Ding... Ding... Ding... Ding...
The long bell sound broke the tranquility of the early morning, and the quaint bronze bell in the bell tower next to the castle was rudely struck.
The bells in the castle would only ring when foreign enemies invaded or when important things were announced.
Curious people immediately gathered in groups of three or five in the bell tower square, ready to listen to the instructions of the Count.
However, Count Sandria was also curious about the sudden bell sound.
He came out of the castle quickly with two loyal knights and walked quickly to the bell tower square.
As a result, a young man was seen desperately pulling the long hemp rope connected to the pendulum.
Driven by the hemp rope, the pendulum hit the bell body, and the long and heavy sound continued to be heard.
The person who rang the bronze bell was Tepesh, who smiled at Count Sandria who came over.
The count didn't know what Tepesh was going to do, but when he saw the two Ottoman soldiers under the bell tower, he didn't stop Tepesh's actions in the end.
In fact, the whole thing had nothing to do with the Ottomans.
The two Ottoman soldiers received orders to just keep an eye on Tepesh and ignore everything else.
The sound of the bell spread to every corner of the castle, and a few minutes later, the square was full of people.
Except for the soldiers standing guard on the city wall, almost everyone in the castle had arrived here.
Braye and a dozen personal guards had also come to the square and stood next to Count Sandria.
"Mr. Count, what's going on? Do you have anything to announce?"
When he came to Sandria, Braye immediately asked a question.
"I didn't give any orders. I thought it was you who asked Tepesh to ring the bell."
After the question and answer, the two men focused their attention on Tepesh at the same time.
Almost at the same time, Tepesh loosened the hemp rope and walked in front of the crowd with a smile.
Looking around, there were about 500 people gathered in the square, including soldiers, craftsmen, and servants.
Finally, Tepesh looked at Braye and told the reason why he did all this.
"Dear envoy, you asked me yesterday why I worked so hard to stay up late to practice sword.
Now, I can tell you the answer, I did it for love!"
Tepesh's emotions when he spoke were very full, as if he was performing a wonderful drama.
In a flash, his emotions changed from high to low, and he continued to perform with a slightly hoarse voice.
"A few days ago, I met the beautiful Miss Gina for the first time at Viscount Muya's manor.
From the first moment we met, I felt that my soul no longer belonged to me.
This is the magic of love."
Tepesh grabbed his chest, his eyes became blurred, as if he was imagining Miss Gina's appearance in his mind.
Then, he looked at Count Sandria with a very tangled look.
"Uncle Sandria, please allow me to say sorry. I know that the beautiful Miss Gina is Ferko's fiancée.
However, I know this, but I can't help myself.
You are a person who has been through it, I think you should understand this feeling, and you will understand what I will do next."
Tepesh's eyes were no longer blurred and tangled, but a little more sharp.
He looked at Ferko in the front row with a sharp gaze and said the last line.
"In the name of love, I, the heir of Wallachia, Tepesh, will challenge you, the heir of Nightingale Castle, Ferko, to a sacred duel.
The winner can pursue the beautiful Miss Gina. The loser, whether he loves or not, must give up.
Ferko, do you dare to accept my challenge!"
This is Tepesh's plan to kill two birds with one stone.
It can not only dispel Braye's concerns, but also cancel the engagement between Gina and Ferko.
Ferko, who was standing in front of the square, turned pale when he heard Tepesh say that he fell in love with Gina.
As a proud noble, even if he didn't love Gina at all, he couldn't give in.
He took two steps forward and walked out of the crowd, looking at Tepesh with murderous eyes.
"Tepesh, I accept your challenge. I want you to know the consequences of humiliating me!"
This kind of duel launched in the name of love is not uncommon in the European continent, and it can be regarded as a drama that the general public likes to hear and hear.
As Ferko announced his acceptance of the challenge, the crowd of onlookers immediately burst into fierce cheers.
"Your Highness, the future Count, break this guy's legs and get him out of Nightingale Castle!"
"Ferko, don't be careless, don't embarrass our Nightingale Castle!"
The people of Nightingale Castle must of course support the future successor of Nightingale Castle.
Almost all the noisy crowd in the square cheered for Ferko, even though Tepesh would soon become the Grand Duke of Wallachia.
The only exception was probably Arthur, who looked at Tepesh with burning eyes and shouted:
"Come on, Tepesh! The happiness of the beautiful Miss Gina depends on you!"
This guy's shouting attracted the attention of the people around him. Seeing that it was Arthur, no one felt strange, and no one blamed Arthur.
After a commotion, Count Sandria stood up and looked at Tepesh and Ferko successively. His face did not show any change in his mind.
"Looking at you young people, I have to sigh that I am old.
I know very well that I can't stop this duel. I just hope that you two try not to hurt each other.
No matter who is injured, my heart will ache. Please, you two young people, consider the feelings of an old man like me."
As a father, Count Sandria really doesn't want to see tragedy happen.
Although he had already turned to the Ottoman Empire, the good memories of the past had not been erased, so he also did not want anything to happen to Tepesh.
After Count Sandria, Braje also came up to him. Before this guy could speak, Tepesh interrupted and said:
"Sir, please forgive my recklessness. If I die unfortunately, let my brother Radu inherit the title."
These words were arranged by Tepesh in advance, because he knew in his heart that Braje would never want to die.
For the Ottoman Empire, whether it was Tepesh, Radu, or anyone else as a puppet, there was no difference.
But for Braje, if Tepesh died because of a ridiculous duel, it would be his dereliction of duty.
So this guy changed his original idea of watching the fun and said in a very stern tone:
"Ferco, know your limits. I won't allow you to hurt Tepesh. Do you understand?!"
At this point, the duel could no longer be stopped, so Braje could only take sides, which was exactly what Tepesh had calculated.
Although he had been training hard these days, Ferco also claimed that he had been practicing swordsmanship with the knights in his family since he was ten years old.
So before the duel, he had to buy an insurance policy from Braje.
The plan was successful. Ferco, who had been full of fighting spirit before, had a stiff expression on his face, as if he was cast by a spell by Medusa.
He hesitated for a moment, then mustered up the courage to say, "My Lord, this is unfair, this..."
"There is nothing unfair. You are stronger than Tepesh, taller than him, and have practiced swordsmanship longer than him.
A stronger adult man who has received longer training should be able to handle a sixteen-year-old boy.
If you fail, I will regard it as your deliberate revenge and report the matter to the Sultan."
Braye's irrefutable words rang out again. Since he was a dog, he had to catch the frisbee thrown by his master.