Not a Witch

"Long time no see, Your Highness Aitexi, seeing you come back safely, I think the Emerald Forest will be much happier this time."

"Long time no see, Li Lin." Aitexi blinked and looked at the Earl of Red Kite.

"You are much more mature than before."

"Can it be understood that I am a few years older?" Li Lin replied jokingly, and then stopped in time.

"Haha, sit down first, let's have some tea." He beckoned the two to sit down, and then began to talk slowly.

.....

"It seems that His Royal Highness Aitexi's journey is also bumpy. Is this beautiful lady your companion during the journey?"

"Yes, her name is Lacey, and she is the eldest lady of a chamber of commerce. This time, she encountered a similar situation to me and stayed in the east for a long time."

"I see. Hello, Miss Lacey, Li Lin is the acting manager of this city and the successor to Hong Yuan's title."

"Hello Earl Li Lin." Lorraine Hill bowed his head and saluted slightly, then looked up at the man slightly.

The Earl of Red Kite was wearing a black fitted dress, with a white shirt and silk scarf inside, and a phoenix bird embroidered with golden and red silk thread on the collar side, which had a strange beauty of combining east and west.

After a brief greeting, Aitexi began to ask about the current situation.

"Although Wanglong Harbor looks peaceful, the current empire is in turmoil, and it is only one step away from disintegration." Picking up the teacup, Earl Hongyuan slowly blew the cup noodles, and then introduced .

"His Majesty held most of the power during his reign. Under such circumstances, the empire revolves around one voice, which is naturally efficient and powerful."

"But after the sudden departure of His Majesty the Emperor, this left a huge power hole in the upper echelons of the empire."

"Who should I listen to now? Is it the petite and naive queen of ordinary background, or the emperor's twin brother, or the descendants of the previous emperor?"

"In terms of blood relationship and stability, it is the best choice for Her Highness Edron to take over the throne."

"But the queen has already given birth to a boy. At this time, can His Highness Edron willingly hold back his desire and become a regent? Even if he has no selfish intentions, the people below don't think so."

"The prince regent has always had a bad end, and His Royal Highness Edron should have ascended the throne with his brothers. This is a long-standing tradition in the empire."

Li Lin slowly talked about the source of the chaos in the empire, which was the golden and red emperor's throne.

"On the eve of the end of the war, His Royal Highness Edron, as the prime minister and ambassador of the empire, signed a surrender and armistice agreement with Clancia. If it is only the prime minister and his subjects, it is not a big mistake. It is just a matter of current events. But if he wants to ascend the throne, This has become a huge stain and obstacle, and many nobles in the court have used this to suppress His Royal Highness Edron."

"During his reign, His Majesty deprived many of the rights and interests of the great nobles. All this caused these suppressed voices to rebound strongly after he passed away. Many people even blamed His Majesty for all their faults, threatening to let the late emperor's direct line The descendants once again took over the throne, thus putting the empire on the right track."

"Also, don't think that they are just talking about it. Now that the royal family's majesty is weakening, they have already started a large-scale conscription in the territory, and they are going to select the descendants of the late emperor to support them."

"Then who is in charge of the court now?" Aitexi asked this key question.

"The Red Queen, Lily Esther."

Chapter 25 The Icy Square

hiss!

The long rope passed through the high iron ring and was pulled up suddenly. Several well-dressed nobles were hoisted up, kicked their legs and struggled, and finally hanged on the rope.

The court square of Titania was covered with bloodstains, corpses of sinners stood on both sides of the square, and the court envoys dressed in red held the edict and read out the crimes of these nobles aloud.

Treason, treason, disobedience, and many other frightening crimes were shouted out from that voice, and below were the silent nobles and commoners.

Not long after, the sky gradually became cloudy, and the heavy rain poured down, continuously washing the blood-stained ground, and the hanging corpses also became more ominous and gloomy in the rain.

Ever since the death of His Majesty the Emperor, the capital has been filled with a sense of nervousness.The imperial guards dressed in red searched from house to house, looking for the murderer and accomplice who killed the emperor.

Numerous suspected nobles and officials were dragged out by the Imperial Guards, interrogated and beheaded on the spot, blood flowed across the streets of the royal capital, many nobles protested and questioned, but these voices were heard by the Imperial Guards executive De Rosa depress.

This rare Sequence 7 in the empire suppressed opposing voices with great strength, and hunted down and searched for suspects who might harm the emperor with an almost crazy attitude. He would rather kill a thousand by mistake than let one go.

He suspects everyone, even the Emperor's brother Edron and Empress Lily Esther are on his watch list.

As a close vassal who received the emperor's kindness and the leader of the imperial guards, he also felt great honor when he was trusted by the emperor, but now all this is lost.

"I swear to kill everyone who participated in the murder of His Majesty." Wearing a black and red windbreaker, he led thousands of imperial guards to clean up all possible hiding spots in the capital with force.

Those thieves and thieves who were contaminated with gray industries in the past would be hanged by this furious avenger if they were caught.

So again and again, I don't know how many people were involved in this cold-blooded and cruel purge. People were killing people in the square every day, the difference was only 10 or 100 today.

Today, after executing another batch of suspects, De Rosa returned to the palace, walked on the black and white checkered floor, and walked towards the bedroom where the queen lived.

When they came to the aisle door of the palace, a maid in a black and white dress nervously stood in front of the lord.

"I'm sorry, Lord DeRosa, Her Majesty does not want to see you." Her voice trembled a little, obviously afraid of the commander of the Imperial Guard who smelled of blood.

DeRosa stared at the maid with stern eyes, remained silent for a long time, and finally spoke when the other party almost fell down.

"Your subject knows." Then he turned around with cold steps, and left with a group of guards in full armor.

Just when the maid in the back was about to relax, he spoke again.

"However, for the safety of the queen and the prince, I will have people stationed around the palace 24 hours a day to ensure safety." Then the group walked away with the sound of armor rubbing.

Inside the palace, Lily was sitting at a small round table, holding an under-year-old baby in her arms, this was her and Amanke's child.

It was raining outside the window, and it kept hitting the glass, making crackling noises. Seeing that the child in her arms was about to be woken up, Lily carefully shook her to comfort her.

"Hey, mom is here, sleep well..." She tried to whisper in a gentle tone, but her pale face was full of haggardness.

After the emperor passed away, many matters in the empire and the palace suddenly weighed on this innocent girl, making her anxious and terrified.

Seeing the child in her arms fall asleep again, the young mother was slightly relieved.She looked up and saw the maid who came back beside her, and asked in a low voice, "Is he gone?"

"Yes, Master DeRosa has left." The maid decided not to mention that there were several layers of Imperial Guard guards outside, so as not to irritate the anxious Queen.

After hearing such a return, Lily's worried brows were relieved a little, and her expression softened.

"Actually, I don't hate DeRosa, but I'm really afraid of seeing him."

She recalled what she had seen and heard this year. Every time De Rosa found the so-called suspects, she would let her go to trial and put to death, and sometimes let her watch the sinners being killed.

Faced with such a bloody scene for a long time, it was too strong a stimulus for Lily, so that she often suffered from insomnia and had nightmares at night.

"Are those people really guilty?" she once asked the people around her.

"I don't know." The attendant who answered this sentence was hanged on the pole that day because of suspicion.

Afterwards, whenever Lily asked, everyone would reply, "They deserve death."

Lily wanted DeRosa to kill less people, but this courtier looked at him with a suspicious and suspicious gaze. After being stared at by that cold gaze, it was like a poisonous snake peeping. Dare to speak freely.

Sometimes she even thought that if she hadn't given birth to the prince, she might have been killed by De Rosa and buried with her.

All the happiness in the past was like a beautiful dream, suddenly awakened by the cold blood rain.

It was not like this in the past. When Emmank was alive, she was like a bird living in a peaceful and beautiful nest. The graceful Court of Titania was like the most beautiful garden in the world, waiting for her to visit every day.

She likes to swing, so Emanke asked the elves to build a beautiful garden surrounded by trees and vines, which not only has swings, but also various small animals.

Sometimes she would hug the little rabbit to find Amanke, the majestic emperor in the eyes of outsiders always had endless patience and gentleness in front of her.

Lily rarely cares about affairs outside the palace. She knows that she doesn't understand, and she doesn't understand. Interfering and talking will only cause trouble. Whenever Amanke returns to the palace tired, she will serve him something she made herself. A small snack, and then let Aimanke take a nap in his arms and spend a peaceful afternoon.

After Emmank wakes up, Lily will tell him about today's new discoveries, or recite soft and gentle poems.In fact, she was not interested in poetry before, but after becoming a queen, many poets and noble ladies always presented her with gifts or poems, hoping to get the queen's approval and praise.

Over time, she also gradually came into contact with and understood some of them. In order to appease her exhausted lover, she would choose poems that she thought were suitable for him to listen to.And Aimanke will lie in Lily's arms, quietly looking at the face in the sun, showing a faint smile.

"Lily, you are a treasure bestowed on me by God."

Ai Manke stretched out his hand to gently stroke his lover's cheek, and the coldness in his eyes seemed to melt away a lot.

Chapter 26 Country Town

"Lily Esther?"

In Earl Red Kite's mansion, Lorraine Hill spoke in surprise.

"That's right, it's normal that the two of you haven't heard of her before. She comes from a small noble family in the southern part of the empire. When your Majesty went to the south, she met by chance at a banquet, and fell in love with this girl afterwards."

"Three years ago, when His Majesty held a wedding, I was also honored to attend, and our family provided the cakes for the wedding." Li Lin explained.

"Wait a minute, is the Lily Esther you're talking about petite, with caramel-colored hair, and a graduate of Emenas." Lorraine Hill asked one after another.

Li Lin thought about it for a while and then nodded, "That's right, did Miss Lacey know Her Majesty the Queen before?"

"It's considered acquaintance, or a friend, because we studied together in Emenas before." Lacey nodded.

"I see."

Li Lin looked at the blond girl in front of him who looked about 17 years old, and secretly calculated in his heart. Her Majesty the Queen has graduated for several years, and this one said that she had studied together, so she still looks young at her age.

Shaking his head and ignoring the magical and taboo topic of girls' age for the time being, Li Lin introduced the situation in the capital again.

"Now, I don't recommend that you go to the capital, because the current martial law in the capital is very strong, and it is extremely easy to be involved in the death of His Majesty and become an innocent victim." He said that the bloodshed in the capital in the past few months trial event.

"Is there no one to stop DeRosa's atrocities now?" Listening to Li Lin's description, Aitexi couldn't sit still. She still has many friends in the capital, and she is very worried about the situation.

"Currently, only Her Majesty the Red Queen and Her Highness Edron can nominally command DeRosa. However, Her Majesty the Queen is relatively weak, and I am afraid she would not dare to conflict with DeRosa. Her Highness Edron is currently suppressing the rebellion in the south. "

"The targets of the counter-insurgency were the nobles of the southern uprising, because they were dissatisfied with the empire's cession of their territory and thought the empire was too weak. Unfortunately, if the fight continues, the empire will only shed more blood, and there will be no hope."

"For the sake of the overall situation, the empire's signing of the surrender and truce is a choice in line with the situation. But it is difficult for people to remain rational when it comes to their own interests. Therefore, His Royal Highness Edron is probably also very depressed about this counter-insurgency." Li Lin analyzed the current situation.

"What about the other big nobles, what is the current attitude of the four big dukes who are the heads of the nobles?" Aitexi also became concerned at this time.

"The Southern Red Dragon Duke and Grand Duke Pascal died in battle. Because of the sudden death, there is no successor. At present, all the heirs are competing for it. Two of them even joined the rebel army. The territory is in chaos."

"Duke Raven in the north, the Trey family sent tens of thousands of troops during the expedition, and they will not increase their troops after the defeat in the war. Currently, they are huddled in the cold north, keeping a low profile."

"The Duke of Griffin in the West, the Salius family was originally the marriage partner of the former crown prince. Although the coup d'état reached a settlement with His Majesty, the relationship between the two parties can only be said to be average. During the expedition, only the vassals in their own territory were free to choose whether to Participated, but I did not join in. Currently, I am entrusted by His Highness Edron to lead troops to defend the southern border of the empire to prevent Clancia's sudden attack."

"Duke of the Unicorn, Grand Duke Landsworth is dissatisfied with the royal family because his daughter disappeared in a coup a few years ago. He has been treating him coldly all these years, and he didn't even send a single soldier for the expedition."

"Looking at the recent news from the Duke of Landsworth's residence, the Grand Duke is still the same as in the past. He doesn't want to care about the mess in the empire. I'm afraid he will not send troops to support the royal family if it is destroyed."

After talking about the basic situation within the empire, Li Lin picked up the teacup in front of him and drank it slowly. The black tea seemed to have sugar in it, and it had a faint sweet aroma.

"It sounds very complicated." Aitexi propped her arms on her knees, and her two familiar ears drooped slightly between her blond hair.Most elf, she is not interested in these political schemes.

"Hehe, Her Highness Aitexi shouldn't be so worried. Although there will be power changes within the empire, it is estimated that after the change of hands, it will appease everyone to cultivate and live, and the elves will not be involved." Li Lin comforted a little.

"I really want to be like this." Aitexi replied, and then looked at Li Lin.

"By the way, is there any news about my sister, how is Atheia doing?"

"Princess Atheia is a celebrity in the empire today. She was promoted to Sequence 7 a few years ago. Although she did not participate in the empire's expedition, she also assisted the local army in resisting well when Clancia counterattacked. The signing of the armistice bought some favorable opportunities."