Kingdom’s Bloodline

Thales sat on the seat, but his body didn't feel like his own.

He realized that at this moment in the imperial meeting room, he was the only one facing the king.

You can't turn a deaf ear, and you can't duck your head to hide.

"This morning, when the northern military situation arrived, it was related to Longxiao City..."

King Kessel's voice sounded in the small room, without the echo and sense of emptiness in the chamber.

But it makes people feel more depressed.

"Gilbert insisted that his students sit in, saying it was the Prince's 'practical lesson'."

"However, even in Yuqian, when he was arguing about your farce last night, he was never in such a hurry."

Thales thought of Gilbert, and felt grateful and disappointed at the same time.

"Today, Bob Cullen specifically mentioned that the pirates from the north are becoming more and more rampant, saying that he wants to reorganize the Huigang Navy and protect the trade interests of the seven ports in the East China Sea."

Kessel was sitting on the main seat, and the darkness in his figure could not be illuminated even if the lights were not turned off.

"The people under Gusd rushed to the Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry early in the morning, and checked the export of grain and goods from the local area to the Yadi Territory on the grounds that they were preparing to purchase seeds for spring plowing—mostly grains that are also grown in the Northland. "

Thales took a deep breath.

Prime Minister Cullen and the Cyclops of Yadi.

"As for Exeter..."

The king snorted coldly, and his disdain was revealed in his words:

"The emissary mission from Elk City has been in Yongxing City for a long time, but they have been very calm. It was not until after the banquet last night that they released the letter crows to communicate with the country."

"The Northlanders who rebuilt the tower have clean hands and feet, and they can't catch the handle. It's a pity that the Doyle family was unlucky and exposed the private sale of grain."

Jorge in Elk City, and Levi in ​​Reconstruction Tower.

Thales stared at the map on the table.

"You ran back and forth for that girl, thinking you were doing it covertly."

The Iron Fist King's voice suddenly tightened,

Like a scattered magic gun, it focused on Thales:

"In fact, every move, there is nothing to hide."

Thales suddenly felt dry mouth.

Obviously, the tea in Ballard's room was not prepared for the Duke of Star Lake.

"And I thought that you could calm down in front of the foreign ministers and put away your estrous tail feathers when you arrived at the imperial meeting."

"Obviously..."

"I underestimated your determination, Duke of Star Lake, or Polaris."

King Kessel paused, then repeated the word coldly but ironically:

"for love?"

The king's voice fell.

Thales raised his head.

"but……"

The teenager retorted subconsciously:

"That's not love."

no……

The king's eyes pierced from the gloom, piercing the sunlight irresistibly.

It descended on Thales.

"Not love?"

His father responded with scorn:

"That's worse than love."

"Is it the desire for youthful beauty? Or the interest in conquering noble women?"

The voice of Kessel V resounded like thunder:

"Or, are you just an arrogant boar who can only find self-esteem with a penis dangling around?"

Thales closed his eyes.

In the past six years, the library, the Hall of Heroes, the shield area, the dining room, the study... countless memory scenes hit at that moment, but none of them helped the situation at hand.

But we are not.

selma.

no.

The boy clenched his fists.

He breathed hard, fighting off the discomfort he hadn't felt in the past six years.

Why.

Why is he so miserable, stuffy, out of control, and irritable?

"No."

Thales raised his head and protested with difficulty.

"Selma and I, we have a good relationship, that's right."

He withstood the iron-fisted king's cold gaze, just like he withstood the icy wind and snow, and he also withstood the shyness in his heart.

You cannot escape.

find a way out.

face him.

It's like facing the opponents of the past: King Nun, King Charman...

"But outside of my personal friendship, to her..."

face him

face it.

Confront...them.

Thales took a deep breath, and finally said that sentence:

"I have a duty to her."

At that moment, Thales felt the air around him circulate, just like his words and thoughts.

A rhetorical question came from the dark room, not much better than before:

"responsibility?"

Thales found himself nodding slightly.

"That's right."

"Six years ago, I personally—no, it should be said that you and the kingdom devoted all their efforts to sending that girl to the throne of the Palace of Heroes."

King Kessel did not speak.

The young man met the king's gaze, slowly regained his thoughts, and firmed his tone:

"The whole star is up and down..."

"We are all responsible."

The prince seems to have returned to the state when he faced the princes in Exeter, and his words gradually became fluent:

"And I don't think that responsibility is a pointless moral burden."

Thales suddenly discovered that the Ballard Room actually has many windows.

But it is cold air, not light, that enters the room through them.

"Because of what happened six years ago, that girl was naturally close to us and the stars."

The Duke of Xinghu sorted out his logic and methodically:

"In Exeter, in Dragon Clouds City, in a group whose interests and concepts are completely incompatible with ours, this is especially valuable."

The king remained motionless.

Only the eyes remain the same.

"So I believe that Selma can be trusted and expected."

"My attention and help to her, even from the kingdom's point of view, is by no means meaningless."

Thales tried his best to regard himself as a counselor in front of the imperial court, and his words were confident and firm, just like Suduo and Qiu Ke just now:

"As I said, she is enough to be an ally of the stars."

He stared closely at his father.

King Kessel chuckled lightly.

"Allies of the stars?"

He spoke hoarsely, like a beast opening its eyes from hibernation:

"Or your weakness?"

weakness.

For some reason, Thales suddenly remembered the Black Prophet whom he hadn't seen for a long time.

Remembering their first meeting.

Thales swallowed his throat.

"I understand your concern."

He took out his full armor, woke up 120% of his energy, and regarded the people in front of him as enemies like Nun and Charmain:

"A Kangmasi person told me: You can't just look at numbers and profits when doing business. Sometimes, you have to do word of mouth and contacts."

The king snorted:

"Business?"

But Thales just continued blindly:

"Even in the most ordinary of wars, our allies are attacked, our friends are attacked, and our comrades are threatened."

"And that doesn't mean they're our weakness."

Thales tightened his duck voice, which had not yet passed the period of voice change, so that he could sound more mature and rational:

"on the contrary."

"To make a profit, you have to take a relative risk."

"So last night, for our benefit, I couldn't stand by."

He must be firm, must be sure.

"Because I believe that girl will bring us greater value and benefits."

Thales looked at those extremely dazzling eyes in the dark, and tried to raise his own shield.

King Kessel was silent for a long time.

It's been so long that Thales is even stiff in his sitting posture.

finally.

"us."

Iron Fist King sneered and said:

"You use 'we' to coerce your reasoning."

"You tell me this is what 'we' should do."

The next moment, the king held down the arm of the chair.

Kessel came out of the gloom into the light, revealing his figure, his face, his eyes like a statue.

And the nine-pointed star logo on the clothing.

It is even more obvious than the logo on the neckline of Thiers.

"But what about yourself?"

For some reason, the king's action made Thales chill.

Like a ferocious beast showing its claws from the fog.

"Your own feelings, your own thoughts, your own considerations, your own preferences..."

Just listen to the king say coldly:

"Where are you yourself?"

Where am I?

Thales frowned.

He didn't think about anything else, and responded with the opportunity:

"I am among 'us'."

"If you can take into account sincerity in addition to the interests and positions of the kingdom, and live up to my personal friendship with her, then everyone will be happy..."

But the king's response followed:

"No."

Kessel's voice is steady, but it has an unshakable majesty:

"You are masquerading as 'us'."

Thales frowned.

"Because you think that I am a cruel king who was born for the stars, rational and calm, and only has eyes for the kingdom."

The Iron Fist King's words were incomparably indifferent:

"Scorn emotions and impulses, only care about gains and losses."

"So you racked your brains, exhausted your tongue, just to pretend to be like me and face me."

Thales was taken aback for a second.

"To prove that what you have done is in line with the principle of interest and in line with political considerations," the king's words were calm:

"To convince me of your argument."

"So let go of your wanton behavior, let go of your girlfriend."

Thales was about to refute, but the next sentence of the Iron Fist King completely froze him:

"It's like your usual trick: understand the opponent's tactics, the opponent's logic, and then defeat them on their battlefield."

Kessel snorted coldly, and rubbed his fingers lightly:

"Deal with King Nun with subtle calculations."

"A desperate fight against Charmain Rumba."

"Treat Williams with domineering..."

"Or like last night."

"Take advantage of the weakness of human nature to play games with the kid from the Kevin Dill family."

Thales stared blankly at the other party.

he knows.

The king's words echoed in Thales' mind.

The usual trick...

Pretend to be like him and face him...

The young man suddenly had the illusion that he was stripped naked from top to bottom at this moment, and that he was standing naked in front of the king.

There is nothing to hide, nothing to do, nothing to escape.

"But some things can't be faked."

King Kessel V raised his eyes.

"Just like last night."

last night.

Thales' pupils moved.

The Iron Fist King stared at him from afar.

That feeling came again.

Neither King Nun nor King Charman gave him that kind of depression.

That kind of powerlessness like a jackhammer pressing down on the top of the head, but opening his mouth to speak but feeling like a stick in his throat.

"Why?"

The king spoke softly, but it was hard to resist:

"Last night, why did you risk yourself?"

"End yourself, and enjoy it?"

There seemed to be a double image in front of Thales' eyes.

That was the face of Anker and Doyle.

The boy took a deep breath, concentrated his attention, and tried his best to explain:

"Last night's banquet, the situation was tricky, a dilemma, no choice was appropriate."

"So I went off in person, to take the third way, to show them a completely different Thales Canxing, so that we..."

But right now.

"lie."

Thales paused.

"You end up in person, not because of 'us'."

King Kessel watched him from a distance, as if watching a game of chess:

"And just because of you."

"You want to save the pieces and the game at the same time."

Thales felt a chill in his heart.

"Because this is you."

"No matter what, you always want to find a way that makes everyone happy, a perfect choice that meets the highest expectations in your heart."

"It's best to be calm and harmless."

"Stay away from the ugliness and sacrifice you least want to face."

Thales felt more and more breathless.

"I--"

He wanted to speak to relieve the pressure, but...

It's no use, Thales.

The boy opened and closed his lips in vain, thinking bitterly:

useless.

he knows.

Thales bowed his head in a daze.

And like he said, you can't hide.

no excuse.

"But what I don't understand is..."

The King's words continued:

"Didn't damn fate give you a damn response every time?"

Thales was taken aback.

At that moment, King Kessel's eyes seemed to open his chest:

"You killed all parties at the state conference, but you received more malice and suspicion from more people."

"You tried your best to turn the tide in Longxiao City, but you picked up an enemy who was even more terrifying than your predecessor."

"You speak out for the Grand Duchess in the Palace of Heroes, but you put yourself in danger of public anger and have to turn to worse allies."

"You have an ambiguous attitude in the Blade Yat camp, and you seem to have a new weather, but at the banquet last night, you were hit by the endless conflict between the two sides, and you were in a mess."

Listening to the past events that he personally experienced, Thales felt his body becoming more and more numb.

is that so?

As for his choice...

Fate, every time gave a response?

"Just like last night, you wisely and wisely saved the chess pieces and the chess game, and won your position and reputation..."

The king spoke sarcastically:

"But leave the shit on the ass to the whole kingdom to wipe."

Thales paused.

More excuses came from the bottom of my heart, but the words reached my lips, but I couldn't get them out.

"The third way? Ha, it's like you are used to the casualness of a beggar on the street, but you want to dream of the honor of the blood of the kingdom."

Hearing these words, Thales couldn't help being shocked.

"You walk on the top of the cliff, but dream about the view of the sky."

"I also think that as long as you are not afraid of death, you can keep your feet on the ground."

Kessel's questioning was like a sharp knife, and it was carved into his heart.

The king's sharp eyes left Thales and looked into the void.

"Just like you and that girl from Dragon Clouds City."

Thales, on the other hand, let the voice of the High King enter his ears, powerless:

"You tell yourself that a strong ally is good for you because of your values ​​and your position."

"But you also tell yourself that, out of affection and desire, a beloved lover makes you willing to give."

The next moment, King Kessel's words took a turn for the worse:

"However, if you confuse these two points and drift between the two, you still think you can do a job with ease and take care of both left and right."

"Then you are wrong."

The king's eyes were cold, and he paused every word:

"Until you understand that every time, every self-righteous perfect choice, there is a greater price."

The boy swallowed again.

"I think she—Lady Blazing Blood has already proved her worth and position in that battle."

Professor Thales adjusted his voice so that he would not sound so dazed.

But for some reason, his sentences stumbled:

"She's strong...she can be strong."

"She can bring us benefits..."

The king snorted coldly.

"You know," he looked directly at Thales, and said coldly:

"I'm not talking about her."

Thales' body shook slightly.

Iron Fist King said sarcastically:

"Polaris."

north star.

It's Polaris again.

Thales never hated this title as much as he does now.

As much as he hated the moment.

"What about you?"

After several struggles, Thales' words finally sounded faintly.

"His Majesty."

The young man's voice was not loud and the tone was not steep, but it seemed to be a powerless question after going through hardships:

"Dear Ms. Jiny, is she your ally or lover?"

In the darkness, King Kessel's eyes moved suddenly.

The surrounding air is no longer frozen.

But there was more tension on the eve of the avalanche.

"And you are really, as you said, a person who despises feelings and impulses, and only cares about gains and losses..."

Just like the gasps of a drowning person emerging from the water, the boy's words fluctuated:

"A rational and calm cruel king who only has eyes for the kingdom..."

"Can you make everything clear and clear without confusion?"

Kessel's eyes sharpened.

But Thales couldn't tell whether it was anger or sadness surging there.

But he suddenly realized that this was the first time he had refuted his father today.

Or... for the first time in your life?

The stone statue named King Kessel moved on the seat, his chin slightly raised, with a hint of sullenness:

"you……"

But Thales interrupted him.

"I am a shining star."

He struggled to inhale, it seemed that only in this way could he avoid suffocation, and he had to hold his palms hard to keep his voice from deforming:

"As the Star Prince, as the blood of the kingdom."

"If I can't even be responsible for one, one girl who suffers because of me."

Thales found that he couldn't control the pause in his speech, but he still tried his best to finish:

"Then at a critical moment, why should I stand up and be responsible for my kingdom and compatriots?"

King Kessel's eyes changed, and there was a different kind of light inside.

Thales stared at the king:

"Yes, it has nothing to do with her."

"Only about myself."

Several seconds passed.

The waves in the king's eyes finally subsided.

He looked back at Thales with affirmative tone:

"You care about her."

Thales trembled.

At that moment, the boy dared not raise his head to look at his father.

But he has to face it.

Just like Kessel's questioning of his past behavior just now.

He must answer.

"I care about her."

The boy didn't know what his expression was like now.

He knew how hard it was for his words to break through many obstacles and barriers before they could barely come out of his throat.

Just like his thoughts at the moment.

"She is my true friend and my friend in need."

"My savior, my classmate and schoolmate."

Thales bowed his head sadly, and his voice became quieter.

"Of course I care about her, I care about her, maybe I kind of... like her."

Little cunning.

King Kessel didn't respond, not even a sarcasm or a snort of disdain.

He just looked at his son silently.

Thales took a deep breath.

He forced firmness out of his eyes and drove away the pain:

"So that's even less love."

It doesn't have to be love.

It cannot be love.

The moment Thales uttered these words, his heart trembled, as if he had stepped on the ground.

Weightlessness, loss of balance.

at a loss.

Thales looked at King Kessel, struggling to catch his breath in a trance, deliberately forgetting about other things.

Until the king gave a faint reply:

"Yeah?"

No waves, no waves, no praise and no criticism.

Thales closed his eyes, then opened them again and again.

"I'm realistic."

After getting through the previous discomfort, Thales was finally able to adjust his sitting posture without hindrance, and raised his head proudly with inexplicable emotions.

"I am your son, Canxing's bloodline, the heir to the kingdom."

King Kessel's face moved slightly in the sunlight.

"I have long understood: my destiny is doomed to be full of ups and downs, full of disasters and ominous."

Thales looked sideways slightly, slightly sad.

"But just like you, I made a choice."

The next moment, he looked at the king again, as if looking at another self, and said the subject of the next sentence in ancient imperial language:

"I was born for the stars."

The king looked back at him silently.

The Ballard room was as silent as ever, but the air was no longer clogged.

Thales let out a breath, like a prisoner who had broken through the shackles, breathing luxuriously in the sun.

The teenager gritted his teeth:

"So I won't, and I can't have any unreasonable thoughts about her, the love of children, and the heart of transgressing the rules."

Will the same disaster...

Bring it to her again.

"Because I care about her, about Thelma, about my friends."

King Kessel remained silent.

Mixed with pain and discomfort, Thales said what had been buried in his heart for a long time, reconfirming what he had already figured out:

"So that's never love."

That cannot be love.

Absolutely not.

At that moment, he was like a bird that had escaped from the shackles, and he was finally able to soar high and soar into the sky with confidence and boldness.

Until the broken wings hit the ground.

"You ask me where I am," the young Duke said in a low voice, he suddenly liked the dimness of this stone room:

"I'm right here, in the Fuxing Palace."

"Like you."

"Father."

Thales' mood sank.

"And you needn't worry about . . . her and me."

After the words fell, Thales realized that he was sweating profusely and short of breath unconsciously.

Far from the demeanor that the Duke of Xinghu should have.

The silence in the room lasted for a while.

It seems to allow enough time for this confession.

until its meaning is fully understood.

"she's fine?"

King Kessel spoke suddenly, which surprised Thales.

But the boy fell into depression immediately.

"I have no idea."

He closed his eyes and opened them again, trying to eliminate all expressions:

"I also... don't want to know."

There was complete silence in Ballard's room.

It seems like a long time.

Finally, the king's figure actively retreated in the light.

He sank back into the shadow of the seat.

Faces are no longer to be seen.

Only the voice of the king can be heard from afar.

"Sometimes I'm really weird."

King Kessel's words were as sharp and mean as before, but they no longer had that stinging feeling.

"Why is your sanity equal to your stupidity?"

"Why are they in the same brain."

The king snorted coldly:

"It's still safe and sound."

Thales didn't speak.

He sat at the long table lost in thought.

Just now, the boy understood a little bit.

In his lifetime, he faced three kings.

King Nun's vertical and horizontal methods combine strength and softness, grace and majesty, as unfathomable as the sea and difficult to measure.

King Charman persecuted him and threatened him with tangible benefits, like a knife on his neck and a thorn on his back.

But in front of Kessel V.

Iron King.

He is completely different from the former two.

As the supreme king of the stars, he does not speak loudly or speak boldly.

But Kessel has a more weird and terrifying ability.

Relying on this ability, he only needs a few words to surpass favor and interest, hit the heart directly, and grasp the most damning vital point.

Forcing Thales to face his true self.

Insipid.

But it hurts.

The king reached out and turned a crank on the table.

The door to Ballard's room opened.

Several unfamiliar members of the royal guard appeared at the door, and one of them passed them and entered the room.

It was the man with the scar from the secret department.

But Thales didn't seem to hear it, and just sank into his seat expressionlessly.

"Take him out," King Kessel's voice sounded relentlessly:

"Let him see the mess he left behind."

Thales looked up in a daze:

"What?"

"Don't dawdle," the king lowered his head again, and opened the next document:

"There are far more important things in the Ballard room."

"Remember what you said today."

Thales couldn't remember much about what happened next.

He didn't even quite remember how he walked out of the Ballard room in a daze.

I don't quite remember how the scarred man stiffened his face and put his hands behind his back, and bluntly apologized that the king's order was hard to break, but Lord Mallos couldn't leave for the time being, so please His Highness come with him.

Until Thales followed him distractedly, exited the palace through a side door, and got into a carriage.

"Where are we going?"

Feeling the shaking of the carriage, Thales, who had finally adjusted his emotions, came back to his senses.

"Kingdom Secret Science, Your Highness—— His Majesty's order."

Opposite him, the man with the scar with a fierce face answered while scratching his face.

Mystery.

Thales frowned.

But he found something even more wrong.

The man with the scar in front of him...

Has his voice changed?

Noticing the look in the prince's eyes, the man with the scar in front of him smiled slightly, and stretched out his hand to tear his face open.

Thales' eyes widened.

"Long time no see, Your Highness."

The person in front of him threw away the camouflage mask with the scar, lowered his head and fiddled with his eyes, with a relaxed and humorous voice:

"How have you been?"

Thales was stunned.

It turned out to be him.

"You look unhappy, why..."

His old acquaintance, the skeleton man Raphael Lindbergh, opened a pair of dark red eyes in the carriage and looked straight at Thales:

"Just got dumped by your girlfriend?"

Thales' face froze.

"Raphael."

The prince, who was already in a bad mood, leaned back.

"One more word of nonsense..."

The Duke of Xinghu stared straight at the roof of the carriage, expressionlessly said:

"I will go and marry the honorable Miss Miranda."

Raphael's face collapsed.

Then the carriage was completely silent.

All the way without words.

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