Heart of the Castle

Chapter 416 The Appearance of Grand Duke Raul and the Disgusting Gift
The Grand Duke Raul Adams is the younger brother of His Majesty King Arthur XII, but he looks much older than his elder brother.The top of his head was already bald long ago, and only a few hairs survived behind his ears, but he kept them long enough to hang down to his shoulders. Hair oil, glowing in the firelight with the golden luster typical of members of the Arthurian family.

With the sound of a loud horn, the great nobleman nicknamed "The Great Duke" slowly walked out of the castle hall with the support of several beautiful maids. Every step he stepped on was soft and thick, almost enough On top of the wool rug that doesn't go over the instep.His other younger sons surround him, the youngest still in the arms of a richly dressed woman who follows him.

"This is my father, His Excellency Raul Adams." Sir Bona said in an unnecessary introduction, but his next sentence made Levi's eyes widen. "That is my father's wife, Grand Princess Sheila Adams."

Li Wei took a closer look at the woman in Chinese clothes who followed behind the powerful grand duke, and finally confirmed that she was no more than seventeen or eighteen years old. It looks youthful.Standing with her, His Excellency the Grand Duke looked like a shriveled zombie wrapped in gorgeous satin and gold and silver.

"The grand princess is well maintained." Li Wei said in a somewhat skeptical tone. "Looks about your age."

Sir Bona had a stunned expression on his face, and then he laughed, "Your Excellency, Baron Levi, you misunderstood. Princess Sheila is my father's ninth wife. She just turned 17 last month. I am my father's second wife." Born to his wife, he is 31 years old this year."

"Ninth..." Li Wei looked dumbly at Grand Duke Raul and Grand Duchess Sela who were walking slowly, and couldn't help but feel an indescribable strange feeling in his heart.

The appearance of Grand Duke Raul immediately surrounded the guests at the banquet hall. The bodies wrapped in silk and fur were crowded together, and the noisy appearance was like a swarm of flies.Levi decided to wait a while before moving his feet, or wait until Sir Rodriguez and Butler Frederick brought the gifts.Sir Bona's lips twitched slightly, and when he was about to say something urgent, he suddenly glanced at those wealthy and famous people who wanted to get closer to Grand Duke Raul and talk to him regardless of his manners, so he smiled understandingly , just shut up.

As the hero who ended the disaster, Li Wei even had the nickname "Light of the North" among the commoners in the capital of Fermeyer. In addition, he had a senior noble butler and a powerful viscount with a sword (as a Adil of the Lord of the Sword claims to be far from a match for Sir Rodriguez, as judged by Sir Bona) as a retinue.Levi's gesture did not offend Sir Boehner, but instead secretly had a sense of identity.

"Of course, Master Levi can't be crowded with these nouveau riche who are eating vegetarian meals. It would be demeaning and not respectful enough for the master." The voice of the butler Frederick came, and Sir Bona looked up and found that the demeanor The excellent old butler walked over with graceful steps, while talking with Sir Rodriguez beside him, who nodded repeatedly, agreeing with his statement.Behind them, four attendants worked together to lift a wooden box as tall as a person, which looked extremely heavy.

Sir Bona glanced over the box, he was very interested in the gift that Levi took out, but he concealed it well.According to the information obtained from the Unsullied, Levi Stern and his party should have come to Firmeyer on horseback empty-handed. At that time, the low-key and luxurious carriage did not appear, let alone Butler Frederick and Rodriguez. Sir Gus accompanied him.

This can only show that the family background behind Levi Ston is far thicker than what he has shown, and it is only because His Excellency Raul has invited him with the highest level that he has to reveal himself. the hole card.

His Excellency Grand Duke Raul greeted the so-called celebrities who surrounded him with a distant smile, but his eyes did not stay on any of them.It was not the first time for those people to attend His Excellency the Grand Duke's banquet. They were already very familiar with the attitude shown by His Excellency the Grand Duke, so they returned to their seats one after another. Flushed with excitement from "talking".

Li Wei Ston was not the only guest who did not surround him, but just like Li Wei, they were accompanied by a son of Grand Duke Raul, which highlighted their superior status.There was only one person who was not accompanied by anyone and did not come forward to greet him, and that was the senior Barabbas instructor who was good at picking out the spinal cord of frogs.

"Oh, why didn't Sir Barabba go up today? I remember that every time he went up, he was the first one, and he talked about his achievements endlessly, until my father showed a dissatisfied expression, then he reluctantly shut his mouth. Sir Bona muttered a few words in surprise, and then turned around, "Your Excellency Baron Levy, now that my father is no longer surrounded by those annoying guys, we..."

"That frog's mortal enemy has passed by." Sir Rodriguez interrupted suddenly, "I seem to be holding something in his hand. Could it be the frog specimen that he picked out the spinal cord?"

Sir Bona looked in the direction of the banquet hall with some annoyance. The senior instructor Barabbas was indeed walking towards His Excellency Grand Duke Raul. His red legs on one side and blue on the other stepped on the ground vigorously, and his chest was raised high. It looks like a frog walking upright.

"Gods, what does this guy want to do?" Sir Bona cursed, apologized hastily to Li Wei, and finally walked over quickly, blocking Mr. Barabbas before he could enter the sight of His Excellency Raul.

A gleam flashed in Levi's eyes, and then he followed, Sir Rodriguez and Butler Frederick followed one step behind, followed by four knights carrying a large wooden box.

"Sir Barabba, please stay." Sir Bona's voice came, and the peaceful scholarly temperament on his body was destroyed by a somewhat exasperated voice, "What do you want to do?"

"Aha, it's Sir Bona!" Mr. Barabas's face was glowing with an unusual ruddy glow, as if he were a hyperactive fever patient. "A great gift, so great, it is simply a miracle created by God the Father through my hands!" He patted the small box in his arms, and said to Sir Bona in a low voice, "Only His Excellency the Grand Duke Raul is so noble." And great men may possess this treasure, the treasure of immortality!"

Sir Bona glanced at the small box Mr. Barabbas was holding in his arms with disgust. The box seemed to be very exquisite at first, and the carvings on the surface could be seen faintly, but the precious metal inlaid at the four corners had long since fallen off, and the edge of the box lid was also stained with deep stains. Colored stains, looks pretty worn.

"Mr. Barabba, thanks to the mysterious potion you gave my father last time. If my father drinks it rashly, I'm afraid my brother's wish will be fulfilled. It really can be called a wish elixir." Although Sir Bona's sarcasm was sharp, he thought It was still a little short of penetrating the incomparably strong barrier of Mr. Barabba's spiritual world.The mentor has completely fallen into his own fantasy, his eyes are out of focus like a sleepwalker, he nodded to Sir Bona, and wanted to walk past him.

Sir Bona stopped him with the same cold expression and tone, "Sir Barabba, if it's the same potion as last time, I advise you not to offer it as a gift, my father has more important guests to meet. And I want to ask you, if I remember correctly, you should not have received my father's invitation this time?"

"Invitation, ah, no, of course, I'm allowed to come in because I'm a senior tutor of Star Academy." Mr. Barabas replied incoherently, and then he finally noticed Sir Bona with an ugly face standing in front of him, and At this time, a group of guests gradually surrounded him from behind, pointing at his back and discussing.

It is conceivable that this instructor who is famous for picking the frog's spinal cord will not have any supporters. Although there are many guys with the same absurd reputation as him among the guests, this will not make the voice of ridicule any less .

"Sir Barabba, have you invented a more convenient way to pick the spinal cord? Then Firmeyer's frog will suffer even more." A lady dressed like a fancy peacock The man covered his chin with a small fan, and let out a laugh that was bigger than his fat body.

"Maybe Mr. Tutor has changed an animal, such as the mangy dogs that are ubiquitous in the streets and alleys? After all, the cost of buying frogs from street children is a heavy burden for him." The one who spoke Mr. Sir is as thin as a spear shaft, and he also wears the crossed swords badge of the Grand Knight Commander on his chest.However, Li Wei believed that as long as he was an ordinary adult, he could break the spear shaft with his arm - he still vaguely remembered Sir Bona's introduction just now, and he used a few poems to guard the capital The gentleman who holds an important position in the knight order.

"Of course, I heard that Mr. Tutor is obsessed with picking the spinal cord, and Master Hull has given him an ultimatum. Either give up this disgusting hobby, or give up the generous salary of a senior tutor." A person who claimed to be well-informed said in The crowd discussed behind.

"It seems that our Sir Barabas is going to be loyal to his life's work and continue to seek pleasure in picking frog spinal cords." The honorary Grand Knight Commander immediately interjected.

"Hahahaha..." The crowd burst into laughter.

Mr. Barabba listened to the comments and sarcasm that did not hide his tone behind him, his whole face became redder and redder, terrible blue veins appeared on his forehead, and his hands trembled violently, almost threw the small box to the ground, he hurriedly He wanted to hug the small box, but he couldn't stand firmly and fell to the ground.

This appearance looked a bit like a harbinger of apoplexy. Sir Bona frowned, and was about to call his servants to help him down to rest, but Mr. Barabbas suddenly jumped up like an enraged frog.

"It's okay for you to slander me, because geniuses always live in misunderstanding and discrimination! But you can't slander this great discovery!" Mr. Barabba roared, his ferocious look immediately made the person who was talking The honorable Grand Knight Commander tightly shut his mouth, and moved his feet, hiding behind the fat lady next to him.

"Since this is the case, Mr. Barabba, show us your findings." Sir Bona suggested helplessly. He has now begun to regret stopping this guy with a problematic mind. Maybe let him be in Raul A touch of ashes in front of the Grand Duke will wake him up a little bit, right?

"My great discovery!" Mr. Barabba corrected. He looked in the direction of Grand Duke Raul. Chances to bother.So he let out a long breath, as if unwilling to take out the small box, and held it in front of him for everyone to see.

"Great discovery, I, Barabba's senior tutor, will be engraved on the pillar of honor of the Star Academy!" After making such a loud announcement, Mr. Barabba proudly opened the small box, and immediately received a series of gasping voices .He took these voices as praises for his great discovery, and the expression on his face became more excited.

Levi had to bite his lips hard to stop the laughter, but Sir Rodriguez had no such worries. He immediately raised his head and laughed wildly, and the four knights behind him laughed so hard that they almost dropped their heavy hands. Even the expressionless butler Frederick showed a smile.

Inside the little box was, as expected, a frog...or that's not true, since the frog was only left above the belly, so it would be more realistic to call it a half-frog.A few rusty iron needles nailed the frog into the box, and the fresh blood covered the old scar. The bloody appearance made those celebrities tremble in their hearts, and some timid ladies even exclaimed .

"Very good, is this gift only half?" Sir Bonner suppressed his nausea and commented, "I thank you for your generosity on behalf of my father. By the way, can you please take this generous gift back? The servants of the mansion threw that gift too close, and a greedy pureblood beagle died a painful death because of it."

"Last time it was an accident. I added an extra milliliter of green weeping to the potion, but this time it won't happen. Look, how energetic is this half frog? I picked out its spinal cord a week ago, but After drinking the potion of immortality I prepared, I am still alive." Mr. Barabas said, in order to prove his words, he picked up an iron needle in the box and stabbed it fiercely on the frog's body.

The iron needle pierced deeply, and the frog suddenly twitched violently and let out a scream of "croaking", and more blood oozed out from under the broken body.Barabbas held the box high, as if he had accomplished some great feat, the excitement distorted his ugly face even more.

The rich and famous people backed away, with nothing but disgust on their faces. Many of them were more disregarding of life than Mr. Barabba, and their crimes against their own kind were much more serious than this frog.But that was all done by ordering the servants under him, so the fingers of these rich and famous people were not stained with blood, just as white as their cuffs and collars.

Although Li Wei and the others were not afraid of such bloodshed—compared to the battlefield against the demons in the northern border, this little blood was as meaningless as a joke—but they did not show any appreciation.Levi even felt that Mr. Barabba was completely insane. He was just living in his own delusional world, and he regarded the cruel atrocities against frogs as some great discovery.

"Fortunately, it's not for other people, otherwise..." Li Wei shook his head heavily, his eyes glanced at Butler Frederick inadvertently, and he stopped immediately.

Butler Frederick stared straight at Mr. Barabbas, or to be more precise, at the small box in his hand!
Seeing that Sir Bona didn't pay attention to this place, Li Wei moved his body slightly closer to Butler Frederick, and said in a low voice, "Mr. Dish, is it true what Mr. Barabbas said? Did he really discover the potion of immortality?"

"How is it possible? Eternal life is a realm that even the gods cannot reach, otherwise there would be no such thing as Ku Ximu, the Eternal Sleeper." Mr. Dish's old voice came from Butler Frederick's voice, "Then The guy doesn't even have the qualifications of the most elementary alchemy apprentice, it's no wonder that the potion is not highly poisonous, but that frog..."

Just as he was talking, Sir Bona couldn't bear Mr. Barabba's entanglement. With a wave of his hand, he knocked the small box in his hand into the air. Mr. Barabbas was dragged down.

"Never let him in again, even if he is wearing the robes of the senior tutor of the Star Academy!" Sir Bona ordered with his anger still alive.Then he turned to Li Wei, with a stiff smile on his face, "I'm sorry for letting you see such an ugly scene. This Barabbas is too self-aware. It seems that my father's banquet needs to re-screen the guests."

Li Wei smiled, and just about to say something, a big boy who looked somewhat similar to Sir Bonner ran over, "Brother Bonner," he said, "My lord father asked you to lead these distinguished guests over .”

There was a slightly stunned expression on Sir Bonner's face, "Okay, let's go." He replied, and after the boy ran back, he shrugged at Levi, "One of my dozens of younger brothers, My father rarely let the servants convey his words."

It seems that His Excellency Grand Duke Raul is not only an excellent commander, but also an excellent industrialist.Levi and Sir Rodriguez glanced at each other, and they both read sarcasm in each other's eyes, and then the young lord nodded to Sir Bona and said, "Don't keep the elders waiting, let's go right away?"

However, they had to stop for a few more minutes before passing, until the butler Frederick rushed back from the side lawn with an apologetic expression on his face. "Sorry for the delay, a button, it's very difficult to get the same here in the capital." He explained in a low voice, showing the gem button in his hand to everyone.This button exudes a charming luster, which made Sir Bona, who has seen many rare treasures, nod in agreement.

Only Li Wei understood where the old butler had gone, and now there was probably a small box in the heart of the castle, and... half a frog.

(End of this chapter)