In the room, Catalina gently picked up the tea cup and quietly looked at the old man with white hair and beard sitting opposite the tea table. The steel armor he wore was as bright as snow, and his body was as straight as a birch tree.
"You look good. The last time I saw you... was about 17 years ago, right?"
As Catalina spoke, she gently picked up the teapot and filled it for the old man. The old knight in front of him was Sir Reed, who had the honor of serving as the squire of the Silver Knight.
"...It's just that I was still in my infancy at that time, so I definitely don't remember anything." She smiled slightly, "I heard that Sir Gelt was also present at that time, is it true?"
"Yes." The old knight's old beard rippled on his cheeks. He was noncommittal. He straightened the pendant necklace around his neck and picked up the tea cup:
"I always remember that he was standing in a corner of this hotel, but I didn't dare to confirm it."
He took a sip of tea, put down the tea cup, stroked the corner of the table with his palm, and said regretfully:
"For older people, memory is an elusive thing. Sometimes it feels like it happened yesterday, and sometimes I'm not even sure if it ever happened."
People's memories in their later years are always particularly blurry. Catalina didn't want the old man to feel like a dying hero, so she gently avoided the topic:
"Speaking of which, have you ever thought about a question: What makes the Knights special?"
"Oh, it sounds like a philosophical question. It seems that I should answer carefully to avoid misleading others..."
Sir Reed smiled kindly. He thought about it for a while and finally answered:
"In my opinion, it should be the oaths we make and the virtues we practice."
"If a person who has not sworn a knight's oath has a virtue comparable to that of a knight, can he be called a 'knight'? If so, what is the meaning of the oath itself? If not, is it possible? Is knight just an empty title for ordinary people?"
"Well..." Old Knight Reed was silent for a moment, "Your thoughts are indeed thought-provoking, Catalina. Perhaps only a hero like Lord Galt can answer this kind of question. I vaguely remember that he once I accidentally mentioned my views on this issue, but I couldn’t remember what he said.”
Upon hearing this, Catalina's eyes suddenly shone, and what the Lord Keeper said was indeed true - the Silver Knight also encountered the same confusion, and he finally succeeded in finding the answer.
But... why did the Keeper of Secrets suddenly bring up this issue?
Katarina closed her eyes, obviously there was a deeper meaning in her words. An enigmatic sage like him would obviously not suddenly be bored and ask some incomprehensible gossip... In other words, maybe this is some kind of guidance and hint?
The question that the Silver Knight has been asking...think about it, Catalina, what could it be?
Could it be related to the "Holy Grail"? Her heart trembled slightly.
"Holy Grail", one of the seven aspects of the Holy Spirit, the incarnation of the secret text of "Lake", the sacred object of the Maiden of the Lake.
According to legend, "Sunfire" Hal once shared the oasis in the Holy Grail with his six sworn knights, and thus gained unfailing power. Since then, the Holy Grail has become the ultimate goal pursued by knights, and countless brave seekers have embarked on adventure journeys to find the Mirror Lake where the legendary Lake Maiden lives.
Some people say that Mirror Lake is on the snow-covered permafrost mountaintop in the north; others say that it is an underground oasis in the endless desert of the Voluni continent in the south; and some say that it is actually hidden somewhere in the New World, because the Silver Knight Galt disappeared on his way to the New World...
But one thing that is certain is that only those who adhere to the way of knights can find the Holy Grail.
Could it be that...the Keeper of Secrets knows the whereabouts of the Holy Grail, or the key clue to finding it...
"Miss Katarina...?"
Sir Reed's call interrupted her reverie. Catalina hurriedly opened her eyes and stroked her hair on her forehead, trying to relieve the embarrassing blush on her cheeks:
"Uh...it doesn't matter - I mean, if you remember it one day, you can always send me a letter. I'm always looking forward to hearing from you."
"Okay, it's settled." Seeing that Catalina was a little distracted, Sir Reed stood up and said with his hands on his waist, "Oh, this old bone is getting more and more unsettled. I'll start with Go back to your room to rest for a while and recall the past. See you at the dinner."
"Please walk slowly."
Katarina stood up from the stool, held up the hem of her skirt and bowed slightly.
After watching Sir Reed leave the room, Catalina breathed a sigh of relief and sat back on the stool. The dress she wore, which was more bulky than the armor, could not sit on a chair with a backrest, so she could only rest on a round stool like this.
well……
The thought of meeting Prince Edward later made her eyebrows ache with distress.
It's not that she is disgusted with this man who has never been masked before, but Catalina really doesn't want to discuss her marriage at this time.
The Keeper must have high hopes for me when he conveyed the key clues to the Holy Grail to me. How could I be bound by these mere mundane things?
Catalina was thinking that it was okay just to get engaged. She just needed to change the crystal level as soon as possible before the wedding and find a good opportunity to disappear like the Silver Knight...
"Catalina..."
A whisper interrupted her thoughts again. Katarina straightened her body like a spring and stood up, but the voice did not come from the door.
"who?"
Such a familiar voice, could it be...?
She followed the source of the sound and leaned closer slowly. It was an oil painting screen in the style of the Voluni palace, used to provide people with a private space to touch up their makeup and organize their appearance.
Looking around the screen, the tattered gray robe was motionless in the wind, and the eight-clawed crown made of black iron pointed ferociously upward. Under the gray robe, there was eternal darkness without a face.
"Keep the secret..."
Catalina opened her eyes wide and covered her mouth as soon as she finished speaking, for fear that someone would notice something unusual in the room.
How did He know I was here?
She never mentioned the birthday party in her diary, and her contact with the Keeper was limited to dreams and diaries. But now, the other party suddenly appeared in front of him.
There is no known secret text that can achieve such precise positioning, and this ability has exceeded the limit of her understanding of mysticism.
"A huge threat is approaching, and the prince who has come from afar is in fear of his life." He said slowly, his words calm and sacred.
Someone wants to harm His Highness Edward?
"What should I do?" she asked cautiously. Since the Keeper of Secrets can show up here, he must already have a countermeasure.
The secret keeper turned around, and His figure gradually decomposed into broken pieces of cloth, faded and disappeared, and there was no trace of its former existence:
"Time is running out, you must warn his guards, 'Be careful of the flames'..."
It seems that this is just some kind of projection of the secret keeper. Even so, such an elusive phantom still exceeded Catalina's imagination.
Beware of flames...?
Catalina clenched her hands tightly. Although she didn't want to marry this guy, as a knight and a subject, it was her duty to protect the future monarch.
She strode out of the room and walked quickly towards the royal resting residence.
Why did the Keeper of Secrets show up to tell me this? What does Prince Edward's life and death mean to Him?
Could it be that this is just a part of the behind-the-scenes layout...?
