Delphien woke up from his dream and heard footsteps outside the door. "who?"
No one responded. The footsteps hurried away and merged into more chaotic noises. What happened outside? She put on her shawl and climbed out of the quilt. The air was cool, even with the fire burning brightly.
"What's wrong?" She raised her voice, but still no one responded. She had rung the bell to summon the maid, but she waited until now. Everyone seemed to be busy with their own affairs, and no one had time to pay attention to her count.
Delphine had no choice but to open the door and go find the servant to ask. Is the fog elf back? Or do the villages and towns send people to ask for food? anyone there? what happened?
A few days ago, the mayor of Bonfire Town sent his son to Winnivas to ask for a meeting with the lord, informing him that the town had suffered a snowstorm and was in urgent need of supplies to help the victims. He is not the only one who claims this. Since the advent of Kamaria, all the villages and towns in the Ice Territory have been in disaster, and no one has been spared. Danelfion had dealt with the conflict between Night Town and Black Moon Town, and sent furs and bacon to a border village whose name she no longer remembered. Countless people were arrested and imprisoned every day for stealing and robbing property, and she, the Count, had to judge the crimes and witness the prisoners being hanged or beheaded.
Compared with these bloody tasks, distributing supplies seems not worth resisting. But every decision of Delphine will be questioned. These doubts come from Sir Neddon, from Jails Lankester, from Caulder Reiler and Cathy Cook, and even from her cousin. Sister Fae! I know who's bossing her around, Delphine thought. They think I'm a fool who doesn't know the difference between playfulness and serious business. She had never told her cousin about Bonfire Town. How did Fae know that there was a shortage of food there?
She didn't have to worry about these matters. But Hope, the dentist, told her that someone had tried to bribe him to spy on Dandelphine. "Please be careful, Lord Earl. You cannot block your eyes and ears." The unknown person who concealed his identity warned, "Otherwise, the authority of the Ice Territory will be stolen by others."
Dandelphine was aware of his concerns. If I weren't the Earl of Ice, I'm afraid the dentist would have to pack up and leave immediately. This is not because of his lack of business ability, but because the unknown has always been like this.
But she did not block her ears and eyes. "I can see and I can hear. You are my ears, Hope. Why do you even say that?"
"Two pairs of eyes see too little, sir. Our opponent's nightingales are hundreds or thousands of times stronger than ours."
"We have the 'Nightingale Nemesis'." Although during the undead disaster in Yotsuye City, the detection station was easily penetrated. She quickly added: "There are also the Knox mercenary group and the manpower left by the Earl of Red Valley."
"None of these people are the help the Ice Count should have."
Due support. Dandelphine understood what he meant. As an earl, she must have her own manpower in the territory. Where do these manpower come from? The answer is obvious... With the support of the Ice Leader, Danlfion became the Earl of Ice and Berti's Norn, otherwise Gavin would be a more suitable candidate. Who said Tracy didn't consider handing over the ice territory to her brother? He even bears the name of a former earl. But in the end I got Winnie Watts, and he died of his own machinations.
So she began to care about territorial affairs. care. Not total control. Dandelphine doesn't think she's capable of being like Tracey, and that's what Ansa tells her. The maid placed by this mother is actually an ice witch with mysterious powers. She is my supporter.
At first, Danelfein didn’t know why she hid this. It wasn’t until the fog elf accidentally mentioned the branch of witches when discussing Kamaria, the capital of the moon, that she understood the existence of the mysterious inheritance of Ansa and the orthodoxy. With complicated relationships, it is best to hide yourself.
In order to keep her secret, Ansa swore allegiance to the count. As an ice witch, her advice is valuable.
"Being a lord is like being a king." Ansa pointed out. "Flavia has a reliable Kingdom Council and Minister of State Lawrence Norman. She can use them to cope with her daily work."
"I also want to find a Laurence Norman?" In her heart, Sir Nedon can take on this important task. He is not only Tracy's trusted acting city lord, but also a member of the Lancaster family. His loyalty and ability are impeccable. Dandelphine disliked his preaching called advice, but was well aware of its importance.
So can Ansa. She is a mysterious creature, both powerful and wise. It's just that Danlfien considered her motives for bringing up this matter and was unwilling to hand over the position to her easily.
Fortunately, she didn't need to make a choice. "You must not do this." Ansa pointed out, "The queen delegates power to the noble meeting, which leads to the growing power of the royal party. Sooner or later, they will be able to control the court. The royal party is just a name, and not all nobles are loyal to the royal family. Everyone. Just plan for yourself.”
Dandelfein became worried: "What should we do? Eastman has implemented a meeting system for a long time."
"Her Majesty the Queen is not just a royal party." Ansa reminded.
Flavia Wiggins is my aunt. "Tracy and Clover will support her," Dandelfine said.
"The Ice Territory can also do it." Ansha nodded. "Grand Duke Tracy is the key to Queen Flavia's throne. She is the master of the South Kingdom, and you are her daughter. With the army of the Four Leaf Territory and the Ice Land Territory, even the royal party does not dare to monopolize power. "
That's why my mother sent me to Wynneworth. Delphine thought. She wants me to become the master of the Ice Territory to consolidate my position as queen. How was she sure I could do it?
Maybe she doesn't care about me at all. In fact, Tracy sent the maid Ansa, presumably because she knew very well that Ansa was a mysterious creature.
But not as clear as I am, Danlfien can guarantee it. Only I know Ansa's true identity. Because the Ice Witch will not assist Grand Duke Yotsuba, she is a believer of Broken Moon and a subject of Earl of Ice. Delphine Lancaster is not the Wiggins daughter.
She had walked to the study and sat on the high-backed leather chair by the window. It's still snowing in Winniewats and the sky is gray. Dandelphine stared at the frosted glass.
"What happened?" her shadow asked.
As if I could dream. "It's my turn to ask you this."
"You are just a mortal, and your magic power is not enough to support my long-term appearance..."
"I gave you twenty minutes."
"...in the mirror. Apparently, there's nothing unusual where there's a mirror."
Danlfion decided to install mirrors in every room and corridor of Black Moon Castle, but that happened later. She calculated the time, but she had slept for so long that she had forgotten to time it. "How much longer?"
"Not enough for me to go outside the city once. But if you consider becoming a witch..."
"Becoming a witch?" Danlfion frowned, "Are you crazy?" I had no intention of lighting the fire.
"You weren't looking forward to it originally?"
"If I fail, I will die."
"You knew this very well before."
The man in the mirror was right. Delphine has been looking forward to the mystery for a long time. You only need to take a momentary risk to learn to manipulate magical power forever and get rid of the control of Sir Neden and Tracy. The pay and reward are disproportionate. The latter is worth more, which sounds like a very good deal. But if it fails... "Fish also look forward to life on land, and they will restrain themselves and not go ashore. I can do this too! I am the Earl of the Ice Land. If I die, will you manage the Ice Land?"
"I'm just your reflection."
"Oh, who says not? You and I look exactly the same. I really didn't notice." The Earl snorted, "Let Ansa come to me. Then you continue to patrol - she will give you time." "
"But it is your magic power that is consumed, Lord Danlfion. This time I have to say it! Potions can only solve temporary emergencies and should not be used as a routine method. Resting your magic power depends on rest."
"It's time for you to figure out what happened in the castle while I rested! It turned out you couldn't, so I had to resort to potions."
The man in the mirror sensed the count's anger. But as a mysteriously created reflection, she is far less emotional than Delphine. "Maybe I should also turn to potions for help." She picked at her ears. "That's really good advice."
Delphine narrowed his eyes. "Are your ears itchy?"
"No. Just bored."
"You have nothing to do, right?"
"Of course. Okay. Of course." The man in the mirror turned around slowly, his steps wobbly.
Even if he had ever wanted to become an adventurer, it was impossible for Danlfion to abandon the etiquette he had developed since childhood. They are not requirements, but habits. Therefore, when someone uses her appearance to do something that she would never do normally, Danlefein feels very awkward. I look so wild and funny, is this really my shadow?
"Get Ansa quickly," she said. "She's different from you. She knows the difference between orders and suggestions, and she also knows what's going on at Winnie Watts. Do you hear me? Go right now!" "
By the time the witch Ansa found her, Danlfien had already returned to the bedroom. She knew that the maid would always find her way. Why freeze outside?
"Your Majesty the Earl." Ansa said. Dandelphin couldn't help but open his eyes.
The maid's dress made even the most familiar people afraid to confirm, and even Delphine had to rely on her voice to identify her. She wore a brown dress trimmed with fur, and her head, face and shoulders were wrapped in a thick scarf. This is just a common attire in the Ice Territory. But her feet were naked, and the skin of her calves and ankles was exposed under the fluff of her skirt. The count shuddered as he imagined these feet walking in the snow.
"You went out?" she asked in disbelief.
Ansa lowered her head and stretched her toes. "No. I'm always in the castle, by the fire of the hearth. It's just a small price to pay."
"cost?"
"The price of witchcraft. There is a reason why the wizards of the school regard us as a branch of dark wizards."
Dandelphine didn't understand, but she didn't ask again. So what if you know some things? Meaningless. "I heard a strange noise. What happened in the castle?"
"It's nothing at all. Did you have a nightmare?"
"No. I did..." Danlfien suddenly forgot what the dream looked like. "I was woken up."
"Footsteps?"
"Yes." She recalled and suddenly felt palpitations. "Someone walked by my room door. Maybe he wanted to come in! But I woke up. What the hell, what kind of footsteps would wake someone up?"
"Is this so?" Ansha stood on tiptoes and walked to the bed in a few steps. There was a slight sound on the floor. She brings cold breath and light and sweet ringtones. The count's heart beat wildly. Immediately afterwards, the maid suddenly lowered her head and rushed towards her.
Delphine let out a scream.
She suddenly fell off the bed and was supported by a pair of hands around her waist. Opening his eyes, the Count saw the face of Ansa and Man in the mirror, and his breathing became rapid. Together they helped Danlfien up and dragged her into bed again.
"It's all over." The Ice Witch comforted, "Don't be afraid, Danlfion. It's just a dream magic."
"I thought I woke up!"
"This is a reasonable arrangement, otherwise you will soon notice something is wrong." The man in the mirror explained.
"arrange?"
"There's been an attack, my lord," Ansa said. Her calm demeanor was contagious, dispelling the panic in Delphine's mind. "But the enemy's means are not through swords and daggers, but through the spirit. You are in the vortex of power and must pay attention to safety."
"I thought I paid enough attention." She broke away from the blanket and put on her shoes. "Who is it?" The other party overcame the detection station and the witch's defense, and even projected Ansha in his dream... "I haven't come into contact with Fae's mysterious items recently."
"There is only one answer."
Dandelphin gritted his teeth and felt a chill in his heart. She forced herself to stand up and walked to the window. Seeing her move, the person in the mirror silently returned behind the glass, waiting for orders. "Can you keep it a secret for me, Ansa?"
"I am yours, Lord Count."
Even so, the panic in the dream still lingered. She dared not see the witch. "Go to my dentist." It was time for them to make each other's presence known, even though I had no idea. I hope the common enemy can temporarily resolve differences. "Use my identity."
"Dentist?" The person in the mirror raised his eyebrows. But she didn't ask any more questions, turned around and left, leaving Ansha and Danlfien together.
It seemed like a long time passed, but neither of them spoke. Delphine forced herself to calm down, and the witch remained silent. The atmosphere was really torturous. Is she blaming me? Or don't you understand what I mean?
But the witch knew better. "It seems that this person is not just a good doctor. Is he your nightingale, sir?"
"Yes." Danlfion responded nervously, "Apart from you, I trust him the most in the entire Black Moon Castle. Those mercenaries... in the final analysis, they will fight for me, but they cannot interfere in the tricks between nobles. .They can’t keep secrets either.”
"Maybe this is a good move. Doctors come into contact with different people every day and hear different news."
She said maybe. "There are also hidden dangers."
"A fatal danger, sir. If I had known about this earlier, I would not have recommended you to implement it." Ansha said softly, "Among the nobles, it is not uncommon to recruit powerful mysterious creatures. Even the big shots of the Seven Fulcrums Possibly serving mortal nobles, not to mention the precarious Nameless Ones... But you, Danlfion Lancoster, must not come into contact with these people. Are you sure no one knows about this?"
"I didn't tell anyone."
"I will also keep secrets." Ansha breathed a sigh of relief, "The next step is just..."
"Oh, wait, I remembered. There's someone else who knows too."
"Who?" the witch became serious.
"Uriel. But Hope helped him, just when God came. I don't think he will tell it." What if he did? The tower was thousands of miles away from the Ice Territory, but Danlfien never worried.
"Tower Messenger." Ansha pondered, "I heard that his profession will bind him to keep his promise, but his mentor is the White Envoy. Demon Hunter."
"Does the Mysterious Fulcrum really care about a few unknown people? They are not members of the association."
"It depends on which mysterious fulcrum it is. The Holy Council of Radiance hates the nameless ones to the core. After the White Night War, I'm afraid the Silent School also did the same. Who made them the losers. But the fog elves in Faf Tanner never cleaned up the demons on a large scale. Many nameless people Those who fled to the west were precisely because the elven kingdom could avoid being hunted by the church."
These were not answers that Danlfion cared about. "Where's the tower?"
"Kloyd of the Sky." Ansha considered the astrologer's attitude. "Maybe it's the same as Faf Tanner. Small fights can be ignored, but when it comes to association, order still has a unified bottom line."
Who could have imagined that I had tried to create my own secret society. "The dentist is just a lone unknown person. They were originally people of the Ice Territory, but they suddenly gained demonic power. The tower messenger..." When did Uriel become a messenger? "He can also guarantee that Hope has nothing to do with secret societies."
"His guarantee is meaningless, Danlfion! You have to be clear that if you want to be the lord of Veniworth, you must not have anything to do with the Nameless One." The Ice Witch warned, "What's more, the locals will regard you as An angel who saves them from demonic disasters. Once the news leaks out..."
Dandelphine is no longer a newborn calf. If the Veniwasse knew that their lord had been in contact with demons, all the favor and favor she had received would be gone forever. At that time, the Lancaster family will take back her title. Of course, they're more likely to burn me. It would be best to drive me back to the Four Leaf Territory. The latter was the result she expected, but...
The little daughter who is an obedient mother obviously doesn't have to worry about anything. Tracy can give her a good life, and the Four-leaf Leader will let her enjoy the warm winter sun. Danlfion will grow up in Frostleaf Castle until she reaches adulthood, and then marry a strange noble. She would bear him a large number of children and spend her whole life with him in another castle.
Beautiful fantasy. But it made her shiver. These things are not arranged by Tracy, but are cousin Fae's only view of the future. Fae is an innocent girl with a clever mind and likes to read about romance. She has no interest in the legends and heroic biographies recommended by Danlfion, but she will read them every time to cope with the count's sudden interest. Dandelphine was never willing to work hard to accommodate someone's interests.
I must be the earl of the Ice Territory. She thought, if I can't do it...
"Of course you can't do it." Someone whispered in his ear, "You are just an accident. A girl who was accidentally born in the Year of the Burning Shadow. Your status and title were all stolen. You stole my destiny."
Gavin Wiggins. During the night, Danlfien thought about his death over and over again. He fell to the floor and was impaled on steel. She's not the first wretch to collaborate with the devil. Gavin teamed up with the necromancer Newell, who sought to become the Nameless One, to kill Danelfion and regain his rightful inheritance to the Ice Territory. The Tower Ministry of Foreign Affairs shattered their conspiracy. Because of this, Dandelphine didn’t know how Tracy felt about Gavin’s actions. Will she regret giving me the Ice Territory?
By now the Count no longer wished for the Foreign Office to appear. If you want to cut off contact with an unknown person, you have to find a good reason and deal with the beginning and the end to avoid people noticing something fishy. The Demon Hunter is likely to figure out Hope's identity, so it's best not to let the two parties meet. But the dentist was driven away by me, what should I do next? Her thoughts suddenly took a turn.
"You are right. Even ordinary nobles are unwilling to admit that they are related to demons, let alone in the Ice Territory? But the facts cannot be changed." Ansa frowned, but Dandelphin did not allow her to refute for the time being. "There are traces of the dentist's origins - oh, I completely destroyed his record of being arrested by the church. Now in Wineworth, everyone knows that he played an important role in the coming of God, so he was retained by me. In the castle. The Knox Mercenary Group can testify to this. Even if I drive him away now, people will think that I have received favors from the Nameless One."
"You didn't know his identity at that time."
"Who knows?" the Earl said lightly, "I understand that you are worried that my enemies will make a fuss about Hope's identity. But we cannot take action before they do it."
Ansa was convinced. "In this case, it would be inappropriate to drive him away."
"That's right. When the time comes, people will call me the ungrateful Norn." Danlfien made a face. "The Nameless One is very cunning and can deceive ignorant girls. Girls like Earl of Ice Land are no exception. When I found out the truth and found out that my savior was a demon, I regretfully exiled him."
"No one will think you are ungrateful." Of course, these people would probably clamor for me to burn him to death. Delphine thought. "But Lord Earl, I don't care about the fate of the devil. I hope you can win. Once Dr. Hope's identity is revealed, not only will you not be able to attack your enemies, but you will also have to thank them in turn. What's the benefit?"
"Too many, Ansa. The Kingdom is different from the Mysterious Fulcrum. We inherit our status by blood, not the level of mystery. After Gavin's death, I will be the only heir to the Ice Territory. This is Eastman's law. In the Ice Territory Leader, I have no enemies."
The Ice Witch didn't understand: "There are still people who covet your territory, my lord."
"They are not just my enemies." Danlfion told her, "They are the public enemies of the entire Ice Territory and the laws of the kingdom. These guys undoubtedly know this, so most of them are hiding their heads and showing their tails. They want to shake my Status, they want me to lose support. I can guarantee they think so." Because even I think so. "To fight the enemy, you must first discover them. Who is my enemy?"
"...the one who exposed Hope's identity as the Unknown One."
"If they are stupid enough to do it themselves." Danlfion raised his eyebrows, "But I heard that the Ice Witch is also good at finding people."
"I'm afraid you heard what I said, my lord." Ansa looked at her with admiration. "I'm honored that you remember my strengths. You will be a great lord, my lord."
"No matter what, Ansa. I want you to know that Hope Occam is sworn to me, just as you are. He is mine and I have an obligation to keep him safe."
"But what if he 'accidentally' revealed his identity himself, like he did when he was caught by the church in the first place?"
Danlfion turned and stared at Ansa. "When the time comes, it won't be too late to drive him away."
