At the end of the fourth volume, the conversation between the Dragon of Imagination and the Duke of
"Anyway, that's probably it." The Duke of Bavaria finally said.
"Hmm." Bruno, the Dragon of Fantasy, pondered.
He used his shallow mind-reading ability and found that the Duke did not tell any lies, and His Excellency Feng Luohuo next to him had no expression at all, apparently acquiescing to the Duke's statement.
"So, let me confirm, this is what happened..." The Fantasy Dragon began to recount from the beginning:
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620 years of the Sixth Age, the Principality of Lorraine, the Grand Palace of Aachen.
The Duke of Bavaria is visiting the Emperor to discuss the recent developments of the Wolf family.
Since the founding of the Saxon Dynasty, almost most nobles have known that the two famous families, Wolf and Griffon, have become a serious problem for the Dragon family.
The reason is that they hold too much principality territory.
In the feudal Holy Solomon Empire, how to prevent other families from becoming more powerful is something that the royal family considers all the time.
On the one hand, most emperors only exercised the power of enfeoffment, but rarely used the power to transfer or unconfess. Once used, it would easily cause rebellion among the vassals; on the other hand, even if they did not offend the vassals, when the vassals became more powerful, they would
Rebellious thoughts will also begin to arise.
Generally speaking, when he becomes stronger, he will rebel. If you weaken him, he will rebel in advance.
Otto I's policy was not to enfeoff the great nobility, but to enfeoff a large number of middle-level nobility and small nobility. As a result, there were various viscounts, barons and knighthoods directly under the royal family, sandwiched like fragments between the territories of the major principalities.
between.
In response, the big nobles are also actively annexing the territories of the surrounding small nobles to compete with the emperor's policy of reducing vassals, especially the wolves and griffons.
As a result, by the time of Otto II, the current generation of the emperor, the Griffin family actually had no fiefdom and no heirs, so it was extinct! So one of the two henchmen was gone, leaving only the Wo who occupied Lombardy and Burgundy.
Wolf family.
In order to deal with them, the Saxon family chose to join forces with the Weisbach family, the feud of the Wolf family, so their relationship has become increasingly close recently.
The Duke of Bavaria has even planned to send his young second son Henry to the Royal Military Academy next year to study. On the one hand, he will act as a proton. On the other hand, after he graduates, he will become His Majesty's Blade Knight and thus serve as the leader of the Weisbach family.
A bridge to the Saxon family.
After all, the entire Principality of Bavaria will be inherited by the eldest son Ludwig in the future.
After negotiating Henry's enrollment, the Duke inevitably had a few more drinks with the Emperor at the family banquet, and began to happily discuss the long history of the alliance between the Swan and Dragon families.
Gradually, we talked about how the ancestor of the Weisbach family, the Forge Fire, followed Emperor Henry I, the ancestor of the Saxon family, to defeat the rebellious Lion Duke of the Wolf family.
As a result, the revolutionary friendship between the two families became much stronger. After all, our ancestors once carried guns together.
The Duke of Bavaria was also a little tipsy. After he was too drunk, he said goodbye to the emperor and walked slowly back to his room.
As a result, I met Queen Theophano at the door of the room.
Theophano, the former princess of the Eastern Solomon Empire. According to the royal family pedigree, she should be regarded as the niece of Theodora's grandfather, which is equivalent to the distant aunt of little Sheila. However, this one married early, and Sheila actually
Never seen her.
The Weisbach family is famous for being rich in artists, and the Duke of Bavaria is also quite obsessed with the culture of Shiris, which has advanced art and culture. There are even rumors in the empire that the Duke also has an interest in Queen Theofano from Donluo.
Unreasonable thoughts...
Of course it's just a rumor.
Although the Duke had a good impression of the queen from Donluo, he was already married after all, and he was also a decent person, let alone having an affair with the queen. When he was in the Grand Palace in Aachen, he even deliberately avoided being with Dio.
Queen Fano had any form of contact...mainly eye contact.
Therefore, he has no idea why the Queen appeared at his door tonight.
"Your Majesty." The Duke lowered his head cautiously, and then tried to bypass her and open the door. In any case, if a maid saw the two of them together here, it would definitely be a heavy blow to the reputation of His Majesty the Emperor.
As for the Duke of Bavaria, as a decent, upright, and loyal Duke of the Empire, he would certainly not let the emperor's reputation be stained in any way because of his own mistakes.
However, unexpectedly, a delicate hand stretched out from his shoulder and pushed open the door with him.
"Your Majesty?" The Duke said in shock again, but Theofano had already pushed him into the room, then turned around and closed the door.
"Your Majesty the Duke." The queen could not hide her sadness and said urgently, "I have always believed that you are a decent, upright, and loyal person. Although they all say that you treat me...but I know that you have never
Embarrass me in public."
"It's just that for this matter... I really don't know who I can turn to. I don't even know who in this palace can be trusted. This thought haunted me like a nightmare until the Lord sent you here... I
I beg you, Your Excellency the Duke, whether it is mercy or a transaction..."
"...please help me!"
Seeing that Queen Theophano's eyes were red from crying and she looked extremely pitiful, the Duke couldn't bear it and helped her sit down on a chair:
"Your Majesty, although it is a bit presumptuous to say this, I thank you for your trust in me. As long as it does not harm me personally or my family, I am willing to do my best to help you."
"That's it." Seeing the Duke express his position skillfully, Queen Theofano, who had been sobbing, finally calmed down and showed a grateful expression.
"Your Excellency the Duke..." She unbuttoned her collar, which scared the Duke of Bavaria and quickly closed his eyes - he didn't see anything, because he was an upright and decent man.
However, he soon heard the cry of a baby.
The Duke opened his eyes again and saw that Theophano had put on his clothes again. The little baby in her arms was crying dissatisfiedly, as if he was angry because he had lost his mother's body.
"This is little Sophie, your Majesty and I's daughter." Queen Theophano looked at her reluctantly, then closed her eyes in pain and begged:
"I know this will surprise you and be very abrupt, but this is really the only way I can think of at the moment..."
"Your Excellency, can you adopt her?"
For a moment, the Duke of Bavaria even thought that he had heard wrongly, but Queen Theofano quickly handed the baby to him.
The Queen's action was so determined that the Duke even thought that if he didn't reach out to catch it, the baby would slip from her loose hands and fall to the ground - so he had no choice but to catch it.
The little baby in her arms gradually stopped crying and opened her big blue eyes curiously, looking at the well-dressed middle-aged man. Queen Theophano stood up and continued:
"She is His Majesty's daughter, but she can no longer stay by my side... Otherwise, if this continues, this child will inevitably go on the road of open confrontation with her father."
"Is this a prophecy? Son of Laius?" the Duke asked in astonishment.
The so-called son of Laius is a myth from ancient Cyrus. It is said that the king of ancient Thebes, Laius, heard the oracle and said that his son would kill him when he grew up.
So the king cruelly pierced his son's ankles, tied them with iron chains, and ordered a shepherd to abandon him in the forest to feed wolves. However, the shepherd took pity on him and sent him to the palace of the Kingdom of Corinth next door. As a result, the child
When he grew up, he accidentally killed a stranger passing by in a carriage on the roadside, who happened to be his father, King Laius.
The prophecies in ancient Cyris myths often have an "inevitable" and "tragic" nature, that is, no matter how you escape, you cannot avoid the destined tragic ending. Of course, although it is just a myth, in this extraordinary world, everything is inevitable.
It's all possible.
"Myth?" Queen Theofano shook her head and said with a tone of struggle, "It's not a myth, it's a devil. It lives in my mind, instigating me to bewitch my husband, and trying to seduce me.
My daughter is also guilty..."
"Ah!!!" She suddenly screamed in a low voice, clutching her head tightly as if in severe pain, and roared through gritted teeth, "From my head..."
"...Get out!"
The Duke of Bavaria stood up in panic. He subconsciously wanted to open the door and go out to call the doctor. However, he soon thought that if someone saw him and the Queen alone in a room with the newborn baby Sophie, it would definitely be harmful to His Majesty.
serious damage to your reputation.
As an upright, decent and loyal earl, he quickly gave up this idea for the sake of His Majesty.
At this time, Queen Theofano stood upright again, with a different expression on her face than before. With a certain elegant and polite smile (even a little polite and indifferent), she extended her hand to the Duke of Bavaria:
"I'm sorry, Your Excellency, can you return my Sophie to me?"
The Duke of Bavaria was slightly startled when he saw Queen Theofano's face suddenly turned ferocious again, and she bent down again holding her head:
"No! I will never...will...hand Sophie...to you..."
The queen's expression sometimes turned ferocious and desperate, and sometimes changed back to calm and elegant (even with a certain faint coldness), as if there were two personalities in the body that were in fierce conflict, constantly competing for the dominance of the body.
In the end, the Queen's personality prevailed. She stood up again holding on to the table, smiled weakly at the Duke and said:
"Your Majesty the Duke...it's time for me to go..."
"I can't suppress that devil for too long, so... please leave the Principality of Lorraine as soon as possible tomorrow..."
"Take my Sophie with you... stay away from me, stay away from here..."
"This is my only plea to you."
She walked tremblingly outside. The Duke of Bavaria stepped forward and tried to help her, but the queen pushed her away.
"So, what should her name be?" When the queen opened the door, the Duke tentatively asked behind her.
"As...my daughter?"
Queen Theofano turned around and took one last look at her daughter... The Duke was sure he saw some kind of crystal droplets slipping from the corners of her eyes.
Then she slowly turned around, as if she had made up her mind, and said in a trembling voice:
"Just call her 'Eleanor'."
"Eleanor..." the Duke of Bavaria repeated the name, knowing that its original meaning was "as dazzling as the morning sun." However, after Queen Theophano finished saying this, she walked forward again without looking back.
Go and disappear into the pitch-black night outside.
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"That's right." The Duke of Bavaria nodded, "Your retelling is completely consistent with the facts I just described, Your Excellency Dragon of Utopia."
"Well, I understand." Bruno, the Dragon of Fantasy, looked down at his notes and nodded thoughtfully.
Although this story embellishes the narrator, there is nothing wrong with it logically.
The Duke of Bavaria has been troubled by rumors for a long time. Naturally, it is impossible to tell His Majesty the Emperor about this matter. Otherwise, given His Majesty's character, he would have to suspect that he had some ulterior relationship with the Queen, which would make the Queen secretly seek help from him.
, and entrusted His Highness Sophie to him.
And this kind of anger will even extend to Her Highness Sophie. On the other hand, if Her Highness Sophie can grow up in the Weisbach family, then the treatment she receives will not be much worse than that in the Saxon family.
Therefore, whether it was for the sake of the Queen, His Highness, or even the Emperor, the Duke of Bavaria finally chose to secretly adopt the child, and his motivations were reasonable.
As for Theofano's mention of "I don't know who in this court can be trusted," there is no doubt that the Duke of Bavaria has developed a great distrust of everyone in the Saxony family, which is why he has concealed the matter until now.
Of course, for today's Bruno, he undoubtedly agrees with the Duke of Bavaria's approach. After all, there is a spiritual plague, and it is hard to say how many people in the palace were infected at that time.
If he rashly chooses to betray the Queen, then His Highness Sophie will definitely stay in the palace. According to the Queen, if Her Highness is controlled by the spiritual plague again and assassinates the Emperor...
...For the Saxony family, there is much more than just a scandal.
Well, who knew that even after leaving the Saxon family, Her Highness would go back to the path of confrontation with her father?
The Dragon of Fantasy closed the note, silently lamented that "good fortune plays tricks on people", and then he and the Duke of Bavaria said goodbye and left.