina reveal such a side to him. She was as helpless as a child, her weak shoulders trembling, as if she could not make any other sound other than crying.
Brando was also choked with sobs. In this world, there were some emotions that could always move people's hearts, and hit the softest part of people's hearts. Family was undoubtedly the kind of emotion that could never be cut off. No matter how strong and indifferent she appeared in his eyes, as if she had already forgotten everything in the past, in front of her parents, she was still crying like a child. She was not biting her lips and tears were welling up in her eyes, but she had completely lost her voice and cried out like a wild beast.
Freya also turned her head and wiped the corners of her eyes with her hand.
She did not know how much time had passed.
Amandina finally sorted out her feelings. She blushed and tried not to look at Freya and Brando, as if she was afraid of being seen by them as a joke. "My Lord, I have checked carefully. It seems that there are no relics of Lord Darius here." As soon as she opened her mouth, her face could not help but turn even redder. Because her voice was so hoarse, it was almost like a different person was speaking.
Brando looked at her with some concern and asked: "Are you okay, Amandina?"
Amandina shook her head and sighed softly. Her heart was in a mess, and for a moment, she could not tell if she was really okay or not. But in any case, after getting the things that her father left for her, the hatred in her heart for her father who left without saying goodbye seemed to be less intense. She silently thought that perhaps when her mother was holding her hand on the sickbed, she already knew where her father had gone. They had always known, because her father had never lied to her mother. They just worked together to deceive her. She smiled, then shook her head gently. Although the tears still hung on her cheeks, Amandina's smile was very cute.
Brando finally breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at Freya, and the kind-hearted girl of Bucce also breathed a sigh of relief.
There were no relics of Darius in the box, which was completely opposite to what was written in the letter. This was both within and outside of Brando's expectations. He thought for a moment before answering: "Amandina, your father could not guarantee that the person who unearthed his inheritance would be you, nor could he guarantee that the person who unearthed it would keep his promise to give the inheritance to you and your mother, so it is unlikely that he would put such an important thing directly in the inheritance."
Amandina nodded her head.
"But he clearly wrote in the letter …" Freya asked with some confusion: "That was a private letter, there was no need for him to lie, right?" She immediately understood and said: "I understand, there was no need for him to put Lord Darius' relics in his own inheritance, but he could have left clues in the inheritance –"
Brando looked at her with some surprise: "… … How did you suddenly become so smart?"
Freya gritted her teeth and glared at him.
"If my father left a message for me in the inheritance, I think it can only be in my package." Amandina thought for a moment and replied.
"But isn't it possible that it was in your mother's package?" Freya turned back and asked again.
Amandina shook her head: "My mother's package was basically filled with valuables. My father would definitely take into account the greed of people, and only the inheritance that he left for me was almost all miscellaneous things that wouldn't attract attention. Moreover, I've also checked my mother's package before, and that letter, there was nothing in it that was worth paying attention to. "
"Amandina, you guessed it a long time ago, you're really smart." Freya said with some envy. She was never the smartest one in the Knight Academy, and could even be said to be a little stupid. But for those who were truly talented, she only envied and did not have the slightest bit of jealousy. The princess told her that her father was the most talented Knight Lord in Erouine's previous era, which made her very distressed. Why was she so clumsy?
Amandina smiled slightly.
"Have you checked it?" Brando asked again.
Amandina nodded: "I've checked the necklace, the ring, and the box inside and out, but I didn't find any clues." She thought for a moment and replied: "I don't think my father would leave such important information in a conspicuous place. I'm afraid only by taking them apart will I be able to find out where the clues are."
"But that's the last thing your father left for you —"
"It's okay, My Lord," Amandina replied softly: "This is also my father's wish, he won't blame us for this. Besides, if we miss someone, we should keep it in our hearts and not be entangled in these external things."
She opened the box, but Brando held her hand. "I'll do it." He said: "Show me the necklace."
Amandina was slightly startled. She raised her head and looked at her Lord, then nodded and put the necklace in his hand. Brando took the necklace and carefully examined it. Then he pinched the pendant of the necklace and gently turned it. After only a moment, the pendant really did loosen. He dropped the pendant in a certain direction, then carefully held it up to the light in the room, and then pulled out a wrapped piece of paper from it.
His actions were without the slightest hesitation, as if he had planned all of this in advance and had already guessed that the note was hidden in the necklace. Freya and Amandina who were next to him were completely stunned.
"My … My Lord?" Amandina's mouth was slightly open. She almost thought that her Lord was an omniscient and omnipotent God.
Recording Crystals had a physical characteristic, their crystal structure was hollow. Brendel had thought of this when he checked the necklace, and he tried to remove the pendant from the necklace. He did not expect to succeed in one try, and he found the key to the pendant. This was also a coincidence. He handed the necklace over to Amandina and explained the reason to her with a wry smile. Amandina finally understood the reason, but she still looked at her lord with great respect. Amandina was a researcher of Magicite Runes, so she was most familiar with all kinds of crystals. However, the Recording Crystal was a rare item because it was a man-made Magic Crystal. There were very few people who truly understood its physical properties. Only her lord, who was so knowledgeable that it was almost unheard of, was able to use it so easily.
The three of them opened the note and found that there were some strange symbols drawn on it. It was like a child's scribbles. Brando and Amandina did not understand what it was at first, but Freya said softly: "Ah, this is a military secret rune."
"Military secret rune?" Brando was slightly surprised. He knew that there were often secret messages that needed to be passed on in the military. Every country had a set of secret symbols that were modified from ancient runes. He was very familiar with Erouine's military secret runes, whether it was the "Anson Secret Runes" from thirty years ago or the "New Secret Runes" after the Great Frost Upheaval, he could decipher them, but the ones in front of him were obviously not any of them. He looked at Freya with a questioning gaze, and the future Goddess of War nodded affirmatively at him.
"This is the military secret rune of the Cruz people, and it's an old secret rune from half a century ago. I just happened to learn it in the Royal Academy."
Amandina also realized what she was talking about. "Yes," Amandina replied as if she had recalled something: "When I was young, my father taught me some of this secret rune, but he did not tell me what it was at that time."
Brando did not expect Freya to have learned the secret rune of the Cruz people. He immediately asked: "Can you decipher it?"
Freya read it carefully and nodded: "It's not a big problem, Brando, this looks like a map …"
… …
"What are these?"
There were three things in front of Freya: a light gray crystal, some reddish-brown stone pieces, and a papyrus map with only a few lines. These three things were taken out from the same iron box. This box was taken out from under the floor of an old house in Hood after she deciphered the secret rune. Of course, she did not recognize any of them.
Brando thought of a way to get Di An to spend some money to smuggle out the inheritance from her father's tomb. He cast an elemental protection spell on the box so that those people would not be able to open it. There was a lot of 'work' going in and out of the tomb, and the wizards who secretly practiced dark magic would not bring out the corpses one by one, so it was not strange that they used a box. Brando was originally worried that it would arouse suspicion, but he underestimated the extent to which these things were common in the eyes of grave robbers.
After the gravekeeper received a sum of money from Di An, he patted his chest and promised that it would not be a problem if he wanted to carry a few coffins out of the tomb, let alone a box. Then he found some nimble people from god knows where. In Brando's eyes, these people's style of doing things was similar to that of the Brotherhood of Thieves. In short, with the help of these people, the box was successfully smuggled out without any hiccups. The people who transported the box had done this kind of work over the years, and the box was moved like a stone in their hands. They did not even look at it from beginning to end.
Brando could not help but feel lucky that he was quick-witted enough to cast a Windwing spell on the box. Otherwise, with the experience of these people, he was afraid that they would find out that there was a problem with the weight.
By the time they transported everything back to the manor and went to Hood to retrieve the last relic of Amandina's father, or rather, the relic of Sword Saint Darius, it was almost evening. Brando opened the box in his study and took out the things in the box one by one, and then the scene appeared.
But compared to Freya's confusion, Brando and Amandina's expressions were a little different.
"My Lord, these stone pieces …" Amandina remembered sharply, "I seem to have seen them when I was young. When my father first bought them from a merchant, it was as if he had obtained a treasure. After that, he has been buying these stone pieces everywhere. I remember that for quite a long time, he has been playing with these stone pieces. "
"Did he tell you anything?" Brando stared at the gray crystal and asked without turning his head.
Amandina recalled for a moment, but shook her head, "I was too young at that time. I vaguely remember my father saying a few times that these stone pieces seemed to be the key to something. But later these stone pieces gradually disappeared from my sight. I thought my father had lost interest in them, but I didn't expect him to keep them."
"Amandina, have you ever thought that these things are actually related to my grandfather?" Brando replied.
"I'm afraid so. According to the letter, this box contains the relics of Lord Darius, as well as the fragments of the 'picture' that father spoke of. Are you referring to these pieces of stone?" Amandina asked with a hint of doubt.
But Brando did not answer.
He stared fixedly at the gray gemstone.
… …
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