In the early morning of the next day, Ella was abruptly woken up from her sleep:
"King of Sweden, it's not good, the King of Knights is dying! Hurry up and have a look!"
Ella hadn't woken up yet, so she slowly wiped her eyes and got up from the bed. After sitting on the bed in a daze for a while, she suddenly realized the meaning of her words, jumped out of bed and ran out of the door.
It was far before the sun rose, and it was pitch black outside. Only Alfred's dormitory was lit. Amy had already been waiting below with the light on. Although she didn't sleep long either, the news that Alfred was critically ill had frightened her out of sleep.
"Your Majesty, what will happen to England after Alfred dies? Can it still maintain an ally relationship with us?"
"It is no longer a matter of allies or not. Both Scotland and Ireland are in rebellion. Once Alfred dies, the British Isles will be in chaos!"
The servants in the castle gathered outside the door, and there were also some civilian officials whispering there. Ella shouted to them from a distance: "How is Alfred? Tell me right away!"
"There was no breathing and heartbeat for a moment. We all thought he was going to die." A servant wiped his sweat. "God bless him, he has recovered a little and is now lying on the bed to rest."
Amy separated everyone to make a way for Ella. The door was open, but no one dared to go in. They only saw Alfred lying on the bed with a haggard face, only letting out some unconscious moans in his mouth.
"Alfred? Alfred?" Ella called several times without getting a response. So a servant said to her: "The King of Knights is unconscious and doesn't know what we are talking about."
So the group of civil officials asked Ella in a low voice: "King of Sweden, tell us the truth, can the King of Knights be saved?"
"Paracelsus should be on his way here now. If he can arrive in time, he might still have a chance."
"I'm afraid Paracelsus can't cure a dying man." The group of civil officials sighed, "Shouldn't we better arrange the funeral arrangements first to avoid being caught off guard?"
Ella hesitated for a while, and then replied helplessly: "Yes, let's make arrangements first."
"But there is a problem. Regarding the selection of the successor, there is no one in Winchester who has the authority to make this decision."
"Why?" Amy asked, "The King of Knights said that you can arrange according to the inheritance law, so you can arrange it?"
"King of Sweden, you don't know something. After the King of Knights unified Britain, he carried out many reforms. Now it is not us who have this power, but an organization called the 'Round Table Conference'. The members of this organization are composed of many members of the King of Knights. The most heroic knights selected from among the nobles."
"The military organization decides the successor?"
"Yes." The group of civilian officials sighed, "The King of Knights does not believe in us, but believes more in the choice of the army."
Ella frowned. Speaking of knights, her first thought was of lower-level nobles who did not have the right to inherit their territory. According to what those civil servants said, the status of the knights Bjorn captured was much higher than she imagined.
"Gather this group of people together and go to the battlefield. Alfred is quite messy..."
In any case, the negotiations with Bjorn became increasingly important.
"Don't worry." Ella said, "I will definitely let them come back safely and end the war in Britain."
Early the next morning, Bjorn indeed sent people to the city wall again.
"Is the King of Sweden awake?" they shouted from under the city wall. "Boss Bjorn has something to talk to you about. Set a time and a location acceptable to both parties!"
"Your Majesty, Bjorn's envoy is at the city gate..."
"I know that although the situation is urgent, we must pretend that we are not in a hurry. Let them wait a little longer!"
Ella took a sip of milk and continued to nibble on the bread in her hand.
"Just tell them that the King of Sweden has other matters to deal with now, and let them wait outside the city. We didn't sleep well last night, but we can't let them see it. After breakfast, we will go and catch up on some sleep."
So, the group of messengers waited until the sun climbed directly above their heads before they arrived at Ella.
"The King of Sweden is here!" Amy shouted from the wall. "She asked you if you want milk and bread?"
The group of messengers licked their dry lips and nodded repeatedly. Bjorn's baggage force was burned down by Ella last night, and now only the little dry food each person carries is left. They really want to drink milk now.
So Ella asked Amy to open the city gate and distribute bread and milk to the messengers.
"This is one day's share." Amy said from the side. "The King of Sweden sees that you have had a hard time waiting, so he gives you some more. Originally, you are all members of the King of Knights, so there is no need to work hard. You can eat here." I can still have one meal when I take it back to the barracks in the evening, and another meal tomorrow morning. Although Winchester has encountered some difficulties, the milk and bread are still enough."
For Bjorn's army, which was short of food and water, this bread and milk were more valuable than precious jewelry. The group of messengers burst into tears of gratitude, wiping their tears while drinking milk.
"So, where is the King of Sweden going to negotiate with Bjorn? We can go back and recover."
"Winchester City."
The group of envoys were startled. The two armies are at war, and the negotiation location should be a place where both sides feel safe. Asking Bjorn to negotiate in Winchester City was almost equivalent to asking Bjorn to surrender.
"This... I'm afraid it's a bit difficult..."
"In addition to the city of Winchester, the King of Sweden does not accept any other negotiation location. You can go back and report to Bjorn."
"We have many knights from England now." A messenger said with a blue face. "Before coming here, Boss Bjorn said that if the King of Sweden does not accept the negotiation, he will immediately execute these knights."
Amy shook her head: "I thought Bjorn had any conditions. Is it these knights? Is he not smart? He knows that the person negotiating is not the king of knights, but the king of Sweden, and he is still planning to take this As a bargaining chip? He thinks that a few knights can exchange for his life and that of his entire army?"
"But... this... are these the knights attending the Round Table Conference?"
"Round table conference? What is that?" Amy pretended to be confused, "Go back and tell your boss that if he is going to use this negotiation, then he will not even come to Winchester City, because it is a complete waste of time. But he probably can’t bring up any other bargaining chips. But you, on the other hand, have a good bargaining chip that your boss doesn’t have.”
"The bargaining chip our boss doesn't have?" The envoys were stunned for a moment, "What is it?"
Amy lowered her voice:
"A head upon Bjorn's neck."
(End of chapter)
