Chapter 307 The admonition in front of the tombstone
Cumberland and Emerson looked at the petite "woman" in front of them with doubts on their faces.
Cumberland looked Dion up and down, and said to Todd: "Your Majesty, are you sure? If you send a person like this to the Holy Acropolis, I'm afraid it won't take more than two days, and he will be swallowed even to the bones."
Leftover.”
Dion patted the sword on his waist and raised his head: "Lord Chapter Leader, my swordsmanship is enough to protect myself."
Todd laughed at this time: "I can guarantee this. As an executive judge, Dion often has the opportunity to hone his sword skills."
Emerson stroked his moustache and said while thinking: "However, Dion, your analysis of the struggle for the throne can indeed explain the series of events currently occurring. I think this inference is highly reliable.
.”
Todd paused and asked again: "So, do you think Knight Dion is suitable to serve as the leader of the Twilight City Envoy?"
Cumberland glanced at the king and shrugged: "If your Majesty thinks it is appropriate, I have no objection."
"Emerson, what about you?"
"Knight Dion's intelligence collection, analysis and summary capabilities surprised me, and from an overall perspective, he fully meets the requirements of the head of the mission." Emerson said this, looking at this man who was only in his early twenties.
The young man said worriedly: "But if I remember correctly, you have been living in the Papal State before and have never been to the Holy Acropolis. I'm afraid you know nothing about the customs there, especially the relationship between the powerful.
As you know, this will be detrimental to the development of your work."
Seeing that he finally had the opportunity to get rid of the boring life of doing nothing, Dion was not willing to let this reason ruin his hope of being an envoy: "Then, I request a deputy envoy to accompany me, as long as there is a guide who is more familiar with the local environment.
I will be absolutely sure to gain a foothold in the Holy Acropolis!"
Emerson and Todd looked at each other, and the latter fell into deep thought and said to himself: "Deputy envoy?"
After a moment, Todd suddenly said: "I have someone."
Two hours later, Mary came to the king's audience room, heard Todd's request, and shouted in surprise: "You want me to be a member of the Muxi envoy to the Holy Acropolis?!"
Todd sat on a chair and wrote furiously: "The Kingdom of Muxi has never had any dealings with the Holy Acropolis. You are the only one among us who understands the situation."
Mary bit her lip: "Your Majesty, aren't you worried that after I go back, I will secretly collude with the people in the Holy Acropolis and stand on the opposite side of the kingdom?"
Todd stopped writing, raised his head, and looked at Mary: "Since I am willing to hand over this job to you, it means that I trust you unconditionally. Besides, the purpose of Mu Xicheng's mission this time is to
Holy Acropolis provides food aid, but it is not declaring war on them. You don't have to worry about conflicts between the two countries at all."
"To be honest, I don't have any favorable impression of the place where I was born." Mary sat across from the desk, looking out the window at the sun gradually setting in the west, and whispered like a dream: "From the moment I came to this world to the day I got married.
I was never allowed out of that prison-like castle for a moment."
"They saw me as a commodity to be sold. I couldn't go out into the sun because it would tan my skin. I couldn't run or jump because it would leave scars on my body. Just
Like a bird in a cage, I wash my feathers and put on makeup every day in order to be sold for a good price one day."
Todd put down his pen gently, and the sad face in front of him made his heart tighten: "Mary, if you resist this job, I can find another person to serve as deputy envoy. All you need to do is...
Before the mission leaves, give them a detailed introduction to the situation in the Holy Acropolis."
"No, I will go, why not?" Mary took a deep breath, like a naughty girl climbing on the roof, looked at Todd and said with a smile: "When you deliberately stay away from the pain in life,
You will find that the nightmare in your heart will become bigger and bigger. The best way to overcome fear is to face it instead of running away from it."
Mary, who had a smile in her eyes, looked at Todd without any hesitation, only determination and certainty: "Moreover, I am no longer the doll at the mercy of others in the past. I have my destination and I am willing to spend my life."
Something to protect.”
Seeing Mary's determined look, Todd nodded: "I understand, I will let Cumberland send the most elite troops of the Knights to protect the personal safety of the entire mission."
After settling the issue of selecting the ambassador, the sky was already filled with stars. Todd, who was hungry, walked towards the palace and saw a familiar figure at the end of the corridor.
Because his spine was injured in the war, Huggins, who had limited mobility, leaned his back against the pillar and repeatedly rubbed the muscles on his thighs with his palms to relieve the fatigue in his legs.
Todd walked along the corridor from behind Huggins and said, "You need a cane."
When the latter saw the king, he quickly straightened up and moved his legs and feet to show that he was fine.
Todd walked up to Huggins, looked at the other person's hesitation, and said in a deep voice: "If you have anything to say, just say it."
Huggins lowered his head and said softly: "The Raglans are willing to donate part of their wealth to build a welfare hospital for immigrants outside the city in the name of the king."
After hearing this, Todd looked at Huggins with sharp eyes: "What's your idea?"
Huggins shook his head slightly: "It was Mr. Raglan's idea."
Todd's expression relaxed and he sighed inaudibly: "Take a sum of money from the palace's treasury, plus their donations, to build a decent medical place for the immigrants outside the city. Don't use mine.
Just do it in the name of that couple."
Huggins bent down and saluted, saying that he would do it immediately.
Finding that the other party showed no sign of leaving, Todd asked strangely: "Is there anything else?"
Huggins showed a forced smile: "Your Majesty, my energy is not as good as before. If you can agree, I would like to find a few people to share my work..."
After hearing this, Todd already understood what Huggins was thinking.
Because of the Raglan couple's affairs, on the one hand, to worry about Todd's anger, and on the other hand, to avoid suspicion, Huggins, who was thinking of quitting, hoped to return power to the king.
"Stand here and wait for me."
After saying this, Todd walked to the bedroom without looking back, leaving Huggins alone in the corridor in a daze.
A few minutes later, Todd changed into a robe, covered his figure with a wide cloak, and covered his face with a low brim. He walked up to the confused Huggins and made a gesture:
"Follow me."
The two of them got on the royal carriage and drove to the center of the city at the foot of the Palace Mountain with a group of disguised guards.
Listening to the lively and noisy voices in his ears, Todd stopped the carriage in a hidden corner, opened the door and walked onto the street.
Seeing this, Huggins quickly got out of the carriage, called to the guards, and followed the king's footsteps.
The place where Todd got off the bus was close to Muxi Plaza, which is the most prosperous and lively place in the entire Muxi City.
Although it is already eight or nine o'clock in the evening, the crowds on the streets have not subsided at all. Thousands of people gathered around the square, enjoying the night entertainment life. A newly choreographed romantic comedy is being performed in the open-air theater. The actors
Perform hard and the audience laughs loudly;
Officials, businessmen and craftsmen who had a busy day left their respective places of work and ran into taverns and hotels in the commercial district in small groups to enjoy themselves; vendors pushed various trucks and sold goods to passers-by.
There is an endless stream of people bargaining over their own goods.
Holding a bowl of seafood chowder in his left hand and a dozen skewers in his right hand, Todd, who looked nothing like a king, ate the street snacks while strolling towards the south of the square.
Huggins followed him, looked at Todd's expression, and carefully advised: "Your Majesty, it's getting late, we should go back."
"It's not far, just ahead." Todd finished the food in his hand, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, pointed ahead and said to Huggins.
The group of people who came out of the palace walked forward for another twenty minutes and came to a lonely hill.
This hill is located in the center of Muxi City, but compared with the colorful and noisy downtown around it, it is as quiet as an isolated island.
Huggins climbed the hill and looked around.
There are lush green trees, endless green grass and wild flowers, and... hundreds of tombstones standing quietly in the night.
He recognized this place.
This was originally the residence of Alfonso, and later became the cemetery of the knights' war dead.
Todd walked to the top of the hill, looked back at the thousands of lights at the foot of the hill that were as bright as a galaxy, and asked, "How is this view?"
Huggins, who was not sure what the king wanted, said carefully: "Your Majesty, it is beautiful."
"That city-tower-like building is the Muxi Cathedral in the kingdom, which is about to be completed. Elijah is leading a group of art masters to work on the last part of the murals on the ceiling of the church; that place is like a noble manor.
It is Muxi College. By the end of next month, the college will officially change its name to Muxi University. There will be seven branches by then.
There are nearly a hundred academic departments and more than two thousand students settled there; there is also the brightly lit strip near the sea, where the Muxi Harbor has just completed its expansion and is now able to accommodate the largest ships in the Southern Empire.
The Duxi Dockyard will soon start construction of its third dock, which will be the largest in all the parish kingdoms..."
Todd turned his head in the direction of Huggins and said calmly: "Do you know who you want to thank for the beautiful scenery in front of you?"
The latter paused for a while and said softly: "Of course, Your Majesty. Without you, this place would be just a desolate beach."
"Wrong!"
Todd pointed his finger to the ground not far away and said word by word: "It is they who have to thank Muxi City for what it is today!"
Following the direction of the king's finger, Huggins looked at the dense tombstones in his field of vision and stood there blankly.
Todd slowly walked to the nearest cross tombstone and looked at the words engraved on it - Seth Drummond, 1152-1171, the 11th Cavalry of the Muxi Knights, died in the Battle of North Rock
.
Todd knelt down, gently brushed off the dust on the tombstone, and said softly in a voice that only he could hear: "Perhaps the first instinct a ruler has is to take the sacrifices of others as a matter of course.
Things, but after so many years, I still can’t do this kind of thing..."
Todd, who had been squatting in front of the tombstone for a long time, stood up again and said to Huggins: "I have never thought that the king is a pleasant job, and I have never thought that power is a supreme glory. That's right.
Because I hold a high position, the first thing I do when I wake up and open my eyes every day is not to think about what I can enjoy today, but what I should do for my subjects today."
"Hudgens, my rebuke to you and the Raglans is not because you deceived me and violated the majesty of the king; it is because you began to put your own interests above the people."
"Different from the time at San Sidro Monastery, we fought in the past. We fought for food and clothing and for survival. But now, our fight is to live up to these dead soldiers and to protect everyone behind us.
!”
After saying that, looking at Huggins in deep thought, Todd patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Everyone makes mistakes. Today I will correct your mistakes. One day in the future, maybe
It's your turn to warn me."
After saying this, leaving Huggins in a daze, Todd walked down the hill alone.