Kingdom’s Bloodline

If Thales made a list of "most trusted people" in the Palace of Stars, then Yodel, who never showed his true colors, was almost undoubtedly the first one - from the escape from Red Square Street to the Grass Manor In distress, and then to the assassination in front of the Fuxing Palace, the masked guards have rescued Thales many times, and the most recent time they almost lost their lives for him.

Not only that, but the masked guard was the only one in the Star Palace who knew his identity as a "disaster" and still kept his secret. Thales especially cherished this.

But until now, when he heard Yordle's name in the kingdom of dragons, Thales realized that he knew very little about this mysterious royal secret guard, regardless of his appearance, age, background, personality, or experience. Said to be ignorant.

He had to admit with shame that Yordle was more like a familiar stranger to him, who had paid a lot for him, but he had never cared about the other party's condition.

No, there are still—Thales thought to himself: Gilbert told him that Yodel and Exeter's "Five Generals" have a deep hatred.

That's why he couldn't come to Exeter.

And now...

A burst of laughter came from the other side of the hall, it seemed that a dozen or so northern nobles were playing some game.

Thales then turned his attention back to the kind old woman in front of him.

This old woman from Exeter, claiming to be a yordle's...

"This lady, you, Yodel's," Thales looked at the old woman named Kashan, trying to find the similarities between the two except for "mystery", and hesitated: "Mother?"

"Please don't doubt it. At my age, I won't make fun of my son." Kashan shook her head with a smile.

Thales nodded in embarrassment, and turned to Putillai for help.

How is this going?

Who is this old lady?

But Puttilai still stared at the old woman vigilantly, facing Thales' glance, he shook his head slightly.

"I haven't seen him for a long time, and I miss him especially." Kashan didn't seem to care about the eye contact between Thales and Putillai. Her eyes showed nostalgia and love, and she spoke to herself: "That child As long as you don't talk much... You have a stubborn temper and are clumsy at expressing yourself, it's really worrying to be alone outside."

"During his royal service, he must have caused you a lot of trouble."

Thales was taken aback.

Talk less.

Stubborn temper.

Clumsy at expressing.

The silent figure of the masked guard emerged in front of his eyes.

What followed was what Yoddle had said that day when he confronted himself in the Mindyth Hall, and when he mysteriously appeared in the Hall of Stars.

【You will be better than him. 】

"Please don't worry," Thales pursed his lips in the memory: "I believe he is fine now..."

There was another booing noise in the noisy hall-two guests actually fought at the wine table.

Thales suddenly realized that he was unconsciously continuing to follow Kashan's words.

He quickly shut his mouth and looked at Kashan in front of him warily.

But the other party still smiled friendlyly: "I know he's doing well, so I'm relieved."

"Please bear with him for his shortcomings. After all, as a mother, I still understand my child." Kashan first nodded reassuringly, and then sighed: "Little Yod, but he has a rare kind heart." .”

Thales smiled ugly, and the scene of Yodel raising a sword in the dark and taking people's lives appeared in front of his eyes.

Kindhearted?

Doubts can't help but come to mind: Yodel's mother? Why in Exeter?

This old woman...

Wait a minute.

Granny?

A memory flashed through his mind like lightning.

"ah!"

Thales looked at Kashan, shuddered, and screamed out.

The old woman still smiled at the second prince of the stars, with an elegant posture and a kind expression.

Thales remembered.

On the day he left Eternal Star City and set off for Exeter, the king and lords came to see him off.

And the last person who came up to talk to him was that scary old man in black with a cane...

[When you arrive in Exeter, please take a word to an old woman for me, an old man. 】

[You will know when you see it. 】

"Are you..." Thales' eyes widened.

Kashan still smiled kindly: "Huh?"

"Um, I'm sorry... But, there is... an elder who seems to have mentioned something related to you," Thales realized his gaffe, and said awkwardly, "You know..."

"Elder?" The old woman Kashan smiled even brighter: "Let me guess, is it a sinister old man who likes to hide in the dark and wears black all day long? I heard that he has started On crutches?"

Thales frowned: "Do you know Morat?"

His vigilance was instantly raised to the highest level.

The guy who can be specifically named by the head of the secret department... Apart from "dangerous", he really can't think of other adjectives.

Hearing the name of the Black Prophet, Putilei frowned and looked at his prince.

"I can imagine your Highness's mood," Kashan said with a smile, "I don't think getting to know him is something to be happy about, is it?"

Thales has the answer.

Maybe Morat was reminding and warning himself.

The second prince sighed: "He said, if I meet an old woman who comes to me in Exeter...I'm sorry, these are...the original words of Molat."

"It doesn't matter."

"That old man looks polite, but he never knew what politeness is." Kashan shook her head indifferently, and the wrinkles on her face stretched out, "The heartless man is the best at teasing people, I don't like him." set."

Heartbroken?

Thales opened his mouth slightly in surprise, and then tried his best to close it.

There is a lot of information contained in this sentence...

He turned his head and said awkwardly: "Actually, Black Prophet...I mean Lord Morat Hansen, I asked me to bring you a sentence."

"You actually asked a prince to bring me a message," Cassan raised her eyebrows, revealing a pair of smiling eyes under her narrowed eyelids: "I really look forward to it, Your Highness."

Thales only felt that the peaceful smile of the old woman in front of him gave him a lot of pressure.

Compared with the aggressive and substantive sense of oppression when facing the Black Prophet, this mother-in-law Kashan burst out frowning information with a gentle and friendly attitude, which really made him feel embarrassed. A sense of powerlessness to parry.

"He said..." Thales laughed dryly:

"Don't cross the line."

The voice fell.

Thales suddenly noticed that the old woman in front of him showed a strange expression.

Don't cross the line.

Cassan closed her eyes and took a deep breath, sighed and lowered her head, her expression complicated and difficult to understand.

She murmured faintly: "So what?"

Before Thales, who was full of doubts, could react, Kashan put away her nostalgia and smiled again.

"You are in a difficult situation now, Your Highness. You are struggling to survive in the gap between the stars and the dragon, and you are also struggling to survive in the vortex between the king and the grand duke." Kashan looked around Thales with soft eyes: "But please believe me, Compared with Morat... none of this is worth mentioning."

The next moment, amidst the unclear expressions of Thales and Puttilai, the old woman nodded gracefully, then turned and left: "Thank you for your time."

Thales looked away from the back of the old woman who was slowly leaving.

He couldn't help noticing that on the path the old woman walked, no matter the nobles, servants and guards, they all saluted respectfully and made way for her.

Thales frowned.

He probably guessed the other party's identity.

"My God," Wyah exclaimed in a low voice behind them, "I just met the Scarlet Witch?"

Thales turned his head and looked at his attendant.

"I'm sorry, I thought they were all," Huai Ya said with a look of surprise on his face, "...you know, they won't appear in front of people easily."

"They?" Thales exhaled, and reluctantly grabbed a piece of buttered bread: "So, my guess is right?"

"That mother-in-law Kashan, she is..."

"That's right," Puttilai replied solemnly, using the bard he was good at:

"The stars shine, and the shadows are dark."

"The giant dragon soars into the sky, and the shadows under the dragon's wings are endless."

Thales and Wyah looked at the deputy minstrel together.

"That lady is a terrifying figure who is as famous as the 'Black Prophet' of the Kingdom's Secret Division," Puttilai's eyes were full of sternness, and he only heard him whisper: "The highest person in charge of Exeter's 'Dark Room'."

"'Scarlet Witch' Kashan."

Thales, who was as big as a bucket, rolled his eyes.

"To be able to gain a foothold in Exeter's court as a woman, and let people call her by the legend of the evil witch-be careful, Your Highness, she is not as simple as just watching the excitement."

"You may not believe it, but after seeing that lady," Thales bit the bread into his mouth in frustration, and looked at the two Northlanders who were fighting fiercely with their bare hands among the crowd, Listlessly said: "I miss Morat very much now."

"Also, who is Yoder?" Puttilai looked at Thales suspiciously: "Serving the royal family?"

"This...well, a royal secret." Thales picked up an iron fork and slammed it into the onion in front of him.

The secret guard of the Supreme King of the Stars is actually the son of Exeter's intelligence chief... Alas, another bottomless gossip.

At this special banquet for the arrival of Prince Xingchen and the gathering of the five princes, Prince Xingchen, as the nominal welcome, was undoubtedly quite neglected. Fortunately, nothing troublesome happened. The northern nobles who were watching the excitement came up to say hello to him by chance, and Thales was able to return the greeting gracefully under Putilei's suggestion.

As for those who were too drunk to come forward to provoke... But Lord Michael can always deploy people at the right time to pull away wave after wave of drunks.

Thales was able to enjoy his feast in peace-even though a seven or eight-year-old child can't eat much.

"How long will it take?" It was a few hours later, looking at Thales, who was still bustling in the hall, he asked Huai Ya next to him boredly: "I feel like I'm about to become a Northerner."

Just now, several drunk feuding aristocrats triggered a group fight that spread across the three battlefields, making the noisy hall even more exciting, until the White Blade Guards and palace guards all stepped forward to stop it—with fists.

"It's been a long time. It's only eleven o'clock in the evening." Huai Ya frowned and looked into the distance in disbelief. A guest with a bruised nose and a swollen face was helped to sit on the dining table again. Throw it in another person's face.

The prince's attendant shook his head and said: "I have heard friends from the Northlands say that Exeter's feast usually lasts until dawn - especially this is the king's feast, which represents the face of Dragon Clouds City, and there is The five princes are gathered."

Thales shook his head blankly.

The casual order in the arena began to gradually disintegrate. There were even drunks staggering around, and some nobles walked out of the hall with their maids in their arms, and then strange sounds came from outside the hall.

Even around the five grand dukes, the ministers and followers began to leave their seats to participate in the drunken banquet.

King Nun and Nicolai had left the banquet for a long time, and only Michael was still watching the banquet calmly.

And Putilai... Thales squinted his eyes and looked at the thin star-studded man in the field who was shoulder to shoulder with countless Northlanders, laughed from time to time, and dared to fight for wine, and couldn't help but slander.

How did this guy fit in so well?

Thales pressed his face on the table, and exhaled in pain: "Please tell me, the banquet in Star Country is not so crazy."

"Probably not." Huai Ya smiled awkwardly.

"of course not!"

Thales raised his head, and saw Putillai holding a barrel of rye alcohol specially provided by the Palace of Heroes, walking with his eyes closed and swaying, and said in his mouth: "The banquet of the stars is more civilized and more decent, and the madness is covered up." Underneath, such as the tryst room specially prepared by the host of the banquet, such as the grass in the garden, such as the quiet and deserted basement."

"As far as I know, your father, our Majesty Kessel, was a good player at this when he was young."

Thales gave him a blank look.

But Puttilai opened his eyes, and his expression changed slightly.

Xingchen's deputy envoy said indifferently: "I have received a signal from Shiles."

Thales was refreshed.

"The king has already left the table, and the people around the five princes are also stumbling around," Putilei nodded solemnly:

"I think it's time to talk to them."

When the banquet was nearly twelve o'clock at night, the Grand Duke of Welland, Rebion Olesiu, accompanied by two entourages, walked out of the hall, stood by a deserted window outside the banquet hall, and looked out the window. the moon.

Seems to be waiting for someone.

Until the sound of two footsteps, one big and one small, came from behind.

Grand Duke Olsio turned around.

He immediately frowned.

"Are you the one who asked me out to meet?"

The Grand Duke squeezed the note that had just been handed to him, and looked at the person in front of him in disbelief—Prince Star, Thales Canxing.

Accompanied by Huay Ya, Thales looked at the Grand Duke's beard and smiled brightly: "Yes."

Olsio looked at Thales in front of him, and then at the note in his hand, the expression on his face gradually changed.

Thales took a deep breath.

coming.

It's time to start.

He heard himself speak slowly: "Your Excellency..."

At this moment, Grand Duke Olsio suddenly snorted coldly and interrupted him.

Thales, who was halfway through the sentence, was taken aback for a moment.

"boring."

Olsio glanced at him disdainfully and shook his head.

Then turn around and leave.

Thales' eyes widened.

Am I that annoying?

"I tried my best to find this opportunity to meet in private, Your Excellency the Grand Duke." Thales followed him a step, frowning behind him and said: "At least listen to what I have to say!"

"There's nothing to talk about with a seven-year-old." Olesiu had no intention of turning back.

Thales gritted his teeth.

no solution anymore.

The next moment, the second prince of Xingchen said loudly to the back of Grand Duke Weilandling:

"Rebion Aurelius!"

"Do you know who is about to become the next King Exeter!"

Grand Duke Olsio's footsteps stopped abruptly.

He turned his head slowly and looked at Thales with a strange expression.

Under Olsio's strange eyes, Thales panted excitedly:

"Rumba..."

Olsio's face changed slightly.

Thales calmed his breathing a little, raised his head, and looked at the bearded man with firm eyes:

"The Grand Duke of the Black Sand Territory, Charmain Rumba!"