Scepter of Thorns

"Are you shaken?"

"When he put me behind me, I wanted to tear apart those who surrounded us."

Once upon a time there were two shepherds, a liar and a politician. The liar had a gray sheep, and the politician had a black sheep. ——"Black Apocalypse"※※※

Senna walked into the king's palace, he glanced at the fragments of the mirror thrown on the tiles, and frowned slightly.

With a sharp eye, he found traces of smears on the mirror, like it was written in a panic, and a few letters could be vaguely seen, QUE...KIL...

"This is your sister's messenger mirror." Mephisto said coldly, "The people who escorted her were wiped out."

Senna thought about it, "Do you know who did it?"

Mephisto stared at him, "What about you?"

"The Queen of Hearts." Senna didn't hide it, "it's one of Joker's subordinates. She disguised herself as a queen and lurked by your side for eight years."

Tian Wang stared at him, his stern gaze softened a little bit.He said helplessly, "You... have a lot to do with Joke, right?"

"Yes, Father." Senna stepped forward to hug his knees, knelt down obediently, and said frankly, "I am the Ace of Spades, and I am in the upper middle of the Joke. I have been staying since Spades split. Take his place at Joke. Although I obey Owencelli, my heart will always be loyal to you. So if necessary, I will provide all the materials of Joke organization, just to please you."

"No, Senna. You don't have to do this, I owe you this." Mephisto said with unspeakable bitterness, "You...you can do whatever you want, since your mother passed away, I have been Sorry to you. You are fine, really fine, there is no need to submit to me like this, Senna, do what you want, I will wait behind you."

"Father." Senna's eyes darkened, "I love you, so I will never betray you."

A guard knocked lightly on the palace door, and Mephisto helped Senna kneeling on the ground, "Come in."

"The Queen of Hearts has escaped." The guard reported, "She got the news in advance, but we have sealed off the royal city, and she is now trapped in the city."

"There must be people from Joke in the king's city. If they respond, the success will fall short." Mephisto ordered, "Take my personal guard there. If she escapes, you don't have to appear in front of me."

"Yes."

※※※

The Queen of Hearts walked through the crowd wrapped in a coarse cloth apron, and she could feel the scrutinizing eyes sweeping over the crowd, the guards in pursuit.

Carrying a vegetable basket, she dressed up as an unremarkable peasant woman and walked to the market.A vegetable seller grabbed Dorothy by the corner of her clothes, "Fresh liguo, madam, don't you take a look?"

She was terrified, and bent down pretending to look through, there was a small pink stain on the vegetable farmer's neckline, which looked very much like Li Guo's juice splashed on it.But Dorothy recognized it. It was the shape of a heart.She picked up a few fruits and put them on, and handed over a banknote, "Just take these."

"Okay!" The man found a few coins, "Ma'am...you have to look carefully, you are right."

Hours later, Dorothy was sitting in a secluded bar in a ghetto with an open note in her hand.

She closed her eyes and sipped the bourbon in the glass carefully. Under the stimulation of strong alcohol, a woman could actually stay awake.

She was ordered by Joker.the last time.

Dorothy dipped the note into the wine glass until the font was blurred, and drank the bourbon in one gulp.A coin tip fell into the empty glass with a crisp sound.

She turned and walked out of the bar. The sky was gloomy at the corner of the street, the clouds were low, and the face that had removed the coquettish makeup looked solemn and sacred, like a nun serving a god in a church.She knew that she was indeed serving a god, that all his commands could not be disobeyed, and that his presence was above all else.

Joker.

The woman recited the name silently, showing a longing and nervous smile, finally able to... dedicate herself to Joker.

The camouflage shawls were taken off, the veil was taken off, and all the ornaments on the body were cleaned.She was wearing a long black dress, and her steps were hurried, as if she was rushing to attend a funeral.

When Dorothy stepped into the street, she felt five or six people following her.But she pretended not to exist at all, and went straight in one direction, the prince's palace of Edmond Dorsas.

Those people followed in an orderly and covert manner, and the number gradually increased.She started to run, and the bustling crowd immediately gave way after being frightened, and the people behind caught up.The wind carried away the shouts of the group of people, and Dorothy's ears were blurred—she was being hunted down, which was a shame and mistake of being a top assassin, but she couldn't care about anything else.She only felt happy, and the thrill and excitement of the illusion of weightlessness made her almost scream with joy.

For Joker.

The woman avoided their pursuit with ease.Soon, the knight set up his bow and arrow, spread his wings and shot from the air.She was hit by an arrow unexpectedly, and the black cloth was soaked, but she didn't stop at all, as if she just cut off a strand of hair.

Dorothy rushed into the prince's palace, and the guards at the gate intercepted it easily for the top assassins, even if they were hit by an arrow, they could be quickly resolved.She went straight to the back garden, just as the information said, the prince and his eldest son were having afternoon tea.

The knight commander behind him realized the seriousness of the matter, and immediately led people to follow him, and stopped shooting arrows.

Dorothy rushed in front of Edward, her eyes seemed to see hope, she shouted loudly, "Help me, Ed..."

"Whoosh-"

An arrow pierced her heart from behind, and the last syllable blurred in her throat.In the distance, the butler wearing monocle retracted his bow and disappeared into the shadows again.

Edward stared at the woman's body coldly. A guard stepped forward and looked at him with scrutiny. "We are the Royal Guard. She is suspected of murdering a nobleman and is being hunted down. Your Excellency, please come with us." .”

"If I instigated her, how could she die in front of me stupidly, and let you find out just right?" Edward asked, "This is obviously a frame-up."

The guard was unmoved, "Please come with us."

He got it.

The truth is not important, what is important is whose name the woman called before she died.She was a pawn, and the name was evidence, an excuse to get him to jail.But everyone knows in their hearts that if they go to prison, they may not be able to come back.

Edward's identity is too sensitive, as long as Senna dies unexpectedly and Mephisto has no children, then he is the only heir to the throne.But if Edward disappeared, Senna and Mephisto would have nothing to worry about, and no matter how powerful Edmond was, his position as prince was already firmly established, and he could not interfere in politics too much on the surface.When Senna succeeds to the throne, there are plenty of means to deal with him.

He didn't dare to touch Edward before because he cared about his name as a god's favorite, but anyway, now the main god doesn't care about the heavens, and even created the spar that restrains the divine power, so he simply rebelled to the end.

"Wait a moment."

Edmund stepped forward and pulled the eldest son behind him, "Why are you so sure that her name is Edward?"

The knight commander frowned and said, "Your Majesty, there is no need to excuse your eldest son..."

"She called me by my name, Edmund (Edmund)." He replied calmly, "After the Sleeping Day incident, I did not sever ties with the Spades organization. I ordered the Queen of Hearts to assassinate Mephisto." of."

His words were like thunder on a sunny day, and the knights quickly surrounded Edmond.

"This matter has nothing to do with my eldest son. He just came to the heaven this year, so it is impossible to command the Queen of Hearts eight years ago." Edmund pushed Edward out of the encirclement and let the knights lock him up, " I will go back with you."

The knight commander gave Edward a meaningful look, "It seems that the archer is also arranged by you? It's a good means of escape."

Edward clenched his palms tightly, his body trembling with anger.He kept his head down, his slightly long hair covering his eyes, making it difficult to see his expression clearly.

The body of the Queen of Hearts was still lying on the ground, with a mysterious smile on her mouth, as if she had gone to a happy and beautiful paradise.But this smile was very mocking, mocking his powerlessness.

As the knights drifted away, Edward froze on the spot, and after a while he ordered, "...clean up the corpse."

He went back to the study where Edmund used to sit. The man liked black tea, and the aroma of tea and Don Juan were still there, but the person at the table had left.

Edward leaned tiredly on the sofa, which he liked to stay in when Edmund was working.He suddenly felt very tired, followed by great confusion.Is Edmund apologizing for him because of his high political value, or... because of a distant and unbreakable family relationship?

Books often say that family affection is warm, but Edward has never experienced such a beautiful emotion.He is used to being treated indifferently and distantly, which also means that he doesn't have to give too much sincerity. If it's just a pure interest relationship, then getting along will be much easier.

He felt long ago that he should stand at the highest position, that he must be above everyone else.But it's hard for Edward to explain why he has such an idea, but he feels that if he doesn't climb up, many people will hurt himself, and he can't do anything.So we must go to a very high place, no one can reach it, only him.

Because in his short 26 years, no one comforted or encouraged him when he was desperate and collapsed, and he never experienced family affection, love and friendship.He seems to live in a glass enclosure, seemingly integrated with the world around him, but in fact he is out of reach.But he can't do without this glass cover, it is a cage and a protection, protecting him from the outside world.

But it also brings a deep loneliness.

Edward closed his eyes, his heart seemed to be wrapped in thorns, but the pain made him more conscious.

"Edmund is a politician and a father secondarily."

He repeated this sentence engraved in his memory at some time, as if he could feel more at ease in this way.Yes, there were no feelings between them, only interests. Since Edmond placed the bet on him, then Edward would not let him down.

It's easier to think that way.

He rang the bell on the table, and the butler opened the door respectfully, "Master, what do you want?"

"Contact Celine and the old club of spades, it's time to call them up." Edward's eyes were sharp, "The butler...or Mr. Two of Spades."

----Chapter75. Piercing & Finishing----