It seems that the villain is targeting me.

Although she really didn't want to admit it, when Xiao Niao hinted at wanting to leave the capital, the first emotion that popped up in Gwen's heart was actually fear.

She has made a small plan for every stage of her life. In her current plan, Xiaoniao will appear in every stage of her future life.

Gwyneth thought about many things in the future, including how to govern the country, how to balance the conflicts between the nobility and the citizens, how to reduce Butcher's burden, and issues related to the heir.

The only possibility Gwyneth hadn't considered was that Butcher would leave her.

She felt anxious, but the guy who made her uneasy was now sleeping soundly in her arms.

This made Gwyneth feel as if she had punched cotton, and she felt angry and helpless.

She actually really liked the way Xiaoniao showed her dependence on her like today. Sometimes Gwen even had the absurd idea that it would be great if Butcher couldn't live without her and had to help her with everything.

If that were the case, maybe she wouldn't have said before that she wanted to leave me?

Gwyneth did not suppress her emotions, but let her imagination run wild. The smooth tail feathers were gradually stained by the warmth of her fingertips and were bent into different shapes.

Gwen didn't know if her behavior could be considered strange. She vaguely realized that there must be certain flaws in her character.

But under normal circumstances, such defects would not be revealed. Gwyneth was quite proud of her self-control, and her reason could always overcome the blasphemous desire in her heart.

Maybe things are just as Gwen thinks.

Or maybe she overestimated herself, and the desire she suppressed in her heart was just lacking a tiny spark.

Xiaoniao lay quietly in her arms, its chest rising and falling regularly, its expression very obedient and peaceful, like a docile bird that would not fly away from her arms.

If only it could stay like this.

"……Good night."

In the last second before her consciousness fell into darkness, she whispered softly to the sleeping person in her arms: "...Good night, my little bird."

However, Gwyneth did not sleep well this time.

She had a dream.

In the dream, there was a lush greenery and few people around. It seemed to be in a forest or a remote suburb.

The winding path was submerged in bushes, and the twisted trees blocked the light. It was dark all around, and the sound of insects could be heard in my ears.

Gwyneth had never been to a place like this before; she couldn't remember ever being in a forest like this.

Gwen thought to herself: There is no such lush and cold area around the capital of the empire. This place must be very far away from the capital.

It was far away from the capital, and it was not the land of Highgarden that she was familiar with. In short, it was a very strange and distant place.

Everything is as real as if you were there.

Then, a familiar person appeared in her dream.

Xiao Niao rode her horse alone, walking along the dark path in the forest, without any attendants or anyone responsible for protecting her safety.

When she was alone, she looked extremely thin. The thin bones of her shoulder blades and back seemed to be covered only by a thin layer of skin, which could be broken with the slightest force.

Gwen frowned and subconsciously walked towards the bird. However, the man on the red horse seemed not to see her, and walked straight through her body and walked forward indifferently.

Of course, she felt no pain, she was just dreaming.

After understanding this, Gwen turned around and quickly chased in the direction the bird left.

After that, Gwyneth tried to say a few more words to Xiao Niao, but as expected, the other party did not give any response. She stretched out her hand somewhat discouraged, as if trying to catch a wisp of ethereal smoke.

Xiao Niao continued walking deeper into the forest, while Gwyneth followed Xiao Niao a little further behind.

Gwen noticed that Xiao Niao was sweating from riding, and there was a wet spot on the collar of his linen shirt. It was summer clothing, and the capital had just entered spring.

Gwyneth's doubts grew more and more. This was really the strangest dream she had ever had.

There seemed to be light shining in the distance, and they continued to move forward. The road was narrow at first, but after taking dozens of steps, the view suddenly became clear.

Gwyneth squinted her eyes to adapt to the dazzling sunlight outside the forest. She subconsciously looked outside and saw a blue and cloudless sky.

Gwen's breathing hitched.

She saw a cliff.

Xiao Niao climbed down from the horse by stepping on the stirrups. She only had one hand, so she looked particularly clumsy when doing this alone.

But she finally succeeded, and the little bird positioned herself next to her mount's legs. The red horse snorted softly and waited quietly for the next instruction.

Xiao Niao began to untie the straps on the horse.

The saddle and bridle were removed, and all these things were thrown to the ground by the bird, until at last there was no artificial product left on the red horse except the horseshoe.

The red horse seemed uncomfortable with the sudden relief of all its burdens. It paced restlessly on the spot, and Xiao Niao gently patted the horse's shoulders.

She opened her arms and wings and hugged Aiqi's neck.

"Goodbye," Gwyneth heard the bird say.

Finally, the red horse turned and ran along the path it came from. Gwyneth didn't know what kind of command Xiaoniao gave in the end that made it react like this.

She guessed that Bird was letting the mount run back on its own. Gwyneth knew that some smart horses could return to the camp on their own without the control of their riders.

But how would Levi leave here without his mount? Gwyneth thought confusedly that she would get lost in the forest alone, and at night, she might even encounter wolves.

It was getting dark, but Xiao Niao seemed unaware of the imminent crisis. She stood there and looked out over the cliff.

Gwyneth suddenly felt a biting chill, as if all the blood in her body had frozen. She looked at Xiao Niao's face in disbelief, trying to see something wrong in Xiao Niao's expression.

However, there was nothing, nothing at all. Xiao Niao's expression was very calm, neither excited nor depressed, but pale.

Gwyneth's heart began to pound as the bird faced her, and then she suddenly spoke.

"I've taken care of everything," Xiao Niao said calmly, "Shall we start now?"

She wasn't talking to herself, and Gwyneth subconsciously took a half step back.

The strange thing was that there was clearly no one around, but Gwyneth could clearly hear a very strange sound in the air.

That sound didn't sound like something an ordinary person could make.

"That's fine with me. I can start anytime," the strange voice said. "But what about the Queen? Aren't you going to see her one last time?"

She saw the bird shaking its head in silence.

Gwyneth subconsciously stood in front of Xiao Niao, the cliff was right behind her.

As if noticing Gwen's actions, Xiao Niao turned his head and looked at her.

No.

Xiao Niao walked towards him slowly. She was not walking fast, just like taking a normal walk, and her breathing was also very steady.

Levi, no.

Stop, stop, why.

No matter how I called, there was no response.

Please, stop.

stop.

No.

Xiao Niao passed through Gwen's body and walked straight forward until the last step, when her figure disappeared from Gwyneth's blurred vision.

Gwyneth felt as if all her strength had been drained away.

She wanted to wake up, but she couldn't break free. She was forced to stay on the deserted cliff. The reins and saddle were discarded on the withered grass. Apart from that, there was nothing. There was no one there, and no sound around.

When she opened her eyes, she found that her face was already covered in tears.

Xiao Niao had fallen out of her arms at some point, but was still lying beside her, sleeping unconsciously.

Gwyneth's tears couldn't stop flowing, but she didn't dare to make a sound, as if she was afraid that everything before her was just another strange dream.

She raised her hand tremblingly and touched the bird's warm cheek. She was very gentle, afraid of waking her up. Big tears fell on the pillowcase, and Gwyneth felt the pulse beating at her fingertips.

After a long, long time, she finally squeezed out some broken sobs from her throat.

--------

-

"Bird, I've told you so many times," the system angrily reminded her again, "If your heart is really hurting, don't try to hold on. Just taking medicine without rest won't cure the disease."

Xiao Niao couldn't help but sigh: "I know... but if I don't take care of this matter myself, I won't be able to rest assured no matter what."

[You can't be the one to do it yourself.] The system grumbled.

[After all, you're a traveler from another world. If you truly killed the Child of Fortune—even one with only a shred of fortune left—you would surely be retaliated by the will of the world.]

"Well, I'm just keeping an eye on the process," Xiao Niao nodded. "The execution will be left to the executioner... It's not that complicated, just loosen the rope and the guillotine falls."

The system didn't object any further after hearing this: [As long as you have a clear idea in mind...]

[Honestly, I'd like to see this, too. Two children of destiny appeared in the same world, and a struggle for their destiny occurred—even in the main database, this is an extremely rare situation!]

Xiao Niao ignored the excited system and looked at the escort team gradually approaching the execution ground in the distance, with a hint of solemnity in his eyes.

Today is the day Charles Hamilton will be executed.

These days are the busy farming season, so people shouldn't have much free time.

But when everyone heard that the person to be beheaded was Charles, who started the rebellion, they immediately stopped farming and reading, ran back home to search for things, and then ran happily to the street with bags full of rotten eggs and rotten vegetable leaves.

Those who had no ammunition stored made use of the available materials, picking up stones and other things from the ground, and happily joined the group watching the escort.

On the way from the black prison to the execution platform, Charles fully experienced the enthusiasm of the people of the capital. The knights in charge of the escort repeatedly tried to stop the people around him but failed.

By the time he actually arrived at the execution ground, Charles was already in a very miserable state. His hair was disheveled, and his body was covered with smelly egg whites. The exposed skin was also scratched by sharp stones, leaving deep and shallow cuts.

He looked a little dazed and didn't try to dodge the stones thrown at him, as if he didn't feel any pain.

The wooden board of the guillotine was pulled open, and Charles was pushed forward by the executioner. His neck was placed at the semicircular position, and the wooden board was put back down.

Charles hardly resisted during the whole process. He just stuck his neck in in a daze, looking blankly at the dense crowd outside the execution ground.

He thought: When I ascended the throne before, the number of people present was less than one-tenth of the people here, right?

Charles listened numbly to the sound of the rope being tightened. He couldn't look up, but he knew that the guillotine had been pulled high up.

During such a public execution process, in addition to the knights responsible for escorting the prisoner and the executioner, there was also a person specifically responsible for reading out the crimes committed by the criminal to the public to demonstrate the fairness of the execution.

This time, the person responsible for reading out the crime was an ordinary civil official, holding a death sentence signed by Gwyneth herself.

Xiao Niao stood in an inconspicuous corner of the execution ground. She was the only one who knew that the thin piece of paper was the key to the success of the execution.

If it weren't for the death sentence issued by another son of luck, Charles, who still had a trace of luck left in him, still had a chance to escape the inevitable death.

Xiao Niao stared at the center of the execution ground and waited patiently.

The official finally finished reading all the charges on the paper and felt his mouth dry.

He signaled to the executioner standing beside him with his eyes: It's time, you can take action.

The executioner took a big gulp of liquor, spat twice into his palm, clenched the axe handle in his hand, and then chopped the rope tied to the guillotine with the axe.

Under the influence of gravity, the guillotine fell rapidly to the ground, blood splattered and smeared on the silver blade, and a good man's head fell to the ground.

In just a blink of an eye, everything was over.

There was silence for a second, and then, as if a dish of cold water had been poured into a boiling pot of oil, there was an explosion of noise.

In the corner of the execution ground, Xiao Niao's heart suddenly tightened the moment the guillotine fell.

She watched Charles' head fall to the ground, then counted silently in her mind: ten seconds, twenty seconds... one minute...

There was no notification of mission failure.

"System," Xiao Niao's voice trembled slightly as she asked in a low voice, "What's the result?"

[…Just as we expected.]

The system's slightly dull voice sounded in Xiao Niao's mind.

[The last bit of luck also transferred to Gwyneth.]

Chapter 112: A Difference in Thought

Charles was not the only one to be executed that day. In addition to him, Gwen also liquidated those nobles who had participated in the coup.

They were all convicted of murder for their involvement in the assassination of the Duke of Tudor and were sentenced to death. Gwyneth did not let any of them go - and before that, these nobles had been imprisoned in a dark prison by Xiao Niao.

An interesting side note: the guillotine used in executions today was actually built by craftsmen ordered by a member of the Hamilton family after he successfully fought for the throne, in order to execute criminals more effectively.