RIDDLE

Adrian woke again from his sleep with a sharp headache and realized that the sun was still not rising. He didn't think he could sleep after this hour either. Getting out of bed, he opened the curtain and let the gray light of the morning reflect into the room. When he got out onto the balcony, the coolness licked off her naked body, but he didn't care. He went to the part where they stopped and talked with Scarlet. He leaned his hands against the iron and closed his eyes, inhaling the cold air until it came to life.

He was in such a big dilemma. As if not knowing what his father was up to was not enough, dealing with sorcerers and informants was exhausting. He thought of his mother then. It was one of the things that always relieved him, his mother. He wanted him to lie on his lap and caress his hair like she did when he was a child, to tell him what he was going through was a nightmare. But reality had such a stunning effect as the weather.

His hands slammed the iron, causing the black iron to rattle. He put his hand to his hair and combed it back and stepped back to look where the sun had risen. He followed for a short moment the grace bestowed on him, and then turned and left, leaving the window open.

When Caren and Adrian went exploring the attacked village, they found that things got better and people settled in the repaired houses. In front of every house they crossed with their horses, people shouted their best wishes and happiness to them. Adrian simply bowed indifferently.

"Did you find any information about the bandits attacking here?" They were not in a hurry to return to the training grounds.

"Yes, we managed to catch someone alive. He was quite confused as if he didn't know what he was doing. We spoke without forcing him, and now he is in the dungeon. "

"I'll meet him, too." His voice was angry confused.

The dark path of the dungeon smelled of musty, urine, and blood. No light is allowed inside, it was illuminated by torches placed at long intervals. He came to where the white pale hands were holding the iron bars and stopped in front of him. In his black outfit and huge body, Adrian looked more frightening with the backlight.

The man in the dungeon was covered in dirt and rust. His sparse hair was matted, his face was earthy and invisible to his body. He was obviously tall but thin, and his most destructive part was the blank look in his eyes. His brain was looking expressionless as if his feelings had been absorbed.

"What is your name?" his roaring voice echoed. The man raised his empty eyes.

"What's your name said" Adrian roared again, and this time his voice was impatient.

"Lucas" voice was hoarse as if it was about to disappear.

"Who sent you there and what did they want?" Lucas stood back and the little dungeon also leaned against the wall. He was now in total darkness, only his crooked feet glowing in the flame.

"I do not know. A robed man came and spoke something and left, leaving a large amount of money to the leader. I don't know anything more, we only did what the leader said. All I know is that the leader is more angry and hateful than ever. "

Adrian suddenly hit the iron bars with his fist. That he is afraid even though Lucas did not appear in the dark, he could tell from the pull of his feet. His angry eyes, blazing, fixed on the coward's seat.

Lucas shivered once more at the burning blue orbs he saw. He was not afraid because he had lost that feeling long ago, yet he was afraid of this devil before him.

"If you are lying to me and you know something else but if you are hiding it. I will make you beg to die." His roaring voice rang out in the dungeon and he came back, looming.

"No, I have no lord. I was an ordinary occupier. The leader didn't even know my name. " He closed himself in the dark by pulling his feet. Adrian made a humiliating sound and cast that piercing look with a crooked smile.

"We'll have more time, anyway, once again when I come back, you'd better tell me something useful." He turned away. "If you don't say something worthwhile again. You can be sure that I will make you feel the pain of every person you kill in that pain." he took a cold glance for the last time and walked away quickly up the stairs.

Lucas looked after the lord and now wished he was dead. He grabbed his head with his hands and laughed wildly. He did not stop until tears broke out of his eyes, and when his hysterical laughter finally stopped, he dripped onto the cold floor, mingling with the blood flowing from his scratches. He had never wanted to die this much.

Scarlet opened three books she brought from the duke's secret library and spread them in front of her. The book of discovery was in her lap, while the paper and pen stood next to her to take notes. She had to work on the cold floor as there was no safe room to work in, but that was the last thing she could worry about.

The warm sunshine hitting the yellowed and worn pages of the books, albeit a little enjoyed it. She popped one of the sweet little cookies she asked from Lydia. Dessert was her favorite thing and it made her mind work harder. She took a deep breath and opened the first page of the book in her hand to examine it carefully, checking the other pages without allowing this concentration to deteriorate. She wrote down the places where the duke underlined, circled, and marked the words on each page. When she checked the last page of the book, she realized that the time was quite late and the weather was getting dark. She didn't even remember when she was lighting a candle. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and took her sore legs away from sitting in the same position for hours. Even though all this time had passed, she could not make a way yet. She did not have any indication that the duke was looking, nor did the sorcerers' IDs. She rubbed her head and looked at the scattered papers in front of her. It was quite a lot, and it would be difficult to sort them out and make sense. Though she did not know what to seek and what to extract. She put her hands to her eyes and rubbed them. The ringing sound of the clock, which made it clear that it was time for dinner, brought her back.

She felt her body contract with pain as she got up and tried to relieve the pain by stretching. She hid her books and notes in a corner under the bed and decided to go downstairs for dinner.

She was alone again, as at breakfast. While she was eating in silence, Adrian's words yesterday were running wild in her mind. The uneasiness in her never left her alone, saying that she would regret it one day because of what she told. She shook her head and tried to think only of the words on the papers. The word and number phrases were so many and complex that every time she tried to decipher, her soul was overwhelmed. When she switched to strawberry shortcake, all her anxiety was briefly replaced by happiness, and Scarlet enjoyed every bite.

When she came back to her room, she was a little more rested and relaxed. When she lay down, she realized that she was spending the whole day alone. Although she spent most of her time like this, she soon realized that she had gotten used to Adrian and was looking for his presence. She took a deep breath of trouble. She was supposed to act accordingly, not feeling that way. When she ended her assignment, she would return to the mansion again, and with the new job, she would forget about it anyway. She stretched out and reached out on the gold of the bed and pulled out the papers. She spread each of them out and put a clean sheet of paper and pencil next to her. She pushed the nascent emotions far back in her brain and focused entirely on writing.

It was already past midnight when Adrian arrived at the castle. His tired body and mind daunted him, inviting him to sleep - even if he had a nightmare. As he walked into his room, he suddenly stopped and looked into Scarlet's room, not far from his room. He had never seen her today, and that made him moody. Her face, constantly pouring into his mind, did not give him any comfort while doing his work. He put his hand to his head and made him wait. His cold hand was good for his burning eyes. Should he go to her room and see her? He didn't think she would sleep at this hour. Just as his steps were about to go there, he stopped himself and entered his room without changing his mind. A voice appeared inside him telling him not to go for no reason, and again for no reason, Adrian obeyed.

Scarlet knew very well that sleep was not coming into her eyes. Many of the encryption methods she had developed overnight hadn't worked, and she knew very well that this mystery would not give her comfort. She got up and began to wander, her hand rubbing her chin as she always did when she tried to figure things out. She closed her eyes and thought about the encryption methods in her training.

Throughout history, statesmen had encrypted their most secret messages and prevented them from falling into the hands of their enemies. Numbers and letters served many such purposes and took their place in the dark pages of history.

She even tried to match the letters with numbers, but she didn't. She took the first piece of paperback in her hand and stared at the blackness she had written in rows. She took the book in her hand and began to dig through the pages, looking at the stories of each piece of land being told.

There was so much variation in what was written. When you started, it was talking about a place with a cold climate, and another page was telling you a place in the grip of the scorching heat. It was a general world atlas. She could not stop thinking about it and for a moment her hand stopped, her eyes brightened and she dropped the book and turned to the paper.

She actually gave her own answer. Why was she dealing with it in a perpetual order? Words like this book could be unrelated. Relevant words could be found at the beginning and the end. She sat on the floor and arranged the papers according to their numbers. She looked at the phrase of the first words and numbers. The numbers could have meant the word that would come after it, and she decided to give it a try, although it was unlikely.

She began to write the word that corresponded after each number on paper. Although it started to seem meaningless when she read it, she was determined to bring it to an end. When she finished it all, she realized that the day was about to break. As the single piece of paper she held, it was a major move that changed the course of events. She repeatedly read what was written on the paper and jumped up quickly with the light in her eyes. The excitement and joy overflowing from her heart also affected her legs and she rushed to Adrian's room.

Adrian had woken up in his sleep, where he was trying to dive but could not dive, and came back from the balcony where he had made it a ritual to go out. She stood in the spot, with Scarlet's scattered and panting state of sudden confrontation.

He could tell from the bruises under custody, which he had never seen before, on her white skin that she did not sleep like himself. Her hair, gathered on her head, was falling over her messy face and her neck. Her green dress was rolled-up sleeves, the buttons at her throat open, her neck unkempt, but Scarlet didn't seem to care about any of that. Her bright ruby ​​eyes were her best color, her red glossy lips stretched out in a happy smile. Scarlet quickly approached Adrian and stood in front of him, ignoring the nakedness, and pointed the crumpled paper in his eyes. Scarlet's excited voice echoed as Adrian asked confusedly what happened.

"This paper in my hand is what will bring us to the mystery." Adrian raised an eyebrow and, curiously, read what was written on the paper. Quick but beautiful handwritten words poured from his lips.

The dragon's roar shattered the colors

It found the compass whose soul was lost

Began the eternity of real life

It gave the pure soul to keep alive

These words spilled in silence were just the beginning of dilemmas, betrayals, and love that would change their destiny.