Under the dim illumination of the Everlasting Lamp, the soldiers roughly escorted Thales and Little Rascal, whose hands were tied behind their backs, into the cell next to Kohen's.
Hearing the sound of the thick iron door being locked, Thales comforted the distraught Little Rascal in a low voice. He then turned his head and looked at his surroundings through the bars.
'Prison. Why do I feel like I have a special affinity with this place?'
There were only three bound prisoners — Wya, and a man and a woman hidden in the dark. All of them stared at Thales in disbelief.
However, there were six guards. They stared fixedly at the prisoners in the cell, their expressions fierce and vigilant.
Thales clenched his fists behind his back. He felt dejected. His dagger had been taken away.
He gave the only dry corner in the cell to Little Rascal. He leaned against the wall and sat on the damp, dirty floor.
"Why are you here, Wya?" Thales looked cautiously at the young man in the cell opposite him and asked solemnly, "Where are Putray, Ralf, and the rest of the diplomat group?"
'Could they all be …'
Wya's face darkened.
"The mute, Lady Aida, and some soldiers were sent to search for you, Your Highness." The prince's attendant's face was covered in scratches and bruises. His clothes were also torn. "As for Mister Putray, he should still be waiting for our news in Heroic Spirit Palace."
Thales frowned and began to think.
"No talking." A tall guard who seemed to be the leader walked to their cell with his hand on his saber. His tone was unpleasant. "Do you want me to teach you how to shut up?"
Wya looked at him resentfully and clenched his teeth.
Thales ignored him. The second prince raised his head and continued to ask, "Then how were you captured —"
Wya was about to answer, but he was interrupted.
* Clang! *
Amidst the piercing sound of metal scraping against metal, the guard had already unceremoniously pulled out a section of his sword.
He held the hilt at his waist and coldly interrupted Thales, "Brat, I warned you —"
"No talking!"
Little Rascal was so frightened that her face turned pale. She moved behind Thales and pushed the prince's back with her shoulder, signaling him to stop talking.
Thales sighed.
He slowly stood up from the wall and looked straight at the guard.
"Eckstedtian?"
The tall guard was slightly stunned.
"What?"
Thales looked at the guard who seemed to be the leader with a calm expression, as if he wanted to see through the guard's thoughts from his eyes.
"I am asking you," the second prince said flatly, "are you an Eckstedtian, soldier?"
The guard in the patrol uniform frowned.
"You were sent to guard me." Thales shook his head slowly. He looked around at the soldiers around him. "So, you are insiders?"
"Including trekking all the way from Black Sand Region without leaving any way out, regardless of the sacrifices, and regardless of the cost, to follow Lampard to kill your king?"
When the other five guards heard this, they couldn't help but turn their heads over with different expressions on their faces.
The expression of the guard who seemed to be the leader of the group immediately turned ugly.
"Kill the king?"
The prisoner in the cell next door, a blonde young man, gaped in shock. "So what Kroesch said was true …"
"Shut up, Cohen," a young girl in the opposite cell interrupted coldly.
Thales heard a familiar female voice. His heart skipped a beat, and he looked at the young girl.
She is …
The atmosphere in the cell became solemn.
"You …" The leader of the guards had a gloomy expression. His eyes were filled with complicated emotions, and his eyebrows twitched. "You know nothing, brat.
"But you know it yourself." Thales stared straight into his eyes without flinching. "When you picked up your weapons and walked into Dragon Clouds City, when you saw the king's body, did you feel at ease and without any obstacles?" Thales stared straight into his eyes without flinching.
The two guards looked displeased. They turned their heads one after another and no longer looked at Thales.
"Enough, conceited prince." The leader of the guards noticed his subordinate's actions. His expression changed, and he looked like he was struggling. "If you think that by doing this, we —"
"I am not asking anything of you." Thales shook his head slightly and sighed. "Perhaps all of you were forced to obey orders … but you are, after all, Northlanders.
And Northland shouldn't be like this. "
The guard's expression froze, and complicated emotions flashed past his eyes.
Thales raised his head again. He looked at the leader of the guards with clear eyes. "I only ask for one thing."
The leader of the guards pursed his lips and stared at Thales with a slight frown.
"Before I am executed as a murderer." Thales sighed. His expression was gloomy.
"Let me talk to them for a while."
The leader of the guards' gaze froze in the air. His hand pressed and pressed on his sword, which was half unsheathed.
A few seconds later, as if he had snapped out of his daze, he turned his head to look at his colleagues and subordinates.
But the others had already turned their heads away. Their expressions were different.
Finally, the leader of the guards snorted coldly.
* Clang! *
He sheathed his sword, closed his eyes, and turned around. Like his colleagues, he no longer paid attention to Thales.
Thales exhaled deeply.
"Thank you, Northlander," the second prince said sincerely with a weary expression.
Aching all over his body, he wanted to slowly sit down along the wall.
But the prince caught a glimpse of Little Rascal, who was absent-minded. The poor girl shrank back into the corner and stared at the empty ground in a daze.
Thales' heart sank.
Thinking of the predicament he was in, Thales shook his head, forced himself to stay awake, and moved to the fence.
'It's not over yet.
'I can't rest.'
"What is this place?" Thales leaned against the thick wooden fence and observed everything around him.
Compared to the dungeon in Vine Manor, this prison seemed to be simpler. There were only two Everlasting Lamps burning with a small amount of Eternal Oil.
'Strange.'
"I'm not sure, Your Highness." Wya's face appeared behind the opposite prison cell. His face was full of anxiety and anger. "We, we were ambushed, and our heads were covered …"
Thales frowned slightly. "'We'? You mean … "
Before Thales could continue, in the cell next door, a handsome young man who was bound tightly by iron chains had already struggled to move his head over.
"Your Highness!"
The poor prisoner seemed to be enduring intense pain. He panted and said, "Your Highness, I am Cohen, Cohen Karabeyan.
"You may not know me, but I am the capital's … I mean, Eternal Star City's police officer and patrol captain …"
Thales looked at his face, and a scene from the past appeared in his mind.
'Karabeyan.
'It's him.
'But how could he …'
"I recognize you. You're a member of the Sword Family of Twin Towers." Thales stared at Kohen thoughtfully. His gaze swept past Kohen's golden hair. "I still remember that you almost fought with your father in the Hall of Stars."
Cohen's expression froze. He even forgot about the intense pain in his right arm.
'That's the first impression I gave to the heir of the kingdom?'
"It's an honor to meet you again, and your attendant, the honorable second prince, Your Highness." With a gloomy expression, Cohen glanced at Wya, who snorted in disdain. Then, he looked at the little girl behind Thales listlessly. "And this young lady must be …"
"Uh." Cohen frowned. He sized up Thales' age, then looked at the girl's age. Puzzled, he said, "Your Highness?"
The girl opposite Cohen raised an eyebrow and snickered.
Thales' face twitched.
Little Rascal put on a long face and looked at Thales nervously.
Looking at his companion's laughter, Cohen reacted awkwardly. "That's right, you're not that old yet …"
"Ahem." Thales frowned. "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness Karabeyan."
With his face covered in dirt, Cohen struggled to raise his head and flashed a friendly smile at the prince.
"As for you, Lady Arunde of Broken Dragon Fortress." Thales turned his head and looked at the black-haired woman in light armor diagonally opposite him. He could not help but sigh. "I guess you're not here for sightseeing, are you?"
The disheveled Miranda Arunde still looked unpretentious. She turned her head and said coldly amid the clanking of the chains, "Just like you, Your Highness."
Thales stared at Miranda in a daze, then at Cohen.
'They …
'The heir of the Arunde Family in the Northern Territory …'
"Both of you …" He took a deep breath and started to think again. "Do you know what kind of trouble you've gotten yourself into?"
"I've heard a little about it." Miranda's cold voice rang. "The King of Eckstedt was assassinated?"
"Not only was he assassinated." Thales nodded and exhaled. His expression was unpleasant. "The King has passed away."
A few guards in the prison subconsciously glanced at them, but their leader glared at them with a fierce gaze.
Miranda furrowed her brows. Wya widened his eyes.
Cohen closed his eyes and put his head back on the ground. His tone was remorseful. "I knew it …"
In the corner of the prison cell, Little Rascal recalled the scene of King Nuven's death and shuddered slightly.
"So," the swordswoman's voice continued to ring through the bars, "what exactly happened?"
Thales glanced at Little Rascal and sighed softly. He then turned to the three people who were staring at him with burning gazes.
"I only know part of the truth." Thales frowned. "And now …"
He raised his head and looked at the three of them. His expression was solemn. "I need you to tell me exactly what happened to you, be it the cause or the consequences.
"I'll start with why you appeared in Northland."
Ten minutes later.
"Kaslan Lampard?"
Thales could not hide the astonishment on his face, nor could he suppress the volume of his exclamation. Even the six guards glanced at him.
The prince's hesitant gaze moved back and forth between the ashen-faced Cohen and the extremely solemn Miranda.
'That old man in the tavern.
'He looked so reassuring.
'And …
'His character, the compassion and open-mindedness he exuded did not seem like something a hypocritical and vile person would do.'
Wya widened his eyes. "That old man in the tavern? Isn't he the former commander of the White Blade Guards? He's very famous. "
"It's surprising, isn't it?" Miranda's voice was still calm, but there was a hint of suppressed emotions in it. "Rumor has it that his relationship with Chapman Lampard is very bad. I thought he had always been loyal to the Walton Family …"
"That old man with a human face but a beast's heart." Cohen struggled to get up angrily and grimaced in pain. "He didn't even fix my right arm properly. I knew he was up to no good …"
"You're the closest to him. When you saw him, you even put your arm around his shoulder." Miranda's cold words immediately exposed Cohen's lie, causing him to look embarrassed.
Thales stared at the ground in a daze. Some of the things in his memory began to become clear.
"No." Thales breathed slowly, his eyes grew brighter. "Kaslan, this explains a lot of mysteries."
"Nicholas told me that he learned from an old friend of his from the White Blade Guards that the ones who tried to assassinate me at the fortress were Disaster Swords." Thales focused his gaze, and the journey before he entered Dragon Clouds City appeared before his eyes. "However, before King Nuven broke Archduke Poffret's neck, he told me that the ones who tried to assassinate me were Shadow Shield."
'The' old friend 'Nicholas mentioned was probably Kaslan.'
Cohen and Miranda were both shocked.
"Shadow Shield?" Cohen frowned. "So they're back?"
Thales shook his head and did not answer the police officer's question.
He had to get to the point.
Wya glanced at Cohen in annoyance.
"The Disaster Sword — no matter what they are — is a lie and a cover created by Kaslan and Chapman Lampard to lure all of you here in the name of the Tower of Eradication." While Cohen awkwardly realized that no one answered, Thales muttered, "To be precise, they lured you, Miss Arunde, the heir of the Guardian Duke of the Northern Territory here."
Miranda sighed.
"That's right. Kroesch only sent the news back. She has no right to decide who the Tower of Eradication will send." Cohen was stunned for a moment before he reacted. "But Kaslan can. He's Master Shao's close friend. He can totally suggest and even specify who he wants."
"The nobles of Constellation's Northern Territory secretly entered Dragon Clouds City. If it were any other time, it would be fine," Wya muttered and continued, "But when the king was being assassinated, they caught a suspicious Constellatiate and the heir of the Duke of the Northern Territory who secretly sneaked into Dragon Clouds City. The nature of the matter is …"
"A perfect scapegoat," Miranda whispered. "Compared to a weak young prince plotting to assassinate the king, this is much more convincing."
"Not only that." Thales took a deep breath. The picture in his eyes became clearer. "Wya is right. You are also the heir of the Northern Territory."
The second prince narrowed his eyes and recalled Val Arunde's hysteria in Renaissance Palace. "South of Broken Dragon Fortress, the Northern Territory of Constellation that Lampard dreamed of.
"When Lampard conspired with Duke Val, he was determined to get the Northern Territory of Constellation."
The few of them fell silent.
Cohen blinked, as if he was still trying to sort out the clues. Miranda stared at the chains on her body in a daze. Wya bit his lip tightly.
"Chapman Lampard never gave up on his desire for the Northern Territory.
"I am the scapegoat, but you, Miss Arunde." Thales sighed slowly. "As the rightful heir of the Northern Territory after Duke Val was imprisoned, you are not just the scapegoat. You might not even be the scapegoat."
"Not the scapegoat?" Cohen was horrified. He struggled to get up amidst the pain. "What do you mean?"
Thales raised his head. The picture in his mind became clearer.
"Think about it. The highly respected Duke Val Arunde was framed and imprisoned by Constellation's fatuous King Kessel," the prince said softly. "And his daughter went to Eckstedt to ask for help in an attempt to uphold justice and take back everything that belonged to Arunde.
"Coincidentally, the Prince of Constellation assassinated the King of Eckstedt.
"Chapman Lampard really kept his promise." Thales sighed slowly. His face was full of resignation. "It seems that the cooperation agreement between him and Val Arunde …
"It is still valid.
"And you, Miss Arunde." Thales sighed. "You are the one who will affect the ownership of the Northern Territory in the upcoming negotiation or war between Constellation and the Dragon …
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