Chapter 43: The Bard
"Is this man very famous?" Arthur felt strange seeing the crowd's reaction. All along the way, he had only seen common folk cheer over the death of a noble, and he had never seen anyone genuinely weep over the death of someone from high birth.
Yet now, it seemed everyone sincerely did not want this Dandelion to die.
Furthermore, Triss's comment was odd. What did she mean by 'this time'? Was this Viscount a frequent visitor to the block?
Hearing Arthur's near-mumbled question, Adda nodded:
"Yes, he is the most famous bard in the entire North. No matter how grand the banquet, if he isn't there to perform, people question whether it's truly high-class."
Arthur nodded thoughtfully. So he's a national celebrity, no wonder the high popularity.
On the platform, the officiating officer was still slowly stating Dandelion's crimes, which ranged from treason and slandering nobles to noise pollution, and everything in between.
Facing these accusations enough to chop off ten heads Dandelion was not flustered. Instead, he seized every opportunity to express disdain through exaggerated expressions and snorts.
And the officer even allowed him to act so presumptuously. Arthur felt that even the officer was delaying the execution as much as his duty allowed.
After dragging the process on for fully half an hour, the officer finally finished reading the three-foot-long parchment. He stood on his toes and peered toward the northwest entrance of the square, seeing only a sea of heads.
So he wiped the sweat from his brow and turned to Dandelion:
"Master, shall we begin?"
"I have a few words I wish to share with everyone," Dandelion said arrogantly, and the officer still indulged his antics.
Dandelion walked to the edge of the scaffold, pressing his hands down in a soothing gesture, and the agitated crowd below gradually quieted.
"How are my fellow countrymen? What's the news lately?"
Everyone watched him without speaking, so Dandelion continued:
"Are your lives going well?"
After a moment, someone chimed in: "So-so. We're managing."
The bard was clearly unsatisfied with that answer, maintaining an attitude of listening intently.
The muffled shouts of children demanding to see the beheading and the cries of those being spanked by adults reached the platform, prompting the officer to whisper a reminder:
"Viscount, you've stalled long enough."
Dandelion straightened up and nodded:
"Very well. I'm glad you're all doing well. Then let us begin."
The officer exhaled and said unhurriedly:
"Executioner, it is now time for you to fulfill your duty."
The executioner spat into his palm, then with a swiftness entirely jarring to the atmosphere kicked Dandelion right in the back of the knees. The bard's expression as he knelt before the block could only be described as astonishment:
"Aren't you going to ask for my forgiveness?"
The executioner sneered: "You will forgive me, kind sir, or else my axe might suddenly fail to obey my command."
"What should be a one-chop job might take two, or even three, to complete."
Dandelion hastily yelled: "I forgive you! I forgive you! Hey, you'll only chop once, right?!"
The executioner raised his axe, his eyes gleaming:
"You'll be thoroughly surprised. Prince Ul has sent his regards."
Dandelion closed his eyes in despair.
"Wait a moment!"
Just as the tension reached its peak, the crowd in front of Arthur suddenly parted. Triss shouted loudly and walked up through the aisle that had been cleared for her.
"Royal Advisor! What brings you here?"
The officer's voice trembled when he saw Triss's face. He forcefully yanked the executioner, who was still holding the axe aloft, signaling him to hold his patience. Unlike the executioner, who was purely a hired hand, the officer was an official under the Prince of Maribor, but his salary and bonuses were paid by the court in Vizima.
He had to be extremely careful when facing Triss, the Royal Advisor.
She looked at Dandelion, who was still slumped over the block, with a half-smile:
"Long time no see. How did you manage to get yourself into this state?"
Dandelion lay there on the block, answering feebly:
"It's a long story. Can you find a way to get me out of this place?"
Triss returned the officer's bow, smiling:
"I happened to be passing through with a friend and saw this bustling scene. Is this fellow lying here for some reason?"
Sweat instantly beaded on the officer's forehead. Executing Dandelion was the Prince's command, but the Royal Advisor clearly intended to save the bard today, no matter what. This official, usually so commanding, suddenly found himself caught between a rock and a hard place!
He looked pleadingly toward the northwest corner of the square again, and this time, Lady Luck finally smiled upon him.
The crowd parted once more, and a knight galloped in, his horse covered in fine sweat.
"Stop the execution!" The knight gasped, holding up a parchment sealed with red wax: "Her Highness, the Princess Consort, has just signed a pardon for Viscount Julian!"
The officer laughed loudly, as if a great weight had been lifted: "It's fine! Everything is fine now!"
He opened the parchment and motioned to the crowd: "This is the command of the Princess Consort! To celebrate the upcoming May Day festival, her immeasurably merciful Highness has revoked all charges against Viscount de Lettenhove, that is, your beloved Master Dandelion!"
A loud cheer erupted from the crowd, and several women in the front row, overwhelmed with joy, fainted. The children, however, let out disgruntled jeers.
Arthur watched speechless. Could the reason for this pardon be any more careless?
Triss thoughtfully explained: "The Princess Consort is a distant cousin of His Majesty the King. Everyone in the court says the King married her off to control the Prince of Maribor remotely, so they have always been estranged."
"Ha! I told you I wouldn't die!" Dandelion jumped up from the block, turning to the officer with a triumphant air. Judging by his look, he was itching to sing a poem right there on the scaffold.
But there are always exceptions. Before the crowd could close the aisle, another knight, whose helmet was adorned with feathers, galloped in, also brandishing a parchment:
"By order of the Prince, all pardons for Dandelion are revoked!"
Arthur nodded. The rumor about the Prince and Princess Consort being estranged was now solid fact.
The executioner sneered coldly and raised his great axe again. Dandelion looked left and right, then slowly and tearfully slumped back onto the block.
He tilted his head toward Triss and said: "Please tell my poet friends that the Prince of Maribor is indeed a narrow-minded man."
"Save your breath, Viscount," the executioner growled with ill intent: "Even if the Princess Consort signs a second pardon now, you won't live to see it!"
Just as the executioner was about to swing his axe, the first knight yelled out again:
"Pardon!" The knight pulled another pardon from his pouch.
"Are you finished or not?!" the executioner roared darkly. He felt he wouldn't be earning his money today.
The knight sent by the Prince also looked displeased. His hand rested on his sword hilt as he asked with a sinister tone:
"What is the meaning of this?"
The Princess Consort's knight snorted: "It is, of course, the Princess Consort's meaning."
He pulled out more parchments from his pouch, holding them high:
"Tell Urcast that Her Highness has signed ten pardons. If he sends men, I will pardon. If he sends more men, I will pardon again. Master Dandelion must live today!"
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