Kingdom’s Bloodline

a monster.

A monster that feeds on power.

The figure he hadn't seen for a long time involuntarily appeared in Thales' mind.

That majestic figure with a scepter in his hand, a crown on his head, and his name is Father, but he is difficult to approach.

The prince pondered for a few seconds.

"You don't like the status quo of Xihuang, and you don't want to forget the past Xihuang, which only belonged to Falkenhaus?"

"So you're counting on me to 'do something.'"

The prince looked up at Cyril, his tone became vigilant:

"you know."

"Six years ago, when I left Eternal Star City, someone said something similar to me."

The Duke of Xihuang stared closely at Thales for several seconds, then smiled.

"No, Your Highness."

Falkenhauser let out a breath slowly, turned and faced out the window:

"Don't think of me as an old-fashioned old-fashioned stickler, or a fool who is obsessed with past glory and refuses to open his eyes to the future-although there are many such people in my peers."

Thales snorted softly:

"So what makes you different from them?"

This time, Cyril was silent for a long time.

He just remained motionless, condescendingly watching the bustling and patchwork camp scene under the window.

"Why, Thales?"

Finally, the Duke of Xihuang sighed with emotion:

"Why do we rule this land?"

The wary Star Prince frowned.

Just listen to the slow voice of the ruler of the Falkenhauser family:

"Whether I am ruling Xihuang as the Duke now, or you will be crowned king and rule the entire territory of the stars in the future?"

"Enjoy everything above human?"

Cyril's subject jumps too fast,

The hidden wit and subtle acrimony made Thales, who was used to people in the Northland discuss matters as they were, extremely uncomfortable.

"Is it because we are wise enough as rulers and have unparalleled strategies?"

"Still be as courageous as the people from the North, daring to be the first?"

The Duke stood in front of the window, his thin and haggard figure was silhouetted, firmly planted on the ground.

"Or is it because you have a kind heart and care about the common people?"

"Or is it the glory of the ancestors, passed down from generation to generation?"

Cyril's words changed, revealing his favorite sarcastic tone:

"Could it be that it was indeed the destiny, and the expectations of the people..."

"And those things that run through your veins can really—shine?"

As always, the Duke half-spoken, staring at him with a speculative look, as if he was waiting for something.

The boy was silent for several seconds.

Finally, Thales sighed deeply.

"From the beginning to the present... Who taught you to speak like this, Duke Falkenhauser? Did he teach idiots?"

What?

Cyril's smile froze.

Thales, who had finished sighing, shrugged helplessly:

"You know, I didn't realize until today: I hate rhetorical questions so much."

Rhetorical questions?

The duke's expression became more and more confused.

But the prince no longer followed Cyril's words, but looked at him indifferently:

"A little reminder, the unpopular Duke."

"Whether it's a discussion or a negotiation, the rhetorical questions that seem to enhance your tone can only make you look like a clown for entertainment: it does nothing to convey effective information except to highlight your self-righteousness in tone .”

Listening to Thales' expressionless answer, Falkenhauser's face slowly became stiff.

"If you have an answer, say it in the affirmative, and if you disagree, finish it with a 'no' - because no one is interested in knowing what you're saying with rhetorical rhetorical questions other than to provoke emotion Bullshit content."

After Thales finished speaking, he stabbed the dagger at the head of the bed.

The room was quiet for a long time.

For a while, only the cold wind was heard.

Cyril stared at Thales, as if meeting him for the first time.

The corners of the Duke's lips were raised and lowered several times, he hesitated to speak, he was quite at a loss.

Thales folded his arms as if nothing happened, with an innocent face, tilted his head and pouted his mouth, waiting for the other party's answer.

Finally, Cyril closed his eyes and bowed his head, sighing long:

"That's why I don't like Northlanders."

"No," Thales raised his eyebrows and took his words:

"That's just why you're not welcome."

Cyril paused again, speechless for a while.

"Go on, why do we rule?"

Thales, who was finally comfortable speaking, let out a breath. He sat on the bed, leaned against the wall, and spread his hands contentedly:

"Don't let me interrupt you."

Cyril sighed slightly in his heart.

Didn't you interrupt a long time ago?

The Duke was silent for a while, and then spoke again:

"Actually, I don't think we rule for the above reasons, Thales. Not at all."

Thales' heavy words sounded again:

"very good!"

Cyril hesitated again.

"I'm happy: we're finally talking."

I saw Thales raised his index finger to him with a face of comfort: "It's not difficult to speak well, is it?"

"Keep it up."

Cyril, who had just brewed up a good mood, was choked again for a while.

The Duke sighed slowly: He began to realize that the young man in front of him was no longer the illegitimate son who clenched his fists, blushed, pretended to be a prince, and showed off his cleverness in front of all the lords six years ago.

He is Thales Canxing.

The stars beyond the sky.

Thinking of this, the Duke turned sideways slightly, a cold gleam reflected on his ugly face.

"Prince Thales."

"In my opinion, what really rules this land, this kingdom, and even the whole world, and what makes countless people willingly obey us—is habit."

"Habit, habit..." Thales chewed on Cyril's words, and suddenly understood something.

After regaining the right to speak by surprise, he began to slowly grasp the erratic axis in the other party's seemingly casual conversation.

However, at this time, Cyril leaned on his crutches and paced up and down the room with pauses.

"Men are used to going out to support their families, women are used to raising children at home, merchants are used to selling goods back and forth, farmers are used to paying taxes and serving in the service, nobles are used to governing, priests are used to talking to gods..."

"Army is used to violence, officials are used to ordering, authors are used to procrastinating, lords are used to bossing around, kings are used to sitting on the throne..."

"People get used to paying for things, get used to being punished for doing bad things, get used to bowing their heads in the face of death, and get used to nodding in the face of life..."

The Duke's speech was fast, just like his steps, as if he was climbing a mountain with no peak in sight:

Cyril seemed to be in a daze, his left hand lightly brushed against the old wall, but the expression on his face became serious.

This made Thales sit up straight unknowingly.

"Habits, that's what they—every being over whom we rule—saw from the womb, the way the world looked;"

"That is what they have repeated and practiced in their limited years and lives, the established way of this world;"

"That's the way they subconsciously respect, imitate, and convince themselves after witnessing the actions and reactions of countless others."

At this moment, Duke Xihuang, who was pressing on the wall with one hand, suddenly raised his head!

"Thales!"

The teenager was startled.

I saw Cyril staring at him coldly.

"People obey our rule, respect our status, and be loyal to our identity, not because of how great we are, not because we are born noble, not because of how much kindness and threats we have given, not because we have a good governance to benefit all people, let alone Because your blood is shining like a gift from God!"

"It's because—they're used to it!"

The cold wind that seeped into the room from the window made the Duke's leather robe and hair flutter, making the image of Cyril Falkenhauser at this moment even more strange and chilling.

Thales swallowed subconsciously, he had no time to care about the instinctive sarcasm in the Duke's tone.

Cyril narrowed his eyes, but the sharp eyes shot from the slits did not weaken a bit.

"Because from the first day they opened their eyes to see the world, their grandparents did it, their parents did it, their peers did it, so they themselves are also used to it, and And convincing their next generation to do the same as they did."

Thales frowned slowly.

"And this group of people exhibits their accustomed habits to other people, another group of people - whether it is children, elders, relatives, neighbors, strangers or masters, servants, peers, superiors and subordinates - day after day , year after year."

Cyril stopped where he was, but his tone became more and more serious, as if he was telling the most terrifying and chilling ghost story.

"Until everyone, including you and me, hates strangeness and abnormality, develops inertia, and realizes this truth: what violates habits is abnormal and needs to be eliminated."

Thales' expression became more and more tense.

"Then these habits spread far and wide, grew deeper, became more serious and commonplace, until we called them . . . "

Cyril's tone revealed an unprecedented solemnity and gloom:

"order."

A gust of cold wind made Thales shiver, but the light outside the window couldn't give him any warmth.

Thales suddenly felt that the room at the top of the tower was so gloomy and cold.

like...

The Fuxing Palace in memory.

"Do you understand what I mean, Your Highness?"

Cyril's words sounded again, pulling him back from other places to the present.

"In my opinion, this is the only thing, fragile, poor, but also eternal, strong, deep, that maintains our dominion."

"And the actions that try to shake these habits, shake these orders..."

Cyril sneered slightly:

"It's all terrible."

A move to shake these habits, to shake these orders...

Thales couldn't help raising his eyebrows, and snorted softly:

"For example, this time, what did the Legendary Wing do to the Saber Camp?"

The Duke's voice paused for a second.

"No."

"Not only so small, not only so close, not only so light."

I only heard Falkenhauser's voice sinking down, as if it contained centuries of sighs:

"For example, we all know that from a long time ago, a certain high-ranking person in the stars, no, maybe several high-ranking people in successive generations, they sprinkled the bait of royal power, and turned thousands of low-ranking people into became the enemy of the lords."

These words tightened Thales' nerves.

The bait of kingship.

At that moment, Thales suddenly had this feeling: Cyril Falkenhauser, this unpopular person who behaves strangely and speaks outrageously, his purpose of coming here today is not just to win over the second prince.

The prince grew more serious.

"Through the ladder of royal power, they slowly climbed up and fought back and forth with us, the princes of the frontier."

Cyril slowly paced back to the window, and looked at the desert camp under the window again:

"As a result, the rise and fall of families for hundreds of years, the rotation of nobles, the ups and downs of the fate of countless people, and the impermanence of life and death, finally forged the kingdom today."

The Duke's voice was low and indistinct, but unmistakable.

"For hundreds of years, from the succession of the family, the rise and fall of titles, the ruling of tax laws, the appointment and dismissal of officials, the judgment of the law, and the mobilization of the army, the Fuxing Palace has been done in a step-by-step but unstoppable way. , slowly, but surely, from the hands of the lords."

Hearing this, Thales couldn't help but think of the scene where he made a generous statement in front of five grand duchess—and one female grand duchess—about the current status of the stars in the night of dragon blood six years ago.

He also thought of the story he heard not long ago, dictated by the old people of the royal guard.

The rise and fall of families for hundreds of years, the rotation of nobles...

The fate of countless people is ups and downs, life and death are impermanent...

Thales was deep in thought, but didn't speak.

"You know, although every step of the two sides can be clearly seen," Cyril leaned forward, as if to take a closer look at the scenery under the window, "but what really makes the chess game interesting... is in the In the number of steps that can be seen clearly, there are countless possibilities."

It's like looking at his chessboard.

"Take one step and see ten steps - every piece you move is not only related to the chessboard at the moment, but also to the chess game of several steps, tens of steps, or even hundreds of steps in the future."

"In this way, the opponent after a hundred steps has no way to parry and admit defeat-this is far more interesting than face-to-face, fist-to-fist contests."

For some reason, Thales suddenly thought of Hei Jian when he heard this.

The young man remembered the battle between the man and Giza, and the black sword led him into the flesh and blood of the hydra Kirika.

From the location of the initial breakthrough to the choice of the breakthrough route, Black Sword calculates and considers all factors of the battle from the first step, so as to move towards victory step by step.

He's like a... chess player who treats battle like a game of chess.

Cyril's voice was calm, and his thinning hair shook with his robe in the cold wind:

"Keep your eyes on the ground but drop the seeds quietly, turn the spring wind into rain and harvest thousands of seeds in autumn-this is the wise way of a 'virtuous king', isn't it."

Xianjun.

Thales was slightly taken aback.

"Xianjun?" He repeated subconsciously.

Cyril turned around suddenly, showing a frowning "humorous" smile, and his tone replied to the usual "kindness":

"Why, do you think that after so many years, from that ridiculous state conference to the damn Royal Bank, especially those of us who are in it, no matter how stupid or blunt they are, no one can really see it?"

Thales' heart sank.

The Duke raised his head and narrowed his eyes:

"Like me, a lot of us know it."

"Just incapable of doing anything."

I know it well.

powerless.

Thales took a deep breath.

He couldn't help but think of Luba's expression of sympathy when he mentioned Xianjun in the carriage.

Once a piece is settled, a century-old chess game.

Thales' eyebrows furrowed tighter and tighter.

"Why, why this expression?"

The Duke looked at the scenery under the window, quite casually:

"The old crow said in the letter that you are quite interested in Xianjun, aren't you?"

Thales shook his head:

"I just……"

The prince's words stopped abruptly.

etc.

Thales realized something, his eyes widened suddenly!

"Old crow?"

The prince suddenly raised his head, and lost his voice:

"You know him?"

"Know him? Hmph, Prince Thales..."

Cyril's laughter followed the sound of the wind.

"When Meri Heather set off from the Land of Dragon's Kiss, passed through the Three Kingdoms of the Misty Sea, entered the Land of Stars, and then traveled thousands of miles north to Exeter, who do you think sent troops to escort him across the desert?"

Thales was stunned.

Meri Heather, Across the Desert, Up North to Exeter...

However, how did the Duke of Xihuang of the Stars and the senior scholar of the Principality of Anrenzo know each other?

Cyril seemed to sense his doubts.

The Duke let out a long breath, and there was a bit of nostalgia in his ugly voice:

"When I was young and naughty, I had a special bachelor teacher from Dragon's Kiss."

Thales moved his ears.

Having said that, the Duke shook his head and smiled:

"Until my uncle found out that his bachelor's qualifications were forged, and in a fit of rage, he stripped Heather naked and threw her into the desert—ah, the nostalgic youth."

Thales blinked and took a few seconds to sort out the cause and effect.

That means.

The Guardian Duke of the Western Wilderness, and the old crow Heather...

The surprise on Thales' face became more and more obvious.

Puttilai said that the old man had been a teacher to many great people.

It seems that it is not...

boast?

"You and I, Your Highness, we are connected to each other in many invisible places."

Duke Xihuang's laughter grew louder and louder until he turned around from the window.

I only heard Cyril speak as if inadvertently:

"As for your question just now, who taught me to speak like this, and did he teach idiots..."

Duke Falkenhauser slowly narrowed his eyes.

At that moment, Thales suddenly felt that his face was a little stiff.

Boom!

Cyril's crutches pounded heavily on the ground.

"I suppose, of course Heather has taught idiots . . . what do you think?"

The Duke narrowed his eyes and stared straight at Thales, revealing malice that could not be concealed:

"Your Highness?"

At that moment, the air in the room seemed to be frozen.

Facing this unanswerable question, it took a long time for Thales to pull his expression of eating a fly desperately, and barely showed an embarrassed smile.

What a fuck.

With the vengeful gaze of the Duke of Xihuang, Thales changed the subject with difficulty:

"I probably know what you want to do."

Thales raised his head.

He began to gradually get used to the other party's seemingly casual, but in fact Ji Feng's hidden conversation characteristics.

"Facing the Fuxing Palace, you are powerless, so you are counting on me, a new king, to change the kingdom from the throne?"

But to his surprise, Falkenhauser shook his head again.

"First of all, it's not 'we', it's just me."

Thales was slightly taken aback.

"Secondly, change the kingdom? No," the Duke whispered:

"With or without you, the kingdom changes all the time."

Cyril walked around the wall again, pacing with a limp, and tapped the furnishings in the room with his right hand from time to time, as if remembering something:

"To be exact, the whole world is changing, not just at this moment, not just a hundred years ago, not just six hundred years ago."

The Duke of Xihuang's eyes glowed:

"From John the Black Eye's coercive mobilization of the country's lords under the prestige of the king, to the promulgation of the "Inheritance Act" by Sumer II of the "Broken Line", Tormund IV of the "Circumcision" appointed the officiant of the setting sun, 'Creditor' Elam III passed the king's tax law."

"Until the unprecedented reforms of 'Sage Lord' Mindis III, and the move of 'Poet' Eddie I to summon nobles to reside in Eternal Star City."

The master of the Falkenhauser family put down his right hand, turned around again, and faced Thales with deep eyes:

"Even today, your father rules with an iron fist that almost incites outrage."

"The world is changing every minute and every second, not only for the generation of Xianjun."

Thales was uncomfortable being looked at by him, and he involuntarily hugged his arms tighter and tighter.

From the second king of the stars, John Black Eyed, to King Kessel V, he suddenly discovered that the historical span mentioned by Cyril was far beyond what Luba mentioned in the Palace of Heroes in Dragon Clouds City.

Not just Xianjun.

Not just...Kessel.

"Changing by the minute...that sounded familiar."

The prince sighed:

"You are probably really a student of the old crow."

Cyril snorted softly when he heard the words:

"Heather, he opened my eyes, and my mind, and my heart."

But his gaze changed immediately:

"But what about you? His Highness Thales, the heir to the kingdom?"

"Have you opened them?"

The two were silent for a while.

"If I open them too, what do you want me to see?"

Thales lowered his expression and said slowly.

Cyril didn't smile.

He just looked at Thales seriously.

It seemed that he was waiting for this moment.

"The country was a conference six years ago, Prince," Falkenhauser said softly:

"Tell me, what did you see?"

six years ago.

The state is a meeting.

Thales recalled the meeting that determined his fate again, and he couldn't help lowering his arms.

But the boy didn't make any further interpretations, and just answered briefly and carefully:

"My father won."

Cyril snorted coldly.

"Yes, your father won."

"He has triumphed, not just in one council, but across the nation, in the eighteen years since his desperate coronation as king."

Thales clenched his fists.

"but……"

Sure enough, the Duke of Xihuang changed the subject, and his words became short and fast, with ups and downs.

"The conspiracy was revealed, the backbone was lost, and the northern border is at rest, but do you think those people in the northern land who come from the same origin as Exeter will be convinced and at ease?"

north.

Thales thought of Miranda Aarend with whom he had a "friendship in prison".

"Girls from the Blades may rely on the kingship, but don't forget that it is the Blades Province that has been known for its bandits since the empire period, and the rebellion of the Bloody Year started from it."

Blade collar.

The blurred face of the Duchess of the Blade Loop, Lyanna Turbak, flashed through Taylor's heart.

"And Yadi couldn't hold back any longer and was just about to move—you must know that Gust Nantris is not an easy-going lamp."

cliff land.

An aggressive face with only one eye left floated in front of Thales' eyes.

"As for our Western Wilderness," Falkenhauser paid attention to Thales' expression, with deep fear showing on his haggard and ugly face:

"Look at what happened in the Saber Camp these days, prince, and tell me: What will the Fuxing Palace gain from the Western Wilderness lords below me?"

"Those my nominal vassals, in front of the Legendary Wing, will they tremble and fail, or will they grit their teeth and hide deep hatred?"

Thales couldn't help but take a deep breath when thinking of Roman's arrogance when he faced—almost everyone.

"You mean my father's actions," said the prince after a long absence, seriously considering the Duke's words:

"Will it eventually lead to unmanageable chaos?"

"Even with his wrist?"

Cyril shook his head. At this moment, the Duke of Xihuang rarely lost his humorous (ignorant of current affairs?) attitude, and his tone was gloomy:

"How long will it take you to understand that the height of your father's wrist has nothing to do with the result of his will?"

"And it's not just him, there are countless people-whether they are on the side of the king like the royalists, or on the opposite side of him like Gurst, their intensifying contradictions will bring unforeseen as a result of."

Thales gritted his teeth lightly.

In his long-term impression, his father, King Kessel V, was always the one who had the upper hand and firmly suppressed his opponents in the kingdom's political struggles.

But what Falkenhauser said...

Does it really make sense?

Cyril let out a long breath, put down his inconvenient left foot, and put his hands on the crutches.

"Perhaps the era when the lords dominate one side and the kingdom is full of princes is slowly going away. This is a trend and necessity," the Duke thought thoughtfully:

"Maybe this is the menacing trend of the stars, which never stops."

"And any overreach to stop it is futile and foolish."

But Falkenhauser finally raised his head and looked at the prince who was also in deep thought:

"But at the same time, anyone who is impatient and wants to use the general trend to fuel the flames, compress time, and speed up the progress, so as to see the ending in their hearts as soon as possible-such behavior is just as stupid."

Impatient.

Just as stupid.

Thales didn't speak.

I don't know if he listened to Thales' suggestion, but Cyril maintained his seriousness at the moment:

"Governing the country has never been said to have immediate results. Even if you are as wise and wise as a 'virtuous king', you must carefully settle your plans. The effect will be seen in a hundred years: you can't hold the mentality of 'complete all achievements in one battle' and make rough, arbitrary, eager and short-sighted decisions about thousands of things. The fate of tens of thousands of people."

He sighed:

"Just like 'Blade King' Tormund II, 'Eagle Claw' Kessel III, and 'Red King' John II, their biographies seem to have great military exploits, but they are actually deeply buried."

"It's only going to get worse."

Falkenhauser closed his mouth and fell into thought. He stood where he was, letting the cold wind blow his leather robe.

It seems that the military exploits are great, but the root of the disaster is deeply buried.

For some reason, Thales suddenly thought of King Nun.

And after the death of this natural king, Longxiao City, which was betrayed by all relatives and surrounded by enemies, and the Heroic Palace, whose foundation was unstable and precarious.

And that poor girl who sat trembling in the throne room, unable even to put the 'Triumph' ring on her thumb.

Thales was silent for a long time before humming softly:

"My father wouldn't like to hear that, I'm afraid."

Cyril raised his eyes:

"So you don't have to mention it in front of him."

"Unless you get to the day when you can mention it."

Thales tried his best to ignore the hidden meaning in the other party's words, and said:

"But you also said that the menacing trend never stops, and any action to stop it is futile and stupid."

"If, if all of this is just an obstacle that must be overcome..."

"Is it just a necessary way before reaching the summit?"

After hearing this, Cyril was silent at first, and then responded with a sneer.

"only?"

The Duke pulled up his crutches again, and limped close to Thales.

But Thales felt that the terrifying face of the Duke of Xihuang was no longer so unacceptable.

"Be careful with your words, Thales, I believe the old crow has warned us."

I saw Cyril Falkenhauser with a solemn expression:

"Don't let your arrogance ruin you—whether that arrogance comes from the comfort of sitting on the throne, or the frivolous self-esteem of looking down at the history books."

Feeling the resoluteness in the other party's tone, Thales couldn't help but tighten his body.

"As for the obstacles that must be crossed and the path that must be passed to reach the summit, you must know..."

In the cold wind, the sharp eyes and shrill voice of the Guardian Duke of Xihuang pressed Thales from both directions:

"Darkness is especially terrible when the dawn is approaching."

"Before the storm is far away, the damage is just severe."

( = )