On a sunny Sunday afternoon, Carolyn Swift, accompanied by two heavily armed knights, galloped down the road to Barnard Castle on a fine warhorse. About 20 minutes later, as the trio rode outside the village of Westwick, where the Honorium Army had been attacked, Caroline slowed down her horse's gallop.

A young knight riding up to Caroline's side on his left side and pointing to her surroundings said, "Lady Swift, this is where the adults are attacked. ”

Caroline sat on horseback and nodded pretentiously, silently observing the battlefield that had long been cleaned. As she looked at the grove in front of her left, she thought, "Well, this is indeed a good place to set up an ambush. But it is strange why Joseph's men never noticed that there were thieves lurking here? ”

Thinking of this, Caroline was about to go to the grove to take a closer look at the traces that the thieves might have left behind, but the young knight beside her stopped her and said, "Ma'am, Lord has asked us to escort you all the way to Barnard Castle, and we must not stop on the way. ”

Caroline looked at the knight with a sharp look and said, "How would you feel if your family was captured by thieves?" Did you just give up looking for your family? Or does it matter to you whether the future heir to the lord is alive or not? ”

The young knight bowed his head in shame, not daring to look her eyes. When Caroline saw him like this, she commanded, "Don't worry, it won't be delayed for long." Caroline tightened the reins of her left hand, slammed her heels into the belly of the horse, and galloped towards the grove like an arrow from a string.

After a few minutes in the woods, Caroline thoughtfully mounted her horse and led the two knights back down the road, galloping towards Barnard Castle. When the three of them approached the castle's closed two gates, she pondered the question: "The thieves did not leave much trace in the grove. And, judging by a few faint horseshoe prints on the southern edge of the woods, the number of thieves should not exceed 20. ”

"Could it be that the man who attacked Joseph was indeed a knight sent by James V?"

"Or just some ordinary thieves from the North. So, by what kind of methods did they suddenly attack Joseph and the army? ”

After the sergeant guarding the gate opened the gate, Caroline thought as she slowly drove her horse into the interior of the enclosed castle. Sir Anthony, the governor of the castle, was informed by the guards and stood in a large open space inside the castle for the training of knights and sergeants, and waited patiently for the arrival of the lord's eldest daughter.

Soon, two knights followed Caroline to the training ground, and the three jumped off their horses. Heavily armed and with a cloak painted with the coat of arms of Viscount Darlington, Sir Anthony, armed with a knight's sword, stepped forward and saluted her, saying, "Good day, Lady Swift." ”

Caroline handed the reins to the young knight who was with her, looked at the steward calmly, and said, "Good day, Sir Antony." ”

Just as the steward was about to ask her about the purpose of her visit to the castle, Caroline glanced at the steward and the rest of the training ground, and said solemnly, "Sir, I am solely responsible for investigating this violent attack in the name of Lord Darlington. My duty will continue until the lord's eldest son is granted permanent personal safety and regains the gratuity that has been plundered by the thieves. ”

Sir Anthony had already guessed that the viscountess, who had always been fond of men's dress, would come to Barnard Castle in such a way. After the other party finished speaking, he also solemnly responded: "May God bless the lord and his blood relatives, and lead us to fight for justice and justice as always, and severely punish the wicked!" ”

Caroline nodded in satisfaction. But then his tone changed from calm just now, and he asked sharply, "Sir, when did you send people to clean up the battlefield?" ”

Anthony speculated on her intentions, and hurriedly said, "It was cleaned up shortly after Sir Victor was found." Ma'am, if you want to see it, I can take you there right away. ”

"No need, thank you, Sir. Before I came here, I had seen the battlefield. ”

"Ma'am, who do you think could have done this?"

"Sir, I'd love to hear from you. By the way, where were the slain knights placed? ”

"Ma'am, since you are solely responsible for investigating this matter. Let me arrange for you and your two knights to rest first. Drink some ale, eat something, and reserve enough mental and physical strength for the investigation. ”

Caroline stared at the steward and said, "Sir, am I here just to eat, drink, and be merry?" Probably, you haven't forgotten the fact that Joseph was captured and taken away, have you? ”

Anthony bowed his head slightly and said, "No, ma'am, I haven't forgotten. I just think that at least my life will not be in danger after being captured by the enemy. ”

"Sir, do you think our enemies are a bunch of 'courteous' knights who follow the spirit of chivalry??"

"Ma'am, according to the rules of engagement on the battlefield in the past, knights are usually treated with courtesy when they are captured. Once the ransom has been paid by the family of the captured knight, the knight is immediately released. ”

"What if Joseph's captors aren't what you say?" Caroline said forcefully.

"Ma'am, I think you know the civilians of the North. If it weren't for the compulsion of life, no one here would have thought of stealing property. Anthony replied calmly.

"So, you mean ......?"

"The identity of an adult is a symbol of treasure, and no one is so stupid as to not even know the nobles. Unless... Unless the people who captured the adults did not do so for the purpose of demanding ransom. ”

Caroline always believed that the Scots were responsible for the incident, because only a vengeful Scotsman would have killed the knights of England mercilessly. Seeing that the steward was beginning to hesitate, she asked, "Unless the man who captured Joseph attacked the transport army for another purpose, is that so?" ”

Sir Anthony had no choice but to say, "Ma'am, I dare not agree with that. If you still insist on seeing the body, I'll take you to church right now. ”

With the exception of Joseph and Sir Victor, the bodies of all the dead knights were properly housed in a chapel inside the main building of the castle. As for the sergeants who died in battle, they were buried on the spot by Sir Anthony's arrangement.

According to the pyramidal feudal hierarchy that originated in the Middle Ages, a small feudal lord or knight in the third level of the pyramid could never be compared with a commoner or peasant sergeant at the lowest level, both during his lifetime and after his death. Therefore, the knights could still be treated by secular nobles and clergy after death.

When the group arrived in the cold, solemn, candlelit chapel, a thin priest in a priest's black robe was whispering a scripture to the body of a knight. Sir Anthony went up to the priest and whispered, "Father, Lord Darlington's eldest daughter, Lady Swift, has come to pay her respects. ”

Then the priest turned around and came to Caroline with the Latin Bible in his hand, and said with a solemn expression: "May God bless you, Lady Swift." ”