Scepter of Thorns

Chapter 29 28. Paradise

There is the sound of rain.

The young Edward climbed up the branches of the sycamore tree along the window sill. He was wearing a thin silk robe, and his long dark golden hair was tied into a ponytail and dropped his shoulders.The rain dripped down on him along the leaves.He looked at the distant scenery and indulged in it, where the green hills were wet and the forests were full of dye.

Suddenly, Edward was awakened by a voice under the tree.He looked under the tree, and saw a shoulder-length blond man holding a black umbrella, and asked him with a smile, "Little guy, why are you in the rain?"

Edward narrowed his eyes, and then jumped down from the tree briskly, "May I ask who you are?"

The book says that when you meet a stranger and ask questions, you should first ask their identity.

"Liar [Note 1]."

"Oh, so you're looking for my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Dorsas?"

The book says that parents should be mentioned next when you meet a stranger when you ask questions.

"No." Lyle rubbed his little head, his blond hair was as soft as silk, "I'm looking for Edward Dorsas."

It says in the book—"If you touch your head, you won't grow taller!" The little man jumped up and grabbed|clamped|clamped the hand that was touching, "Hey, why are you wearing gloves?"

Lyle did not answer this question directly, but took off the gloves, folded them and put them in his breast pocket, and stroked the other's cheeks with his naked hands, "If you don't like it, I don't need to wear it."

He leaned down and stared at Edward, with a soft smile and a handsome face, just like the statue of an archangel holding a holy grail in the temple.

Edward thought for a while, and found that he couldn't remember what was going on in the book, so he improvised and said, "I am, why are you looking for me?"

Lyle also did not answer this question, but instead asked, "Then can you tell me why you are outside in the rain?"

This question was like a joke, and Edward answered bluntly: "No! What I do outside has nothing to do with you!" After speaking, he ran towards the door, trying to get rid of the person behind him.

Lyle quickly hugged Edward, and whispered in his ear: "You want to get your parents' attention when you are in the rain outside. Whether it is scolding or worrying, you just want to know if there is any. But in the current situation Look, they don't care about you at all."

The child in his arms froze, and his words were like a sharp needle piercing into the full|inflated but hollow balloon of lies, leaving a bloodless wound.

Edward was silent for a moment.He grabbed Lyle's blond hair with his hand and pulled it a few times as if to vent his anger, and argued in a low and low voice: "It's not."

"I don't have any hope at all." He buried his face in his shoulders, curled up like a wounded animal.

A duplicity child.

Lyle just wanted to rub salt in his wounds, with a cruel prophecy: "When you come back to the warm basement, shivering with cold, you'll find your parents making| As for not noticing you at all. You just watch and watch them finish. Your mother lights a cigarette and takes one look at you. Your father puts on his clothes and leaves here, completely ignoring you. Your mother And left after smoking, only you stood there, at a loss."

"You—" Edward pushed Lyle violently, but the other party didn't move at all, ignoring this resistance at all, but said leisurely, "You wanted to say that I was talking nonsense, but you stopped abruptly , because your heart is like a mirror."

Edward shivered, finally realizing that this man was dangerous.He wanted|manipulated the light to break away from the other party, but the sound of pattering rain reminded him - there is no light on a cloudy and rainy day.

He closed his eyes and took a breath, then pulled out a small dagger from his cuff and pressed it against Lyle's slender neck, threatening: "Put me down."

Lyle seemed to have not seen the dagger, and still whispered in his ear: "You are in a conflict, and you know that it is reckless to do so, so you are very nervous. You think I shattered the phantom in your heart, poked Burst the balloon of lies, so you are angry too."

As he spoke, the small dagger gradually became unreal and finally disappeared into the air.

Edward was helpless, he covered his eyes with his hands, and gave up resistance: "You succeeded. So what do you want to do?"

His hand covering his eyes was grabbed by Lyle and held in his palm.Those blue eyes stared at Edward, and said seriously and solemnly: "Take you to find paradise."

"Happy... Garden?" Edward repeated the word dully, as if hearing it for the first time.

"Yeah." Lyle tapped his forehead with his index finger, "Don't you want to win the attention of your parents, the rain is not enough, why don't you just disappear for a while like that dagger, and see how they react."

"They won't react." Edward snorted coldly, "The right to speak is not in my hands at all."

"Your mind is really mature."

They confront each other like friends who meet by chance but have known each other for many years.Edward was tired from arguing and arguing, and his eyes drifted away.When you calm down and look again, you have already changed the place.

In his heart, he silently labeled the other party as an "annoying mage who can read minds and space magic".

They were standing in front of a giant circus tent.The tent is colorful, with a hexagonal top, and ribbons full of bells are hung on it, but unfortunately these things have been wet by the rain|.Colorful posters are pasted on the outer wall, and there are also group photos of actors and audience.There is a lively and relaxed atmosphere everywhere, and funny faces are painted on the wooden stakes that fix the tents.

Lyle carried Edward into the tent, took out two tickets from his breast pocket with one hand and handed them to the ticket inspector.It was a young man with one ear missing, and the corners of his mouth were exaggerated by his grotesque makeup. He said in a strange voice: "I hope you can have a good time."

They sat down according to the seat on the ticket.The circus is about to start, and there is no space left in the tent.People were clamoring, and children shouted excitedly from time to time.

"Have you ever seen a circus?" Kyle looked at Edward who was sitting beside him, and he was not used to the sudden emptiness of his arms.

"No." He shook his head, "Father said that it is only seen by lowly commoners, and mages can cast it with just a wave of their staff."

After hearing this, Lyle asked him with a smile: "Then do you think your father is right?"

Before Edward could answer, the overhead lights went out.A beam of light hits the stage, and the circus begins.

Here comes a clown with a huge, painted watermelon belly that makes the supporting short legs look ridiculous.He staggered, and every move revealed a comical meaning: "Dear ladies and gentlemen, lovely ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Magic Circus, I am Joker [Note 2]..."

Edward stared at his belly, his lips drawn into a straight line.

"It seems that you have also discovered it." Lyle chuckled, "That stomach is not stuffed, but real. He is a deformed person."

The clown was still talking under the light, making two or three jokes from time to time. Almost all the children in the room laughed, but the cute Edward didn't laugh. He just clenched his fists, not knowing what he was thinking.

The clown on the stage finally finished his speech. He took out a strip-shaped balloon from the "watermelon" pocket and inflated|inflated it, twisting it into the shape of a small animal and holding it high in his hand.The children raised their hands to express their desire, and the clown made gestures of fist-guessing. After rock-paper-scissors, some children got the balloons, while the rest of the children were arguing and quarreling. Opportunity.

Edward sat quietly, making no noise or fuss.He just watched the figure of the clown shuttling back and forth, watching his funny walking posture.He watched it intently as if appreciating a picture, without missing a single detail.

After the clown handed out the last balloon, he bowed to the audience. "Bowing" is too difficult for his figure, he worked very hard, but in the eyes of outsiders, he just bowed his head and put his hands on his belly, the round|rolling belly hung down to the ground, inverted Like an amused gesture.Laughter swept the auditorium like the wind, as if it was about to break through the hexagonal roof and fly out.

Afterwards, there were many shows, the green-haired boy with only one leg performing tightrope walking, the flying man without arms, the blindfolded knife-throwing performer, the dumb animal trainer... Edward can't remember how he After seeing it, he only knew that his heart was gradually clenched amidst the cheers and screams, and he was almost out of breath.

When the performance ended, people applauded excitedly, and he clasped his hands together and clapped slowly, as if he didn't realize that it was over, and just sat there in a daze.In the end it was Lyle who carried him out.

Edward pursed his lips, full of worries about the actors finally broke out after those thrilling performances.He yelled in confusion and resentment: "They, why are they working so hard, they can obviously live on disability relief, this kind of performance is fatal to them as long as they are not negligent!"

After being quiet for a long time, Lyle finally spoke, "Because of arrogance."

Edward was still looking in the direction of the circus, his eyes wandering.

Lyle turned his face and reflected the man completely in his own eyes, "They don't bother to be monsters and trash in the eyes of others, but find their own stage and make the audience admire. For them , rather than living humblely, it is better to burn proudly. It may be short, but it is beautiful."

After a long time, Edward fiddled with the ponytail on the back of his head. He remembered the somewhat dirty golden color, and said softly, "...you know."

"I know."

Edward blinked, and they left for a new place.

The field of vision dimmed, and the towering trees with luxuriant branches covered the clear sky.The trunk is straight and strong, and insects and birds live there.Dots of bright green are scattered among the bushes, covering the roots under the ground.

Unlike just now, it didn't rain here.

"The Forest of Floating Light!" Edward immediately remembered the pictures and introductions he had seen in the book. this."

"The little guy reads a lot." Lyle put him down, "Then guess what these bright green spots are."

Edward's complacency just now quickly collapsed, and he frowned and thought carefully: "It's not said in the book."

"That's because the people who compiled the book didn't understand. The elves have always avoided the world and disdain to interact with the human race, so the information between the two races is not circulated, and it is not normal."

"Then do you understand?" Edward asked, grabbing the corner of Lyle's clothes.

Lyle's expression was a little unpredictable.He opened his hand, and the bright green color jumped up as if to please.He put them on Edward's long hair, "of the tree of life."

"Ah?!" Edward took off the seeds from his hair and tried to pinch one, but the light-colored sap flowed all over his palm.

"The trees here are too luxuriant. They block the sun and grab the nutritious soil. Every time the tree of life falls, only a small part of the tree species can survive, but they will eventually die due to insufficient supply. Over time, the tree of life Evolved a new ability."

Lyle found a piece of silk from nowhere and wiped the sap from Edward's palm, "That is plunder. The tree of life is actually a domineering plant, it will use its seeds to occupy every inch of land it can occupy, Only the natural enemy, the rodents, can curb its numbers by eating its seeds. It's a pity that Saint Zachary forgot to go to the God Realm to bring them down."

"Plundering..." Edward took the silk and ravaged|ravaged, "Isn't it through, through the scattered seeds to absorb the life of other plants?!"

Lyle's eyes darkened: "How do you know?"

"Ah——probably I was reminded by you, no, I seem to remember something... Oh, I know anyway." Edward threw away the tree seed in his hand, held his head and thought for a while, but couldn't figure out why. Instead, he fooled himself first.

"When the God of Light was born, the first plant he created was the tree of life located here. His nature is a bit like this plant, and he originally wanted to plant them all over the continent of Mosaac. But in the end, he was stopped by the God of Chaos. If you act like him, you will suffer." Lyle smiled mockingly, "So he planted a forest in the God Realm, and the God of Chaos asked the God of Darkness to create a rodent bee in order to curb the crazy growth of the tree of life. .”

"Why the God of Darkness? Isn't the God of Light planting the forest?"

He reached out and hugged Edward, and took him deeper into the forest: "Because he is as domineering as the tree of life, he is a tyrant. And the God of Chaos is the rodent that can contain him. The same is true of life, when you think you have reached the pinnacle, When looking down on all living beings, something that can destroy you has been quietly born. Nothing is eternal, one link must restrain another link, and the law is always above us."

"No, you're wrong." Edward changed into a more comfortable position in his arms, his soft and cool body kept rubbing against the other's chest, "The book says 'Only God is immortal, above the law .'"

"They didn't. The law stipulates that the godhead will limit all gods. It is not the gods that are really above the laws, but... Chaos."

Edward didn't refute, but just glanced at him suspiciously: "How do you know so much?"

"Just smile, and I'll tell you." Lyle looked at the serious little|face, the corners of his mouth slightly hooked.

smile...

Edward's whole body was tense, and his ears were a little hot.Lyle felt his stiffness, and teased, "It's fine if you don't laugh."

"Hmph, do you think I'm rare?" He turned his head away, and silently added another label to Lyle in his heart, scoundrel!

Bastard! !He's not kidding! ! !

Lyle's expression twisted imperceptibly: "Do you know what a joke is?"

"..." Edward refused to answer this question.

----Chapter28. Paradise & End----

The author has something to say:

【Note 1】liar, that is, the meaning of a liar.

【Note 2】Joker, refers to the clown or ace.

Emma...