landbeastnovel Chapter 609: The King of Justice Who Killed His Wife and Child
Chapter 609: The King of Justice Who Killed His Wife and Child
After gaining Adina's agreement, Simon and the other two go to the second floor and see Howell, reeking of alcohol and snoring loudly.Berkner closes the door. Although Howell's guards want to come in, Adina, as the mistress of the house, has already spoken.
They can only accept the order and wait anxiously downstairs.
The three men casually find chairs and sit down. Simon taps the table beside him lightly. "Your Majesty the King of Justice, do you still intend to continue pretending to sleep?"
"I am a Grand Knight. I can sense that your heartbeat and breathing are not what they should be for a drunk man who is asleep."
Seeing that Howell still does not react, Browning sighs. "Your Majesty, let us not make this too ugly."
"Whether or not others acknowledged it, you did serve as a king for a period of time."
"You also did many things that are enough to leave your name in the history books."
"Now that matters have reached this point, you cannot enjoy only the benefits brought by a king's power while avoiding the attitude a king should have when facing his end."
After hearing this, Howell's loud snoring suddenly stops, and he slowly opens his eyes.
At this moment, even though Howell reeks of alcohol, his clothes are sloppy, and his beard and hair are disheveled, his eyes remain clear.
Howell sizes up the three men in front of him. "You are generals under Henwell?"
Seeing that the three do not deny it, Howell finally turns his gaze to Browning. "If I had valued you from the beginning and actively cooperated with every one of Henwell's decisions, would my ending have been a little better than it is now?"
Browning shakes his head. "I do not know. That is something my lord decides."
Howell sighs. "Ah. At least I would not have died."
"Maybe, if I were lucky, I could have taken a new name in Peace Haven and become a wealthy gentleman."
After saying this, Howell walks behind his desk, pulls out a chair, sits down, and pours wine for himself and the three men across from him.
"Tell me, then. How does Henwell intend to deal with me? Kill me now?"
"Or hand me over to Ogiro or Lumir?"
"No matter what, one thing is certain. I definitely cannot survive, can I?"
Simon does not give a definite answer. "Your Majesty, our lord said that although you failed to accomplish your goal, you at least made a beginning."
"You also helped us quite a lot. No matter the reason, you did bring us many benefits."
"So my lord said he can give you a dignified death."
"After all, you did call yourself a king. If we handed you directly to the two countries and let you suffer humiliation, that would clearly be unsuitable."
"Therefore, Your Majesty may choose your own way to die. In two days, we will take Your Majesty's corpse and report back."
"There is not much time. Your Majesty should think about whether you have any unfinished wishes."
"Browning was, after all, your subject for a time. Even if he only acted the part, Browning will satisfy any request that is not too excessive as best he can."
After saying this, Simon gets up, takes out a small medicine bottle, and places it on the table.
"Colorless and odorless. No pain. Your remains will also look dignified."
"This thing is not cheap. Our lord prepared it specially for you. Consider it his reward for your contribution to Peace Haven."
Afterward, the three men leave the room.
Howell picks up the bottle of poison and opens it to smell it. There is indeed no odor.
However, Howell tries several times, yet never has the courage to pour the potion in the bottle into his wine cup.
With bloodshot eyes and a ferocious expression, Howell loses control of his emotions, curses wildly, and begins smashing things in the room.
He considers smashing the potion to show that he will not accept Henwell's charity.
But in the end, he gives up, because he fears that without this potion, he will face an even more painful death.
The torment before death can drive a person mad, and it is an especially long torment.
After venting for a while, Howell gradually calms down. He stands by the window, looking at the patrolling guards outside and thinking about something.
Two days later, while Simon and the others are inspecting the defenses, they suddenly receive a report from their subordinates. They hurry back to the King of Justice's manor.
At this moment, the place is in complete disorder, with signs of battle everywhere.
The newly rotated guard captain, covered in wounds, steps forward and says, "My lord, this is bad. His Majesty... no, the rebel Howell has escaped."
Simon frowns. "What exactly happened?"
"After the guard rotation yesterday, the King of Justice... no, Howell insisted on having the brothers drink with him, saying it was our final send-off for him."
"As you know, we were all once his personal guards, and we felt too embarrassed to refuse, so we drank a little, just to show respect."
"But he actually drugged the wine. The brothers were all caught by it. Then he took those die-hard rebels and used the chance to kill his way out."
"They seized horses and fled. We do not know where they went. We have already sent people to pursue them, but no trace of them has been found."
"Also... also... uh, please forgive me, my lord..."
Browning steps forward and shouts, "Speak quickly. What else happened?"
"Spare me, my lord. That Howell has lost his mind. He actually poisoned his child and wife. By the time we discovered it, it was already too late. They were no longer breathing."
Browning is furious. "Trash."
After saying this, he draws his longsword and directly kills the guard captain.
Browning issues his orders. "Have the cavalry regiments spread out and search. They should not have gone far."
"Arrest all these useless fools who neglected their duties and imprison them. Interrogate them to see whether they deliberately let Howell go."
"In addition, announce this throughout the territory and issue a bounty. Anyone who can provide Howell's whereabouts will be rewarded with one thousand gold coins."
"Anyone who can capture Howell, dead or alive, will receive ten thousand."
Very soon, the entire Saltwater Town region receives this news. People sigh that the ruler has changed while also despising Howell for actually poisoning his wife and child.
The investigation afterward shows that the poison that killed Howell's wife and child was precisely the bottle Simon left for him.
This matter causes several days of commotion. Some people also discover traces of Howell, seemingly heading toward the seaside.
When the cavalry track him there, they ultimately lose all trace of him at the shore.
After holding a funeral for Adina and her child, Saltwater Town announces that Howell remained stubborn to the end, refused to accept trial, and then killed his wife and child.
During the pursuit, he fled to the seaside, and with nowhere left to go, chose to jump into the sea and kill himself.
Half a month later, the convoy is about to leave and return north.
On the day before departure, Simon and the other two come to the seaside.
A small boat waits by the shore. Under the moonlight, several warships can be seen cruising on the sea not far away.
Simon walks to the carriage. "Madam, we are here."
Then Adina gets down from the carriage with her child in her arms.
Simon continues, "Next, my deputy guard captain will escort you to Tatan City."
"There, you will receive a complete new identity."
"After the war settles, you will be escorted back to Peace Haven. The journey will be tiring. I am sorry you must suffer this hardship, Madam."
Before boarding the boat, Adina turns back and asks Simon, "How did you know he would definitely use the bottle of poison you gave him to poison me?"
Simon smiles. "Because we understand Howell. More importantly, we understand his nature."
Adina chuckles. "He is not a fool. Afterward, he will suspect why everything went so smoothly."
Browning nods. "So he will suffer a great deal during the next part of his escape, leaving him no time to think about those things."
Adina says, "Knowing he will suffer that much puts me at ease."