Chapter 144

There was no strict security at Cheddar Palace like Kingsbray Palace. The place where the palace existed was completely destroyed. There were only the traces of the buildings that were burned black with white and black marks all over the place, reminding her of the tragic explosion. She recalled the harrowing images of those who were wounded with severe burns being carried to Merihi Palace.

Naturally, Dylan Lennox came to her mind. He suffered terrible burns here.

She forgot about him for the past few days. It seemed strange that she had forgotten him because she cured him with such dangerous burns. Nonetheless, she forgot him. She felt guilty that she had forgotten him, but also she felt it was good. She really forgot him.

Squatting on the ground, she touched the blackened soil with her fingertips. As the soil was scattered, she noticed some healthy brown soil among it. However, it would not be necessarily brown soil. The ash that turned black would be a good fertilizer. One day it would be forgotten when it was mixed into the brown soil, erasing the traces of the burnt palace.

“Oh my God!”

She, who was lost in idle thoughts, looked up at someone’s voice. She saw the emperor coming toward her at a distance. She soon cleaned the dirt and stood up.

“I’m not a man of leisure. I regret telling you my secret. Why did you bring me here?”

The emperor approached her, grumbling joyfully. She saw Sir Dowain among the royal guards following him. She thanked Sir Dowain, who escorted the emperor to this place.

Soon after the emperor told them something, they all turned around and disappeared.

Soon, only two of them, Wendy and Isaac, stood on the deserted place.

“I heard you got something to give me secretly. What is it?”

She handed him what she had in her hand without replying.

He looked at it in surprise. “Isn’t this the violin bow?”

“This is the bow you gave me at the Burgonu Hunting Competition. It was the prize for the winner of the archery competition. ”

“… Yes, I remember. But why are you giving it to me? ”

“You said all the violins were burned, right? This must be a great bow made by a craftsman because you gave it to me as the prize for the winner.”

“Right, but why are you suddenly…”

Again, instead of answering, she bent her knees and put her index finger on the ground.

Small buds sprouted right from the ash and grew quickly.

Isaac looked at it with a surprised expression. The thin branches were thickly transformed in no time, revealing a beautiful, floating stem as thick as an armful.

“This tree… ”

He was speechless, watching the palm-shaped leaves changing from light green to green and red. It was a large maple tree.

“I read somewhere that wood should be low in density and highly elastic to produce good sound. It’s not clear whether I read it in a professor’s research paper or a scholarly journal.

Either way, this tree with such characteristics will be of help to you.”

Emperor Isaac looked at her with a perplexed expression, but she continued calmly, “It will be a great instrument material. Now all you just need to do is find a good violin craftsman…You can find the man you mentioned as Rokasiz. ”

“He is already dead.”

“I’m sorry to hear that… But don’t you think there is his successor or some other great craftsman in the empire?” She said with a shrug.

“Wendy, this is…”

“Please keep doing what you want to do. Is there any law in the empire that the emperor should not play the violin? I haven’t heard of it. If there is, it would be good for you to abolish it this time. Wouldn’t it be okay for you to wield your almighty power just once? ” She said jokingly.

The emperor who smiled bitterly looked up at the maple tree quietly.

“Your Majesty, such a serious look does not befit you. Your pleasant look, depending on how you feel, suits you better… Don’t give up on the violin. Why are you doing such foolish things while you are trying not to forget the roots of your birth?”

This time, the emperor didn’t reply. She didn’t even care about it, and continued, “For this tree, your violin collection would have been precious nutrients. People … they are not that different from a tree. ”

She wanted to tell him that the day would come when he could be the source of the people’s energies, and that he would grow big like trees growing again in a burnt forest.

“I hope you can dispose of this maple tree well so that my secrets are not revealed. I don’t think you will have any problem with your power. As we have shared secrets with each other, I think you can grant my request, right?”

Isaac, who laughed at her words, quickly turned to her. His smile looked serious now.

He was sincere. She tried to be indifferent, pretending not to notice his face, but she couldn’t stop smiling.

One day passed. There was still an ongoing confrontation between the knights and the peasants at the western gate of the empire, Borams. Although there was a lull as the doctors continued to treat the wounded peasants, nobody knew when the atmosphere would change.

“I hear that John Piaf was from a family that had been farming Montrapi in Jopiern for generations. His forefathers bought a lot of land, but had to forfeit it all to the lords because of increasing debts. But recently, rumors circulated that his family reclaimed the lost farmland. Nobody could confirm it, though. He had a brother. John boasted several times that his brother joined a prominent family as an apprentice knight.”

After he was briefed by Sir Becktuel about John Piaf, Lard made assumptions about every possible situation. He couldn’t help but strongly suspect the guy’s connection with Duke Engre.

“Send a message to Tulin, asking him to find out if there is any rookie knight in the Engre family with Piaf as the last name. If there was a dealing between them, there must be some evidence somewhere. And send someone to Jopiern to find out if John has recovered the confiscated land or how he secured the money.”

Sir Becktuel went out with a nod. Lard received a series of reports after that. Sir Jean Jacques Simuan came up with the results of an investigation into the knight who was in charge when the pulleys of the gate were destroyed. His expression was exceptionally eerie even before he opened his mouth.

“Did you find out?”

“… The knight was Jacob Shelter. It is said that he is a local nobleman and currently serves Viscount Ryonadan. But…”

“Go ahead.” Schroder demanded when Jean hesitated.

He nodded once and said, “He is connected to Earl Hazlet. I hear he was officiated as a knight by the earl. I think we need further investigation into whether the Hazlet family is involved in the peasants’ uprising. ”

After he heard that, Lard thought for a moment. Hazelt’s involvement was something he never expected. He really felt uncomfortable about linking this connection with Duke Engre. Given the heavy punishment to Francis Hazlet, he could easily imagine what kind of options the Hazlet family agonized over. But he hoped the family related to Wendy didn’t make such an extreme choice.

“… Did you find he deliberately destroyed the pulleys?”

“I found evidence that he touched the lock on purpose. As they were assigned to check the lock on a rotation basis, there was no reason for the pulley wheel to come off.”

“Got it. Keep an eye on him well and find out if the Hazlet family is involved. Use the mole who was planted to check Mrs. Hazellet and her husband’s movement.”

After Jean went out, Lard walked out of the temporary barracks.

On the other side, Eduval and his colleagues were busy discussing something.

In the middle of their conversation, John Piaf, the young man, stood up, infuriated. He yelled at them and turned back and left. Obviously, things didn’t work out as he wished.

Shortly afterwards, Eduval officially asked to meet Lard.

He headed for them and said, “So, have you reached any consensus?”

“We decided to accept your proposal. However, I want you to put down your promise in a document.”

“Okay.”

When he signalled to a knight with his eyes, the knight behind him brought a pre-written document. He handed it over to Eduval.

“Take a review if there is anything lacking.”

Eduval and his colleagues reviewed it among themselves and had a conversation.

After a while Edubal nodded and stood in front of Lard again. Holding the document, he was about to open his mouth when a knight hurriedly came over and announced.

“Captain!”

He approached Lard and said something in secret.

When his blank face hardened after he heard the knight, John Piaf, had left his seat, elbowed his way through the crowds and approached him quickly. There was relief and joy on his face.

“There is a big disturbance in the capital now! Commoners there rose up in revolt! They are on our side, too!”