Kingdom’s Bloodline

Thales stood awkwardly by the desk on the third floor, and picked up a towel soaked in hot water from the tub.

He was still wearing sweat-stained and smelly training clothes, his skin was sticky and greasy, the scrapes and bruises were still faintly hot, and the aches and pains in his body were still making him uncomfortable.

It seems to be back to the age of beggars.

But Thales didn't speak.

He just quietly wiped his face and neck, with a little expectation and nervousness, looking at the sassy figure by the window looking into the distance from time to time.

Ji Ni silently watched the setting sun approaching on the horizon, and watched the servants in the courtyard busy lighting up the lights. The expression on her side face was calm and profound, thoughtful and reminiscent.

"You shouldn't have let them do that."

Jini's voice was cold and powerful, with a few hints of determination that had gone through all the weather.

Thales' arm, which was twisting the towel, froze suddenly.

"Just now, you shouldn't have let the guards be so presumptuous."

The court lady turned around slowly, as tall and tough as six years ago, like cedar in winter.

"Boy."

Her eyes were as sharp as ever, and her tone was as severe as before, reminding Thales of the first meeting six years ago.

At that time, she folded her arms like this, and looked at him quietly with an incomprehensible expression.

And six years later, Thales subconsciously wanted to tilt his head to avoid the scrutiny from the enlightenment instructor.

"Maybe."

He spoke in a low voice, with a little helplessness and slight fluctuations.

Thales picked up the towel in time, covered his sight, and pressed his dirty face and uncontrollable expression into the warm and soft fabric at the same time.

Ginny didn't speak.

He put down the towel, tried to meet Ji Ni's eyes calmly, and tried to release his most natural and warm smile:

"Ma'am, nice to...see you again."

After six years.

Ji Ni didn't answer right away, she still watched Thales silently, but there was a little inexplicable meaning in her originally cold and stern eyes.

"very good."

A few seconds later, as soon as the court lady looked away, she took a deep breath, as if to stop something.

"Well, your etiquette lesson begins now."

Jinie's tone returned to calm and strict, and she paced away from the window.

Thales came back to his senses, with the habitual nervousness in front of the enlightenment instructor, he resisted the fatigue of his body, and quickly threw down the towel.

"No need," Ginny stopped him from taking the tub away:

"Today, we won't be practicing table manners."

table manners.

Memories of the past hit Thales's heart, and he forcibly suppressed it.

The female officer sat down on the guest chair, ignoring the tea at hand, and glanced at Thales, who was a little embarrassed after the training, with a soft look:

"The first class will not be very long."

"And you obviously need rest now."

Thales was stunned for a few seconds, then nodded gratefully:

"Thank you, ma'am."

But Ji Ni's expression immediately became serious:

"Don't be so busy rejoicing, we will make up for the lost time in the next class."

At that moment, Thales seemed to have returned to six years ago, seeing the strict and ruthless female officer Jini who was strict and ruthless on the training ground and at the dining table, telling him to raise his shield and hold the knife and fork with a cold face.

The familiar feeling came to my mind again, and I couldn't suppress it.

That scene seemed like it happened yesterday.

It's like he never left the country to go north and never returned for many years.

It's like the past of more than six years was just a dream last night, and nothing happened.

And when he woke up this morning, he was still sitting upright under Ji Ni's hands, listening attentively.

Thales resisted the throbbing in his eyes and chest, nodded, recalled the etiquette that only belonged to the Star Kingdom, and sat down solemnly.

Ji Ni kept staring at him until Thales adjusted his state back.

"Thousands of years ago in the imperial era, the supreme emperor sent his personal guards to the princes to serve as knights and serve as lords."

Ji Ni went straight to the topic as always, but her eyes were still looking up and down Thales.

"After the War of the End, although the old tradition of chivalry was almost extinct, this practice was inherited by the star kings of the past generations: the royal guards were stationed beside the adult princes-becoming their bodyguards, attendants, subordinates , help, and even future vassals."

Thales didn't expect that Jine would talk about history as soon as she opened her mouth, but the boy immediately came to his senses:

She was dissatisfied with her performance just now.

"And how to manage and use these subordinates with extraordinary significance and complicated backgrounds to get along well with the royal guard and get along with each other."

"This is a compulsory course for every prince throughout the ages."

Subordinates with extraordinary significance and complicated backgrounds...

Thales clenched his fist lightly.

He thought of Mallos' indifference, Doyle's frivolity, and Glover's coldness in Mindy's Hall.

But in the next second, he thought of the prison of bones, Saker's silence, little Barney's persistence, and Semir's extreme.

"Without a doubt," Ji Ni's words became more solemn:

"It's also part of royal protocol."

Thales listened silently.

The court lady's eyes were like knives, and she cut straight into Thales' heart:

"Remember, you are the Duke of Xinghu, the owner of Mindis Hall."

"It's their master."

Duke of Star Lake.

Mindis Hall's...

Their……

Owner.

The young man's eyes slightly fluttered.

"You are no longer an illegitimate child who needs to hide and hide from others, but the official second prince, the heir to the kingdom."

Ginny's words were harsh.

illegitimate child.

second prince.

heir to the kingdom.

"Is it?"

Thales opened his mouth as if unintentionally, choking Jini's words.

"That's right."

A few seconds later, Jine's voice became much stronger, and she sounded a little dissatisfied with his reaction:

"As a duke, you take the initiative and show them your majesty, toughness and sternness."

"Let your subordinates know the consequences of despising the prince."

Take the initiative...

Show your majesty...

"Majestic, tough and stern?"

Thales murmured and repeated, forcing a smile.

The Duke exhaled slowly, but what he saw in front of him was the dark and deep Fuxing Palace.

And in the meeting hall, at the end of the deep corridor, the tall throne.

His shoulders sag.

"Maybe."

Thales tried to raise the corners of his mouth, showing a slight silence.

"but……"

But that's really not my style.

no.

He didn't go on, but finished the sentence in his heart.

Ginny frowned.

It seems that he didn't expect the student who hadn't seen him for many years to react like this.

The silence in the study lasted for a few seconds.

"The letter sent back from the north said that you have been tempered and have an extraordinary heart. You have no fear in the face of fierce and tough enemies, and you are neither humble nor overbearing."

"Like you were at a state meeting."

Ji Ni said coldly:

"How come here, facing your subordinate guards, you have become weak instead?"

Thales was silent for a while.

"Because that's different."

The young man seemed to feel something, and sighed softly:

"In the country it is a conference, in the north, all I have to face is my opponent."

"And all I need to do is to raise the shield according to the teaching."

Raise your shield.

As if remembering something, Ji Ni was slightly absent-minded.

"But here..."

Thales pursed his lips, lost in thought, his face a little dignified.

"It's not just my guards that I need to face."

Thales stared into the distance in a daze.

Jinie didn't speak, she just frowned and looked at Thales.

After a few seconds, she said slowly:

"Your guards, Mallos and the others..."

But Thales interrupted her.

"Ma'am, please."

Thales closed his eyes and sighed.

"This way, Gilbert only picks good things, Yodel always keeps silent, and the others..."

Jinny was taken aback for a moment.

Thales raised his head and showed an unnatural smile:

"But you, ma'am, you are the one who enlightened me on swordsmanship and etiquette, and even his..."

Thales didn't finish speaking, but Ginny vaguely felt something.

The Duke of Xinghu lowered his head:

"I thought you should be more honest than them."

Ji Ni repeated in a daze:

"Honestly?"

Thales nodded and looked at Jinny:

"He doesn't like me."

Ginny froze.

Thales stated the facts flatly, as if this was the most ordinary truth:

"From the first sight, he didn't like me."

"It's no secret."

The Duke chuckled without emotion.

"Even my guards know it."

"That's why."

At this moment, Thales' eyes were calm and unwavering, and he looked straight at the slightly surprised Jini.

The latter wanted to say something, but in the end he couldn't.

There was a long silence in the study.

The court lady had a deep expression, her eyes flickered with an unknown light, and she scanned Thales back and forth.

Finally, Jine took a deep breath and said slowly:

"The raging sea."

Thales didn't react, and was puzzled for a while.

I saw Ji Ni stabilized the expression that had changed several times, lowered her eyes, and said in a deep voice:

"Mallos said, your awakened power of end, what's going on?"

oh.

The sea is raging.

Still immersed in the inexplicable emotions just now, Thales exhaled and adjusted himself back.

"I don't know," the Duke reluctantly shook his head and said honestly:

"It's the first time I've heard it too."

But Ginny laughed.

"The ending power of most knights in the kingdom is similar to their personal experience, especially the teacher who taught them."

The court lady said lightly:

"There is also a small group of people who are completely opposite: masters and apprentices, opposites and restraints."

Thales's heart moved, and he thought that this has something in common with what Ricky said.

"Is it."

so.

Raging sea...

"So, Northlanders, they have taught you a lot?"

Ji Ni looked at him, intentionally or unintentionally said.

Northerners.

Thinking of his life in Exeter, Thales unconsciously raised the corners of his mouth:

"That's right."

But when Thales raised his head again, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

It's Ginny.

At some point, Jine's stern eyes softened.

She looked at Thales quietly, with inexplicable emotions in her eyes.

Thales was at a loss.

I saw his first teacher's lips trembling, and he hesitated to speak several times.

"Boy."

Finally, Jinny spoke up.

This time, her voice was no longer cold and tough, but soft and hoarse:

"You're in the north...you've lost weight."

Thales was taken aback for a moment.

Ginny stared at him, showing a smile that Thales rarely saw.

"right."

Her smile was quiet and elegant, but with a hint of indescribable sadness.

This made Thales think for a while.

During the days of returning to China, Jodl, Cohen, Gilbert, and many old acquaintances expressed their excitement and emotion after seeing him.

You have grown taller.

grown up.

matured.

Becoming... more like someone.

but……

you lost weight.

This is the first time Thales has heard such an evaluation.

The boy stared blankly at Jini.

And Ji Ni just looked back at him quietly, releasing a sad smile in the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.

At that moment, it was as if some kind of force had filled his chest.

Thales had no choice but to turn his head, blinking his eyes desperately at an angle that Ji Ni couldn't see, and at the same time squeezed out a smile, talking to divert attention:

"Well, um, ah, the past few months have been a bit rough..."

But Jine didn't listen to what he said, nor did she pay attention to Thales' slightly out-of-pitch voice.

For the first time in history, the court lady raised the teacup by her side with an elegant and dignified posture.

"you know."

Jinny's voice was still soft and sad:

"A long time ago, your grandfather didn't like him very much either."

Thales' figure froze.

grandfather?

He mechanically turned his head and looked at Jini.

At this moment, the court lady was sitting safely on the chair, stroking the teacup in her hand, but there was a trace of sadness that Thales had never seen before on the corners of her brows and lips.

"It is said that after the first queen passed away and the eldest son of the king left the palace, for a long time, he was not welcome in the entire Fuxing Palace."

Ji Ni stared at the reflection in the teacup in her hand obsessively:

"The servants were so 'careless' that they forgot his food and oil, and the royal guards often ignored his whereabouts and safety."

Thales was stunned.

He suddenly remembered the scene many years ago:

In the tomb, the figure holding the scepter whispered to him.

"He said that in those years, when he was a teenager, he sneaked around in the palace and lived like a mouse."

Jinny said softly:

"Self-reliance."

Thales was shocked.

Sneaking around...

self reliance...

Live like a... a mouse...

The boy subconsciously grasped the arm of the chair.

Like clinging to a hole in a wall in an abandoned house.

Jinny raised her head:

"But that doesn't affect him, with a smirk, alive and kicking, growing up amidst the discrimination, neglect, contempt and abuse of the whole kingdom."

"until now."

Jinie looked at Thales quietly.

Thales stared blankly at the floor.

After a few seconds, Thales came back to his senses and took a deep breath.

"Thank you, ma'am."

The teenager smiled again:

"I see."

Ginny pursed her lips, trying to pull out a smile that she was not good at, but after a while, she realized what was going on. She put down her teacup and raised her face unnaturally.

"So boy, I mean, you're too skinny to see people beat you up..."

Jinie realized that her words were trembling, so she took a few deep breaths, and also paused at an angle that Thales couldn't see.

"Remember to eat more."

Ginny hesitated for a while, and added:

"Also, go to bed earlier."

But this time, Thales was not brought into the same atmosphere by her serious tone, the Duke smiled:

"Of course, ma'am."

"certainly."

A few seconds later, Ji Ni turned her head again, her expression and tone slowly changed back to cold and stern, sounding like she didn't care:

"Speaking of which, boy, how well do you know your guard?"

Thales raised his eyes and adjusted his mood.

"not much?"

Ginny pursed her lips and was silent for a while.

"listen."

"After the Bloody Year, in order to eradicate the threat, your father made the liquidation too harsh and involved too much."

Thales' expression changed.

In the dungeon, the resentful expression of Marina of the Disaster Sword flashed before his eyes.

Ji Ni said seriously:

"So, inside and outside Eternal Star City, what disappears with the threat is trust."

Thales frowned.

"And don't forget, for twelve years, your father had no heir."

"This not only weakened his prestige, aroused the ambitions of the dukes, but also damaged the traditional supporters of the royal family - the central leader, the vassals directly under the Canxing family headed by the Canxing Seven Attendants - in the king's confidence .”

Thales subconsciously added:

"And loyalty?"

Ginny glanced at him, noncommittal.

"During those twelve years, your father had to promote and reuse many newcomers—for example, the three handsome men, the Gilbert you are familiar with, Earl Godwin, Viscount Coney, Baron Garth, and Joke Man, Sodor Reid...they have become the main force of the Royalist Party and consolidated his rule."

"But relatively, under his rule, under the dissatisfaction of other guardian dukes, the traditional royal vassals like Canxing Qishi have fallen into a trough and silence, and they have drifted away from the Fuxing Palace virtually."

The seven servants of the bright star...

Thales thought of Gilbert's explanation and pondered.

Jinie said solemnly:

"until……"

Thales raised his head, frowned and said:

"I?"

Jinie was silent for a while, then nodded:

"Thanks to you, thanks to the renewing of the Canxing royal family's genealogy, in the past six years, the Canxing Seven Attendants, who have been estranged from virtue and kept silent, have shown their friendship to Nine Pointed Star one after another."

But Ji Ni immediately turned pale:

"But they're still watching."

"And you can't win their approval just by title and bloodline."

"Your father can't wipe away their resentment after the bloody year and win back their trust with just one heir."

Thales thought of Doyle and Glover.

"Is it."

Ginny sighed:

"Your Star Lake Guard is just one example."

Thales didn't speak.

Ji Ni watched him silently, and said softly:

"Soon, it will be the day when you will make your official debut in front of the nobles of the royal capital at the banquet."

I saw the lady's eyes became sharp:

"Careful, boy."

Jine's tone made Thales nervous:

"You're like me, below them."

"But also like your father, higher than them."

"And you came back from the north, outside of them."

The three consecutive sentences made Thales think deeply and at the same time aroused his vigilance:

"And that means, from the inside out, you come down to..."

Ji Ni firmly said:

"Not them."

Not them.

Thales opened his mouth to speak, but finally closed his mouth.

"It took me nearly thirty years to figure this out."

A rare vicissitudes appeared in Ji Ni's eyes:

"Wish you were shorter."

Thales exhaled.

"Banquet, all right."

"so?"

The teenager scratched his chin with a headache:

"Can they still eat me?"

Ginny closed her eyes and shook her head.

"No."

But when the female officer opened her eyes, there was a sharper edge inside:

"But they will tear you apart."

Hearing this metaphorical description, Thales froze for a moment.

"But... I am the king's son, the heir to the kingdom?"

"That's right."

Ginny looked alert and dignified:

"So they'll be suave, polite -- tearing you apart."

Thales nodded with a vague understanding.

"Then what should I do?"

Ginny was silent for a while.

"You know, boy, you knew it six years ago."

Thales' expression changed.

"Raise your shield."

I saw Ji Ni looking straight at him, just like when she taught him swordsmanship many years ago: "Never let go."

"Until you die."

"Until the enemy dies."

Thales fell silent again.

This time, he thought of something more.

"What about my father?"

The young man quietly said:

"Is he too?"

Ginny's arm trembled.

The way she looked at Thales changed.

It was as if he had turned back into the Ginny Barkwell who would ask him "you lost weight".

A few seconds later, Jini sighed softly.

"Boy, do you know where this is?"

Thales knew that the question was a bit sharp, so he smiled helplessly:

"Uh, the study?"

Ginny looked at him again.

Thales had no choice but to put away his humorous smile, and said embarrassingly:

"Mindis Hall."

"The treasure of the royal family, the palace of the virtuous monarch, and the great art estate."

And one of his all-too-familiar childhoods.

"Oh, and, three hundred years ago, its first owner was the 'King of the Mist', Mindis I, who unfortunately died young."

Thales wanted to make his tone sound humorous, but for some reason, he always failed.

Ginny looked at him quietly.

"Yes, but more than that."

more than?

Thales raised his eyebrows.

"Eighteen years ago."

Jinie's expression changed.

I saw the female officer's eyes were dim, as if viewing the scenery in the fog:

"This is the residence chosen by Crown Prince Xingchen, your uncle, His Royal Highness First Prince Midil Canxing when he became an adult."

Thales' face changed slightly.

"You mean that..."

"right."

Jinny looked at him:

"The one who is destined to sit on the throne."

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