dedicated to violets

New calendar nine hundred and ninety-nine years.

The royal capital of Greenland, Mannak.

The midday sun was a bit dazzling, but fortunately, it was only spring, so it wasn't too hot when it fell on the body.

Willie walked briskly across College Square.He had just finished his morning swordsmanship class, and was about to return to his residence in the academy for a short rest.

Along the way, many magicians or warriors greeted him, and Viri responded to them one by one with a smile.

He has been a swordsmanship teacher at the Imperial College of Greenland for more than ten years, rain or shine, and never stops class. Everyone in the college knows him.

The college provided him with a small two-story building as a residence, with a small garden.The garden is not big, and it is tended by a professional gardener. Now that spring has just woken up, flowers are blooming one after another.

Before you get close, you can smell a refreshing fragrance of flowers.

As soon as Willy stepped into the flowerbed, the gardener came hurriedly, looking flustered.

The gardener was a young man with beautiful brown hair, a strong build, and always singing while pruning.

Willie was a little surprised, he rarely saw the gardener so panicked, "What happened?"

"A white bird has rushed into your study, sir," the gardener gasped, waving his hands vigorously, trying to imitate the bird's swift movements, "I dare not enter your study without your permission." In the study room, you can see exactly what that bird looks like."

Willie reassured: "Andrew, don't be nervous, just speak slowly."

When he raised his head, he could see the huge floor-to-ceiling windows that he loved at a glance—with clear glass, when the sun was at its best in the afternoon, the entire study room would be shrouded in sunlight.Make a cup of coffee in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, read books, and bask in the warm sunshine, and you can spend a pleasant afternoon.This is the activity he enjoys the most.

The gardener Andrew has served Willy for many years, so of course he understands the importance of the study to him.

Andrew bowed his head in frustration: "Sorry, sir, I couldn't stop that bird."

Viri said: "It's not your fault. The whole house is covered by a magic circle. Since it can break through the magic circle, it means you can't catch it."

After appeasing the anxious and guilty Andrew and letting him go back to rest, Willie slowly entered his solitary territory.

His house is not big, the first floor is divided into the living room, kitchen and study room, the second floor is simpler, only the bedroom and bathroom.

Perhaps this two-story house is too narrow for a large family with several people, but it is more than enough for a single man who has lived alone for 20 years.

In a sense, it even seems a bit empty.

I might actually need a pet to make the house a little less deserted, Willie thought.

There was a muffled sound coming from the study room, it sounded like some heavy animal was constantly thumping, mixed with the rustling sound of books and paper.

Viri frowned, and stepped closer to the study.Sunshine floods the house, and there is a solid wooden desk in front of the window, the tabletop is polished smooth and clean, where there used to be stacks of books, but now it has become a mess—books of different thicknesses are randomly scattered on the table and the carpet.

A book was opened. The spine of this book was extremely thick, and the hard cover covered a pair of wings. The living creatures under the book were still struggling, trying to escape from the mountain-like pile of books.

It was indeed a white bird.

Perhaps it is more appropriate to describe it as white with a little black.

Gathering his mind, Willie swiftly moved the books away, and rescued the big white bird that had struggled for a long time under the pile of books.

"Thank you, Your Excellency. You are really a kind person." The bird heaved a sigh of relief and stood up unhappily. Its movements were very slow, and its paws bounced a few times, as if it didn't adapt to the too flat tabletop.

"Are you a magical creature?" Viri looked at the appearance of the big bird, his eyes widened in surprise, "A... snowy owl?"

The snowy owl in front of him had a round head, with its beak open, and its eyes narrowed, as if smiling triumphantly: "That's right! I'm here to deliver a letter to you. Are you His Excellency Willie Haydn?" It flapped its wings , made a gentlemanly salute with great effort.

Viri was amused by its funny and cute appearance, leaned slightly, nodded and replied: "Yes."

The snowy owl flapped its wings, jumped a few steps forward, and shortened the distance between it and Vili, with its beak almost touching the tip of Vili's nose: "Oh, it really is you, I have seen your appearance! Then I didn't Flying in the wrong place, please wait a moment." It easily turned its head back, trying to use the tips of its wings to swipe through the books to find the letter it brought.

Willy waited in good temper, but 10 minutes had passed, and the confused snowy owl still couldn't find the whereabouts of the letter.It was so anxious that its snow-white feathers flew all over the room, "Why did it disappear?"

"Is this it?" Willie saw the corner of the envelope under the book.

"Yes, that's right," the snowy owl was overjoyed. It flapped its wings again, creating a breeze. The books spread out nearby were rustling in the wind. It did not hesitate to praise, and praised continuously Spit out from its sharp beak, "Your Excellency is really good at observation. This is the shortcoming of our snowy owl. You know, our snowy owl's eyes are not very good during the day..."

While it chattered, Viri had the letter in his hand.

The material of the envelope is very good, fine and smooth, and it is actually rare Huney paper. It is said that the wood that can make this kind of paper can only be found in the Misty Forest.Viri was lucky enough to have seen it, so he could recognize it at a glance.But even the royal family would not use Huney paper as an envelope, which is a waste of money.

Snowy Owl tilted its chubby head, "Quickly open it and have a look."

Viri was not in a hurry to open the envelope, he took a rough look at the envelope, put it on the table, pressed it with his hand, and found another topic: "Who is your master?"

"The master is the master," Snow Owl's eyes were full of doubts, "Do you want to ask his name? I don't know either."

"You do not know?"

"How can you tell others the name of the magician so easily." Snowy Owl's eyes were blank for a moment, and then returned to normal immediately.

Viri was serious: "You were deceived by those bards. Of course, the name of the magician can be told to others. There are no strange taboos."

The snowy owl froze for a few seconds visible to the naked eye, "Really?"

"Of course." Willie said with a smile.

He lowered his head, picked off the ink pad neatly, opened the envelope, and took out a thin piece of letter paper.

There were beautiful cursive characters written on the paper. After a glance, Viri suppressed his smile and was stunned.

His hands began to tremble slightly, almost unable to hold the flimsy piece of paper steadily.

The snowy owl was combing its clean and warm feathers, and the study was so quiet that a needle could be heard.

After an unknown amount of time, it suddenly heard a very low, mournful sob.

Snowy Owl raised his head and found that Willie was crying. He was crying silently, with tears streaming down his face.If it weren't for the unconcealed sob of grief just now, it wouldn't have noticed it at all.

Big drops of tears rolled down from the eyes, Willie cried quietly, and the depressive atmosphere began to permeate the whole study.The snowy owl involuntarily stopped combing its feathers, looked at Viri, and seemed to feel his pain and sadness.

Viri was very restrained, and within a few minutes of crying, he stopped crying.He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away his tears. Except for the red eyes, there was no difference from the previous appearance.

"I'm really sorry to let you see me so groggy." He stroked the familiar cursive words on the paper and put the letter back into the envelope. "So, is there anything else your master wants to tell me? Is it all in the letter?"

"Yes, Your Excellency," Snowy Owl came back to his senses, "In addition——"

"what?"

"I'm afraid I'll have to stay with you for a while," Snowy Owl said carefully, "I was sent by the master, but now I don't remember the way back."

"..."

Willie sighed: "Yes, if you are willing to be alone at home."

Lunch is mashed potatoes and steak, with broccoli, and a bottle of red wine from the Principality of Brussels.The Principality of Brussels borders the Misty Forest, where there is plenty of sunshine, and there are many and wide vineyards. The grapes planted are delicious and sweet, and the red wine produced is also very good. It is a drink loved by the nobles and ordinary rich people in Greenland .

After Viri finished his meal, he set off for the palace.

As the leading sword master of the Greenland Empire, he not only serves as a teacher in the academy, but also teaches the young princes.

After the regular fencing lessons, Viri accepted the prince's invitation to stay at the palace for dinner.

They moved around the banquet hall, and the servants and maids came and went with trays.Willie sat silently at the table, watching the sumptuous dinner, recalling the days when he ate black bread.

It has been 20 years since the Violet War, and the Empire of Greenland has only recovered from the haze of war.

After the war, the huge Greenland Empire was almost reduced to scorched earth, and the whole country did not have the leisure to taste the joy of victory.

It was not until the birth of His Royal Highness and countless babies that they brought hope to this country that had been depressed for ten years.

Prince Chris Andor Albert, who is now 15 years old, can compete with Willy in height.

He has black curly hair, and his facial features are almost carved out of the same mold as Emperor Andorra IX.Bright eyes, upturned mouth corners, and that distinctive aquiline nose.

This makes Prince Chris very popular with Andorra IX.

Now, the young prince is looking at Viri with a bright look: "Teacher, what did you think about the previous things?"

Viri taught Prince Chris sword skills unshakably, once every five days.It's been 12 years since the prince was able to pick up the sword, and it hasn't changed.

An endless stream of silver dishes was brought up, and Willie's eyes fell on the shiny silver tableware, and he said, "I'm afraid not."

"Why?" Prince Chris stood up abruptly.

Viri's answer was obviously unexpected, which made the prince very uncomfortable.He pressed his hands on the table, leaned forward, and asked aggressively, "Teacher, are you unwilling?"

Viri replied gently: "No, Your Highness, in fact, I still want to say goodbye to you and Your Majesty, and I want to go back to my hometown."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Emperor of Greenland's resounding voice sounded like a bell: "Veri, I remember that you are from the town of Fryer."

Willie stood up and saluted his chest. He lowered his head and replied respectfully: "Yes, Your Majesty."

Emperor: "Before the war started, I also wanted to explore the town of Fryer. I heard that there are seas of flowers everywhere, and the forest next to it is even inhabited by elves. They are the most beautiful creatures in legends. Is that true? "

Viri: "The sea of ​​flowers is real."

"The elves are fake?" The emperor smiled, "It's a pity, maybe when I'm free, I'll go to Flair to enjoy the sea of ​​flowers."

"Actually—" Before Willi could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Prince Chris.

"By the way, Viri, you are also 45 years old this year. Do you have the idea of ​​getting married? You know, many unmarried noble ladies have asked me openly and secretly—"

Willie put down his knife and fork, and said calmly, "I have a lover."

Prince Chris became curious: "Why have I never seen it?"

"He died under the curse of the Violet War," Viri closed his eyes to cover up the sadness in his eyes, "The town of Fryer has long since disappeared, and the curse of the Holy See destroyed the entire town. barely survived under his protection."

The prince and the emperor were silent at the same time, and after tens of seconds, they said, "That's how it is."

The royal family's dinner was delicious and delicious, and Viri was still thinking about something, and he didn't know what to eat.

The Violet War, which lasted for more than ten years, destroyed cities in dozens of countries, large and small, and the small town of Fryer was just an insignificant one of them.

As the initiator of the war, the Holy See did not get any good results. Almost all the magicians died in the war, and most of the priests and knights were killed or injured. Now they are just lingering.

After the meal, Viri once again raised his request that he need to leave for a while and go back to his hometown to have a look.

The emperor agreed to him, but Prince Chris was a little unhappy.

Willie ignored him.

Prince Chris was 15 years old, and he was at the most rebellious time. Willy didn't want to deal with the prince's sudden and unconstrained ideas.

After leaving the palace with Chris's resentful eyes, Viri's steps became lighter.

He bought some meat from the market to feed the impudent snowy owl.The Imperial College of Greenland is not far from the royal palace. The light bulbs researched by the magicians shone brightly in the night, and the guards at the gate nodded to him.

"Good evening, Mr. Haydn." The guard greeted him.

"Good evening," Willie said.

With a paper bag of meat in his pocket, he hurried past the college.

A warm, orange-red flame was burning in the fireplace, which should be the work of the academy maid.The snowy owl lay flat on the soft rug in front of the fireplace, the snow-white down on its chest dyed a warm golden red.

Willie changed his shoes and sat down on the sofa.

He threw the meat he bought on the carpet, looking at the snowy owl, which had no raptor appearance and squinted happily, and he felt a little amused.

"Snow Owl, I haven't asked you yet, do you have a name?"

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The author has something to say:

New year and new atmosphere, so open a new article~

Happy New Year’s Day to the readers who read this, and happy New Year’s Day to those who have not seen it for a long time