Stray

    Oliver's mind went blank.

    Although he and Nemo did expect Ann to be related to the royal family, and may have some understanding of the secrets of the year, but he did not expect Ann to directly open up about this matter - or in such a way identity.

    The Nightingale of Alban, twin princesses, two delicate and beautiful little girls. The unfortunate and short life of Andrea Alastair has always been a favorite subject of bards, and after listening to it for a long time, Oliver has subconsciously regarded the name as something of another world. On the other hand, the princesses of Alban seldom appeared in front of the common people, except to attend the grand rites of the Radish. When they appear, they must be weak and pure.

    An Ze has no "weak and pure" qualities from head to toe. But according to her statement just now, the tragic figure Andrea Alastair is indeed alive - Tumbleweed's veteran Black Zhang Ann Savage is the untimely... princess.

    Oliver stood there bewildered, a little unsure of what to be surprised about first. To be honest, with Nemo's speculation ahead of him, he had a little hunch about the truth of his mother's death. There has never been a trace of "mother" in his life, let alone how deep his feelings are. Regarding the facts revealed by Ann, Oliver will not lose his mind because of his anger.

    It was Ann himself who gave him a bigger impact.

    He thought there would be such a normal person in the tumbleweed. Although Ann always laughed at some of his unreasonable knowledge reserves, Oliver had a hunch that Ann would not be a simple black badge of refugees. But the head of the tumbleweed never thought that the female warrior who was less particular than anyone else along the way and had been in the black chapter industry for nearly 20 years would come from a royal family.

    Oliver swallowed, trying to distract himself from the horrific discovery: "How much do you know about the death of your mother?"

    He hoped from the bottom of his heart that this was just another bad joke from the female warrior, a lame joke trying to brighten the mood.

      "I only know one thing - the late emperor once made it clear that if your father 'gets in' for an unknown wandering dancer, he wouldn't mind letting your mother disappear. I've seen your father, Oliver, and he's a very Warm and kind person. I originally told him the thoughts of the late emperor, I originally…”

    An twitched the corners of her mouth stiffly, swallowed the second half of the sentence, and looked at the toe of her boot. "I've been paying attention to this since then. The emperor was in a good mood after he knew your mother died, until someone told him that 'Flint found out about Miss Ramon, and he knew it was your inspiration'."

    Then she smiled weakly and raised her eyes again: "After a while, Flint disappeared, and rumors against him began to spread from the palace - I was able to contact That's all there is to it, but they're enough to explain a lot. Whatever the reason, it's a fact that the late emperor planned to kill your mother."

    "...My mother died of Trent blight." Oliver was silent for a long time, and finally spoke.

    Ann's eyes widened in surprise: "But you—"

    Oliver reluctantly calmed down after taking turns in his head about the identities of the other members of the Tumbleweed. He looked away from the scar on Ann's face and turned to Nemo next to him. Unlike himself, Nemo's face is not only confused, but more sad and tangled.

    But Mr. Demon King quickly felt his gaze and took over the words in a dry voice: "This is the reason why I mentioned Balthazar Medes just now, Oliver and I just wanted to Talk to you about this, Ann. Based on what I've found on my side, I'm pretty sure Oliver's mother died of Trent blight. And Mr. Meders must have known about that—he and Flynn before she died met up."

    "In other words," finding that Nemo's condition was not very good, Oliver took the opportunity to return to the topic. "Regarding Delia's situation, Mr. Medes may have a solution. After all, no matter what, I, who should have been sick, are still alive and well."

    An stared at Oliver's eyes tightly, and spoke again after a while, her voice trembling a little more imperceptibly: "If I didn't understand you wrong..."

    "Your father may have killed my mother, but your father did it. My enemy is not you, much less Delia...Sampson Alastair He's dead, I can't rush to dig him out now." Oliver twitched the corners of his mouth with difficulty, "Of course, I can't really care about it, but it's a yardage. No matter who you are, Ann, you ...is our benefactor and our friend. Of course I would like to help friends."

    Besides Nemo, who seemed to be in some unpleasant contemplation, Oliver patted him on the shoulder.

    "Speaking of which, Trent blight is an abyss-cursed disease, do you have any thoughts on your side?" Oliver interrupted Nemo's thoughts with a question.

    The pair of emerald eyes immediately looked over, and Nemo knew the subtext of the other party. He fished himself out of some cold fact and struggled to get back to reality.

    "Her physique is not as strong as yours, and her strength is far worse than yours." Nemo explained obediently, "Although I don't know the details, but according to the theory of the Abyss Church... To get rid of the curse, you must first free the curse from the heart. Even if I can do it, she will probably be killed by the curse before my power suppresses the curse."

    "So let's go to Medeth first, how about that?" Oliver didn't take the one that patted Nemo on the shoulder, and even put a little more strength on his palm. "Ann, Nemo and I are going over there first. You know who you are... er, we need to digest it."

    Ann nodded understandingly.

    "What's the matter with you?" Oliver grabbed Nemo's wrist and pulled the soulless lover between two lush yellow roses.

    "I remember her brother." Nemo's voice was small, and he held one out, holding his forehead a little sluggishly. "Abbas Alastair, deputy head of the Tin Soldiers Mercenary Corps, a respectable person. If Ann is really... Ollie, I will kill her brother myself."

    "Nimo..."

    "I remember it well, I can't forget it. The claws ran through his arteries, the hot blood spurted, and the touch of the flesh—I remember all the details, except why, I don't remember why …Oli, she confessed to you, but I kept it from her."

    Oliver fell silent. He opened his arms and gave him a firm hug. Nemo hugged the back of the lover in front of him very hard. He was so hard that Oliver could feel the pain of being squeezed in his chest.

    But he didn't say anything about it.

    "Have you thought about it, Nemo?" Oliver's voice was very soft, feeling the rush of the other's chest.

    "Hmm. Like she said, whatever the reason, the deceased is dead. I am the culprit, and I am equally sure of that."

    "I respect your decision. When this mission is over, let's take time to have a good talk with Ann, okay? It's messy enough now that she needs to stay calm more than anyone." A gentle The kiss fell on his ear, and Nemo was heartbroken. The long-suppressed anxiety and worry swarmed up, and he couldn't breathe for a while.

    In case I really just killed Abbas out of malice and destroyed the Tin Soldiers Mercenary Corps...

    "...I see. When this is over, I'll tell her the truth," he heard himself answer.

    "Hey, Nemo, look at me." Oliver turned his lover's face to himself, "I promised to take it with you, and I promised to kill if something went wrong. You. Don't forget this. Medes must know something, he has contacted his father after the expedition, and maybe he also knows the truth at the bottom of the abyss. Don't be in a hurry to deny yourself, okay?"

    Nimo clenched his lover's arms in desperation, breathing hard. The long-suppressed darkness spread from the bottom of his heart, and he almost began to feel tired.

    "Of course it's normal for you to have self-doubt, I totally understand. But you also have to remember that even if you don't believe in yourself - until there is solid evidence, until the facts are clear, I will I believe you."

    Half hope and half despair almost tore Nemo apart, he knew very well - no matter screaming, roaring or tears, nothing could change the past. Just like a lighthearted time cannot erase the dark iceberg under the sea. Their answer is exactly there somewhere, and he has this piece of driftwood, and he only has this piece of driftwood.

    How lucky he is.

    "…" Nemo quietly buried his face in Oliver's expensive silk scarf and took a deep breath. When he spoke again, his voice was much calmer. "Thank you. Sorry, Ollie, what Ann said...you shouldn't be feeling well."

    "Looks like we have a bad deal with Ann." Oliver smiled wearily, "My dad chopped off your head - we'd better go to Meders first, Get some more information."

    "Speaking of which, I have something to tell you."

    "Huh?"

    "I left the cat's beard to Delia, she should be able to see normally with it now, and use it to contact us. Eldric doesn't know that yet."

    "Cat's whiskers?"

    "The spider."

    “…”

    "I know what you're worried about, it doesn't matter, Vance won't notice me right away. I'll be able to catch a normal low-level demon then. The question is how to explain it to everyone History and ability—”

    "The origin and ability I can help you to explain, but why is 'cat beard'...?"

    “…well, at least when I see a cat, I usually don’t notice its whiskers first.” Nemo whispered, “It sounds like a lucky name. ."

    “…”

    After the Knight Commander and Jesse returned to the team, Oliver briefly introduced the status of the next mission. Except for Jesse's exaggerated salute and the glib addressing of Ann with "His Royal Highness", nothing else has changed much. Nemo has become more silent than before, but fortunately no one has time to suspect this-

    Without unnecessary delay, the tumbleweed and her party came to the barren hills on the border of Alban, near the ancient tomb dominated by Medes.

    The sun is about to set. The skeletons wandering around seemed to sense the breath of living creatures and staggered closer. It's just that they didn't attack, they just pushed them outward with their claws and claws. Even if they are broken up with weapons, those withered bones will still stagger and reunite.

    "Abyss magic?" Oliver looked at Nemo.

    "No." Nemo shook his head firmly. "Surface magic."

    "It's a puppet spell." Jesse said lightly, "These things are no different from those metal toys, but they use ready-made materials."

    Afraid that Medes would misunderstand their intentions, the tumbleweeds did not dare to use destructive moves, and they fought with this group of bones for half the night, but Mr. Medes still did not appear the meaning of. A certain being that is not powerful, and definitely not weak, reacted motionless in the depths of the ancient tomb, Oliver could feel it.

    Since the owner is reluctant to come out, they can only choose to go in to visit.

    "Are you ready?" Throwing a clattering skull aside, Oliver pressed against the tomb's heavy stone door. "I'm going to open it."

    Just as he finished speaking, the two stone doors made a dull rubbing sound. The door of the ancient tomb, which seemed to have been dusty for a long time, was slowly pushed open, and the air with the smell of decay came in.

    What awaits them is the endless darkness underground.

    On the other hand, Marshal Gallagher was in a good mood, he was not troubled by the "Emperor" appearing in the capital ball in person.

    "His Royal Highness, tsk tsk, he's also used this little trick." Gallagher stuck a small piece of fruit with a silver fork and gracefully placed it in the sugar saucer dipped. "He has no idea what the emperor left us... um, how did 'that thing' go?"

    "Still looking."

    "Better hurry." The marshal put down his fork and wiped the corner of his mouth with a delicate handkerchief. "This is the first town we have occupied. With such a big movement, there should be a lot of refugees here to take advantage of the chaos—"

    "There must be a woman who meets the requirements. It's time for us to create a 'Her Royal Highness'."