Mond (3)

As they followed Mrs. Mond and her group back to the Duke's Mansion, Inger and Alex put their hoods on their heads and exchanged glances.

Alex and Inger agree on this.

They followed him into the mansion, observing the situation first, and then considering whether to reveal their identities.

Because compared to someone from the royal family, the identity of a savior of unknown origin can gain more trust.

They walked slowly in the forest for a while and saw a dark shadow passing by not far away.

Alex was the first to react. Although it was very quiet, he heard the sound of footsteps on the ground and the gentle sound of grass rolling over.

He quickly drew out his sword and then frowned.

But compared to the sound of footsteps, it was too light, like a ball of cotton brushing against soft grass. And he could only hear it because of his level of a 5th-level knight.

In a flash, the true form of the black shadow appeared before their eyes.

Under the dark shadows of the dense forest, the first voice that came was a mature and hoarse male voice.

"Daisy."

A figure appeared in front of Danshu Mond and pressed her shoulders.

Madam Danshu didn't seem surprised at all and smiled, "I'm fine. It was the knights and two gentlemen who accidentally entered who saved us."

The knights beside him half-kneeled in such an orderly and majestic manner that Inger was startled.

"Your Excellency the Duke, I beg for punishment."

Alex retracted the sword.

The man in front of me is the current Duke of Mondstadt, Leon Mondstadt.

Inger looked over curiously.

The Duke of Leon first looked his so-called "mother" up and down, and made sure that she was fine before he casually raised his hand.

"Go to the umpire to receive your punishment, not anywhere else. Everyone, get up. Is anyone injured?"

Sicily pointed at the young trainee knight lying on the middle carriage and said, "Look, the youngest one got hit, but he was cured by the wizard over there. Big brother, let me tell you, he is much more powerful than the second brother!"

Duke Leon walked over and looked at the knight with blood at the corner of his mouth. Seeing that his wound had indeed healed and the healing marks were smooth and seamless, he shifted his gaze to the hooded man.

Inger suddenly met his eyes and shuddered.

Those were the eyes of a top predator, cold, sharp, yet calm and bottomless. But there was no doubt that a person with such eyes could launch a fatal pounce and bite on his prey at any time in the quiet grass.

Inger was subconsciously forced back by his momentum. He took a step back and hid behind Alex, secretly glancing at the Duke's appearance with his peripheral vision.

Duke Leon has deep and mature features, a nose that looks like it was carved by a sculptor with a broad knife and axe, sword-like eyebrows and eagle eyes, and thin lips that make him look intimidating without even being angry. He is probably in his early thirties, with the Mond family's unique dark red hair cut short, and his silver-gray eyes are icy cold. His height is estimated to be at least 1.9 meters, which is 1.94 cm in Chunet's counting unit. From the muscular lines wrapped in his riding gear, it can be seen that he is definitely a well-trained and experienced knight.

Looks like a red-haired lion watching out for intruders on its territory.

Originally, he was curious about why the family emblem of this family was the red lion. This family was called the Red Lion Family, and Madam Dan Shu was called the Red Lion's tamer. This was obvious at a glance.

[That hair doesn’t look like cosplay or permed and dyed Killer Matt at all…]

Alex naturally stood in front of Inger, showing his signature smile, neither humble nor afraid.

Duke Leon looked at them and said calmly, "Thank you very much. Please come with me into the mansion. We will prepare a thank-you gift."

He did not talk about the crime of entering the designated hunting ground, and did not accept their sympathy, but he also did not allow them to make other requests, and let him decide.

A family as overbearing as the rumors say.

Alex smiled and nodded. "It was an accident. Your noble knights are very powerful. I believe they will not be defeated easily even if we are not here."

Moreover, with the speed at which Duke Leon is coming, if we hold on for a short while, we will receive support.

Xixi Li An retorted at this time: "No, big brother, the other side has a wizard and a knight who are at least level 6. Their goal is to kill mother. If Xiaoyao doesn't have the wizard's help, I'm afraid she won't be able to return alive."

Inger tilted his head when he heard this, and broke out in a cold sweat.

He really didn't know that he was actually facing off against a seventh-level wizard.

Fortunately, the other side retreated in a hurry.

Duke Leon frowned, with a brief flash of anger and murderous intent in his eyes. He then said, "Sicilian, go back and tell me in detail."

After saying this, he walked over, squatted down, picked up Madam Danshu by her knees, and carried her onto his mount.

He said in an unquestionable tone: "You come with me."

Mrs. Danshu sighed and said nothing. She adjusted her skirt as usual and sat on it sideways.

Inger and Alex then realized that the mount was actually a magical beast that was similar in shape to a leopard but was obviously different. It had strong limbs, a soft body, a solid back, and was blue-black all over. It had three pointed ears on both sides of its head, dark blue eyes with narrow pupils, and a long, spreading tail that swept across like the shadow of a dark cloud disappearing into the night.

They looked at each other and saw the light in each other's eyes.

At this time, another wave of people arrived.

They rode on mounts similar to the Duke of Leon's, and came over in a mighty procession.

The leader was a man with long dark red hair, a handsome face, silver peach eyes, and facial features that were 50% similar to those of Sicilian and Leon. This was the second son of the Mond family—Ciliian Mond.

"How is it, is mother okay?" He was obviously not as strong as Duke Leon, and was a little out of breath after riding for a while.

"Return to the team. Let's go back first."

"good."

"Arrange your team and return home!"

"yes!"

Led by the Duke of Leon, a group of 80 to 90 cavalrymen marched in an orderly manner.

Alex was also given a warhorse, the same one the little knight had brought. Inger sat behind him, pinching his shoulders, feeling the pressure.

Alex quietly sensed that there were several knights of different levels here.

Celia was riding on the left side, and she quickly glanced at the hooded Inger. Her eyes changed and her expression gradually became a little strange.

He hesitated for a long time, too embarrassed to ask, and moved closer to Sicilian. He was about to speak, but he heard his elder brother's voice coming from the front: "Stop."

Then they looked up and saw the towering castle built on the mountains surrounding the city.

Compared to the splendor of the imperial palace in the capital and the luxury of the castle by the sea, this building can only be described as grand and majestic.

The giant castle built of large grey stones bears clear traces of erosion by wind, frost, rain and snow, as well as repairs over several dynasties. The climbing plants that grow from the base of the walls all the way up the city walls are showing off their vitality.

Inger looked up, a smile appearing unconsciously on the corners of his mouth.

That sense of ruins full of history is his favorite style.

But when he looked down at the distance they still had to go, he felt a toothache.

So he took out his wand and asked, "Why don't we just go in?"

Alex was used to him teleporting anywhere and anytime, so he smiled and said, "Okay."

Inger rolled his eyes at him and said, "I didn't ask you."

Then he asked Leon, who was leading the group, for advice: "My Lord Duke, is this okay?"

Xilia on the left was stunned first, "What did you say? What do you want to do?"

"The castle is within my sight, so it is possible to teleport this group of people into the castle, as long as His Excellency the Duke agrees. Ah, the magic power I consumed has been restored, don't worry." Inger shook his wand and said calmly.

Alex smiled to himself.

In fact, he just didn't want to walk through the town streets because it would attract too much attention.

Xilia's jaw dropped.

Before he could say anything else, Leon looked at him carefully and nodded, "Okay, with me here, no one will think of you as an intruder."

Inger glanced around. Since he had used relative coordinates to establish long-distance teleportation, he had basically never tried multi-person teleportation.

As he whispered, a huge teleportation array slowly appeared under the team's feet. Although it took much longer to construct the array than an individual, it only took a few minutes.

The white light enveloped their vision, and after they blinked, they appeared precisely on the parade ground in front of the castle.

The knights were of good character, except that their mounts had missed their target and were startled by the sudden change in environment, so they took a few steps before steadying themselves.

Xilia knocked her teeth and said in disbelief: "Really... I did it..."

Xixi Li An looked at him and laughed loudly: "I need someone to draw it! It's so rare!"

Inger sensed the magical power and judged that it was smaller than when he transported the magic whale.

A group of people with magical reactions suddenly appeared in the parade grounds of the castle. Within a few seconds, the alarm bell rang, and soon the knights stationed in the castle also gathered.

Alex whistled.

Inger felt that the capital, Nantes, was relatively modern. Seeing the castle and the knights suddenly gave him the illusion of returning to the Middle Ages.

This is an era where knights and trains coexist.

The knights and the Duke's entourage in the castle usually wore the red knight's uniforms inlaid with gold threads, which were the characteristics of Mondstadt. The most striking feature was the short cloak that was only draped over half of the shoulders.

[This kind of clothing seems to have evolved from nomadic peoples... It seems that the temperature difference here is quite large...]

In fact, Inger guessed right.

As long as he lives here for a while, he can feel the climate conditions here: there are many mountains, strong westerly winds, and a large temperature difference between day and night. The cold air from the north will flow down along the Great Qiusha Mountains, so Mondstadt is also called the West Wind Territory.

The knight who rushed over saw that it was his own Duke, so he stopped on the spot and knelt down to greet him.

Leon took his wife down and said to the others, "Send the injured to recuperate, leave a few people to take the guests to the guest rooms and entertain them well, and the rest follow me to the conference room."

Madam Danshu smiled with a fake smile and tried to pull her hand away: "It's my turn as the lady to entertain the guests."

Duke Leon's expression was very dark, and he clasped his hands tightly, unable to break free. He said coldly: "No, you are their target. Go back and explain the situation to me in detail, otherwise you will never be able to step out of the Duke's Mansion again."

Inger and Alex pulled down their hoods and followed the two knights to the guest room, where they were soon greeted by skilled maids and butlers.

Alex spread cheese on a large slice of dried bread with a knife and stuffed it into his mouth.

Inger dismissed the maids and closed the door.

While enjoying the host's special food, they discussed what they needed to talk about next with the Duke, especially Madam Danshu.

In fact, they had already figured it out while they were on the road, and they had the same idea, so they didn't say much.

The topic turned back to the assassination of Mrs. Danshu.

"Which force wants to assassinate her? What do you think? Should it be?"

"I can't figure it out. Judging from Duke Leon's current attitude, assassinating her will only make him hate her deeply." Inger took a sip of the peculiar-tasting bay leaf milk tea.

"They have a really good relationship as mother and son. I used to think that she had a bad relationship with him and didn't dare to mention it in front of him." Alex cut another piece of smoked ham and handed it to Inger's mouth.

"Them? Ha..." Inger took the ham away and was too lazy to complain about him.

Regardless of their true relationship, it is certain that anyone who dares to attack Madam Danshu will be met with the wrath of the three red lions.

"The situation between the Central Region and the Western Region has always been bad, but Li Weier's attitude is currently ambiguous, and Duke Leon is needed to stabilize the border. In addition, my father is ill, so Sister Aura has no reason to take action against them, let alone kill them."

"The restless nobles in the West have already been wiped out twice by Madam Danshu and Duke Leon. The remaining remnants can't make any waves. Just look at his knights and you'll understand."

"It is impossible for Liweier to take such radical and risky actions now, unless they are ready to go to war. According to my memory, the time is not right yet."

"Yes, and they are level seven wizards and knights. The people behind them have invested a lot of money."

"I still can't figure out what the other party's purpose is." Alex tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest.

Inger pondered for a moment, and then he suddenly remembered the words of a great detective, "Eliminate the impossible, and whatever remains, no matter how unbelievable it is, is the truth."

He suddenly laughed at an inappropriate time.

Alex stopped and looked up. "What? Did you think of it?"

Inger smiled slightly, put down his teacup and said, "It's just a guess. If Madam Danshu died, who would be the first person to be suspected?"

"——Central, as we first thought, Central has always been afraid of the West—uh, you mean the blame."

Inger nodded and remained silent.

Alex's face gradually darkened. "He deserves to be punished."

The purpose inferred from the assassination and frame-up is to stir up conflicts between the Western Border and the Central Government and trigger disputes and internal strife.

With big countries watching closely and social conflicts escalating, the consequences of another internal unrest would be unimaginable.

Alex looked at Inger, who nodded in understanding.

The Western Border is an important barrier facing the Livil Empire, and the Mond family is an important component of the Chune Border Army and an important force in the upcoming war. They don't know that Madam Danshu's presence will bring about changes, but the most important purpose of their trip is to guide this variable in a direction that is beneficial to them.

At present, it seems that the first step, although extremely accidental, was the right one by some chance.

Suddenly there was a commotion outside the door.

The one who kicked in the door was the white deer that had followed them all the way into the city.

When they were going upstairs, they were led away to the stables by the knights.

"Ahhh! Don't go in! I'm sorry! Take it away immediately! Sir Knight, come and help!" The maid shouted while hugging the white deer's slender neck.

The knights standing at the door and in the corridor looked at each other in bewilderment; it was the first time they had encountered such a situation, and then several of them went up to help.

Who knew that the white deer raised its neck and emitted a white halo. The knight and the maid beside it were slowly pushed away as if by a soft invisible force, and then gently hit the wall.

They were not seriously injured and rolled on the ground twice, but they were all stunned.

Bai Lu shook his head, raised his chin, puffed out his chest, and walked in front of Alex in a noble and elegant manner—and lowered his head meekly.

She only slightly raised her watery deer eyes, and her slender eyelashes fluttered like white butterflies.

No matter how you look at it, it is full of human emotions.

Inger looked at this scene with an increasingly indescribable expression.

Alex smiled and raised his hand to touch its head. At this moment he had not yet realized the seriousness of the matter.

"This is fate! From this moment on, you are my master!"

Alex's hands froze, and Inger's tea fell to the ground.

After the talking sword, another talking deer appeared...