Anna looked at her mother in amazement, but her serious appearance did not seem to be joking at all, and then Irene added, with irrepressible excitement, "Soon Constantine will be unlucky, that child who hates women, his noble life will be completely finished with the failure of this expedition and Gawain's accusations—your father can't stand it, he thought that he could just keep that woman and Constantine like a luxurious but outdated dress, and keep them in a safe closet, But now it's backfired! ”

Then, with a strange light in her mother's eyes, she grabbed Anna's shoulders and slowly pushed her step by step, "Constantine and Marlena will be deposed this time, and although John has been made the heir to the crown prince, your father has always disliked him, no, I don't like him either, he is a rude product of failure, and he deserves to be spurned." Then Erin trembled again, and touched Anna's cheek with both hands, "But you, you Anna are different, silky skin, elegant temperament, how suitable to wear a crown, reign over thousands of subjects and the holy church in the imperial capital more than a year, all the bells will ring for you, and all this, perhaps, will only require a new marriage." As she spoke, Erin stroked her daughter's hair at the base of her ear, and Anna was forced against the wallpost, feeling that she had no way out, and she was overwhelmed by the wind and rain, and her ears were full of her mother's repeated pleas of "seize this opportunity, seize this opportunity Anna".

She also remembered Gawain, who, under the starlight of the Grand Palace, had bowed his head and swore at the edge of her skirt, "I will make you the Empress of Rome." ”

However, there is still a saying in the mouth of the mother, "All you need is a new marriage", is it necessary to be like this as a woman?

No, Anna hesitated, if it had been before, she might have acquiesced to her mother's words, but now, some wild thought in her heart awakened, Gawain's vows were like a manic wave on the endless quiet sea, Anna felt that she could be with Gawain, driving the ship that was upside down like a fierce horse, looking for a new land and country, she was poisoned by the brutal poetry of the Franks and Vikings, she wanted to ride a horse, she wanted to carry a sword and a shield for Gawain, Just like the barbarian women would do for men, it only really makes sense to walk through verdant canyons and swamps, over snow-covered passes covered in lead-gray clouds, and finally become an empress.

The next morning, under the dark sky above the palace, it was drizzling, Anna slightly straightened her mood of the same color, and walked down the steps of the dormitory, under the gray walls, the chief of the guard, Mikhail, was standing with a sword underneath, "Is your body healed?" Anna under the umbrella asked, to the chief of the guard.

"Yes, Your Majesty asked me to follow you, the eldest princess, and my failure to fulfill my responsibilities some time ago made Your Majesty quite angry, so I won't take you out today." Mikhail said with a smile.

"Where is he?" Anna stepped forward and asked the chief guard who had turned to follow her.

"In the wilderness of Salabrea, west of the city." Mikhail still smiled, and "betrayed" Gawain's location cleanly, "According to the custom, the commander and the army who are ready to go out will be on standby there. ”

Then the chief of the Emperor's guard pointed to the highest section of the city wall, which was buried in the rain and mist, on the hill of the Brachna Palace, "From there, you can see the wilderness." ”

Anna did not give a positive answer, but walked straight in the direction of the chief lady of the court's bedchamber.

"Last night, His Majesty came there, but finally came out unhappily." Mikhail continued to remind.

"Then I'll go in through the side door, and just take out a few books in the study room that I borrowed to Constantine before, and I don't have to disturb their mother and son, and I don't want to face their mother and son, it's too difficult." After Anna uttered this last puzzling word, she asked Mikhail and the other guards to stand outside the walls of the dormitory, and to go into the back garden with her handmaiden with an umbrella.

When the priests saw the eldest princess, they bowed down in alarm, and Anna told them not to make a noise, and then walked through the rain-soaked gardens and trees, and entered the study in the corner of Marlena's bedchamber.

On the gloomy wall, the candle for the lighting had been lit, and though it was only morning, and there were dossiers on the ledge, and Anna stood below, pointing them one by one, and the tall maid took the scroll as the eldest princess had instructed, and laid it down in the book.

At this time, from the other side of the curtain, mixed with the sound of rain, came the conversation of people, and Anna involuntarily walked to the curtain, made a gap with her fingers, and saw that at the end of the corridor, that is, in the dining room, Marlena was sitting alone with Constantine face to face, as if she was having breakfast.

The Vice-Empress Dowager's eyes were all red and swollen, and it seemed that she should have had a big quarrel with her father last night, as Mikhail had said—but it was a pleasure, Anna was definitely on the same side as her mother, and she understood the relationship between her father and her adoptive grandmother, but no one in the court dared to say it, not even her.

"Your title of Augustus may soon be stripped by the emperor." This is what Malena said to her teenage son, the handsome man who would regret why it was the rough John, and not the young man for whom he was the crown prince, now turned his back to Anna's gaze and could not understand Constantine's expression, but the child was sobbing, and it was obvious that his mother's words had hit him deeply.

Then Marlena grabbed her hair with her hand, and her eyes became terrifying, "No, it may not be enough to take it, Your Majesty told me last night that if the name Constantine continues, there will always be enemies as banners against him, and you are the son of the former emperor - but, mother, I originally gave the stablemaster pendant as a simple reward, but why does Your Majesty not trust me, why?" Then her lips were as terrifying as fire, her face was pale, and she was constantly torturing herself.

Anna really didn't want to continue watching this scene, she turned her eyes to see that the maid had already prepared the book, and arched her hands and waited for the eldest princess to leave.

Anna sighed slightly, and lowered the curtain, ready to go quietly.

But then, there was a noise, and Anna hurriedly lifted the curtain again.

The following scene made her cover her mouth in horror.

Constantine fell to the ground, his mouth and nose bleeding blue-black and twitching in pain, while his mother, Malena, continued to sit on the table, looking numbly.