Before Brunhilde could even ask, "Where are you going?", the old knight's figure had already disappeared from her sight.
The Earl of Emerson's mansion remained as quiet as ever, except that the fire burning inside brought a touch of brightness to the otherwise desolate residence.
"Young master, your ginger honey tea."
Emerson took the tea brewed by the old butler, sat in the main seat of the hall, and took a small sip. The tea tasted slightly sweet and refreshing, but it could not wash away the endless bitterness in his heart.
“I destroyed a kingdom, a kingdom my family fought for for over two hundred years.” Emerson’s cloudy eyes reflected the dancing flames, and he seemed to hear cries and pleas for help coming from the royal city. He slowly put down his teacup: “Without a doubt, I will go to hell.”
Old Camp stood behind Emerson, a wooden beam broken by flames crashing down behind the old butler, but he remained unmoved.
A loud bang.
The tightly closed door was kicked open, and Cumberland's booming voice rang out: "Old turtle! Get out here!"
The count looked at the old knight emerging from the flames and clutched his forehead in anguish.
Cumberland frowned as he looked at the master and servant at the far end of the hall and scolded, "Emerson! This kind of death is not suitable for you!"
“You would never guess what happened that year. Death was a relief for me in a sense.”
Cumberland took a few steps closer to the seat of honor: "Really? To me, this doesn't seem like a relief, but more like an escape."
The intense heat emanating from the floor baked everything in the room, causing the threads on Emerson's trouser legs to turn yellow and curl, emitting wisps of white smoke.
The Earl looked at Cumberland approaching, sighed, took a dagger from his pocket, and pointed it at his chest: "Old friend, don't force me to end my life in a way I don't like."
Cumberland stopped in his tracks, hesitating.
Just then, Old Camp, who hadn't uttered a word from beginning to end, bent down and said to Emerson, "Young Master, it's getting late, you should rest."
Emerson turned his head in confusion, a strong wave of drowsiness washing over him: "What's going on...you...that tea..."
The count slumped back in his chair, the dagger in his hand falling to the ground with a thud.
Cumberland hurried forward, picked up Emerson, and rushed toward the mansion gate.
Cumberland kicked aside the burning wood on the ground and dashed out of the fire. Gasping for breath, he threw Emerson to the ground and looked back. The old butler was standing motionless beside the burning door.
Cumberland got up and ran back towards the door, shouting, "Old Kemp! Come out here!"
The old butler glanced back at the mansion, now engulfed in flames, then turned and bowed deeply to Cumberland, shouting with all his might, "Baron! The young master... I entrust him to you!"
The door was closed again.
Countless glories and honors turned to dust with the flames, leaving only an old man, born and died here, to accompany this old house through its final journey.
May 14, 1172, is a day in history known as the "Elegy of the Silver Ring".
At two o'clock in the morning, the barbarian army tore up the alliance agreement, looted the treasury, burned the royal palace, and slaughtered more than 400 people, including members of the royal family.
Around 7 a.m., the Silver Ring garrison and the nobles' private soldiers launched a counterattack, recapturing the palace and repelling several attacks by the barbarian army.
At 11:00 AM, the barbarian tribes stationed outside the city, together with their allies inside the city, captured the palace gates and, under the guise of revenge, launched a three-day campaign of ethnic cleansing and plunder.
On May 17, 1172, infighting broke out among the allied forces attacking the North Stone Fortress, and the Silver Ring Kingdom's army collapsed.
On May 19, 1172, the Northern Island Knights and the Twilight Knights joined forces and marched eastward.
On May 24, 1172, the Kingdom of Muxi announced the occupation of Silver Ring City, and a kingdom with a history of hundreds of years was thus lost to the annals of history.
Following this, the Muxi Kingdom army, which had originally aimed at Watchtower, abandoned all its battle plans after receiving an urgent letter from within the kingdom. Except for leaving a small force to occupy Silver Ring City, all other troops marched day and night to retreat to Muxi City.
The letter contained only one sentence.
The King's Assassination
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