20demayo #547 - Doubt and truth
#547 - Doubt and truth
"...According to your perfect strategy, the Gray Horse Knight willingly decided to surrender, because there was no way to unravel the battle you had laid out..."
"Rather than disobeying the Holy Lord's will, why not submit to fate? That is the reason for his surrender."
"Besides the title of Earl, gold, silver, and beauties, the Gray Horse Knight also hopes that you can release his soldiers in batches, as the soldiers are innocent."
"To this end, he proposes an exchange: he possesses some information and evidence that can eliminate a huge hidden danger around you."
"This hidden danger is not only dangerous in the future but even poses a threat right now, and he can help you eliminate this danger, and he has attached this letter as an appetizer."
With his extraordinary memory, the second envoy after Gerryn almost entirely repeated Wayne's words.
"A letter? An appetizer?"
Prince Condé frowned, glancing at Gerryn, who was trembling beside him.
Gerryn stared, looking incredulous: "No, there was no last item. What he told me was just, just the Earl, gold, silver, and beauties..."
The envoy who conducted the second negotiation sneered: "What do you think His Highness sent me to communicate again for? And I already know why you mentioned the letter."
"Why?" The hairs on Gerryn's arms stood on end, and he had an ominous premonition in his heart.
"Stop stalling and speak quickly." The company commanders of the Order-in-Council urged.
The important figures of the Church's army, both big and small, had arrived in the tent. After all, Wayne, the Gray Horse Knight, was famous and could almost be considered Merriate's second-in-command.
If he could surrender, the effect would be more effective than winning ten battles.
Even the second-in-command surrendered; what a blow it would be to the morale of Merriate's side!
"Ahem, this letter is very long; it roughly states that the leader of the short-haired rebels, Andre, wrote a letter to the sorcerer Horne, saying..."
"Ahem, that a certain Earl asked him to change his flag, and if he was willing to do so, he would provide him with winter supplies. He asked the sorcerer Horne if he would allow them to do so..."
"And the sorcerer Horne sent this letter from Andre to the Merriate rebels, and he also attached a letter himself."
"In the letter, he first informed Merriate that he agreed to the actions of the Holy Grandson's rebels, and then asked her if she knew about this matter..."
The originally noisy tent suddenly fell silent.
Many people who came to watch the excitement wished they didn't have ears. Was this something that could be read in public?
Before the expedition, the nobles of Hotam County had just had a quarrel with Prince Condé, and the two sides were almost about to tear each other apart.
You should know that this raid was completely confidential, and Prince Condé could ensure it.
Unless Horne could foresee the future, he could not have written such a letter in advance to use as a divisive tactic.
Of course, there is also the possibility that this letter was forged by Wayne.
It depends on what Prince Condé himself thinks. If he thinks it's fake, then naturally, there will be no problems.
If he thinks it's real, then there are two problems.
The first is how to treat that certain Sampoly Earl of Hotam County, and the second, most fatal, is what else does Wayne have in his hands?
After all, the Gray Horse Knight said that this was just an "appetizer"!
Combined with those so-called remarks that "not only is there danger in the future, but there is even danger right now," it's hard not to make people feel chills.
After the envoy finished reading the report, only the whistling wind and the crackling of the burning stove remained in the tent.
Everyone lowered their heads, and occasionally someone would turn their head to peek at Prince Condé.
Sitting on the bear-skin throne, the prince visibly stiffened for a few seconds.
Then he stood up, walked slowly to the messenger, picked up the letter, and read it from beginning to end himself, but there was no change in his face.
The atmosphere in the entire tent suddenly dropped to freezing point.
Lacounio was even more tense, ready to stop Prince Condé's impulsive actions at any moment.
"Hahahaha." Prince Condé suddenly laughed, "This is a divisive tactic; it must be fake. This is garbage, and I treat garbage like this!"
With that, Prince Condé quickly crumpled the letters in his hand into a ball, walked quickly to the stove, and threw the letters directly into it.
Only when the letters crackled and turned to ashes did Lacounio finally breathe a sigh of relief.
He smiled with relief and even had a sense of relief that his silly son had finally grown up.
"Tell Wayne that he cherishes his soldiers, and so do I. He agreed to his surrender conditions, not hoping to get so-called evidence but hoping to reduce the deaths of some of my soldiers."
Flinging his cloak, Prince Condé returned to the bear-skin throne and glanced at Gerryn, who was covered in sweat and almost fainted.
"As for Gerryn, although he saw through the divisive tactic and did not report it, his task is as an envoy, which is not what he should be doing.
No matter the reason, he should report it truthfully. Guards, send him to prison to pray for three days to repent."
The company commanders of the Order-in-Council, while relieved, looked at Gerryn with sympathy and ridicule.
Who doesn't know that the prince is petty? If you provoke him, you're done.
"No, he slandered me. Wayne didn't say anything..." Gerryn was really wronged now. He didn't understand why Wayne wanted to frame him.
He and Sechinger were still friends!
"Alright, although the Gray Horse Knight has surrendered, don't stop the offensive tomorrow. Send more letters in the meantime.
If he opens the gate and lets the soldiers leave, release them after confirming their identities. Don't stop them; we just need to capture this castle the day after tomorrow anyway."
After arranging the offensive tasks for tomorrow, Lacounio babbled about the importance of consolidating the rear and then left contentedly.
Everyone left, except for Prince Condé himself; only servants remained standing by.
The curtain of the tent was swaying back and forth by the chilly spring breeze. He sat on the throne for a few minutes and suddenly said, "Everyone get out and call Shadowless Eighty here."
Several servants carrying lamps and teapots obediently left the tent, and the entire tent became much dimmer.
Seeing that there was no one around, Prince Condé suddenly rummaged in his sleeves and actually took out Wayne's letter again.
With the speed of his movements, hiding a few more pieces of paper was not too easy.
Following the bright light of the candle, Prince Condé read it over and over again as if he were bewitched, even carefully identifying the handwriting.
Until the arrival of Shadowless, the Church system's exclusive secret agent.
After Archbishop Constance left, this power was assigned to Mizzam by the Pope, not Barneyfuss.
The newest novels are first published on 69shu.com!
However, during Mizzam's time, they were again managed by Prince Condé, which is why Barneyfuss always bowed his head in front of Prince Condé.
"Your Highness, you were looking for me?"
"How is the handwriting comparison going?" Prince Condé asked casually, but the bulging veins on the back of his hand betrayed his inner feelings.
"The sorcerer Horne's handwriting is correct, but that Andre, I don't have his letters to compare with at the moment..."
Sure enough, Shadowless had verified it as soon as the envoy received the letter.
Prince Condé understood that this still could not prove that Earl Sampoly and some nobles of Hotam County were colluding with the enemy.
Because there are many surviving writings of the Holy Grandson, and Wayne, as an allied force, must have a lot, and he can completely find someone to imitate the handwriting.
But the rebel leader Andre is extremely mysterious and his whereabouts are uncertain.
Even Shadowless doesn't have his letters and handwriting. This time, Prince Condé's surprise attack must be difficult to forge.
"Try to find Andre's letters as much as possible, and then compare the handwriting, as fast as possible!"
"Yes, Your Highness." Shadowless quickly bowed in agreement.
"Has Gerryn been tested?" Prince Condé continued to ask.
"We found someone to impersonate a groom, saying that he was an eyeliner planted by Sampoly and asked him what the Gray Horse Knight had in his hands." Shadowless's thin, soft hair was close to his scalp, as if he had just been fished out of the water.
"How did he answer?"
"He kept saying he didn't know, really didn't know. We repeatedly changed the way we asked several times, but he still didn't know."
Prince Condé snorted coldly: "He's quite wary. Doesn't he have any other abnormalities? None at all?"
Shadowless scratched his scalp: "No, if I had to say something, he would pause every time he answered, and later he became very irritable."
"That's right; he's afraid of being exposed; otherwise, why would he be irritable?" Tightly holding the letter and shaking it, Prince Condé said firmly.
From the first impression, Shadowless Eighty felt that Gerryn was likely just annoyed by the questions, but in the end, he still didn't express his opinion.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be good if Prince Condé suspected him of protecting Gerryn.
At this time, Prince Condé noticed the letter that he was about to tear. He quickly put it on the table and felt uneasy again.
So, he took out a sturdy iron box from the box behind him, took out a beautifully decorated "Book of Gospels" from it, clipped the letter in it, and then put it back in place before feeling at ease.
"I'm going to ask you something." Prince Condé's voice was cold, "Have any Holy Grandson rebels recently changed their flags and become Duke's troops?"
Shadowless was stunned: "Yes, there are. Three days ago, we got the news that two Holy Grandson rebels had changed. Several more have been changing their flags recently.
I heard that there seems to be a split within them. Many Holy Grandson rebels have split into the Joan of Arc faction and the Cold Spring Castle faction..."
"I don't care about that. Do you know exactly when they changed?" Prince Condé rudely interrupted Shadowless's speech.
"Um, this may require the investigation of companions in Hotam County. We'll give you the news within three days."
"As soon as possible, and then you check this person." Prince Condé, relying on his memory, described the appearance of the "noble messenger" in the letter, "Find out if he is a real person? Whose person? Don't alert the enemy after finding him; report to me, understand?"
"Understood, Your Highness."
Shadowless started to leave but was stopped by Prince Condé. He hesitated for a long time before whispering, "Lacounio is working too hard for military affairs; don't worry him about this matter. Do you understand what I mean?"
Shadowless nodded knowingly: "Understood, this news will not be passed on to Lord Lacounio."