September 17, 1432, seven o’clock in the morning.

The sun hadn’t fully risen yet, the fog drifting slightly from the cold wind. Half hidden by the fog, the gray Mohn Tower stood silently like a giant. Legrand’s winter came very early, the land already covered with frost and snow in September.

The old Duke of Buckingham walked out of Mohn Tower, and the breeze lifted the pale hair at his temples.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

This venerable man who had guarded the Legrand Empire for decades was tall and thin, dressed in dark clothes. Two pitiful young soldiers were responsible for escorting him. Although the old man was not wearing the luxurious clothes of his status, his prescence still awed. They did not dare to manhandle him and treat him like any other prisoner.

The Duke of Buckingham stood with a straight back in front of the tower, wintry blue eyes looking at the dark sky.

There were not many people who were here to witness the execution. Except for the armored guards, only about two hundred people were present. Count Walter, the lord of the Castle of Mohn, stood at the forefront of the crowd. On his left were the ambassador of the Kingdom of Plön to Legrand, the ambassador of the Holy Empire and the ambassador of the Empire of Bressi to Legrand. The rest were nobles with varying status.

Earl Walter took pleasure in the imminent disaster to befall this important man. Except for a small group of people like the earl, the rest of the viewers turned their heads to the side, unable to watch this tragedy.

The Duke of Buckingham calmly walked to the high execution platform and stood in front of the black tree stump. After he stood still, he swept his gaze over everyone present, stretched out his shackled hand, and pressed down like he did when he made speeches before marching on the next campaign, signaling the audience to be quiet.

According to custom, he began to deliver his dying speech.

After briefly entrusting his soul to the Creator, his voice became low and deep.

“……I ask everyone present to pray for our supreme King, and may the Lord bless him with health and a long life……”

His gaze fixed on the crowd.

Someone in the crowd pressed his waist knife into the sheath little by little under his sharp gaze.

Everyone bowed their heads and murmured a prayer for King Pureland I of Legrand.

Count Walter sneered in his heart.

Had dementia finally beset this old thing, he was actually still praying for his good-for-nothing nephew even at death.

Regardless of sincerity or falsehood, as the solemn prayers sounded lowly, an inexplicable emotion spread in the cold air.

The steward felt increasingly more anxious, and reminded the earl in his position behind him in a low voice that the execution should begin quickly.

“What can go wrong?”

The earl answered nonchalantly.

After the sad prayers ended, the execution officially began.

The executioner poured strong wine over the giant sword, its surface cold and reflective like a mirror. The Duke of Buckingham waved back the guard who was about to step forward. He voluntarily knelt down in front of the hardwood and leaned over without expression, his pale head resting on the stump.

Count Walter cleared his throat.

“I declare——”

He felt that he was quite awe-inspiring at this moment.

“Stop——”

The sharp voice cut through the cold air.

The voice came from afar, followed by the uproar of the crowd. A galloping horse arrived with a tall knight in armor and holding a sword in his hand. The soldiers who had already received orders erected their shields and drew out their swords to try to stop him. The knight rode his horse and relentlessly kicked the soldiers to the ground, cutting down several people.

“Who dares to be so audacious!”

Count Walter’s face changed, and he drew out his long sword with a “clang”.

At the same time, he was horrified, who could have the guards of the castle let them in without his consent?!

The knight who cut a hole in the wall of the guarding soldiers did not answer. He threw the long sword out, and the executioner on the high platform instantly fell. Only then did the knight dismounted his horse, holding the reins and stepping aside.

Count Walter angrily strode towards the knight.

The sound of hooves sounded once again. The new arrival was not just one person but two.

The horse that arrived slightly behind charged forward, kicking up a flurry of snow. And this newly arrived war horse was even more audacious, charging all the way without any regard or sign of stopping. The surrounding guards didn’t even have time to react when the horse charged in front of the earl, where it neighed shrilly and lifted its front legs, kicking out heavily.

The iron hooves kicked the earl in the chest, sending him to the ground.

The crowd flew into an uproar.

“Me.”

A cold voice sounded.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m )

The sun jumped out of the clouds, and the light of the sky suddenly casted down on all the flawless snow. In the dazzling morning light reflected by the ice and snow, the figure on the back of the horse looked down condescendingly on the fallen Earl Walter.

The earl’s voice was severed in his throat, and he remained paralyzed on the ground.

The person on horseback had ice blue eyes that were exactly the same as those of the Duke of Buckingham. Those eyes were the symbol of the House of Rose, the ruling family of the Legrand Empire. Silver-white hair flowed down the scarlet cloak, and the youth’s gaze was shrouded with an overbearing majesty and also, a frightening rage. The earl recognized him and understood why the guards had let him in without notice.

This was the King of Legrand.

Pureland I.

……………

“Roger de Walter.”

The young King in the scarlet cloak slowly recited the name of the owner of Mohn Castle, and anyone who knew the King knew that this was a prelude to his rage. He circled slowly around the earl who was crouched on the ground in submission, twisting his whip in hands covered with moleskin gloves.

“I issued an order prohibiting the execution. I am very happy that you are so brave, so fearless.”

The young King, who was cultivated and trained to the best efforts with all the resources of a kingdom during a time of prosperity, had a bearing that was both elegant and noble. Every tone and syllable could be regarded as a model of upper class society.

But the earl trembled at this elegant tone. He ignored the pain of being kicked over by the horse’s hooves, and crawled toward the foot of the King’s horse on the snow.

The young King kicked him away from his perch on the horse, his eyes sinisterly dark. Suddenly his tone changed, becoming extremely terrifying: “Brave and fearless enough to violate my orders!”

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty!”

The earl straightened up suddenly, deathly panicked.

“The Holy Lord above! I would never dare to violate your orders! I have never received a second order from you……”

He seemed to suddenly see a life-saving rope and grabbed it with all his strength.

“Your Majesty! The messenger from the Imperial Conference did not arrive in Mohn County! Your Majesty!”

The whip snaked out like a viper, and snapped heavily on the earl. He grunted and the words were drawn back into his stomach.

“The messenger didn’t arrive?” The young King retracted his whip and his horse paced unhurriedly, his thin lips pulled into a sneer of contempt, “What does that matter? I only know that my order has been violated. Starting today, I will take back all the territories I once granted you——”

“Your Majesty!”

Two voices overlapped.

One was the pale-faced Earl Walter, and the other was another person in the crowd.

Zhu Chi raised his eyes.

An archbishop stepped out of the crowd holding a cross, and lowered his head in front of him: “Your Majesty the King, the Holy Lord teaches us to be tolerant. The good Earl had not received your second letter. May you have mercy and forgive him his sins.”

“Are you pleading for him? My good Bishop.”

Zhu Chi Wei narrowed his eyes slightly, an unkind tone lacing through his voice.

Everyone in Legrand knew that the conflict that lasted between the young King and the church was not a day or two. At this time, it seemed that a battle would break out once again between both sides.

The Master of the Households squeezed his hand nervously on the side. His Majesty did something improper last month, and his conflict with the Holy See had escalated to the point where he was about to be excommunicated from the church. At this time, it was undoubtedly very irrational to start a conflict with a bishop.

“My beloved Majesty, I believe your uncle will definitely support you in maintaining a loving heart.”

The bishop replied.

Everyone, including Zhu Chi, looked towards the platform.

The Duke of Buckingham had been released from the shackles. He stood on a high platform and looked down at his nephew who arrived unexpectedly. The Duke had his back to the light so it was difficult for people to see what his expression was, only seeing his black robe being blown by the wind. He slowly nodded to Zhu Chi.

No one dared to speak.

The two, nephew and uncle, looked at each other in a strange exchange.

Finally, Zhu Chi looked away without any expression.

“Since the messenger has disappeared in your territory,” Zhu Chi looked at the bishop coldly, but said to the earl, “I give you three days to find the intercepted messenger, or else——get out of Mohn County.”

The bishop opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but gave up in the end.

Logically speaking, the nobles obtained the land granted by the King, so they needed to be responsible for various affairs in the territory. However, the messenger set off from the palace and passed through at least three counties along the way. Everyone knew that the messenger was probably intercepted shortly after leaving the palace.

But at this moment, the King directly ignored these facts and declared the site of the messenger’s disappearance to be located in Mohn County, which was obviously a prelude to punishment in disguise.

But for a tyrant like the King, that he did not strip the earl of his title on the spot and throw him into prison was already considered a kind of concession.

The limp earl was dragged away.

The crowd gradually dispersed.

Seeing that the Duke of Buckingham was invited off the guillotine, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bressi let out a faint sigh.

“What a cruel monarch.”

The ambassador of the Kingdom of Plön to Legrand also sighed, this was the first time he saw the King of Legrand who was rumored to be absolute and inviolable. The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Plön looked at the Ambassador of Bressi.

“I really pity Legrand’s people.”

Ambassador of Bressi absent-mindedly replied with a few meaningless remarks.

He returned to the embassy and immediately spread out letter paper.

“My dear lord, our plan has fallen to the ground. We may need to carefully consider some more whether we want to help the Grand Duke seize the throne……I think we may have made some inaccurate estimations. The Holy Lord above, I hope this is just my misconception.”

This secret letter was sent out of Mohn County on the same day.

…………

In the study room in the castle.

Although Earl Walter was not stripped of his title at the time, since Zhu Chi was here, the one with highest authority of the castle naturally changed. He stayed in the study, flipping through the library.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The Master of the Households carefully knocked on the door and got permission to come in.

“Your Majesty, the Lord Duke wants to see you.”

He reported.

“No.”

The Master of the Households froze and looked at him in astonishment.

AN: The Tree Tyrant Classics: No, it’s meaningless, that’s all.

If you would like to show some ♡  then please consider supporting this translator! ლ(⌒εー)ლ

Prev