Starting My Treasure Hunting In England

"At least in my opinion, there are too many doubts in this case. If we really judge according to the evidence, Elizabeth should not be identified as the murderer behind the scenes." After listening to the story told by Liang En, Joan of Arc was a little excited. said.

Because of her own history, Joan of Arc has always been very sensitive to this kind of frame-up.

"If all the evidence we know now is true, then we can basically confirm that this is a premeditated frame-up campaign to get rid of Bathory's nephew, the leader of the Hungarian region."

Then, Joan of Arc talked about the doubtful points in the case, such as the important letter from Turso saying that more than 30 of his men found a dead girl and a dying girl in Elizabeth's home. , an injured woman and a group of her fellow prisoners.

These discoveries soon became evidence that Elizabeth Bathory had tortured and murdered her servants, and was the reason for her being placed under house arrest and subsequently tried.

However, according to other contemporaries, there were no such people in the castle, and if one or two said so it may have been to cover up the crime. But it's another thing if a lot of people say that.

You must know that the size of this castle is not large. If dozens of people are imprisoned, the entire castle will most likely know about it, but according to Tokito's notes, no one mentioned these prisoners.

What's even more interesting is that there were many witnesses involved in the trial, and up to 35 witnesses were called on one day. But no one can tell the most basic question about the number of victims.

The four people accused of being accomplices admitted that 36, 37, 50 and 51 people were killed respectively, and one of the town witnesses even came up with a list of 650 victims and falsely claimed that Elizabeth had written it herself.

This kind of evidence that insulted people's IQ was naturally not used, but this number later became the legendary number of girls killed by Elizabeth.

More importantly, although the so-called accomplices were quickly executed after torture, Elizabeth Bathory, the principal culprit, did not receive a guilty verdict, even if the Shinra Emperor repeatedly urged her to have no effect.

At the same time, the legend that Elizabeth Bathory was sealed with bricks in a bedroom in some sources, leaving only a small hole for passing items, is also false.

She was indeed under house arrest in the castle, but as long as she did not leave the castle, she could still walk around the castle under the supervision of the guards. The supply of various items was consistent with her status, and it was not as miserable as the legend said.

Liang En and Joan of Arc had just confirmed this with their own eyes. At least there was absolutely no wall at the door of the room to shut her in. At the same time, the situation in the room was in line with the pomp and circumstance that a nobleman should live in.

In addition to these historical records, the current on-site investigation has also made Liang En and the others more firmly believe that Bathory is innocent. For example, the rumor that there are thirty or forty corpses buried in the castle is absolutely false.

"You have also seen that the castle is located on a mountain. The drinking water depends on the water cellar and a deep well in the castle. If the corpse is buried underground, the water source will soon be contaminated. By then, only half of the people in the castle will survive. Not bad.”

Soon, Joan of Arc said what she had just observed on the spot. It had to be said that as an ancient soldier, she could judge a lot of things through experience in this regard.

"Furthermore, people come and go in places like the castle, and buried corpses are easily discovered. Anyone with a sound mind would not hide things in the castle that they don't want to be discovered and would be time-consuming and laborious to hide."

"You are right, and there is something fishy in history." Liang En said, recalling the information he had seen before. "That is, the victim was not present during the trial, and the victim's relatives were not present."

"You have to know that in that era, most people only moved within a small area centered on their hometown. It was impossible to go out to work across long distances like now, so the maids found in the castle were most likely to be from the surrounding areas. people."

"If only one or two people disappear, it may not attract everyone's attention, but if dozens or even hundreds of girls disappear at one time, it is impossible not to attract people's attention."

"So if something happens, the family members of those maids will definitely get the information and show up during the interrogation. So now I wonder who the so-called witnesses are?"

"So this book, or note, is very important." Joan of Arc looked at the black leather book and said, "I believe what should be recorded in it is the ins and outs of the whole thing."

Sure enough, after opening the book, it was filled with Elizabeth Bathory's records of this trial. Obviously, for her, she has experienced so much in this life that she is not afraid of death, but she hopes not to affect the honor of herself and her family. .

"Fortunately, we didn't talk much before, otherwise she would never be happy knowing that she would be considered a pervert who kills people and takes blood in future generations." After briefly flipping through the book, Liang En shook his head and said.

The legends about Bathory in later generations mainly focus on two aspects. One is that the countess bathed in the blood of her victims to stay beautiful or young.

Another legend says that Elizabeth Bathory's uncle Gabriel was a cultist, armed and fighting invisible enemies, shouting words that people could not understand; her aunt Clara was gay and taught Elizabeth to torture servants skills; brother Stefan is a nymphomaniac.

But both of these claims are nonsense. At least the interrogation records only say that Bathory tortured and murdered servants, and there is nothing related to blood bathing or cults.

Considering the conflict between the Prime Minister and Bathory, even the slightest hint of this will be used as evidence in the trial, so if it is not in the record, it is really gone.

The actual existing legends of Elisabeth Bathory only appeared in the 18th and 19th centuries. They first appeared in László Tulloch's "The Tragedy of History" in 1729, which is about Elisabeth Bathory. ’s first artistic creation.

This legend was questioned after witness statements were made public in 1817. John Paget's 1850 book Hungary and Transylvania stated that blood baths were unfounded.

Despite this, the legend has been used in various spin-offs, possibly in part because of Elizabeth Bathory's connection to the Transylvanian vampire lore, given its close proximity in space.

Some versions of the story were meant to condemn female vanity, while others were meant to entertain or titillate viewers. László Tulloch wrote this book because of his opposition to the Reformation.

As for the fact that all members of Bathory's family are evil, it is related to being stigmatized as the loser in the struggle. The real situation is that Elizabeth does not have an uncle named Gabriel at all.

She only has a distant nephew named Gabriel Bathory, who is also the adopted son of her brother and has no biological children of his own.

As for her aunt Clara, who was already in her sixties when Elizabeth was 10 years old, it was impossible to teach Elizabeth anything anymore.