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Who else thinks Simon ain't innocent either 🙂🤔
Frederick III was respected as a father, but as a king, he was mediocre.
He always looked to the Duke of Danzel, the only one with power among the eight dukes who had just been replaced, and adopted policies that were neither good nor bad.
Edward thought he could have done better.
He was indeed indebted to Annette for adopting her as his daughter, but she was not his blood daughter. Even if Edward became king, he had decided not to let her interfere with him as an external relative.
The Duke of Danzel is a man of many tongues, but he is not capable of such grand schemes.
He would just have to be well coaxed.
But where did things go wrong?
And what was this black wheat of ten years ago that my father was talking about?
It is true that it was convenient for the Duke of Danzel that all of the eight dukes died of the plague, leaving him alone.
However, it was impossible to predict the outbreak of the plague, and moreover, the plague had quickly spread throughout the continent, and there was nothing anyone could do to prevent it.
It was the Duke of Danzel who brought the cure to the kingdom.
Edward himself fell ill with a high fever, but recovered quickly from the plague thanks to the special remedy.
Although everything worked in favour of the Duke of Danzel, it did not seem that there was any trickery in it, and there was no way that the Duke of Danzel had that much wisdom.
So Edward did not know why his father, the king, was so sure that his uncle's death ten years ago was caused by Black Death Wheat.
If that bread from ten years ago had remained, it would be evidence, but if such a thing had remained, the Duke of Danzel would have been incriminated long ago.
But whatever the truth of ten years ago, if the king had been killed by the canulé that Duke Danzel had offered the other day, that alone would be a serious crime.
And then there is the matter of the imperial seal.
If he had forged the imperial seal, he would have been guilty of high treason, and his family would have been thrown into prison.
Since it is such a serious crime, it would be better to pursue this rather than the Black Death Barley, but why does the king insist on the black barley?
"If it is certain that Black Death Wheat was put into the canulé, then capital punishment cannot be avoided..."
Come to think of it, since he was a child, Frederick III had told Edward never to eat black food.
That is why Edward did not eat the canulé that was presented to him.
When he saw his father, Frederick III, eat it, he thought it was an unusual thing to do.
"Did His Majesty... perhaps know that the canulé contained Black Death Barley?"
Frederick III did not answer Edward's question
But that was as good as an affirmative.
"What the hell... If you made a mistake, you could have lost your life. Why did you put yourself in danger to eat it?"
Frederick III turned a sad face to Edward, who seemed to be criticising him.
"I see... Don't you understand, Edward? That's what you're made of..."
Frederick III slowly stood up and walked down the steps of the throne, one step at a time.
Then he stood before the Duke of Danzel, who was bound with rope.
"Ten years ago, during the plague epidemic, it was my mother, the Queen Mother, who first fell ill. The plague had not yet spread in the royal court, and everyone assumed that shortly before that, before the epidemic broke out in the capital, my mother had fallen ill in an orphanage she had visited as charity."
When Frederick III gave the signal, the knight holding the rope made Duke Danzel kneel on the floor.
The Duke of Danzel resisted, but he was no match for the knight who trained on a daily basis. He immediately fell to the floor.
Frederick III looked down at him coldly.
"Soon after, those of the eight dukes fell. By that time, the number of those with high fevers was increasing in the royal court, and the opinion was raised that the royal family should take refuge in a detached palace. My brother Elliot remained in the royal capital to lead the camp, and our family and my brother's wife and children accompanied us. My... mother and brother were never seen again."
Frederick III grabbed the Duke of Danzel by the hair and pulled him close to his face as he knelt down and looked around for help.
"It was not only that I did not see them die. After they drew their last breaths, they were burnt to ashes, lest the plague should spread to others. They would never be able to board the white ship and travel to the eternal land of everlasting spring in the East! Even in death, their souls still wander in this world!"
It is said that the people of the ancient kingdom who disappeared from the continent crossed over to the eternal eastern land of everlasting spring, beyond the eastern sea, on a white ship.
It is said that they have crossed the continent and were living happily without starving or growing old in the eastern land.
Therefore, when the royal family, who were proud descendants of the ancient kingdom's people, die, they are buried in the White King's Mausoleum, which is built on top of the small hill that can be seen to the east of the royal palace.
The royal mausoleum is shaped like a ship, and since there is no obstruction between it and the sea, it looks like a huge white ship floating on the sea when seen from the royal palace.
The royal family members buried there are said to travel east on the white ship after their death, so when they are buried, they are dressed in the same clothes as when they were alive, and their favourite dishes and utensils are placed in the tomb.
But his queen mother and brother were burned at the same time to prevent infection, and buried in the same coffin in a corner of the royal palace without knowing which of their bones was which.
"Elliot was in pain all over his body, but he strove to conduct himself to the end for the people of the kingdom. I have worked hard for the past ten years to become a king who would not be ashamed to follow in his footsteps. And Danzel, I was even grateful to you, thinking that you had stopped the plague. But what of it! It was all your plan!"
"I fully understand your grief, but I am offended that you blame me for the plague of ten years ago. On what basis do you make such a claim?"
"Simon."
"Simon?" The Duke of Danzel repeated.
"Yes... Simon is the reason why I discovered that that bread contained Black Death Oats."
At Frederick III's statement, they all turned their attention at once to Simon, who was waiting behind Edward.