It seems that the villain is targeting me.

Although Gwyneth was sitting in front of the fireplace, her body began to tremble. A terrible guess in her heart was gradually taking shape, like a gradually expanding bubble, emerging clearly from her mind.

That conjecture is no longer just a suspicion, but is almost certain.

This made her feel desperate.

Bi'er said to Xiao Niao, "It's just as you expected. There are a large number of unknown knights active in the city—they are heading towards Tudor's Palace."

The adjutant paused for a few seconds and uttered the next sentence with difficulty: "...His Highness Rickon has also been confirmed to have been killed."

At this time, Xiao Niao had already read the more detailed content on the note.

She took a deep breath; the worst had finally happened.

These nobles gathered their armies, gambled their entire fortunes and their most elite knights, and risked the gallows to go to the Duke of Tudor's house, certainly not to play house with the general.

Their ambitions are already clear.

The room was so quiet for a moment that no one knew what to say. The only sound was the crackling of burning wood.

After a long time, Gwyneth's trembling voice broke the silence in the room.

"Can we still... pass on the message and have the General's Guard escort Father and the others out..."

Gwyneth stammered.

Xiao Niao looked at Gwen with a hint of sadness in her eyes. She also felt a strong sense of powerlessness in her heart about this situation.

"It's too late, Gwen."

Xiao Niao repeated in a low, hoarse voice, "It's too late."

Gwyneth's face became even more gloomy. She couldn't help but stand up and slowly walked towards the bird.

"Then... ask the Legion for help?" Gwyneth thought hard, thinking of a plan. "Your Majesty's current situation must be very dangerous. We can use this as an excuse to convince the army..."

"It won't work," Xiao Niao shook his head at Gwen. "These people aren't trying to overthrow the empire. They're supporting the crown prince's ascension to the throne. Charles is still the heir to the empire and has legal legitimacy. If the army supports us, they'll risk treason."

"Even the Knights aren't any good?" Gwyneth's voice trembled as violently as she herself. "Is there no knight left in the capital who is loyal to His Majesty?"

Xiao Niao was silent for a moment. "...The Griffin Knights, who were completely loyal to Lawrence, are almost dead in name only. Almost all of their manpower was lost in the previous war. Even if they wanted to support us, they can't do anything."

Gwyneth had already walked up to the chair where Xiao Niao was sitting.

She had grown taller, and the light from the fireplace cast Gwen's shadow over the Imperial Prime Minister in the chair, with a hint of questioning and coercion.

Xiao Niao raised his head in the shadows and met her gaze calmly.

The Red Moon Knight standing by frowned, sensing that something was not right with Gwen.

Gwyneth's move of getting too close to Xiao Niao made Red Moon Knight feel threatened, and she subconsciously wanted to step forward to stop her - but Xiao Niao waved at her implicitly, stopping Red Moon's next move.

Then, as if driven by intense emotion, Gwyneth suddenly raised one hand.

She reached out and grabbed Xiao Niao's shoulders.

Her hand fell on Xiao Niao's right shoulder, which was neither trembling nor injured, and her fingers clenched slightly.

Gwyneth lowered her head deeply, like a person on the verge of collapse who grabbed the only life-saving straw she could hold on to.

"What should I do?" Gwyneth stammered. "What should I do now..."

"You have to protect yourself now," Xiao Niao said softly, "even if it's

For your father, and for your family, you must protect yourself as well."

As she spoke, Xiao Niao carefully cupped Gwyneth's fragile wrist bones with her fingers, and the tip of her thumb touched the girl's pulse, delivering some small comfort.

"I'm leaving the Prime Minister's residence to do something," Xiao Niao said, looking at Gwen seriously. "If we continue to stay here, we will all die. Only by taking positive action can we have a chance of survival."

She spoke slowly, patiently explaining to Gwyneth, gently as if comforting a child having a nightmare.

"Are you leaving the capital?" Gwyneth asked hurriedly.

This seems to be the best solution at the moment. The enemy's main attention is not on Xiaoniao, and she has so many spies and subordinates loyal to her.

If everyone worked together and risked their lives to escort Xiao Niao, he might be able to escape from the capital during the chaos.

If she wanted to escape, every second counted.

"I won't leave," Xiao Niao promised Gwen, "Everyone and everything I care about is here, and I won't let those people ruin it all."

Gwyneth pursed her lips, feeling her fingers suddenly become weak, she slowly loosened her grip and let go of Xiaoniao's shoulders.

Xiao Niao patted Gwyneth's arm soothingly again, then turned his head and began to execute the plan in his mind.

"Bi'er, I'll dictate a letter, and you'll write it down and seal it for me right here."

"Hongyue, we will leave the Prime Minister's Residence together later. I will need you to act as a messenger and deliver this letter to someone."

Finally everything was ready and everything was arranged.

Before leaving, Xiao Niao spoke to Gwyneth for the last time.

"I'm leaving now. We might need to move to another hiding place. Someone will come to pick you up," Xiao Niao said, "but I can't guarantee your safety completely. You have to be careful with everything."

Gwyneth nodded and agreed.

Gwyneth would think back to this night countless times, and recall what had happened today.

By then, everything had been settled. She had gained unimaginable power and stood at the top of the pyramid, which she had never imagined when she was a child.

By then, she and the bird had formed the closest bond in the eyes of the world—a union protected and recognized by imperial law, a vow they had made under the witness of the gods.

But Gwyneth still thinks back to that night countless times, and makes assumptions about what happened:

If Butcher had known what I would eventually do to her, would she have walked so decisively into the night?

Gwyneth couldn't get an answer, after all, reality had already happened.

At that time, she only needed to reach out to touch the other person, and she could easily hold her beloved little bird in her arms.

She gently stroked the inside of Xiao Niao's elbow and accidentally touched a small piece of flexible leather wrapped around his wrist.

The chains rattled.

There is no longer the tenderness of pressing your pulse that night.

PS: I finally finished writing it... I'm stuck on this chapter...

A little chapter description

Good morning, dear readers...

I was a little bit stuck when typing yesterday, and I didn’t pay attention to the coherence of the plot.

I woke up this morning and read a thread and realized that I wrote yesterday's chapter too early. There are still two small plots that have not been completed. I feel it is very abrupt when I read it myself.

But the paid chapters can’t be deleted casually, and it’s very troublesome to make major changes...

So I just keep writing.

The following plot will have an awkward and clumsy flashback. After reading it, you may find the timeline strange.

No doubt, it was caused by the author's stupidity.

Kneel down, kneel down

Chapter 82: All actions will bring retribution upon oneself

Lawrence didn't know how long he had slept. His body felt heavy and seemed a little abnormal. It was not like the usual feeling of dizziness and hangover after drinking too much.

After he regained consciousness, he lay drowsy on the bed for a long time before finally opening his eyes.

Lawrence narrowed his eyes and subconsciously looked out the window.

It was still light outside, but the sun had already set and it was approaching dusk.

Lawrence stared at the scenery outside the window for a long time before he finally remembered what had happened before.

At the lunchtime banquet, he watched the jester's performance and drank a lot of wine with the barbecue. Then, he seemed to be drunk and was helped by several servants back to the bedroom to rest.

It wasn't uncommon for the emperor to be drunk in the palace, but Lawrence felt that something was a little strange today.

He was actually quite restrained in drinking during the day, and the wine served at the lunchtime banquet was even lower in alcohol content. But for some reason, Lawrence I, who was usually a huge drinker, only drank five or six glasses of red wine this time and passed out in a daze.

The feeling of the blood vessels bouncing in his temples was particularly clear, and the beating of his heart seemed particularly chaotic. Lao Yezhu endured the discomfort coming from all parts of his body, and reluctantly moved his body, allowing himself to half-sit up against the cushion.

He felt very thirsty, so he called for the servant to pour water, but he called out several times but no one came to his rescue.

Come.

Lawrence muttered a few curses, thinking that the servants didn't hear him, or had simply run away somewhere to be lazy.

He became impatient and wanted to get up and get a glass of water, but his hands and feet were still weak and he couldn't move them.

Lawrence raised his head with difficulty, trying to see where the kettle in the room was, but unexpectedly saw another person in the room.

But her appearance in the bedroom was not particularly strange - because this person was Lawrence's wife, Queen Catherine.

Catherine must have been waiting for Lawrence to wake up. She sat calmly in a wide armchair, with a cup of untouched cold tea on the small table next to her.

Just now, when Lawrence was calling for his servants and struggling to find water, she had been looking at him like this.

The scene was actually quite eerie. The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the window glass onto Queen Catherine, and the light made the shadows on her face particularly three-dimensional.

But Lawrence, who had just woken up, had not yet realized that something was wrong.

"Catherine?" He muttered his wife's name under his breath, and subconsciously shouted: "What are you sitting there for? I'm dying of thirst. Bring me some water."

After a moment's silence, Queen Catherine actually stood up and poured water for Lawrence.

She took another teacup and casually poured some cold tea into it, her expression even looking happy.

Then Queen Catherine walked to the bedside and slowly handed over the teacup.

Lawrence looked at the dark brown cold tea, his face half darkened, but his thirst was too strong for him to be picky. He hurriedly took the cup and wanted to take a big gulp.

When he raised his hand, he realized that his body was terribly stiff. Even the hand holding the teacup was shaking. He finally brought it to his mouth, but most of the water spilled onto his clothes.

Lawrence drank half a cup of tea and felt even more thirsty.

He frowned and looked at Catherine, asking, "Where is the guard? And where is my personal valet? Why is he not here?"

Queen Catherine glanced at him and said nothing.

"What time is it now, Catherine?" Lawrence turned his head to look at the sky outside the window again. "Is the ball about to start? Lord Butcher said he would come today, so I have to show up..."

"No, Your Majesty, you cannot go out."

Catherine spoke in a serious tone - it was not something she would say herself, but rather something someone had taught her.

She also maintained aristocratic etiquette and remained superficially submissive.

Catherine looked at the emperor calmly: "You can't go anywhere today, you can only stay here."

Lawrence was stunned for a moment, and it took him a long time to come back to his senses.

The emperor's expression changed, and he looked straight at his wife: "What did you say? What do you mean?"

Queen Catherine lowered her eyes and said nonchalantly, "It means exactly what it says. You can't leave here today—and you will never leave again."

When the queen said this, there was a hint of revenge in her tone.

"You're old, Lawrence," Catherine said coldly, looking at the emperor leaning weakly against the headboard of the bed. "The war in this country is over. It's time for you to retire and have a good rest."

Lawrence glanced at his wife in disbelief. He suddenly looked at the empty teacup in his hand, and his knuckles trembled instinctively.

The expensive china fell from his hands, rolled off the bed and onto the thick carpet.

Catherine glanced at the cup and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, there is no poison in the tea."

This was actually Catherine's own idea. She didn't intend to really kill Lawrence, but was just planning to put him under house arrest.

The queen had a good idea. She could announce to the public that the emperor was seriously ill, allowing her eldest son to legally take over the throne from him without having to bear the reputation of patricide.

From this point alone, we can actually see Catherine's political naivety - Lawrence, who was sober and in good condition, was an extremely terrifying enemy, but she actually missed an opportunity to directly physically eliminate this enemy.

If it were Umuda or those experienced nobles, they would probably put arsenic in Lawrence's cup directly.

After hearing this, Lawrence I was a little stunned. For a moment, he couldn't figure out what this woman was up to.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, and he looked at his wife with some doubt.

"You," Lawrence said with difficulty, "what on earth do you want to do..."

Catherine looked at Lawrence I, who was half lying on the bed and unable to move, for a while.

At this moment, Lao Yezhu no longer had the usual majestic demeanor of an emperor, nor did he have the rough and casual demeanor when he was clamoring to go hunting. He even looked disheveled as he half-lyed and half-sitting on the bed, like a harmless sickly person.