Ambalo waited in the queen's palace with a full stomach full of thoughts that he couldn't even explain clearly.
This is the first time he has entered the Summer Palace known as the "Hall of Glory". He doesn't know what the Summer Palace looked like before, but there is no doubt that the Summer Palace he saw has been deeply marked with the Queen's personal imprint. The monarch's sword hung high on the wall, the hanging silk satin was embroidered with golden roses, and the crystal candelabra printed the marble floor as brilliantly as a mirror, and he could see his dazed face when he looked down.
It has been two weeks since the end of the battle in the Sea of Heaven, and the Queen did not stay at sea, but hurried back to the capital of the empire.
In that battle, nearly 100,000 people witnessed with their own eyes that at the moment the queen won, the meteor turned into three fireballs, like three suns hanging high in the sky above the queen's head. The high hanging of the three suns announced the unstoppable rise of a young and powerful ruler on the horizon.
She is radiant, neither her identity as a woman nor her religious advocacy can cover her brilliance.
Adele Roland... the person Heinrich loves, the person Heinrich thinks of when he gazes at the rose... Ambalo thought more than once that he could keep his half-brother silently guarding What kind of person is he? What kind of person can make him no longer calm, no longer cautious, and draws his sword to stab his father
When the secret door of the palace swiveled open, the Queen walked in alone, and the light from the candlestick was printed on her cold and thin side face.
Ambalo's breathing stopped suddenly—he just felt as if... as if seeing another Heinrich, their faces bear no resemblance. But when he saw her for the first time, he couldn't help thinking of his elder brother, thinking of that year, the quiet and handsome boy was wearing a shirt with silver embroidered double-headed snakes on the sleeves and neckline, walking on the promenade under the sun the side that is on. The light and shadow of the world split into two, and finally overlapped in her and his pupils.
The queen and Heinrich, they have a certain aura that makes people feel scared.
The queen who wears the crown and holds power, and Heinrich who wears the snake pattern and leads the family, they are all so quiet and powerful, even if they are tired and scarred, they will make people feel that they are indestructible.
Seeing any of them, Ambalo can't help but think of water.
Think of the water flowing through the darkness and heading for the light.
Ambalo's fingers were cold. He didn't know if other people had noticed that their figures would always overlap inadvertently. He just never realized more clearly than this moment that Heinrich fell in love with her, as if The field is doomed.
He froze for so long that he realized his faux pas in a panic when the Queen stopped in front of her. He hurriedly knelt down and kissed the corner of her robe—the trial of the Heinrich family has not yet been handed down, even if he has contributed to the quelling of the coup, he is now a member of the "traitor" and can only kneel when he meets the queen lowered his head.
The queen didn't care about his rudeness, she lowered her eyes and looked at the face carefully, and found many familiar places on it.
"Ambaro Heinrich?" she said slowly. "I've heard of you, Otto's brother."
Ambalo looked up in astonishment, the Queen shouldn't know that he is the illegitimate son of old Heinrich... unless Heinrich mentioned it to her. But in the past so many years, the relationship between him and Heinrich has been cold and distant, as if they were two strangers in the world, why did Heinrich mention it to the queen.
"Someone said," the queen paused imperceptibly, "you are good at riding and fencing, and you will be an excellent heir to the family."
Ambalo opened his mouth. He felt that he wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say.
Things from the past are intertwined, and the last piece of the puzzle is finally closed.
It was not long after Heinrich had a dispute with his father, and the family hadn't completely given up on Adele Roland, even though Edward had once again announced the abolition of Adele's princess status at that time. But it may be due to Edward himself. No matter how many lovers he has, he cannot have an heir, so the family has been watching.
Until the queen was finally pregnant, Edward was ecstatic, and Adele, a choice that was always indirectly remembered and then forgotten, was completely abandoned, and he announced the deprivation of Adele's royal surname. Now, she is not even as good as the humblest nobleman.
Ambalo didn't know what happened in the middle.
But he knew his father, the dry and cold old man.
Father would never allow the proud heir to waste his future on a former princess who had nothing.
Compared with Otto, their father is the real representative of the two-headed snake, the real Heinrich. After hearing that the princess was deprived of the "Roland" surname, Ambalo thought of the quarrel between his brother and his father that day, and guessed whether the young princess would be poison or an assassin.
As he thought so, he pushed open the door of his father's study room, and the smell of blood came to his nostrils.
Everyone in the room raised their heads together, and Ambalo froze on the spot.
The old father sat on a large high-backed chair, pressing his ribs firmly with one hand, and the dark toga became darker and more terrifying there. His elder brother stood there blankly, seemingly unaware of what he had done, holding the sword with two snakes intertwined in his hand, blood dripping down the tip of the sword onto the carpet.
With great horror he lost his voice.
He doesn't even know what to do with himself.
His father's calm and cold eyes nailed him to the spot, and the warning inside froze all his blood. Father scolded in a low voice: "Shut up, get out."
The door of the room was closed tightly, and he returned to the room with a blank mind, not knowing what happened behind him.
Soon, the castle became noisy, and everyone got the news that Old Heinrich had been assassinated, and Master Otto just arrived, but it was still irreversible. The old Patriarch was seriously injured... Anbalo listened to the news with a bit of astonishment and a bit of expectation, and found that all traces of suspicion had been cleaned up by his father.
If the other half of the blood flowing on his body did not come from his father, he would probably be included in the scope of the cleanup.
How much does his father love his elder brother whom everyone praises? Even if Otto drew his sword and stabbed him, he would try his best to clean up all traces and clear all obstacles for him. As for him, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get any approval in his father's eyes.
What Otto didn't want, he couldn't touch it with all his might.
How he had envied Otto then.
Ambalo stood there blankly. After so many years, he was caught off guard that at the very beginning, someone really affirmed the inferior boy who tried his best to win recognition.
Great irony and great sorrow are intertwined.
"In June, the Heinrich family decided to pass a resolution on murder or imprisonment?" the Queen asked lightly.
Ambalo bowed his head deeply, his voice dry: "It's... murder."
He dared not look at the queen's expression.
"What were you thinking when I came in?" The Queen followed up with a question he hadn't thought of.
"You are very similar."
Ambalo blurted out, then knelt down on the ground in fear.
There was a moment of silence that made people shudder, the queen had no other expressions on her face, her long eyebrows were like knives. Her eyes fell on the familiar sword on his waist.
The double-headed snake bit the cross and was firmly crucified by the cross at the same time.
…………………………
Everyone in the day palace felt a heavy and stagnant atmosphere.
The queen's mentor, Otto Heinrich, was imprisoned in Wyhall Prison, along with several other Heinrichs and East Berkeley nobles. The day of the trial was getting closer, and in the calm, people kept contacting the court maids and servants, trying to guess from the Queen's every subtle reaction, her attitude towards these people... towards one of them.
I don't know how many people complained sincerely, why didn't Otto Heinrich just die in the naval battle, and why did he bring them such a big trouble.
But this kind of thinking is just a thought. After all, Heinrich is just like other traitors who failed the coup d'etat. As long as they don't die directly under the guns, they will always be rescued and wait for trial.
What is unpredictable is that after the queen returned to the day palace, everything was as usual.
Dealing with government affairs and convening an imperial meeting, the officials carefully considered matters related to Heinrich, but the queen was very calm and there was no difference before.
It was as if it was not her former mentor but a stranger who was imprisoned in Whitehall Prison.
None of them knew what the Queen was thinking.
Abigail didn't know what her friend was thinking, and neither could she understand what Heinrich was thinking.
She walked slowly along the promenade of the palace, thinking that the six Calais regattas were clearly rebuilt with funds provided by Heinrich. Since he knew that there were six floating forts in the reserve fleet, why did he wait? In the fleet of traitors
Abigail didn't like Heinrich, but this time she was very clear that the charge of "treason" had nothing to do with Heinrich.
In this world, how could a traitor arrange for himself a path of death
Abigail turned her head to look at the courtyard outside the corridor.
On the day of the naval battle, people all looked up and worshiped the three suns in the sky, but the Queen stood at the bow of the ship facing Heinrich far away. When he fell into the sea, Abigail clearly saw the queen take a step forward subconsciously, and although she stopped quickly, the subconscious reaction at that moment did exist.
Mrs. Kelly passed by with her maid, and Abigail called to her.
"Kelly, His Majesty's swordsmanship... was taught by Heinrich?"
Mrs. Kelly stopped and turned to look at her for a moment.
Finally, Mrs. Kelly nodded slightly.
Abigail couldn't figure out some things more and more.
Heinrich is a poisonous snake, but what he taught the queen was the swordsmanship that belonged to knights and monarchs.
—If he is really a vicious and cunning Heinrich, a two-headed snake with interests above all else, can he really teach a just and benevolent monarch like Adele
"Abigail." Mrs. Kelly said in a low voice, "don't mention these things to her."
Abigail nodded silently.
She couldn't understand the circles of nobles and royal families. Pirates at sea always love is love, hate is hate, life or death is straightforward and clear. But at this moment she vaguely understood something...
No matter how notorious Heinrich is, there are indeed too many pasts between him and the queen, so much that they avoid each other.
Those past grievances, joys, angers, sorrows and joys belonged only to her and him. It was too light to talk about love or hate. They were so thick that it seemed that the breath blended together, and the fate overlapped.
Others have no right to comment.
… … … … … … …
Whitehall Prison is cold and dark.
Only nobles who have committed serious crimes will be imprisoned here, and what awaits them is either the death penalty or exile. It is a tall tower standing on the White River, and the tower is cold and windy. People locked here are either crazy or desperate.
Only one person was calm and out of place.
Leaning against the rough and cold rock, Heinrich looked down at the book he was allowed to bring in silently. He no longer wore the thick black robe with the double-headed snake embroidered with gold or silver thread, and suddenly became incredibly thin. Neither embarrassing nor arrogant, being imprisoned here doesn't seem like a shame to him, but... a relief.
The prison guard looked at this once powerful man, and felt that he didn't look like the legendary head of the two-headed snake, but more like a pale and weird university professor walking in the old paper.
Heinrich turned a page of the book, the sunlight shone through a narrow window, and a sentence just fell on the page:
"How should we torture our souls?"
His movements stopped.
He raised his eyes and stared at the beam of sunlight. The golden powder flying in the sunlight reminded him of the conversation in Reef City back then. The young princess was wearing a pure white linen gauze dress, looked down at him, and asked him what kind of choice, what is the most important... Many times, we will clearly know what is justice and what is humanity, but What we do is often the opposite...
The sound seemed hollow and pale as it had passed through a long time.
Heinrich leaned back on the rough stone, and smiled wryly for a long time.
What he didn't understand the most in his life was how to make a choice.
The sword stabbing at the father, the last words, the princess drifting away in the morning sea fog... People always want you to be loyal, loyal to the family, loyal to the monarch, loyal to love, so many responsibilities and trusts, no one I said how you should choose, leaving you in place, unable to advance or retreat.
But no matter what choice you make, only bitter fruit will be left in the end.
Heinrich raised his hand and touched the cold rocks of the cell bit by bit, wanting to cross life and death and time, to overlap with another person's fingertips, wanting to feel the pain left behind when she touched these rocks. temperature. He moves slowly, knowing every rough undulation like he's done it countless times before.
Countless touches, countless searches, looking for her remaining warmth.
Then relying on that little temperature, let the snake survive the harshest winter.
His thoughts were ups and downs, for a while he saw a group of crows flying into the sky, and for a while he saw the white mist by the sea.
He heard footsteps and turned his head away.
The door opened and the Queen walked in.
That ray of sunlight passed over her face, Heinrich stared at her for a long time, Adele by the sea, Adele wearing a crown, Adele under the torch... On that face he looked Seeing countless overlapping shadows, he couldn't tell where he was for a while.
The queen did not speak.
The prison guard lit the torch next to the cell, and then retreated quietly.
"You shouldn't have let me be saved," said Heinrich, in a steady voice, as he whispered those esoteric and obscure tomes to the queen at the window of Reef City long ago, "the empire and you have risen as the sun From now on, you are a monarch, you should learn to be ruthless and ruthless."
"Then why did you save me?" The queen interrupted him coldly, "If you can't do it yourself, don't use it to teach others."
Heinrich fell silent.
after a long time.
"I didn't save you, I couldn't save you," he smiled self-deprecatingly, leaning against the wall, looking down at his hands, "I can't do anything."
All promises, all hopes, all hopes.
He couldn't do it.
He does nothing and is useless.