When Richard walked down the stairs and entered the lobby on the first floor, all the guards were still guarding the entrances and exits, extremely vigilant and nervous, lest people from outside suddenly attack. After all, they were only about twenty people, so it was difficult to resist an attack from more than ten times the number of enemies.
They have no idea what happened in the bedroom just now, let alone why the current situation occurred. They just receive a meager salary and maintain something unknown with their lives.
When a guard soldier saw Richard appearing, he quickly stepped forward and said in a low voice: "Your Highness, the people outside are probably really ill-intentioned. There are many archers aiming at the palace door. Your Highness, you... You must not appear in their sight, otherwise you will be in danger... Um, by the way, where is Captain Edward?"
At the end of the sentence, the guard soldier asked in confusion.
Richard looked at the other party, his eyes flashed and said: "Your captain has betrayed me and was killed by me."
"This!" The guard's eyes widened instantly, "This..."
"By the way, even your captain betrayed me for the benefit of the family. In fact..." Richard said softly, "Those of you who are my subordinates don't need to protect me anymore. It's unnecessary and meaningless. Let's all disperse." .”
"I..." The guard soldier opened his mouth wide, not knowing what to say, but in the end he gritted his teeth and said, "No... I will always protect His Highness the Prince, unless I die."
"Huh? Why? Is it worth it?" Richard asked.
The guard soldier was at a loss for words. He was not a nobleman, but a farmer's son. He was illiterate and couldn't make any sense. He gasped and said, "I... I don't know either, but I... understand that now that I'm lost, It's wrong to betray the prince. I... I don't know why Captain Edward betrayed His Highness the Prince, but I... I will never betray His Highness the Prince, even... even if it means death... "
"Bill." Richard said.
The guard soldier was shocked, a little surprised and even a little surprised. In fact, he had never spoken to Richard before today, and he did not expect that Richard could call him by his name accurately, so he responded quickly.
"exist!"
"I'll give you a mission." Richard said calmly.
"Yes, Your Highness, I will definitely finish it." The guard soldier beat his chest with his right fist, knelt down on one knee, and said.
"You are now the captain of the personal guard. In the kitchen of the palace, there is a tunnel that leads directly to the outside of the city. Although it is a little low, it can pass people. After a while, you will take all the people of the personal guard and leave along the tunnel. No need. Busy saying no, I know you are more loyal than Edward.
But... the highest loyalty is not to die for it, but to live hard for it. A sacrifice in vain is meaningless. If you're really loyal enough, escape and survive. Maybe many years later, maybe I will find you again and let you do things. I hope you won't forget me at that time. "
"I..." The soldier named Bill looked at Richard with wide eyes, "Then... then, Your Highness, won't you go together?"
"It's more difficult to walk through the tunnel. I prefer to go through the main entrance. Of course, don't worry about me, I have my own arrangements. Besides, I also want to talk to someone." Richard said, patting and kissing He turned around and walked towards the outside of the palace, his eyes becoming sharp.
…
Outside the palace, there were many spears and swords drawn, and there was a tense atmosphere.
However, when many soldiers saw Richard coming out, they were slightly startled and showed doubtful expressions. Because this seems to be somewhat inconsistent with the orders they received.
Richard saw this in his eyes and said: "William, come out. If you don't come forward, your group of people will not dare to take action. After all... I guess... you will never let them kill the 'prince', right?" To kill 'the captain of the personal guard who betrayed the prince'?"
"Crash", the crowd parted to both sides, and the new King, William, came out wearing an extremely gorgeous robe, golden in color, with many colorful patterns on the surface, and inlaid with gems of different sizes.
At this time, William's expression was calm but intimidating. After walking out, he looked at Richard for a moment and suddenly smiled.
"My dear brother, you actually came out alive. So... Edward, he betrayed again? Not only betrayed you, but now he betrayed me? Tsk, I'm a little surprised, how did you convince him. William narrowed his eyes and said.
"It's simple, I'll kill him." Richard said calmly.
William's eyes narrowed slightly, but his expression remained calm: "So, you knew in advance that he had betrayed? So, you were on guard against him, and then let the other guards kill him? That's not true. It's reasonable, after all... Based on his swordsmanship, I'm afraid he really can't beat an ordinary guard soldier. But I do admire your acumen and your intelligence!"
"But then again, no matter how smart you are, you never thought that this day would happen, right, my dear brother?" William's tone changed slightly.
"Actually, I've thought of it a long time ago." Richard still looked calm.
"No! Yes! It can!" William glared and denied word by word.
"Heh." Richard said, "Do I still need to explain it to you? In fact, I know a lot more things than you think. For example, I know what you spread about the rumor three years ago. Let your respected father, the former King Donners, doubt me and make a voodoo doll to curse him.
Oh, the massacre in the entire palace, almost everyone from top to bottom was killed. Hundreds of lives, blood stained the square in front of the palace... and then six months of my imprisonment, ha...
I think at that time, you must be very proud and relieved, thinking that I will no longer be qualified to compete with you. Even if I argue with you, my dear father, His Majesty King Downers, will still have a grudge against me and will not be able to let go. But the thing is, I never wanted to argue with you from the beginning. I said, I have very important things to do. But what happened three years ago solidified my idea of leaving.
To be honest, if in the current world, I was not a prince, but the successor of a minor noble, maybe the situation would be better. The position of the prince is a bit high. Many people are watching and there are many responsibilities imposed on him. I don't like these responsibilities. In order to better do what I want to do, leaving is the best choice. I will leave the palace, leave the Blue Lion City, and leave the entire Blue Lion Kingdom. "
William stopped talking and looked at Richard with a strange expression: "You..."
After a while, he took a deep breath and said solemnly: "Even if you say so, I won't let you leave."