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　The last city built in "Eight Nine Zero" is the capital of Niss, located in the center of the Kingdom of Brunu.

Between the luxurious palace and the town, there is a garden full of blooming flowers, with exquisite fountains and sculptures inside.

Such an exquisite garden cannot be found in Jistat or Menegi, which is a symbol of the prosperity of the Brunu Kingdom.

But these beautiful views were ignored by Ma Sicha, and he hurried through the garden, and he came under the first city wall.

"I am Masha Rodat who was entrusted by the king to rule the northern Odd territory"

Masiha reported his name to the guards and showed the iron-gray medal representing the knighthood. After confirming the medal, the soldier saluted respectfully, and then opened the city gate.

Climbing up the stairs, Masha came to the second city gate, the same steps, but this time he handed over his weapon and passed through the gate.

Even though it was winter, and walking in the cold air in the mountains, a thin layer of sweat still appeared on Masiha's forehead, which was not caused by fatigue, but by tension.

The royal palace was close at hand, a magnificent palace built of white marble and decorated with gold decorations here and there.

Standing here are guard knights wearing iron-gray armor and white cloaks. They are different from the guards just now, and they will not be timid even when facing nobles.

"I am Masha Rodat, an earl conferred by His Majesty the King, and I have an important meeting with Prime Minister Bodwa today."

This time, Ma Siha waited for nearly 10 minutes. Although he looked calm on the surface, there was a huge rock hanging in his heart.

The reason for entering the palace was fabricated by him with the help of acquaintances. He had been in the capital for dozens of days, and he was blocked by various reasons to visit the king through normal channels.

The answers I got from visiting acquaintances everywhere were the same.

After the battle of Dinant, the king was bedridden after learning that the prince died in the battle. If he wanted to make a statement, he would bribe the Duke of Thénardi or the Duke of Canulon.

They are all enemies, how could Ma Siha seek death.

He had no other choice but to make a bad move. He must see the king.

Three days ago, the Knights of Navarra appeared outside the city and left within less than a day. Masha had a vague premonition. This was one of the important reasons for him to enter the palace even at the risk.

"I've been waiting for a long time, Earl Rodarte, please come in." As if the confirmation was completed, the guard knight stepped forward and saluted and said.

Masiha nodded calmly, walked through the gate of the palace, and headed towards the predetermined destination.

Standing in the corridor leading to the king's room, Masha had another difficulty. How could he deceive the guard knights guarding the room.

If it's just a simple petition, then let the maid who takes care of the king bring it in.

The maids working in the royal palace are highly paid, although they cannot be bought with money, but Masha has several scandals and rumors that cannot be made public.

People who pursue this information are everywhere, and Shen Gong is no exception.

However, his most fundamental purpose is to confirm with his own eyes whether the king is really demented and stupid.

He didn't worry about this question for long before he was interrupted by a voice behind him.

"Didn't you come to me for something, Count Rodarte?"

Masha turned around, and in front of him was a man in a gray official uniform.

Slightly hanging eyes, a slightly round face, and a mustache that grows to the cheeks, if you have to describe it, it looks a bit like a cat.

"Bodvar..." Masha sighed in a low voice, revealing his secret much faster than he expected.

"It's not convenient for people to come and go here, let's change the place," suggested the cat-faced prime minister Bodvar. 0

Although the guard knights around were still standing there, they stared at Masha with sharp eyes. If they refused, they would probably be caught on the spot.

Masha and Bodwa are old friends for many years. They were good friends before they became earls and prime ministers. This has not changed because of the change of status.

Presumably because of this, the cat-faced Prime Minister did not order Ma Siha to be arrested.

Bodvar took Masha to a meeting room for officials. It was quite small and had no windows. There was only a large table and a few chairs inside.

"Count Rodarte, I think you don't like coming to the palace...why is this?"

"Alsace, as the prime minister, you should know about the atrocities committed by the Duke of Tainati," Masha replied happily.

Bodvar narrowed his eyes at Masha.

"Why don't you go through formal procedures if you want to see the king?"

"Because of our friendship, don't say such official words. You should be very clear why I fabricated a reason to sneak into the palace." Masha stared at Bodvar with an expression of unwillingness to go around.

"Sorry, that's all I can say from my position"

"All my petitions are not good for the Duke of Tainati and the Duke of Canulon, and they were all blocked secretly. How long do you want me to wait for 1.6? Wait until autumn and winter, and then wait until the snow melts?"

Masiha glared at Bodvar angrily, and after venting his dissatisfaction, he sighed deeply and said to the cat-faced prime minister:

"Bodvar, tell me honestly, is His Majesty the king out of his mind?"

Bodvar's face changed. Not many people knew about this matter, and it was even more impossible for Masha, who was far away from the palace, to know.

Although he was going to tell Masha the truth in his personal capacity, he hasn't said it yet.

"Count Rodarte, where did you hear about this?" Bodvar looked at him seriously.

"Answer my question first," Masha said in a non-negotiable tone.

"Okay, I'll take you to see the king." Bodvar sighed, and brought Masha back to the corridor just now.

Chapter 25 Two Quarrelsome

Walking through the corridor in silence, Bodvar stopped in front of a double door. The door panel was engraved with the heroic figure of the founding king Charles riding on Bayard. This is the king's room.

Bodvar gestured to the guard knights standing on both sides with his eyes, and then let Masha approach the door.

"Listen to the voices inside, but don't make any noise"

Ma Siha hesitated for a moment before pressing his face against the door. The slight sound inside should be from His Majesty, but it was also mixed with the sound of tapping on wood and stone.

After about ten seconds, Ma Siha raised his body and said tentatively:

"Are you really playing with building blocks?"

Nangong Long once casually said that the king is now like a child, playing with building blocks every day.

Bodvar was speechless, the tone of his old friend's speech was as if he knew it in advance, obviously he didn't guess it by listening to the voice.

After saluting the guard, Bodvar turned and left, and the two returned to the previous room.

Because of the mental preparation in advance, Ma Siha's mood did not fluctuate violently.

Bodvar, who was sitting on a chair, looked at Masha and said:

"Now can you tell me where did you get the news?"

"Okay, but I want you to keep it a secret"

Bodvar pondered for a while before slowly nodding his head. 10

"I was told by the lord of Alsace, and this is one of the reasons why I came to the capital"

"The young earl who introduced himself with a short name? How could the border earl know such confidential information?" Bodwa muttered, frowning.

"Do you still think he is an ordinary frontier earl? Does the person who can wipe out the three thousand soldiers of the Duke of Tainati have no channels and means of his own?" Masha said with emotion.

"Isn't that the result achieved with the help of Jistad's warrior princess and the army?"

Hearing what Bodvar said, Masha was obviously taken aback.

"Where did you get this information? I met a war girl in Alsace, but her identity is a prisoner, and there is nothing wrong with Jistat's army."

"Are you joking? In the battle of Dinant, the war concubine of Gistate defeated our army, but was captured by a border count. Do you think it is possible? Compared with this, I believe in another theory That is, Earl Nangong of Alsace was captured by the war concubine, and then he betrayed the country for his life, and introduced Jistad's army into our country, intending to assist foreign troops in occupying our land. False news came out." Bodwa said angrily what he thought was the most reasonable speculation, and Tenati also thought so, so he used his power to convict Nangonglong of rebellion.

If he hadn't been to Alsace himself, Masha would probably think so.

"It sounds unbelievable, but what I'm saying is the truth. I'm speaking as a friend. Taking a step back, even the Earl of Nangong was forced to introduce Jistat's army. When Duke Tenati committed atrocities , have you stopped?" Ma Siha's words were faintly tinged with anger.

Hearing the dissatisfaction in his old friend's words, Bodwa said:

"You also know the king's situation. The government affairs that need to be handled by the king can only be decided by us after several discussions. So we divided the government affairs into two parts, and the cases related to the nobles were handed over to the Duke of Tainati and Jia The Duke of Nulong negotiated and dealt with it, and the courtiers were responsible for the rest. Otherwise, they would often intervene in those events, causing the progress to stagnate.”

Bodvar's explanation did not calm Masha's anger, but made him distort his face angrily.

"Are you waiting for the final battle between Tai Nadi and Canulon? You don't plan to intervene in the nobles' petition until then, right?"

"We have no ability to fight against the two dukes"

"Isn't it okay to use the Knights of the Kingdom?"

"No, if you do that, it will only make the country more chaotic, and what should you do if you transfer the Knights to the border?" Bodwa shook his head and denied.

"You think you'll be fine if you let it go. What are you going to do if Tai Na Di and Jianu Long decide the outcome? Seeing the winner cover the sky with one hand? Is that the result you want?" Ma Siha stood up excitedly and asked Qian leaned forward and said, if he didn't have some scruples, he would have yelled.

"Even if the war between the two dukes wins, the victor will suffer a great deal of damage. At that time, we will find a solution according to the specific situation."

"You never thought that the victor would digest the opponent's power in a short period of time and become stronger, so strong that you courtiers have nothing to do."

Faced with Masiha's pressing step by step, Bodwa was silent. The courtiers are just escaping from reality and fearing the future at the same time.

Masha slowly exhaled, trying to calm down his emotions.

"I just want to know what will happen to the neutral faction. Are you really planning to watch Tai Na Di and Jianu Long act recklessly?"

Bodvar remained silent, with a blank expression on his face, but one could still see a certain unshakable determination.

"Give up the nobles who swear allegiance to His Majesty, isn't your practice a betrayal of His Majesty?"

"If you talk about loyalty when united with other countries' armies, that's treason." Bodvar stood up with an angry face, clenched his fists and hammered the table.

"I've already said that Earl Nangong did not betray, so let's put this question aside for now. What about the other neutral factions? They have nothing to do with the Zistart army you mentioned." Masha stared back without showing any weakness.

"No way, I still say the same thing, don't meddle in the request of the nobles"

"That is to say, there are only two paths for the neutral faction, either to take refuge in one of the two dukes, or wait for death. It seems that you can't count on it. I'd better go back in 893 to intercede with Earl Nangong on behalf of Aojie and the others, saying Maybe it can still be useful, but I don’t know how many times my old face can be used.” Ma Siha said in a mocking tone.

Hearing his words, Bodvar reminded kindly with a tense face:

"You'd better not form an alliance with the Earl of Nangong. The black knight Roland has led the Knights of Navarra to attack him. His crime is treason."

"What did you say?" Mashapa was even more excited than before, and even walked up to Bodvar and stared at him.

"Earl Nangong is finished"

"You said just now that you can't use the Knights, what's going on now?"

Ignoring Mashasha's questioning tone, Bodvar explained:

"It was Tainati who used his contacts abroad to sign a temporary truce with Sachstan, so that the Knights of Navarra could leave the western borders. In addition, no matter what the reason, the traitors must accept sanctions"