A red-background flag embroidered with a white horse pattern appeared on the Thames beach, and under the four hooves of the white horse there were two lines of finely needled gold thread: Eadmund Aetheling Gewissae Heretoga ond Cantwara Eorl (Prince Edmund, Duke of Yevisser and Earl of Kent), and the birds were all startling the large group behind the flag, and the leader of this team, Prince Edmund, held the bridle in his hand, and looked down indifferently at Sain.

My father's words still echoed in my ears: "Before you become a man, go and see how men bleed." ”

He knew that in front of him were his vassals and oath warriors, twenty years ago, if his father had such a minions, I am afraid that he would be ecstatic, these Saxon giants decorated with gold, silver and steel are the treasure of every prince, the foundation of the state, but his heart does not have a trace of waves, this is his father's reward, just like the white horse flag above his head, what his father can reward, naturally can also be taken back. Land, gold, silver, steel, nothing is truly theirs – unlike Eleanor.

After three sunrises marching along the edge of the vast woodlands of Middlesex Moor and Sussex to Kent, past the spear-lined Rochester Stone Fort, Edmund finally arrived at Canterbury Castle, the stronghold of his reign. There are currently only three royal castles in the Kent region: Canterbury, Rochester and Dover, with Canterbury being the smallest and most powerful. After entering the main fort, Edmund, who was torn apart by his mount, was tossed for a long time by Bishop Dover's lengthy speech. He had no interest in cleaning up the royal estates and punishing the local Sein who had forgotten to build bridges, but it was the responsibility of the lord, and he had seen with his own eyes how his father ruled, and that never-tiring style almost daunted him, for whom the rule was tedious.

The butter lamps in the dining room were like scales, and the golden lampposts in the shape of horses and wolf heads spewed bright flames, and Edmund dined with his companions, including his cousin Sigbert, Uhtred, son of the Earl of Northumbria, Enuerf the Fat, son of Hugh Barn, and Oswald, the youngest son of the Count of Mercia, who were the future royal companions, and Edmund had to treat these future princes equally in exchange for their shields and spears.

Everyone knew what kind of man the prince was, so the table was unusually quiet until Oswald of Mercia accidentally mentioned Woolfhild.

"My brother said that the daughter of the Duke of Saxony had been imprisoned for a year."

The others looked at each other, not knowing how to answer, but Edmund looked up.

"By whom?"

Oswald was a little timid, perhaps because he was often bullied by his illegitimate brothers, and he hesitated for a long time before replying: "My brother said that the Roman emperor imprisoned the Duke of Saxony in his castle and threw all his family into the dungeon. ”

"Why?" "Fat Man" Enuerf asked curiously, and Oswald, of course, could not give any answer.

"Because the emperor is a despicable fellow, and he wants the duke's heir to die in prison." Edmund stabbed the pudding with a dagger, and the juice flowed out like blood.

The companions were stunned, they had never heard of such a terrible thing at their age, but Edmund had received a much cruel education, and after a little thought it understood Henry IV's ruthless method of plotting to seize Saxony - the Billund family had no other descendants, and if Woolfhild's health deteriorated and he eventually died in prison, the succession of the duchy would naturally have to be decided by the emperor.

"Shameless!" Edmund couldn't control his anger, which was fresh to the others, they had never seen a prince lose his temper over such a thing.

Suddenly, Edmund remembered his father, could he be someone like Henry IV? At the thought of this, the young Saxon prince shuddered a little, if it was for Saxony, would his father imitate the emperor's methods and attack the duke himself?

All along, he only felt that his father was too kind to Woolf Hilde, but he never thought about whether this attitude had ulterior motives.

"It's really pathetic...... "The prince's sudden comment was a little abrupt, and everyone was puzzled, not knowing who he was talking about.

The throne rises in the shadow - Edmund remembers King Canut's Sagas, which mentions that after the Battle of Sheston, King Cnut's brother-in-law, Ulfjarre, pursued the enemy too deep and lost his way in the Saxon woods, and finally met Godwin, a young son of Sassex Sain, who concealed his identity and asked for help in the Danish language, promising to repay him with an armband. Godwin, however, said that he did not need a valuable armband, and that he owed himself a favor, and if he could not think of it, he did not have to pay it back, and then he took the Dane back to his father's estate and entertained him to his heart's content. While he was drunk, Godwin's father, Woolfnothsteen, suddenly appeared and begged the Danes to take refuge in his son, for he would be regarded as a traitor to his own people if he sent the enemy away. Seeing that Godwin was young and handsome, Ulf Jair agreed, and after returning to the Danish camp, Járl, who revealed himself to the cheers of the Vikings, introduced Godwin to King Knut and offered to marry his sister Gisa to the Saxon. Godwin was thus appreciated by Cnut and became an earl, and his son and Lady Gisa's son became the future King of Harold.

It was a great achievement for the Danes, but it was a betrayal that the Wessex family will never forget. Unlike the anger he felt when he first heard about Sakya, Edmund felt a different kind of irony, as if he had accidentally seen the filth behind the throne - the place he would one day sit.

If I were killed by the enemy, how disappointed my father would be, and a worthless heir would surely become an eternal disgrace to my father.

Edmund suddenly felt the urge to talk to Woolfhilde: she was just a noble pawn like me, and perhaps sooner had seen the truth hidden by the gold, silver, and satin, so that we were really compatible.

"Uhtred, where's your sword?" Edmund asked suddenly.

The tall Northumbrian was so beloved by his father, Volsiov, that he gave him the Ulfbert steel sword, which had always been the envy of the people and was cherished by Uhtred, who carried it with him.

Seeing the young Northumbrian reluctantly hand over his sword, Edmund smiled slightly, and he gently pulled the blade of the sword out of its leather sheath, and the spine of the sword forged from Uzi steel could faintly make out a line of Latin: VLFBERHT. Edmund remembered that Uhtred had mentioned that the sword had belonged to King Canut's father, Sven, and had been given to Uhtred's grandfather, Earl Hugh Sr., by King Canute. Edmund felt the sharpness of the blade as everyone watched with bated breath, and suddenly, he raised the spine of the sword and slashed it into his palm.

With an exclamation, he breathed a long sigh of relief, he finally felt it, the sharp pain and the blood on his palms were like a reminder from the Danish king, so that he would never forget the gaze of the giant wolf. Does Father want to join the raven at the feast? Edmund suddenly understood that Eleanor was just a symbol, a symbol of the boy's weakness, and that his father wanted him to kill the boy and break his flesh until he turned into a beast like a bear wolf, this is the ancient lord of the throne, men with claws and eternal hunger.