Night at Ellington Castle

"Roy, do you have any good ideas?"

Klayr immediately became interested and quickly asked.

Roy smiled and said, "I think you can carve a bust of Countess Amelia based on the portrait on the fourth floor. The rest can be made a little rough, but the face must be clear, and the facial features should be enlarged as much as possible. Yes, the features that belong to Countess Amelia."

Worried that their voices were too loud and would disturb the rest of the other members of the expedition team, the two tried to keep their voices as low as possible.

Klayr's eyes lit up, and she said, "That's a good idea. I had thought about carving a Malaga Jungle Giant Lizard before, but your idea is more reliable than mine. Just thinking about the monitor lizard's scales almost makes me collapse. I can't sleep right now. How about we go take another look at Countess Amelia's portrait?"

Roy looked around and saw that everything was quiet except for the chirping of insects coming from the woods. He asked, "Now?"

"Yeah! There are fewer people now," Klayr said.

Roy tugged at the clothes draped over his body and shrank further into the tent:

"Stop joking! We're going to climb to the fourth floor of the castle at this hour? I think we should wait until tomorrow morning!"

Roy didn't want to go, and Klayr couldn't force him.

Klayr didn't want to speak in hushed tones in front of the tent, so she pulled Roy aside and said, "Roy, I've heard that the scenery in the castle's back garden is beautiful. We didn't have a chance to see it during the day. Why don't we go for a stroll in the back garden?"

"It's so dark, how are we going to get there..."

Roy looked around at the pitch blackness and had no desire to go out.

Klayr replied, "Couldn't you have used a glimmer of light to illuminate our way? The gardens of Ellington Castle are incredibly beautiful under the snowy moonlight. You truly don't understand the romance of the elves."

Roy also felt it wasn't right to refuse Klayr's suggestions several times in a row, so he agreed, "Okay."

After carefully getting dressed, he and Klayr walked along the path by the wall towards the back garden.

Roy released a wisp of Divine Light, which shone softly above the two of them, instantly dispelling the chill of the night.

The silver moon hangs like a hook in the night sky.

The cool moonlight gave Ellington Castle a hazy, dreamlike beauty.

Some dilapidated buildings, hidden in the shadows, only accentuate the castle's serene beauty.

Bathed in a Divine Light, Roy was the first to climb to the high platform above the Bread Tree. This place was much higher than the others and sheltered by the high walls of the castle, making it absolutely secluded.

Edith said that the Breadfruit was almost two thousand years old, making it the oldest living tree in Ellington Castle. There used to be a Tree of Life in the castle's back garden, but for some unknown reason, not long after Countess Amelia died, that Tree of Life withered and died, which was almost the greatest loss to Ellington Castle.

The two climbed up the platform, but didn't rush to the garden behind the castle.

Roy discovered that the stairs beneath the high wall had broken in places, and from this high platform, one could get a bird's-eye view of the entire back garden.

Under the moonlight, the back garden, covered with weeds, was still lush and green, with many trees having thick branches and leaves, and shrubs, low walls and weeds blending together.

Klayr sat under the Breadfruit, took the stone from her Magic Pouch and placed it between her legs, then took out a carving knife and began to carve...

Although Roy wasn't very skilled with his hands, Ms. Belinda was a relatively unknown sculptor, and this kind of stone was the most common material in her studio. When he saw Klayr begin to work on the stone, Roy held up the Divine Light so that Klayr could see it more clearly.

I also picked a Breadfruit from the tree and put it in my bag to eat later.

The day after tomorrow, the two will leave Ellington Castle and enter the depths of the Malaga Jungle. Roy believes that there will be no danger in the Malaga Jungle, but there will also be no abundant resources. The two will likely only be able to eat some sour berries along the way. Rather than that, it would be better to bring a few Breadfruit. These taste good and are filling.

Divine Light floated above Klayr's head, and Roy sat quietly opposite Klayr...

Klayr's carving technique was very clumsy, which made Roy want to complain about it all the time.

Just as Roy put the Breadfruit into his bag and looked up at Klayr, a ghost appeared behind Klayr without her noticing. Her face exuded the majesty of a superior, and her gaze fell on the stone in Klayr's hand.

At that moment, Roy felt the hairs on his body stand on end.

Because that face was unmistakably Countess Amelia's, and at that very moment, as Roy's expression became somewhat strange, she looked up at Roy...

Within her eye sockets were two deep blue Soul Fire, so refined they resembled the eyes of Soul Fire. If it weren't for the occasional flickering of these Soul Fire, Roy wouldn't have recognized them so easily.

Her body was so clearly defined, she wore Mithril Armor, and two longswords hung at her waist. She stared at Roy and asked in a low voice:

"Can you see me?"

The powerful aura emanating from that strong person made Roy dare not act rashly, and he nodded obediently.

When Countess Amelia saw Roy's human face, her gaze immediately became extremely chaotic, and the Soul Fire surged in her eyes. She drew her Storm Sword from her waist and instantly appeared in front of Roy, asking fiercely, "Are you human?"

Klayr was so frightened by the sudden sound behind him that his face turned pale. He turned around abruptly and saw the ghost of Countess Amelia, and he was speechless.

However, when Countess Amelia's ghost appeared in front of Roy, two Storm Sword were placed against Roy's neck.

A powerful pressure rendered both of them unable to move...

"He is Half-Elf, and his mother is a pure-blooded Silver Moon Elf. He lives with his mother now..."

Klayr blurted out all of Roy's information.

"Half-Elf?"

Upon hearing Klayr's explanation, Countess Amelia's rage subsided somewhat, and the Soul Fire returned to her deep blue eyes.

She leaned closer to Roy and sniffed him, her sharp gaze softening.

"Why can you see me?" Countess Amelia's ghost asked Roy.

Roy quickly explained, "I am a Novice Priest, and you will appear in the Holy Light."

The ghost of Countess Amelia before them was not the phantom from the Torture Chamber of the Black Pearl. The power she displayed made killing Roy and Klayr as easy as crushing ants.

Seeing Roy and Klayr standing obediently under the Bread Tree, Countess Amelia retreated to the edge of the Bread Tree, her cold voice rang out:

"Okay, I got it. Don't tell anyone that you saw me. You don't want to cause trouble, right?"

Roy and Klayr quickly said at the same time:

"We will keep this a secret."

Countess Amelia turned and disappeared, leaving only a half-dead Bread Tree on the platform.

Roy and Klayr were no longer in the mood for carving under the Bread Tree. They hurriedly ran down from the platform and slipped back into the armory tent.

The spirit of Countess Amelia still lingers in Ellington Castle.

The two were shocked and somewhat incredulous...

After the elves die, some will enter the Divine Kingdom under the guidance of the Moonlight Goddess Elune and become Moonlight Goddess followers. Of course, many more will become spirit sprites wandering in the forest or near the Spring of Life, waiting to be reincarnated.

Countess Amelia was Elven Nobles who had made great contributions in battle. Logically, the Moonlight Goddess should have granted her a guiding light immediately after her death, making her a member of the Moonlight Legion.

But now, Roy and Klayr see the ruins of Countess Amelia still standing in Ellington Castle.

She neither became a follower of the Moonlight Goddess nor was she reincarnated as a little elf who had forgotten all her memories. The so-called little elf was just a wisp of elf's soul consciousness.

The two dared not discuss it, after all, they were still in Ellington Castle, and perhaps Countess Amelia was secretly following them...

The next morning, several elven girls picked some Black Berry from the bushes in the castle's back garden. Although they weren't very tasty, juicing them and pouring the juice over the Breadfruit Breadfruit a unique flavor.

Everyone gathered around the dining table set up in the armory and had a decent breakfast.

Before dark last night, several more inspection teams arrived at Ellington Castle; they were all freshmen from the Elf Academy.

The large number of elven students gathered in the castle made it noisy.

After breakfast, Edith suggested that they pay their respects at Countess Amelia's tombstone.

As the granddaughter of Countess Amelia, having come to Ellington Castle, there was no reason not to visit her grandmother who was buried there.

An elven girl asked curiously, "Is Countess Amelia buried in the castle?"

Edith explained, "Yes, this was my grandmother's dying wish; her grave is on that high platform over there..."

After she finished speaking, she pointed to the location of the Bread Tree.

Roy and Klayr exchanged a speechless glance.

If Edith had mentioned this yesterday, the two of them would never have rashly gone to the Bread Tree for a late-night chat last night!

Under the Bread Tree, Edith offered a bouquet of flowers.

There were no tombstones, plaques, or cypress trees, only a huge Bread Tree that was half-dead, its sparse leaves swaying gently in the breeze, as if welcoming Edith's arrival.

The expedition team spent the entire day exploring the castle.

With Edith's explanation, it's easy for everyone to understand that such a large castle actually has many buildings that serve different purposes...

After two days of getting to know her, Roy discovered that Edith was a very qualified captain. Her shrewdness, competence, decisiveness, courage, fairness and impartiality earned her a high reputation in the expedition team. No wonder the other elf girls in Group Sixteen all trusted her very much.