Kingdom’s Bloodline

Chapter 120: The Broken Glass

"Blood of the Kingdom ()" Find the latest chapter!

"But Your Majesty is not your enemy!"

In the palace corridor, Gilbert turned pale with shock.

"He is your father! You cannot be an enemy of him! You cannot..."

Thales smiled and hummed:

"Can't you?"

Gilbert restrained his shock and tried his best to calm down:

"Listen, Your Highness, I have indeed been looking forward to you, trusting you, and loyal to you, but my original intention is absolutely not!"

"What else could it be?"

Thales sarcastically said:

"Are you asking me to be a prince to be a mascot in Mindis Hall?"

Gilbert frowned, becoming more and more anxious:

"No, Your Highness, you should be the future everyone is looking forward to, everyone! And you have always been doing this, everything should be natural, and it will happen naturally!"

But Thales just silently looked at the other's hand on his shoulder.

Isn't all of this now natural and a matter of course?

teacher?

"You are the heir to the throne, of course I understand that you feel suffocated and depressed, and are dissatisfied with the status quo, but at least you should wait until..."

"Wait until the day I'm successfully crowned?" Thales said indifferently.

Gilbert hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth and nodded:

"Of course, at that time, I will fully assist you, no matter how difficult it is, no matter how much sacrifice is required, I swear!"

"I, Suduo, Qiao Ke, Connie, Guy, and many people of insight in the kingdom, we will help you, but before that—"

"help me?"

Thales interrupted him coldly:

"'Help me' like you used to?"

Gilbert paused.

Thales raised his right hand and slowly but unquestionably pushed away Gilbert's palm:

"Six years ago, I asked you to search for my 'friends' in the lower city."

"I ask you to help find them, save them, help...me."

Gilbert was taken aback, and said sadly:

"Your Highness, I, I am responsible for this matter, and I cannot shirk my responsibility..."

"I just came back from the Kingdom's Secret Department." Thales said indifferently:

"You know, I found out that they are not what you said. They refused to help me because they hated me. In fact, the secret department is very interested in searching for my childhood playmate."

Gilbert's complexion changed slightly.

"Your Highness, the secret department has always had a bad relationship with you, the reason why they are so enthusiastic..."

But Thales interrupted him, and said to himself:

"And they also told me: In the past few years, Gilbert, you have used your contacts and face to find the chief garrison officer, mobilize the city hall and the police department, gather the police officers and tax officers, and attack the lower city and the West Ring. The district launched several large-scale clean-ups—just to find someone for me."

The boy looked into the teacher's eyes seriously:

"I appreciate it, Gilbert."

Gilbert was taken aback, not knowing how to reply.

"Until the Secret Division told me more."

Thales is expressionless:

"For several years, the city hall and the police department have made high-profile attacks like this, and ended up directly, intervening in the endless dog-eat-dog of the Black Street Brotherhood and the Blood Bottle Gang."

"They drive out the vagabonds, drive out the beggars, and make bad luck for the powerless. They clean up the vendors and close the shops, so that the poor honest people have nothing to live for. They hunt for petty thefts and blackmail Gangs, but let the real damn scum escape. They caught a few evil models, acting as political achievements to appease the people, but turned a blind eye to more and heavier oppression and exploitation. They acted rashly and vigorously, but they just happened to hide in the corner of the gutter The power of the whole is reduced to zero."

Thales stared at each other carefully:

"They are rough and cruel, proud and self-confident, like sweeping with a plow, caring about movement rather than cleanliness."

"And after they left, the already chaotic downtown area only got worse."

Hearing this, Gilbert hesitated again and again:

"My lord, I, I don't know,

I'm sorry if I had known about the Chief Vindicator and the others..."

But Thales didn't allow him to finish:

"the most important is."

"Their actions have almost irreparably destroyed all clues," the prince raised his voice:

"From the abandoned house to the Red Square Street, all the people, things, places, and things have changed beyond recognition. Now I want to follow the clues to find those beggars back then..."

"almost impossible."

Thales carefully looked at Gilbert's reaction:

"Like, like someone did it on purpose."

"Just to stop me—to find them."

At that moment, the foreign minister suddenly changed color!

"Is that so?" In the dark corridor of the palace, the young man said softly, "Gilbert? When you asked the security office?"

"Is what the secret department told me the truth?"

The foreign secretary did not answer.

In the air, there was only the sound of Gilbert's steady breathing.

The silence lasted for a long, long time.

Thales shook his head and continued to speak.

"Six years ago, when I asked you to find them, you told me no, because 'this is for secrecy'."

"I became a prince at the state council, and you still told me no, 'for their safety'."

"When I went to the Northland again, you wrote a letter saying that you are starting but the progress is slow, 'can't let interested people notice'."

"Until I returned to China, while you told me that I couldn't find it, you also advised me not to look for it, because—'You can't go back'."

Thales faced his teacher calmly, as if he was telling someone else's story.

no answer.

He was still answered by an embarrassing silence.

Thales raised his head and chuckled.

"The secret department said, six years later, you still haven't been able to find them."

"Because you don't want to find it at all."

Thales said softly:

"Or, is the secret department lying?"

But Gilbert just lowered his head deeply, without discerning his expression.

This time the silence lasted for a long time.

"Forget it, Gilbert, no matter whether the secret department lied or not, and how many lies he lied," the young man turned his head and said in a daze, "it doesn't matter anymore, it doesn't matter anymore."

At this moment, Gilbert suddenly spoke:

"The Secret Division didn't tell you anything, did it?"

"You are just trying to test my reaction, just like you are testing Duke Iris."

Thales sighed.

The cunning fox of the stars.

"right."

Thales looked lonely.

"The secret department was afraid of me and didn't tell me anything."

"What I know is what I deduce from my revisit and what I saw and heard in the lower city and the West Ring District."

Gilbert closed his eyes.

In the corridor, Thales and Gilbert didn't speak, they just looked away in tacit understanding.

After an unknown amount of time, Gilbert finally spoke.

"sorry."

His tone was exhausted, as was his content:

"But you can't find them."

With pain and relief, Thales let out a long sigh.

The two fell silent again.

"You know, I tried to convince myself, Gilbert."

Thales faced the darkness in the corridor, and his tone was normal, even gentle and friendly, like an old friend chatting.

"Really, I tried, and I tried to convince myself: Although Gilbert Cassel is known as a cunning fox, he is in a high position after all. Losing clues will not deliberately prevent me from looking for people, so I used the most simple and rude method in the world."

"And he is my teacher, one of the people I trust the most in this world, I should not and cannot doubt him."

"I said to myself, if you tell me you didn't do that, I'll believe it."

Taylor's eyes were blank:

"I tried, really, I tried."

Gilbert raised his head upon hearing this, and spoke with difficulty:

"Your Highness, I, I..."

"Why?"

Gilbert was silent for a while, and then said haggardly:

"During the Year of Blood, His Majesty was crowned hastily, surrounded by enemies, and the throne was unstable. The Fuxing Palace had no choice but to use strange methods to put an end to chaos."

"Morat Hansen is also a close friend of the late king for many years, with profound qualifications, and the secret department of the kingdom has just been trusted, so he can specialize in arbitrariness and run amok outside the law."

"This method was very effective at the beginning, simple and rude, neat and direct. But over time, it condoned His Majesty's aggressiveness and blurred the boundaries of the secret department's authority."

Thales frowned.

"They now have His Majesty's support, but once you are crowned?"

"It is conceivable that in order to maintain their power, the officials of the Secret Division will definitely find ways to seize the means that can restrict you at any cost, and your past and background are the most criticized weaknesses. Your old acquaintance It’s exactly what the Secret Science can’t wait for.”

"But you are the future of the Star Kingdom and the hope of reforming the government. I cannot let the Black Prophet or any person with malicious intentions restrain you even a little bit."

Gilbert looked at Thales with dark eyes:

"So you can't find them, no."

"Even if you find it before the secret department. Your...their clues should be buried forever, and no one will know."

The foreign minister's voice fell.

In the corridor, even the permanent lights dimmed a lot.

"So, Gilbert, you lied to me."

Thales said in a trance:

"From the beginning."

At that moment, Gilbert's face turned pale.

But Thales still gave him a consoling smile.

"It's okay, Gilbert, I understand," Thales said wearily:

"Just now, do you feel the weight and thickness of this net?"

"Your subconscious obedience to it, its silent control over you, including its influence on me and my vigilance against it, are far ahead of our sincerity."

With a bitter expression on his face, Gilbert swallowed.

Thales stared at the shadows in the corridor obsessively:

"Just like students face their teachers, employees face their bosses, wives face their husbands, and courtiers face their kings. If they stand on an unequal balance and stay in unclean waters from the very beginning, then the one who dominates their relationship, It’s never just each other.”

"When we are enmeshed in established power structures, Gilbert, when you have to do your best not to be thrown off by the scales of bias, when you are surrounded by shackles, when you The only choice left is 'adapt or perish'."

"Before you realize it, you completely lose the right to free choice."

"Unless you reject it, jump out of it, go beyond it."

"Beat it."

Gilbert's breathing became short of breath.

"No, Your Highness, I don't understand!"

Gilbert's voice was very low, murmuring almost subconsciously:

"It's all for, for, for—"

"For my own good?"

Thales took up the conversation gently.

The foreign secretary did not answer.

Thales exhaled with a smile.

"Gilbert, have you ever thought about why Huai Ya always refuses to mention you even though he is a father and son?"

Hearing his son's name, Gilbert trembled slightly.

"I didn't ask him the specific reason. But I think I know the deeper reason."

Thales gradually lost his mind, and his thoughts drifted to the Northland:

"Perhaps you know, Gilbert, that I have a friend in Exeter, or what I think I am."

"When she encountered difficulties, I worried, worried, and thought about her all day and all night."

Having said that, Thales chuckled:

"I'm such a fool. I always think that she relies on me and needs me. I always think that I am protecting her and helping her. I always think that I am..."

Taylor's smile gradually disappeared:

"For her own good."

"But I was wrong."

"Because that's not what she wanted."

Thinking of the familiar face, Thales closed his eyes deeply:

"And I never saw her as an equal friend, at most as a 'need me'."

Gilbert stared at him blankly and began to tremble.

"Gilbert, since we met, everything you have done is to turn me into a good king. For this reason, you even sacrificed yourself to help me protect me. I am very grateful, but... ..."

Thales opened his eyes, his eyes were clear:

"But I am not the wise monarch you are looking for, Gilbert."

"Just like my father wasn't either."

Gilbert shook violently.

"You can't make a mold for everyone in your heart, and then use all your means to influence and guide them-and you don't feel abnormal at all, and you even take pride in it, thinking that it is 'for their good'- — just to fit them perfectly into that mold."

"Because neither I nor Wyatt, or even my father, or even yourself, Gilbert, we are not born for mold."

Thales said gently:

"That's why, I can never be him."

"No matter how you teach me to be close to him in terms of dressing style, academic system and even behavior style, I will never become the next..."

"Prince Midil."

"It doesn't matter how good a mold he is."

Gilbert was shocked when he heard the words, and lost his voice:

"Your Highness, I..."

But Thales just smiled friendly, as always.

"You're a good teacher, Gilbert, really. You're so meticulous about your students, you give them everything you need, you answer every question, you're thoughtful and considerate—you're really good, so good that I can't even find the slightest flaw."

"But I didn't realize it until I met the old crow, and that Mr. Xixer who shook his head and babbled, always relying on three words 'what do you say' to get his salary in class."

Thales took a step forward, looking directly at Gilbert's red and wet eyes:

"Your biggest problem, Gilbert, is that you're too nice."

"It's so good that students can completely rely on you and need you, so good that you don't even leave any room for 'badness' to students."

Gilbert opened his mouth to speak, but his lips trembled, and he could only welcome two lines of hot tears.

"But it turns out that my friend, she can live very well without me being 'for her'."

"Even better."

Thales sighed and smiled unconsciously:

"I'm happy for her."

In the next second, Thales opened his arms without hesitation, and embraced Gilbert who was speechless.

"And I hope you can be happy for me, Gilbert."

Thales pressed against the other's ear, tremblingly said:

"my friend."

The Foreign Secretary trembled in his arms.

Thales suddenly noticed that Gilbert, who was dressed in bright clothes, was so thin.

But the next moment, the boy restrained his emotions, forced back the moisture in his eyes, gritted his teeth and said:

"By the way, Count Caso."

"I don't like your class schedule."

Thales let go of Gilbert, who stared blankly at him, with the corners of his mouth raised:

"It's so full."

After the words fell, Thales raised his hands to his chest, respectfully, and bowed to Gilbert with complete etiquette.

Just like six years ago, Gilbert saluted him.

In the next second, he tried his best to suppress the trembling, straightened his back, pulled up his feet, turned and left.

Don't dare to look at each other again.

Slap.

There was the sound of a cane falling behind him.

Thales felt a pain in his heart.

But he still maintained the most perfect smile, took steps, and stepped into the unknown darkness in the corridor.

The palace is deep and dimly lit.

But Thales, who was absent-minded, hadn't gone far, and bumped into an acquaintance head-on at the corner.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Your Highness," the head of the court, Baron Quentin, who had taught Thales not to waste the royal family's property, rubbed his forehead:

"I, I didn't see you, not on purpose."

Thales also pressed his chin in pain.

"It's okay, it's just an accident."

But he was glad that there was someone to talk to at this moment.

Even if it is nonsense.

"My lord the baron."

Thales squeezed out a smile:

"I heard from Captain Adrian that you are unwell?"

"Oh, it's nothing, I used to pretend to be sick and hide from work." Quentin tugged on his delicate cuffs, wiped a notebook with a cracked cover, and said indifferently: "Don't delay things."

"Sorry to bother you."

The prince apologized dully: "Whether it's the wine glass at the banquet, or today..."

But Quentin interrupted him with a wave of his hand.

"You know, the glass isn't really the problem."

"Anyway, they're not expensive—well, I'm sorry, I mean, they're expensive, but there are still many workshops and merchants rushing to send money back, just so that the royal family and the Fuxing Palace can use the wine glasses they produce. "

Quentin sighed:

"And I've wanted to change those glasses for a long time. They are fragile and fragile, and always give the little ones an excuse to be slow. Now I only hope that the metal and thick wood cups will be stronger."

Thales smiled, nodded, and prepared to leave.

"Just...why?"

Thales paused upon hearing this.

I saw Baron Quentin looking at him deeply:

"Your Highness, I've always wondered why people in the North must throw their glasses when they drink?"

Throw a wine glass.

Thales was silent for a while:

"You know, even though I've been there for six years, I'm weird too."

Baron Quentin said intentionally or unintentionally:

"Exercise, throw, smash, crash, crack, shatter, but what does this prove? Extravagance? Domineering? Bold? Vicious? Power? Masculinity?"

Quentin stared at him, his tone suddenly softened:

"You know, just use the rare, precious and meaningful cups that have been handed down from history and used by grandparents and fathers. Everyone is grateful and can drink a glass of wine with peace of mind. Everyone is happy, isn't that good?"

Thales was silent for a while.

"I have no idea."

"However, if I don't break it in Mindyth Hall."

Thales raised his head and smiled weakly:

"Fuxing Palace won't change new wine glasses, right?"

Quentin watched him, thinking for a moment.

"A new batch of wine glasses may not be better than the old ones."

"Maybe," Thales said with mixed feelings:

"But you don't know."

"If I knew," Baron Quentin replied very quickly:

"What if I've already seen it?"

Thales looked at him.

"Maybe it's hard for you to imagine, Your Highness," the baron sighed, rubbing the cracked old notebook under his arm:

"But I've been working here for over thirty years."

"When I was a little kid, I followed my father with a pen and paper, kept notes, and provided food, clothing, housing and transportation for every star."

The palace steward said in a trance:

"everyone."

Everyone... Canxing.

Thales didn't speak.

The baron came back to his senses and looked at Thales, with indescribable emotion hidden in his eyes:

"So, I have seen every batch of wine glasses."

"Every batch."

Thales was silent for a few seconds, then nodded:

"You're lucky."

Quentin smiled self-deprecatingly, noncommittal.

In the next second, the prince smiled at the manager:

"But I remember, Heather—Gilbert's teacher once said a word."