The Lion King of Middenland, Warhammer

()"The junction of the three principalities maintained a chaotic balance, but this balance was broken. Many small lords threw themselves into the meaningless melee, and they forgot that there was a huge shadow hiding behind them , that is the shadow of the Chaos Beast. Although they have not appeared here for ten years."

The black-haired girl sighed, with sadness in her voice, she unconsciously grabbed Hyde's hand.

"When most of the young people left the village, traces of chaotic beasts gradually appeared. The pigs grazing in the forest went crazy, and found the burn marks of the eight-pointed star and the smell of beasts on the trees, and some went deep into the forest The people disappeared, and there appeared traces of blood and flint spearheads, the favorite weapons of Chaos beasts. The peasants wanted protection, but all they got was a notice to pay the war tax as soon as possible, so the villagers had to go further into the forest. , because otherwise it would be impossible to pay those things—beast tendons, eagle feathers, glue, animal skins, and special charcoal and saltpetre, all of which were needed for war. There were no knights who were generous and protective of the people at that time. Only petty tyrants who call themselves knights wielding spears and whips."

"I'm so sorry, my Fleur!"

Fleur's sad voice stimulated Hyde's heart, making the young man feel his own identity. The identity of the elector's son seemed to be a burden to Hyde, and this burden made Hyde feel ashamed.He couldn't help saying sorry, which represented Hyde's heart.

"Ah! That's not what I meant, my Highness Hyde! What do you need to apologize for?"

Fleur stopped her narration as if frightened, and she lowered her black-haired head anxiously.

"Because I am a nobleman and I am also a knight, so I apologize to you, okay? This is from my heart, because I feel your sad heart. You continue to tell your story, I would like to hear this story."

Hyde looked into Fleur's eyes sincerely, and the young man's voice was filled with apology.

"You are different, you are very similar to His Royal Highness Edman, you are both true knights, worthy knights!"

Fleur raised her voice, her eyes sparkled, and the dark-haired girl stood up again, continuing her story.

"People worked in the forest and had to go deep into the forest to pay the war tax. A family without a man was difficult at that time, but my mother also went into the forest with the hunting party because she Knowing a little bit of Thar priest's magic will be of use to her in the forest."

"When the mother was away, I was sad every moment. I looked at the road outside the village, I looked at the empty door, I always hoped to see my mother, but my mother did not appear, I don't know How many times have I cried secretly, I feel that the time has become so long. But it is finally over, because the mother is back, the hunting team's grandpa and brothers are one-third less, but there are also some gorgeously dressed strangers man, why is that?"

"It turned out that a chaotic beast attacked the hunting party, and many people were killed. But at the most critical moment, a group of strangers rescued them. Those who explore the ancient elf ruins in the forest. Most of these people are scholars, but they have powerful mages and knights as their guards. When they came back from investigating the ruins, they happened to meet the hunting team, and they dispersed the chaotic beastmen like a storm. , saved the people in the village.”

"His Excellency Edman is one of the guards of the scholars. He is a gentle person and treats me very kindly. I remember the way he hugged me with a smile. I remember his shining armor and piercing Beard. My mother was laughing at the time, and they seemed to get along very well, but the good times are always short-lived."

Fleur paused, picked up a copper kettle, poured two glasses of water, and handed one of them to Hyde respectfully.Then drink the remaining glass slowly.She put down the empty wooden cup, and the thin voice echoed in the tent again.

"The expedition team will leave after only three days. They have already sorted out the harvest of this trip and are going back to the distant di du Altdorf. Ah, this is naturally what should be done. They also promised to send a The letter forbids private fights among the little lords, and if possible, the principality’s army will be asked to wipe out the beast people, which makes everyone very happy. Everyone was so excited that night that they couldn’t sleep, feeling that the light was about to come.”

"On that beautiful morning, Lord Edman, who was leaving, made his proposal to my mother. He hoped that my mother would go with him to the distant Reikland. He hoped that I would be his daughter. He hoped that I His mother became his partner. It was so surprising, I saw my mother trembling, it seemed that there was unspeakable emotion hitting her, but she finally rejected Lord Edman, which made me very sad , because I really want to have a father. I saw that Lord Edman seemed sad too, I hugged my mother's leg, and I felt that she was also very sad, but why did she reject Lord Edman? I just know She showed something to Lord Edman, and he fell silent."

"But this may be an unwise choice, because a few days after Lord Edman and the others left, a wave of beasts swept this area. One village after another was reduced to ashes under the spears and axes of the beasts, and the people Our village was one of the last to fall, and I don't want to recall that scene. I only remember the smell of fire and beasts. My mother protected killed me, but she was terribly wounded, and we hid in a tall oak tree, and her last spell hid our breath, so I survived, but she left me."

Fleur's tone was calm, but tears filled her eyes, her hands unconsciously grabbed her chest, as if to ease the pain in her heart.

"The war of the little lords is over. They returned here, and brought the army of the principality. The beasts were driven away under the bombardment of muskets and cannons, but the dead will not be resurrected. The village is destroyed, the lord My income disappeared, and there were human traffickers who followed the army, they took me who was wandering helplessly, and sold me to a city in the Highland Principality hundreds of miles away, and the name of that city was Fort Myen.”

"Fort Myen is a gathering place for soldiers and mercenaries, full of the smell of gunpowder and spirits. I was sold to a tavern serving soldiers and did various odd jobs. The work was very hard, and the boss often beat me. I couldn't bear it all, I wanted to run away, but where was I to run away? But after a year, my beauty was noticed, so I was transferred to a beautiful shop, and I didn't get beaten anymore, but that Not a great place, but I only found out later."

"I continued to do chores for many beautiful sisters there. Their personalities were moody, and sometimes they would beat me when they were upset, but more often they would treat me gently. They taught me The etiquette of the city, they taught me the skills of dancing and singing. It's not as tiring as in that tavern, you won't starve, and you can wear beautiful skirts, so I was happy at first, and I was out of the sea of ​​suffering. But I When I think of my mother, I will cry sadly again, I think of the little sword she left me, I hide it under an old oak tree, it is the only souvenir of my mother, I am afraid that it will be lost.”

"But as I grew up gradually, I felt the special eyes of the customers on me, and I also understood what this store does. It turned out that this is a brothel. More than three years have passed, and I am growing taller rapidly Well, I was pretty pretty at eleven or twelve, and my sisters started telling me stuff, but I was so scared, I didn't know what to do. Because I didn't want that."

"But just when I was falling into the fear of my future, one ordinary morning, when I finished washing and hanging them to hang, my fate changed. Because a familiar voice stopped me, I saw Ai The face of Lord Deman. This is an unbelievable meeting! He hugged my shoulders and asked me a lot. I saw his tears rolling down, and I saw his cheeks trembling violently. That day He found the boss at noon and offered all the money to redeem me."

"But his anxiety caused the boss to ask a high price. Your Excellency Edman does not have that many silver coins. The boss of the brothel pointed out that I am a beautiful virgin, and the value is unlimited. He threatened that after three months It was the deadline for me to pick up the guests. So Lord Edman stuck his sword on the table and swore that he would come back here in three months with enough money, but if the boss dared to betray before this deadline Me, he was desperate to behead the boss, so an agreement was reached. Lord Edman left here quickly, and he told me he would come back to pick me up."