Chapter 131 Chapter 131 Prince Verity is Dead

It was Burrich.He didn't yell anymore, the fatigue of the journey made him stand there quietly at this moment, while the pale-faced Ah Shou stood firmly beside him. "I don't have a choice," he answered Burrich's previous question calmly, "you would have done the same." Burrich's face was terrible, with disbelieving, empty, shocked eyes. "I know," he said after a moment, "I know." Then, looking back at me, "Fitz, my horses are gone." He was a little unsteady. "That's not what Hand meant," I said quietly, and then asked, "Where's Prince Verity?"

He frowned and stared at me strangely. "You didn't know I was coming back?" He paused, then said louder, "I sent a message before I got back, didn't you hear it?" "We haven't heard anything. What happened? How did you come back?" Burrich looked around at a group of stunned stable boys, and there was something in Burrich's eyes that I knew again. "If you still don't know, then this matter is not for people to gossip. I must go to the king directly." He stood up straight and looked around at the stable boy and the groom again, and then the tough guy used the original The roar ordered: "Don't you have anything to do? After I come back from the castle, I want to see how you take care of everything when I'm not around."

The crowd dispersed like fog in the sun, and Burrich said to Hand, "Can you take care of my horse? Poor Hunger hasn't been properly treated for the last few days, and now he's coming home." Now, take good care of it!" A hand nodded. "Of course. Should I get the doctor? I can make him wait here for you." Burrich shook his head. "I did everything I could do. Come here, Fitz, and let me help you with your hand." I held out my hand in disbelief, and Burrich grabbed my hand and leaned heavily towards it.Looking down for the first time, I thought his feet were wrapped in thick cold leggings, but they were actually heavy bandages around his injured leg.He braced himself on this leg, put most of his weight on me, and limped along, making me feel the exhaustion of his whole body.Being so close to him, I could also smell the sweat from his body in pain.His clothes were dirty and torn, and his hands and face were filthy, in a way I never would have expected from a man I knew. "Please tell me," I asked quietly, helping him to the castle, "is Verity all right?"

He gave me a smile back. "Do you think I can live if Prince Verity is dead? You're insulting me. Besides, if you think about it, you should know if he's dead or wounded." He paused and then cautiously Looked at me carefully, "You should know, right?" He was obviously saying that I had a Skill connection with Verity, and I was ashamed to admit it. "Our connection is unstable, some things are clear, others are vague. I don't know anything about this. What happened?" He looked thoughtful. "Verity said he would try to get word to Shrewd through you, but if not, I'll have to take the message to him myself." I didn't ask further.

I had forgotten how long it had been since Burrich had seen King Shrewd.Morning is not the best time to see the king, but when I told Burrich he said he would rather report at an inopportune hour than delay the message.So when we knocked on the door, we were surprised to find that we could get in, and once we got in we realized it was because Wallace wasn't there. Instead, as soon as I entered, the Fool asked me kindly, "Come back for more smoke?" Then, when he saw Burrich, the mocking smile disappeared from his face.He looked into my eyes. "Where's Prince Verity?"

"Burrich has come to report to the king." "I'll try to wake him up. He's been like this for a while, but he can report it whether he's asleep or awake, and he'll notice anyway." Even though I'm used to the jester's sarcasm, it still sounded harsh.There was something wrong with the sarcasm, simply because there was so much resignation in his tone.Burrich looked at me with worried eyes, and then asked me quietly, "What's the matter with the king?" I shook my head for him to be quiet, then tried to get him to sit down. "I shall stand before the king until he sits me down," he said stubbornly.

"You are hurt, he will forgive." "He's the king, that's all I know." So I don't force him anymore.So we waited, and waited a long, long time, until at last the Fool came out of the king's chamber. "He's not feeling well," he reminded us. "It took me a long time to explain to him before he knew who was here, but he'll still be in the bedroom listening to your report." So I helped Burrich into the king's bedroom, and saw him wrinkle his nose in disgust at the darkness and the smell of smoke.The pungent smell of smoke filled the room, and some small incense burners were still burning with smoke.The Fool drew back the curtain, and we stood there watching him pat the pillows and tuck them into the King's back, until Shrewd waved him slightly to stand aside.

I looked at the king and wondered why I didn't see his symptoms.These symptoms are actually obvious, such as body weight loss, sour sweat smell, yellow eye whites, etc., which at least should be observed by me.The astonishment on Burrich's face underscored how much all this had changed since he last appeared before the king, but he concealed the shock skillfully, standing straight before the king. "Your Majesty, I have come to report to you." He said in a formal tone. Shrewd blinked slowly. "Report!" he said weakly, and I'm not sure if he was ordering Burrich, or just repeating words, which Burrich took as instructions.He has always insisted that I give a detailed and precise account of things, and his report now is equally detailed.As I stood, he leaned on my shoulder and described how he and Prince Verity made their way through the winter snows without stopping toward the Kingdom of the Mountains, and he said it bluntly.It was a arduous journey, and even though messengers were sent to deliver messages before Verity set off, the support and hospitality they received along the way was less than ideal.The nobles along the way declared that they had no idea Verity was coming, and that in many cases only servants greeted them, and that they were received no differently than ordinary travelers.There were supposed to be supplies and extra horses waiting at the designated points, but this was not the case, so the horses suffered more than people, and the weather conditions were very bad.

When Burrich reported, I could feel him trembling every now and then, almost to the point of total collapse; but whenever he started to wobble, he would take a deep breath to steady himself, and go on talking. He said in a slightly trembling voice that they had been raided on the plains of Faro before they reached the Blue Lagoon.He didn't jump to any conclusions on his own, but just described how the group of highway robbers used military methods to fight. Although their clothes did not have any colors that represented the duke, they were a group of thieves who were well dressed and armed, and it was obvious that Verity was their stated goals.When the two pack animals fled, none of the attackers broke off in pursuit of them, yet true bandits generally preferred to pursue a laden pack animal rather than fight an armed man.Verity's subordinates finally stabilized their position and successfully repelled the gangsters, and the attackers also understood that Verity's bodyguards would fight to the death, and would rather sacrifice the last of them than surrender or give in. So he had to flee on horseback, leaving his dead comrades in the snow.