Kingdom’s Bloodline

orever.
He hasn’t become any smarter since becoming suzerain.
His governing methods are extremely primitive and old-fashioned.
I’m telling you, they’ll decline in less than two generations…”

Thales listened in quietly and began to comprehend.

In Eternal Star City, the interactions and conversations between Constellation nobles were such…

Agitated.

Restless.

Heated.

Ever-changing.

Thales took a deep breath and suddenly had a more intuitive understanding of the kingdom of Constellation.

Mindis Hall.

Thales looked at this royal manor and lamented internally,

‘Mindis.

‘Look at what you did.’

Before he was done lamenting, he heard Jorge’s voice say, “Whoa let me tell you, dark clouds covered the sky and there was lightning and thunder.
The dying Born King grabbed your Polaris with one hand and our Petite Dragon with another, joined their little hands together and uttered his dying wish, ‘Only a true love where two hearts beat as one can summon the true dragon to descend to earth and save this city,’”

Thales looked annoyed as he glanced over.

At the remote table for foreign guests, Jorge of Elaphure City was tipsy and merry as he continued enthusiastically, “When the king passed away, Petite Dragon trembled with fury; she was in a towering rage.
In the face of calamity, she let out a long, piercing cry, ‘Dragon Clouds City will not perish.
Walton will avenge this!’.
Polaris was standing arm in arm with her and, unafraid of death, declared, ‘If you are determined to fight, Jadestar will stand by you to the death!’.
In the next moment, there was a bang, guess what happened? Wow, they actually summoned the true dragon! Before you knew it, the true dragon crashed down from the skies and sat on calamity, killing them on the spot…”

Damn it.

Thales’ annoyed expression did not recede as he kept on listening.
He merely felt his mood worsen so he decided to listen to something from another direction.

But he soon realized that, in many of those conversations, he was the main character.

“Instead, I think you should choose someone from a lesser status as wife for the prince, just like Queen Keya.
It would be best if they were a little approachable for the general population.
After all, times have changed, and Prince Thales is not the Midier of yesteryear either…”

“I heard from traders who frequent the northern border that Prince Thales is someone who dares to go head to head with the Northland barbarians, and dares to duel with the five archdukes at a young age…”

“So he experienced the attack of calamity? And survived?”

“No, it wasn’t calamity.
I heard through the grapevine that it was actually the clandestine plot of a secret cult that attempted to manipulate the political situation and subvert Eckstedt…”

“Don’t believe these gossips! I have an insider at Dragon Clouds City, so I know it better.
I’ll lay out the conclusion for you: it was a big earthquake.
After the disaster, the upper ranks of Northland barbarians wanted to shift the focus and escape public criticism, so they made up an excuse that calamity invaded.”

“What about Great Dragon?”

“That was made up too! To boost morale and gain popular support.
Think about it, the timing of Great Dragon’s descent, the timing of the Eckstedt king’s passing, the timing of Lampard’s ascent to the throne, and their detention of the prince.
Hey, if you look at it this way, isn’t the truth obvious? What truth? Hehe, I can’t go on.
You figure it out for yourself.
Those who get it will get it.

In short, we can’t look at the problem in isolation and only from a single perspective.
We need to look at the ostentatious bullshit.
You know? Ostentatious bullshit, the big picture! Amidst the ostentatious bullshit of national strategy, everything is connected …”

“I see.
My lord, you really do have great foresight, knowing about ostentatious bullshit.
You are indeed a professional…”

“You flatter me… Thank you for your invitation.
I was at Eckstedt before this.
I just got off the carriage and I’m asked about this as soon as I arrived…”

Thales could only scoff in his mind.

“But why do I think the prince and Lampard are working together? You see, they sowed discord amongst Northlanders, first by eliminating the Archduke of Beacon Illumination City, then joined forces to get rid of King Nuven? I can guarantee, our Secret Intelligence Department was definitely involved…”

Thales’ expression changed.

“Shh, stop talking about national affairs… It’s clear if you just think about it.
What kind of existence is Constellation? So many matters require our attention every day, would we even bother with that? Three words: Not worth it.”

“From what I’ve heard, the prince seduced the archduchess of Dragon Clouds City and has her in his palms, to the extent that she’s willing to die for him… Hah, it makes sense, that wench had only known stinky oafs from the north.
Once she saw a handsome, charming, educated and graceful Constellation man like us, hehehe, how could she not be awestruck, lose all sense of herself and insist on marrying him?”

Ok.

At this point, Thales’ face was twitching.

Perhaps Constellation and Eckstedt…

Had more in common than he thought.

But, Saroma.

Thales clenched his fist.

“Aren’t you drinking?”

Thales came to himself and realized it was Princess Elise beside him.
His aunt of exceptional beauty was swirling the wine glass in her hand.
She cocked her head to one side and looked at him contemplatively.

Drink.

He looked at the new wine glass next to his hand and thought of a certain archduke that had invited him to drink, and was slightly bothered.

The Duke of Star Lake spaced out a little and responded, “Children sh…I mean, I don’t like to drink.”

Elise understood clearly.
“At least have a little, even if it’s just a few sips.”

Traces of a flush could be seen on the princess’ face.
She obviously enjoyed a tipple.

“According to the rules, members of the royal family should avoid revealing any regular pattern in their dietary habits…”

“Yes, I heard.”

Thales sighed with a headache and looked around the bustling banquet hall.
“Fortunately, we are seated high.
No one is looking at me.”

Elise chuckled and stared at the wine in her glass.

“True, no one is looking,” the princess swirled her glass, her tone changed slightly and her gaze became profound, “but I’m willing to bet that, by tomorrow, you will feel like everyone is watching you.”

Thales could see that his aunt was slightly tipsy.
He smiled but did not reply.

“Are you used to it?”

Elise sized him up.
“It’s the first banquet since your return.
Hmm, probably the first one properly held by the royal family in more than a decade, everyone should thank you.”

Thales paused for a moment.

He looked at the increasingly lively banquet scene and smiled a little.
“I think it’s great,”

“It’s safe and peaceful,”

Thales exhaled slowly.
“There aren’t dozens of nobles pointing at you and claiming in chorus that you’re a bastard illegitimate child,”

“No darned king forcing you to find his son’s murderer,”

“Nor a bunch of vicious northern men in a clamor, trying to cut you up into pieces,”

Thales slipped into a slight daze.
“If you omit the meet and greet portion of the day…”

“I haven’t been to such a peaceful and festive noble gathering in a long while.”

Thales fell silent.

He felt a warmth on his wrist.

“It’s fine, Thales,” Thales snapped out of it and realized that Aunt Elise was gripping his wrist under the table.
She repeated gently, “It’s fine.”

The princess stared at him quietly.
The tender compassion in her gaze made Thales feel somewhat burdened.

At that moment, Mallos appeared beside them.

“Princess Elise,” the watchman leaned down and whispered, “It’s time for you to leave.”

Elise let go of Thales’ hand and frowned, “Lord Mallos?”

Mallos lowered his voice, “The queen needs to head back to the palace, now,”

“She…” Elise turned towards the queen’s direction, and immediately reacted, “Oh.”

Thales narrowed his eyes.
Beside the king, Queen Keya’s face was pale as she mumbled something.
Jines was grabbing her tightly by the wrist, and the female servants beside them orderly prepared to leave.

Thales instantly heard the sounds from over there through hell’s senses: “Where are my children? Luther is still young, he needs a diaper change…”

His mood turned grim.

Some guests noticed the queen, but most people shifted their gaze and turned a blind eye.

Mallos nodded.
“The queen needs your help.”

Princess Elise let out a long sigh.
She gave Thales a helpless smile and stood up.

Mallos thoughtfully put on her cloak for her.

Thales could only bid her goodbye.

But just as she was about to turn and leave, the princess suddenly said, “Tormond,”

Upon hearing his name, Mallos froze.

Elise looked at the queen, tightened her cloak, but said softly, “Did you ever regret it?”

Thales frowned at these words; his hands that were ripping the lettuce apart froze.

Mallos furrowed his brows.
He paused a little before repeating, “The queen needs you, Your Highness.”

“I know,” Elise smiled and glanced at the watchman, her gaze hazy and forlorn, “I did.”

Mallos was stunned.

In the next instant, Elise had swiftly left and joined the queen’s entourage.

One second.

Two seconds.

Amidst incredibly awkward silence, Thales cleared his throat, looked at the back of the extremely stiff guard captain, and said tentatively, “That, erm, you and my aunt…”

“Don’t ask.”

Mallos sat down beside the prince without turning around.
“Then you’ll still be my favorite duke.”

His tone was respectful as he remained expressionless.

But without any reason, Thales felt a chill run through his spine.

Fortunately, someone appeared in time.

“What bad luck,”

Behind him, Doyle, who had returned from the toilet, patted Glover’s shoulder and sat down casually.
“As the prince’s personal guards, we need to fill our stomachs in advance, we can’t join the banquet down there, can’t dance with the ladies, can’t… God, I’m bored.
I miss the old times.”

Doyle yawned.

“You could,” the watchman turned around in his seat and calmly shot a glance at Doyle, “You can definitely be exactly like you were in the past,”

“Go down there and join your father’s table, join the banquet, dance and chat with the ladies.”

Doyle shuddered!

Under the sympathetic gazes of Glover and Thales, he realized stiffly that, at the seat that was previously occupied by Princess Elise was⁠—his boss.

“My…my lord?”

Doyle sensed that a crisis was imminent and put on an ugly smile.

Mallos scoffed coldly, “You know, I could get Vladivostok up here to fill in for you, so that you can en-joy-the-ban-quet.”

Doyle replied tremblingly, “Fill⁠—fill in?”

“Yeah.
Don’t you know?” Mallos looked at him expressionlessly.
“In Mindis Hall, whenever and wherever, I can always find someone to fill in for you,”

“Whether it’s today,”

“Or for the rest of your life,”

Mallos continued chillingly, “Always,”

“Still want to join the banquet?”

Doyle looked at Glover and Thales in horror, but they shook their head at him in commiseration: This isn’t your fault, kid.

Doyle gulped and instantly reacted.
He jerked his head and put on a serious expression.
“No no no, sir.
You’re mistaken.”

Mallos raised his eyebrows.
“Pardon?”

Doyle looked up, hugged his own arms, and said ardently, “I shall die by the throne or while carrying out royal orders.
There are no alternatives,”

Doyle went on in a solemn tone, “As for banquets and the like… As royal guards, we should perform our duties faithfully.
How can we think about ourselves?”

Glover looked at him in disdain.

Thales burst out laughing.
“Really? But there are tons of noble ladies in attendance tonight, and many decent bachelorettes…”

“Eh, don’t even mention this ever again,” Doyle waved a hand, his gaze was steady and resolute, “With Your Highness by my side…”

“…why would I need those ladies?”

Thales had just gracefully taken a piece of lettuce from his plate.
He couldn’t help but shudder.

Mallos’ lips curved upwards.
He was about to say something but shuddered slightly.

In the next second, Mallos swerved his head abruptly and looked towards the hall!

In that moment, Thales shivered.

He had a sudden illusion: the watchman before him had turned into a sharp blade.

Mallos stared fixedly at the entire banquet hall and said coldly, “Doyle, join the banquet right away.
Mix into the crowd, pay attention, especially to those with cautious gazes and stiffened movements…”

Doyle still had his serious face on.
“No! I want to protect His Highness here…”

But Mallos turned around with a stern expression on his face.
“I’m being serious right now!”

The look on his face shocked all three of them.

“Glover, inform Captain Adrian and have him escort His Majesty away quietly, then gather some men.”

“Sir,” Glover looked at Mallos confused, “What is it?”

As the melodious and graceful music played, Mallos looked again towards the exceptionally lively banquet with a vigilant gaze.
“Earlier, someone glanced up here from down there.”

Glanced?

Thales furrowed his brows.
“Who?”

“I don’t know,” Mallos shook his head, “But I recognized that gaze, that was a gaze of resentment and despair, unafraid of death…”

Thales shook.

Unafraid of death.

Resentment and…despair?

What did that mean?

“In the banquet tonight…”

Under the bewildered gaze of the other three, Mallos slowly put his hand on the longsword at his waist and concluded expressionlessly, “there is an assassin.”