The Witch Under The Throne

Liam felt someone calling him.

"Your Highness, wake up..."

He turned his head away, but the sound did not disappear, but became louder. He felt someone reaching out and gently pulling his sleeve.

"Your Highness, Your Highness!"

Liam opened his eyes suddenly. The familiar screen was gone, the desk was gone, and the wall covered with notes was gone. Instead, there was a strange scene - low brick houses, a crowded circular square, and a gallows in the middle of the square. He sat on a high platform across the square, and under his butt was not a soft swivel chair, but a cold and hard iron chair. There were still a circle of people sitting around him, staring at him intently, and some of them were dressed like medieval noblewomen, covering their mouths and laughing.

What the hell is this place? Shouldn't I be working on the drawings? Liam's mind was in a daze. Working overtime for three consecutive days had pushed his mind and body to their limits. He only remembered that he couldn't hold on any longer. His heartbeat became fast and slow, and he wanted to lie down on his desk to rest for a while...

"Your Highness, please announce the verdict."

The person who spoke was the guy who secretly pulled his sleeve. He had an old face, about fifty or sixty years old, and was wearing a white robe. At first glance, he looked a bit like Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings.

Am I dreaming? Liam licked his dry lips. Verdict, what verdict?

But he soon found out that the people in the square were all looking in the direction of the gallows, waving their fists and shouting, and occasionally one or two stones would fly towards the gallows.

Liam had only seen such ancient torture instruments in movies - the two pillars on both sides were about four meters high, with a wooden beam on the top of the pillars. In the middle of the beam was inlaid a rusty iron ring, and a yellowed thick hemp rope passed through the iron ring, one end of which was fixed under the gallows and the other end was put around the prisoner's neck.

In this strange dream, he found that his eyesight had become amazingly good. Normally, he couldn't see the words on the display screen clearly without wearing glasses, but now he could see every detail on the gallows fifty meters away clearly.

The prisoner was wearing a hood, his hands were tied behind his back, and his rough grey clothes were as dirty as a rag. He was thin, and his exposed ankles looked like they could be broken by a hand. His chest was slightly bulging, and he looked like a woman. He shivered in the wind, but still tried to stand straight.

Well, what crime did this guy commit that made so many people wait in indignation for her to be hanged?

As soon as this thought came to his mind, the memory in Liam's mind seemed to be suddenly connected, and the answer appeared before his eyes almost at the same time.

She is a "witch".

He was tempted by the devil and fell, the embodiment of the unclean.

"Your Highness?" Gandalf urged cautiously.

He glanced at the other person. Hmm, it turns out his name is not Gandalf. Barov is his real name. He is the assistant to the Minister of Finance and was sent to handle government affairs for him.

As for me, I am Roland, the fourth prince of the Kingdom of Graycastle, and I came here to govern the area. When the residents of Border Town caught a witch, they immediately sent her to the police station-no, to the court. The warrant to execute a witch is usually issued by the local lord or bishop. Since I am in power here, issuing the warrant has become my job.

The memory presented the questions he needed to answer the most one by one, without the need to filter or read, as if this was his own experience. Liam was confused for a moment. No dream could be so detailed. So, this was not a dream? He traveled to the dark ages of the Middle Ages in Europe and became Roland? From a drawing dog working all night to the dignified fourth prince?

Although this kingdom's territory seemed so barren and backward, the name of the Kingdom of Graycastle had never been seen in history books.

So, what should we do next?

How such an unscientific thing as time travel happened could be studied later, but this farce must end - it was the norm in uncivilized civilizations to attribute disasters and misfortunes to some poor ghosts, but to hang them for this reason to satisfy the dark psychology of the onlookers, Liam simply could not accept such stupidity.

He grabbed the warrant that Barov was holding and threw it to the ground, then stretched himself and said, "I'm sleepy. I'll judge you another day. Let's all go today!"

Liam did not do this rashly, but carefully recalled the prince's style of behavior in his memory and reproduced the kind of self-willed and dandy spirit. Yes, the fourth prince is such a jerk, with a bad personality and he does whatever he wants. After all, how much good manners can you expect from a prince in his early twenties who is uncontrollable?

The nobles sitting on the platform looked as if they were used to it. However, a tall man in armor stood up and said, "Your Highness, this is not a joke! Once the witch's identity is confirmed, she should be executed immediately. Otherwise, what if other witches kidnap her? The church will not sit idly by if they find out."

Carter Lannis, this decent-looking man was actually his chief knight. Liam frowned and said, "Why, are you afraid?" The naked mockery in his words was no longer just acting. A strong man with arms thicker than his body was actually worried about being jailbroken by the other party. Did he really regard the witch as the devil's spokesperson? "Wouldn't it be better to have more people to catch them all in one fell swoop?"

Seeing that he stopped talking, Liam waved his hand and asked the guards to take him away. Carter hesitated, but still followed the team and walked beside the fourth prince. The other nobles stood up and bowed to greet them, but Liam could see the undisguised contempt in their eyes from the corner of his eye.

After returning to the palace, which was a castle located south of the border town, he ordered the guards to stop the anxious minister's assistant outside the hall door, and only then did he feel a little relieved.

As a person who spends 90% of his time dealing with computers, being able to perform such a scene in front of everyone is already an extraordinary performance. Liam found his bedroom according to the location in his memory, sat on the bed and rested for a long time before suppressing his violent heartbeat. The most important thing at the moment is to figure out the situation. As a prince, why did he come to this desolate place instead of staying in the royal city?

It would have been better if he hadn't thought about it. As soon as the thought came to his mind, he was stunned by the answer.

Roland Wimbledon actually came here to fight for the throne.

Everything originated from the strange decree of King Wimbledon III of Graycastle: the first-born prince was not the one who had the highest priority to inherit the kingdom, but the one who was most capable of governing the country. He sent his five adult children to various territories under his rule, and after five years, he would decide who would be the crown prince based on their governance level.

The idea of the capable getting the job, plus gender equality, sounds like a very advanced concept, but the problem is that the actual implementation is completely different. Who can guarantee that the five people have the same starting conditions? This is not a real-time strategy game. As far as he knows, the territory obtained by the second prince is much better than the border town - well, in this case, it seems that there is no place worse than the border town among the five people, which is simply a big disadvantage at the beginning.

In addition, how to evaluate the level of governance, population? Military? Economy? Wimbledon III did not mention any standards, nor did he impose any restrictions on competition. What if someone secretly assassinated someone? Did the queen watch her sons kill each other? Wait... He thought about it carefully. Well, another bad news, the queen had passed away five years ago.

Liam sighed. It was obvious that this was a barbaric and dark feudal era, as could be seen from the wanton hunting of witches. Being a prince was already a very high starting point. Besides, even if he didn't get the throne, he was still the blood of the King of Graycastle. As long as he could survive, he would be considered a lord if he was given a title and land.

And... what would it matter if he became a king? Without the Internet and the nourishment of modern civilization, would he be like those natives, burning witches for fun, living in a city where feces were dumped at random, and finally dying from the ravages of the Black Death?

Liam suppressed his chaotic thoughts and walked to the floor-length mirror in the bedroom. The person in the mirror had light gray curly hair, which was the most distinctive feature of the Graycastle royal family. His facial features were regular, but his face was untidy and he looked like he had no temperament at all. His face was a little pale and he lacked exercise. As for whether he was addicted to alcohol and sex, he recalled that it seemed okay. He had several lovers in the royal city, and they were all voluntary. He had never forced anyone to do anything.

Liam also roughly guessed the reason why he traveled through time - it was probably because the client inhumanely urged the progress and the boss arranged for overnight overtime, which led to a sudden death tragedy. The protagonists of such cases are most likely related to coders, robot dogs, and engineering lions.

Whatever, no matter how you think about it, this is at least equivalent to an extra life, and he really shouldn't complain too much. In the days to come, he might be able to slowly change this kind of life, but the first task at the moment is to play the role of the fourth prince well and not let others find out the truth and tie him to the stake as a demon possessed.

"In that case, let me live well first," he took a deep breath and whispered to the mirror, "From now on, I am Roland."