It was a dark night and the cold was overwhelming.

William, the nine-year-old prince and future heir to the Duchy of Normandy, was looking at his surroundings and felt that tonight was extraordinarily unusual, with an atmosphere of terror pervading him and a sense of unease lingering in his heart.

Although he was the most honorable person in the castle and the future heir of the entire duchy, William had no power to give orders either in the state or in the castle, and all power was held by his uncle, the cardinal of the diocese of Normandy.

Prince William's father, the Duke of Normandy, led an army on the Crusades when William was young, and all power in the country, including guardianship of William, fell into the hands of the archbishop.

"Dr. Andersen, why did you come to my room in the middle of the night?"

There was a knock at the door, and William opened the door to see Mr. Andersen, the dusty governess, with a solemn look on his face, which was striking from the joking he had before.

"Shhhhhh Hans Christian Andersen was preoccupied, and he saw William quickly close the door and whispered, "Child, believe me, quickly change into your light clothes, and leave here with me, your life journey is about to set sail."

"Where I go, I can go, I am a prince, the heir of the country." William was surprised by the words of the tutor, who was part of his team of tutors.

According to royal tradition, William was educated as a prince, and he had to learn the structure of the universe, rhetoric, heraldry, history, astronomy, alchemy, and physics, as well as archery, hunting, fencing, horseback riding, and so on.

William was surrounded by a large number of excellent people, educating William all kinds of knowledge, these are the educational programs developed by his father, it can be seen that the former Duke had high hopes for his only child, only two years ago, his poor father had died, and it was his guards who carried him back from distant Jerusalem and held a grand funeral.

Although William felt that Andersen's words were a little strange, he still listened to him according to his habit.

Although William has a luxurious team of tutors, even if he is still young, even if he is smart, he has only learned a scratch of the surface.

After his father's death, his governesses seemed to have frequent accidents and died outside, so that the original large team of teachers fell apart, and Archbishop Robert, as the guardian, did not have the idea of recruiting people to supplement the governess, and he personally took over William's education, saying, "All knowledge in this world comes from the Bible." There is no knowledge like the Bible, all the truths are in the Old Testament and the New Testament, learning other things is simply a waste of time, if there are still deficiencies, then you can properly study the Gospels left by the saints, as long as you believe in God sincerely and can lead troops to war, even if you are illiterate, anyway, the king has his own team of advisers, they can read the papers."

Therefore, although the status of Dr. Andersen's tutor has not been lifted, it is different from the previous situation of seeing each other almost every day, and it is difficult for William to see each other.

"Let's go, let's go, Your Royal Highness, there is no place for you in this palace, take your luggage, leave this palace, and go find your way out."

Dr. Andersen pulled out a bag containing hard and dry food, a dagger, and a gold coin.

"Why Dr. Andersen!" Prince William looked at the package that had already been packed in surprise, looked at the teacher with tears in his eyes, even if he was only nine years old, he still understood something at a young age.

He is the only heir to the duke, a prince and the heir to the country, he used to have a large number of servants who served him, a governess who gave him an elite education, and although the image of his father has become blurred, he understands that his father is a great hero, and he strives to be a good prince.

When the body of the father was returned to Normandy by the accompanying knights two years ago and the funeral was held, everything was already released.

The uncle who was originally the regent was the archbishop

He moved into his father's castle, his esteemed governess was killed in accidents, and the senators, who were loyal to his father, were sent on assignments to defend his quarrel with the archbishop, and they never returned, and the servants' attitude towards him changed dramatically.

This sudden gap was felt even by William, a child.

"Why, no why, because you are the future heir of the Duke of Normandy, you are the son of your father, and when your father's body is returned to Normandy, you should be the Duke of Normandy, but you are not a duke, because your uncle, Archbishop Robert, has stripped you of all power, he has given orders as your protector, he attacks the governess that surrounds you, has the ability to resist him, and is loyal to your loyal subjects, the knights who have clashed with him for you, but he has been exiled in your name."

Dr. Andersen told William's predicament, and seeing the sluggish look on his face, he took a deep breath and said, "Originally, under your father's arrangement, your governess was either a man of insight or a valiant knight, even if you were young, you had an upright and loyal minister by your side, plus Archbishop Robert was assisted in the church, your position was as solid as a rock, but now with the killing of your cronies and the exile of the knights, there is no one who can speak for you, and all the nobles are loyal to him."

"But why did my uncle want to kill me?" William was puzzled, "If my uncle wants the position of duke, then it is enough for him to usurp the throne directly, I do not pose any obstacle to him, you must know that I am his nephew after all, and we are a family."

"That's right, that's exactly what your father arranged, after he left the country, as long as he didn't die, he would not change with the army anyway, there was no better general than him, but your father died. No matter how bad your uncle is, he can only keep the royal power for you, and will not tolerate people at home and abroad to challenge your position, he must protect the interests of the entire family, even if he usurps the throne, he will eventually hand over the throne to you, but now you have violated his interests and hindered him.

Dr. Andersen pointed to a tall tower in front of the castle, where the archbishop and his wife lived, "See? Just now, a baby fell to the ground, and the Archbishop's wife gave birth to a child for him, and it was your brother."

"You are the legitimate heir to the duke, your uncle is a clergyman, so he can't usurp the throne, the king won't agree, the pope won't either, he can only keep it for you, but now he has a son, in the succession to the throne, your succession order is more than his, as long as you get rid of you, that child will be the first heir to the throne."

Prince William was speechless, at this time he finally realized the existence of the problem, the Normandy royal family only had his father, uncle and himself, after his father's death, as long as he and his uncle, whether his uncle liked or hated him, he could not give up the throne of the duke to anyone but him, even if he usurped the throne, he had to be the ruler to shield himself from the wind and rain and erase all enemies.

But now that the uncle had a son of his own, his first and greatest enemy was William himself.