Duden was led into the inner castle grounds, where he noticed that Simon's armed soldiers were everywhere around him.
"This is not good." Duden thought, and was taken to the door of the dungeon, which was built with strips of stone. A strong soldier wearing mail was holding a spear and standing guard at the door of the mottled wooden door. His eyes were locked on On Duden's face, a faint smile of unknown meaning curled up at the corner of his mouth.
"Duden is here, my lord." The soldier opened the door of the dungeon and shouted into the dark dungeon.
"Let him come down." The deep and long voice echoed on the damp walls of the dungeon, making Duden's skin crawl.
"Yes," the soldier said. He stepped forward and touched all the places on Duden's body where weapons might be hidden. After confiscating his exquisite silver-plated dagger, the soldier nodded, "You can go in. .”
"You are shamefully stealing!" Duden said angrily.
"If you can come out of the dungeon safely soon, I will return it to you." The soldier smiled evilly and played with the silver-plated dagger in front of Duden as if showing off a trophy.
"You'd better pay attention." Duden carefully looked at the soldier's eyebrows, eyes, nose, beard and ears, as if he wanted to imprint his appearance in his heart. "Don't forget, I am the mayor of this village. .”
"Of course," the soldier looked at him meaningfully, "of course you are the leader of this village."
The soldier bit the word "village chief" very hard, which made Duden feel uncomfortable.
"It's a dog's game." Duden stopped talking to the soldier and muttered as he walked down the stairs.
Duden has been to the dungeon several times, and he is familiar with everything here. But obviously different from last time, his mood today was heavy. The darkness that gradually swallowed him made him feel creepy. He tried his best to suppress the fire of fear in his heart.
"Village Chief Duden, you are very good at framing people." Simon's voice came with a chill that made Duden's breath stagnate.
"Lord, I don't understand what you are talking about," Duden smiled and walked down the steps, making the moldy hay on the ground rustle, "Everyone knows that I am an out-and-out good person. , I have never framed anyone."
Duden used the torches on the dungeon wall to see the surrounding environment clearly - Simon was sitting on a chair next to the torture table, and Sir Bill stood next to him. The executioner had just put down the barrel, and a familiar figure tied up on the ground was twisting crazily.
"Hahahahaha..." mocking laughter came from the locked cell, a withered and dirty hand grabbed the wooden fence of the cell door, and Cliff's disheveled face slowly appeared from the darkness of the cell. , "Don't you think it's funny when you say this?"
"It's you, Cliff," Duden panicked. He was about to take out the draft he had already prepared. "You are a shameful, short-handed miller. I knew you would lie in front of the lord. False accusations against me one after another!"
"Then look who this is?" Bill's voice sounded from the side. Duden looked over and saw the executioner untied the linen covering the head of the twisting figure, and Adam's painful face appeared in front of him. .
"I admit it, I admit it, it's me," Adam coughed violently, and sewage kept pouring out of his mouth. He seemed to be coughing out his lungs, and begged with a look of horror on his face, "Please Stop torturing me!"
"Adam, my nephew," Duden's expression changed instantly. It turned out that the clothes covered with mud and hay were the ones Adam wore when he went out this morning. "Oh my god, look at what you have done." He was tortured to such a pitiable state, you are using torture to extract a confession, I know this despicable method, even the most innocent person will admit crimes that are not his due to severe pain!"
"Forcing a confession?" Simon smiled, "Those three thieves didn't recognize Cliff's voice at all. But according to the testimony provided by Cliff, after I arrested Adam, the three people all said that Adam was the one who was in the forest a few days ago. People who met them. Is there anything else you want to say about this?"
Duden's face turned gray and white like a plastered wall. He thought about it in his mind for a long time before pretending to be calm and said: "Lord, what I want to say is that this is a frame-up against me by Cliff and the three thieves. They can't produce any evidence. And Adam, it's just He’s just a poor guy who was tortured to force a confession!”
"Stop pretending to be confused because you understand. The ironclad testimony of Adam and Cliff is enough to send you to the gallows."
"No, you can't," Duden's face became ferocious. "You don't have any physical evidence. All you have is the unbelievable testimony of that guy who is full of lies, and the testimony obtained through torture!"
Simon thought to himself, this is indeed a bit troublesome. The only physical evidence now is the deposit of the Denier silver coin that Cliff gave to Duden. However, Cliff did not make any mark on the silver coin, which is not enough to be ironclad evidence for hanging Duden.
In the end, Duden, a cunning old fox, was able to remain empty-handed after his layers of disguise were stripped away, as if he had emerged from the mud unsullied.
"You are not a noble. The testimony of two people is enough for me to convict you," Simon said unhurriedly, "Executioner, put him in the dungeon!"
"No!" Duden shouted at the top of his lungs, the pitiful and sharp voice resounding throughout the dungeon, "You just rely on the testimony of two tortured people who don't know whether it is true or false, and you want to deprive me of the position of village chief and pull me away. Hanged on the gallows? Only the most cruel monarch would do such a thing! And you, the kind and kind Lord Simon, I hope you will think again, and I will cooperate like the most loyal hound at your feet You should investigate this matter carefully!"
Simon read two pieces of information from Duden's words. First, he decided that the evidence he had in hand was not enough to directly hang him, a prestigious village chief, so that his authority would definitely be weakened. Second, he expressed in the most humble manner that he was willing to surrender to himself and never go against himself in the future.
Simon thought, should he let him go and let him be used by him in the future?
Simon quickly dismissed the idea. Duden is an out-and-out selfish person. According to the information that little Klein has collected in the village these days, the villagers absolutely hate this guy who has done all kinds of bad things.
It's easy to change a country, but it's hard to change one's nature. Simon has a saying from the East that is more suitable for Duden - a dog cannot change and eat shit.
Now is the best time to eradicate Duden and Adam. If they are left alive, the cunning snake will only hide itself more secretly, like a hunter waiting patiently to reveal its claws at the most favorable time for them in the future.
"No need to investigate, I already know enough," Simon hammered the table and stood up, "You have done all kinds of bad things in this village over the years, but because Baron Quinnier and you are the same, there is no such thing. People dare to resist. This ranch incident was proposed by Cliff, and it was up to you to figure out how to implement it. In the end, the responsibility was entirely placed on Theodore. Based on the testimony of Cliff and Adam himself, I can blame you with a clear conscience. Sent to the gallows.”
Duden was silent. After a long time, he spoke again to make his final defense.
"I was born here. Under the watchful eye of the Lord, I have lived in Esbai Village for forty years. People respect me and I am considered a reputable person." Duden's eyes were wide open and he was breathing heavily. He made a final struggle angrily, "I know everyone living in this land, I know everyone's details, and I know everyone's wealth. I will definitely be your most capable assistant in managing the village, and you will also You will receive my most loyal service!”
"No need to waste any more words," Simon said as if overlooking a clown's performance, "I don't need your service."
"You will regret this!"
"I never regret my decisions, especially this one. Executioner, put him in the dungeon."
"No! This is the behavior of a tyrant!!!"
"I don't care, because you are the only one who thinks so. Maybe when you go to the gallows, the villagers will cheer for your death."
"No, everyone will fight for me because their lord Simon trampled the law brutally and brutally, and easily hanged their beloved village chief after only having two people's untrustworthy testimony!"
"In my territory, I am the law. My law always treats good people well and punishes bad people severely, which is obvious to all. And you, Duden, do you really want to know the true attitude behind people's superficial respect for you? In fact, under their surface, they respect you. It seems that you are worse than a piece of smelly and disgusting horse manure."
Simon's sharp words were like a sharp dagger that cut through the last bit of Duden's self-esteem. He screamed hysterically. I'm afraid even the lunatics would shy away from him when they saw him.
The executioner was obviously not afraid. He twisted his wrist, stepped forward and kicked Duden down, and the screams suddenly stopped. Immediately afterwards, he lifted Duden's back collar like a urinal that had been left overnight, roughly threw him into the cell, and locked the strong iron lock on the wooden gate.
"You have today too, Duden, our respected village chief." The executioner smiled jokingly. It seemed that he had endured Duden for a long time.
Duden was lying on the ground as if he was deaf. His eyes were dull and his expression was numb. After a while, he looked at Simon, his eyes filled with unwillingness and hatred.
Simon had seen such a look before. He seemed to have returned to the village of Verde that morning. Fox, the tax collector who was tied up in a wooden cart, also looked at him like this.
But this time, Simon will not let Duden have any chance of survival.
"You don't have to look at me like this," Simon said, feeling like he was playing tricks on a mouse in a mousetrap. "While you are still alive, see more of this beautiful world and this cozy dungeon, because you will soon... You can't even see it." After Simon said that, he and Bill walked towards the entrance of the dungeon.
The executioner spat at Duden and then opened the door of the cell next to him. He walked to the wall, picked up Adam, who had not yet recovered, and threw him into the cell, then locked the door.
…………………………
"My Lord," the dazzling sunlight made Bill, who was accustomed to the dark light in the dungeon, squint his eyes, "What should we do with Duden's wife and his son who is an apprentice in Flanders?"
"Although his wife is a mean woman, according to the villagers, she mostly just enjoys the various benefits Duden brings to her, and she herself does not do too many extraordinary things. Drive her out Just the territory." Simon didn't want to be a cold-blooded and ruthless lord who killed everyone.
"What about his son?"
"He is just an apprentice. He has lost his father's support. What ability does he have to come back for revenge?" Simon shook his head.
"I understand," Sir Bill pursed his lips, "But when the position of village chief becomes vacant, who should we appoint to take over the position?"
"A person who is talented, worthy of our trust, familiar with local conditions, and respected." Simon said thoughtfully, stroking his chin.
"Sheriff Kevin?" Bill asked.
"No, one person cannot hold two positions at the same time, not to mention he is old." Simon quickly objected.
What Bill, who had just become a noble, failed to consider was that the powers of the Sheriff and the Village Chief should always be held by two people respectively, so that neither of them would have too much power and could check and balance each other.
"Perhaps Krieger is a suitable candidate," Simon paused, "but we know whether he is worthy of my trust. In addition, I want to see the quality of the first batch of longbows he made first."
