“The black star is already in place, exactly connected with the authority and majesty of the evening star. The death scythe will soon fall on the horizontal human form. If they come together, the dead fish will flood the illuminated continent.”[1] The Devil recited a few obscure and odd sentences.

This reminded the King of the young man he met during negotiations at the Moon River Fortress.

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

According to the vow knight commander, that was an astrologer.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The Devil speculated on the King’s thoughts, “This is indeed the prophecy of those astrologers. It predicts an imminent disaster…..you know what it is.”

“It will come in four months.”

The King pondered for a while, and stated his judgment.

The Devil sincerely wanted to applaud the King. Just look at how keen his senses were towards conspiracies.

However, this was actually not difficult for the King to deduce.

Because in the original line of fate, Pureland was hanged before Mohn Tower four months after the assassination when the original sentence was only exile. Although Pureland was indeed a tyrant, but based on the character of Grand Duke Grice, he should be more inclined to imprison the former king in order to show his magnanimity to the people.

The sentence of exile at the beginning confirmed this.

A former tyrant king who lived without power still had a lot of political significance for the new ruler. He could elevate himself in people’s hearts by constantly comparing himself with the former tyrant king. When the goal was almost achieved, the former tyrant king could then leave the picture silently.

A few months was not enough for Grand Duke Grice to establish the image he wanted.

But if there was a terrible plague that people were powerless against?

Was there any more suitable target to use for blame than a violent former king?

“Apart from you, can astrologers also predict this Black Plague?” The King caught on one point, “Who do astrologers work for?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The Devil immediately took the chance to claim credit for himself, “Do you remember that shoddy Mr. Astrologer? He tried to spy on your destiny, and then planned to tell his mentor. But as your loyal knight, I’ve helped you solve this little trouble——otherwise, by now, dozens of those disgusting fellows will have arrived like flies smelling blood.”

“They serve the Holy Court.”

The King made a judgment.

He pondered for a while.

Generally speaking, astrologers should be labelled as heretics and incompatible with the Holy Court. In his memory, from the 11th to the 13th centuries, the Holy Court had launched a vigorous campaign to persecute astrologers——a scale almost comparable to hunting and killing witches. But in the middle of the fourteenth century, the movement subsided.

Judging from the words of the Devil, it seemed that most of the astrologers chose to serve the Holy Court in order to survive.

This was really not good news.

If the new Pope on the other side of the Abyss Strait was not mindless, he would most definitely seize this opportunity to improve the position of theocracy. During a large-scale plague that people were powerless against in this era like the Black Plague, the easiest to breed was religious beliefs and all kinds of theories on the sinful.

Legrand’s last Black Plague occurred in the fourth century.

Before that, the Rose family ruled more strongly than it did now, and the Western Continent became the most dimly lit area by the holy light. But the Black Plague changed the political landscape. Nearly one-ninth of the people died in the plague, and the royal family was powerless to stop and powerless to change the situation. The Holy Court took advantage of this opportunity to spread the idea that it was precisely because the Rose family did not fear the Holy Lord, that the Holy Lord condemned the land of Legrand.

“God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors.”[2]

The King slowly recited aloud this passage that every Rose family member must remember.

The Black Plague was God’s judgment, and all crimes stemmed from Legrand’s contempt for the Holy Lord.

As the death spread, this accusation eventually became a riot, known in history as the “Return Of The Holy Spirit Movement.” Under the instigation of the Holy Court, people began to spontaneously build churches. In the end, the kingdom of God on the other side of the Abyss Strait expanded to Legrand.

From then on, the kings of the Rose family needed to be crowned by the Holy Court.

This was the origin of the nearly thousand years of enmity.

The King sneered.

No wonder the Pope changed his attitude this time and suddenly sent someone to intervene in Legrand’s battle for the throne. It turned out that they had already anticipated this disaster.

They must want to take this opportunity to reenact the events of the fourth century on the land of Legrand once again. Grand Duke Grice was just one of their puppets.

But damn it, this Black Plague was indisputably deadly.

There were only less than four months left before the outbreak of the Black Plague. The King did not think that these four months of preparation would be able to resolve an unsolvable disaster in this era.

“Hell is happy to solve this problem for you, Your Majesty.”

The Devil bowed to the King gracefully.

“However, it depends on whether Your Majesty dares to dance with hell.”

The King looked at the Devil’s perpetually smiling face.

“What are the conditions?”

“There are no conditions. Does one need any conditions to be useful for one’s own monarch?”

“I don’t plan to go to hell with you now.” The King refused.

“You misunderstood me.” The Devil said so, but there was a clear tone of regret in his voice, “Then…..fine, just one small condition, it’s not difficult for you to do.”

The King waited for the Devil’s words.

“Mind a knight from hell? My dear Majesty.”

………………

The Devil now had an official identity, he had become a member of the King’s vow knights.

However, the Devil seemed to have other things to do. After receiving this promise from the King, he hurriedly left again.

After the Devil left, the former Knight Templar walked in quietly.

“Your Majesty, your devil is very dangerous. I don’t know why he is so humble to you, but his aura reminds me of the past. At that time I was still serving the Holy Court and marching in their expeditions. The team of that time came across a historic site, where I felt a similar aura.”

The face of the former Knight Templar was rarely so serious.

“How was the situation at the time?”

“Disaster. Your Majesty.”

The former knight commander of the Templars replied, with pain that could not be concealed.

“A mortal disaster.”

………………

The Devil excused himself.

The King did not intend to pin all his hopes on a dangerous devil of unknown origin and unknown purpose. He set out to make his own preparations.

In the past two days, the King’s finance minister compiled the royal financial files requested by the King. They were so heavy and complicated that even the full-time staff of the Ministry of Finance would not be happy to read them.

The King frowned and endured the terrible recording method and the cumbersome monetary unit. After reading the part he cared about most, he realized one thing deeply——

The royal family was astonishingly poor.

The King’s annual income was about 27,000 pounds. On the surface, this was definitely a huge sum of money. Because in today’s Legrand, a person who could earn 20 pounds a year was considered rich, and even the annual income of an earl was rarely more than 5,000 pounds a year. [3]

But the income of the King must be used to maintain the expenses of the entire royal family and the operation of the entire empire.

This was also the norm for royal families in most countries in this era.

They were always in a situation where they could not make ends meet.

The construction of a castle for military use was also part of the King’s financial expenditure. The construction of the royal castles in Newcastle in the north and Nordover in the west began at the end of last year. The construction of the castles always took a long time, but on a conservative estimate, the entire construction of a castle in Newcastle alone would require 27,000 pounds. [4]

It was only natural that the Duke of Buckingham now had no money to his name.

Anyone who must maintain such huge expenditures would end up in poverty.

When the King finished reading the files, the nobles in the New Royal Party also happened to submit their first ransom money——the value they assigned to their own heads caused them to write down the highest amount that they could get and with great effort, so they could only submit the total in installments.

At this juncture, when the King looked at the sum of money collected he once again wondered whether he should just kill everyone.

All territorial money and property would be confiscated at one time, saving worry and effort.

The nobles who came to pay the money didn’t know why but they felt a chill on their necks.

The amount of each ransom was several thousand pounds, and the total sum was quite considerable. When the nobles paid the first ransom installment, plus the inheritance tax levied before, the King made nearly enough money to redeem General Johan, the son of the Duke of Buckingham.

And at this time, there was also news on the missing negotiating team.

“Why not talk as we take a walk? You have been cooped up in the room long enough, Your Majesty.” The Duke of Buckingham had an outer robe over his arm. He saw how many files and documents the King had read during this time. “Perhaps you might be willing to go on a stroll with me?”

“Of course, I would be happy to.”

The King glanced at the Duke of Buckingham with some surprise, and then put down the quill.

It was now October, and snow was beginning to cover the earth thickly. The King and the Duke of Buckingham walked through the long corridors and saw the forest trees of the castle begin to be covered with crystal clear frost that glittered magnificently and dreamily under the sunlight.

“Stuck in the Truu Castle.”

The King listened to the Duke of Buckingham finish, and then fell into thought.

“Baron Sheehan? He does have a bit of courage, and not too stupid it seems.”

While they were talking, the two had passed through most of the palace. The Duke of Buckingham stopped and looked out from the corridor. He looked at the stone pavilion on the left side of the tower not far in front, and said with nostalgia: “There used to be no pavilion there. But later your father built one.”

The King also looked at the stone pavilion that had rose vines growing over it.

It was conceivable that after the flowering period, countless magnificent red roses would decorate it into a beautiful part of the landscape.

“Take a closer look?”

The King agreed.

They walked through the cold wind and into the snow. The black tower stood not far away, and the snow that fell on the tower quickly slid down its walls.

The black tower was silent.

It also seemed to be watching all of this.

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

AN: [1] The original text is “If Anyone Knows” created by the Prague court poet Heinrich von Muggen around 1349-1355. The original poem is slightly modified according to the world background.

[2] Quoted from Psalm 7:11-13

[3] The data refers to the current state of the currency economy of Edward I

[4] It is actually the construction cost of Caernarfon Castle

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