flstandardbreds Chapter 236 The Princess Dies
Chapter 236 The Princess Dies
Spring 1451
"What? The princess died of illness?"
After getting the latest intelligence from Windham, John rubbed his messy hair and asked Wesker who was passing on the news to him:
“Last winter, there were only mild symptoms, but this spring, it’s not working?”
Wesker responded with certainty:
"The news is very likely not wrong. This intelligence was written two days ago. It is estimated that the news of the princess's death will spread soon. At that time, the king may summon you to attend the funeral."
"You go down and let the spies continue to collect information about Wendam."
After Wesker left, John lay on the table and thought about the future political situation in Windham, the first of which was the issue of succession to the throne.
Now that the princess has passed away, the king has only one princess. If something happens to the king and he dies or is unable to govern the country, and the princess is young and ignorant, the throne will most likely fall to the second heir, Count Ulysse.
The relationship between the king and Count Juris is still unclear. Although they are brothers, facing the huge interests of the throne of Midland, they may become enemies in the future. At that time, both Wyndam and other places in Midland will become battlefields for fame and fortune. Although John knows in advance through the comics that the two are still friendly on the surface, it is unknown whether there will be a conflict between the secret competition and the nobles who support the two.
However, this also has a good side for John. His territory is located on the border. Although it is a military stronghold, its political role can be said to be minimal. The nobles bordering his territory have either fled to safe big cities because they are on the front lines, or are dealing with the losses caused by the plague. Even if there is a fight, it will probably only be in the central and western parts that are less affected by the plague. John might be able to make a fortune from it then.
Thinking of this, John sent people to notify the leaders of the Black Watch Mercenary Group to prepare to return to companies across the kingdom. At the same time, he ordered Simon to restore the abandoned continental commercial trade and seize the local vacant market in the shortest time while the forces of all parties were still recovering.
A few days later, as the royal carriage entered the Earl's Castle, Wesker's news was confirmed: the princess unfortunately died of plague and other diseases this spring. The king was extremely sad and begged other nobles to attend the princess's funeral.
After receiving the royal letter, John still noticed a detail. This time the king did not use words like command, invitation or hope, which were slightly lowering of his posture, but pleading, which was even a bit humble for a king. This showed that the king really cared about the princess, and it could also be seen that the death of the princess was a great blow to the king.
Seeing the king lowering his posture so much, John felt that if he did not go, the king would definitely bear a grudge against him. Even though he was usually amiable and gentle like a wise king, once his bottom line was touched, he would chase him endlessly like a mad dog.
So without any preparation, John just said goodbye to Matilda and the children and simply packed his luggage, then got on the carriage to Windham under the escort of the White Wolf Knights. However, John did not bring only a few hundred knights as usual. This time, the entire White Wolf Knights were dispatched as a whole. This was mainly because of the turbulent environment outside. Although John did not think that anyone had the ability to cause trouble at this special time, due to the general environment, it was better to bring more people for insurance, and by the way, show off his muscles to those nobles who were not sure what they were thinking. Although it might cause some criticism, it could also make them realize clearly that they were definitely not spineless.
After a few days of bumpy ride, John's team arrived at the outskirts of Wending. Although the city walls of Wending were still tall and magnificent, the sparse number of people entering and leaving the city gates and the skinny refugees on the roadside all told outsiders one thing: Wending was no longer as prosperous as it used to be.
After seeing John's flag, the soldiers guarding the gate looked at the team behind them and let them pass directly. They were much more lax than in previous inspections. It was speculated that in addition to the previous plague causing them a lot of pressure, there were probably some problems with their city defense system.
Although the royal capital was desolate, its infrastructure was still amazing. If it were in other cities, John's 5,000-plus people would probably fill the entire street. However, in Windham, the wide streets allowed John's team to move freely in Windham.
John was looking at the buildings outside the carriage while observing the local citizens. Because they were located in the royal capital, the local citizens still had food to buy at reasonable prices, unlike other places where there were famines or unscrupulous merchants maliciously raising food prices. But in the past, when the Knights came, people would generally come to join in the fun, but now most of them walked quickly on the street with lonely expressions, and when they met the caravan, they just took a quick look and then went into the alley without looking back, without any of the happiness and enthusiasm of the past. It seemed that although the living standards of the local citizens were not too bad, they were much worse than before.
John placed the knights in the Simon Chamber of Commerce and the Black Legion Mercenary Company, which were currently unattended, and finally returned to his apartment in Windham with a hundred-man team of White Wolf Knights.
Soon the day of the funeral arrived, and John came to the door of the cathedral with a small number of White Wolf Knights dressed in black. At this time, many people who were invited to attend the funeral had gathered outside the church, but John had never even seen most of them. However, the family emblems on the carriages they were riding told John that they were now the patriarchs or representatives of certain nobles. Presumably, the previous plague had also claimed the lives of many nobles.
As the church door slowly opened, the nobles walked silently into the church and, under the guidance of the servants, took their seats. John's seat was less than ten meters away from the coffin in the center of the church, and there was only one row of seats between his seat and the coffin.
After a while, as low and sad funeral music played, the king, dressed in black, led Princess Charlotte, who was only four years old, from the main gate to the coffin. Although the king still had his dignity, the few wrinkles on his face could not hide his gradually aging state. Princess Charlotte, who was standing next to him, had already burst into tears. Her face, which was supposed to be innocent, now had only red eyes and tear marks. From time to time, you could hear her crying, which she tried to hold back but couldn't control. This scene made John feel a little sad. She was just at the age when she could just feel the love of a mother, but she lost her mother, who should have been with her longer, so early.
However, John couldn't cry when he saw the nobles beside him who lowered their heads and covered their eyes with their hands without shedding a single tear. He had never met the princess before, so he couldn't reach a consensus with the king and the princess. But he also imitated them and started to cry.
The funeral ended with mournful music and crying. The next day, the princess's coffin would be sent to the royal cemetery for burial. Then John could return to the territory after accompanying her once more.
Just as John was about to leave with the crowd, the attendant behind him suddenly caught up and said:
"Earl John, His Majesty the King invites you to come over and have a chat."