The Hero Who Troubles the Heroes

On the small river bank in late summer and early autumn, many people take a walk here to enjoy the coolness.

On the grass by the river, there are many stone benches for tourists to rest, and the three of them are sitting on it and eating candied cherries with toothpicks.

Slender wooden disposable toothpicks are tricky to make by hand, but people here have suitable alternatives.

Here is a medium-sized hedgehog with spines about six to nine centimeters long.

When threatened, they curl up and are turned over with a long, sharpened stick and stabbed to death from their soft belly.

Their flesh will be eaten, and the skin with needles on their bodies will be thrown into a pot and boiled with water. When the venom on the thorns fails due to the denaturation of proteins at high temperatures, these thorns are the best toothpicks.

Linda, who had only seen toothpicks made of gold, was the first time she had seen such cheap disposable toothpicks. Still curious as a baby, she even tried to see if the toothpicks were sharp with her fingers.

"Sour!" Diana, who had just eaten a cherry, shuddered, "Why is there a sour taste in this maple syrup?"

Charles, who is sitting on Diana's left, is the best person to answer this question. He said, "At this time, the taste of maple syrup itself. The maple syrup here has a sour and bitter taste when it was first collected."

"After the harvested maple syrup is boiled and dehydrated, the bitter components in it will evaporate with the water, and this bitter component will cause diarrhea to the eater."

"But the sour component in it is not so easy to remove, but this component will decompose after being heated to a certain extent, so the barbecue we eat does not have this taste."

"And this sour ingredient is weakly toxic. If you eat too much, it can kill parasites in the digestive tract, and it can also be used as a preservative."

"Wow!" Diana immediately noticed the point. "If it can be used as a preservative, wouldn't it be very profitable to extract it?"

"Otherwise, how do you think my family makes money?" Charles said. "My family buys the maple syrup that has just been collected, processes it, and then sells insect repellents, preservatives and other medicines made from these ingredients. It is because of these medicines. So we can sell the leftover maple syrup at a low price.”

"How was that sour ingredient extracted?" Diana asked.

"Business secrets, no comment," Charles said, "unless you have my last name."

"Cool while you go." Then Diana picked up the toothpick in her hand and gestured to pierce Charles.

At this time, an old man dressed in linen clothes often worn by commoners, with a sack on his back, and a hat on his head suddenly appeared beside Charles. He hunched over and said to Charles, "Children, do you want to buy a book?"

Charles was stunned, but Diana immediately discovered the problem.

Books made of parchment are expensive and are sold in bookstores. A man in linen clothes and a sack on his back asks you if you want to buy a book. Take it as a plot in a novel, and you are either stupid or stupid.

More importantly, this person is a little too strong. This is not the stature that an ordinary commoner, or even a poorer adventurer should have.

Diana's first thought was that it was sent by the traffickers, but for some reason, the dark guard beside Linda didn't stop this suspicious guy.

So she pulled the dazed Charles behind her, raised her dagger and stopped him between Charles and the person who came.

At this time, Charles also came back to his senses. He grabbed Diana, who was ready to go, and said, "Don't be nervous, this is my grandfather, Duke Redkin of Rebach Kingdom."

"Grandpa?" Diana couldn't accept this reversal all of a sudden.

At this time, Duke Redkin, dressed as a commoner, stood up straight and carefully looked at Diana, who was still holding a dagger, with the eyes of picking cabbage in the market, "Yes, just based on your reaction, I allow you to call me grandpa. "

Regardless of the sluggish Diana, Duke Redkin asked Charles, "Little Charles, how did you recognize me? I remember that I never told you about my identity?"

Charles replied, "Me and Sister Mila have known for a long time."

Duke Redkin scratched the back of his head, "I thought I was pretty successful in disguising."

At that time, after Charles' father kidnapped the youngest daughter Duke Redkin was going to marry home, he made Duke Redkin very angry. At that time, he shouted and pretended that the daughter was gone.

Later... Anyway, a few years later, a suspicious businessman would appear in the market of the Earl of McGarden from time to time.

This businessman specializes in the business of the Earl's children. He will sell all kinds of exquisite small toys to the Earl's two children at a very low price. However, his business was not easy to do at the beginning. Who made Charles and Milla not like toys but like reading books, which made all the goods that he brought all the way into his hands.

Whenever the suspicious person appeared, Charles and Mila could get pocket money from their mother and the quietly visiting grandmother, and then go to the village market to play.

Diana had come to her senses at this time, lifted her skirt and curtseyed to Duke Redkin.

Linda hesitated, and finally went to greet Duke Redkin.

Duke Redkin greeted her with a hum in his nostrils.

Charles explained to Diana in a low voice, "Most of the grandpa's territory was stolen from Linda's."

The river is not a place to talk, Duke Redkin took Charles and the others to his residence.

Linda stood there wondering whether to keep up, Charles turned his head to her and said, "Come together and tell me what conditions King Antoine II offered. If he can get a man who has lost his daughter, Father calms the grief and anger, then I will choose to forgive."

"There's nothing to say." Duke Redkin said to Linda in a deep voice, "Go back and tell Antoine II, either pay for his life, or cede the land, or use you to marry the Redkin family, there is no fourth way. You can go."

Not far from them, four people dressed as adventurers were knocked to the ground by a group of people wearing light armor~www.readwn.com~ at this moment, they were lying on the ground with a bruised face, panting.

When Duke Redkin's guard met the guard sent by King Bischberg to protect Linda, they beat him first.

When Duke Redkin and his party left, the guards who fell to the ground struggled to get up from the ground, and then went over to protect Linda who was standing alone.

On the way, Duke Redkin found Charles frowning and didn't speak, so he asked, "Why, are you worried about that Princess Bischberg?"

"No." Charles shook his head, "I recalled a moment ago. I heard from my grandmother before that my uncle and cousin and their wives are daughters of nobles in the Reibach Kingdom, and they are all your core supporters. "

"If the Redkin family wants to marry the Bischberg family, then with the exception of uncle and cousin..."

Charles paused, "Then only you, grandpa, divorce your grandmother, and then you marry the princess Bischberg."

Then he thought about it and said, "But it's not impossible. In terms of your grandfather's career and goals, a queen from a neighboring country is conducive to the stability of the external environment."

Although Charles just wanted to joke at first, the more he talked, the more he felt that it was possible. Of course, the premise is that someone does not know who his grandmother is.

After he finished speaking, he found that his grandfather had stopped and was looking at himself carefully, with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"It makes some sense," Redkin said.

After a man in a black tuxedo suddenly appeared on Duke Redkin's side, he said, "Sir, I will report this matter truthfully to Madam."

The corner of Duke Redkin's mouth twitched, "Remember to report what Charles said word for word."

​​