The elf's death warning earlier had left Dill unsettled. Suddenly she saw a face, and her heart jumped out of her mouth. She realized in hindsight that it was a reflection and that the person was standing right behind her.
At least it was a human, thankfully.
The dark-haired man sat high atop a black stallion, the saddle and curb woven with gold thread and studded with gems about the size of a horse's eyes, a deep scarlet velvet draped down to the horse's belly.
The young nobleman's features were pale and handsome, and he surveyed Dill with a condescending demeanor.
"I've heard there are East Coasters here."
The man cocked his head slightly, his slow tone having the grace of a lyre. The words spat out with little grace.
"Slave girls?" He asked tentatively, not seeming to care if Dill understood.
The other party lightly adjusted the horse's head, velvet-black silk lined with skin as pale as paper, but the line of the arm pulling the reins was strong and powerful. As he moved, he revealed a sword at his waist, on top of which a dove-blooded jewel flashed with a dangerous reddish light.
The sound of heavy hooves gradually approached, and Dill suddenly realized that there was only the lake behind her. She signaled Turnip to go into the water. The great white goose, though brave and fearless, was powerless under the sharp sword and the horse's hooves.
Kuangdang! Dill noticed that the other threw something golden on the ground.
"Pick it up." He ordered.
"I apologize for the intrusion, my lord; I was waiting for my husband." Dill retorted in well-spoken Common.
The man was unusually cold and didn't seem surprised. "The kind man who taught you the common tongue shouldn't want you to use it to lie."
Seeing Dill's hesitation to move, he said with some impatience, "There are wolves infesting this neighborhood; it would be too dangerous to leave a lady here. Allow you to pick up my bounty and come with me."
Dill sighed, longing for the first time to hear Doom whisper in her ear. Any kind of heavenly justice would be nice.
The tall stallion cast a shadow that could not be denied, and the man reached out a hand toward Dill, about to pull the defenseless maiden onto the horse, when another hand beat him to it.
"And that's no way to be polite to a lady."
A palm snaps on the horse's buttocks; the horse is disturbed and immediately lifts its hooves and retreats; and the man sitting on top of it is unsteady and can't help but let out a curse, his hands hurriedly pulling the reins steady.
The silver armor is no longer as cold and harsh as a weapon but instead shines with a dazzling, warm light in the sunlight. Dill looked at the sudden appearance of the teenage knight and actually, inexplicably, breathed a sigh of relief.
Mucha glanced at the young girl as if she wanted to make sure she was safe and sound before turning to face the man's anger.
"She is a guest of the church, a lady escorted by me."
Unusual people went weak at the knees at the sound of the church and the silver knights, but the man sneered in disbelief.
"Boy, this isn't the church, and I'm not at your command until you find out exactly what the werewolf is."
The horse brushed contemptuously against the armor on the teenager, and the man flicked his horse's head back to give Dill an icy glance.
"A foreigner should have stayed well on her ship; this is not a nice place to leave people to roam."
Dill just wanted to tell him to concentrate on riding his horse; those long flowing cloaks are easy to be stepped on by a horse's foot.
The originally gorgeous departure of the man suddenly shook, as if by an invisible force yanked off the back of the horse, the whole person fell headlong into the reeds next to the reeds, less than an arm's length away from the ghostly lake water.
Dill: It's his own bad luck!
[Evil Thought Enhancement, [Ominous Omen A] is upgraded to [Ominous Omen A+].]
Dill: Yeah, I'm the one who did it. D.
In contrast to the gloating little witch, Mucha, who was young yet worthy of being a Silver Knight, quickly reacted to the change in less than half a second. He didn't show any sneers but immediately went up to help the wolfish, noble young master.
"Be careful with your cloak." Mucha picked up the red shawl, the other end of which happened to be trampled by the horse's hooves.
The man staggered up from the ground, his face and knees covered in blackened ponds of mud. He pushed Mucha away with all his might and suddenly drew the sword at his waist with a brush, and with his hand raised, he was actually going to slash directly at the horse's head.
Before the blood splattered on the lake, the teenager's eyes and hands were quick. He quickly turned the man's wrist, surrendered the sword in his hand, and with a salvage of his toes, he kicked the long sword into the lake in the process.
The light of the sword chipped a glimmer of floating light on the water, so handsome that it made Dill want to clap her hands and applaud.
"Mind your manners, Sir Elder; there is a lady here."
Sir Elder, perhaps listening, quickly found his manners
The petite maiden stomped up on her toes and reached down to unhook the bridle from the horse's mouth, then saddle and reins, the gorgeous jeweled accessories falling to the ground with a heavy thud.
The horse blinked its long, fan-like eyelashes as if realizing it was free of its bonds.
The black horse that had been frenzied and restless dropped its head tamely, letting the pair of white soft razors caress its shiny black mane, and the young girl couldn't help but smile, forgetting that she, too, had black hair draped over her shoulders, which, along with the raven-feather-like eyelashes, made one feel the urge to reach out and caress it.
The young knight thought of the surly noble auction banquets. The legend was that the embroidered shoes worn by a certain princess of the East Coast could be casually speculated to be worth hundreds of gold coins, not to mention the living exotic flowers. Sir Elder would not be the first, nor would it be the last.
Dill harbored guilt for the horse that had been innocently implicated; there were large meadows around here, and perhaps a kind owner could be found, and anyhow, it was better than a madman with out-of-control emotional management.
She happily let the black horse go and turned her head to see Mucha staring at her in silence, his silver armor making him cold as ice.
The Moon God was the patron saint of animals, and as long as they were under the Moon Witch, even the most recalcitrant and fiery horses would obediently hang their heads for the Witch's mercy. Dill almost forgot that she was being watched by a Silver Knight and hurriedly pointed at the gold thread saddles and jeweled bridles on the ground that she had spent so much time on.
"These things belonged to that man." She panicked and changed the topic.
Seeing the young girl's innocent face, Mucha couldn't help but break into a smile and say, "The horse too."
The turquoise pupils seemed like summer grass, the teenager's smile was as clean as cut sunlight, and Dill suddenly wasn't so scared.
She opened her mouth and babbled, "I don't think he wants that horse anymore; the animals that people on our side don't keep will be released."
Mucha thought she was still scared and couldn't help but explain:
"He's the son of the Fortress Lord of Senlenburg, and Jonestown is their territory. The mayor said that he was interested in the rumors of Jones Town and also said that he used to be a gentle and weak child and that he has changed a lot since he returned from his excursion to Byfleet Court. He only just chastised a horsewashing boy this morning and barely beat the man to death."
Listening to the teenager's sharpness in emptying out the other party's body information and even family scandal, Dill couldn't help but look at him a few more times. He looked very young, but he had already been polished into a sharp blade by the church; she really still couldn't be careless.
In front of her there was the suspicious Black Wolf, behind her there was the Silver Knight, and every now and then there was an obnoxious feudal noble who popped up. Well, it was hard to live.
"Has anyone ever said... that you are a very special girl?"
Mucha suddenly asked a question, and Dill subconsciously said, "You mean fall from the apple tree?"
"No, I don't mean that."
The teenager's voice sounds distressed. Dill sometimes really can't understand this, Mr. Knight. Elder, he was cold like a sword, but just now he smiled like a warm sun, and now his white face is reflecting the red sunset.
The sky is changing, the sun is gradually shifting to the west like a ripe berry, reflecting that the lake is brewed into a pot of sweet red sauce, and the sheep gathered on the other side of the bank are like a very soft and fluffy cloud of sugar. It seems that as long as you pinch it up and dip it in the sauce, you can eat it in one bite.
Dill stared at the beauty of the setting sun and tried to be distracted.
"Maybe you're right; I've had a hard time taking my eyes off you since the first time I saw you fall from the apple tree."
Mucha spoke quickly and quietly, as if expecting her not to understand, and Dill heard the clash of armor, and her heart throbbed with what she said was fear, but wasn't quite.
Couldn't anyone here just open their mouths and sing a sonnet?
Then she watched as the Silver Knight dropped to one knee at herself, his lacquered silver armor stained with mud as some impenetrable defense was loosened.
"I can't leave you alone again, especially now in such a dangerous situation."
She knowingly tried to change the subject: " What would be the danger? You mean those stories that scare children?"
Mucha looked up slightly; the bottom of her eyes was undisguised gravity, sinking like deep pools.
"I wish those were stories, but as of last night, there have been three travelers without a trace, and the whereabouts of my good friend Russell, a Bronze Knight who came to investigate, are also unknown."
The teenage knight placed his sword on the ground and kneeled on one knee with his right leg, pressing his left hand to his left knee as if he were kneeling to worship an inviolable statue of a goddess.
"I do not wish to take advantage of the danger, and the teachings of the Temple do not allow me to slacken in my duties, but I do not wish to spend my life regretting my sincerity in the presence of the Most High God. It was I who brought you into this danger, and you are such an intelligent and perceptive girl, so I would like to ask your permission here to stay with me until I can ensure your safety."
Dill felt her face get a little hot from the sun as well; this guy was so proper and impeccable in a way that she rather didn't know how to refuse him.
The young knight looked up, his turquoise eyes shining with faith and loyalty, like the emeralds that adorned the hilt of the knight's sword.
"Please allow me to watch over you, and if I ever transgress against you, I swear in the name of the Most High God that I will immediately cut myself with this sword."
[Do you accept the blessing [Knight's Vow]?
Dill: But I'm a witch and a pagan ...