Thales thought that Raphael's warning was enough to make him uneasy.
Until Putray used thirty seconds to explain to Thales the way to get him out of the city safely in the smoke-filled tunnel.
Thales' face twitched as he looked at Putray, who had a natural expression on his face.
'Follow me.
Walk forward. '
And smile.
'That's it.'
"Wait, wait, wait!" Thales stared incredulously at Putray, who was intoxicated by the smoke. "What do you mean by 'walk forward' and 'smile at the contact in a friendly manner'?"
Putray took a deep puff of his cigarette and slowly exhaled a perfect smoke ring.
"And there's no disguise, no …" The prince was deeply worried and contemptuous of Putray's vague explanation. "Who is the contact? When do we meet? How is he going to send me out … Cough, cough, cough … "
Putray's smoke clouded the already dim vision in the tunnel, and the pungent smell of the tobacco made Thales cough repeatedly.
"Forgive me, Your Highness." Putray was calm. "Over the past month, just the people in Dragon Clouds City following behind me is enough to make me suffer. I don't even have the time to smoke."
"Don't worry, the contact will find you." Putray smiled softly in the face of Thales' accusatory gaze. "And the place you're going is relatively safe. As for why you're not in disguise, I'm afraid that he won't recognize you …"
Thales narrowed his eyes. "Him?"
Putray took two steps to stand in front of him. With a smile, he wrapped his arm around Thales' shoulders and pulled him out.
"Alright, enough with the nonsense." Putray bit his cigarette and exhaled another puff of smoke. "Your Highness, I'll send you off now!"
Thales' doubts did not diminish.
"What?"
The prince pinched his nose and frowned. He struggled to find the path under his feet in the smoke. "But that's all you said …"
However, just as he spoke, Putray pressed his palm down and covered his mouth!
Putray's expression was stern as he gestured for him to keep quiet.
Thales was shocked. He subconsciously held his breath and inhaled slowly through his nose.
But Putray exhaled another puff of smoke. His mouth was still opening and closing. "Believe me, it's enough to say this … My path is absolutely safe …"
* Thud, thud, thud. *
Putray coldly led him forward, not stopping for even a moment.
They passed through a fork in the road and walked towards the next Everlasting Lamp under the cover of the smoke.
The more Thales walked, the more frightened he became.
Who was he … guarding against?
No.
Thales sobered up.
He knew.
In this underground tunnel, the only thing Putray had to guard against was …
It was only when he arrived in front of a secret door that was as ugly as the surrounding mud walls that the tunnel behind him returned to darkness and could no longer be seen did Putray stop. He paused for a few seconds and turned his head around to listen to something.
After a while, he took a deep breath and let go of Thales.
"Looks like he has indeed left."
Putray put down his extinguished pipe, and his face relaxed a little.
Thales stared at him in disbelief and whispered, "What happened?"
Why …
But Putray quickly answered his question.
The thin middle-aged lord leaned against the wall and sighed. "Since the people from the Secret Intelligence Department have left, it's time …"
The middle-aged man's face flickered back and forth under the illumination of the Everlasting Lamp. Dust fell on his shoulders and left spots of dirt, but Putray had no intention of wiping them off.
Thales thought of something.
It had been a long time since he saw Putray like this.
'The last time I saw him was six years ago?'
Under the dim light, Putray composed his emotions before he slowly said, "Listen well, Your Highness. What I am going to say next is something that Gilbert, that sanctimonious old fox, would never say to you."
"He will only encourage you to be a good prince and bring the kingdom to the top with his eyes full of stars.
"And it will not be something that the extremely mysterious Secret Intelligence Department will tell you.
"Their principle is always' the fewer the better ', regardless of whether it is an insider or a participant."
The more Thales listened, the stranger he felt.
'Gilbert and the Secret Intelligence Department won't tell me …'
"Putray." The prince stared at him in disbelief. "What insider? What participant?"
Putray pursed his lips. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes made him look even more tired.
"Your Highness.
"We paid such a huge price to save you, but you just asked, 'Is it worth it'?" Putray furrowed his eyebrows tightly and held the pipe in his hand upside down. He did not even care about the ashes spilling out. "That was not just out of guilt, was it?
"You are also suspicious."
Thales was momentarily stunned.
He sized up Putray with a doubtful gaze.
"What do you want to say?"
Putray closed his eyes, inhaled slowly, and exhaled leisurely.
"What I want to answer you is the doubt that you have had since I came to Dragon Clouds City dozens of days ago."
Thales' expression became solemn.
Putray opened his eyes.
"Your Highness," Putray said sternly, as if he had made up his mind about something. "You once asked me where I have been for the past six years, and why I only appeared now to bring you back to the kingdom." Putray seemed to have made up his mind about something.
"Why now?"
Thales first furrowed his eyebrows slightly. Then, filled with doubts, he nodded slightly under Putray's rather abnormal gaze. "Yes?"
In the narrow passage, Thales and Putray leaned against the walls on both sides. They faced each other in silence and looked at each other's faces, which were half lit and half dark under the light.
"You are right," Putray said softly. "We did not decide to rescue you on a whim, or because we felt that six years was too long."
"There is a reason why we, including the Secret Intelligence Department, who had been secretly watching over you for six years, suddenly appeared in Dragon Clouds City to rescue you."
Thales' pupils focused slightly.
His heartbeat slowly quickened.
"You mean …"
Putray inhaled again, as though this action required a great deal of courage from him. "I think there are some things you have to know … at least some parts of it."
Thales was terrified to realize that Putray's tone was actually trembling slightly.
Even he began to feel nervous unknowingly.
"Your Highness, do you still remember what happened in Dragon Clouds City six years ago?"
"Phew." Thales exhaled and tried to recall those unpleasant memories. "I would like to forget about the calamity attacking the city, the Great Dragon returning, Lampard regicide, and —"
But Putray interrupted him almost rudely.
"No," the thin lord said coldly, "It's not just these.
"On that day six years ago, in a dark place that we cannot see, outside Heroic Spirit Palace and Shield District, some other things happened."
Thales' eyes slowly widened.
'Other … things?'
"I believe you can tell that when I was young, I worked under Prince Midier." Putray talked about the past. His voice sounded a little pained. "Sometimes, I would get closer to the Secret Intelligence Department.
"That's why I was able to find the necessary support so quickly during the crisis six years ago."
Thales' heart froze. He began to size up the man in front of him again.
'Yes.
I can see it.
But … this is the first time you admit it.
'Putray Nemain.'
Putray heaved a long sigh, as if he was still reminiscing about the past. "Six years ago, the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Department in Dragon Clouds City above us had not yet been renovated into this chess room.
"At that time, it was just an inn." Putray's weariness was clear on his face.
"That night, I received help from the owner of this place. That was how I obtained support, gathered resources, and gave the order to take action. It was all thanks to him that you were able to escape from prison."
Thales subconsciously looked up. Of course, he could only see a bumpy ceiling and some cobwebs in the corners of the walls.
Even his nose was filled with the coldness and slight dampness unique to the basement.
'The chess room.
'Inn?
The headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Department? '
The prince lowered his head. He was still puzzled. "But?"
Putray nodded as he thought.
"But …
"On the morning we broke into the palace and fought against Lampard …" Putray's tone was heavy and sad.
"The owner of this inn was the person in charge of the Eckstedt branch of the Secret Intelligence Department. She was a special class intelligence officer who had been lurking here for nearly twenty years, Karen Booker.
"Died an unnatural death."
Thales was shocked at first. Then, he rolled his eyes.
He could understand Putray's sadness, and could understand the strangeness of Booker's unnatural death. But, compared to what Putray wanted to say …
Thales quickly asked, "The intelligence officer died an unnatural death? What happened? "
Putray's gaze dimmed. His face contorted a few times under the flickering light. "Burglary. The robber stabbed Booker in the back four times."
Thales frowned. "But …"
"Yes, Booker is my old friend for many years." Putray nodded as if he had the foresight to guess what Thales was thinking. "I know his capabilities. Even if the night of the calamity and the dragon's arrival was chaotic, no robber could have taken Booker's life."
He stared at him without saying a word, patiently waiting for him to continue speaking.
With his next sentence, Putray got to the main point.
Putray widened his eyes, his lips trembled slightly, and his expression was solemn. "But what was truly terrifying was what he recorded — the Secret Intelligence Department's secret code that Booker recorded in the inn's account book.
"In those few days, he met some people, found some things, and obtained some scattered clues, Your Highness.
"For the past six years, the Secret Intelligence Department and I have been tracking down these clues left behind after Booker's death." In the darkness, Putray turned his face to the side to avoid the light. His entire face sank into the darkness. "It was only recently that we managed to track down some results."
Thales was a little anxious. "What results?"
Putray first exhaled slowly, as if he was expelling something. Then, he inhaled deeply, as if he was gathering something. His slightly hoarse voice rose tiredly.
"Some old things, things that even the Black Prophet could not keep calm about. Things that were terrifying enough to shake the entire kingdom."
Thales widened his eyes. "What?"
'The Black Prophet?
Shake the kingdom? '
Putray nodded solemnly.
"From that day onwards, we understood that you were actually not safe, and neither was Constellation.
"So, the matter of your rescue has been elevated to the kingdom's and even the Secret Intelligence Department's most urgent task." With indescribable pity and grief, he stared at Thales. "So, on this day, six years later, Renaissance Palace has decided to bring you out of Eckstedt and back to Eternal Star City at all costs.
Thales was stunned.
He did not understand.
Putray seemed to heave a sigh of relief. His entire body relaxed. "This is the answer. It is the answer to what I have been doing for the past six years, and the answer to why you suddenly returned to the kingdom."
But Thales still did not relax.
He stood up abruptly.
"What? What exactly is it?"
He could not help but raise his voice. "Six years ago, six years ago in Dragon Clouds City, what exactly happened above our heads? What was it that could shake all of Constellation?" Putray's eyes were fixed on Putray anxiously as he searched for his wording.
But Putray disappointed him.
The other party shook his head. "No, Your Highness, that is all I have to say."
Thales immediately became anxious. "But —"
Putray raised a hand and interrupted him.
"Because I do not know either." Putray's face was filled with worry and misery. "I do not know, nor do I dare to believe that what I discovered is the truth. I also do not know that the truth I understand and the truth the Secret Intelligence Department saw, and …"
He paused for a moment.
But Putray still continued to speak.
"… is it the same as the truth His Majesty, who is sitting on the throne, believes in? How far is it from the truth?"
'His Majesty?'
A chill that came out of nowhere crept up Thales' spine.
Putray suddenly raised his head, as if he had regained his strength. "Remember, Your Highness."
His voice was tense, and he spoke faster. There was a hint of anguish in his voice that was difficult to hide. "Regarding this matter … do not trust anyone, do not be certain of anything, do not be limited to any impressions. Sometimes, even the scene before your eyes may be a lie and an illusion!"
The more Thales listened, the more puzzled he became.
'What is he saying?
What exactly is going on? '
Finally, like a suffocating and dying patient who finally breathed in for the first time, Putray calmed down from his trembling body and resumed his long, drawn-out breaths.
The pipe in his hand was almost broken into two.
But Putray's next sentence caused Thales to lose his composure.
"Your Highness.
You must do this, and you should do this … "
"The truth about the Bloody Year, about your own life," Putray said in a heavy and sorrowful tone.
"You can only uncover it yourself, investigate it, and verify it."
At that moment, it was as if someone was beating a war drum beside his ear. Thales shuddered!
The prince's thoughts spun rapidly. His unusual mind instantly grasped countless pieces of information that matched his words.
'The Bloody Year?'
Thales subconsciously grabbed his chest. The map of Renaissance Palace that King Nuven gave him many years ago was tightly pressed against his lapel.
'But, was the Bloody Year not the second prince, Horace …
'Was it not Black Sword and the others who assassinated me?
'And my life?
'But didn't the Queen of the Sky say that my name in the Draconic language …'
Thales' face was pale. He remembered Saroma's warning before he left.
"Thales, eighteen years ago, Constellation's Bloody Year …
"… is related to the calamities."
'Asda, Giza …'
His mind was in a mess. The surplus of information and information almost made him lose himself.
'Putray, the Black Prophet, the Secret Intelligence Department, and even King Kessel …
'Did they …
'Discover some secret?
'Discover some secret?
'How much of it overlaps with the secret I know?'
Thales swayed a little and leaned against the wall.
Silence returned to the tunnel.
After a few seconds, the prince slowly raised his head and stared at the person in front of him blankly.
He stared at the middle-aged man's dead gaze.
Putray looked at the secret door and sighed softly. "It's time.
"You should depart, Your Highness."
This was Putray's parting words.
The secret door opened.
A teenager slowly walked out of the secret passage, climbed out of a cave, bypassed the ruins of the low wall that served as a cover, and walked into this remote and deserted alley.
He stopped and slowly raised his head.
The teenager stood in a daze in the open-air Dragon Clouds City. He stood in a corner filled with junk. His thoughts were in a mess.
In the distance, the bright moon had already risen.
It illuminated his path home.
At this moment …
"Hahaha …"
In the distance outside the alley, a rude and unpleasant voice rang out of nowhere!
"Hahaha, this is impossible!"
Thales was shocked. He subconsciously pressed himself against the wall and held his breath.
"We respect you, so we are not joking." Another slightly callous voice rang out. "Dragon Clouds City is no longer the same as before. This matter must be resolved. The new bosses of Bow District have already expressed their stance. As long as you agree, they are willing to —"
The rude and violent voice rang out again, as if he did not care about politely interrupting the former person.
"You know, a few hours ago, that dead-faced man with drooping eyebrows from Heroic Spirit Palace also came to me. His goal was similar to yours, and what he said was also similar."
The rude voice imitated the 'dead-faced man' in his words. "He was much more impressive than the few of you. He carried that ugly blade on his back and led two rows of guards into Shield District in an aggressive manner. He slammed the blade in front of me and looked as if he would kill anyone who stared at him. He said as if he was demanding a debt, 'In the name of the Archduchess of Dragon Clouds City, I want the whereabouts of that prince.' … Hahahaha, I'm so scared!"
But there was only mockery in the rude voice's laughter. The fear in his words could not be heard at all.
Thales shuddered slightly.
"Are you saying that the crazy Star Killer personally brought people to look for you?" A third voice rose from the other side. He seemed to be in cahoots with the previous cold voice. He asked cautiously, "You mean that the crazy Star Killer personally brought people to look for you?"
'Star Killer?'
When he heard the familiar name, Thales pulled his thoughts back to the present and threw away all unnecessary emotions.
It sounded like … two parties were in a confrontation. The rude voice was the minority on one side, and the other side was the majority.
"Hah, do you know how I answered him?" The rude and fierce voice rang out again, and it was filled with disdain. "You better listen carefully, because I am also prepared to answer you in the same way …"
The next moment, it sounded like the owner of the rude voice spat on the ground. "Bah!"
I don't give a f * ck if you are the Star Killer, the Star Manipulator, the Archduchess or the Archduchess — "
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