The night was long and the journey was far, Cesare could only remember that night Anya told many stories about her childhood adventures.
From woods to rivers, to towns and villages, there are mentions of giants as tall as mountains, dwarves as big as shoes, and flying elves.
Many times she would forget the settings she had compiled before. Sometimes the elves would be white, and sometimes they would turn black. She would talk nonsense until she didn't even believe it in the end, making herself very happy.
Compiling her so-called personal experiences, she hypnotized herself first while talking about them. Anya talked about those little weirdos living in turtle shells, her voice became smaller and smaller, and she gradually fell sideways on the bench.
"Then...then I..." Anya's upper and lower eyelids struggled for a moment, and then the thick sleep took away her consciousness, leaving only another story without an ending. Fortunately, Cesare started from the beginning. I didn't bother to listen.
Looking at Anya's sleeping face, she usually looks crazy when she wakes up, but is no different from an ordinary girl when she's asleep. Her peaceful face even looks strange.
Anya's eyelashes trembled slightly, the corners of her mouth slightly turned up to reveal a smile, and she purred softly along with her soft breathing, as if she was being brought into a girl's dream.
Cesare took off his black cloak and gently put it on Anya's body. Considering that the journey was still long, he quickly fell asleep on the bench on his side.
Surprisingly, there were no nightmares tonight, and I slept deeply and soundly.
From the territory of the Duke of Orsini all the way west to the Earl of Hunyadi, it is said that the Hunyadi family was a foreign family that migrated from the north a long time ago and was also the overlord of the princes in the old times.
But at that time, I don’t know why. Whether it was involved in political struggles or the territory suffered natural disasters, the family was unable to survive and had no choice but to migrate to the southwest, all the way to the territory of the present Papal State and settle down.
After that, it experienced a long period of reproduction, and in this era, the current head of the family has cooperated with the Pope in a way that is unknown to outsiders, mysteriously received the Pope's full support and obtained a large area of family territory. This is also the reason for many rumors later. one.
No one knows what kind of contribution a foreign family has made to achieve this achievement. In addition, this vast land is inexplicably sparsely populated. Businessmen or travelers passing through it often appear in a trance.
Whenever someone asked about the farmers who moved out of Hunyadi's territory, the answers they received were always vague and unpredictable. This led to more and more rumors in the area and the scandal of the entire Hunyadi family. more and more.
The trees in the forest are very dense, and the branches stretch towards the sky as if pairs of arms are struggling to stretch towards the residence of the gods. The dense forest of leaves is airtight, and although it is already bright, it blocks almost all the sunlight, leaving only the dim light. Come in.
The humid air was mixed with the smell of rotting vegetation, and the lingering mist lingered at low altitude, wrapping around the carriage.
The road that few people pass through all year round has become overgrown with weeds. Now it is just like a road for wild animals to pass. When the carriage drives on it, it will inevitably stumble and sway.
Cesare woke up early, and when he returned to Hunyadi again, he did not feel the familiarity of returning home. Instead, he felt extremely unfamiliar with the hidden and dangerous environment here.
At this time, Anya was lying on her back on the bench. Due to the lack of space in the car, the girl could only lift her legs and put them on the door. She twisted a branch she picked up from somewhere with her hands and was already on it out of boredom. Dozens of knots were tied.
I don't know how much time passed, but a crow sounded outside the carriage. Just when Cesare was about to look out the window, the carriage suddenly stopped and swayed again and again, and Anya screamed directly from the bench. Fell down.
After Anya got up, she opened the car door and complained to the driver in front of her: "Uncle! You should say something first when you stop the car. There's no need to be so vindictive, right?"
"We're here, get out of the car." The coachman tried his best to stay calm with a hint of unnoticeable trembling in his voice.
Anya turned back to look at Cesare with some confusion, and Cesare estimated the distance in his mind. Although he had entered Hunyadi territory, he was probably still a long way from the count's castle, but after thinking about it, he still thought He got off the carriage with Anya.
The air in the forest was still much fresher than that in the city of Kalliu. After riding in the carriage for a long time, the joints in the body were a little numb. The two got off the carriage and stretched their limbs to their heart's content before gradually regaining a sense of relaxation.
Cesare walked to the front of the car and looked at the old coachman's face. His face, which was seriously lacking in sleep, was full of exhaustion. I don't know if it was because of fatigue or other reasons. The coachman's hands were holding on to the reins and seemed to be shaking.
"Sir, I understand that you are very tired, but if you can take us a little further west after resting, I can provide some extra travel expenses."
Cesare asked tentatively, but as soon as he finished speaking, the coachman immediately refused as if he lost his temper. "No, no, no, don't even think about it. No matter who you are and how much money you give me, I will never go any further."
As he spoke, the driver pointed directly ahead of the road. "See, there is a small town ahead. You can find a carriage there. And I would like to advise you from your conscience. If you have to go deeper, it is best to go during the day."
Listening to the coachman's tone and the eyes that looked at him with lingering fear, Cesare vaguely felt as if the coachman had such a big reaction when he saw something extraordinary when they were resting in the carriage.
Seeing that there was no room for negotiation, Cesare had no choice but to thank the coachman, watched the carriage as it came, slowly change its direction in the forest, and returned to the original route without a moment's rest.
Anya walked to Cesare's side. "Don't worry, you still have me."
"I hope this is a good thing." Cesare shook his head and walked in the direction pointed by the coachman just now.
Fortunately, the driver did not lie. Within half an hour of walking forward, the road became wider and wider, and the surrounding trees clearly showed signs of being cut down.
And directly in front of it, a large open space has obviously been artificially mined. In the open space, I saw buildings where people lived for the first time in a long time.
The buildings in the town are almost all made of stone and wood. There are several simple sentries on the edge of the town, but no one has been stationed on them, and one of them has even collapsed in half. This makes Cesare feel bad. premonition.
Walking further inside, I found that the town was not that big. The structure of the houses was very primitive and simple. The highest buildings were only two-story buildings. There were also some ruins that were no longer inhabitable.
The entire town could only hold a few dozen households at best, but strangely, only lizards could be seen crawling on the quaint streets.
Both the walls of the houses and the stone tiles on the pavement were severely dilapidated and exuded an unpleasant smell.
Occasionally, I see that the garden between the houses has become overgrown with thorns due to no one taking care of it. The vines are entangled on the broken eaves. The rotten trees and dead grass undoubtedly tell outsiders that this place has been abandoned.
Cesare took Anya along the streets of the town, and before long they arrived at the square in the center of the town. It was said to be a square, but it was only the size of a classroom at San Carlo College. .
There is a stone fountain building in the middle of the square. The water inside has long dried up, leaving only a layer of moss. The human-shaped stone sculptures above the fountain seem to have been damaged by something, leaving only a pair of naked children at the bottom. The shape of the feet.
"What do you think he originally carved?" Anya asked inappropriately while observing the broken statue, and Cesare naturally did not respond to her.
Looking around, Anya cleared her throat, put her hands to her mouth and shouted loudly towards the surrounding buildings. "Is there anyone alive? I'm hungry! Can you give me a meal?"
Anya's voice spread far away, but there was no response except for the crows in the distance. When she took a deep breath and prepared to try again, Cesare suddenly turned around and gave her a Quiet gesture.
"Someone is peeking at us." Cesare said in an extremely low voice. "Beside the first collapsed house on your right, there are three wooden barrels lined up side by side. Don't move too much. The guy hasn't realized that he has been exposed before."
Anya looked in that direction with her peripheral vision, and sure enough she saw a short figure with a slim waist hiding obscenely behind the barrels, observing herself and Cesare through the holes between the barrels.
Anya's eyes rolled in her sockets, and she suddenly grabbed Cesare's sleeve. "Follow me, I have an idea."
Before Cesare could react, Anya dragged him and ran in the opposite direction of the peepers. Cesare complained reluctantly. "Didn't I tell you to move more slowly?"
But Anya didn't listen at all, and quickly ran out of the square with Cesare, who had a wide field of vision. The peeper saw that he was about to lose the two of them, so he quickly chased after them.
The guy obviously had some inconvenience in his legs and feet, and couldn't catch up with the speed of the two children. He even chased and evaded for a short distance, and soon he was exhausted and leaned against the wall, watching Cesare and Anya run away. After passing a corner, it was really impossible to catch up.
Just as the man was breathing heavily and was about to give up and leave, there were rustling footsteps on the low eaves behind him, and he suddenly turned around and raised his head.
She saw that Cesare and Anya had already circled behind her in a short period of time and jumped down from the eaves. The man was so frightened that he sat down directly in the mud, and at the first moment Anya pulled out He took off his sword and pointed the sword blade at the opponent's throat.
