The Marquis of Metternich made his way through the gloomy corridor and into the heavily guarded cell area. Although during the detention of Michel VII, the old marquis's treatment was not too bad, and he was only put under house arrest, but he was an old man after all, and such a toss still made his body a little unbearable.

However, after returning to Dweide, he heard the news that the emperor was ill, and he refused the suggestion of his grandson Franz to ask him to recuperate at home, and went directly to the Tiamat Palace, where he met Nicholas I lying on the hospital bed. In this meeting, he and the emperor were rare and honest, and said a lot of things, and Nicholas I barely supported his body and said all the words in his heart, although their monarchs and ministers have been intriguing for decades, but their purpose is the same, that is, for the strength of the empire.

This time he came to the prison on the outskirts of Dweide to fulfill what the emperor had asked him to do and to interrogate Edward, Duke of Corgas, who had been defeated and captured.

The jailer opened the door for him, and Duke Edward was not too embarrassed in his cell. After all, he is respected as a duke, and even now in prison, he still enjoys the privileges of nobility. The duke was not forced to change into prison clothes, his hands and feet were not shackled heavily, and the cell was clean and tidy, at least the treatment given to him by the emperor was worthy of his status.

"See you again, Edward. The Marquis of Metternich said unceremoniously to the Duke, and the jailer brought a chair for the Marquis of Metternich and invited him to sit down, "But this time, our identities have been transposed. ”

"You are prestigious, is it possible that the well-known Marquis of Metternich still came to the prison to laugh at me, a prisoner of the ranks?" Duke Edward's expression was very calm, and when he was captured, he did not put up a particularly fierce resistance, just like those knights of the previous era, even if he was captured by the enemy on the battlefield, he had to maintain his demeanor at all times.

The marquis sighed, although he mocked Edward coldly when he was in Port Leon, but in his heart, he still admired the Duke of Corgas very much, and after returning to Deweide, he also listened to Joseph, who stayed in the imperial capital, told the story of the battle of Lanz Town, and the Corgas army was able to almost defeat the front of the Southern Army in one day with its own strength, and this alone can show Edward's ability.

"It's a pity that you don't follow Michelle to rebel, I think you will be able to leave a name in history one day. ”

"It's a name now, isn't it?" said Edward, who didn't seem to have the consciousness of being a prisoner, and talked and laughed with the Marquis de Metternich, "It's just that what is left is infamy." ”

"You can see it. The Marquis of Metternich glanced at Edward and said coldly.

"I have heard an oriental saying, 'A husband can't eat five tripods in life, and he must cook five tripods in death'. When I was captured, I knew that this time I would be executed, and that the southern aristocracy had survived for more than a hundred years, and now they would have to follow in the footsteps of those ancestors in the revolution. ”

"Now that you know this, I won't talk nonsense with you. Seeing that Edward was well aware of the fate he was about to suffer, the Marquis of Metternich did not plan to talk to the other party any more, and was ready to cut straight to the topic, "Did you sign a secret agreement with the desert people and the Hadrians?"

Edward was silent for a moment, and after a long time, he raised his head and looked at the Marquis of Metternich solemnly. "I can tell you the contents of the secret agreement, but I want you to answer me a question first. ”

"Say it. ”

"How is His Royal Highness Prince Michel VII doing now?"

"You really care about him!" the Marquis snorted coldly, disdainful of Edward's style, "You are also a distant member of the Giang family, the founder of the family is Duke Rodri, the second son of Midlets I, and you are so determined to follow Michelle, a traitor, to draw your sword against the Empire?"

Duke Edward straightened up, his back as straight as a knight's sword, and in the face of the Marquis de Metternich's questioning, he looked at the other party squarely, and replied without humility or arrogance: "In my heart, the state is the protection of the people, and if a country cannot provide protection for the people, then it is not qualified to be supported by the people." Twelve years ago, when the Bay of Bis tsunami did not give any aid to the people of the south, Emperor Nicholas I watched the displaced people wail but did not respond. It was His Royal Highness Prince Michel who helped the southerners rebuild their homes, and it was he who exhausted the financial resources of Pritown and helped the southern princes to raise the hope of the people. I don't think there's anything wrong with what the prince did, and since the Empire is not going to save the South, then we have the right to choose not to be its vassals. ”

Like the perfect knight of the previous era, Duke Edward spoke his inner thoughts with righteousness, and his morality, like those of his ancestors who upheld the virtues of knighthood, only dedicated his loyalty to those who deserved his allegiance, and it was not the perfect legal provisions that bound him in legal theory, but the pride of his heart.

The Marquis of Metternich did not agree with Duke Edward's morality at all, and his face even showed disgust, and the wrinkles on his cheeks were tightly pressed together, and he became hideous. "For the sake of a small favor, you renounce the most sacred and supreme oath of loyalty, and are embarrassed to learn from the tirades of the ancient nobles? I used to think that you were a character, but now it seems that you are a typical southern nobleman, and you are hopelessly rancid! Who else can make a big decision in this era? Especially since you have such a high position, the well-being of the people of a principality depends on you, and the nobles of the south, and even the whole empire, will attach importance to your opinions, and you are reckless and reckless with your own whimsical thoughts? Why do you think that His Majesty the Emperor did not come to the rescue of the south, and that all of our cabinet members are a bunch of old fools, wine bags and rice bags, and fools who are not as good as you! Every decision we make is nothing but a thought and consideration of countless possible consequences, and the best possible choice from these consequences The damage will be the least one. You keep saying that you think you are thinking about the well-being of the people of the South, then I believe in your noble character, but have you considered it, what will be the price that the Empire will pay to rescue the South? It is a market that will be completely unbalanced! The Empire's financial market was almost collapsing at that time, and those speculators were hoarding goods everywhere, and you think we had done nothing? If it weren't for us, those damn bankers would have sold everything after the damn bankers had raised prices, and you southern nobles would have sold them all, and they wouldn't have been able to make up the money to rebuild the South!"

The more the old marquis spoke, the more agitated he became, and when he said that, he simply stood up, pointed at Duke Edward's nose and roared, as if he were scolding his sons. The Marquis of Metternich was a scheming man, but like the Emperor, even though he was known for his cunning in the diplomatic arena, there was a surging blood in his heart, and at some times, he was extremely excited. In the heart of the Marquis of Metternich, looking at Duke Edward may be quite a bit of hatred for iron and steel, and it is precisely because of this that he will spend so much time foaming at the mouth and talking to him for so long.

However, even when the Marquis told Edward this, the knight, who adhered to his own moral code, remained unmoved. "Even if you say so, it is an indisputable fact that the imperial government did not help the south, and isn't it to stabilize the market to stabilize your empire? You know that the best way to exploit is to give happiness to the people, so you need a stable market to maintain a stable empire. But when you really want to do something for those whom you can't see, you pretend to be deaf and dumb, and only care about your own glory, and invest all the finances of the empire on the battlefields of Silesia, and blame Prince Michel for all the affairs of the south. ”

The Marquis of Metternich was so angry that he almost gritted his teeth, obviously Edward was so much younger than him, but now the Duke behaved more like an old stubborn. "I really have nothing to say to you!" the Marquis flicked his sleeves angrily and sat back in his chair. Because of his anger, his breathing became rapid, and his chest continued to rise and fall.

Edward lowered his eyes, he also knew that it was impossible for both sides to convince each other, and even if he did, the rebellion had failed, he could not be released from prison and continue to be his duke because he accepted the Marquis of Metternich, and the Marquis of Metternich would not rebel because he persuaded him, it was just a meaningless battle of ideas.

"Forget it, I'm not going to quarrel with you anymore. The old marquis took a breath and calmed down a little, and the atmosphere no longer seemed so tense, "I can tell you directly that Michelle is dead." ”

"Dead!" Duke Edward was taken aback, but then the look of surprise disappeared from his face. In fact, it is not surprising that Michel VII fell to this point, and the possibility of being defeated and dying is the greatest, whether it is suicide to save the last dignity, or being betrayed by his subordinates and dying, it is a situation that Edward has long thought of.

"Can you tell me what will happen to Your Royal Highness?" said Duke Edward, sitting with his hands flat on his knees, his waist slightly bent, and a very low posture, almost begging the Marquis of Metternich.

"It's not something you should bow to. The Marquis looked downwards and looked at Edward condescendingly, although he was angry with Edward in his heart, but this anger was more because he had expectations for Edward, "Michelle wanted to capture Princess Caterina who went to Fort Midnight for refuge, but when he arrived at Fort Midnight, he was betrayed by his men and died at the hands of Count Jericho. The subordinate who betrayed him should be known, and I heard that it was Michelle's most trusted person, called Sinjid. ”

Hearing this name, Duke Edward frowned, he didn't like Sinjid very much, and he faintly felt his danger, but unfortunately Michel VII trusted Sinjid too much, Edward was an outsider after all, the so-called alienation, the Duke knew that if he really told the prince that Sinjid was not, he would only be alienated by Michel VII.

sighed, for the ending of Michel VII, Edward, who is now a prisoner, can only sigh empty. "So, what does His Majesty the Emperor plan to do with this person?"

Although he abandoned the darkness and turned to the light, he was after all a rebel rebel, and all his positions in Pritown were stripped away, and the rest of the things were not to blame. "At this point, the Marquis does not intend to hide from Edward, after all, these treatments are trivial matters, and an unknown person, even if he lets it go, he can't make much of a storm.

"Really?" Duke Edward pursed his lips, he was not too satisfied with this disposition, and from his standpoint, he would never want to see the person who betrayed Michelle being let go like this, "Maybe you don't know what kind of character this Singid is." ”

"Oh? Metternich raised an eyebrow and looked at Edward with interest. After the defection of Wei Ting and others, as well as through some captives, they also obtained a lot of information about the southern princes, especially the internal contradictions in the south, which naturally included the feud between Duke Edward and Singid.

"Even I don't know the origin of Sinjid. I have been in close contact with His Royal Highness Michael since the Tsunami in the Bay of Bes, but even I do not know exactly when this person appeared with the Prince. When I first met this man, he was already a senior officer in Pritown, and was entrusted with intelligence work by His Royal Highness the Prince. This uprising, the communication between our southern princes, was carried out through his intelligence network. ”

The Marquis of Metternich's hand patted his knees slowly, this time the southern rebellion, Dewei did not get the slightest rumor in advance, for an empire with an extremely strong Ministry of the Interior, this is a very incredible thing. Many thought that Beria was too selfish and focused too much of the Ministry of the Interior on attacking political opponents and not on the movements of the southern aristocracy, but the Marquis of Metternich did not think so. An old man like him, who had served in the imperial government since the beginning of Nicholas I's succession, watched Beria ascend to the position of Minister of the Interior, so the Marquis of Metternich was quite aware of Beria's abilities. This Sinjid's ability to avoid Beria's sight and connect the southern princes seems to have some ability.

"Go on. ”

"You should remember the previous attack on Deweide. ”

How could the Marquis of Metternich not remember that the attack had caused great damage to the Browning district, and the loss of their Metternich family was not small, but it was slightly better than the other families, at least the mansion could still be inhabited. "Was that attack also done by the man named Sinjid?" the Marquis glanced at Sinjid again, they had been quite surprised by the spy power displayed by Pritown, and several times they were able to make big moves under the Empire's powerful surveillance system, and the Ministry of the Interior was not aware of it in advance, which neither the Hadrian Empire nor the Mahdiya Empire could do.

"That's right, I didn't approve of that operation in the first place, and such an attack is not a blatant act. It's a pity that His Royal Highness the Prince really trusts this Sinjid too much, and completely lets him do it. ”

The Marquis nodded slightly, with Edward's personality, it really didn't look like someone who would approve of such a thing. However, even if he said this now, it was useless, it had happened, and Michel VII was already dead, and in the future when these rebellious southern princes were tried, there would still be no less crimes under this article.

"Looks like a noteworthy figure. The Marquis of Metternich was secretly interested in Sinjid, he did not think that Edward's words would be a deliberate discredit of Sinjid, and even if it was made out of nothing, it didn't matter, an accomplice to such a rebellion, in the old Marquis's opinion, killed and killed, it was not a pity at all.

"Now, let us talk about your secret covenant with the desert people and the Hadrians. ”

Duke Edward let out a long sigh, although he had the idea of a just war for the rebellion, but after all, he still reached a contract with the enemy country, in the end, the fact of treason is indisputable.

"According to what I have learned from His Royal Highness, the Hadrian approached him a year ago, and the condition given by the Hadrian Empire is to recognize and help the independence of the South, and at the same time will not interfere with our final decision, whether it is the formation of a new kingdom with His Royal Highness Prince Michel as the head of state, or the independence of each territory, they will give us diplomatic support. And the Mahdian Empire's contact with us is also through the Hadrians, after all, the desert people are too easy to expose if they come to the Empire. As you know, His Royal Highness is a person who is prone to hesitation in major matters, he did not make up his mind to start an incident at the beginning, but he was worried about the risks and did not make a decision for a long time. Later, he went to Midnight Castle to ask the former Midnight Earl, Mr. Winston No. Jericht, for advice—you must be familiar with that earl, right?"

Hearing the name of old Winston, the Marquis of Metternich was taken aback, if this is true, then doesn't it mean that old Winston is also very likely to have something to do with this rebellion, and in this case, Sven No. Jericht, the hero of the current blade of Michel VII, is also very suspicious.

"Are you sure?" the Marquis of Metternich glared at Edward, the old marquis's aura was revealed at this moment, "if you talk nonsense, the consequences will be very serious—you better not think that you have nothing to worry about at this point, and you must have heard of the methods of the Ministry of the Interior!"

Faced with the threat of the Marquis of Metternich, Edward did not care, he waved his hand and looked at the Marquis seriously. "I heard His Highness Michel say it with my own ears, and if he hadn't lied to me, then all of this would have been absolutely true. Besides, he probably didn't have a reason to lie to me. ”

The Marquis of Metternich was silent, although there is no proof of Michel VII's death now, but if you want to check, there should still be clues to find out whether he went to Midnight Castle a year ago. However, the Marquis of Metternich still did not want to believe that old Winston had anything to do with the rebellion.

"And what is the reply of the First Earl of Midnight?" the Marquis of Metternich stared at Edward, "now that he is deceased, no one can ask anything from someone who has fallen asleep, so you had better be specific." ”

Edward knew what the Marquis of Metternich meant, and he didn't intend to lie. "The Earl gave no reply, and by the time His Royal Highness arrived at Midnight Castle, Mr. Winston had already died. ”

"What!" the Marquis of Metternich was taken aback, the obituary of the elder Winston had only arrived in Germany at the beginning of the year, but the time when Michel VII had gone to Fort Midnight was a year earlier, which was not the right time.

"What, you suspect me of lying?" Edward frowned, he didn't know why the Marquis of Metternich was so surprised.

"Are you sure ......" the Marquis of Metternich lowered his eyes, and a deep suspicion had risen in his heart, "did old Winston pass away a year ago?"

"I didn't go to Midnight Castle at the time, but if you are in doubt, you might as well ask the people of the Knoyes family, as well as the retinue of His Royal Highness during his lifetime. At least, that's what I've heard from His Royal Highness. ”

The Marquis of Metternich's hands could not help but tremble, and he did not think that it was necessary for Edward to lie on this matter. But if this is true, then why did Swayne, the new Earl of Midnight, the grandson of old Winston, hide the death of his grandfather for a year before informing him of it?