"Therefore - I think Count Gawain should be able to understand my painstaking efforts, Anna is the eldest princess, so intelligent and endearing, I, the Imperial Caesar, and even Your Majesty value her very much." Erin, who was in the seat, saw that Gawain had already accepted the gift with a smile, so she no longer hid anything, "I hope that Anna will ascend to the throne of the Empress in the future and inherit this empire, army, palace and all the power." ”

Gawain didn't react much, Diognis over there was almost not planted on the ground, he didn't expect the queen to be so "honest", so that it reached the point of no concealment, and then the guard walked in front of the brother and sister very restrainedly, with a very respectful tone, "However, I remember that Your Majesty has made Prince John the heir"

"Your Excellency, I am not particularly satisfied with Your Majesty's arrangement right now." Erin's tone was full of an undoubted sense of oppression, which frightened Diognis to the side suddenly, "In this empire, it is not Komnenos who covers the sky with one hand, when I got married, I had an alliance with their family, that is, the royal family must always carry the brand of the Ducasse family from now on!" After speaking, the queen stood up and made a clear statement to the two, "Thanks to Gawain's unintentional report of the collusion between Marlena and the warden George after the previous martial arts competition, which ruined her mother and son, and Your Majesty can't keep it, then who do you say will be able to compete for the throne in Brachna Palace in five or ten years?" ”

"It's the eldest princess and Prince John." Gawain replied cheerfully, making the queen nod frequently, "That's right, so you understand - Anna and John, both of them are mine, they are my children, and soon this queen will take back John's custody rights, and at the same time cancel the marriage between Anna and Constantine." ”

"And you don't take back Prince John's custody with the aim of putting him on the throne."

The queen smiled and expressed her acquiescence to Gawain's speculation, "I like Anna, Your Majesty too, and so does the entire Ducasse family, and soon my brother will propose a new family affair to Anna, so that Anna will ascend to the queen's throne, and who else will stand in front of her?" Then, the queen's gaze locked on Gawain, "And you, the new nobleman with a sword and the earl commander, are just a rising star, and you sincerely hope that the eldest princess can get her wish, right?" ”

"Yes, I don't shy away from saying that the contemptible and the eldest princess did have an oath." Gawain told the truth.

The Diognis next to him was full of contradictions and bitterness, he didn't approve of this approach, not because he didn't support Diana, for this canine border catcher, there was no difference between Anna and John who ascended to the throne, but he just thought that this kind of sacred thing had become a private gift from the Ducasse family, and it was simply unbearable. And what about the Emperor, what role does His Majesty the Emperor play? Over there, Caesar's smug laughter interrupted the pain of the captor, and the words of Myaulinus seemed to Gawain and to himself, "I can tell you that this is not a great secret, and now the power of the entire empire is shared in the hands of the three camps." The first camp is our Ducasse family, all the military nobles support us without exception, so the old decay is somewhat of a power in this empire; The second camp is the group of bureaucrats and clerks in the capital, they are headed by the Imperial Governor and the Grand Comptroller Beriel, who may have been the most powerful fifty years ago, but now they are in decline, and Beriel can only join forces with me to survive. The last camp was His Majesty's camp, that is, the Nabo people he trusted, the Komnenos family, the wardrobe chief of the court, Nikdemia, the direct court officials, and the young guards he had tried his best to cultivate. ”

Speaking of which, McAulinus didn't mean to hesitate, he said to Gawain, "In this empire, no matter how hard you try, you can't get rid of the shadow of these three camps, it is your own shadow." Something like that, someone has said to you before that no. ”

"Yes, I remember that when I was suppressing the rebellion of the Warden General, the Grand Wardrobe Keeper said to me as he stuffed me with that pendant - from the moment I swung my sword, I had a position." Gawain recalls that foehn evening.

Hearing this, Macaulinus smiled even more, "In the past, you passively had a position under the unintentional swing of the sword, but now the situation is so clear, I think only stupid people will not take the initiative to seek a high branch to perch on." It's not a big deal, as my sister just said, Anna is the least dissenting candidate of all the camps, you shouldn't have any psychological commitment? Then, Caesar pressed the tip of Gawain's nose, "Then your title will be different, what is a nobleman with a sword?" The Grand Duke, the Earl of the Court, and even George. The stablemaster of Para Rogus may be yours in the future. ”

"I will complete the conquest in Apulia well, and of course I will be completely loyal to Her Royal Highness the eldest princess." Gawain's answer below was watertight, and the queen and Caesar were satisfied.

At this time, a red-clothed cavalryman, led by the sentry, hurriedly walked into the camp, "Your Excellency Gawain, the eldest princess has unfortunately fallen ill in the palace and wants to see you." ”

When he arrived at the small dormitory next to St. Mary's Church in the palace, Gawain heard the sound of the death knell of the convent in the rain, and everywhere there were palace people running in the rain, Gawain was worried in his heart, he didn't know what kind of illness Anna was, the queen's shoulder in order to avoid the eyes and ears, he would arrive later, and after Gawain got off the horse at the palace stable, he didn't care to find clothes to protect him from the rain, so he put on armor and ran up the steps of Anna's bedroom.

"The eldest princess has been waiting for you for a long time." Behind the archway, Mikhail stood there, and then brought Gawain in.

"For whom is the death knell sounded?"

"Your Excellency Constantine, he fell ill today, and it is said that the eldest princess was also frightened and fell ill." The two of them talked as they walked towards the inner room.

Then, at the end of the corridor, Mikhail turned and stopped Gawain, "That's it, the front is a forbidden area, prescribed by His Majesty the Emperor." ”

Gawain nodded, and the candle flame behind the curtain was dyed with the shadows of Anna and the bed, "You're here, a big barbarian?" Anna's weak voice came out.

"Yes."

Then Gawain said to Mikhail that it was burning badly, but don't worry, it seemed that he was still very sane, when two maids came with plates and utensils, and Gawain saw that there were turquoise bottles with wine.

"The wine of the Rhine Valley, the best in Germany, is used to wipe the body of the eldest princess immediately." The maid explained to the two.

"No, it will aggravate the condition." Gawain stopped and said categorically.