Even though Thales was baffled by the baffling meeting with Lisban, and the confrontation between Lisban and Kentvida under the table was also filled with suspicious points, the second prince did not intend to be troubled by this for too long. If there was anything he learned from that thrilling night six years ago, it would be …
"So you came to me?"
In the Blood Court, Putray, whose afternoon stroll was interrupted, stared at the smiling prince in dissatisfaction as he paced back and forth.
"Yes." Thales leisurely imitated Putray's pace. His right hand tapped his saber rhythmically. Ralf and Wya followed behind them. "And I look forward to your answer that I'm satisfied with."
Putray snorted coldly. "You expect a slow-witted, stubborn, and sarcastic old man who has just arrived in Dragon Clouds City two days ago to analyze such a complicated and difficult diplomatic and internal affairs situation?"
The lord flicked his pipe with a nonchalant expression. "Perhaps you should ask Gilbert, and I really can't do anything about it …"
'A slow-witted, stubborn, and sarcastic old man?'
Thales took a deep breath.
"Alright."
The prince turned around and walked backward in front of Putray. He raised his hands and faced Putray.
"I will not mention for now how that grumpy old man managed to find the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department and Nicholas during the most desperate moment six years ago. First, he miraculously rescued me from the Secret Room and Lampard's hands …"
"Then, he decisively supported us in breaking into Heroic Spirit Palace, and cleverly sent the prince into the Hall of Heroes. In the end, he miraculously saved Dragon Clouds City's glory …" Wya chimed in cooperatively behind him. Even Ralf nodded and hummed.
Thales gave them a thumbs-up.
Putray flashed an unpleasant smile. "… 'Not for now'?"
Thales ignored Putray's smile and continued, "I'll just say that on the first day I arrived in Dragon Clouds City, that grumpy old man told me in a baffling manner, vividly, and in great detail what kind of shocking secret happened in the highly secretive Hall of Heroes during the council hearing in Dragon Clouds City on the day of Dragon Clouds City's affairs, which is difficult to get close to."
"Do you know how furious Lisban's expression was when Kentvida revealed the contents of the hearing?"
Putray raised his eyebrows. "I have more friends, that's all."
"And most importantly …" As Thales retreated, he raised his right index finger and pointed at Putray. "Amidst the treacherous and complicated situation in Dragon Clouds City, you, who have been missing for six years, suddenly appeared?"
Thales leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. "Are you going to tell me that this is a coincidence? That you're just here to introduce a teacher and give him a pair of glasses?"
"Aha." Putray coughed awkwardly. "Speaking of that pair of spectacles, you know, it was specially made for the archduchess. It's …"
Thales furrowed his brows.
"Wya, Midira, guard the perimeter. Let no one hear us," he interrupted, wisely putting an end to Putray's attempts to change the subject.
The slightly puzzled duo received their orders and left. Thales turned around again and looked at Putray sternly.
Putray looked at the prince, feeling a faint uneasiness in his heart.
"You know, I didn't pursue the matter that day." Thales' expression changed slightly. "But Wya reminded me more than once.
"After I was trapped in Dragon Clouds City, you disappeared without a word. It took you more than six years to reappear in front of me." Thales raised his head. "It's not that I don't trust you, but why didn't you do it earlier or later? Why did you do it now, more than six years later?"
Putray's expression froze.
"Wya inherited his father's sensitivity." A few seconds later, Putray sighed softly and said, "But he didn't learn his father's magnanimity."
Thales ignored him and continued to speak.
"Six years ago, when I was just recognized as a prince … You had just returned to Eternal Star City when Gilbert asked you to protect me in the north as the vice diplomat."
Putray stopped walking. He lowered his head so that his expression could not be seen clearly.
"Facts have proven that Gilbert's decision was correct. Not everyone can deal with the White Blade Guards, the Secret Room, Black Sand Region, the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department, and Count Lisban with limited resources and a keen sense for conspiracies and the atmosphere in an isolated city without any help. In fact, not only can he not be at a disadvantage, he can even do it with ease."
Thales also stopped walking. He shook his head. "Although you are very good at hiding yourself, and no one really cares, I know better than anyone else that a powerless prince can never save the world alone. From decisively retreating, preserving his strength, contacting everyone, rescuing the prince, hinting me to counterattack, breaking into Heroic Spirit Palace, playing the game with Black Sand Region, and reversing the situation …"
Thales took a deep breath. "Six years ago, the person who truly saved Dragon Clouds City countless times behind the scenes was actually you.
"Lord Putray Nemain."
"The former civil official from the Foreign Affairs Division with a suspicious identity, the former viscount who was demoted after the Bloody Year.
"And the former king's eldest son, Midier Jadestar's attendant."
Putray did not speak.
Thales lowered his head and remembered what Putray had told him about the Bloody Year in Heroic Spirit Palace.
"As far as I know, this is not something an ordinary person can do."
Thales' expression darkened slightly. "Don't you think that there are too many mysteries surrounding you, Putray?"
In that second, Putray froze for a moment. His expression stiffened.
It was as if Thales had seen through him.
"Be more honest." Thales observed Putray's reaction and sighed. He turned around again and waited for Putray to catch up. "Putray, don't learn from the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department. You know I don't like them.
"Tell me, what kind of chess game am I in right now?"
They walked past a big tree. Putray knocked the ashes out of his pipe. His expression was gloomy, and he did not say a word.
Thales only stared at him in silence.
"I understand." Finally, Putray sighed slightly and returned to the tone he used when they first met. "What do you want to know about the current situation, my troublesome little prince?"
Thales frowned slightly and recalled the many doubts in his mind.
"Connect." After a few seconds, the teenage prince looked around and said cautiously and softly, "I want to know how all the major events on the surface are connected through the hidden interests under the surface. I think this is your forte."
Putray put his pipe back into his tobacco pouch and was slightly startled. "Connect?"
Thales nodded and imitated Lisban's action of putting his hands behind his back, but his gaze drifted into the distance.
"Six years ago, Miranda Arunde told me in the prison cell that everything that happened in Dragon Clouds City seemed to be unrelated, but there was actually an important clue that connected everything." Thales narrowed his eyes. "Later, we discovered that the clue behind the scenes was called 'Dragon's Blood'."
At that moment, Putray unknowingly slowed down and fell a step behind the prince.
"Over the past few months, ever since King Chapman issued the new enfeoffment decree, the City of Faraway Prayers gathered everyone to denounce the king, Lampard was condemned, I was blamed as a hostage, the Archduchess of Dragon Clouds City was forced into a marriage, the Alliance of Freedom was unstable, and Black Sand Region came to Dragon Clouds City as ambassadors." Thales was completely unaware of everything around him and continued to ponder.
"Although everything is very fragmented, and some things are not even related …
"But I feel that the current situation is the same as it was back then. There is also a vague clue that connects everything.
"I want to seize it … instead of passively dealing with the troubles that come knocking on my door."
Putray's gaze froze for a moment.
Both of them were silent for a few seconds.
Finally, Putray let out a long sigh.
"You know, when we met the day before yesterday, I thought you were more cheerful than before." The thin man shook his head. "But now, I realize that the real you is even more anxious, vigilant, and nervous than before. Can you really sleep at night?"
This time, Thales stopped moving.
"Six years ago, I fell once due to carelessness and complacency." The prince's gaze slowly focused. "The price was my freedom, and an enemy of the king.
"That feeling, the feeling of helplessness and fear where you can only drift with the wind, not knowing where to go in the next second." Thales stared fixedly at the stone slab under his feet, which had cracked due to age, and said flatly, "I don't want to experience it a second time."
At that moment, for the first time, Putray felt that the fourteen-year-old teenager beside him was a prince named Jadestar.
The lord shook his head gently and whispered, "You've changed."
Thales snapped out of his daze and smiled faintly. "Everyone changes."
"Either more or less."
Putray stared at him for a long time.
Finally, when Thales thought that a few centuries had passed, Putray started walking again. This time, the lord's expression was no longer languid and sarcastic. It became serious and nervous.
"For many years, the Alliance of Freedom has been dependent on the City of Faraway Prayers for survival."
'Here it comes.'
Thales quickly caught up with him and pricked up his ears.
"As the Great Dragon's vassals, they provide Eckstedt with benefits from the Golden Passage. Eckstedt also maintains its control over the Golden Passage and the western side of the peninsula through them, keeping Camus Union in check from afar."
Putray scratched his chin and said seriously, "You know, it's just like our relationship with Sera Dukedom. Constellation controls Dragon-Kissed Land, which means that they control the southeastern end of the Golden Passage and the coast of the Long Corridor. They even affect Thornland's —"
"I know. Saroma's teachers taught me that Eckstedt and the Alliance of Freedom had a fight twenty years ago." Thales coughed and waved his hand, cutting off the former bard's desire to talk and perform. "Let's get straight to the point, the point …"
Putray glanced at him in dissatisfaction. He seemed to be very displeased with the fact that the little prince who was obsessed with listening to stories had now become a young man who interrupted him. However, he still continued, "About what you said, about the fight …"
"Twenty years ago, the governor of the Alliance of Freedom found a new ally. He thought that King Nuven was busy with the dangerous situation at the Glacier Defense Line and had some disagreements with the City of Faraway Prayers, so he had no time to care about the West. So, for the first time, he had the idea of independence."
Thales was slightly startled. "A new ally?"
Putray nodded.
"White Mountain," he said cautiously.
"These arrogant White Elves rarely interfered in human affairs. They were not very powerful, but they should not be underestimated. They supported the Alliance of Freedom in seeking independence," the lord said as he walked. "Of course, some people suspected that the Camians were also involved. Eckstedt and Vine City, which is located in the south of Camus Union, were united by marriage. This made several northern Camus Union states very uneasy."
Thales was slightly startled. He thought of Marquis Shiles, who was always smiling.
"And the result?"
"The result?"
Putray snorted softly. There was a hint of mockery in his tone. "The overconfident governor of the Alliance seized the tribute goods sent to Eckstedt without authorization. He also wrote a tactful but firm letter, requesting that they 're-evaluate their friendship'.
"Even though the City of Faraway Prayers and Dragon Clouds City were in conflict, as the supreme ruler of the Kingdom of the Great Dragon, King Nuven did not gloat over their misfortune, nor did he reply to the letter to wrangle." Putray put on a stern face. "He did not hesitate to blow the enlistment order. The army of Dragon Clouds City traveled a long distance and met up with the soldiers from the City of Faraway Prayers and Defense City. They then marched towards the Alliance of Freedom."
Thales quietly listened to the past of the Alliance of Freedom and Eckstedt. He quickly connected the details of the information that were not recorded in class or in history books with the current situation.
"As a conclusion, more than twenty thousand Eckstedtian warriors trampled through every gate and barricade in Fort Liberté. Prince Soria's troops even fought their way into White Mountain and threatened the White Elves' Archon Court.
"They stained the Good Flow River red with the blood of their enemies' skulls." When Putray said this, he felt a little sentimental for some reason, as though he had seen it with his own eyes. "It was said that after two years, the nobles in Good Flow City did not dare to drink the river water that flowed from the upper reaches of the Alliance of Freedom. The price of the famous freshwater seafood in the Good Flow River Basin also plummeted.
"That year, King Nuven reaffirmed the Kingdom of the Great Dragon's absolute dominance at the end of the Golden Passage. He intimidated the small countries and city-states that had become complacent in the peace. He used blood to tell the Alliance of Freedom that there was no such thing as' mutual friendship 'between the Great Dragon and the ants.
"Nuven." Thales muttered to himself. He thought of the old king with unparalleled might and his tragic end. "It's him again."
"King Nuven's thirty years of rule that shook the Western Peninsula was not without reason." Putray sighed softly. "Not every king lived up to his oath to 'stand at the forefront of the kingdom'. After that, the Roknee Family in the City of Faraway Prayers changed their attitude towards Dragon Clouds City. Even the Camians became more well-behaved. Good Flow City even humbled themselves. The marquis of the city personally came to Northland to apologize with a smile."
Thales thought of something.
"Twenty years ago, as the king, the Archduke of Dragon Clouds City sent troops to support the interests of the City of Faraway Prayers in the name of all of Eckstedt."
The prince punched his palm. "So, when the Alliance of Freedom became unstable again, Lisban said that 'Roknee had to choose' …"
Thales recalled Regent Lisban's words in the hall. "If the City of Faraway Prayers wanted to receive the support of the entire kingdom led by the king, Archduke Roknee would have to choose to compromise with the king and give up on gathering the nobles to denounce King Chapman …"
The thin lord snorted softly.
"Indeed, this is a good method. In the name of the king, with the righteousness of Eckstedt, he forced the archdukes to take the initiative to fight for the kingdom to be in the hands of Black Sand Region." Putray nodded. "I can imagine, in the face of King Chapman's helping hand, Roknee …"
But Thales shook his head firmly.
"I know Archduke Roknee. He will not choose to compromise." The image of Lampard and Roknee with ferocious expressions appeared in Thales' mind. The tense scene of them facing off against each other in the hall appeared in his mind. "He would rather practice his beliefs in blood and fire, and fight against the king to the end."
'Also.'
Thales thought.
The conflict between King Chapman and the archdukes now was far from comparable to the conflict between King Nuven and the archdukes in the past.
Putray chuckled. "That's even more interesting."
They walked up the steps leading to the prince's bedroom and watched as a broken tree root extended beneath their feet.
"If Roknee refuses the king's' help ', he will have to face the internal strife of the Alliance of Freedom alone. If necessary, he will not hesitate to send troops alone to reaffirm the dignity of the Kingdom of the Great Dragon.
"It is a small matter for the City of Faraway Prayers to watch the Alliance of Freedom go out of control and lose a large amount of income, but Archduke Roknee's prestige will definitely suffer a heavy blow. Regardless of whether the City of Faraway Prayers is humiliated or Eckstedt is humiliated, it will not be a good thing for him."
Thales desperately tried to recall the geographical overview of Eckstedt's western side. "To deal with the Alliance of Freedom alone … Can the City of Faraway Prayers and Roknee do it?"
"This is the time to test the City of Faraway Prayers' strength, as well as Archduke Roknee's control over his vassals." Putray seemed to be recalling something. "But I think, even if it will not be as smooth as when the three archdukes worked together twenty years ago, it will still be more than enough for the City of Faraway Prayers to deal with the small Alliance of Freedom, which is adjacent to the desert and the Golden Passage.
"But the problem is, once they put all their energy into the internal strife of the alliance, Roknee's plan to continue contacting the nobles and denouncing the king will be affected."
Thales furrowed his eyebrows.
"So, Regent Lisban's suspicions are true. The internal strife of the Alliance of Freedom is related to Lampard, and he might even be the one behind it," the prince said faintly. "This will allow the City of Faraway Prayers and Archduke Roknee, who are on fire in their backyard, to stop pressing forward, and save Black Sand Region from being denounced by the entire country."
Putray raised his eyebrows. "Who knows?"
But Thales stopped again with a puzzled expression. "But I still can't figure it out. If this is just a game between the common-elected king and Archduke Roknee, why did King Chapman send Kentvida to Dragon Clouds City? And why did Lisban say that Dragon Clouds City was sent into the eye of the storm?
"Why Dragon Clouds City?"
Putray also stopped in his tracks. He smiled faintly, and his eyes shone with a strange light.
"You've found the point, young prince."
Thales' eyebrows twitched.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
