Oliver's mind went blank.
Although he and Nemo did expect that Ann had something to do with the royal family and might have some understanding of the secrets of the year, he did not expect that Ann would open up about this matter directly - still in such a capacity.
The Nightingale of Alban, the twin princesses, two delicate and beautiful little girls. The unfortunate and short life of Andrea Alastair has always been a favorite subject of bards, and after listening to it for a long time, Oliver has subconsciously regarded the name as something of another world. On the other hand, the princesses of Alban seldom appeared in front of the common people, except to attend the grand rites of the Radish. When they appear, they must be weak and pure.
An Ze didn't have the slightest "weak and pure" quality from head to toe. But according to her statement just now, the tragic figure Andrea Alastair is indeed alive - Tumbleweed's veteran Black Zhang Ann Savage is the untimely... Princess.
Oliver stood there bewildered, a little unsure of what to be surprised about first. To be honest, with Nemo's speculation ahead of him, he had a little hunch about the truth of his mother's death. There has never been a trace of "mother" in his life, let alone how deep his feelings are. Regarding the facts revealed by Ann, Oliver will not lose his mind because of his anger.
It was Ann himself who had a bigger impact on him.
He thought there would be such a normal person in the tumbleweed. Although Ann always laughed at some of his unreasonable knowledge reserves, Oliver had a hunch that Ann would not be a simple black badge of refugees. But the head of the tumbleweed never thought that the female warrior who was less particular than anyone else along the way and had been in the black chapter industry for nearly 20 years would come from a royal family.
Oliver swallowed hard, trying to distract himself from the horrific discovery: "About the death of my mother... how much do you know?"
He hoped in the bottom of his heart that it was just another bad joke from the female warrior, a lame joke trying to brighten the mood.
"At that time, I was too young to have access to much information." Unfortunately, An's face was stern and his tone was extraordinarily serious, and he didn't mean to joke at all. "I only know one thing - the late emperor once made it clear that if your father 'gets in' for an unknown wandering dancer, he wouldn't mind letting your mother disappear. I've seen your father, Oliver, and he's a very A warm and kind person. I originally planned to tell him the thoughts of the late emperor, I originally…”
An twitched the corners of his mouth stiffly, swallowed the second half of the sentence, and looked at the toes of his boots. "I have been paying attention to this matter since then. The emperor was in a good mood when he knew that your mother died, until someone told him that 'Flint found out about Miss Ramon, and he knew it was your inspiration'."
Then she smiled weakly and raised her eyes again: "After a while, Flint disappeared, and rumors against him began to spread from the palace—that's all I could get in touch with at the time, but they It's enough to explain a lot of things. Whatever the reason, it's a fact that the late emperor planned to kill your mother."
"… My mother died of Trent blight." Oliver was silent for a long time before finally speaking.
Ann widened her eyes in surprise: "But you—"
Oliver managed to calm down a bit after taking turns in his head about the identities of the other members of the Tumbleweed. He looked away from the scar on Ann's face and turned to Nemo next to him. Unlike himself, Nemo's face is not only confused, but more sad and tangled.
But Mr. Demon King quickly felt his gaze and took over the words in a dry voice: "That's why I mentioned Balthazar Medes just now, Oliver and I just want to talk to you about this, Ann. From what I've found on my side, I'm pretty sure Oliver's mother died of Trent blight. And Mr Meders must have known about it - he met Flint before she died."
"That is to say," Finding Nemo's condition not very good, Oliver took the opportunity to return the topic. "Regarding Delia's situation, Mr. Medes may have a solution. After all, no matter what, I, who should have been sick, are still alive and well."
Ann stared at Oliver's eyes tightly, and spoke again after a while, her voice trembling a little more imperceptibly: "If I didn't understand you wrong..."
"Your father may have killed my mother, but it was your father who did it. My enemy is neither you nor Delia... Sampson Alastair is dead, I can't be now Go and dig him out." Oliver twitched the corners of his mouth with difficulty, "Of course, I can't really care about it, but it's a yardstick. No matter who you are, Ann, you... are our benefactors and us. friends. Of course I would like to help friends."
Nemo, who was next to him, seemed to be in some unpleasant contemplation, and Oliver patted him on the shoulder.
"Speaking of which, Trent blight is an abyss-cursed disease. Do you have any ideas here?" Oliver interrupted Nemo's thoughts with a question.
Those emerald eyes looked over immediately, and Nemo knew the other party's subtext. He fished himself out of some cold fact and struggled to get back to reality.
"Her physique is not as strong as yours, and her strength is far worse than yours." Nemo explained obediently, "Although I don't know the details, but according to the theory on the Church of the Abyss... To remove the curse, first of all The heart liberates the curse. Even if I can do it, she'll probably be killed by the curse before my power overwhelms the curse."
"So let's go to Medeth first, how about that?" Oliver didn't take the pat on Nemo's shoulder, and even said a little more in his palm. "Ann, Nemo and I are going over there first. You know who you are... uh, we need to digest it."
Ann nodded understandingly.
"What's the matter with you?" Oliver grabbed Nemo's wrist and pulled the soulless lover between two lush yellow roses.
"I remember her brother." Nemo's voice was small, and he stretched out one, holding his forehead a little sluggishly. "Abbas Alastair, deputy commander of the Tin Soldiers Mercenary Corps, a respectable person. If Ann is really... Ollie, I will kill her brother myself."
"Nemo..."
"I remember it well, I can't forget it. The claws slid through his arteries, the hot blood spurted out, the touch of the flesh—I remember all the details, except why, I don't remember why... Ollie, she confessed to you Yes, but I'm still hiding it from her."
Oliver fell silent. He opened his arms and gave him a firm hug. Nemo hugged the back of the lover in front of him very hard. He was so hard that Oliver could feel the pain of being squeezed in his chest.
But he didn't make a sound.
"Have you thought about it, Nemo?" Oliver's voice was very soft, feeling the rush of the other's chest.
"Well. Like she said, whatever the reason, the dead person is dead. It's me, and I'm also sure of that."
"I respect your decision. Let's take the time to have a good talk with Ann when this mission is over, okay? It's messy enough now that she needs to stay calm more than anyone else." Don't be sad. The long-suppressed anxiety and worry swarmed up, and he couldn't breathe for a while.
In case the original self really just killed Abbas out of malice and destroyed the Tin Soldier mercenary group...
"…I see. When this is over, I'm going to tell her the truth," he heard himself answer.
"Hey, Nemo, look at me." Oliver turned his lover's face to himself. "I promised to do it with you, and I promised to kill you if something went wrong. Don't forget that. May Dess must know something, he has contacted his father after the expedition, and maybe he also knows the truth at the bottom of the abyss. Don't be in a hurry to deny yourself, okay?"
Nemo tightened his arms around his lover in desperation, breathing hard. The long-suppressed darkness spread from the bottom of his heart, and he almost began to feel tired.
"Of course, it's normal for you to doubt yourself, and I totally get it. But you also have to remember that even if you don't believe yourself—until there is solid evidence, until the facts are clear, I believe you."
The half-hope, half-desperate mood was about to tear Nemo apart, and he knew very well—whether it was screaming, screaming, or tears, nothing could change the past. Just like a lighthearted time cannot erase the dark iceberg under the sea. Their answer is exactly there somewhere, and he has this piece of driftwood, and he only has this piece of driftwood.
How lucky he is.
"..." Nemo quietly buried his face in Oliver's expensive silk scarf and took a deep breath. When he spoke again, his voice was much calmer. "Thank you. Sorry, Ollie, what Ann said...you shouldn't feel too bad."
"Looks like we've had a bad deal with Ann." Oliver smiled wearily. "My dad even chopped off your head - we'd better go to Medes first and get some more information."
"Speaking of which, I have something to tell you."
"Um?"
"I left the cat's beard to Delia, she should be able to see normally with it now, and use it to contact us. Eldric doesn't know that yet."
"Catbeard?"
"That spider."
"… "
"I know what you're worrying about, it's okay, Vance won't notice me right away. I can catch an ordinary low-level demon at that time. The question is how to explain its origin and abilities to everyone—"
"I can help you to explain the origin and ability, but why is it 'Catbeard'...?"
"…Well, at least when I see a cat, I don't usually notice its whiskers first," Nemo whispered. "It sounds like a lucky name."
"… "
After the Knight Commander and Jesse returned to the team, Oliver briefly introduced the status of the next mission. Except for Jesse's exaggerated salute and the glib addressing of Ann with "His Royal Highness", nothing else has changed much. Nemo has become more silent than before, but fortunately no one has time to suspect this-
Without any unnecessary delay, the tumbleweed and the tumbleweed came to the barren hills on the border of Alban, near the ancient tomb dominated by Medes.
The sun is about to set. The skeletons wandering around seemed to sense the breath of living creatures and staggered closer. It's just that they didn't attack, they just pushed them outward with their claws and claws. Even if they are broken up with weapons, those withered bones will still stagger and reunite.
"Abyss magic?" Oliver looked at Nemo.
"No." Nemo shook his head firmly. "Surface magic."
"It's a puppet spell," Jesse said lightly. "These things are no different from those metal toys, but they use ready-made materials."
Afraid that Medes would misunderstand their intentions, the tumbleweed people did not dare to use a too destructive move, and they fought with these bones for half the night, but Mr. Medes still didn't mean to show up. A certain being that is not powerful, and definitely not weak, reacted motionless in the depths of the ancient tomb, Oliver could feel it.
Since the owner was reluctant to come out, they could only choose to go in and visit.
"Are you ready?" Throwing a clattering skull aside, Oliver pressed against the heavy stone door of the tomb. "I'm going to open it."
As soon as he finished speaking, the two stone doors made a dull rubbing sound. The door of the ancient tomb, which seemed to have been dusty for a long time, was slowly pushed open, and the air with the smell of decay came in.
What awaited them was the endless darkness underground.
On the other hand, Marshal Gallagher was in a good mood, and he was not troubled by the "Emperor" appearing at the Capital Ball in person.
"His Royal Highness, tsk tsk, he's also pulled off such a tricky trick." Gallagher stuck a small piece of fruit with a silver fork and dipped it gracefully in the sugar dish. "He has no idea what the Emperor left us... well, how's 'that thing' going?"
"Still looking."
"Better hurry." The marshal put down his fork and wiped the corner of his mouth with a delicate handkerchief. "This is the first town we have occupied. With such a big movement, there should be a lot of refugees here to take advantage of the chaos—"
"There must be a woman with the required looks. It's time for us to create a 'Her Royal Highness'."