17 Foundling

As Mello confides the brutal truth to Heidi, three fast horses leave the fortress, Parrett, Snow Dog, and Night Sparrow, who carry the Viscount's business card and handwritten orders to let the patrolling soldiers go due to the curfew. They didn't go straight east, but hurried away the way they had come back bypassing the Djinn camp.

Charlie staggered back from the Praetorian Guard camp to Fengxing Town, it didn't take much time from the time he entered the barracks to the time he came out, but he seemed to be ten years old, his face was pale, his steps were faltering, his mind was in chaos, full of all kinds of remorse, he couldn't think at all, he had been regretting coming here to fight, regretting having command, regretting leading the militia to patrol at night, regretting that he was blind...... Remorseful that he was glad that the Janissaries had come to their aid.

"Nope! I'm not going. Heidi said firmly, "There are my friends and my benefactors, and I can't just leave." Milo could not accept Heidi's insistence, and he pleaded again and for the third time: "Heidi, we can't beat the Praetorian Guard, they are already outnumbered by the whole town, and all they have to do is to kill all the people here and destroy all the evidence of the crime." I beg you, let us get out of here, and go in the direction of Aube in the east, and when we get there, we will go to your family in a big ship......"

"No!" Heidi cried out, her voice choked, "Milo, why did you choose to escape? You were once the 'Undead of Toom City', you have experienced the danger of nine deaths, why should you choose to escape at this time? I know you're afraid, afraid I'm in danger, scared to face ......" Mello interrupted her by suddenly hugging her. The girl's cheeks were already welling with tears......

Milo said excitedly: "Yes, I am afraid of losing you, losing the happy life we have been looking forward to for a long time, we have been separated and together for too long, we can finally be reunited, I don't want to ...... I don't want to let the happiness I have at hand go to naught......"

"I understand," Heidi's voice regained its calm, "but you have to think about it, what will Count Lee do if we escape?" What about the people here? Can you bear to let them die for no reason? Don't you feel chilled when you used to fight so hard for them and they died like that? "Melo understands that Heidi has a noble heart and will not die without help...... He tried to persuade again, but Heidi covered his mouth.

"I know, you're worried about me, look here......" Heidi said, opening the secret door to the wall of the room, "There's a secret room here, if danger comes, I'll hide and wait for you to save me." Milo was stunned, he didn't expect Heidi to have such preparation and consciousness a long time ago, he didn't know how to answer.

"If ......," Heidi said, closing the secret door, "if we do die here, maybe it's fate...... But Milo, I don't want to run away, and I hope you don't run away......" Heidi put her forehead against Milo's forehead, "You promised me that you would save everyone......" Milo knew that he couldn't convince her anymore, so he conceded defeat, he interjected: "I promised, but you said when the stars were coming to attack us, but this time it wasn't the stars, it was the Praetorian Guard...... Also, how much did I make with you? He pinched Heidi's earlobe, and Heidi burst into tears and laughed: "The Praetorian Guard is better than the stars, you have to protect everyone, protect the popular town......" Milo also smiled, laughing with tears. This was the first time he had shed tears since becoming the "Undead of Toom City......

In the darkness of the night, the viscount waited anxiously at the drawbridge, ignoring the bitter cold wind, and the torches beside him were replaced by two in succession. When the sound of horses' hooves reached his ears, he knew that everyone in Windswept Town was in a desperate situation—the sound of horses' hooves in the dark meant that it was still three horses back, and his worst fears had happened. The Snow Dog and the Night Sparrow had come to him on horseback, and Parrett, who was not good at riding, followed at the end, and the three of them were panting, and it was evident that a hundred thousand things had forced them to be in a hurry. Nightsparrow wanted to report something, but the viscount was the first to ask, "How far?" The night sparrow replied, "It was stopped in less than two thousand meters." The Viscount bit his lip fiercely, stomped his foot, and his anger went straight to his chest, "Ahh And their horses are good, and the support is very fast, and if we stay too long, more cavalry will come at once. We tried to find our way to the east and south, but without success, and there were their men everywhere - we were surrounded. Parrett continued: "I said that I was from the army of Obei, and they didn't care, and they made us retreat with weapons and didn't let us out. The viscount asked, "Did they say anything?" Why surround us? Night Sparrow shook his head and said, "Whether it is polite or brutal, it all means the same thing - the people of the town are in trouble, and no one is allowed to leave." ”

The viscount was utterly furious, but reason told him that there was not much he could do now, and he immediately ordered the Night Sparrow to gather the militia and young laborers to strengthen the fort's defenses, at least to the way it had been a day before. He also reminded: "Don't tell the soldiers in those towns first, who they may be fighting for." Oh, Parrett Sheva...... Whatever it is, if you can help us repair the walls, we can't thank you enough, and now we have no way back. The Praetorian Guard may want to get rid of all of us here! Parrett Chevalier was at a loss, he was confused by the sudden change, and had just asked him to leave urgently, but he was stopped halfway, and when he returned here, he was informed that a catastrophe was coming...... A series of events also pushed the limits of his comprehension, and he stood there until the snow dog pushed him, and the viscount had already hurried to his father.

The viscount strode along, flicking his arms vigorously and complaining resentfully: "Damn! We're just—"

Charlie, who had lost his soul, finally arrived at the army station, and the soldiers who were not patrolling the town could not sleep at night, they had already heard the rumors of the murder of the "prince", learned the causes and consequences of the riots, and they did not expect the Praetorian Guard to do such a desperate thing, they discussed and speculated on the various possibilities of the event, and predicted the storm of public opinion that might be triggered - they seemed to be immersed in Domi's prophetic tricks. Charlie's return did not attract the attention of the soldiers, who did not have the political sensitivity of the captain, and only regarded themselves as bystanders. Charlie staggered to find a chair and sat down, stared blankly at the roof, and after a long silence, said weakly: "Call all the patrol back, there is a task to be assigned." He didn't look at a soldier as he spoke, but still looked at the roof, and the people around him were puzzled, wondering if the captain was stimulated. Seeing that there was no response, Charlie repeated his words, but added the phrase "Call Captain Milo too", did not raise his voice, did not change the direction of his gaze, but gave the soldiers action.

Charlie closed his eyes, he remembered the cold face of Duke Xia Fei just now, and the ruthless command echoed in his ears, and he couldn't help but feel sad, and his heart let out a wail: "It turns out that we are all-"

Melo and Heidi also calmed down, Heidi understood Milo's feelings, but she also didn't understand, so she asked, "The person who was killed can't really be the prince, right?" Milo replied: "At first, I didn't think so, but seeing the performance of that guy from Xia Fei, I'm sure it's the prince." The old guy played so well that he stabilized the Earl, who should be secretly deploying his men to cordon off this place. ”

"Why?" The innocent girl hadn't figured out Milo's words yet.

Milo had regained his patience and began to lecture the girl: "If the prince robs women, if this crime spreads, it will definitely cause trouble throughout the country and damage the reputation of the royal family, and now there is a girl dead, and the crime will be added to the first degree." What is the best way to protect the honor of the royal family? ”

"Of course, it's the blockade...... Oh——! Heidi put her hand on her forehead and it dawned on her.

Melo continued, "So, the next thing to do is to destroy all the evidence of the crime. If I'm not mistaken, the Praetorian Guard has surrounded the town of Windrun and can kill everyone here at any time. ”

"It's all people from the Empire here, can the Praetorian Guards kill them at will? Is it good for them? Heidi also wanted to retort, as if she wanted to find a lifeline in despair.

"Silly girl," said Milo, "the prince is dead, and it must be the responsibility of the Janissaries, but if it is determined that the inhabitants of Fengxing Town are guilty of 'plotting to rebel and murder the prince', the Praetorian Guards can justifiably get rid of the 'rebels' here and seek 'justice' for the prince. You can also take the opportunity to take the wealth here for yourself, and you can get a lot in one fell swoop! ”

"Femme fatale!" The girl understood, "Could it be that the town is popular...... Are we so unlucky......"

Milo shrugged his shoulders and said, "No way, who made us be-"

In the early morning of November 16, 1802 in the imperial calendar, the Viscount, Charlie, and Melo uttered this word almost at the same time:

"-Foundling!"