The scorching sunshine at noon heated the stone slabs under my feet. The tall sycamore trees on both sides of the road stretched out a shadow. The fallen leaves that had just been cleaned in the morning began to fall again, as if to prepare for this.
A road that passed through the atrium was covered with a colorful blanket. Xino walked alone on the road, and the sound of gentle footsteps echoed in the large and somewhat empty atrium. It dissipated before it spread too far, as if in this
There is also a sound-eating monster hidden in the manor, turning the popularity accumulated over the years into a silent silence.
After walking along this road for about ten minutes, the girl's footsteps stopped in front of a forest composed of straight yew trees and boxwood poplars with small yellow flowers. There was an old mansion in the forest.
It is three stories high and has a rather elegant shape. It has an exquisite porch and protruding lattice bay windows. The walls are still white and bright despite the passage of time. The red tile roof is looming among the green trees. It can be seen that the owner cares about it.
It takes great care of it. But for some reason, its location is just out of reach of sunlight, so both the mansion and the woods seem to be shrouded in a deep twilight, staring deeply and silently at the ground beneath their feet.
Pedestrians reflect a kind of majesty and solemnity derived from aristocratic mansions.
The history of Chateaurie Manor standing here is the history of the beginning of the prosperity of Grindelwald Fields, and the history of the mansions in front of us is still above them. There was no Chateaurie Manor, and there was no Grindelwald today.
It has been there since the wilderness. It is said that the first thing the great pioneer knight did when he came to the territory was to spend a lot of manpower and build this mansion for himself. At that time, the indigenous people in this land thought that this place came from
They all lamented over the arrogant and lewd ruler.
But then, the knight placed the white thorn flag that he never left behind on the roof of the mansion, and swore that the Goldstaff family had the legal and moral right to protect the land under their feet. Then he led
Three thousand followers went to the barren land to open up wasteland and did not return home for three years. It was not until the fields began to harvest, the fruit trees began to bear branches, and the people's lives gradually became prosperous that they returned to this mansion for the first time and picked the fruit with their own hands.
got that flag.
Now, ten centuries have passed since that period of history. Do the descendants of the Goldstaff family still keep their ancestors' admonitions in mind?
Xino looked up and vaguely saw the fluttering shadow of the white thorn flower flag on the red roof. But when she came back to her senses, she found that there was nothing in front of her. She was silent for a moment and then withdrew her gaze and walked towards the house.
Walking towards the main entrance of the mansion, Mr. Weber, the old butler of the manor, was already waiting at the door. Although he was old, he was still in good spirits. He was wearing a dark black tuxedo and his silver-gray hair was meticulously taken care of. He spoke respectfully.
He bent down and saluted the girl: "Welcome back, Miss Xino, I have been waiting for you in the restaurant for a long time."
"I understand, Weber, thank you for your hard work." Xino nodded slightly, placed the broom in his hand on the porch, and asked again: "How is your grandfather doing today? Is there anything wrong with you?"
"My master's health is fine, but he always thinks about that thing, so he feels a little..." Weber stopped talking and did not continue.
Hearing this, Xino sighed imperceptibly: "I understand, I will go and have a chat with him."
She was about to enter when she suddenly thought of something and paused: "By the way, Weber, are you going to the city soon?"
The old housekeeper thought about it for a while and replied: "In the afternoon, or maybe tomorrow, I will go to the vineyards of El Carson and Mindley to inspect the business conditions there and check the account books. Miss Hino, do you have any questions?
What's the order?"
"It's not a big deal, it's just -" A certain face with no intentions but a giggle appeared in Xino's mind, and the corner of his mouth couldn't help but outline a curve: "If you want to go into the city, please go to Mason Department Store to buy some.
I've got a jar of Northenweg Crown Honey back, and I'm going to use it to entertain the guests."
"Guest?" Weber asked one more question: "Will Miss's classmates come to visit you in the near future?"
"No." Xino shook his head: "They are other guests. If everything goes well, you will be able to see them soon."
"Oh? Did Miss Hino make a new friend? You need to entertain her well. Isn't a jar of Northenweig Crown Honey not enough? Why don't I buy some desserts made in Tousend?
I heard that young people nowadays like to eat this. There are still some raisins made last year in the manor, but the jasmine tea is not enough..."
Weber started chattering, like an elder who cared about his granddaughter. For this old housekeeper who had served the Gustave family diligently for more than fifty years, Xinuo, who he had watched grow up, was indeed as close as his granddaughter.
.However, this kind of care from the elders will make today's young people feel uncomfortable without exception. Therefore, Xino was also a little dumbfounded: "They haven't arrived yet, and you think too early. Besides, I think they also
If you don’t care about such things, just treat them as normal."
The old housekeeper stopped nagging, but there was still a look of regret on his face.
After Sino said goodbye to him, he opened the door and entered the mansion. After passing through a corridor displaying portraits of the ancestors of the Gostave family, he came to the dining room. This is a restaurant that follows the ancient style of Granginia.
The long house is made of a mixture of logs and square bricks. It is extremely simple in style and furnishings, without any trace of the classical luxury that should be expected in a traditional aristocratic family.
A dark beam passes through the top of the head, supporting the overall structure of the roof. On the brass candlestick hanging from the top beam, the long white candle that was inserted half a month ago has not burned out, and the candlelight has burned the beam.
The side is smoked to a black color similar to ink; on the wall near the right-hand side is a row of floor-to-ceiling windows. At this time, the curtains are closed, and you can clearly see the rustling vegetation in the garden through the glass; facing
Facing this row of floor-to-ceiling windows, a rectangular basswood table that was several rounds older than Xinuo was placed quietly in the center of the long room. It was covered with a white tablecloth and twelve high-backed mahogany chairs were neatly arranged along the edge of the table.
Arranged, the postures and positions seem to have never changed in the past ten centuries, and they are still the same as when the people who first lived in this room sat down.
If your imagination is rich enough, you may be able to see how those people laughed and shared a sumptuous dinner under the light of the fireplace and candlelight, celebrating the joy of the harvest season - the tradition of the Gustave family, the annual harvest
Every season, a group of lords would be invited to the manor to have dinner with the lord.
Xino walked towards the long table. Her tableware had been placed at the end of the table, as well as some simple dishes: a plate of stewed peas, a piece of smoked ham with black pepper gravy, a bowl of vegetable salad and a small
A milkshake is her lunch.
Sitting on the opposite side is Xino's grandfather. His old and withered figure is half lying in a wheelchair. The light passing through the longhouse casts a layer of gray-white shadow on him. From this angle, it looks like a stone.
A figure carved out of a man. Even in such a hot summer, he was still wrapped in a thick sheepskin blanket. In the fireplace made of red bricks behind him, charcoal was burning, releasing a steady stream of heat, which heated the entire body.
The restaurant is as hot as a big furnace. If you close your eyes, you will mistakenly think that you are still outside instead of in the house.
Elderly people are usually afraid of the cold, and Xino's grandfather still has old injuries, so he needs to rely on the fireplace for warmth all year round. Sometimes he sleeps too deeply at night, and needs the girl and the old housekeeper Weber to take care of him all night
, take turns to replace the charcoal in the fireplace, so as not to accumulate too much carbon dioxide in the closed room, leading to poisoning. But Xino has long been accustomed to this, so even though there is a dense layer of sweat on the back of his neck, his face is still calm, and he walks on
He bowed to his grandfather and said, "Good afternoon, Grandpa. I wonder if you slept well last night? This morning I went to clean the road in the Forest of Lowther, so I came a little late, which worries you."
The grandfather who was half lying in the wheelchair slowly raised his head and glanced at Xino. He had a face that made people feel stubborn and rigid at first glance. His pale skin was full of ravines left by the years. His hair was sparse, with only a few hairs.
A handful of stubborn white hair grows out of the cracks, as pale and lonely as the withered grass on the field after the autumn harvest, dotting the dry lips and deeply sunken eye sockets.
"I dreamed about Leonard again last night." The old man said every word. Contrary to his appearance, although his tone was plain, it was extremely calm and powerful. It was not like the voice of a dying old man. Xino
She was stunned for a moment, because Leonard was her deceased father. Before the girl could think of how to respond, the old man turned his attention to the lunch on the table and said, "But it's good that you're here. Let's eat first."
Bar."
The turn of the topic was a bit abrupt, but Xino just nodded after coming back to his senses, pulled out the chair, sat down, and picked up the knife and fork on the table. Neither the grandfather nor the grandson spoke anymore, just like they had for the past ten years.
, began a silent meal, and for a while the atmosphere in the restaurant was a bit dull. Except for the occasional sound of knives and forks hitting the dishes, there was no other sound - one of the ancestral mottos of the Goldstaff family is to remain silent while dining.
, exercise restraint and observe etiquette.
The old man's lunch was as simple as Xino's, except that he replaced prosciutto and black pepper gravy with soft boiled potato soup, because his teeth could no longer support his master to bite him as boldly as he did when he was young.
His favorite food. One of the few pastimes he had for the rest of his life was to secretly eat one or two frosting candies when his granddaughter Sino and old housekeeper Weber weren't paying attention. They were the kind of candies that looked like they were covered with a layer of frost.
There is only a faint sweetness in the mouth. It is the most delicious snack in the old man's memory, but now, even the youngest child in the Grindelwald countryside has disliked their taste.
When she thought of this, the girl's mood was a little complicated. Despite this, she still adhered to the dining etiquette of the Gustave family. She was elegant, restrained and precise, and her every move showed a magnanimity that other aristocratic heirs could not match. This source
The eighteen spring, summer, autumn, and winter years of hard training since my memory was unclear have now become a kind of instinct.
In five minutes, Xino finished his lunch. The dishes and plates were all clean, without any waste. But the girl did not put down her knife and fork, because at the other end of the table, her grandfather was tremblingly eating
He forked a piece of potato and put it in his mouth. This stubborn old man refused the request of his granddaughter and the housekeeper to serve him for dinner, and insisted on completing this most important ceremony in reclamation by himself to prove that he had never forgotten his ancestors.
's teachings.
Before the elders leave the table, young people should not act arbitrarily, so every time Xino finishes eating, he has to wait for a while, wait for his grandfather to finish eating before getting up and clearing the tableware. This young girl has a kind of
Extraordinarily patient, she never showed the slightest complaint, perhaps because she knew that she was already used to waiting and had been waiting.
When the old man finished his meal and put down his knife and fork, the time had passed twenty minutes. As usual, it was Hino's turn to clean up and wash the dishes, while the old man would go back to the house to take a nap under the care of the housekeeper Weber until
He only wakes up in the evening. But today, Xino has one more thing to report to him.
"Grandpa, when I went to clean the roads in the Forest of Loser this morning, I found a group of people coming to the Emerald Lake..." She considered her tone and thought about how to describe it better: "Special guests."
"Guest?" The old man raised his eyelids.
"Yes, they also mentioned some incredible things to me."
Xino told his grandfather about the morning's experience, as well as the historical secrets Ringer and the others mentioned, but for some reason he hid the part about himself that might be the girl's royal power, and only mentioned things about Joan of Arc and the secret society.
Finally, she asked with some hesitation: "Grandfather, do you think what they said is credible? Holy Lady, is it really that you promoted the Republican War for other purposes?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The old man closed his eyes and seemed to be lost in thought. After a few minutes, he slowly said: "Folk rumors, ancestors' handwriting... may not have left any traces, but it is just that it has been ages.
It’s just beyond the test. Besides, it’s not important.”
The girl was stunned for a moment, as if she didn't expect her grandfather to comment like this: "It's not important?"
It is related to the reputation of the ancestors of Heberton and the Holy Lady, how could it not be important?
"Yes." He opened his eyes and took a deep look at his granddaughter with his eyes that were already a little dim and old, like a spark about to be extinguished: "The important thing is not what you want to do, but what you do.
Just like you, Xino, have you already thought about what you want to do and what you should do? If you don't think about these issues until you can't avoid them, it will be too late."
He had something to say. When the girl heard the words, she pursed her lips subconsciously and did not answer. Perhaps she was afraid of answering.
"You are still confused and feel at a loss. These are normal things. But don't be afraid, child, these are just small bifurcations in your life. On the road ahead of you, the glorious ancestor of the Gustave family
We have already pointed the way for you.”
The old man slowly raised his head and looked up at the wooden roof. The dim candlelight cast a little light into his old eyes, which reminded him of the faces and smiles of every ancestor of the Costafer family on the corridor to the restaurant. Since childhood,
Growing up, he had always watched them come over. After him was Leonard, and now, it was Xino's turn.
He withdrew his gaze and said meaningfully to Xino: "The descendants with the blood of White Thorn Flower are never afraid of sacrifice."
After saying that, he closed his eyes again. The old butler Weber, who had been waiting outside the restaurant for a long time, immediately came forward, pushed his wheelchair for him, and left the restaurant. Before leaving, he nodded to Xino, but the girl was still there.
He was so dazed that he didn't notice it. The old housekeeper sighed softly, turned around, and the footsteps quickly disappeared at the end of the corridor.
After a long time, the sound of clearing tableware was heard in the restaurant. It seemed to be a little impatient.