Ta Ta Ta …
Among the heavy footsteps, a group of fully armed guards patrolled past.
The light from the torches gradually dissipated as they went further away, and the courtyard was once again shrouded in darkness.
In the shadows of the corner, Colin slowly quickened his pace. Following the faint smell of blood, he gradually came to the northwest corner of Phoenix-Butterfly Castle.
A strong stench assaulted Colin's nostrils, almost causing him to faint.
It was the smell of horse dung.
Only then did Colin realize that he had come to the stable.
Damn it!
Colin cursed in his heart. The smell of blood was covered by the smell of horse dung, and it was a little difficult for him to identify the source.
Fortunately, this place was already at the edge of Phoenix-Butterfly Castle, so Colin began to search around.
Soon, he found the source of the smell of blood again — the clock tower.
This was an old clock tower that had experienced hundreds of years of wind and rain. The mottled outer wall and the vines that crawled on it were traces left behind by time.
Clang!
It was exactly one o 'clock in the morning, and the old clock tower let out a dull and hoarse sound.
Colin hid in the shadows not far away, but he did not immediately go forward.
Because, with just a rough check, he had already found three hidden sentries around the clock tower.
There must be something wrong here!
However, Colin was not confident that he could enter the clock tower without alerting the hidden sentries.
Just as he was about to leave, the thick door of the clock tower suddenly opened.
With a creak, a wheelchair was pushed out.
The face of the man in the wheelchair could not be seen clearly, but Colin could guess the identity of the other party.
Count Morrison's father — Franco Morrison.
After the death of the old count, his son, Franco, was supposed to be the first heir to the title. Unfortunately, Franco was seriously injured in a battle many years ago and had been paralyzed ever since. Therefore, the title of count was passed on to his son, Saiken Morrison, who was the grandson of the old count.
Colin looked at Franco's back as various thoughts flashed through his mind.
In the end, he still quietly followed.
Franco's wheelchair was not fast, and it was moving along the central axis of Phoenix-Butterfly Castle towards the inner courtyard.
Along the way, they met a group of patrolling guards, who immediately stopped to greet Franco.
From their greetings, Colin also confirmed Franco's identity.
After some distance, seeing that Franco was about to enter the main castle, Colin deliberately increased his footsteps and walked out of the shadow.
Sure enough, Franco also stopped.
"Viscount Angley?" Under the moonlight, Franco recognized Colin.
"You are? Knight Franco? "Colin pretended to be surprised.
However, this was indeed their first meeting. Franco did not attend the mourning ceremony and the welcoming banquet.
This Knight Franco looked to be in his fifties. He had a gloomy temperament, a thin face, long and narrow eyes, and thin, bloodless lips.
Years of paralysis had ravaged this once famous knight of the Northern Territory to the point that he was extremely haggard.
"You are …?"
"Oh, I couldn't sleep late at night, so I came out for a walk. I hope I didn't disturb you." Colin walked up with a smile.
Sure enough, the smell of blood was getting stronger.
"Of course not. I couldn't sleep either, so I came out for a walk. "Franco nodded his head and looked at his right hand.
While Colin was puzzled, the maid who pushed the wheelchair explained softly, "Sir Viscounts, Sir Franco wants to shake hands with you."
Colin then bent down slightly and held Franco's skinny right hand.
It was cold and slippery, as if he was holding a dead fish.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't attend your welcoming banquet." Franco smiled apologetically.
"You're welcome." Colin quickly let go of Franco's hand and smiled, "You were injured because you fought against the trolls. You are a knight worthy of respect."
Franco laughed self-deprecatingly, "I'm just a poor guy who was defeated by the trolls. You, on the other hand, annihilated a hundred thousand trolls outside the Howling Wind Castle, and personally cut off the head of the Troll Emperor before the King's City!
With such achievements, you deserve to be the hero of the Northern Frontier, the role model of a knight!
If it weren't for my physical inconvenience, I would definitely give you the most noble knight etiquette! "
Colin waved his hand again and again and said modestly, "This is all thanks to the brave soldiers who killed the enemy. I dare not take the credit alone."
Franco smiled, and then changed the topic, "Did Saiken tell you that he wants to marry Miss Nina?"
"Yes. Madam Grace did ask Vera to help the Count. "Colin thought that Franco also wanted to help his son.
Unexpectedly, Franco slowly shook his head, "Can you tell Miss Vera that she does not agree to this marriage?"
"Oh? Why? " Colin was puzzled. Wasn't the Morrison family "Saint Hilde's daughter complex"? Why did Franco not want his son to marry Nina?
Franco's expression was a little gloomy. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "Sir Viscounts, do you know why the Morrison family is obsessed with marrying the daughter of the House of Saint Hilde?"
"Why?" Colin asked with interest.
"You should have heard of the theory of 'blood purification', right?" Franco asked.
Colin nodded.
In fact, this was what Scholar Dwayne had told him. In short, people in this world believed that blood was an important determinant of the upper limit of the family's descendants' strength.
The reason why the Paladin family could continue to produce Paladins was because of their noble and sacred blood.
Therefore, the nobles of the Empire of Light had a period of time crazily chasing after the noble daughters of the Paladin family, trying to marry them and purify their own bloodline.
However, the reality was cruel.
Since the founding of the Empire of Light, the number of Paladin families had not increased at all. Those nobles who married the daughters of the Paladin family for several generations found that the strength of their descendants did not increase at all.
On the contrary, the power of the Paladin family spread through the means of marriage. Their attempt to purify their bloodline only helped the Paladin family to consolidate their rule.
Therefore, gradually, the nobles no longer diligently pursued the daughters of the Paladin family, and marriage became more practical.
However, the Morrison family was an exception. It seemed that they still had not given up on the theory of blood purification and were still persistently pursuing the daughters of the House of Saint Hilde.
Franco said with a solemn face, "The Morrison family has been deeply poisoned by this theory. Due to the teachings of the ancestors and the traditions that have been formed over many years, the family members can no longer see the reality clearly. Therefore, I hope that you can help me to stop this tragedy from continuing."
"Tragedy?" Colin was stunned. "This can't be a tragedy, right?"
A painful expression appeared on Franco's face. "You may not know this, but I originally had two brothers. However, one of them died young, and the other … was born with a deformity. It was estimated that he could not live for more than a few years. He had to endure inhuman pain, so his father reluctantly killed him …
And my child, Saiken, is not the only one, but his brothers and sisters … Haha, they are either mentally retarded or disabled!
Therefore, the bloodline of the House of Saint Hilde is no longer a gift to us, but a curse! "
Colin finally understood what Franco meant by tragedy.
It seemed that the long-term marriage had gradually assimilated the genes of the Morrison family into the House of Saint Hilde. As a result, although they were not close relatives, they were closer than close relatives.
Thus, the consequences of incestuous marriages gradually appeared in the descendants of the Morrison Family.
And this evil consequence, in the eyes of Franco, who did not understand genetics, became a bloodline curse.
"Okay. I will pass on your request to Vera, but I want to remind you that your mother values this marriage very much, so … "
"Thank you so much! As for my mother, I will personally persuade her. "
Colin sighed in his heart. This Morrison family was really complicated.
It was no wonder that their direct line of descent had only one son for three generations. It turned out that they were looking for trouble.
After that, the two chatted casually. Colin found that Franco was quite optimistic about the current situation in the Northern Frontier. He believed that the current chaos was only temporary and it would not be long before it calmed down.
Colin did not know whether Franco was deliberately being polite, or because he had been closed in the castle for a long time and was a little slow to the changes in the outside world.
However, he did not intend to delve into it.
He was more interested in why the other party entered the clock tower in the middle of the night.
And why was that place filled with the lingering smell of blood?
Of course, Colin also knew that such questions could not be asked directly to Franco, so he accompanied him for a while and then left.
Looking at Colin's back gradually disappearing into the darkness, Franco suddenly asked, "How long has he been following us?"
The maid who pushed the wheelchair shook her head, "I am not sure."
Franco narrowed his eyes. His eyes flashed with a cold light, and he ordered in a low voice,
He ordered in a low voice, "Add more people to the clock tower."
"Yes, sir."
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