"Brando, do you remember that when we just returned to Tonigel, I asked you to keep our whereabouts secret and not to disclose things to the public?" In the smoky room, Veronica opened first. mouth. Brando nodded, there is indeed something wrong, so Princess Griffith will have to wait until Freya arrives in Valentenburg to learn about their well-being. The injured Nimesis and his party include The wounded of the Knights of Folding Swords were also placed in Schafflund. Sisters Kouhua went to Valhalla, and the activities of a few of them were mostly limited to the castle. There were also meetings with the servants in the castle and Shire’s apprentices, but in fact, these people generally would not leave the castle except for the festival celebrations. Antitina even issued strict orders, at least until the harvest festival. No news will be leaked.
On the princess's side, even though this is unkind for a sister who cares about the safety of her younger brother, Veronica looked very solemn when she warned him, so he reluctantly agreed. He looked at the anxious look on Veronica's face, and was slightly taken aback, wondering if he had leaked the news
The problem could only lie with the Shepherd’s Inn, but the owner of the inn was a veteran of the Red Bronze Dragon, a veteran who had experienced the November War, and his background was absolutely reliable, and he was unlikely to be bought off. Either the young people of the Knights of Folding Swords were seen by someone who was interested, but the chances are too small. Today Gris is a trading port, and a large part of the merchants traveling north and south are Cruz people. A few young people People are so inconspicuous here, not to mention they are not wearing military uniforms.
Brando thought about it, and finally decided to wait for Veronica to speak.
Antitina stood behind him without interjecting, her eyelashes drooped, and the dark eyes that concealed her were flashing inconspicuous light, and she was also thinking about something. The smoke ring was rising in the house, forming a mountain or monster shape. Marshal Mangrove was smoking his pipe one by one. He pressed his thigh with one hand, put on a coat, and stared at the sheepskin map on the dwarf table without raising his head, as if there was some treasure buried on it.
Veronica smiled bitterly, and she continued, "Do you want to know the reason?"
Brando shook his head: "I'm not very used to inquiring into other people's secrets, but I know this is necessary for you, and it's just a matter of effort for me, so I'm happy to raise my hand."
"Thank you, Brando." Veronica nodded, looking at him with some appreciation.
At this moment Mangrove knocked his pipe on the short side and finally raised his head. He used the remaining left eye to look up and down Brando, but what is strange is that Brando did not see the usual arrogance of the Cruz people in the deep but very sharp eyeballs. It feels like a general is looking at the soldiers.
"You're fine, Mr. Earl, I didn't shame your grandfather." Mangrove spoke in cruz in an authentic Banker accent. He was born in the northern region of the Wild of Four Realms with the wildness of the northerners of Cruz on his body. However, the burly old soldier also commented on it, as if he raised his head just for such a continual sentence, and then he bit the pipe again, without any further comment.
Brando was almost flattered, knowing that in a year in history, the opponent will become the commander-in-chief of Cruz’s armies, succeeding his grandfather as the marshal of the coalition forces. His power in the empire can be said to be only under the queen. The Supreme One in the Temple of Flames was not even on the same level with him.
"Brando, in fact, we want Lenaret to remain in your territory and not to announce this news to the public." Veronica hesitated over and over, and finally said with some difficulty: "I mean, you It’s better to let the outside world think that he is dead, do you know what I mean?"
Brando was stunned.
Palace struggle. This word seemed to come to his mind naturally. A series of plots of conspiracy and disputes had been previewed in his mind several times in an instant. The first thing he thought of was that other heirs in the empire might be eager to move after the big bang. In the eyes of outsiders, it is unlikely that anyone can survive such an explosion, but in this case, shouldn't it be announced that the eldest son is still alive? What is Veronica's plan
Could it be that the military supported someone else, and therefore wanted to imprison the eldest son of the Cruz people in Tonigel forever? This idea was too dangerous. Brando was frightened in a cold sweat, but Lenaret's expression didn't seem to be the case to him. If so, the eldest son of the emperor might have been put under house arrest at this moment.
He looked at the female captain suspiciously.
Veronica and Mangrove exchanged glances. The former looked very embarrassed, but the latter took off the pipe, spit out a smoke ring, and nodded firmly at her.
"We suspect that Her Majesty the Queen wants to kill his eldest son." The female army captain finally said.
"What!" Brando and Antitina called out in unison.
The two looked at each other, as if both saw the shock in each other's eyes.
Antitina was in disbelief in her eyes, she instinctively suspected that this was a conspiracy, and she almost stood still on the spot. But Brando himself was much more calm. He took a slight breath and forced himself to calm down and asked, "Why?"
Brando’s calmness asked Veronica to take another look. She replied: "Sit down first, and I will tell you the ins and outs of this slowly." Brando nodded and led Antitina to Sit down across from the sofa. Mangrove was still smoking a pipe, and Veronica brewed for a while before continuing to talk about the beginning and the passage of the whole thing. "This matter should start from the political environment of the empire. Our situation is different from your Eruin. During this millennium, the main problem facing the empire has always been the dispute between imperial power and religious power." She said, her voice. She didn't rush, she looked very gentle; behind a layer of smoke, her eyes shone with a faint emerald luster, her fingers interlaced and placed flat on her chest, but some of the facts mentioned in her mouth actually didn't sound that so to Brando. mystery.
The Cruz people were founded by Gilt, the King of Flame, just like the prince Eke was to Eruin. Gilt, one of the four sages, also left a belief for the Cruz people. He used this as the doctrine to create the Yan Zhi In the temple, after Gilt's death, there has never been such an outstanding king among the Cruz people. In the history since then, politics and religion have gradually separated, and from that moment, the hidden danger of conflict between religious and royal power has been planted.
In the following thousand years of history, the dispute between religious authority and royal authority has never ceased, but unfortunately most of the leaders of the Temple of Flame are wise men, so the empire has never been divided into a situation because of this struggle. It's just that the royal power and the teaching power have been falling one after another, as if forming a historical law. In this historical tide, the empire has gradually separated several traditional forces. One is the representative of the church’s interests in the secular world. The Cecil family is among the best, and the Williams killed for him was born from this. In the family, it can be said bluntly that most of the cardinals in the Templar Order and the Temple of Flame are from these forces.
The second is the so-called imperial power faction. Although the empire maintains a high degree of centralization, two of the only three grand dominions are the die-hard imperial power factions that maintain a marriage relationship with the royal family. Archduke Kirk has been married to the royal family for generations. Almost all members have half of the Cruz royal blood. They are so closely related to the Cruz royal family that they are almost indifferent to each other. They are the same. Na is from this family.
The third faction is the military force. The Cruz people are martial arts, and the military aristocracy enjoys a very high status. The four commanders of the empire came from three prominent northern aristocratic families. The northern aristocracy is almost synonymous with military aristocracy in Cruz, because it is the most important enemy of the empire-Ha The Zells fought, so there were many outstanding soldiers in the area north of Banker. In fact, most of the backbone generals in the army came from the majors represented by Ashric, Nigel, and Nona in the north. Among the noble families. The military aristocracy prefers imperial power, with the exception of the navy. Most of the imperial navy comes from the affluent areas in the south. These wealthy children generally have gone to church schools and received higher education. They themselves are the most stalwart supporters of the Temple of Flame.
The three factions disputed with each other, and the internal and external affairs could not be better. However, since the death of the devout Lei An about one hundred and fifty years ago, the religious power began to decline. With the help of the reconcentration of power under the crown, it should have been a new cycle afterwards; until the Queen of Silver came to the throne, the queen herself was a relatively rare emperor in the history of the empire—she hated Kirk, who was a mother. The family also lacks trust in the imperial powers, but she also hates the clerical powers. She played power in the court and supported the now prominent Palut family to suppress the other two parties, but in fact she did not play beautifully. , It’s just that Vala, the chief priest of the Temple of Flames, saw the toughness and perseverance in the Queen’s character, and took the initiative to retreat and compromise—but Constantus almost offended almost all the noble forces during his reign. In the end, There was nothing to end in his later years, and soon after Lenaret took the throne, he was forgotten by the world, and it seemed that he did not have a good end.
However, the queen has created a miracle, that is, she has been in power for nearly forty years under the hatred of almost everyone, and during her forty-year ruling period, she has acted arbitrarily and almost destroyed the empire. The center of power became her own speech.
The so-called Jagged Queen, after all, is not a vain name.
"Your Majesty is crazy," Veronica sighed. "She ordered someone to draw a map of the entire continent in her room. She was outspoken more than once in private. Her goal was to unify the entire Vaughan. Cruz was close. The army has been expanding vigorously for ten years. We very much suspect that His Majesty wants to use the opportunity of jihad to initiate a full-scale war."
"Isn't it impossible, do you suspect that she will kill your son because of this?" Brando shook his head, feeling a little strange.
"Of course not. Originally, there are still two or three years left in the ruling period based on your majesty's physical condition, but you must unify Vaughan within two or three years. Brando, how likely do you think this is?"
"So you suspect that she will stay in love, but does her physical condition allow it?" Brando asked suspiciously. In his memory, the Silver Queen indeed abdicated two years later.
"Brando, I mean'Originally', but your Majesty is getting younger day by day, and her health and energy are recovering from the most prosperous era in her life. Your Majesty once had an adventure when she was young, since After that, her appearance was frozen after fifteen, but that only affected her appearance. This time, your Majesty seemed to be rejuvenated from the inside out."
Brando’s first reaction was that it’s impossible. Mortals in the World of Vaughan will prolong their lifespan after they come into contact with the law. It’s common to live like a sage and live for hundreds of years, but he has never heard of it. Someone can rejuvenate. Even if it is the fountain of youth, it just changes the appearance back to the way it was when he was young, and reversing the process of life is already against the most basic law.
Veronica smiled bitterly: "I know you won't believe it, but it's true. Mangrove won't lie to me. Lenaret is also the heir chosen by our military. On this issue, we It's a shared honor and disgrace."
Brando was silent for a moment and said: "So this is the reason why she doesn't want Lenaret to continue to exist in the empire?"
Veronica nodded and said a secret message: "As a compromise exchange in the Temple of Flame, Your Majesty once secretly exchanged an oral agreement with Vala, that is, fifteen years later, the first order in the throne will be passed on. Heir. And fifteen years after the year of praying for fire, there is only one and a half years away from now."
"If this is the case, how can the Temple of Flame be caused by her temperament?"
When the female army commander heard Brando talk about the temple, she couldn't help feeling a little bit. She said: "It's not that simple, Brando. In fact, the reason why Vala chose to give in back then was because of the dragon standing behind your Majesty."
"Dragon?" Brando was startled. He was the first time he heard about the secret. He raised his head and looked at the two. Veronica looked helpless. Mangrove just smoked his pipe one by one until he reached the pipe. The dark red flames in the room gradually dimmed before he put down his pipe, but took out the box of shredded tobacco from his coat, as if he was completely absorbed in his smoking cravings, not caring about the life and death of the empire. The appearance of these two people didn't seem to be lying to him.
Veronica nodded: "We don't know the specific situation, but the dragons do owe her love to her Majesty. It seems to be related to her immortality." She stopped, and continued to answer with some embarrassment: "Although It is a bit offensive to talk about your Majesty’s personal privacy, but I don’t care about it so much at the moment. Brando, in fact, before her Majesty became like this, her temperament was not like this. Her previous personality was gentle and demure, and she was the best in the empire. The beloved princess can even be said to be a star of the royal family. Even the chief priest of the previous generation had blushed her eyes; but since that incident, her temperament has changed drastically. Tough, indifferent, and self-serving, only a few people know the truth about what happened during that time, but one thing is certain, that is, the dragon clan played a major role in it."
"Is this what happened forty years ago?" Brando asked.
"Yes, after that, in order to compensate her, the dragon clan secretly signed an agreement with the empire. The content of the agreement is only known to the emperor of the previous generation, and the existence of this agreement can only be proved by the queen's majesty. The shadow of his Majesty is the eldest daughter of the empire, but in fact, according to Cruz’s tradition, if one of the princes has the ability to inherit the throne, the eldest daughter is not eligible to become the emperor. But the first emperor seems to have acquiesced in the existence of his majesty, this At the time, the matter was said to be small and not big, but it is said that the previous generation of chief priests also experienced this throughout the whole process, so we younger generations can't fault it."
Brando thought for a while, and then asked: "So, could it be that the dragon clan appeared again?"
Veronica showed admiration, and even Mangrove's action of pretending to be tobacco stopped. The one-eyed old soldier stopped and gave him a deep look. Brando knew that he was right again, so he could boldly assume that the Dragon must have put pressure on the Temple of Flames. Moreover, since Her Majesty the Queen has the ability to continue to govern, there is indeed no reason for the Temple to force her. Abdicate, as for the verbal agreement, after all, it was just a verbal agreement.
Just this way.
Linaret did have a reason to die.
Brando's brows gradually frowned. He was thinking about whether this was an event that happened in the original history, or a history that has changed because of his arrival. The Queen of China and Silver abdicated two years later, and this happened in between. What happened? The players at that time hadn't reached the height that could influence the decision of the royal family, so no one should know the inside story, including him, the same.
But there are too many possibilities here. It is possible that the Queen of the time was also so crazy, but was eventually stopped by the Temple of Flame, Veronica and others, and then history was regained, but what if it weren't
Yes, all of this is just hypothetical.
He raised his head, looked at Veronica and asked, "What evidence do you have to prove all this?"
"Prince Razzell disappeared before I left the empire, and his sister was missing with him," Veronica replied quietly, but the facts described were a bit creepy: "Your Majesty is always right. This incident appeared to be rather indifferent, as if indifferent, which aroused Mangrove's vigilance, so he took Lenaret out of the White Rose Garden under the guise of bringing Lenaret out of the garden."
Razzle is the fourth prince of the Cruz Empire. It seems that this happened in history, but he can't remember the final result. This shows that this was a trivial matter at the time. After all, there are conspiracies in the royal family. It is not surprising that one or two heirs occasionally die. As long as the heirs who die are not the first in line, they are generally not too noticeable, let alone just missing. But Brando felt a little strange, and asked suspiciously: "How can your Queen agree, she won't be able to see it?"
Mangrove knocked his pipe and finally said: "Heirs to the throne go out and practice. This is the consistent tradition of the empire. Even the noble and majesty can't stop them without justified reasons."
Veronica also nodded in agreement: "The core of this plan is that as long as Lenaret is not dead, Your Majesty will not accept the verbal agreement openly. As long as she still recognizes the agreement, then Lenaret Even if he is the most orthodox heir to the throne of the empire."