Under Count Lewis' strange inquiry, Derek's expression remained the same.
"The one before you is Thales —"
But Lewis immediately burst into laughter and waved his hand to interrupt Derek's introduction.
"Don't be nervous. That was just a joke. Of course I know where he is —"
Derek's expression darkened when he was interrupted.
"Come, let me see …"
In Derek's silence, Lewis slowly turned his horse around and sized up Thales with a profound expression.
The prince took a deep breath, suppressed the discomfort in his heart, and accepted the Count of Black Lion's gaze with a smile.
A few seconds later, Count Lewis, who had almost circled Thales, finally snorted.
"Your Highness, I have long heard of your great achievements in Northland. It is an honor to have you here."
He closed the distance between him and the prince. He leaned back, and his expression was still arrogant.
"Perhaps you don't remember me —"
But unexpectedly, the prince raised his voice and interrupted the other.
"Will the Black Lion, who is good at fighting, still fight for the pride?"
When he heard this, Lewis was immediately stunned.
"'Fight to the death.' This is how you answered my father back then." Under everyone's gaze, the second prince stared straight at the leader of the Black Lion Family.
"'As long as the Lead Lion remains wise and brave, he will remember the pride.'"
Lewis looked surprised.
Even Derek furrowed his brows slightly.
"Yes, I remember you. Count Lewis Bozdorf from the Brave Soul Castle."
"Six years ago, you were sitting not far from me at the National Conference."
Thales cleared his throat. His gaze began to turn cold under the setting sun.
"And I still remember when they voted on whether I should be the prince …
"You voted against me."
There was a warning tone in Thales' words.
Bozdorf's expression changed in an instant.
He sat up straight on his horse, and the way he looked at Thales was different.
Even Derek by the side pursed his lips.
Lewis coughed slightly.
"Your Highness, in the past —"
But the prince's cold expression suddenly melted like water melting from an iceberg.
Thales snorted and interrupted the count.
"Don't be nervous. That was just a joke …"
Under Lewis and Derek's frowning expressions, Thales leisurely lifted the reins and urged his horse past the Count of Black Lion.
"Come, let me see …"
The prince calmly looked at the black-armored soldiers behind the count, as if he was inspecting his own army.
A few seconds later, Thales imitated Lewis's actions and pulled the reins back to his horse.
"Your Excellency, I have always admired the reputation of the Black Lion Clan for being good at fighting."
After saying that, he extended his right hand to Earl Lewis with a friendly smile.
"It's my honor to meet you today."
Lewis stared at the prince in a daze.
The Black Lion Clan of the Brave Souls Fort.
Another famous family name in the West Wilderness.
According to history, Bozdorf's ancestor was a heavy infantryman who participated in the Battle of Eradication. He was promoted repeatedly by the King of Renaissance because he was brave and good at fighting. He was promoted step by step until he finally became a count on the day the country was founded.
A large part of the reason why Constellation was able to expand its western border to its current state was due to the warlike and forceful nature in their blood. At the beginning of the second century in the Calendar of Eradication, during the battle where the 'King of Blades' Tormond the Second conquered Dragon-Kissed Land and destroyed Fog Dukedom, it was Bozdorf's infantry unit that beheaded the first and last Archduke of Fog.
After the First Peninsular War, Brave Souls Fort's reputation reached its peak. In the Western Desert, the Black Lion Clan even had power over the guardian dukes. Then, during the 'Confrontation of the Two Stars' in the late second century — after the death of 'Cloud King' Horace the Second, the two branches of the Jadestar Royal Family fought for the throne — they unfortunately chose the wrong side, just like most families in that era.
The stunned Earl Lewis stared at the prince's outstretched right hand, then at Thales' smile. He was silent for a while.
By the side, Derek, who had not said a word, looked at Thales and curled his lips slightly.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Half a second later, the Count of Black Lion's arrogant expression faded away. He urged his steed forward, flung off his iron gloves without hesitation, and held Thales' hand firmly.
"I promise you that you will see us live up to our name."
Thales only felt his tightly clenched hand tremble with a loud bang.
The Count of Black Lion's grip was quite strong.
Earl Lewis narrowed his eyes.
"And the Headed Lion is indeed extraordinary."
Count Bozdorf let go of Thales' hand and waved his hand behind him.
"Your Highness, come and meet my eldest son and heir, Paul."
A brown-haired young man with a determined face, who looked quiet and low-profile, and who wore armor with the emblem of a black lion, rode forward.
"Paul Bozdorf." The young Paul put on a stern face and pressed his fist against his chest. He did not look as complicated as his father. "Your Highness, it is my honor to serve you."
Thales smiled.
"It is also my honor."
Count Lewis, who had been sizing Thales up, laughed and extended his hand to the black-armored soldiers behind him.
"Your Highness.
"My son and two hundred elites from the Black Lion Clan, as well as a hundred people from the fourteen families around Brave Souls Fort, will escort you home with Derek."
Lewis added.
"Forgive me for not being able to accompany you personally, but please do not doubt our passion and loyalty to Renaissance Palace."
Thales looked at the flag of the Black Lion behind Lewis, as well as the flags of the other fourteen nobles.
The prince frowned slightly before he flashed a smile.
"Never doubted it."
Lewis also chuckled.
"I never doubted you, never doubted it."
But the next moment, the Count of Black Lion looked to the east, and his tone changed.
"But I suspect that others do."
Thales' smile was a little stiff.
'Hmm, that's a good way of putting it.'
Amid the awkward atmosphere, Derek coughed, intentionally or unintentionally.
But Lewis acted as if he didn't understand and suddenly said,
"So, I heard that our Duke of Western Desert, Lord Cyril has gone to look for you, Your Highness?
He even gave you a good sword? "
Thales' slightly relaxed nerves were immediately alerted by this sentence.
'Damn it.
How did he know? '
The prince, who had a huge headache, changed his direction. He instinctively wanted to block the Sentinel on his saddle.
"About that, I wanted to return it …"
But Lewis sighed. He pointed at the army he brought with him, and his eyes were filled with indignation.
"Derek and I.
"Together, we mobilized countless subjects, and then mobilized six to seven hundred elite personal guards to achieve this, but the duke only used one sword to do it."
Count Bozdorf snorted lightly.
"What a bargain."
He suddenly turned to the master of the single-winged raven.
"What do you think, Derek?"
The Count of Wing Fort looked up, but he did not answer. He only gave Lewis a friendly smile.
Thales looked at Derek's expression and seemed to have understood something.
In the next second, Count Lewis' gaze returned to the prince, and his attitude seemed to be nonchalant.
"So, he also 'flung' you with a sword?"
Thales was stunned.
"Flung?"
Derek coughed again at the side.
But Count Lewis still acted as if he did not hear it. Yes, he smiled without a care and gestured at the prince on his mount.
"You know, it's to swing a sword in front of you on purpose. If you are so scared that you wet your pants, then he will chuckle and say, 'Ah, you are only so-so.' If you do not react at all, then he will pretend to be profound and say, 'Yes, you passed my test.'"
Lewis waved his hand with a disdainful expression.
"After he deceives you, of course, he can pretend to be serious and give a long speech."
'Deliberately holding a sword in front of you …'
Thales was puzzled at first, then he was completely stunned.
'What?'
The scene of the Duke of Western Desert alone in a room with him the day before yesterday surged into his mind like a tidal wave.
"What?" the prince asked in surprise.
As if he had expected Thales' reaction, Count Lewis chuckled with an expression that said, "I knew it."
"I'm guessing that the duke probably poured out his heart and soul to you, expressed his worries, and showed you how much he loved Western Desert, that he loved it madly, that his love was reasonable, that he could not extricate himself from it, and that he could move the world. In the end, he solemnly stated that everything he did was because he had no other choice, and that he only wanted to remain neutral in all the chaos, and that he did not want to choose a side?"
Thales blinked. He was a little dumbfounded by the amount of information in this sentence.
'What?'
But Lewis kept going.
"And did he use those dozen or so words to go around in circles, and then come back to the same word game again? Did he use some nonsense like 'power is born of violence, violence gives birth to a lot of things, and then power is born again' to bewitch you?"
'Power is born of violence …
'A word game that goes around in circles again …'
As he listened to Lewis' words, Thales was stunned and puzzled. His eyebrows rose and fell a few times.
There was a teasing tone in the Count of Black Lion's tone.
"Makes you feel that he is unfathomable, far-sighted, and different?"
Derek, who was beside him, turned his head away and coughed loudly.
Thales finally found a gap and asked in puzzlement.
"How did you —"
But Lewis did not give him a chance to retort.
"You know, after a bunch of nonsense, when the time comes, he will snap his fingers like this …"
Count Bozdorf waved his hand in disdain and snapped his fingers.
"Then, he will blink his eyes and snap his teeth. 'Don't worry, I won't say this to anyone else, but I'm with you!'"
The way he shook his head and the disdainful expression on his face was rather similar to Duke Fakenhaz's.
But it startled the prince.
"Wha — What?"
Lewis smiled coldly.
"Don't be surprised, Your Highness.
"That is the unpopular Sir Cyril. When we were young, he treated everyone —"
He put away his playful expression, and his expression turned cold.
"That's what he did."
Thales stared at him in a daze. He tried his best to control his expression.
'What does he mean?
'He treated everyone like this?
'That's …
'That's what he heard the Duke of Western Desert say in Ghost Prince Tower yesterday …
"'Do you think I would randomly pick up a fourteen-year-old brat on the street and tell him this?"'
Thales felt that he was a little confused.
Lewis turned his head in disdain.
"Am I right, Derek?"
In the room, Derek bowed politely, but he still smiled and said nothing.
Looking at Derek's behavior, the Count of the Black Lion snorted coldly in dissatisfaction.
But at this moment, Thales' heart was already in a mess.
'That …
'That Duke of Western Desert who looks like a boss … actually … But … no … Then …
"I am going to the camp to visit the duke today. I hope he will not use the old method to brush me off."
Lewis snorted.
"But no matter what, be it the beginning or the end of this farce …
"We really have to thank you, Your Highness."
Count Bozdorf stared at Thales, who was trying hard to think.
"And from the Ruins to Wing Fort, whether it was Sir Cyril, Derek, or so many suzerains under us, if it were not for your arrival, Western Desert would rarely have such a gathering.
"You must be our savior, Your Highness. Whether it was six years ago or now, you allowed us to reunite after we were separated.
"Don't you think so, Derek?"
Derek curled his lips for the third time and smiled politely.
Looking at the stubborn Count of Wing Fort, Bozdorf shifted his gaze to Thales again.
"And I still have a gift."
The Count of the Black Lion waved his hand. In the next second, a few strong and powerful soldiers in black armor raised a flagpole and waved a ridiculously tall and extraordinarily large flag in the air.
Thales was just about to thank him, but his smile froze again.
"Do you miss your family's coat of arms, Your Highness?"
While the citizens on both sides of the town cried out in surprise and burst into an uproar, the flag was unfurled in the wind.
It was a Nine-Pointed Star Flag.
However, the Nine-Pointed Star on the flag seemed to be made of a special material. As long as the flag moved slightly, it would shine with a piercing silver light. It was as bright as the starry sky, making it hard for people to ignore it.
Many people, including Thales, subconsciously raised their hands to cover their eyes.
'F * ck.
This is too … '
Thales turned his head around awkwardly.
"I am very grateful for your gift, but this is too high profile —"
"High profile?"
Lewis quickly interrupted him. He raised his arms indignantly at the surrounding town and fields.
"For the sake of the Goddess, this is your kingdom, your home, and we will all be your vassals. We should be free to walk in your own home —"
Thales said softly, embarrassed.
"I'd rather keep a low profile …"
But Lewis acted as if he did not hear him and continued to speak loudly.
"And if there comes a day when you, as a member of the Jadestar Royal Family, have to be overcautious and full of doubts even when you reveal your identity in your own home, then perhaps …"
Lewis leaned forward and pressed his palm on Thales' shoulder. The exaggerated expression on his face suddenly turned cold.
"There is a problem with this family."
He said coldly.
"What do you think?"
Thales felt a chill in his heart.
Lewis pressed on Thales' shoulder, revealing a sense of incongruity that made people feel extremely uneasy.
Thales took a deep breath.
A second later, the corners of his lips curled up, but he did not say anything. He only released a …
Flawless smile.
"Forgive me for interrupting." At this moment, Derek, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke.
"It is time for you to depart, UU.
Your Grace, it will take us half a day to reach Blade Fangs Camp from here. "
Thales was unusually grateful for the interruption.
Perhaps it was because of Derek's help, or because he finally had nothing else to say, Count Lewis only remained silent for a while before he let go of Thales.
He put away his strange expression and smiled faintly.
"Of course. Don't let me disturb you."
"Paul, protect the prince with your life," Lewis instructed his son in a meaningful manner.
"Just like how this prince risked his life to protect his home for the past six years."
Paul pressed his hand against his chest and lowered his head solemnly.
"I will, father."
"I will."
Count Bozdorf curled his lips and pointed at the shining silver flag with a nine-pointed star with his thumb.
"Also, remember, although that flag is heavy, you must ensure that it is erected in the air.
Don't let it fall. "
Lewis clicked his tongue. Thales did not know who he was talking to.
"It will hurt someone."
Thales' expression did not change.
This time, Paul did not answer. He only nodded silently.
"Then, have a smooth journey, Your Highness."
The Count of Black Lion reined in his horse. The cold expression on his face faded away, and he smiled confidently.
"The road in Western Desert has not been maintained for a long time, and it has never been easy to travel."
Surrounded by soldiers, Lewis Bozdorf rode past Thales' side in a swaying manner, leaving the prince with a view of his back and a sentence that carried a profound meaning.
"Presumably, the road in Central Territory …
"Will be flatter?"
Thales sighed in relief as he watched the Count of Black Lion's troop leave.
He and Derek looked at each other, and both of them revealed impeccable and helpless smiles.
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