Under the light, the gray gemstone appeared dim yet dazzling. This contradictory feeling blended so naturally on this gemstone, as if it would attract people's attention at a glance. Anyone who saw this gemstone for the first time would know that it was not an ordinary gemstone. But this gray gemstone was so familiar to Brando that he opened the Dimensional Space and took out another gray gemstone that was almost identical to this one. When he slowly opened his palm, Freya let out a soft exclamation.
"Brando, the gemstone in your hand is exactly the same as the one your grandfather left behind. Did Lord Darius leave this to you?"
Brando glanced at the Erouine Valkyrie, which gave the latter a shock. Freya had never seen him show such a strange expression and subconsciously thought that she had said something wrong.
Brando took a light breath and put the gemstone back. In fact, he still had one more gemstone like this. He had seen similar things twice before. The first time was in the Loop of Trade Winds. The second time was under the glacier in the Deadly Frost Forest. In the Loop of Trade Winds, Archbishop Amman and Wind Empress Saint-ausol called this gemstone the Sealing Stone. And under the glacier, in the strange dream, the Miirna people worshiped it as a sacred object. But he knew in his heart what this thing was — the soul fragment of the Darkness Dragon.
This gray gemstone emitted a strange light because it was transparent inside, which meant that the inheritance in the gemstone had been extracted.
And this gemstone —
It was a relic left behind by his grandfather.
Sword Saint Darius was the Darkness Dragon? Brando was shocked by this sudden thought. This seemed to explain why Darius was judged by the Holy Cathedral of Fire, exiled, and chose to leave the center of power of the kingdom and live in seclusion. Why did the allies suddenly change sides during the Holy War? It was because Sword Saint Darius was the Darkness Dragon. Because of this truth, everything seemed to make sense. He shook his head again. But this did not explain why they were attacked by Madara's undead army from behind during the third Holy War in the game.
Besides, if his grandfather was the Darkness Dragon, the Holy Cathedral of Fire wouldn't let him off so easily. After all, the Darkness Dragon was the archenemy of the four Holy Cathedrals.
Another suspicious point came from his grandfather's lifespan. In Brando's memories, his grandfather had passed away due to illness, but in fact, it was also due to the gradual aging and decline of his body's functions. His final lifespan could only be considered to be slightly longer among ordinary people, but with Sword Saint Darius's strength and realm, he had passed away at an untimely age. He had long suspected this. Not to mention, after receiving the Dark Dragon's inheritance, his lifespan would be greatly increased. He knew very well what the inheritance of the Dark Dragon meant — it was the Blood of God.
Brando bent his knuckles and gently knocked on the desk. Doubts arose in his heart, as if there was a faint thread in his thoughts, but he couldn't grasp the thread at the moment.
At this time, Freya suddenly said, "Brando, Amandina, take a look at this map."
Brando already had some guesses and conclusions in his heart at this moment. He raised his head and looked at the simple map, but when he looked at it, he was slightly startled. Because on the papyrus map, there were only a few simple lines outlined with a pen that was difficult to fade, and then some crooked annotations were written. The whole map was almost impossible to understand, but he suddenly felt as if he had seen this map somewhere before.
Was it in the game?
He immediately shook his head. There were very few secret maps in the game. Sophie had come across a few, but most of them were clearer than this one. And in this life, he had come across even fewer secret maps. About this map, although he had an impression in his mind, he couldn't remember where he had seen it.
Freya looked at him and Amandina, then said, "These annotations are also secret text, and it seems to say a place called Osopal."
"Osopal?" Amandina was stunned, "Erouine doesn't have such a place."
"Cruz doesn't have it either." Brando replied, he took a deep breath, "This is the name of the Miirna people. The Miirna people once had a great battle with the Cruz people and the Wind Elves there."
All of a sudden, he remembered. That feeling was as if another image subconsciously appeared in his mind, and this image naturally overlapped with this simple map, making him suddenly tremble. He suddenly remembered that he had seen this map here before. The Miirna people, Tuman. Tuman had once hidden a map in his mind when he officially embarked on the path of a Planeswalker. That map would occasionally appear in his mind, but when he actively tried to recall it, he couldn't remember a single thing. It was because of this that he had a feeling of familiarity and strangeness.
At this moment, he completely understood. The map that Tuman gave him only had lines of undulating mountains and rivers, but Amandina's father had marked on it. The place that Freya pointed to was the Osopal Plains, which was today's Four Leaf Clover Field. However, there were also some places that Brando thought should be the names of the Miirna people that corresponded to today's names. But the map left behind by Amandina's father was still blank. Although Brando didn't know why Borg Nesson would draw such a map, he faintly guessed that the latter was looking for something, and this thing was not only related to the war between the Miirna people and the Black Dwarves a thousand years ago.
It was also related to his grandfather.
"Grandfather, who in the world are you?" Brando couldn't help but groan in his heart.
He looked at the three items on the table, and the doubts in his heart suddenly became more profound than when he didn't find any clues. It was as if he had parted the fog and found that there were even more black clouds behind it, and he couldn't even see his own fingers if he stretched out his hand. His heart was filled with doubts, and he finally couldn't help but open the telepathic link, and said to The Shire and Metisha on the other side, "The Shire, Metisha, are you there? I have a question to ask you."
But he didn't expect that as soon as he opened his mouth, The Shire's surprised voice sounded, "Ha, My Lord, I have something to ask you, and I didn't expect to hear your voice. Our hearts are really connected …"
"Cut the crap," Brando interrupted him in a huff, "The Shire, let me ask you, do you know the two people, Fear Mead and Shippard?"
The voice on the other side became excited, "My Lord, why are you asking about them?"
"That means you know them?"
"Of course, they are your grandfather's attendants. Fear Mead was born in the Anna family, and is the second son of the Count of Grey Mountain. Shippard was born in a small noble family in Seifer, and he was a famous genius back in the day. "
The Shire paused, and continued, "Brando, did you find them?"
Brando shook his head, "I only heard about it by chance."
"Did your father tell you?" The Shire sighed, "I have been looking for them."
"So you don't know about their situation?"
"My Lord, when they received the princess's order, they left without saying goodbye. I know they must have known something, so I have been looking for them." The Shire replied.
Brando frowned, and asked sharply, "Her Highness?"
The Shire's voice became hoarse, and then he said, "Ah, you misheard, my Lord."
"The Shire, I heard from the Nightsong Tiger that the scenery in the Gem Plains is very good. I think it is time to give you a holiday." Brando silently threatened.
The Shire's voice was almost crying, "Alright, alright, Brando, please don't put me in confinement, listen to me … Alright, that princess … You know, your father almost became the betrothed of one of Princess Gryphine's aunts."
"One of them?"
"I can't reveal her name, I have to protect a lady's reputation. Besides, she may not meet you." The Shire said helplessly.
"Is what you said true?"
"It's absolutely true," the young attendant Mage promised solemnly.
Brando frowned, he felt that this guy's words were not completely trustworthy, but if it was true, then the clues were cut off again.
He shook his head, and suddenly he remembered something, "What do you want from me?"
"Ah, ah, don't you have something to ask Metisha?" The Shire's forehead was full of cold sweat, and he wanted to change the topic, but he heard Brando's cold snort, and he quickly replied, "Alright, I mean, if you don't have something urgent on your side, you should listen to a piece of news from me."
"What news?" Brando was surprised.
"It was a magic message from a certain Countess's subordinate, and she passed it to me."
"Dilferi?"
…
In front of the princess was a silver brooch, she picked it up and looked at it carefully, then silently put it down.
She still remembered the situation that afternoon.
The afternoon sun seemed to have a certain taste, and the leaves rustled, but there was no sound except for the silence. She gently tiptoed, then slowly retracted her cold lips. Brando's eyes widened, and he looked at the princess with some confusion.
"Brando, I'm really grateful to hear that you still want to go down this path, but I still hope that you can seriously consider our engagement."
"Why?" Brando frowned and asked.
"Erouine is a small country, and to fight against potential enemies, we must gather the power of the whole kingdom, and even restore the ancient system," Gryphine said. Gryphine took a few steps back and looked at him carefully with her light silver-gray, bright eyes. "But this ancient kingdom has been ruled by Seifer and my family for two generations. I know it too well. The nobles under my father's rule have different intentions, short-sighted, and only a few have ideals. These people are not worthy of trust."
As if to emphasize this sentence, she gently shook her head, "The kingdom must re-centralize power, re-establish the local tax system that has been suspended since Anson's time, and weaken the military power of the nobles, but …"
Brando suddenly understood the hidden meaning behind the 'but'. The Southern Territory already had the foundation to restore the royal power, but the right to decide the future of the whole Southern Territory fell on him. If he supported the princess without reservation, then whether Duke Anthony, Duke Viero, or Duke Grinoires objected or not, the final result would not change. The Battle of Autumn Twilight had already shown that Tónigel had such a decisive military power.
But if he objected, or even just maintained the status quo, then the local nobles would follow his lead and be indifferent. Indeed, the Duke of Viero was the princess's grandfather, and the Duke of Anthony was, at least in name, an ally of the princess. The Highland Knights were detached, but the local nobility and the central royal family were naturally antagonistic; the Duke of Viero would never risk losing his power to support his granddaughter, and the Duke of Anthony was the same. They were happy to see a royal family close to them, but would not allow it to override them.
This was a natural conflict between the princess's ideals and the Dukes' core interests.
But what should he do?
The kingdom must re-centralize power, and Tónigel and Valhalla naturally could not be detached. It could even be said that they were the first to bear the brunt of this. Her Highness wants me to set an example, but can I trust this half-elf girl? Trentheim and Valhalla were built by me step by step. It's where many people's hopes and future lie. The Red Bronze Dragon Mercenaries who experienced the November War, the adventurers who were persecuted by Graudin, the residents of the Green Village, and even Amandina and Carglise. Their hopes and dreams are all wrapped around me. This is the responsibility that comes with authority. Can I pass this responsibility to others?
He silently weighed everything in his heart. From an emotional point of view, he was willing to trust the princess. She was able to persist in her ideals, and had a heart that pursued benevolence and justice. She was the eldest princess of Erouine, and the holy princess who had won the hearts of countless players in history. But no one was perfect. Whether she would still be controlled by her aristocratic nature in this life, hesitating and compromising with the conservative forces, was related to the fate of many people. Reason told Brando that the princess had a weak side in her nature, and she was not a true reformer.
And all of this depended on the gentleness in her nature.
History had already judged everything, and today's outcome depended on his choice. Brando was very clear that he was different from the princess. He had no foundation in this world, and the only thing he cared about was his parents. But Princess Gryphine had an unbreakable connection with the old nobles, and she was not the ruthless Silver Queen.
Brando looked at the princess in front of him. She was half a head shorter than him, and she raised her head slightly. Her pale silver-grey eyes did not avoid his gaze. She pursed her lips, and her silver curly hair fell down, shining beautifully under the sunlight. Her pointy ears peeked out from under her long hair, showing that she was an Elf. No one would doubt the beauty of this princess. She had the nobility of a royal family mixed with the natural intimacy of a forest breeze.
Of course, Brando would not forget that his lips still had the fragrance of a young girl.
"I know what you are thinking, Brando," Princess Gryphine saw that he understood and said, "But if the person who can decide the future of a kingdom is too naive, it may not be a good sign for you and for me."
Brando heard the hidden meaning in her words, so he asked, "Then what do you think I should do, Your Highness?"
Princess Gryphine looked at Brando. He could actually take the same path as Arreck, dethroning her and Haruz, and establish himself as king. His strength was actually better, and he had more ability and time to do so. However, if he did so, he would lose the reputation that accompanied him and his rightful position. If all he needed was a throne and supreme power, he could have chosen this path. But if he chose the latter path, he would lose far more than he would gain.
Princess Gryphine's eyes lit up slightly. She looked at the different noble — the Count — and quietly replied, "Marry me."
"I am Haruz's sister. In fact, it's not that I don't have the right to inherit the throne, and you, as my husband, can legitimately manage and rule this country according to the traditions of the kingdom. At that time, Tónigel and Valhalla will be the territory of the royal family. Viero, Lantonilan, and even Grinoires and Karsuk will submit to you, which is also a legitimate matter. " She paused. "… However, if one day you no longer have any interest in the throne, only Haruz or his descendants can inherit this position."
Wasn't this Arreck, but the conditions were much harsher. Brando listened to Princess Gryphine's words and couldn't help but smile bitterly, "Your Highness, but it doesn't sound like I'm marrying you, it sounds like I'm marrying you …"
Princess Gryphine smiled somewhat mockingly. She could see that Brando didn't care about the power in his hands.
"But I already have a fiancée," Brando could only reply, "Let's put this matter aside first."
"It's okay, then I'll wait for your answer." Princess Gryphine was not annoyed at all, but smiled slightly.
Brendel had no choice but to flee.
Gryphine's fingers pressed on the brooch, as if she had recovered from her memories. She looked up at the sunset outside the window. The sunset was as red as fire, hanging far below the golden clouds.
At this time, there was a knock on the door. She was slightly startled, listened to the sound, and said, "Please come in, Mrs. Hill." After the door opened, it was her maid who appeared outside. The woman in her forties held a letter in her hand and stood outside the door respectfully, "Your Highness."
"It's so late, what's the matter?" Princess Gryphine looked at her and asked.
"There's a letter from Vallendenburg," Mrs. Hill replied.
"Is it for me?"
"Yes, it's a letter from Mr. Oberwei."
Gryphine took the letter, opened the envelope, then unfolded the letter inside and read it carefully. She raised her eyebrows slightly at first, then her face changed color.
"— — Your Highness, the Silver Empress of the Cruz Empire has recently made an exception to confer the title of Countess to a female. According to reliable information, this new Countess is from Erouine and has some kind of close relationship with Count Tónigel — —"
…
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