Shortly after sunrise the next day, Simon, who was half asleep and half awake, was shaken awake by the fat man - Keoser couldn't survive in the end.
Although he had been mentally prepared in advance, the grief that followed still overwhelmed him.
Simon quickly climbed up from the straw bed and walked out of the tent. Under the golden morning sun, mournful sobs could be heard from the large blue and white striped tent of the former Earl of Loon in the center of the camp.
A bald monk wearing a gray monastic robe hurriedly opened the door curtain and ran towards the town. Then, Lange came out with a sad face, and met Simon's eyes. For a moment, the sadness turned into a combination of shame and anger.
"I will never forget how embarrassing you made me in front of everyone last night, and I will make you pay the price." Lange's cold words made Simon feel very uncomfortable.
"You have to ask yourself. You shouldn't get carried away and get drunk alone when your father is dying. What's more, I didn't ask the Earl to sober you up in this way. You can't blame anyone for this. Get on my head!" Simon said with some indignation and gritted teeth.
Indeed, Lange cannot yet take revenge on Earl Berg, who gave him a slap in the face, at least until Earl Berg presided over the succession ceremony for him.
At that time, almost all the nobles in the earldom participated in the booing. No matter how powerful the Dorsten family was, they would not be able to oppose all the families in the entire territory.
Therefore, Lange, who was full of anger and had no place to express it, could only vent his anger on his younger brother.
"We'll see," Lange walked towards his tent without looking back, and his attendant Julian followed him, "Also, you'd better pay attention to the way you speak. If you dare to contradict your lord like this in the future, I guarantee that you will suffer a lot!"
"Bah." Simon spat on the ground disdainfully, but Lange had already walked away on his back and didn't notice.
Sure enough, just as old Cooser's wings lowered, Lange couldn't wait to reveal his true face.
"Child, are you Simon? All of this happened so suddenly last night. You were holding a torch in front of the church. I didn't see your face clearly at that time."
At this time, an old voice came from the door curtain, and then the door curtain was opened, and the priest of the Dusseldorf town church came out.
"Yes, I am Simon, respected priest," Simon turned around. The priest in front of him has gray hair, and his weathered cheeks are not wrinkled and look old, but look even more majestic.
"As the second son of Keother, you can see him one last time before he is put into the shroud. I have sent Brother Nemo to the church to bring other monks to see him off. God bless." The priest lowered his head. , made the sign of the Holy Cross on his chest.
"Father, apart from his will, did my father leave any other verbal last words?"
"He hopes to be buried in the cemetery behind the church in Dusseldorf, and I will pray for him and say mass. Speaking of which, I was the one who baptized him many years ago." When the priest said this, his gray-blue eyes flickered. one time.
"Excuse me, Father."
"I hope you express condolences."
The soldier opened the door curtain again, and Simon saw Keoser lying upright on the blanket bed as if he was asleep, but his skin was a bit grayer than when Simon saw him last night.
His forehead, limbs, and torso were shiny with oil, and he looked like he had been anointed. This is in the hope that the soul of the deceased can resist the temptation of the devil.
His mouth was stuffed with a piece of communion bread that had been hastily made in the monastery kitchen last night. To put it bluntly, it was a piece of unleavened dead dough wafer. This was old Cooser's "passage fare" to heaven. ()
"Has anyone gone to notify Mrs. Liv?" Simon turned back to the fat man and asked in a low voice.
"The groom said that Lange had sent a messenger back to Dorstenburg last night to deliver the news. If nothing else happens, Mrs. Liv will come to Dusseldorf at noon today." The fat man replied softly.
"I know." Simon took one last look at Old Cooser, then turned away with some reluctance.
………………………
At noon, Mrs. Liv's carriage arrived in the town of Dusseldorf. She did not expect that a few days ago, when she put on her husband's cloak and said goodbye before he mounted his horse to fight, it would be the last farewell.
Last night, when the messenger told her that Old Coose was dying, her eyes suddenly darkened and her legs went weak, and she almost fainted.
At the same time, she told Simon that just yesterday, an envoy from the Baron Quinnier family came to Dorstenburg, paid the ransom, and ransomed Baron Quinnier.
In addition, upon hearing the news that Keother was critically ill, Baron Quinnier, a former rival, also expressed regret. He said that he had a good time in Dorstenberg during this time and that Keother was a good man worthy of respect. The soul should go to heaven.
In the afternoon, old Cooser was wrapped in a shroud and put into a coffin. Six servants lifted the coffin, and the priests walked beside it and sang together.
The funeral procession was led by the priest carrying an oak cross, followed by the coffin carried by servants and the monks singing hymns. Followed by Earl Berg, Lange and other nobles who had friendship with Keoser.
The soldiers brought by Keoser and the villagers of Verde followed closely behind the nobles in the funeral procession, with solemn expressions.
Cooser will be buried in the town church after evening prayers and a vigil today and a requiem mass tomorrow morning.
After that, Lange will hold a succession ceremony, swear allegiance to Earl Berg, and become the new Baron Dorsten. Then he will join all the nobles on an expedition to the vulnerable Earl of Loon to seize land.
"When all the dust settles after a while, I think I have to meet this Linde brother I have never met before." Simon, who was following the funeral procession, thought to himself.
If it is true as Keoser said, he has a brother in the church, if he can make a difference in the future and become a priest or bishop, it will definitely be of great help to him.
The weather today is as sunny as yesterday, but compared to yesterday's bloody fight, the town of Dusseldorf today is more dull and gloomy.
Crows were squawking in the open space in front of the town, looking for scraps of meat that had not been removed. The numb townspeople were cleaning up the debris piled up at the entrance of the town.
I don’t know how long it took, but the bells from the church rang throughout the town. The farmers working in the cultivated fields outside the town straightened up, took off their straw hats and raised their heads. At this time, the fiery red sunset was "burning" half of the sky on the skyline. The monks' evening prayers were about to begin, which also meant that the farmers working in the fields It's time to take a break and eat.
Lange did not go out drinking tonight, but stayed in the church to keep vigil. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he had lost face last night, and he needed some time to dilute the embarrassment last night.
Simon doesn't want to deal with Langer anymore. Simon can't do anything with his warm face and cold butt. He couldn't sleep at all, thinking about how to go in the future and how to face Lange's suppression and revenge.
In the darkness, a rustling sound sounded, and then a cold voice sounded in Simon's ears.
"Simon," under the dim candlelight in the church, Langer didn't know when he sat next to Simon, "you have to give me all the property you got from the last robbery of Earl Lowen's baggage team." ()
"Hmph, I gave my father one-third at that time. I didn't expect that something unexpected happened and I could get advantage of you so quickly. My father didn't touch even a copper coin on that money until he died. You can have it all the day after tomorrow. , why do you still come to me for it?" Simon has gradually become accustomed to Lange's shamelessness, and there is no anger in his tone, but endless indifference.
"Maybe we have unresolved issues, but..." Lange began to show his cunning side.
"Wait a minute, I have to correct you. You were the first to instigate these so-called feuds and hatreds." Simon interrupted Langer unceremoniously, but Langer did not get angry as he expected. , which made Simon wary.
"It's not important," Lange said surprisingly calmly, "If you can give me the other two-thirds, maybe I can write off all this in one stroke. From now on, you will live your life and I will live mine, I promise. I won’t cause you any trouble. Otherwise, I have plenty of ways to make you spit out the other two-thirds of your belongings even if you don’t accept it, do you understand?”
Looking at Lange who was showing both kindness and power at this time, Simon didn't feel the slightest bit scared, but actually wanted to laugh. After seeing all this clearly and sorting out all his thoughts, Simon knew that this was just a temptation on his part.
Not to mention how important such a large amount of money is to Simon's future business development plan, if Simon really agrees to Lange, there will definitely be a second time. Langer's strength will increase, while his own will stagnate.
Judging from Langer's character, after he has enough power to crush himself, he will not be like a carrot and a stick, but will directly put the knife to his neck and threaten him nakedly, without any negotiation. room.
"No, I refuse." After making up his mind, Simon raised his head and closed his eyes.
"Simon, don't eat the good fruit when I give it to you. It will be very embarrassing for you when I force you to spit it out after I become a baron." Seeing Simon's complete rejection, Langer said with a hint of emotion. A little sulky.
"Actually, you are not responsible for this matter. If you have the ability, after becoming a baron, you can lead troops to Fordburg to get back two-thirds of the money. I will welcome you at any time. As for your other plans by then I don’t know what the vassals and your monarch think." Simon snorted coldly and said with a bit of joking.
"Do you still have my brother in your eyes!?" Langer put his hand on the sword at his waist, stood up, and asked angrily, echoing in the empty church.
The originally peaceful candlelight on the side began to sway as if it had been ravaged by a strong wind.
"Then I also want to ask," Simon laughed angrily and also stood up, but opened his arms confidently and stared into Lange's eyes, "Do you still have my brother in your eyes?" ?”
Lange's breathing quickened, and his hand holding the hilt of the sword at his waist became tighter and tighter. Simon knew that he was just pretending. He did not kill his biological brother in front of his father's coffin in the holy church. Doing so would only make him lose everything.
"Humph," Lange suddenly let go of the hilt of the sword and laughed slyly, "Of course you are my brother, maybe I shouldn't treat you like this. Let's wait until my succession ceremony and this damn war are over. Let’s talk about it later.”
After Langer finished speaking, he took a long breath and turned back to his seat.
Simon knew that he had just temporarily released his friendliness and put away his fangs after seeing that being too hasty would not yield any results.
Simon had to prepare in advance for the coming of storms.
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