Several candlesticks in the dungeon were lit by the guards, and the dimly lit room was filled with warm yellow candlelight.

In the center of the dungeon, the prisoner who was firmly locked up, and his originally vague appearance gradually became clear.

This is a man in the prime of life who looks to be in his thirties. The man had slightly curly brownish-black hair, which had not been washed for many days, and strands stuck together, covering half of his pale cheeks.

This man with gray eyes and eyes full of hatred and anger was Arthur's titular brother and head of the Griffon family, Hard.

At this time, the man with the typical griffon's hair color and pupil color, wearing only a pair of shorts full of notches, was half-kneeling on the ground with his arms outstretched.

Iron chains the thickness of ordinary people's arms wrapped around his arms and pulled them to both sides. On his naked upper body hung a heavy-looking iron lock, which stretched from the inside of the iron lock and pierced into Hard's waist.

It could be seen that the smell of rot in the room before came from the black blood stains and festering wounds around the iron thorns.

"I wanted to say hello to you. But it doesn't look like you're doing well. ”

Hearing Zheng Ming's slightly teasing voice, Harder stared at him for a while, and then showed his blood-stained white teeth.

"Hehe, that's how you treat the surrendered nobles? You violated the POW agreement. You're asking for trouble. ”

"I don't need you to remind me, I know that. I'm here just for a few things I want to ask you. ”

"Snort~"

Zheng Ming ignored Hader's sneer and disdain, and continued to speak to himself.

"What gave you the courage to rebel? Is it Ronan Lane Coalition? No, if they do break through our defenses and win, how do you stand up to them? You can't raise an army just to change the king's orders to you, right? They promised you to be the ruler of Celts?

Probably not. You must know that these people have an extraordinary attachment to the legitimacy and bloodline of the king. Even if Arthur and the royal family are all killed in battle, it will not be your griffon's turn to be king.

You must know that there are many families who are married to the royal family and have thin royal blood. Not to mention that the people and the noble lords will not agree to let you, the "hillbilly" who has just risen to power in a remote area for more than 200 years, and even Ryan and Ronan, for the sake of the stability of the country, will not agree.

So I'm very curious, what made you rebel? Although Arthur is not close to you, for the sake of your "younger brother", he has not taken revenge on you. This is one of the reasons why you are able to climb to the position of head of the house. You can't be forced to rebel.

So I thought about it and came up with a guess. Are you griffons not the only ones who are rebelling? Are there any other families that are united with you?

If it was a joint rebellion with enough power to rival the remaining nobles, it would all make sense. When Arthur and the royal family are slaughtered, you join forces to weaken the royal power and divide the power stripped from the king, and then the families will go from chasing the throne to fighting each other for more power.

Well, the parliament, or rather the senate system of the great nobles, is very good. Set aside the throne and use the Senate to decide the direction of the kingdom.

And at that time, although the royal power has been fully weakened, it will still be earned for you who lack the foundation. And the families you work with will be able to benefit even more. As for those families who have not been involved, if they ensure that their status and rights remain unchanged and give them some sweetness, I believe they will not rebound violently. ”

Zheng Ming, who had been staring closely at Hader's facial expression at this, hoping to confirm his guess, paused for a moment.

"Huh, hehe, hahahaha. Uhhh ”

Seeing that Hade in front of him laughed wantonly, so that the wound was touched, and he gasped in pain, Zheng Ming's brows furrowed, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Long before the conquest of the kingdom of Dorne, I asked the Dark Guard to keep an eye on you. How did you manage to get in touch with Ronan Lane and the Dark Guards? It's certain that someone is colluding with you. Who is he or they? ”

"Hiss~hahahahahis~~, I refuse to answer. . When I get back to my family, I'll make you pay for all these days of abuse. ”

Zheng Ming squinted his eyes and squatted on the ground to look quietly for a while, and Hard, who was shouting fearlessly, got up expressionlessly.

"Judging by your performance, my guesses aren't all wrong. But there are times when you really scoff at my speculation. What exactly did you guess wrong? ”

After muttering in a low voice for a while, Zheng Ming, who came back to his senses, turned around indifferently.

"Locke."

Under Zheng Ming's soft call, Locke, who had been waiting impatiently for a long time, suddenly agreed excitedly.

"Okay."

Seeing Locke approach with a wicked smile on his face, Harder immediately understood something. He didn't care about his body, which was grinding from the iron chains, and struggled to get up and yelled at Zheng Ming.

"Zheng Ming, you dare to kill me? If you kill me and break the rules among the nobles, they won't let you go. ”

Zheng Ming, who walked to the door, was stunned.

"Huh? Do you have any misunderstanding about me? What does the ordinance between the nobles matter to me? ”

Turning around, he saw Locke standing in place and looking at him, and suddenly asked with a calm face.

"What are you waiting for? I'll carry what happens. Or do you want me to do it myself? ”

Zheng Ming's indifferent voice came, and Locke, who was staring at by the other party, suddenly showed a smile that he was afraid that the world would not be chaotic.

"Hehe, that's what you said."

Then he turned and walked up to Harder, breaking his neck despite the other's struggles and shouts.

The cacophony of threats stopped abruptly, and with the sound of chains, Harder fell to the ground.

And Locke, who had just ended the life of the great nobleman, wiped his hands on his pants with disgust, and shouted to catch up with Zheng Ming, who had already paced out of the room.

"Wait for me, sir."

In the cage, the palm lamp guard, who had watched all this the whole time, only then did he sit down on the ground at this time. A warm liquid and a faint smell woke him up.

Frightened, he touched the wet pants under him in a daze, and then looked at the corpse hanging from the chain on the side.

"Oh no. Harder ...... Lord Hader of the Griffon House was killed by the Shadow of the Throne. ”

Piercing screams filled the dungeon, and they fled through the half-open stone door.

Attracted the guards who were guarding outside the dungeon.

"What the hell is going on?"

The guard in front of him was stunned and screamed. The captain of the guard slapped the other man hard.

Under the spicy slap, the palm lamp guard, who finally really came back to his senses, saw the familiar majestic face in front of him, and immediately climbed forward and hugged the other party's thigh.

"Old ...... Top dog. ”

Sensing the other party's soaked crotch, the guard chief frowned, raised his hand to block the smell of urine that kept burrowing into his nose, and asked in a deep voice.

"What the hell is going on? How did he die? ”

So in the cry of the lantern guard, Zheng Ming instructed Locke to kill and surrender to the great nobleman Hader, and the news suddenly spread.