“How awe-inspiring.”

One of the personnel to greet the King stood outside Truu Castle and whispered under his breath.

There were nearly 300 people in the negotiating team, and the King’s luxurious carriage was in the middle of the team. The carriage that needed twelve tall horses to be pulled was as wide as a small house. The oak frame of the carriage was plated with metal and gleamed in the sun. The crimson southern flannel covered the carriage and swayed gently as the carriage moved.

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

“Don’t be like a bumpkin who has never seen the world.”

The person in the front laughed.

He was a very handsome knight. His pale blonde hair was meticulously combed back, and his eyes were deep and defined. If he was put among the upper class of the palace court, there would be countless noble ladies obsessed with him. The cloak he wore had a golden harp embroidered on it.

“Our Majesty the King is not an ordinary person. I heard that when a large number of people died in the North due to the cold and hunger in the winter, our noble Majesty the King was having people use gold to build a carriage for himself.”

“Why didn’t he bring his golden carriage over? Open the eyes of those Bressians, so that their greedy mouths would widen even more.”

The person who spoke first let out a sarcastic comment.

The King’s servant had already seen them.

The flag of the King’s team waved at them.

“Well, now let us go to meet our noble Majesty.”

The knight with pale blond hair ended the conversation. He drove his horse forward, and the others followed him.

In addition to the scholars and judges in charge of negotiations, there were more than a dozen iron-clad guards in scarlet cloaks. They crowded around the exquisite carriage to separate the King from the others. Those were the King’s vow knights. But in front of the dozen or so armored guards, there were three people with different attire.

“Sheehan.”

The three recognized the blond knight who was approaching, and they greeted him with a smile.

The greeting team led by the blond knight all dismounted, and the King’s team also stopped. The procession that had traveled the long distance finally got a chance of respite. The dozens of iron-clad guards lined up on both sides, and the Master of the Households respectfully lifted the curtain of the carriage. A hand with a rose ring stretched out from behind the scarlet flannel.

The dark gold iron rose was inlaid with a dark red gem in the center. It was the emblem of the Legrand royal family.

But this noble and exquisite ring had become a foil at this time. The hand wearing it was the more noble existence, like the dew dotted on the rose. That hand was as white as the cold jade sent across the sea from foreign lands. It was neither as small as the hand of a lady, nor as thick as the hand of a man. It was both well-proportioned and slender, flawless and exquisite.

The blond knight knelt on one knee, took the hand that extended from the carriage, and kissed the iron rose ring on it.

“I am honored for your health. Your Majesty.”

The King got off the carriage.

This was the first time that many of the greeters have seen their Majesty the King.

It could be said that if one didn’t think about his “great achievements”, many people would be happy to be loyal to such a King. Because he was the very image of the dazzling palace lord, raised on nobility and luxury, and the most captivating prescence in the palace.

The King had a crimson cloak on his shoulders, and a dark red silk satin robe underneath that was embellished with pure gold buttons carved in the shape of a rose. Three layers of white lace were turned up at the neckline, and brilliant diamonds were set on the edges of the lace, appearing as dazzling as stars in the night sky. A crown studded with many precious jewels was worn on his silver blonde hair, and the face underneath was as exquisite and compelling as the diamonds on his body.

In the whole of Legrand, one could not find a second young man as beautiful as him.

——A luxurious rose that brought corruption and death.

The blond knight thought privately to himself as he lead the way for the King.

The etiquette for the formal meeting between King and subject having ended, the negotiating mission led by the King himself passed the lowered suspension bridge and entered Truu City. It could be seen that they did some work to welcome the King. The shops in the castle were decorated with red cloth strips, and the people who accompanied them all wore a bright red rose flower on their chests.

The master of Truu Castle, that is the blond knight, Baron Sheehan.

Baron Sheehan told the King that a banquet and opera had been prepared for him.

The people of the Legrand Empire all knew that their King loved luxurious costumes and feasts, and adored all kinds of extravagance and elegant operas.

——Just don’t know why those operas that praised sage Kings failed to edify him to be a more benevolent King as well.

All in all, if one wanted to put this irritable King in a better mood, there was nothing wrong with preparing more feasts and operas.

Unexpectedly, the King rejected the banquet and opera indifferently this time.

In the lobby of the Truu Castle, the King wiped his hands with a white handkerchief. He casually looked up at the owner of the castle, Baron Sheehan: “Do you think the operas here are of first-rate artistic standard?”

He asked this in a soft, casual tone, with a natural, matter of fact bearing.

The meticulously prepared welcoming gifts were taken lightly and ignored. How would the people of Truu Castle react? How could they react?

——They could only maintain a smile and apologize to the King fearfully.

“Take me to the tower, I want to admire the view of this castle.”

The King ordered.

…………

The tower was very high, from here one could overlook the entire castle grounds, including the mountains and grasslands outside.

Zhu Chi stood on the tower with his hands on the stone window. Thanks to the warm crimson cloak on his body, he remained unaffected by the freezing cold on the top of the tower. The cold wind seemed to make his eyes, which were already difficult to take on any warmth, become an even icier blue.

Baron Sheehan, the owner of Truu Castle, stood by his side and introduced him to the history of the castle.

Zhu Chi was not interested in those long family histories. He looked at the overall condition of Truu Castle.

“Truu” meant “beautiful castle” in the language of the Legrand Empire. It was a strong fortress to defend the city of Truu, and it was also now at the frontlines of the battle against the Bressi expeditionary army. In front of Truu Castle was the deep and turbulent Doma River. The King observed that two megalithic strongholds were built on the wetlands formed by the tributaries of the Doma River.

The wooden bridge across the river was controlled by the turret of the castle. If the enemy came from the front, the bridge would be hoisted up.

Taking the castle as the starting point and looking forward, an undulating grassland could be seen, and on the west side of the grassland was a dark green forest——the undulating Konosen Mountains.

After observing the complete terrain, the King retracted his gaze and looked down slightly.

His silver hair was blown by the wind on the high platform.

“……When spring arrives, the grassland in front will be decorated with beautiful Sana flowers……”

Baron Sheehan could be described as a personable nobleman who had received a good literary education. He was good at using simple words to outline beautiful imagery.

It was just that the King listened quietly for a long time but still didn’t hear anything he wanted to know.

However, the King did not interrupt him, and would occasionally ask one or two questions.

The King leaned on the window sill and looked down at the grounds of the castle from this height. The King’s gaze fell to a place, and he suddenly interrupted Baron Sheehan’s endless talk: “How is your military expenditure?”

He seemed to ask casually.

The look on Baron Sheehan’s face instantly took on a rather gloomy cast for a moment, but the blond Baron quickly concealed his gaffe, still smiling brightly: “Thanks to Your Majesty’s favor, the soldiers have just enjoyed this year’s turkey feast. I thank Your Majesty for them.”

“Really?” The King straightened up, as if he didn’t take the casual question to heart, “That’s wonderful.”

The mood of the young King had always been mercurial.

He was the one who wanted to enjoy the beauty of Truu Castle, and now it was him who was tired and wanted to go back to his room. Baron Sheehan obeyed his instructions and led the King downstairs to the prepared room with warm wood burning.

After awhile.

Baron Sheehan hurriedly returned to the tower. He stood where the King had just stood and looked down with some doubts, trying to find what the King had just seen.

Below were only low stone houses, which seemed to be the same as usual.

“……I am oversensitive.”

He breathed a sigh of relief.

At the same time.

“Truly, excellent.”

The King stood in front of the window in his room, and gone was the earlier frivolity and casualness. He stared at the ice on the window expressionlessly, as if seeing the things in the distance through the ice.

“My loyal and faithful thane.”

Just now, when he was standing on the tower and looking down, he saw a soldier dragging a slaughtered horse through the stretch of stone houses.

Under what circumstances would the cavalry slaughter the horses that were extremely important to them?

——When there was no food, when the god of death approached.

The ice-cold mask once again returned to the King’s face.

………………

Negotiations began the day after the King arrived at Truu Castle.

The King’s team traveled to the grassland to the north via the wooden bridge in front of Truu Castle.

The specific location of the negotiation was a low-lying land between the Moon River Fortress and Truu Castle. The tributaries of the Doma River meander through the grass and form a no-man’s land.

Peace agreements were generally held in such places.

The blond knight Baron Sheehan stood on the tower and waved goodbye to the negotiating mission.

“Goodbye, my King.”

The Baron smiled elegantly and impeccably.

In the evening.

Tents were set up on the grassy land between the Moon River Fortress and Truu Castle. The tents at one end were red and belonged to the Legrand Empire ruled by the Rose family. On one end was blue, belonging to the Bressi Kingdom ruled by the Tulip family.

The boundaries were clear.

The teams of the two sides met face to face, and the tall and heroic Bressi expeditionary General shook hands symbolically with the King in the scarlet cloak. Zhu Chi noticed that behind the General was a pale and thin young man.

He retracted his gaze and said succinctly, “Let’s begin.”

Negotiations have begun.

The purpose of the negotiations was to strive for favorable conditions for both sides and end this war. Personnel experienced in law clashed, but the King of Legrand, one of the most important personnel at the negotiations, rarely appeared at the negotiating table.

Accompanied by his knights, the King strolled leisurely in a place not far from the negotiation site.

——This made the ministers who came for the negotiations all shake their heads privately.

On the afternoon of the second day as the negotiations still continued, the King met another person on the grassy land where he frequented.

The person in black robes stood up from the grass and bowed respectfully to the King on the horse.

The King recognized him.

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

It was the young man who stood behind Bressi’s expedition that day.

“You purposely came to see me.”

The King dismounted and had the knights step back a bit.

“Your Majesty is not worried that I will assassinate you?” The young man reminded him, “Bressi Kingdom and Legrand Empire are deadly enemies.”

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In the silence, only the sound of the war horses snorting could be heard, accompanied by small clouds of white mist that dispersed into the cold air.

Count Walter died in his room.

In the past few days, he had been rushing about in order to find out why the messenger had disappeared. Apart from being a little anxious, there was nothing unusual. However, just now, the King’s Master of Households opened the door and found him sitting in his bedroom holding a blood-stained sword. Like the wandering merchant, he had cut his throat.

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There were too many things to do to prepare for the negotiation, and people had overlooked this Mr. Earl who had been spurned by the King. If it hadn’t been for the King asking, his body likely would not be discovered until the evening.

The members of the negotiating mission all looked at the King nervously.

The death of the Earl seemed particularly strange, and they worried that the arbitrary King would delay his departure.

But not arriving at the agreed time was equivalent to an insult to the other party in the negotiation——for the King, this was probably not an important thing, he was born proud and arrogant.

But the current situation of the battle was not optimistic for Legrand.

Fortunately, the King didn’t seem to have reached that point of disregard for the rules.

He signaled the Duke of Buckingham to step forward and entrusted him with the investigation of the truth about the death of the Earl.

“Of course, this is not the most important thing.” The young King stretched out his hand from the carriage window, and he looked into the eyes of the old Duke. “You know that, yes?”

“The only person I can trust now is you.”

He lowered his voice, so slight that only the old Duke could hear it.

The Duke of Buckingham lowered his head and kissed the back of the king’s hand in accordance with etiquette, and at the same time replied in a low voice: “I will protect Legrand for you.”

“For the glory of the Rose.”

The King took a deep look at his gray-haired uncle.

The Duke of Buckingham stood straight and took a step back. The cloak over his shoulders was blown by the cold wind, the scarlet giving him an appearance as if he was stained with blood. He stood tall like a lion. He had been cautious and restrained for his nephew for many years, and it was only at this time that people suddenly realized that the old Duke was still the awe-inspiring iron-blooded general down to his bones.

The Duke clenched his fist and knocked his heart, with a deep voice:

“For the glory of the Rose!”

The smell of iron, blood and fire permeated his voice, sharp and harsh as a drawn blade.

The knights who escorted the King clenched their fists, their iron armor shining in the sun as they shouted:

“For the glory of the Rose!”

In this pledge of the Legrand royal family’s motto, the negotiating mission set out. The old Duke watched the King’s carriage for a long time. The crimson flag was flying in front of the carriage. In the backdrop of the blood red color, the dark gold iron rose was in full bloom in the middle of winter.

Please bless our King, the ancestors of the Rose family.

………………

The Moon River Fortress not far from Truu City.

The Moon River Fortress was built one hundred years ago when the “Lion King” put down the eastern rebellion.

It was built with hard white stone, and the gap was filled with pig iron instead of mud. It was said that this fortress almost emptied out all the wealth of the “Lion King”. In the next hundred years, the Moon River Fortress became an iron barrier guarding the central and western plains of Legrand. It was indestructible.

It was precisely because of this that General Johan’s defeat had caused such a loud uproar in the country.

Nowadays, only blue tulip flags could be seen flying on this beautiful and strong fortress.

The leader of the expeditionary army of the Bressi Kingdom stood on the wall of the fortress.

The General’s facial hair was neatly trimmed, and his green eyes were like that of the snow wolves in the north. He wore black iron armor and a sword that never left him. He could jump and cut off the enemy’s head anytime and anywhere. At this time, the General was stroking the white stone of the fortress and looking at the Legrand mountains in the distance.

“General, what do you think of the Ambassador’s letter?”

The question came from an eccentric young man standing next to the general, who was covered in a dark cloak from head to toe, tall and thin, and appearing rather gloomy.

“The Grand Duke asked us to disrupt this negotiation, do you plan to do what he wants?”

“Of course——” The General laughed, “Not.”

He retracted his smile, and his expression turned a little dark: “If the Duke of Buckingham died, he would naturally be able to ascend to the throne without hindrance. We have fulfilled the requirements for cooperation and have done our best to create favorable conditions for him. But since he still failed in meeting our agreement, to have the Duke of Buckingham die, then why should we continue to do our best to help him?”

“The Grand Duke may not be satisfied with this answer.”

“Bressi Kingdom is not his nanny.”

The General sneered.

“Since the Duke of Buckingham is not dead, we must prepare with both hands.”

“What do you mean……?”

“I received a letter from the Queen the day before yesterday. Something has come up back at home. We cannot stay in Legrand for too long.” The General said vaguely. “We can negotiate a peace agreement with the King of Legrand. After that, whether the bad-tempered fool King is dead or alive has nothing to do with us.”

“You don’t seem to think highly of the King of Legrand?”

The young man caught onto this point.

“I truly pity William. He was a respectable enemy when he was young. Unfortunately, his son is simply a shame to the Rose family. A huge empire is falling apart in the hands of a tyrant.” The General lamented, “I don’t know why the Duke of Buckingham is so loyal to him.”

“But General……” The young man hesitated, “The ambassador mentioned in the letter that he felt that the King was a bit different from the rumors.”

“What difference could there be?” The General smiled contemptuously. “If it weren’t for his uncle, the young King would have been torn to pieces by those nobles.”

“I hope it is as you say.”

“What’s the matter with you? My dear master astrologer?” The General looked at him suspiciously, “You seem to support the Grand Duke’s request to help them kill Pureland I?”

“I think it might be better for the Grand Duke to become Legrand’s King. After all, we have his weakness in our hands, don’t we?”

“No, you are wrong.” The General smiled and said softly, “Your astrology is indeed superb, but your political sense of smell is a little worse off. Why should we let a mature and strong wolf replace a young and incompetent lion? Why not let the jackal and the old lion fight to the death.”

“However, the fate star has changed.”

The young man answered.

“I saw a scorching sun about to rise. It lives in the middle of the abyss strait. It may belong to us, Bressi, or Legrand. I feel uneasy, general.”

“That must be Our Majesty.”

The General said firmly.

“Bressi will surely conquer this earth, and the tulips shall forever remain blooming.”

…………

The King’s carriage was very spacious.

Unlike the one he took when he left the palace urgently that day, this carriage was drawn by twelve horses, and the inside was even more exquisite and luxurious. The oil lamp burned behind the glass cover and the light inside was dim.

Zhu Chi looked through the report submitted to him by Moore the knight under the lamp.

He had been reading this report carefully the whole way.

In truth, he didn’t have too many requirements for this report. After all, the three-day deadline was too short. But perhaps the phrase “Now, his life is in your hands” was too galvanizing. The three knights who wanted to save General Johan tried their best to sort everything out and submitted a thick, very detailed report.

Of course, this was still too brief for the entire battle, and it was naturally impossible to meet the King’s standard that “every grindstone” needed to be accounted for.

Therefore, when the report was submitted, the three knights all appeared to be in despair, wishing to stab themselves in the throat right then and there.

The King did not say anything, and accepted the report expressionlessly.

The three knights did not know what the King was thinking, so they could only follow along with a little hope. On the way, the King did not appear outside the carriage much, and from time to time he would call Moore and the others into the carriage, asking his own questions about a certain point of the report.

This also surprised Moore and the others.

They found that the King seemed to have a particularly keen instinct, and the questions raised became more difficult to answer as as they came one after another.

The King did not ridicule their difficulties, but his stony and cold expression was enough for the three knights to feel embarrassed.

Seeing that the negotiation site was approaching, the three of them felt strangely relieved——

Whether it was death or life, please give us the mercy of a quick end, Your Majesty.

Of course, they dare not say this aloud.

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

The carriage vibrated slightly and the light shook.

Zhu Chi pressed his temples and raised his head.

“We have arrived at Truu City, Your Majesty.”

The Master of the Households rode his horse to the carriage window and reported respectfully.

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The Chancellor of the Exchequer still clearly remembered how the King reacted after reading the letter sent by the Kingdom of Bressi a month ago.

At that time, in front of the messenger, he tore the letter to pieces, then smiled and said: “Since Johan has sworn allegiance to me, then it is time for him to die for the great Legrand Empire.”

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The rage and coldness under that smile made one shudder.

20,000 pounds.

Even for the entire Legrand Empire, it was not easy to come up with such a large sum of money. In the reign of King William III, in order to launch a war against Bressi, he once raised one hundred thousand marks (equivalent to 66,000 pounds). That time it took more than seven months.

Under normal circumstances, it would take at least two months to raise 20,000 pounds.

However, the Bressi Kingdom only gave one month of time.

——They had no intention of releasing the prisoners of war.

Coupled with the widely circulated claims that General Johan had defected to the enemy and the Duke of Buckingham had a suspicious attitude, the King directly abandoned paying for the ransom of General Johan and only set a time for negotiations with the Kingdom of Bressi.

The King’s attitude was there, and even Grand Duke Grice’s letter of persuasion was useless. It only made the King even more angry, so other officials even more so dared not anger him.

Therefore, more than a month had passed, yet they haven’t even raised a penny, let alone 20,000 pounds.

But who would have thought that with only a few days left before the negotiation and the delivery of the prisoners, the King suddenly brought up the matter. It even seemed as if he had changed his mind and planned to pay for General Johan’s release.

The Chancellor almost wanted to kneel down for his capricious King.

“Two months?”

The King tapped the armrest with his fingers.

“How much is there in the treasury?”

The Chancellor’s forehead was covered with cold sweat. He carefully observed the King’s face and replied tactfully: “Your Majesty, in order to resist the invasion of the Bressi Kingdom, we have spent a lot of money in April, and even raised the exemption from military service tax……”

“Where is the royal treasury?”

The Chancellor of the Exchequer looked like he would begin trembling at any moment, and his voice became even smaller: “Your Majesty, you built two royal castles in the west and the north some time ago……”

The King remembered.

The Legrand Empire had an eventful year this year, with riots in Newcastle in the north and Nordover in the west at the end of last year. After suppressing the rebellion, in order to strengthen the rule of these two places, Pureland began building a castle belonging to the royal family each in these two locations. In order to build the castle, the supervision of the royal forest area was even increased.

Excellent.

The King thought expressionlessly.

How about he just let General Johan make a sacrifice for the country.

“What about my private territorial income?”

This part was regarded as the King’s own personal income. His question obviously meant that the King intended to pay for General Johan’s release at his own expense. The Minister was surprised.

He reported on the income of the several territories directly under the King. Although the amount was considerable, the King’s daily extravagant life was obviously also very expensive——in these three days, the money that could be mustered up urgently was only a few thousand pounds.

The King pressed his forehead.

It might be a side effect of rebirth, but now his head was beginning to ache.

“What is the income of my uncle’s territory?”

He asked casually.

Of course, he did not expect to see the Duke of Buckingham, who practically lived like an ascetic monk and did not value pleasure, to have much in his pockets. He even suspected that the Duke had used most of his income to fill the pit that was military expenses.

However, the answer was still shocking to the King.

The Duke simply could not make ends meet.

“That’s it, Your Majesty.”

The Chancellor of the Exchequer replied.

“According to facts, Lord Duke is one of the biggest creditors of the royal family.”

Legrand was practically in the midst of chaos when Pureland was still a babe. The King, who was still a baby, worried the nobles of many vassal states——in this era, babies faced too many risks growing up, especially when this baby was the Emperor of 36 vassal states.

It was the Duke of Buckingham who had repeatedly paid out of his pocket and used huge loans to support the royal family’s finances.

Then, soon after the King officially came of age, rumors that the Duke of Buckingham was unwilling to hand over power arose. At this time, the Duke of Buckingham did something unexpected——he burned all those certificates of indebtedness.

The King pressed his forehead so hard that his finger joints turned white.

The Chancellor took a peek at the young King, only to see him have his hand on his forehead, covering his eyes. The Chancellor could not make out the King’s mood at this time.

There was silence in the room for a long time.

“Excellent.”

The King mustered up his energy.

“Prepare for negotiations and start raising money.”

Hearing about raising money, the Chancellor immediately got a not-so-good hunch.

“I remember that the inheritance rights of the nobles are controlled by me.”

The Chancellor of the Exchequer had already started to stutter: “Yes……yes……yes, that’s correct.”

“Then let those heirs pay taxes for their titles.”

“Your Majesty……”

The cold sweat gathering on the Chancellor’s head instantly fell down to the floor. There was nothing wrong with the King ordering this. According to the charter signed by the nobles at the time of the King’s coronation, the King had the right to rule on succession of titles——but this was generally used when the succession conditions of two heirs were similar.

However, listening to the King at this moment, he clearly wanted all the major and minor nobles with inheritance rights to take out all the money in their pockets.

In this way, even the legitimate eldest son who was originally sitting firmly in the position of heir would become restless.

Obviously, their brothers would be very willing to give a large sum of money to the royal court, so as to obtain the ruling of “everything by business”——whoever bid higher would inherit and take the title from their eldest brother.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer could already imagine how many nobles in the country would be glaring at the roses in their gardens while cursing the King for his insidiousness.

But for Zhu Chi, there was no alternative.

Legrand’s current situation was too disastrous. Various complicated factors were involved and he did not have enough time to sort it all out. According to the answer from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Pureland had exploited civilians at least three times in the past two years. If he directly increased the tax burden on civilians, then the people’s riots would not be far off from now.

He would rather face the rebellion of some nobles than the riots from the civilians.

Of the two, the latter was the real devastating blow.

And one could not forget that the Duke of Buckingham was not executed. So long as the old Duke was still alive, those nobles who wanted to rebel have to weigh their chances carefully.

“Must this really be done?”

The Chancellor of the Exchequer asked with a little hope.

“You tell them.” The King said calmly, “Either pay or go to the frontlines.”

Alright, any hope was completely extinguished now.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer thought with despair.

——As the conveyer of the King’s will, he was afraid that he would have to bear some infamy.

…………

Upon learning that the King had ordered a ransom to be raised, the Duke of Buckingham also came to see the King.

“I know what you are going to say.”

Before the old Duke could speak, the King blocked his words.

“But Johan is not only your son, my brother, but also the general of the Legrand Empire, the dignity of the Rose Family. Most importantly——”

The King paused.

“I need to know the truth about the Battle of Keven and who betrayed me.”

Anger infused through his ice-blue eyes.

The Duke of Buckingham remained silent.

…………

At the same time, the day of the negotiations was approaching.

They began to prepare to set off for the negotiation site, close to the city of Truu on the front.

The Duke of Buckingham originally planned to go with him, but Zhu Chi had other concerns.

He was not at ease about the current situation in the Legrand Empire, and he did not trust those nobles to be obedient during the time he went to the frontlines. So he entrusted the Duke of Buckingham to return to the palace in the heart of Legrand and temporarily replace him in being in charge of government affairs.

Before leaving, Zhu Chi recalled something.

That owner of Mohn Castle, Earl Walter.

He had not come to see the King for a long time.

“Why, does he think the three days I granted were too much time?”

Zhu Chi sat in the carriage and asked softly.

The Master of Households hurriedly left to find Earl Walter.

After waiting for about an hour, he rushed back to report with a pale face.

“Your Majesty……”

“Speak.”

“The Earl has committed suicide.”

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

The air seemed to have also been frozen by the cold of midwinter.

“Suicide?”

Inside the carriage, the King laughed cryptically.

The procession that was about to leave stopped.

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Viscount Moore was an aristocrat from the north.

Before being conquered by Pureland’s great-grandfather, the northern part of the Legrand Empire was regarded as “barbaric land.”

In the twelfth century before the Western Continent came to be, there was an invasion by oversea barbarians. However, the tide-like invasion only lasted less than a hundred years before they disappeared. The northern part of the Legrand Empire had been occupied by barbarians since then. It was not until later that the descendants of the barbarians gradually merged with Legrand, but still their language and customs were deeply influenced by the barbarians’ traditions. Their pronunciation was much more rough and they valued simplicity and practicality.

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Because of this, aristocrats from the north have always been ridiculed in the palace.

When Viscount Moore explained the assassination plan, the King had already noticed that his style of speech and expression were very concise——in the words of the nobles in the central and eastern regions, it was “vulgar as a peasant”.

However, the last couple of sentences that Viscount Moore said just now could be called elegant, and especially the last part “lifetime of effort for you and for the Legrand Empire” was a typical palace expression influenced by the Holy Church.

This was not what an authentic northern aristocrat like Viscount Moore would use.

——Unless someone said this to him recently.

Moore was taken aback by the King’s sudden questioning. He didn’t even understand how the King knew such trivial things.

“Who said it?”

The King’s tone became steely, and like the old Duke of Buckingham just now, his face seemed to have on a cold iron mask at this time.

“Carl, Carl Roy.”

Moore muttered, he also began to realize something.

“He is a traveling merchant.”

“Arrest him. Immediately.”

……………

Today’s Mohn Castle was plagued by disasters.

At seven o’clock in the morning, the owner of the castle, Earl Walter, was almost exiled on the spot, and in the afternoon, under the King’s command, the soldiers in the entire Mohn territory became busy again. All the traveling merchants in the territory were detained and only released after verification of their identities.

By the evening, the castle was shrouded in oppressive darkness.

The sound of wood burning in the fireplace was clearly audible. The King was sitting not far from the fireplace, but his face was mostly in the shadows.

Just now, the Master of the Households delivered a report from the defense army: they found three traveling merchants named “Carl”. There was only one who fit with Viscount Moore’s description of having “talked with them just the night before.”

——When the soldiers broke in, he decisively drew out his dagger and cut his throat cleanly.

The room was filled with horrible silence. The three knights knelt on the carpet with gray faces and lowered their proud heads.

They had a drink together in the inn some time ago. When drunk, it was inevitable that they had said some complaints. At that time, the traveling merchant was next to them, and he said that line casually. But God knew what had befallen then, maybe it was resentment, maybe it was the devil, but for some reason that sentence became deeply rooted in their minds.

Later, they heard the traveling merchant exclaim, “It would be good if there were brave members of the religious order, but unfortunately the heroes are dead”——the popular play at that time was on a story about the pagan tyrant Caligula being assassinated by a member of the religious order.

In short, it was after that day that they planned the assassination.

After explaining everything, Moore no longer dared to look at the King’s expression. The knights realized a terrible thing: someone had carefully prepared this series of conspiracies.

Their vengeance, which they had believed to be an act of bravery and heroism, was in fact playing into the hands of the vicious enemy.

The silence in the room was too heavy for people to breathe. The King did not speak, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Moore leaned down, his forehead pressed to the carpet, and said with repressed shame: “We have committed an unforgivable sin, and we are willing to pay the price of our lives for our mistakes. But, Your Majesty! There is a problem with the Battle of Keven! General must have fallen for a conspiracy.”

The Battle of Keven was the battle in which the son of the old Duke had led the expedition to the Kingdom of Bressi a month ago.

According to the report sent back to the palace, the Duke’s son, the young General Johan, was negligent despite the food and weapons supply being sufficient. He did not take the enemy’s vanguard seriously, and ended up losing the Moon River Fortress at the eastern border of Legrand at the end of July. The loss of Moon River Fortress directly led to the complete defeat of the battle.

“Are you pleading for him?”

The King looked down at the three knights kneeling on the ground, his tone slightly mocking.

“Three people who are about to die and yet try to intercede for others.”

“I pledge with the honor of my family that General Johan is definitely not a person who will make the mistake of underestimating the enemy!”

There was no blood left on Moore’s face, but he still gritted his teeth and made the vow.

“So long as any word I have spoken is a lie, everyone in the Briou Family will burn in the pits of hell forever!”

“The matters after death fall under the jurisdiction of the Holy Spirit.” The King said lightly, “In my opinion, things like eternity in hell are not worth a penny.”

His words caused the three knights to fall into despair.

“But——” the King’s tone changed. He looked at the three knights who suddenly raised their heads. “The diplpmatic mission will arrive on the 21st. Like the fool Earl of Mohn, you have three days. I want to see a detailed report of the battle you participated in——from the deployment of every soldier, the direction of every flag, every longbow, every piece of grindstone for sharpening swords to every bag of grain flour, every piece of cheese prepared……use these things to prove to me that your general really did his best to prepare for this war.”

To request such a report in such a short period of time could be considered quite harsh.

But the King did not mean to be tolerant.

“If you can’t do it——”

The King leaned forward, and his silver hair almost fell on Moore’s cheek. His soft voice pierced into his ears——sounding even more full of mockery than if he were to make severe orders.

“Then this self-proclaimed noble spirit of sacrifice is nothing but that.”

As expected, he saw the knights showing an expression of anger——no knight could calmly face this insult to their character.

“Of course, for now, you don’t have such a thing as a knight’s chivalry.”

The King straightened up and leaned on the crimson velvet chair, arms propped up on the armrest and pale fingers crossed, the fingertips pressing against each other lightly.

The faces of the three military officers flushed.

At the side of the King, that same delicate crossbow remained.

“The financial department of the royal family will assist you. But whether the task can be completed is up to you.”

He said in a soft but fear evoking tone.

“Go, prove to me that he is innocent.”

When Moore and the others stood up, they saw the King smiling cryptically under the flickering lights of the fire: “Now, his life is in your hands.”

This was a threat.

…………

The three knights left, leaving the King alone in the room.

He sat quietly by the fireplace, and the light from the flames outlined the delicate contours of his face.

Zhu Chi didn’t care whether he could find out the reason from the report.

No one knew the army better than an officer who had been promoted from the bottom. What he wanted to do was to gain an initial understanding of Legrand’s imperial army objectively and without being deceived.

Standing high and removed.

There were too many heavy and vision impairing screens around the King.

Perhaps someone like the old Duke who had survived decades of battle on the battlefield could be more certain of the situation in the army, but Pureland?

Forget it, if three out of the ten sentences he heard were truthful then he should be thankful for the conscience of the nobles and ministers for not whitewashing or exaggerating.

After a while, Zhu Chi came back to himself from having fallen into contemplation.

He looked at the snow outside the window and was silent for a while. He then had the Master of the Households bring the old Duke of Buckingham a brand-new cloak befitting of a Duke.

………………

The old Duke unfolded a scarlet cloak. The cloak was made of soft snow fox skin and was excessively expensive. But this was not what the Duke cared about.

With his thickly callused hands from years on the battlefield, he gently stroked the rose pattern embroidered with gold thread on the cloak. The rose was the symbol of the Legrand royal family.

“My little Pureland.”

The old man sighed softly.

Strictly speaking, he had accepted and held his infant nephew from the hands of the Queen earlier than even his brother William III. At that time, his elder brother was still fighting the rebel parties. It was he who guarded the newborn heir for his brother.

The Duke of Buckingham took off his dark robe and draped the cloak with the Rose Family pattern on him.

He was very happy that he could serve his little King again.

…………

The King’s ministers soon arrived in Mohn.

Obviously, the King’s capricious behavior of sneaking out of the palace this time made these ministers very troubled. But the matter regarding the Duke of Buckingham had them unable to admonish the King. They also joined the task of organizing the war report.

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

But one person alone was summoned by the King.

As soon as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, still covered in dust from the travel, stepped in, he heard the King’s words:

“How long will it take to raise 20,000 pounds?”

His vision went dark and he almost stumbled.

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Three knights stood in front of the King. From their tall and straight backs, it could be seen that they were not like those aristocratic dandies who only wore fine armor and then brag about themselves in front of women. They were real soldiers.

The Duke of Buckingham ordered them to kneel, but the King stopped him.

“If I remember correctly.” The King stroked the spine of the book with fingers paler than that of ordinary people. “You were also among the morning crowd, carrying your swords.”

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

When his words were spoken, not only the knights, but even the Duke of Buckingham seemed a little surprised.

There were more than two hundred people there to witness the execution. The three knights had been among the crowd, and as they were about to draw their swords they were stopped by the Duke. When the King arrived, they were already hidden in the crowd, and none of them had thought that the King would remember them clearly.

“Yes.”

The leading knight replied briefly and coldly.

The Duke was angered by his apparent deliberate confrontation with the King, but the King placed his hand on the old Duke’s hand in a calming manner.

“Act more appropriately to the situation, Mr.”

“……Yes, Your Majesty.”

The knight reluctantly added the honorific title.

“Go ahead, tell me what you plan to do.”

It was impossible to distinguish the King’s emotions at the moment, whether from his expression or from his tone of voice. Just as he could praise Earl Walter’s courage in one moment and then swing a ruthless whip at him in the next, he had always been capricious and volatile. He would seem gentle and calm in one moment, but then in the next moment he would erupt into a terrifying rage.

“We intended to assassinate you in four days.”

After they started, it became easier to explain the rest of the matter.

The leading knight came from an aristocratic family from the north, Viscount Moore. He was once exiled because his elder brother angered the Holy Church. It was the old Duke of Buckingham who discovered his military talents and helped him restore his title and reputation. Since then, he had remained loyal to the Duke.

The King was not surprised that they wanted to avenge the Duke and assassinate him.

After the Duke of Buckingham was thrown into prison by the King, they wanted to break him out of the prison. But they have followed the Duke for many years, and knew of the Duke’s loyalty to the King——he would rather die in prison than let his nephew face the ridicule “look, even his uncle conspired against him.”

They were determined to make the King pay the price for his cruelty after the Duke was executed.

The time was set for September 21, the day when Bressi and Legrand would be holding negotiations over the battle not long ago. The King would leave the palace and personally arrive in the city of Truu near the border.

They were also in the negotiating team as the knights who had taken part in the battle with Bressi. At that time, they had the opportunity to get close to the King and complete the assassination.

For this reason, they have even prepared weapons.

“What weapon?”

The King was indifferent to the reasons behind the assassination attempt. He tilted his head and looked at the knights in front of him, as if he was more interested in how they planned to kill him.

Moore, who was able to fearlessly confess his treason in front of the King, suddenly paused. With a guilty conscience, he looked at the Duke of Buckingham who was sitting on the side.

“Speak.”

The lines on the Duke’s face became hard, as if he was wearing an iron mask. This was the prelude to his impending rage. On the battlefield, this was exactly what he looked like as he charged into the enemy’s formation and cut them all down.

Moore gritted his teeth, his face showing shame, and remained silent.

The King patted his uncle’s hand: “I want to ask them a few questions privately.”

After a pause, he turned his head a little uncomfortably and added: “……my dear uncle.”

Since he was officially crowned, he had rarely called his uncle so affectionately. Hearing this, the Duke of Buckingham’s anger dissipated. Although he still looked harsh and stern, his blue eyes clearly shone with moisture: “If this is your will.”

He stood up, gave the three knights a warning look, and then left.

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 )

Only Zhu Chi and the three knights remained in the room.

“Go ahead.”

The figure of the Duke disappeared at the door, and the King withdrew his eyes.

“Are you not worried about us taking the opportunity to commit murder?”

“If you dare.” The King replied indifferently as he leaned on the back of the burgundy velvet chair, the diamond pin on his shoulder shining brilliantly, “I am sitting right here.”

Moore was silent for a while, then took the lead and slowly knelt down on one knee. He took something concealed in his clothes and offered it with both hands. Seeing such a thing, the King knew why he was unwilling to take it out in front of the Duke.

It was an exquisitely crafted crossbow.

Moreover, the tip of the arrow that accompanied the crossbow had been dipped in poison.

It was not difficult to imagine that as a knight who had pledged to the King with his soul and life, the Duke of Buckingham would be furious when he sees his subordinates actually use this “cursed object” against the King. This meant that his subordinates not only violated the knight’s chivalry he believed in, but also viciously hoped that the soul of the King would go to hell after his death.

This was one of the reasons the Holy Church gave for why they prohibited the use of crossbows.

They claimed that this cursed object was the weapon of the devil, and the souls of those killed by it would be taken away by the devil to be tortured by hellfire from then on.

In this era, such an end would undoubtedly be daunting.

“The soul will be taken away by the devil? Dragged to hell?”

Moore lowered his head and heard the King laugh lowly. He was completely bewildered by this mercurial monarch, not knowing what the other meant.

“What kind of poison?”

The King raised the crossbow and held it up against the fire from the fireplace. This crossbow used for assassination was much more compact than the one he had found urgently before, and it was indeed very suitable for assassination from a very short distance.

“Nightshade.”

“Vengeance? Not bad, it’s very romantic,” said the King.

Zhu Chi lowered his eyes and looked at the crossbow in his hand.

His words seemed to be praises, but his face looked cold under the fire of the fireplace. The toxin of the nightshade could take the life of a war horse in a very short time. Since the Duke of Buckingham’s subordinates prepared such a method to deal with him, and if they succeed, he would definitely end in death, and not just blinded.

In other words, they were not the assassins who really made the King lose his eyes.

The trail ended here.

Zhu Chi raised his hand and pulled the trigger.

Moore heard the slight sound of the crossbow trigger. He closed his eyes subconsciously, ready to welcome his death——when he stepped into this room, he no longer had any hope of whether he could get out alive.

The sound of a sharp arrow whistling through the air could be heard.

Moore could feel the cold wind almost against his scalp.

After a moment of silence, he opened his eyes.

The King was playing with the crossbow, and the arrow on it was no longer there. Moore turned his head and with his excellent vision he could see that the arrow had deeply penetrated the fresco behind him. It was a picture of a banquet, and the poisoned arrow had plunged directly into the throat of a knight in the painting.

Moore’s throat moved slightly, and he raised his head to meet the King’s eyes.

When facing those icy blue eyes, Moore realized that the King was indeed the nephew of the Duke, their gazes were exactly the same.

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

“You are the last person in the world who should kill the Lord Duke.” Moore could not help but say, “He spent a lifetime of effort for you and for the Legrand Empire.”

“These are not your own words.”

Suddenly, the King grasped onto something in his statement, and his eyes became piercing like daggers.

“Who told you this?”

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Zhu Chi was flipping through the collection of books that recorded the history of the Legrand Empire.

In fact, the Mohn Castle he was now in was also his “burial place” to some extent.

The gift that the devil gave him was knowledge of the fate line of Pureland I. If according to the original trajectory, on the seventh day after the execution of the Duke of Buckingham, the King would encounter an assassination. In this assassination, the King would lose his eyes.

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

The blind was not qualified to govern a kingdom.

Three months later, a coup d’etat occurred in the royal city. The citizens who were dissatisfied with the rule of the tyrant used this as a reason to drive the King from the throne. Four months later, in accordance with the will of the Holy See, the great nobles tried Pureland in a public trial, and he was hanged in front of Mohn Tower——in the same place his uncle was executed.

This line of fate seemed very useful.

According to normal logic, if you knew what would happen in the future, you could naturally avoid it.

But Zhu Chi had not forgotten that this was a gift from the devil.

Just as it was not stated in the line of fate that Pureland’s order to cancel the death penalty was intercepted, many things were deliberately obscured such as: what was the identity of the assassin? Who instigated it?……All key information had been hidden or even deliberately misrepresented.

——This was a typical “devil’s gift”.

If Zhu Chi really depended on this line of fate, then he was the number one fool.

The crisis had not yet passed. After saving the Duke of Buckingham, he must immediately figure out——who his enemy was and where did the assassination a few days later will come from?

“Your Majesty, the Lord Duke……”

The Master of the Households spoke up hesitantly.

When they had rushed to Mohn from the palace, the Master of the Households thought it was just another arbitrary act by the King. But when they arrived at the castle and saw the high guillotine platform, the soul of the Master of Households was nearly frightened away. Had it not been for the King coming all this way, they would now be holding a funeral for the Duke of Buckingham.

——It turned out that His Majesty had expected that someone would dare to intercept the King’s orders.

The Master of the Households couldn’t help but give rise to a little hope, feeling that His Majesty was not completely messimg around. But right now, the King’s utterly decisive “No” made him realize that the King was as unreasonable as ever.

Zhu Chi did not want to see the Duke of Buckingham.

Firstly, though it was true that he stopped the execution, but it was true that Pureland ordered the execution of his uncle. The relationship between uncle and nephew was actually very awkward. Secondly, Zhu Chi had not yet figured out how to face his uncle who was the closest to him, especially when the other was indeed very loyal to “him”.

It was not that Zhu Chi had never had relatives, but most of those “relatives” only looked forward to his early death.

That he would make a deal with the devil, they also have a share of the credit——the more they wanted him to die, the more he must stay alive.

The Master of the Households had on a bitter face as he stood to the side.

“Mr. Master of the Households, are you deaf?”

Zhu Chi raised his head, his unsmiling ice-blue eyes looked at Mr. Master of the Households standing at the door.

“Do I need to say it again?”

“No……no need……” The Master of the Households looked even more bitter, looking like he was stuck in a dilemma.

“Don’t make things difficult for your poor Master of Households anymore.”

A deep voice edged with a bit of the unyielding pertinacity that had been battle-tested suddenly sounded in the room. The Duke of Buckingham had at one point appeared behind the Master of Households. He was still wearing the dark robe from the morning execution, and his snow pale hair hung down to his shoulders. As an old man, his blue eyes appeared too clear and sharp.

It was not difficult to understand why Pureland rejected his only uncle so much. He simply looked too harsh and strict.

Zhu Chi closed the book and looked at the older man standing at the door.

The Master of the Households, who found himself in the crossfire between the two, had a pale face and cold sweat began to bead on his forehead.

“Your Majesty.”

The Duke of Buckingham did not look away.

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 )

Zhu Chi waved his hand to let the Master of the Households retreat, which was basically a sign that he had finally acquiesced to the Duke of Buckingham having an audience with him.

The Duke walked into the room that was warm from the fireplace. He sat down a little further away to avoid bringing the cold air that had yet to disperse from his clothes to the King.

Zhu Chi noticed that the Duke of Buckingham’s complexion was not very good.

After all, he was already advanced in years, and on top of that he was detained in the infamous Mohn Tower for an entire month. And in that time, Pureland had never once visited him. Whether as a King or as a nephew, this was too heartless.

“Walter has left Mohn?”

Zhu Chi lowered his head and opened a book, not looking at the old Duke.

“Earl Walter is the nephew of Archbishop Chestermin, and the cardinal had already tried to persuade the Pope to excommunicate you from the Holy Church last month.” The Duke of Buckingham replied, “It is not a wise thing to anger the Pope.”

“Excellent.” Zhu Chi said, “It just happens to give me the perfect excuse to be able to confiscate the clergy’s property and land to collect a ransom of 20,000 pounds.”

The Duke became silent.

Zhu Chi finally looked up at him. The fire from the fireplace shone on his face, and with the mention of his captive son, the old man appeared even older.

“Your Majesty, I can guarantee that Johan is absolutely loyal to you.”

The old Duke replied.

Zhu Chi closed the heavy book with a bang.

The old Duke watched him silently with the eyes of not only a courtier watching his King, but of an old man watching the younger generation.

He suddenly became irritable.

“What about you?”

In an icy tone, he asked in a sharp voice.

“Are you loyal to me?”

“Yes.”

The old Duke stood up, knelt down on one knee in front of the young King, and performed a knightly oath of allegiance.

“I will always be loyal to you.”

The fire in the fireplace crackled, and the cold air of mid-winter mixed with the heated warmth of the fire. Zhu Chi’s hand pressing on the page of a book pressed down harder.

The old Duke stood up and leaned over to embrace his nephew who was sitting stiff in the chair. He gave the young King a blessed kiss that should have been given by his father.

“I apologize.”

Zhu Chi said softly, apologizing for Pureland who received much care and love but didn’t know how to cherish it.

“The King will bless you.”

The old Duke whispered. The King he spoke of was Pureland’s father, William III, who had died young.

Zhu Chi opened his arms hesitantly and embraced the old man.

………………

Neither Zhu Chi nor the Duke of Buckingham were accustomed to expressing their feelings. The embrace that symbolized reconciliation soon ended, and the two deliberately did not recall the tender scene from just now.

The old Duke did not forget his purpose of coming to meet the King.

“I am here to plead with you.”

“For Johan?”

“No, for my arrogant subordinates.” The old Duke sighed, “They planned a treacherous assassination attempt, which was supposed to be carried out in a few days. I ask you to punish them severely.”

Zhu Chi looked at the Duke of Buckingham.

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

“Would you be willing to see them?”

Zhu Chi rubbed the back of the book, he seemed to have found the general sequence of events behind the assassination that had resulted in Pureland losing his eyes. He nodded slightly.

The old Duke clapped his hands and sternly commanded: “Get in here.”

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