There are times when events that seem earth-shattering in history prefer to happen quietly. From the perspective of the parties involved, that legendary time was closer to an ordinary day.
Whether the beggar or the king fell to the ground, there was only a muffled sound. The war on the frontier never stopped, soldiers slowly decayed on the edge of the battlefield, and new corpses were added to the soil from time to time. Only after a long period of scouring will those ordinary days be plated with bloody gold and gradually become heavier.
Maybe today is such a day.
Adrian Cross tightened the reins and watched the troops fighting at the foot of the mountain.
According to the plan, An had already approached the palace at this time, and even killed the prince himself. Alban's future is stalling at a fork in the road, and no one knows where it will lead.
The blood and screams not far away reminded him of the past, but the former trial knight commander would not feel panic because of this trivial matter. After watching the two sides who were fighting in silence for a while, after confirming that the Alban defenders who had prepared in advance had the upper hand, Adrian rode away.
Knowing that Ann intends to let Adrian and Jesse go to the border, Marshal Gallagher prepared them in advance with enough common tokens to prove that they are related to the army. It kept the pair from being suspected or being wary of "getting too close to the rebels".
The two successfully delivered the information, and the Alban defenders arranged for them a luxury tent that was no less exquisite than a high-end room.
In this way, the two members of Tumbleweed got a not-so-small lounge.
After a few days of sleeping in the air, Jesse has no plans to go out on a horse since he got a feather pillow. Adrian just opened the curtain when he saw Jay who was contently hugging the feather pillow and slowly chewing cherry pie. West.
Seeing the Knight Commander enter the tent, Jesse waved happily and licked the dark red cherry sauce at the corner of his mouth.
"You're back." He greeted happily.
"Well." It seems that the other party has no plans to ask about the situation, Adrien thought. But it is also true that mysterious fortune-tellers probably won't worry about such trivial matters.
"The chefs here are really good," Jesse said vaguely, chewing on the pie. "I can forgive Miss Savage's abusive demands two days ago."
"Maybe we can go and help." Adrian picked up the topic casually.
"No, no. That's not appropriate." Jesse rarely sells his cherry pie. "I don't want to lose my ability to foresee this war. Since dear Miss Savage has not asked us to do so, I will not interfere."
This itself is outside the order, and Adrian is just asking politely out of respect for Ann. After a passionate age, he knows that everyone has their own destiny, and he himself does not feel that this is necessary.
The knight commander had not expected a positive response, but Jesse's reaction was a bit unexpected.
"There is a limit to your divination?" Adrian was a little curious.
"How can there be such a free fortune teller in the world?" Jesse nibbled at the meringue of the cherry pie.
"But I haven't seen you pay the 'price'."
There is a large tea table in the center of the tent. It was just a pot of tea, two tea cups and a small saucer of cherry pie. The small jars for sugar cubes and milk were delicate and compact, and were tightly attached to each other, making the large tabletop look a little empty.
Adrian was sitting at the table with his back to the entrance of the tent, straightening the hem of the monk's uniform.
And Jesse, with her soft blonde hair draped over her shoulders, sat sloppy with her legs crossed. He tucked the pillow into his chest and abdomen with his upper arms and hugged him tightly - like a fluffy feather pillow that would run away with long legs in a second.
"Oh, I don't mean 'limits' or 'prices'." Jesse took a sip of tea. "Everyone likes the feeling that everything is under control, and I am no exception. If I do it, no one really knows where the war is going."
"But you've always acted quite free." Adrian continued to sit upright, raised his hand and poured himself a cup of tea.
Jesse smacked her lips. "Like?"
"For example, the Blue Bird, such as the Silent Church, such as the war not long ago... such as the enemy attack information just now. Your use of prophecy has always been very natural." Adrian looked down at the tea in the cup.
"Is this an interrogation?" Jesse paused with interest.
"No." The knight commander's voice was neither high nor low, "just curious."
"Since darling is curious, of course I'm happy to explain. It's not a big deal anyway. It's just because there are practical reasons, I'm just going with the flow—"
Jesse stretched his voice lazily, unbuttoning a few buttons on his shirt for ease of movement. A strand of blond hair slid down with his movements, before his beautifully shaped collarbone.
Adrian didn't look away.
"At the time of the Blue Bird, my last team called me to poach. At the Church of Silent, Mr. Wright told us to save those stupid sacrifices." Jesse pushed the disobedient strands of hair behind her ears and counted them. Whispering with fingers. "What about the war not long ago... Miss Savage entrusted us, she asked us to help fight the enemy. And just a while ago, Her Royal Highness Delia gave me clear instructions - these are very definite 'reasons'. Then, taking a peek at the answer during the process is not a big deal."
"If I'm not mistaken, you're saying that you have to have an order from 'others' in order to predict without scruples?"
"I hate the word 'command,'" Jesse muttered.
After speaking, he stretched out his finger and drew a golden circle in the air: "Once someone becomes a 'cause', then a certain range of 'effects' will occur. I am in this circle, just look at the circle What, of course free and at ease."
Immediately, Jesse shoved the last cherry pie into his mouth with his free hand, and the other hand split the swaying aperture: "I just intervene, it will become like this."
"destroy?"
"Unpredictable." Jesse shrugged, "The 'Fortuneteller' can't take the initiative to meddle in his own calculations, otherwise the things he meddles in will forever become unknown - then you can only guess based on intuition and experience. To be honest, it's nothing. For the price, I just really don't like having too much 'unpredictable' under my nose."
"I don't like it very much." He emphasized it again.
"But I just made a suggestion." Adrian didn't intend to let go of the loophole in the other party's words, "That should be enough for you to 'draw a circle'."
Jesse laughed dryly: "This is a lot of trouble to explain, dear. It's not that I don't want to tell you, if I want to talk about this, I'm afraid it won't be enough for an afternoon... Why don't we talk about something else?"
He licked his lips vaguely.
Since the other party's refusal was so obvious, Adrian wouldn't force him to ask. The knight commander continued to sip his tea and returned to silence.
Jesse let out a long, regretful sigh. But before he could catch his breath, a cracking sound came from the tent door. The momentum is not large, and the magic fluctuation is not strong, but considering the environment they are in—
Adrian moved.
He stood up immediately and kicked away the tea table that was in the way. The former knight commander turned around in a very short time and took a defensive stance in front of Jesse.
Then, suspiciously, he smashed the apple that was charging straight at him.
Everything was messed up after that.
The apple rolled to the ground, exploded in the corner, and dense golden light spots rose into the air. The entire tent was hit by uneven force and shook violently.
A series of cracking sounds circled around the intricate trinkets inside. The exquisite decorations fell to the ground one after another, and fresh bouquets actually poked out of the frames originally painted with flowers. With a melodious crackling sound, a large black shadow fell from the roof of the tent that was still shaking—
Then it happened to hit the two people who were still in a daze.
It was soft and cool, with a pleasant scent. Adrian slowly rubbed a handful on his hair, staring at the cream in his hands without saying a word, then looked at Jesse, whose head was also covered in paste.
"..." The knight commander wiped the cream from his face in confusion.
"..." Jesse got stuck this time. He stood there a little dazed, looking like he was in deep self-doubt. "Why do you have to help me block that? That thing is not strong, you must feel it."
"Occupational disease." Adrian paused for a few seconds and replied succinctly. "Do you mind explaining this, Mr. Dylan?"
Jesse twisted a strand of creamed hair and seemed to be in some sort of struggle. He seldom shut up and thought for a moment, grabbing the remains of a cake from his head.
"Happy birthday, Ed," the blond youth said dryly, sounding aggrieved enough to cry. "If you didn't move that much, it should have landed right on the table. Promise me, keep your occupational disease under control, okay?"
Adrian didn't know how to answer for a while.
He had long forgotten that he had a "birthday". To be honest, he couldn't remember how many years he hadn't celebrated.
In a sense, the Judge Knight Commander is very close to killing puppets, but with a more complex judgment mechanism. The stench of blood on his armor never completely dissipated, and no one would have the stupid idea of "giving the grim sergeant a birthday". As someone who had lost a loved one early on, Adrian himself never mentioned it. He wasn't delighted or grateful for "being alive" in itself, rather he hardly felt anything about it.
Having investigated Jesse Dillon himself, it is not surprising that Jesse Dillon has investigated himself. But he never expected this.
The sly guy who was full of confidence on the battlefield is now full of cream, and the feather pillow that is like a treasure in his arms is completely ruined. That surprise and grievance didn't seem like a fake, it seemed that the supernatural fortune-teller really didn't expect this.
Maybe he was too confident in himself and didn't calculate other possibilities. Adrian thought angrily and hilariously.
Then he realized he was really laughing.
Not a wry smile, not an angry smile. A real smile he hasn't had in years - he just laughed happily with cream on his head.
It was the first time he had seen Jesse Dylan's...nearly angry look.
A criminal, a strong man with mysterious powers, a freewheeling bastard. No matter from which point of view, Adrian Cross didn't think he would have the slightest emotional entanglement with this guy.
Even the other party's good intentions are not pure, and he is very clear in his heart.
However…
Some kind of unfamiliar emotion gradually spread along the blood. It felt like stepping out of a stuffy, narrow room, wrapped in a breeze in an instant. As if learning to breathe for the first time, the drowsy mind instantly became clear.
He didn't know what to call it.
It might not be the "love" Jesse Dillon was looking for. The knight commander had only read about that emotion in the dogma of the Radian scriptures—it was an eternal flame, an intense emotion that ignited the moment he saw each other. Lovers have a warm start, are loyal to each other, and end their lives with a firm and pure love. The protagonists are often beautiful people, and the two will always understand each other and never waver.
Feelings that are too distant and clear.
Adrian had believed that his blood-stained hands could not touch similar feelings. He has long since lost his qualifications, not to mention having such unreasonable and intense feelings for someone.
To this day, his judgment has not been wrong. The knight commander thought so.
He really couldn't touch the noble love that existed in the legend, and he was not stunned by the fiery emotions. But in those few short, funny and embarrassing seconds, he had never felt so clearly alive.
If the "love" between people is really that clean and pure. So what will these curiosity, interest, companionship and entanglement, plus a little joy and relief, become in the end
Jesse was startled by the pleasant smile of the knight commander, and then moved his fingers angrily, unaware of the emotion in Adrian's eyes - he was holding the cake wreckage in his hand, staring at the cream in his hair, the whole person Seems to be in some kind of tangle.
"Forget it, let's eat something for now, Ed. The supplies are limited, and if I go to ask for a big cake, the cook here will definitely beat me up." Jesse made a decision in frustration, "Even though... ah , I'll treat it with a cleansing spell later."
Adrian stared at the puffy fortuneteller, he took two steps forward, grabbed the other's wrist, and took a small bite of the cake against Jesse's hand.
"Thank you," he whispered, licking the cream carefully from his lips.
Too sweet for me, but it's fine. After all, this is a sweetness that has never appeared before, and may never appear again.
Jesse raised her creamy eyebrows and tutted at her grabbed wrist.
"Wow." The blond youth who didn't look very pretty at the moment exclaimed, "I didn't expect the effect to be so good—hey, Ed, did you really like me a little today?"
Adrian stretched out his hand and touched the corner of his lips that was still slightly raised.
"I don't know," he answered honestly.