Chapter 78 I Didn’t Steal the Bread
October 1444, 10, Imperial Calendar, morning.

This is the third day since Horn and others left.

Nine companies of imperial decrees, led by Prince Condé, arrived near the Gulag Monastery.

These nine imperial companies, in name only, were not Kong Dai's personal troops, but the Kingdom Guards of the Kingdom of Leia.

Kong Dai is only the chief of the royal guards under the chief of the guards of the Kingdom of Leia, but he still has control over 9 companies of imperial orders.

First, the influence of the previous royal family was too far-reaching, and everyone had in-laws. It was impossible for the nobles to allow the Blue Bee Dynasty to wipe out Goldfinch, nor was it possible for them to allow Goldfinch to return to the throne.

The second reason is that many of these Knights of the Imperial Order are loyal to the Goldfinch through their ancestors. Instead of letting them defect to the Free City or Norn, it is better to use the Kongdai sign to keep them here.

Third, Kong Dai himself was very competitive. He was born a Knight Templar and was promoted to the ninth level of the Imperial Knight at the age of 25. In the past 20 years, he was the only knight who killed a vampire archduke and was personally canonized by the Pope.

Due to the Templar origins and the support of the Church, the nine companies of the Order led by Conde included a large number of Templar Knights who had returned to secular life and their illegitimate sons who had been regularized.

Kongdai was often accused of using the Kingdom of Leia's land to support the church's army.

But this could not break Kong Dai's triple golden body of blood, legal principles and religion, allowing him, a remnant of the previous dynasty, to control nearly one-fifth of the kingdom's high-end extraordinary power.

When Kongdai stepped onto the road in front of the Gulag Monastery, he looked at the dilapidated monastery in front of him and sighed helplessly.

It’s not like Kong Dai had never been here before. He had visited here when he was studying in Gaobao.

But the dilapidated Gulag monastery before him was really different from what he had imagined.

If Horn were here, he would definitely feel that he was wrong.

Since he left, the Gulag has changed dramatically.

After Horn and others left, the nearby villagers and refugees emptied the Gulag monastery.

Tables, chairs, benches, pots, pans, doors, windows and bricks, if no one is watching then no one wants them, so turn on the automatic pickup system and they will all be picked up.

Not to mention the dog head hanging on the stag room, even the monastery's bell and the slag from the electric arc furnace were taken away, leaving only a shallow layer of manure in the cesspool.

Strolling leisurely up the steps to the monastery entrance, Kong Dai casually stepped on two refugees who were sleeping on the steps and walked into the monastery.

The once gorgeous flower beds have become clean, with only bare branches left.

A few untidy bearded bandits were squatting expectantly beside the dilapidated flower bed, lighting the branches and cooking the soup.

In the soup filled with blood foam, you can see a human hand floating.

Kong Dai walked over, cut off their heads with his sword, and continued forward.

But when he saw that the beautiful stained glass windows and arches were gone and only the empty monasteries were left, he still sighed.

Especially, black smoke was billowing out of these holes.

"Your Highness, don't you want to take a walk around?" The black-robed monk appeared behind Kong Dai like a ghost.

Kong Dai shook his head. "I wanted to revisit the old place, but these refugees ruined my mood. What are you rushing here for?"

"You have received a letter from the church."

In front of the monk, Kong Dai opened the letter, glanced at it casually, and then tore it into pieces and threw it away in annoyance.

"It's the same old story. Grandivar said he can also talk and he can support me."

"What do you think, Your Highness?"

Kong Dai's eyelids twitched: "Are you trying to test my words?"

"I dare not." The monk immediately bowed.

Kong Dai looked at his slender neck, as if he was laughing out of anger, and turned and left.

"Your Highness, since those rebels have left, should we continue chasing them?"

"Chase."

"Should we notify the High Castle to expel these refugees? Or should we do it ourselves?"

"It doesn't matter. If you want to vent, go ahead. They stole the church's property and they deserve to be punished."

By the time the news about Prince Condé reached the Papal States, it was already night.

In the valley, the villagers had fallen asleep after evening prayers.

In the center of the thatched huts is a large tent, which is the new Papal Palace.

The lights in the Papal Palace were brightly lit, and the high-ranking cardinals of the Papal States were holding an emergency meeting.

At this critical moment, Madeleine, the cardinal, came to the hillside and found Dange who was sitting idly.

"A refugee just came here to report a message." Madeleine stood opposite Danji and said something without any context.

In the moonlight, Danji silently sharpened the sword in his hand with the whetstone in his hand.

The moonlight flowed on the sword, washing the rusty and dull edge.

"Those knights came so quickly. They arrived at the Gulag Monastery this morning," Madeleine narrated calmly. "When they found out we were gone, they massacred the five surrounding villages."

Danji stopped sharpening the sword, and the piercing hissing sound also stopped.

“Those refugees who brought the news had no shoes, so they passed the message from one person to another and completed the journey that would have taken us two and a half days in one day.

Among them were ordinary refugees, as well as mobs and bandits.

I asked him why he told us, and he said that they didn't know either, but at least this way they could have peace of mind.

I have been to all five villages. Some of them have sold us food, while others have scolded us. I have met many of them and I know them all. ”

Danji put down his sword and threw it aside: "If you want, you can beat me up."

"I won't do it." Madeleine shook her head. "You are an innocent man. I can't do such a thing."

Putting the long sword into the scabbard, Danji spread his legs and leaned against the hillside: "I would rather you beat me up."

The mountains surged like the tides in the moonlight, the white moon looked like a lake, and the millions of grasses and trees breathed loudly. At the bottom of the waves, the campsite was a narrow river, and those thatched huts were fishing boats on the river, swaying with the wind.

"They are all innocent people." Danji pointed to the thatched house below.

No reply.

"I don't know if I'm still a knight." Danji withdrew his finger.

Still no reply.

"That day, I heard you and Frick talking, and I overheard your story." Danji's face was melted in the moonlight, and his expression could not be seen clearly. "Do you mind telling me how you were imprisoned?"

Madeleine turned his head and stared expressionlessly at Dange's face. After a long while, he spoke:
"When I was seven, the kid from the neighboring Stang family bought a church amulet. I insisted on having one, but my family was poor and I had younger brothers and sisters, so I couldn't afford it."

Sitting alone, Madeleine seemed to be sleepwalking, and her voice was not loud, but Dange could hear it clearly.

"I got tired of the quarrels, so my dad beat me up. I cried all night. The next day, I went out to play and saw Sitangge hanging the amulet on the window. No one was watching, so I took it.

When my father and mother saw the amulet in my hand... Haha, I have never been beaten so hard in my life.

They told me that if you want something, you have to earn it with your own hands.”

Madeleine took out an amulet from his collar. The amulet was wrapped in blackened silver, and the face of the patron saint could not be seen clearly.

"This is Saint George, the legendary Saint George who slew the dragon." Shaking the amulet in his hand towards Danji, Madeleine chuckled, "You can't recognize it, I can't recognize it either.

So when my mother gave it to me, I was so angry that I felt it was not even close to Stanger, so I threw it away.

Dad beat me again, and he ran to the mud pit and searched for half the night before he found it. "

Madeleine's voice was as calm as the moonlight, echoing in the night wind.

“I cried at night and refused to accept it. My mother said that when my father was resting while repairing roofs for people, he didn’t rest, but went to the roadside to find white stones and chiseled them into shapes with a chisel.

When my mother had free time from cooking for the citizens, she would use the fire to melt silver coins and inlay them on the stone statue.

If the carving is not done well, you need to find another one; if the setting is not done well, you need to melt it again.

They made this icon in a year, for only one dinar, and you can’t buy such a beautiful amulet for one dinar.”

Compared to the first time he held the amulet, it was much smaller in his hand.

Those slender fingers covered with mud have turned into thick black hands.

Sliding her fingertips across St. George's face, Madeleine said to it, "My mother said that this amulet is ugly, but it was made bit by bit by my father and mother. If I hang this amulet, my father, mother and St. George will be by my side to protect me."

The quiet wind blew the moonlight and the house swaying, and St. George on the amulet opened his arms as if to embrace Madeleine.

"I wore this amulet and never stole anything again. I got a job in a bakery and worked my way up from odd jobs to laborers, from laborers to indentured servants, and from indentured servants to apprentices.

I learned baking incredibly quickly. The white cheese bread baked with my new recipe was fragrant and soft. My master told me that I would be able to become a master in two years at most.

During that time, my father and mother were so happy because we were going to have a baker in our family.

I was so happy too, so on my birthday, I asked the chef if I could take the moldy bread from the bakery home. I asked him, I asked him!
He said, take it back, it's a reward for you.

The next day, I was arrested and imprisoned for stealing bread. I looked into my father and mother’s eyes and they were like burning fire.”

The wind blew through the valley, making a whistling sound. Apart from this sound, there was no other sound in the valley.

Danji asked softly, "What happened next?"

“I would have been found not guilty, there was physical evidence and eyewitnesses who saw me take the moldy bread from the baker.

Then a knight and the baker entered the court, and they exchanged three or four sentences.

I was sentenced to twelve years.

Two years after I went to prison, my father fell into alcoholism and broke his neck.

In the fourth year after being imprisoned, my mother, unable to bear the criticism from people around her, pretended to fall into the river and committed suicide.

I escaped and wanted to see my mother one last time, but she committed suicide and was buried in a mass grave.

I can’t find my mother anymore. All the tombstones have collapsed and her remains are mixed with others. I can’t tell them apart.”

Danji didn't even make the sound of heavy breathing.

“The priests of the church say that transcendence is a gift from God, and they also say that God is merciful.

The extraordinary people are all noble people, why don't they do justice for me? Why do they help the evil instead? "

Time seemed to stop for a second or two after Madeleine asked this question.

Danji placed the knight's sword across his knees and grasped the scabbard with his right hand. The scabbard trembled slightly: "One day, you will be able to clear your name."

Madeleine clenched the amulet on her chest, muttering to herself: "But what's the point? My family is dead. In their last moments before they died, I was just a thief."

Danji forced a smile and said, "That knight, he doesn't follow the code of chivalry. He, he can't be considered a knight..."

"Knight, knight..." Madeleine still lowered his head, but the amulet pendant in the palm of his right hand was clenched tighter and tighter, and his voice rose from low to high.

Finally, he straightened his body and bounced up from the rock, as if he wanted to roar.

But when he finally spoke, for some reason, only a dry and hoarse voice remained: "I didn't steal the bread..."

After saying this, he stood there in a daze as if he had lost his soul.

After standing there for a long time, he stuffed the amulet into his collar and walked towards the thatched houses without saying a word.

The howling wind blew the grass and tickled Danji's ankles.

Dange watched Madeleine's back disappear over the edge of the hillside.

He drew out the knight's sword in his hand, it was so blank and dazzling.

(End of this chapter)