Kingdom’s Bloodline

Obviously, as the captain of the Duke of Star Lake's personal guard, Mallos was not happy to see Thales open the door to welcome guests on the first day he moved into his new home.

But under the spectators of countless bureaucrats, servants, and guards, the insistence of the second prince, and the more or less pressure of Master Karabyan's background, Cohen was politely invited into the waiting room that had just been tidied up—of course Before that, the captain of the Duke's personal guard, Lord Mallos, the watchman, did not forget to remind his master:

The other party is the heir of the Karabyan family.

And today is the first day of the prince's return to the capital.

This must mean something.

Hearing such a reminder, Thales could only smile numbly.

Then, as always, tense your nerves.

Go face to face with the living room...

"I knew it, I told them that the prince's memory is not bad, and he definitely remembers me, and he definitely won't forget fighting side by side... Sure enough..."

"I have written to you, Your Highness, for several years, but for some reason, you never replied to me... Until one time I met the boy Ka Suo who was returning home, and he told me that the meteorite intercepted the letter to you. Most of the letters, damn it..."

Thales sat on the main seat, looked at the chattering Cohen, scanned the familiar living room, and tried hard to suppress the emotion in his heart.

Back then, I was here...

Cohen paused, looked at Thales in a daze, raised his palm to measure from his stomach to his chest, and said in surprise:

"Hey, have you grown taller?"

Has grown tall.

Thales looked at the chair he was sitting on, and remembered six years ago.

Maybe.

At that time, when I sat here, my feet still couldn't touch the ground.

Thales was silent for a long time.

Jiude Cohen was a little overwhelmed, and subconsciously sat upright on the chair.

"Yes."

Thales finally spoke out, with a faint but meaningful smile:

"I've grown taller."

But Cohen restrained his smile.

He looked towards the open hall door.

There, Mallos was standing at the door with folded arms, looking at the two subordinates with a smile, and glancing at the meeting in the hall from time to time.

The police officer is careful:

"Did I... come at the wrong time?"

Thales turned his gaze.

Cohen scratched his head:

"They don't look very happy, especially the leader, here, the one with the smirk..."

Outside the open door, a maid was about to bring refreshments to the Duke and the guests, but Mallos stopped her with a smile and raised her hand. Doyle, who was grimacing, and Gloria, who was as stiff as ever, stepped forward and began to check .

Not very "happy".

certainly.

Thales thought lightly.

Although the time of company was not long, from the moment he walked out of the conference hall...

Apparently, even Cohen felt something.

Thinking of this, thinking of what Mallos said, Thales forced himself to smile:

"That's Mallos."

"Tormund Mallos."

"Watcher of the Royal Guard."

"So that's how it is," Cohen looked stunned and respectful:

"It's the famous Mallos."

mallos

Hmm, the name does sound familiar...

Cohen struggled desperately with his memory.

Where did you hear it?

Thales adjusted his mood and said with a smile:

"Don't worry, he's just stricter. After all, this is my first day back, and Mallos is my personal guard captain."

Cohen quickly put the unremembered surname behind him.

"Captain of the personal guard, wow, Your Highness," Cohen said with a look of surprise, looking back and forth at the layout of the living room:

"Compared to the Northland, it has been upgraded a lot, right?"

The security officer looked around excitedly and curiously:

"Mindis Hall, I was brought here only once by the old man when I was very young... He said it was a good place and it was very meaningful."

Cohen patted his chair happily:

"Perhaps I have sat many big figures in my seat."

"yes,

Six years ago," Thales said nostalgicly:

"The Black Prophet sat in your chair."

Cohen, who was in high spirits, had a big meal.

Thales smiled slightly, remembering the intense meeting that year.

I don't know how I will react when I face Morat Hansen again six years later?

The prince unconsciously clenched his fists.

In his impression, the Black Prophet six years ago was mysterious, terrifying, and creepy.

But six years later, he knew that the other party wasn't that scary, was he?

At least... Black Prophet had his legs broken too.

In front of his eyes, Cohen moved in parallel and changed a seat quietly:

"You may not believe it, but the time the old man brought me here..."

"He was summoned by the crown prince. I suddenly had a urgency to urinate, but the servant who took me disappeared, and then I couldn't find a place. I suddenly found a vase in the corridor..."

"Ahem!"

Doyle, who was coughing loudly, came up with tea and just interrupted Cohen's unconscious narration.

"Cohen," Doyle said in a normal tone, but he gave the guest a hard look from an angle Thales couldn't see:

"This is His Highness's palace, and thanks to His Highness's generosity, you can be the first to visit here."

"Pay attention to manners."

Cohen snorted and didn't care, with an appearance of "I know the prince very well", watched Doyle leave, and took a sip of his teacup as if demonstrating.

The next second, the police officer's face changed, and he sprayed back into the teacup.

"Ah, wow, ah... sway, sway, sway...Take it, take it deliberately..."

Cohen stuck out his scalded tongue and fanned the wind in embarrassment.

Thales watched the interaction between Cohen and Doyle in surprise, and picked up his teacup to try.

Well, the temperature is just right.

Under Cohen's disgruntled gaze, Thales coughed to break the embarrassment:

"So, you've known Doyle for a long time?"

"Ha, ha...dammit... much, much... oh, you mean D.D!"

Cohen managed to smooth his tongue out:

"He's my... well, that..."

Cohen's tone was somewhat uncertain: "The grandson of a certain uncle's brother-in-law?"

"Well, probably."

Grandson of uncle's brother-in-law.

Thank goodness he remembered.

Thales looked at Cohen's bright blond hair, then at Doyle's dark blond hair, and suddenly found himself in a better mood.

At least, the oppression brought out from the Fuxing Palace is no longer like a black cloud, making it hard to breathe.

"But you'd better not play with him, Your Highness," Cohen's expression changed, and he moved closer to Thales, whispering to Doyle's back: "That guy is..."

"Playboy dude."

All right.

Thales had a strange expression on his face, but the corners of his mouth curled up unknowingly.

From the point of view of making small reports...

You are indeed relatives.

"So... where is the kid from the Ka Suo family? The one with the single-edged sword?"

Cohen didn't pay attention to this little episode. He straightened up and looked for the figure in his memory:

"And that smoking uncle who is very good at plotting?"

Cohen scratched his chin and recalled:

"Including that dumb guy who can fan the wind..."

Cohen paused, then said suspiciously: "Wait, the dumb is not here, right?"

Wyah Castle.

Puttilai Nieman.

Midilla Rolfe.

Thales was a little lost in thought.

"They're still dealing with my legacy in Northland, but they'll be back soon."

The prince quickly came back to his senses and answered perfectly.

Cohn breathed a sigh of relief and touched his throat warily.

Well, that mute, it's better not to meet him.

Looking at Cohen's expression and looking at the strange yet familiar environment, Thales found that he missed the old people more and more.

"Unbelievable, Your Highness!"

Just seconds later, Cohen was revived and excited:

"Six years ago, we were still in the north, fighting together..."

The police officer's enthusiasm for the prince made the latter a little overwhelmed:

"But... look at this place again, Your Highness, you are the Duke now! Duke of Xinghu!"

Cohen took a deep breath, his face beaming with joy, as if he remembered something that raised his eyebrows:

"Even my old man wants to salute you!"

But you didn't salute.

Thales rubbed his forehead helplessly.

"So, why Mindis Hall?"

Cohen patted the chair with undiminished interest:

"You are underage...why not the Fuxing Palace?"

Thales was about to answer, but hesitated to speak.

He glanced at the royal guard outside the door.

"I... am in poor health, and I'm more afraid of the cold," Thales recalled the story of the "Mist King" who was out of the palace to recuperate, and said with a smile:

"My father let me live here."

Thales was a little frustrated.

He suddenly discovered that compared with six years ago...

He can no longer treat his friends without any grudges and reservations.

"Afraid of the cold?"

Cohen looked at him in surprise:

"But you have been in the north for six years!"

Telvin forced a smile:

"Maybe, that's why they sent me back."

"Prevent me from freezing and dying in the Northland."

Cohen froze.

With a suspicious face on his face, he looked at the prince in front of him again.

After a second.

"ah!"

Cohen reacted suddenly, and smiled again:

"Your Highness, you really know how to joke!"

"Afraid of the cold? You are the hero who broke into the Palace of Heroes and saved Dragon Clouds City!"

Thales could only continue to smile.

"But you can't fool me."

Having said that, the police officer's eyes lit up:

"So, how did you come back from the North?"

Thales' smile froze.

Another difficult question to answer.

"Although the announcement said that the Kingdom of Exeter sent you back as a gift, and at the same time, they also came with the letter of credentials from their king greeting His Majesty..."

Cohen was thoughtful, with a shrewd light in his eyes:

"But I'm a man who has fought in both the Northland and the Western Wilderness. I know it well, so I know that things..."

Cohen smiled mysteriously:

"It's definitely not that simple."

Thales shuddered.

But unexpectedly, Cohen looked confident and had no intention of questioning him.

"I know," the security officer snapped his fingers quite effectively:

"This year, whether it is the war in the Freedom Alliance, the civil strife in the Black Sand Territory, or others, it is just the appearance of things."

Looking at Cohen in front of him, Thales was a little surprised.

He means……

"And the truth is, someone with a heart has already planned everything in secret..."

Cohen waved his hand, his face full of "I know, stop pretending" expression:

"Only for your safe return!"

At that moment, Thales was startled.

What?

Cohen?

when did he...

Is it secret science? Raphael told him?

"Hey, not only that, I also know that the caring person..."

The security officer looked shrewd:

"And the planner of all this..."

Thales looked at each other a little nervously.

It has to be said that Cohen in front of him gave him an unfathomable and impressive feeling.

Cohen stood up abruptly, and said with arrogance:

"...It's you, Your Highness!"

The whole waiting room fell silent.

Only Cohen's voice lingered in the living room, lingering.

And the police officer maintains a handsome posture of identifying the murderer, with a sassy and unrestrained attitude.

At the tip of his fingers, Thales froze in place.

Doyle outside the door looked here curiously, but was forced back by Mallos with a smile.

After a few seconds, Thales, who had recovered, tried to open his mouth:

"ha?"

However, as if he had rehearsed in advance, Cohen changed his footsteps, retracted his right hand and swung his right arm, confidently: "I know you too well, Your Highness!"

"I know that you are as witty as the initiator of all schemes!"

Cohen was thrilled:

"Just like six years ago..."

"This time, you were the one who strategized in the middle, using the Freedom Alliance and the Black Sand vassals, to successfully provoke the internal strife between Dragon Clouds City and the Black Sand Territory..."

Thales' eyebrows began to twitch.

"At the moment when the two major forces were fighting each other and had no time to take care of it, you managed to escape and return home safely!"

"It also severely weakened the strength of the Kingdom of Exeter!"

Cohen's posture is undiminished.

He knew that at this moment, his eyes were shining with the light of wisdom.

Waiting for the person in front of you to respond.

In front of Cohen's expectant eyes, Thales squeezed his eyebrows with all his strength.

"Uh, bad, almost."

Being affirmed, Cohen's eyes brightened!

"Those Yankees," the constable said cheerfully:

"You've got to give them the shit out of them, haven't you?"

Thales took a deep breath:

"Uh, it's... almost."

Cohen became more and more excited:

"That's why you, who have made great contributions to the country, will be made a duke as soon as you come back!"

Hearing this, Thales replied numbly:

"Bad, bad, almost."

Hearing the prince's acknowledgment, Cohen withdrew his arms and clenched his fists hard!

Unaware of Thales' complicated expression at the moment.

"Hey, how about it, since I learned my lesson six years ago, I've been making up for politics in the past few years," the police officer narrowed his eyes and folded his arms, with a very knowledgeable look:

"My resourcefulness has also improved!"

Thales silently looked at Cohen who was beaming with joy.

"Well," a few seconds later, Thales burst into an awkward smile:

"Yes, yes."

Cohn's face beamed, like a squirrel finding a pine cone.

"So, how have the Northlanders treated you these years?"

Thales has not yet recovered from Cohen's "resourceful" blow, he sighed.

"Uh, how should I put it..."

But Cohen, who was full of self-confidence, swung him off.

"Oh, I understand."

Cohen raised his head with empathy:

"At the end of the tower, my teacher was a Northlander, and Miranda was strictly a Northlander... they, ouch..."

Cohen seemed to think of something and shuddered.

The police officer's disgusted expression was halfway through, and he suddenly turned around and narrowed his eyes at Thales:

"You understand?"

Thales stared at him blankly:

"Uh, I...that..."

Facing Cohen's expectant and eager eyes, the prince could only do his best to smile:

"Well, I understand, I understand."

"Look!"

Cohen slapped his thigh excitedly:

"I knew you understood!"

Thales tried hard to suppress the twitching of the corner of his mouth.

Cohen sighed.

"Unfortunately, no one else understands."

However, he immediately lifted his spirits, and eagerly looked at the bewildered His Royal Highness like looking at his own brother:

"But it doesn't matter, it's enough for us to understand!"

Thales had no choice but to smirk and nod along with Cohen, suppressing the terrible question:

What do you know?

During this fruitful dialogue, His Excellency the Duke of Xinghu felt for the first time that his IQ level was slightly insufficient.

While Thales was immersed in the sadness of impaired IQ, Cohen suddenly got up and slapped his thigh.

"Okay, I should go."

Thales was stunned.

"Go? Now?"

The security officer smiled and said:

"Your Highness, take care!"

Thales looked at Cohen with a happy face, and said doubtfully:

"This... is this the end?"

Cohen blinked, as if he didn't quite understand:

"yes."

Thales was stunned for a few seconds before saying:

"You...you have nothing else to do?"

"Yes," Cohen rolled his eyes, feeling depressed:

"I have to go to the hall to sign in this afternoon, otherwise the head of the hall will detain it again..."

etc.

This is the end?

As the heir of one of the thirteen noble families...

On the first day the second prince returned to the capital...

No temptation, no wooing, no purpose, no flattery, no coercion, no conspiracy?

Without what Mallos reminded... everything?

The Duke stared blankly at Cohen, who looked dejected.

For the first time since returning to the stars, Thales felt a little uncomfortable.

Thales came back to his senses and shook his head:

"No, I mean..."

The prince hesitated for a moment, and looked at Cohen with serious eyes.

"How is your father?"

Thales still spoke, with a touch of discomfort and guilt:

"Wola's leader... Lord Karabyan?"

Cohen was also taken aback:

"he?"

"I don't know, it should be pretty good... I haven't written to him for a long time."

The young Duke was quite surprised:

"But...you came here today just to spend a few minutes...chatting with me?"

Cohen paused, thinking deeply.

A few seconds later, he shrugged his shoulders after thinking hard:

"Yeah, just to see you."

The police officer rubbed his head with a confused look on his face.

"if not?"

Now, it was Thales' turn to be stunned.

At that moment, the Legendary Wing, Nobu from the Secret Department, Duke Xihuang, Dele Cromar, Earl Black Lion, Watchman Mallos, Gilbert, Captain Adrian... Since returning home, many The faces of many people flashed in Thales' mind.

but……

Compared with the people in front of them...

Thales looked at the silly Cohen in front of him quietly, with complicated emotions.

The big police officer looked at him equally puzzled and blinked.

After a long while, the duke, who had a lot of feelings, came back to his senses and took a deep breath.

"Cohen."

"You're the eldest son, aren't you?"

"The Karabyan family of the Twin Towers and Swords?"

The moment he heard "Eldest Son", Cohen was like an eggplant beaten by frost, and his whole body fell down.

"Yes?"

Cohen was listless and authentic.

Thales silently looked at the young master of the Karabyan family in front of him, the orthodox heir of Vola.

"So after you graduated from the Tower of Termination, you went directly to Xihuang? You went to 'Thundercrow'?"

The security officer waved his hand:

"Yes."

"Your father didn't stop you?" Thales gently rubbed the teacup in his hand:

"You know, you are the heir to the family land and title..."

"Oh, speaking of this..."

Cohen tried to pull himself together to face these headaches.

"My old man...wait a minute, how do you know that I served in the West Wilderness and still go to 'Thunder Crow'?"

The police officer looked at him suspiciously.

However, Thales didn't change his face:

"Everybody knows."

Cohen thought about it seriously, and then suddenly realized:

"Yes, everyone knows."

"As for my father, of course, he stopped him. He didn't want me to join the army, nor did he want me to go to the Western Wilderness. I mean," Cohen replied after thinking, but his tone gradually darkened:

"At least he tried to stop it."

Thales stared deeply at Cohen.

For the first time, he felt that he saw something different in this big man.

"But you went anyway."

The prince said silently.

Cohen exhaled slowly:

"I'm still going."

The living room was silent for a while, and it seemed that both parties needed time to digest these short words.

"Didn't he put pressure on you after that?"

Thales looked at the reflection in the teacup, and asked in a daze:

"Forcing you to go back and be a...qualified heir?"

Cohen was slightly shocked, as if recalling some bad memories.

But he still smiled:

"Of course there is."

"You can't imagine."

There are a few traces of imperceptible regret at the end of Cohen's words:

"The way he forced me to retire..."

He didn't say any more.

"But you are still here," Thales said lightly, "In the capital?"

"yes."

The security officer was also slightly distracted,

"At least in the capital, the old man doesn't dare to mess around," Cohen sighed, his words helpless:

"If I leave the capital, I suspect he will send a large army to tie me up...cough cough..."

Cohen shrugged and flashed his usual grin.

Cheerful as always.

Thales looked at him silently.

He is laughing.

the prince told himself.

Cohen.

At that moment, Thales suddenly felt:

It turns out that I am not alone.

There was another silence between the two.

There was a soft knock on the door from Mallos in the distance.

It's time for guests.

"Cohen."

Thales put down the teacup in his hand and slowly raised his head.

"Thank you……"

The prince released his gentlest but most sincere smile today:

"Nice to meet you. "

Cohen raised his eyebrows:

"Yeah, I'm also very..."

But the vigilante was interrupted.

Thales said to himself:

"...to see old faces."

"very nice."

Thales' expression was calm, but the meaning was deep.

After the words fell, Cohen's face changed.

He stared blankly at the prince, showing doubts.

"What's wrong?" Thales laughed.

Cohen narrowed his eyes, as if he wanted to take a closer look at the owner of Mindis Hall:

"You are different."

Thales laughed dumbfounded:

"Yeah, you think so too?"

Cohn nodded seriously.

"Yeah, you become, become..."

He tried his best to scan the Duke of Xinghu in front of him.

In the end, Cohen, who couldn't think of an adjective after thinking for a long time, could only choke out a sentence:

"Changed...bigger."

Thales chuckled.

Seeing the smile of the prince in front of him, Cohen frowned.

He turned his head, thinking of the child who was caught under his arm in the tunnel back then.

Well, it was cuter when I was a child.

Thales' heart moved and he remembered something.

"By the way, do you remember Rolf?"

Cohen was confused and said blankly:

"Ro what?"

"My subordinate, the masked one..."

"You mean..." Cohen pondered first, then suddenly said:

"...dumb!"

Seeing Cohen's happy expression, Thales sighed:

This might be a bad idea.

but……

"Cohen."

Tels paused for a moment, then raised his head.

This time, the prince's expression was extremely serious.

"I... want to ask you a little favor."

"In private."