Chapter 5 Grandparents

Instead of staying outside, the group walked directly to the castle.

A long horn sounded their arrival. The castle gate opened and a man wrapped in a black robe was waiting for them in the yard.

"Irina!" The man in black robe let out an old man's scream.

"Grandpa!" Irina immediately jumped off her mount and rushed over crying. The two hugged each other. Although they were far apart, Ash Rufate had good eyesight, so he clearly saw the old man's hands stretching out from his black robe. The hands were covered with strange little tumors.

According to legend, King Lan Jier I of St. Gene suffered from an incurable chronic disease, lost the dignity of the king, and had to live in seclusion. It seems that most of the legendary things are not rumor.

Thomas was very wise to stay near the entrance of the castle, two far away from his grandparents and grandchildren, to avoid disturbing this rare reunion. Thomas took the lead, and everyone else stopped beside him.

The two people in the distance talked for a short conversation, and then the old man in black robe brought Irina into the main building of the castle.

Watching them disappear at the stairs, Thomas left the castle and took Ashu Rufat to the camp outside the castle.

"Sir Ashu Rufat, I believe you must be very tired today. Please rest here for a night first. If you have anything to say tomorrow. My old bones are almost unable to withstand the bumps."

At this time, in the room at the height of the castle, the illuminated candlesticks had been lit.

"Your waste father is really a total waste..." said the old man in black robe.

"Grandpa, please don't say that to father..."

"Shut up! Your waste father has an army three times more than the Paro people. If he wants, it can be even five times seven times! He also has a solid front-line castle and a vast rear territory, which can attack and retreat or defend! But why did he do with so much capital? The Paro mobilized a large army, and he sent a small army to the front line, and then thought it was a war! Even one-tenth of his subordinate army was not mobilized... As a result, the Paro people crossed the sister mountains and stewed his whole family a pot of soup! Death and the country were destroyed... It was really a fate of death and the country was destroyed. It was really suitable for such a waste! I doubt whether marrying my daughter to him was the biggest mistake I made in my life. And why did he let you escape? Your brothers... Why didn't your brothers follow me?!"

"I..." Irina was so scared that she shrank into a ball.

"Okay! Don't mention the past things. Now even if you regret it, it's useless! Now you are the only one, so I have no choice but to teach you the way of the silly girl, the emperor! Tell me, what did your father teach you? Don't talk nonsense, tell me the key points!"

“…Riding horses, studying, poetry, music, languages ​​in various places…”

"Enough is enough!" The old man in black robe interrupted her irritably. "Sure enough, he never regarded you as his heir... No wonder, you have two brothers! Your life is fixed! You have to grow up as a daughter, and then marry to reach a treaty or win over a great nobleman. Then give birth to a bunch of children for your husband and live a life of taking care of your husband and children. You don't need to contact any political power or intrigue..."

"No, I will be with a brave knight..."

"Brave Knight! Hum! No matter what, fate has changed everything. Now you are the only successor in your family. All those who are qualified to compete with you for the throne are dead. Now I really have no choice but to you. Now, you must forget all you have learned in the past, and I will teach you the emperor's learning of light and darkness! This is the path you must face! Like me, you have no choice, either learn from me, carefully grasp everything you must master, or die!"

Irina began to cry softly.

"Don't cry! The king has no blood and no tears! This is the first thing that must be learned! I don't have time to teach you theory, start directly from practice. Next door is the women's locker room, where there are all kinds of clothes and a mute maid. We will hold a banquet in a few days. Go put on the clothes you think are the most suitable at the banquet and come back to me. If you can't satisfy me in terms of appearance, I will definitely correct you in the quickest way!"

"Remember, the more luxurious the better! There is an extraordinary period before you. Too luxurious dressing will make your subordinates think that you are luxurious and disappointed by nature. But you cannot dress up at will. The first weapon that the queen conquers her subordinates is appearance. This is your first lesson."

Ashu Rufate walked out of his small room. He noticed that Thomas did not live in the house, but lived in a tent like ordinary soldiers. It should be said that he was the only person who enjoyed this treatment. Almost all other houses were used to pile up various supplies, such as bows and arrows and food.

"Master, you must get the horse away before they find something wrong." Carrie suggested again.

The undead horse is indeed a problem. Although this horse looks no different from an ordinary horse because it is well made. However, it does not eat grass, but relies on black magic energy to operate. It may not be exposed in a short period of time, but it will definitely make the groom feel wrong over time.

The right way is to leave here. But Ashu Rufate doesn't want to leave. In a sense, he doesn't feel that he is an irrelevant outsider. Since he has promised to be Irina's knight, at least he should fulfill his responsibilities as a knight before Irina gives up on him.

"Master, I have a good plan." Carrie made an opinion in his mind.

A group of militias who had finished their work were gathering to discuss something. Ashu Rufate came over and heard them discussing the coming war. What puzzled him was that these militias were very enthusiastic and did not fear the future battle at all. On the contrary, they were all very morale.

If all the soldiers here are added together, it is probably not more than two thousand. After all, Thomas is just a lord in a border area. But his subordinates seem to be not worried about their destiny at all.

"Who are you?" A voice sounded behind him. Ashu Rufat turned his head and saw a strange knight standing behind him with three or five soldiers.

This knight is about thirty years old, with a square face and a stern look in his eyebrows. He is fully armed, full of armor, and holding a war hammer in his hand. An instinctive sense of danger makes Ash Rufate unconsciously hold the sword.

"Spy!" the knight shouted, but before the two men took action, a third party appeared in time. A young man in a purple cloak ran over to stop the imminent conflict.

"Wait a minute, Lord William Daly. This is not a spy, Sir Ashu Rufate."

"Sir Ashu Rufat? Why haven't I heard of this name?"

"He just came today and escorted the princess down." The young man whispered a few words in William Daly's ear. The latter nodded, with an embarrassed smile on his face.

"Sorry, Sir Ashu Rufat. I don't know about you, so when I see a stranger in the camp, I think it's a spy. Let's do this, as an apology, I'd like to go to the tavern over there to invite you to have a beer."

"My name is Leo, Sir Asus Ruffat, I'm afraid you didn't notice me. But Lord Thomas asked me to pay attention to you. Look, if Lord Thomas had not been prepared for it, some unnecessary conflict would have occurred."

Thomas was really careful. Ashu Rufat suddenly felt that he had a little more favorable impression of the old man.

Ashu Rufate easily picked up another big cup. In front of him, William Daly's eyes were red and his body was shaking, almost dying.

The battle at the table was initiated by the Knight. The entire empty barrel next to the table illustrates how intense their battle was. William Daly did have the capital to Smiling the Table - if he had not met Ashu Rufate.

Leo did not participate. He knew very clearly that even if he joined, the ending would not be different. This knight named Ashurufate was not astonishingly beautiful, but his alcohol tolerance was astonishingly large.

"Another... again... again..." William Daly said, his tongue was no longer smooth. He held the wine glass, and the wine kept spilling out of the glass.

"Okay, OK, William Daly, don't drink it anymore." Leo whispered.

"No...must...don't...done this glass..." That's what he said, but he had already had a strong alcohol attack and could no longer hold on. He lay on the table and snored loudly.

"So, Lord Thomas...he is the only one here..." Seeing William Daly fall, Ashu Rufate turned to continue the topic with Leo just now.

"Well, as long as Thomas is still there, we will never lose!" Leo raised his glass and faced the ceiling. "Let's toast to the invincible Earl of Thomas."

"Many years ago, Casillos had fought with Paro. Although we were allies at that time, we, Saint Gene and Casillos, were far from as close as we are now. Casillos lost consecutive battles and had to ask for help from us. Unfortunately, we, Saint Gene, were busy clearing out the green-skinned orcs, and in a hurry, we could not withdraw our troops. So the king sent Casillos's smallest reinforcements to Casillos - only Lord Thomas alone, and at most several entourages. As a result, a few months later, Paro's army was beaten to pieces. Lord Thomas led the Casillos army to chase Paro's butt and drove them back to their hometown in one breath. By the way, he also captured the famous Wolfmouth Castle. Before Lord Thomas and His Majesty the King retired, Paro didn't even dare to breathe."

"There will be no difference this time! As long as Count Thomas comes out, Paro's ambition is just a flower in the mirror of the moon in the water!"

"Is it really that powerful?" Ashu Rufat was a little confused. He had heard similar rumors, but when he asked Thomas during the day, why did Thomas seem to be reluctant to mention the past?

"But Thomas...the Earl, seems unwilling to mention...the glory of the past."

"Of course he doesn't want to mention it. But it's an open secret. He has been fighting for many years, but he has no time to take care of his family. Some rats who lost to him on the battlefield actually attacked his territory one night and killed his wife and children... So you see, Lord Thomas is still alone. This is his eternal regret and pain. Don't mention these things in front of Lord Thomas, otherwise no one knows what will happen."
Chapter completed!