Chapter Ninety-One: The Palace

Decherim City. ()

The city was not too characteristic of the empire: unlike Sunobi, it was not quaint enough; Compared to Uxhall, it is not refined enough; Compared to Paraven, it is not majestic enough.

After the first Zen people built the Frost Castle, they only used Dehrim as a sentinel on the high ground. However, with the changes of history, the Zen people eventually crossed the heights of Dehrim and walked deeper into the plains and pastures, and Dehrim, which was originally a barbaric frontier, gradually became the hinterland of the empire. That being said, it has only been the last few hundred years that Dehrim has officially become the main town of the Empire, which is why subjects in the traditional regions of the Empire tend to speak of Dehrim with a sense of contempt.

Now, however, Dehrim is the most high-profile city in the Swadia Empire. The city was so important that for the Swadians in the west, they needed to observe Emperor Fiedre's policy here and thus decide who they themselves would follow; For the Swadians in the eastern part of the empire, what is now Dehrium is a vortex of political upheaval.

Unknown letters, fires after curfew, sudden crowds, guards wearing white scarves, and all sorts of unusual sights make Dehrim a city full of suspicion and suspicion. The gallows and guillotine at the southern end of the city made my father, who had just arrived here, feel a sense of murder.

When the father arrived, several corpses were still hanging on the gallows, on which were squatting a few crows, and the father looked up at the sky from under the helmet, and some birds were circling and flying, and the sky was a light gray.

Colin also looked at the miserable situation here, and then tried not to look away, and walked over: "My lord, let's go into the city." ”

"It's time for the crows to be full, too." Father continued to look at the sky, and after a while he said slowly.

Colin stepped forward first, and showed the gatekeeper his insignia and the order to enter and leave the city.

The gatekeeper was a short, stocky man who looked sturdy. His eyes were swollen, and he listened to Colin speak a tongue-twisting command, and at the end, he nodded impatiently, indicating that he was aware of the situation, and he looked at his father's mount.

"Your Excellency, you haven't had a good time," said the gatekeeper in his ear-covering steel helmet, who looked haggard and covered with a thin sweat from the cold. "Good luck in town, sir"

He whistled. A head poked out from the tower, and the gate officer waved at the tower, and the soldier, seeing the leader's order, shouted from the tower. Out of sight, the servants began to spin their winches, and the lift door began to creak down.

As the lift gate landed, someone in the city blew the trombone, and the soldier on the tower waved his hand to indicate that the mission was complete.

Under the leadership of his father, the knights behind him bowed their heads in turn to thank the city gate officer, and the soldiers entered the town one after another.

After my father entered the city, although he did not look back, he still felt the shadow of the lifting door being pulled up, and this shadow hung over his father for several months after that.

When the inhabitants of the city heard someone coming in, they looked up at the visitors. After discovering the soldiers' attire, they lost interest, and lately there had been too many of them: a group of guards with an officer in tow.

No one cared where such people would go, and everyone in the city was already in danger, but having said that, the inhabitants of the city did not feel too much danger, and the unlucky ones were all in public office. The greatest inconvenience felt by the inhabitants was the curfew imposed at night, and those who violated the curfew were punished with whipping at the worst and sent out of the city to serve as servants for a period of time.

As they walked from Tiger's Eye Avenue towards the palace, an officer on the street motioned for the group to slow down. There were already three steps and one sentry in the city, and one post in five steps, and when the soldiers standing guard saw these guards, although their eyes were still full of doubt, they still maintained the maximum respect, and opened the fence in the middle of the road in turn.

One of my father's guards subordinates came to my father and told him that he would first report to the garrison so that he could notify the appropriate personnel to come and greet him. With his father's permission, the soldier who had been behind the palace rode forward, and the sound of horses' hooves soon disappeared around the corner of the street.

Dehrim became a little dirty, some household garbage was scattered on both sides of the street, emitting an unpleasant stench, and people who went into the city to pick up garbage were no longer free to come and go during this time, and this mess happened. Even more frightening is the situation in the city's markets, where mountains of rotting food and human and animal manure are produced every day, and it is obviously unrealistic to rely on the residents to dispose of them themselves. For this reason, officials in Decherim City had to demand that any convoy leaving the city take a certain amount of garbage with them, or face punishment. However, if the ban on access to the city is not lifted, this filthy situation will continue.

After the soldier left, his father and Colin walked unhurriedly, and the city seemed familiar and strange. Some of the houses facing the street had their windows open, and the citizens on them looked at the visitors suspiciously, and when the father felt the gaze and looked back, the people immediately retreated into their houses. A low bell rang in the distance, and the sound of babies crying and dogs barking could be heard in the alley.

Soon after, the corner of the alley suddenly opened up, and a clearing appeared in front of it. At the end of the clearing is a very chic ornamental tree, and the well-maintained grass stretches from the foot to the corner of the wall, showing a beautiful color, which is really refreshing compared to the light gray street.

As my father moved on, several servants dressed in palace robes approached. The men looked at their father with low eyebrows, and one of the leading servants grabbed his father's reins, "My lord, you can't ride a horse in front of you." ”

The father rolled over and dismounted, and behind him, the soldiers dismounted. The father took off his helmet, tucked his left arm under his armpit, and pressed his sword forward with his right hand. All that remained was the crisp trembling of armor and the sound of powerful footsteps in the clearing.

At the gate of the palace, my father's squad underwent a final check, and one of the captains of the guard straightened his helmet and gave a standard military salute after learning his father's rank.

My father looked up at the palace wall, which was covered with flags of various colors. Father recognized some of the flags of the troops, but the intricate family emblems of the lords did not know which families had obtained them, and could only guess from some of the markings where these families came from and which families were related to each other.

At the gate of the palace, a group of soldiers had already come out, and between them stood an old man in a wide scholar's robe.

Colin whispered, "That's the internal deacon of the palace, and also the seal of His Majesty this month, William. The Earl of Norman. ”

"William. Norman'''s ''He's from the Norman family?'' He and Lorenz. What is Norman's relationship? ”

"My brother." Colin whispered in the last moments, "And, my lord, Captain Lorenz's arrest warrant is the seal of Earl William. ”

Father looked back at Colin without being stunned, only stunned for a moment, and then continued to walk forward. His father had only heard of Lorenz, but his older brother William had not, and William seemed to keep a low profile. But now that William is called an earl, he is clearly the one who inherited the Norman title.

"Earl William." Father walked up to the Seal Officer and bowed down with the soldiers, "I have come in response to your call. ”

The thin-looking middle-aged man pursed his freshly shaved iron mouth and nodded expressionlessly. "It's been hard to come all the way, Arcadio the second?"

"My current position is Squadron Leader, Your Excellency the Earl."

"Well, Captain Arcadio 2nd. What's your title? ”

Father thought that William should have known about this kind of thing a long time ago, and he didn't know why William had to ask again. Perhaps this was the rule of entering the palace, and my father had to clear his throat in accordance with the interests of the nobles meeting, and then said solemnly:

"My father was a low-ranking nobleman, Sir Arcadio from the Valley of the White Dove in Suno. And I don't have a knighthood right now, Your Excellency. But I received an order that I would be canonized as a baron in a few days. ”

"Haha, Sir? Harlaus also calls himself Sir Harlaus, and there are many kinds of jazz in the world. Your father was promoted because of his military exploits, right? It's the lowest 'jazz', isn't it? If I'm not mistaken. ”

William knew everything, but he pretended to go around in circles here, and then stabbed his father's somewhat humble family.

"Yes," the corners of my father's mouth twitched, "my father served the former king many years ago. ”

"Yes, alright. And now? Is your father still in the service of Harlaus? ”

"My father's territory is still in Sunuo, and as a lord, my father has no reason to leave the territory."

"Even after the traitors usurped their position, are they still reluctant to come to the orthodox emperor with their property?" William raised his eyebrows, looking curious.

My father was a little speechless, and William's words were so ugly. Not only his father, but Colin on the side also felt the blood rush to his head, and his father could feel Colin's resentment. Colin's family was also from the province of Paravon, and his father was in the direct service of Haraus.

"Earl William, I heard that the Normans seem to be staying in the realm as well." After a moment of silence, my father raised his head.

William's eyes flickered, as if he was a little surprised by my father's words, "What do you want to say?" ”

"Count, many things are a last resort. I have answered your call by standing here, and I stand here ready to serve Emperor Fiderick. But I clearly feel your doubts about my family, which makes me feel very "confused". ”

"Yes," William's lips pursed even tighter, and he looked his father up and down one last time, exhaling, "Come in with me." Go meet your colleagues. ”

After saying that, William turned around and began to walk towards the palace. The soldiers guarding the gate around felt the coldness of the atmosphere, and they all lowered their heads not to look at their father's eyes, for fear of touching their heads. William dared to casually bruise the face of an officer, and these ordinary soldiers would not dare to do so. In the palace, it is better not to have any enemies, otherwise you may encounter endless trouble, as long as you grasp it properly, the energy of everyone in the palace is huge.

The palace retains the style of the Chanda period: the dome is arched, the layers are extended, and the stone walls are dotted with continuous geometric patterns.

Flags hang down from the walls on either side, and family crests and ornaments sit silently on pedestals behind the flags watching those who walk by.

The halberd-wielding soldier bowed his head to William as he walked by, and raised his head again when the last man in the group had passed. As you move forward on this path, you feel like you're walking on an endless path. But the feeling soon faded, and William turned to the left, where a carved wooden door was open and a thick carpet was laid on the floor. Father took one last look at the grand passageway, and on the wall, an emperor cast a determined gaze on the fresco.

There was a circular conference room in front of it, and it was visible from between the armor and weapons of the guards at the door that several people were discussing something. Those people must be my father's colleagues.

At the edge of a common room, a grim-faced guard stopped his father's guard, disarmed him, and put the saber in a delicate wooden box and wrapped it in a velvet coat. Colin took his father's helmet, nodded to him, and followed the guard.

Walking into the room, my father froze for a few seconds, seemingly trying to identify the person in front of him.

Then, to everyone's surprise, my father jumped onto the round table and pounced on a man sitting across the table. The people in the room were stunned and retreated, and even William showed a surprised expression. The guards outside poked their heads into the room and looked nervously into the room.

The father struck the man who had been crushed by his sudden attack. The father bravely pressed his knee against the man's chest, grabbed the man's hair with his left hand, and made a motion with his right hand ready to slam. Then his father stopped--- a sword rested on his neck.

"Relax, Arcadio, relax." William led in a powerful voice.

Father gasped and slowly let go of his arm. But he still looked at the man below him viciously.

"Captain Uhru, are you alright?" William asked with concern.

The man spat out a mouthful of blood, "Phew, this is the second time this little Swa''s little seed has attacked me." ”

Uhru, who had taken Elune, was now wearing the brocade of the Swadian palace guards, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.