Silver Ring, the residence of the Counts of Narr. (Fifteen days left before the escape)

"Lord Count, the man and woman have met again. ”

Hearing the butler's words, the short and fat middle-aged man raised his head from the desk, put down the pen in his hand, and asked, "Viscount Filson has no suspicions?"

The butler shook his head, his tone full of disdain and disdain: "That fool, convinced that the woman he met was the queen herself, would never have thought that it was just a prostitute!"

The Count touched the top of his head with his hand, and said cautiously, "Be careful in everything! If the idiot who is obsessed with the queen does not accidentally see something, my plan will be completely ruined!"

"Don't worry, sir. We spent a lot of money to buy a female officer and a bodyguard, and every time we saw the viscount, we had them accompany and testify, and we had complete control of the queen's itinerary, and the prostitute who resembled the queen in voice and body, and we spent more than half a month teaching her to imitate the queen's every move, not to mention that the other party was the stupid and arrogant Baron Fillson......"

With this, the butler took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to the Earl: "My lord, this is a love letter from Viscount Filson to the 'Queen' tonight, and the content is roughly the same as what we wanted. ”

The Count took the letter, carefully opened the envelope, and spent a long time reading it carefully, and finally nodded with satisfaction, and asked the butler, "What about the painting?"

"Along with this love letter, he also gave the painting to the 'Queen' tonight. ”

"What about the arrangement in the palace?"

"Everything is in order. ”

"Very well, this plan is half the battle. When the earl said this, he suddenly remembered something, and said to the butler: "After this matter is over, those who know, including the prostitute, you know what to do, right?"

Seeing the bald fat man gently clasp his fingers on the tabletop, the butler swallowed his saliva and nodded heavily.

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Silver Ring City, the palace dormitory. (Eleven days left before the escape)

"Your Majesty, it would be better to apply some herbs to the corners of your eyes. ”

Queen Mary looked at herself in the bronze mirror sadly, and the corners of her eyes and her right collarbone were dazzling with two obvious purple bruises. She gently pushed away the ointment handed by the maid Cathy, and asked in a hoarse voice, "His Majesty has not returned yet?"

Cathy was stunned for a moment and whispered, "Your Majesty and the nobles have gone hunting." ”

"What about the official documents?"

"I heard that it was all lost to the Ministers of State......

The queen closed her eyes and sighed heavily.

When Cathy said this, she first looked at her master's expression, and then said angrily: "If you want me to say, that painting and that letter are obviously someone to blame you!

The queen shook her head: "A clumsy deception, with many flaws, but it hit the king's soft underbelly...... Just give His Majesty some time, and I'm sure he can see the trick inside. ”

After saying this, Mary gently touched the wound on her face with her hand, but there was a dull pain in her heart.

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Silver Ring City, the main gate of the royal palace. (Seven days left before the escape)

"Knight Commander Herman, why hasn't Her Majesty's house arrest been lifted yet?!"

Looking at the maid in front of him who was yelling at herself, Herman shrugged helplessly: "I'm sorry, as knights of the guard, we are just carrying out the king's orders. ”

Before Cathy could say anything more, she was startled by the shouting in front of the square.

Hundreds of residents of Silver Ring City, shouting slogans and holding wooden signs, poured out their anger and dissatisfaction in the direction of the palace.

"Lower taxes!"

"Stop sucking our blood!"

"It's all the queen's fault! she caused us to be so poor!"

"Kill her, she's an evil witch!"

Herman listened to the cries of the people, and his brow furrowed deeper and deeper. The conversation between the two palace guards behind him caught his attention.

"I heard that the queen was told that the people of the Silver Ring Kingdom could not even afford bread, and the queen replied, 'Then why don't they eat the cake?'"

Another person followed suit: "Yes, I've heard about it, too. Some people also say that the queen has been used by the treasury to make clothes, buy jewelry, hold banquets, and build gardens, and the people are circulating the queen's nickname - "Lady Deficit". ”

"It is said that His Majesty is kind and loving, and that he is a good monarch, and that the queen is wicked, murderous, and extravagant, and that the king's reputation has been dragged down by her......"

The more the chief knight Herman heard this, the more annoyed he became, and he threw his sword to the ground and shouted behind him: "What are you still doing in a daze?! Go and stop those people, don't let them storm the palace!"

The man watched his men run to the front to maintain order, and motioned for the maid Cathy to return to the palace first, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw a cavalry galloping from a distance.

The cavalryman, carrying a fire-patent leather cylinder symbolizing the emergency military report on his waist, shouted at the civilians and guards in front of him, and rode directly into the palace.

Herman looked at the insignia on the horseman's chest, symbolizing the "Eastern Legion", and fell into deep thought.

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Silver Ring City, Guards Barracks, late at night. (The day before the day of escape)

Herman lay on his bed, looking out the window at the cold moonlight, thinking about what had happened in the past few days.

The situation in the kingdom is getting worse and worse.

The anger of the people is getting worse day by day, and the number of people participating in anti-tax rallies has exceeded 3,000 each time in the past few days. People took to the streets, there were several large-scale clashes with the army, and incidents of death and wounding were heard every day.

Compared with the civil strife, a recent news circulating in the barracks made him even more worried. To the east of the Silver Ring Kingdom, the army of the Holy Acropolis has approached the border, and the war between the two countries may break out again after six years.

And Her Majesty the Queen......

In Herman's mind, the beautiful and strong figure came to mind. Half a month ago, with the "painting incident" as the fuse, the queen's reputation plummeted, coupled with the charges of squandering the treasury, bewitching the king, and Princess Shengwei, she was completely thrown into the forefront of public opinion.

Herman sat up from the bed and rubbed his forehead with a headache, he wanted to sort out the mess, but he didn't know where to put it together.

"Sir, are you asleep?"

A sentry's voice came from the door, interrupting Herman's train of thought, "What's the matter?"

"There was a woman who claimed to be from the palace and said she must see you. ”

Herman's eyes widened and he stood up: "I'll come now." ”

Five minutes later, at the gate of the barracks, the chief knight saw the weeping maid Cathy, and pulled the latter to a hidden corner, Herman eagerly asked, "What happened?!"

From the maid's staccato words, the knight finally knew what had happened.

Half an hour ago, the presiding judge of the Silver Ring Court led a team of soldiers to seal off the dormitory, took out an arrest warrant signed by the king, and read out in public Queen Mary's 11 counts, including corruption, demagoguery, unfistity, treason, and financing the enemy.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the maid Cathy sneaked out while everyone was unprepared. Desperate, she had no choice but to go to the Guards camp and turn to Knight Captain Hermann for help.

"What?!!, why didn't anyone tell me about this in advance......" Herman paused, suddenly remembering that just yesterday he had been transferred from the palace to the barracks. Thinking about it this way, the arrest of the queen tonight must have been premeditated.

As the chief knight of the Guard, Herman knew best what kind of person Queen Mary was, and he didn't believe in these charges at all. Thinking of everything that happened in the past few days, he has gradually understood the truth of the matter - in order to calm the people's anger and stabilize the situation, Queen Mary was pushed to the trial seat as a scapegoat, and the sentence waiting for her is likely to be guillotine.

The question is what to do now?

Herman was a knight of the kingdom and a guard of the royal family. It should be his duty and duty to uphold the authority of the king, to defend the honor of the state, and to obey orders unconditionally. But......

"Lord Knight, please save the Queen!"

Cathy's cry pierces the knight's heart, duty and justice, and Herman is torn in pain between these two dilemmas. His forehead was covered with sweat, his lips trembled, but he couldn't say a word.

If Father was here, if it was him! What decision would he make?!

Herman recalls the words spoken by his father, Baron Cumberland, at the knighthood ceremony.

"Remember my words! In the face of a strong enemy, be fearless and fearless! Be bold and loyal, worthy of the Heavenly Father! Geng is upright and outspoken, and would rather die than be punished! Protect the weak, and there is no blame for heavenly justice!"

Herman closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, there was no more hesitation or hesitation.

"Cathy, give this to the commander of the barracks at the South Gate, my father, Baron Cumberland, and tell him to come to the west gate of the palace to meet me. Herman took the cross he wore from his neck and placed it in the hands of the maid.

Cathy looked at the token in her hand and sobbed quietly, "My lord, what are you going to do?"

Herman turned around and strode towards the barracks: "Do what a knight should do." ”