A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

Last night was not a silent night. Although the war in the bay outside the city had ended, there were still many people busy there.

The blood-stained city wall needs to be washed away, and the mountains of corpses piled up and down the city wall need to be cleaned up. The bodies of General Tozes are carried down one by one and put away. The corpses of the pirates are dumped in a deserted place, waiting to be set on fire afterwards. , and also, the pirate warships that blocked the city gate and the tangled wreckage of Tozes's small warships needed to be cleaned up...it was all in pieces, so busy that Seth and other generals who were in charge of the command did not even have time to drink water. .

The city was also noisy, and it was never quiet all night.

However, this was the most solid and sweetest night the citizens of Tozes had slept in a while.

Reinforcements arrived and the pirates were completely defeated.

They were finally safe and no longer had to worry.

After the rain, the sky cleared, and the dark clouds that accumulated over Tozes City finally dispersed, and the dark clouds that oppressed everyone's hearts were finally dispelled.

On this day, the blue sky was cloudless and the sea was calm and calm.

When the night passed and the bright sun rose from the horizon, both the citizens who had just woken up from their dreams and the soldiers who had been busy all night looked at the fiery sun and smiled from the bottom of their hearts. .

The bright but not blinding morning sunlight slanted through the window. In the bright room, Garlan sat on the warm bed, leaning against the headboard.

His long, golden hair fell down the back of his neck. He finished the last mouthful of porridge. The medical woman waiting on the side reached out to take it, looked at Garlan with respect and admiration, and then finished it. The dinner plate was removed.

Garlan leaned on the head of the bed, tilting his head slightly and squinting his eyes. The warm sunlight shining in from the window fell on him, bit by bit driving away the cold air that had seeped into his flesh and blood over the past few days, illuminating his entire body. People are lazy.

Although the injury on his back still hurts, the fever has not gone away, and my head is dizzy.

But at this moment, perhaps because he suddenly relaxed completely from a tense state, a lazy feeling filled his limbs, making him feel like he didn't want to move at all.

In fact, he is still a little depressed now.

Precisely because he had been enemies with Heimos many times, he understood the power of Heimos better than anyone else.

As an enemy, Heimos is terrifyingly powerful.

But as a companion, Heimos is a very reassuring presence.

[Don't be afraid, I'm here. 】

I know.

The safety of such a huge city and the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, these heavy responsibilities that weighed him down could finally be lifted from his shoulders.

Finally he no longer had to force himself to hold on.

The string that was always tightened suddenly collapsed because of Heimos' words.

He lost control of his emotions for a moment, and actually showed such a cowardly look in front of Heimos...

Now that he had calmed down after some sleep, he felt ashamed when he thought about it.

He didn't know how Heimos would laugh at him after being caught.

Ah, it makes me tired just thinking about it——

Garlan was sitting on the bed and continued to feel annoyed when he suddenly remembered the sound of heavy footsteps outside.

Immediately afterwards, the room was pushed open, and a round, fat ball rushed in like it was rolling.

"Prince! Prince! I heard you were injured!"

The ball rolled to the edge of the bed, and the chubby boy's eyes swept over Garlan, with a distressed look on his face.

"I've heard people say it. I said you are a prince. You are so delicate and expensive. How can you go to such a dangerous battlefield? And you are so seriously injured?"

He climbed on the edge of the bed and looked at Garlan longingly.

"Does it hurt, Prince? Well, it must be very painful. As you have grown up, except for the time when you were a child, for so many years, you have a wound on your hand. Ms. Tapti is so distressed that she wants to scold us. of."

"Ah, ah, it's all my fault. If I could have brought the Aielson navy here earlier... No! It's all Aielson's fault! It's all their procrastination and refusal to send troops earlier!"

Tal looked at Garlan with distressed eyes, bulging his face, a look of hatred and bitterness on his face, and kept thinking about it.

The muttering was so loud that it made people have a headache, but at this moment it made Garlan laugh. With Tal muttering like this, it seemed that the pain behind him was slightly relieved.

"Thank you for your hard work, Tal."

He raised his hand, smiled and touched the fat boy's head.

"It must not be easy to bring the Airson Navy here, right?"

After being praised by Garlan, Taran immediately became energetic.

"That was - quite difficult, Your Highness!"

He poured out his bitterness on Garlan.

"The queen refused to agree to send troops at first. It took a lot of effort to convince her."

"Listen to me, Your Highness, this is what happened."

As soon as he got excited, Tal began to show Garlan the scene at that time with gesticulations.

…………

A few days ago.

In the royal palace on Elson Island.

Seeing that Queen Elson had already stood up and left after refusing, Tal watched helplessly as the queen's back was about to disappear, and her heart started to beat violently.

He remembered the smile Prince Garlan gave him before he left.

At that time, the prince said, it all depends on you, Tal.

The prince said it all depends on him.

Tal gritted his teeth hard.

No, he won't give up... He can't give up so easily!

The prince believed in him and entrusted him with such an important matter, even something related to his own life. How could he live up to the prince's trust in him?

No matter what... no matter what method he uses, he must let Elson send troops!

At this moment, Tal's mind was spinning rapidly.

Is there something... is there something that can impress Elson, or should I say, something that can impress Queen Elson...

From the time he met the female warrior Elson until he arrived at the palace, scenes related to Elson flashed quickly in his mind.

Suddenly, the depressed scene of the trading port where he spent a lot of time when he first came to the island flashed through his mind, and suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind.

Bet!

Tal rushed forward, but was stopped by the female warrior guarding the throne.

Undeterred, he grabbed the female warrior's arm and yelled at the Queen's back at the top of his lungs.

"Her Majesty the Queen! Do you plan to let Elson continue to decline like this?"

As soon as his unceremonious words came out, he immediately aroused the anger of the female Elson warriors around him.

The female warrior who was just stopping him exerted a little force on her hand, which immediately made Tal scream in pain.

But the little fat man screamed in pain and yelled at the queen with all his strength.

"If Aielson continues to be closed-minded and isolated from the world like this, his country will be destroyed sooner or later!"

There was a loud bang, and his head was hit hard on the floor by the extremely angry female warrior.

The force of the smash was so heavy that Tal felt as if his head was about to be cracked.

He was stunned for a long time, and when he came back to his senses, he saw a pair of feet standing in front of him.

Queen Elson did not know when she left and came back, and returned to Tal.

"Messenger of Aaron Landis, do you know what disrespectful words you just said?"

The tall Queen Elson stood in front of Tal who was kneeling on the ground in a miserable state.

Her sharp eyes held an unkind aura, and she looked down condescendingly at the young man at her feet who was as fat as a ball.

"Just based on those two words you just said about cursing our country, I can order you to be executed."

"Are my words a curse... ugh... are they scaremongering..."

His head was pinned to the ground, and his twisted arms made Tal grinning in pain, but he still spoke intermittently with difficulty.

"Your Majesty, you should know very well...otherwise...you wouldn't tell me such nonsense, I'm afraid you would just stab me to death with a sword...it hurts!"

After trying hard to hold on and say a few words, the little fat man finally couldn't hold it back and let out several screams, with tears streaming down his face.

The chubby kid's cowardly look made Viniel, who was originally angry because of his two words, very happy.

She thought that the little brat didn't know the heights of the world, so what was there to be angry with this coward? So she shook her head and walked to the queen.

"Your Majesty, just kick him out."

The Queen said nothing, looking down at Tal who was pinned under her feet with sharp eyes.

After a long time, she suddenly raised her hand and signaled the guard holding Tal to let go.

When Tal stood up, she waved all the guards around her to retreat, leaving only General Venier beside her.

She stared at Tarr and said, "Why do you think Elson will decline?"

"I know that the Ailson female warriors are very strong, and your navy is also very strong, but whether a country is strong or not depends not on its military strength, but on how well its people live."

Tal grinned and rubbed his almost broken hand.

"Actually, I don't know much about military affairs and politics... However, I think this country will decline because the Aielson people are not living a good life."

"Unlike countries on land, Aielson is only an island country, so it is impossible to be self-sufficient. The food and materials you need must be obtained through trade. But when I came here, I saw your foreign transactions. There are very few merchant ships at the port...Yes, I can see that no one is willing to trade with you, and even if there is, they probably want to gain huge benefits from you."

"From what I saw along the way, the living conditions of your people are not very good."

Tal suddenly raised his head and looked directly at the Queen.

"His Royal Highness the Prince once told me that the prosperity and stability of the people are the symbol of a country's strength, and it is also the responsibility of the king."

"So, Her Majesty, I want to ask you, do you really want your people to live such a difficult life?"

"Even if you, Aielson, consider yourself a country, none of the surrounding countries recognize Aielson as a country - do you plan to live like this, deceiving yourself and others?"

"presumptuous!"

Vinyl shouted angrily.

"How could you be so rude-"

The Queen raised her hand to block Viniel.

She looked at Tal with a solemn face: "What is the purpose of you talking so much?"

As a member of the powerful Aielson female warriors, the Queen looks at others with eyes as sharp as a sharp blade, which is terrifying.

When she stares at a person and exudes that power without reservation, it is even more chilling.

Tal's chest couldn't help but tremble, his face turned slightly pale, and his legs were shaking a little.

However, when he thought of the prince in danger, he gritted his teeth and suppressed the panic that came over him.

"send troops."

He took a deep breath and managed to meet the queen's oppressive gaze.

He gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty the Queen, just as you love your little princess, our King Camos of Aaron Landis' love for the prince is probably even greater than your love for your daughter."

"So, if the prince dies in Tozes City, he will be heartbroken, and if he knows that the prince once asked you for help and was rejected... Although he will not send troops to attack Aielson, he will be angry. A royal decree will surely be issued, prohibiting any Aielson from entering Aaron Landis from now on.”

"I don't need to tell you the consequences of this and the harm this situation will cause to Elson. Queen, you should also understand."

The Queen looked at him coldly.

"Are you threatening me?"

"Of course I don't dare. I'm just telling you about this possibility in advance."

Anyway, it has come to this point, either he offends the queen and is torn into pieces, or he goes back with the Aielson Navy to rescue the prince.

The dead pig is not afraid of boiling water. Tal's neck is stiff and stiff.

"But, on the other hand, as long as Aielson sends troops to save the prince..."

He rubbed his hands and suddenly grinned at the queen.

"Her Majesty, have you ever thought about what it would look like if Aaron Landis recognized Eielson as an independent country."

Vinyl was startled and looked at the queen.

The Queen frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then said, "You don't have enough weight."

"I don't have enough weight, but the prince does. The prince is a man who repays his kindness. As long as you save him, he will definitely persuade King Camos to recognize your country."

Actually... admitting Elson is not a big deal. Aaron Landis has always just felt that for such a small country, it doesn't matter whether he admits it or not, and he is just too lazy to care.

Of course, this truth cannot be told, otherwise the queen and the general will kill him if they can't lose face.

"Your Majesty the Queen, Aaron Landis recognizes the existence of the Airson Country, and is willing to maintain friendly relations and trade with the Airson Country, allowing Aaron Landis's merchants to go to your commercial port. At the same time, our The trading port can conduct official transactions with you and give you as a friendly country the lowest commercial tax benefits."

Tal said this while staring at the Queen without blinking.

"How about this as a condition in exchange for you sending troops to rescue our prince Aaron Landis?"

The queen raised her eyes and glanced at Tal with a gaze as sharp as sword light.

"It's a deal!"

She said, decisively and neatly.

Then he turned around and waved his hand.

"Venir, prepare to send troops!"

Tal: "…………"

So simple.

He looked at the queen who had strode away in a hurry and thought.

He also had a lot of things to say that he had not yet said.

…………

……………………

"I had a lot of things to say, but before I had time to say them, the Queen suddenly agreed. I was so choked up that I almost couldn't breathe..."

Tarr's vivid description and deliberately exaggerated movements made Garlan couldn't help laughing.

"How about it, Your Highness, am I awesome?"

The little fat man made Garlan laugh when he saw him, and he came over to ask for praise with a coveted face.

He was lying on the edge of the bed, looking at Garlan with watery eyes like a big chubby dog. You could almost see a tail wagging hard behind him.

Garlan smiled and touched the little fat man's head.

"Well, that's awesome." He said, "Thanks to you Tal this time."

"Of course."

Tal's invisible tail was raised high in an instant, and he slapped his fleshy chest and said proudly.

“Who else but me can protect His Highness——”

"……Yeah?"

A voice came, clear and calm, without any emotion.

Two simple words, but the little fat man who was still bragging about himself froze on the spot.

He rolled his fat neck and looked back.

Suddenly his face turned pale with fright.

"H-hehe, His Highness, Prince Heimos."

He gave a dry, stuttering cry.

Heimos didn't know when he came or how long he stood there listening.

At this moment, he crossed his arms and leaned slightly against the door. His long legs were crossed and he tilted his head slightly to look this way.

He was wearing dark clothes, and his hair as black as night was scattered on his handsome face.

When Garlan looked over, he stood up straight and walked over. As he walked, he glanced at Tal, who immediately ran away like a mouse meeting a cat.

Looking at the wilting back of the little fat man, Garlan blinked and couldn't help but laugh again.

"He's still the same, so afraid of you."

he asked Heimos curiously.

"What did you do to make him so scared?"

"nothing."

Heimos replied lightly, avoiding the question.

How could he say that it was because the little fat man always clung to Garlan when he was a child, which made him very unhappy, so every time he looked at the little fat man, his eyes became slightly fiercer.

...Who knew this would cause a psychological shadow on that little fat man.

While confusing Garlan's question, Heimos leaned over and reached out to touch Garlan's forehead.

"It's still a little hot."

He asked, "Do you still feel uncomfortable?"

"My body feels a little uncomfortable."

Garlan nodded, then smiled and shook his head.

"But in a good mood."

Having said this, he suddenly paused, as if he remembered something, and his expression changed slightly.

He raised his eyes and glanced at Heimos secretly.

He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but he hesitated.

Seeing Garlan's hesitant expression, Heimos raised the corners of his lips.

"What, do you want me to keep what happened last night a secret?"

"...Well, since you have guessed it..."

The way he lost control last night was so embarrassing, and Garlan really didn't want others to know.

"Can."

Heimos said simply, and then changed the subject.

"So, what's the reward?"

"ah?"

"I'm keeping it a secret for you, so shouldn't you give me some benefit? It's an equal exchange."

"...Then what do you want?"

Gallan was speaking angrily, but suddenly he saw those golden-red eyes looking deeply at him, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

A big battle made him so busy that he forgot the key things.

He almost forgot...this guy had evil intentions towards him!

Gallan stretched out his hand, almost reflexively, and pressed the chest of the man who leaned down to push him away.

"That kind of thing won't work!"

His eyes widened and he refused sharply.

Don’t think that he hasn’t read enough novels and movies.

At this time, men usually ask for a kiss or something as reward.

Don't try to trick him!

However, the stern look that the young man thought he had was completely different in the eyes of Heimos, who looked down at him.

No matter it's the slightly pale face that looks up.

The same big, round golden eyes.

Or the way his whole body tensed up like a little kitten with fried hair.

They all make people feel so cute.

Heimos raised the corners of his lips. Although he didn't intend to do anything, Gallan's cute appearance made him want to tease him.

So, he deliberately moved closer and opened his mouth to speak.

Heimos actually didn't move much.

But Gallan, who suddenly remembered that incident, was too nervous. As soon as Heimos moved a little, he subconsciously put his hand against Heimos to prevent him from getting close to him.

As a result, he exerted force on his arm and pulled the arrow wound on his back. The severe throbbing pain made the corners of his eyes twitch.

As soon as Garlan showed a painful expression, Heimos's expression immediately changed.

"do not move."

He held Garlan's hands against his own.

"Wait, you..."

Garlan was a little panicked.

"Don't move, I won't do anything."

Holding Garlan's hand that was trying to struggle, Heimos said quickly.

"Don't move, it will cause trouble if you pull the wound."

When he said this, Garlan was startled for a moment, and then he stayed still.

Heimos held Garlan's wrist and slowly put him back on the bed with as gentle a movement as possible.

He raised his eyes and saw those golden eyes staring back at him. He didn't know what he was thinking or planning. He smiled, thought of his hand, and touched the soft blond hair.

"Okay, I won't tell anyone."

"real?"

The young man looked at him suspiciously.

"Even if you don't mention it, I won't tell it."

Heimos stroked Garlan's forehead with a gentle expression.

He looked intently at the pair of golden eyes that turned to look at him, and at the young man who stayed obediently in front of him.

Garlan was right in front of him, he could touch and touch it. At this moment, his heart, which had been hanging high ever since he had that dream of flames, finally settled down.

He whispered as his heart was filled with something.

"How could I let others know the way you were crying?"

That look that's cuter than anything else...

Such a lovable look...

He just wished he could hide it so tightly that no one could see it, so how could he take the initiative to share it with others.

Garlan was stunned for a moment.

Then, with a snap, his pale face suddenly turned pink.

"Heimos!"

"Um?"

"Did you go to Cayjos and learn those tricks for messing with girls?"

The young man's face turned red with anger, he gritted his teeth and looked at him hatefully.

"ah?"

"Don't use those things on me! I'm telling you, I'm not a girl, and those tricks to coax girls don't work on me!"

"…………"

Huymos felt innocent.

He really didn't do that kind of thing, he just said what was in his heart without paying attention.

"...Do you think Kehos would tell me even if I asked?"

Garlan: "..."

It seems to make sense.

If Huymos really went to ask Keyhos, and Keyhos knew that he was interested in him, don't lecture him, it would be good if he didn't fight the offender.

He tilted his head, thought about it, and sighed.

"Back then...even though it was because the matter was urgent, I didn't answer you directly. It was my fault."

He hesitated for a moment, then said directly.

"I'm sorry, although I don't know why you have such thoughts about me... um, but, as I said, I like cute girls, so for you... um, that... …”

Gallan felt so embarrassed that he couldn't speak any more, and secretly glanced at Heimos.

Heimos sat by the bed, not looking at him, and listened quietly with his eyes lowered.

The sun shone from behind him, hiding most of his face in the backlight. Garlan couldn't see clearly his expression at the moment, but he could see the slender eyelashes that were hanging down quietly, reflecting the sunlight on the smaller half. A light shadow fell on the brown shiny side cheeks.

Heymos' lips are very thin and light in color, a cool color.

For some reason, Garlan felt a little guilty.

People came to save him under the stars and the moon, covered in travel and dust, and even shortened the original seven days to four days, but he turned around and dumped them mercilessly.

Typical burning of bridges.

Isn't he a bit scumbag like this?

The young man thought guiltily, his two hands on the quilt unconsciously clasped together, and his fingertips moved uncomfortably.

Moreover, he really didn't understand why Heimos fell in love with him?

There was no sign of this in the past four lives, right?

At that time, Heimos hated him to the core, and the two of them could be said to be incompatible with each other.

How come this life is so inexplicable...

Garlan thought for a long time in confusion, and couldn't help but think of another possibility.

"Heimos, I know you like me very much, you have liked me since you were a child, but are you actually mistaken?"

He said,

"Your love for me should actually be the same as Brother Wang's love for me, and it's different from that kind of lover's love. It's just because we have been very close since childhood, and you don't have anyone else close to you, because What happened with Opada, you were not happy that I was snatched away, so you had this illusion.”

"After all, you yourself said that you don't like boys at all, so you always thought that you should like girls."

"It seems like you've really made a mistake..."

Heimos, who was sitting in front of him, raised his eyes, and the golden-red eyes hidden in the shadow of the backlight seemed to cast a red glimmer towards Garlan.

Just one glance made Garlan's words come to an abrupt end.

I don't know why, but after Heimos looked at him like that, he was speechless.

"Garlan."

A deep voice called his name, and Heimos stretched out his hand, his fingertips falling on his cheek.

"My feelings, you can reject it."

The man's fingers brushed through the ends of his hair, lifting up a strand of blond hair that was scattered in front of his eyes.

She picked it up with her fingertips and tucked it behind his ear.

"Or just ignore it."

The golden red eyes seemed to have a red flame burning deep in the pupils.

His figure was reflected in the flames, as if his whole body had been swallowed up by the flames.

Being stared at by those golden-red pupils, for some reason, Garlan felt inexplicably unable to move.

"You can even dislike it or hate it."

The fingers that tucked the strand of hair behind the ear slowly slid down the strand of blonde hair.

Until the ends of the hair.

Then Hermos' fingers closed around the strand of blond hair.

Heimos lowered his head slightly, his slender eyelashes clearly visible in the sunlight.

He lowered his eyes, lowered his head, and his cold thin lips fell on the strand of blond hair entwined between his brown fingers.

"But don't deny it."

He half-closed his eyes and kissed the strand of blond hair in his hand.

The sunlight was refracted by the strand of blond hair and fell on his handsome side cheeks.

The gesture of kissing gave people an inexplicably pious feeling.

He seemed to put all his passionate feelings and everything into this kiss.

"Don't deny, all the admiration I put in front of you."

…………

The room was silent.

No one spoke.

The boy whose love was poured out also remained silent.

He lowered his head and pursed his lips, as if he was at a loss, and his fluffy golden forehead blocked his eyes.

However, it couldn't stop the slightly red ear tips peeking out from the blond hair.

The author has something to say:

If you still think it's short...I will take revenge on society!