"Are you okay?"
Zayen looked at him in confusion.
Thales tried hard to adjust his disorderly breathing so that he would not reveal any clues.
"Yes." Thales forced a smile and pushed the plate of lettuce away from him.
"It's just that I'm full and can't take it anymore."
Zayen was silent for a moment, his gaze sharpening.
"So in your opinion, a vassal like me is still the main culprit? Is he the source of the country's chaos because of his selfish desires? "
Thales neither admitted nor denied it.
He looked at the Duke and tried to forget what he had seen in his mind.
"Maybe."
"But this is not an accusation, because you are powerless."
There was nothing he could do.
Zayen savored the words for a while.
He opened his mouth expressionlessly.
"Based on what you're saying, everything is inevitable. There's no room for negotiation between us?"
Thales stared at the duke for a long time.
He suddenly remembered the first time they met. At that time, they encountered the assassins sent by Arunde. According to Stake, they were from Shadow Shield.
If the hidden assassin jumped out at this time, wouldn't Zayen become the shield for him again?
He was silent for a while before he shook his head.
"Who knows?"
"But now that the crisis has arrived, new demands must originate from it."
Thales was a little lost in thought.
"I think, when history gets tired of repeating itself, when people get tired of disputes, when countries get tired of internal strife … when the time comes, the absolute, sole, and supreme power of the monarch will be called upon again, needed, and pushed to be the protagonist of history."
Zayen frowned.
"Just like in the past, after the kings, who always said what they wanted, fell from the peak of their power." Thales pointed at the man and smiled.
"The vassals split up the land and expanded the territory, becoming the main characters of history."
Zayen pondered for a few seconds.
"Does this mean that the protagonist of history is first a king, then a vassal, and then a king again?"
He looked at King Kessel in the distance, then back at the prince.
"Only these two, nothing else?"
Thales snorted.
"King or vassal, one or many, congregate or disperse, exclusive or complete, central or regional, bureaucrats or squires, unified or divided, centralized or autonomous, hierarchical or absolute power. There are many names and many manifestations. Call them whatever you like."
He shrugged.
"But just like what you just said: duality, bidirectional, two sides of the scale, two ends of the road."
Zayen scoffed.
"It looks like we've gone around in circles and returned to the starting point."
Thales shook his head in disapproval.
"You look like you're spinning on the spot … Maybe it's because you're standing in the wrong place, choosing the wrong angle?"
Jenn looked at him.
"If you only stand in front of history, or if you fall behind it, then yes, it does look like it is spinning back and forth. Thales forgot the scene he saw in his mind just now, and his tone became relaxed.
"Up and down, back and forth, from a low place to a high place, and from a high place to a low place."
"But if you go in three dimension--I mean, move your noble ass, climb higher in history, and look down."
Thales said slowly,
"Perhaps you will discover that from this angle, under countless factors, in the unknown details …"
"History is always moving forward and making new choices."
"Never walk in circles."
Zayen frowned and thought for a long time.
Just as Thales sighed and was about to continue, Zayen suddenly spoke.
"Like waves on the sea?"
"Waves that rise and fall when viewed from a distance, rise and fall when viewed from a distance, but are actually always moving forward?"
Waves.
Thales was surprised at first, then he smiled.
"That's right."
He was going to say a common "spiral rise", but since Zayen had such a high level of awareness …
Thales leaned back in his seat and looked silently at the king and the duke on the steps, as well as the various guests below.
"It doesn't matter whether it's a king or a vassal. Apart from going up and down, going back and forth, in history, every time they fight, every time they take over, and every time they clash, perhaps there will be new sparks."
Thales' words became clearer.
"From the rise of Ancient Chauvinism to the divided governance of the kings, from the coexistence of city-states to the conquest of the Empire, from the rise of warlords to the Final Empire, from the Battle of Eradication to the establishment of Constellation, from the enfeoffment of the King of Renaissance to the reform of the Virtuous King — under the sun, everything is new.
He thought of the Old Crow and felt a little emotional.
Zayen carefully pondered Thales' words.
"History moves forward like waves, and we are like a small boat on the waves, drifting with the current most of the time, but occasionally riding the wind and breaking the waves?"
Thales paused.
"A small boat on the waves, a very interesting way of putting it.
"But unfortunately, I think, this metaphor is both self-righteous and belittling."
In the face of this contradictory answer, Zayen cast him a puzzled look.
Thales turned his head and smiled.
"I think, we are the water, and even more so, the waves."
Thales' expression was extremely serious.
"We are history itself."
Zayen's expression changed slightly.
This time, he turned his head back and was silent for a long time.
Not far away, Mallos, who had been busy all night, met up with Glover, who had just returned from outside.
"Still nothing?"
Glover rubbed his hands that were red from the cold. He put on his gloves and shook his head.
"Nothing.
"The guests were carefully searched before they entered, and nothing that could be used as a weapon or poison was found in the gift storage room.
"The guests who approached His Majesty and the dukes tonight — that's nearly a hundred people — were all checked, and all of them were people of status. There were no imposters, and there was nothing suspicious, at least nothing particularly suspicious."
Mallos' expression became more and more tense.
"Outside the hall, the police officers sealed off the roads for the whole night, and found nothing.
"Inside the hall, the royal guards — whether it was Renaissance Palace or us — also kept a close watch for a few hours, and did not find any assassins.
"Also," Glover hesitated for a moment, and said,
"I … heard from my acquaintance in the Vanguard Division that even the people from the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department came, and used some taboo methods to detect threats."
The Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department.
Mallos' eyes flashed.
Glover continued.
"But in the entire Mindis Hall, there was neither high-energy Crystal Drop Resonance, nor high-concentration refined Eternal Oil reaction.
"At least, none of the guests were hiding unknown Alchemy Balls or Mystic Guns."
But Mallos suddenly reached out and put his arm around his shoulder!
Glover was startled. Mallos lowered his voice and looked serious.
"What about other indicators?"
"Formation interference? Incantation fluctuations? Law anomaly? Origin mutual rejection? Phenomenon of balance? Traces of unusual descent? What about other indicators of magic detection? What did the Secret Intelligence Department say? "
Glover was dumbfounded by a few unfamiliar terms.
"Magic?
"I-I didn't say that much …"
Mallos frowned.
Unexpectedly, another voice came from behind and answered him.
"None of them." Under their wary gazes, the vice-captain, Vogel Talon, walked coldly from behind them.
"There are no long-lost methods of wizards.
"At least it's not a magical assassination."
Glover looked worriedly at his two superiors.
But Mallos was still deep in thought and did not say anything.
"Ha, Patterson caught a few disheveled lovebirds in an empty room in the side hall …"
Dodd yawned, looking exhausted, and walked over from the other side to report.
"Also, Stone caught a few naked men and women 'chatting' in some of the carriages. Bastia caught a few lazy fellows in the servants' passageway. There were a few people stealing food in the kitchen … But it's not a big deal. The basement and the fireplace were also empty."
"Also, two men were caught in the washroom. They were acting as' four-legged beasts' in a single room. You know what I mean, hehe … Old Leather wanted to report them, but I stopped him … Ahem, anyway, we have an extra sum of money this month, so we can improve our meals …"
Doyle smirked and shook his head.
Until he saw Vogel. In shock, he tensed up as if he had been electrocuted.
"Ah! T-Talon — Sir! "
Vogel glanced at him, concealing the disdain in his eyes.
Doyle coughed violently and became serious again.
"Reporting, sir! Many of the elderly important guests have left. Count Caso can't hold his liquor, Baron Garth and his widow lover have gone home early, Duke Arunde will be escorted back to his cell soon, and it's said that Prime Minister Cullen has also asked the Chief of Palace Steward if he can leave … "
He turned his head and looked at the guests in the center of the hall who were getting more and more hysterical.
"Only these youngsters are left …"
Mallos frowned as he watched a guest snatch a bard's lute, sing a love song to himself, and confess his love to a troubled lady.
"Aren't you tired after a night of eating, drinking, singing and dancing?"
Doyle narrowed his eyes and watched as the guest was stopped by another angry young man. The two of them exchanged a few harsh words and then came to blows, acting out a scene of two brothers fighting over a woman's affections ("Stop fighting!" — a girl with a tired expression). Until they were successfully stopped by their sweetheart waving a handkerchief ("The one I really love is actually your father!" — a girl with a face full of affection).
"That depends on who you're dancing with."
Vogel snorted.
"So, we have to be prepared to work through the night? To wait for your assassin to appear? "
Glover and Doyle both glanced at Mallos, but the latter did not respond.
"You should be thankful that His Majesty has few matters to attend to tonight, and they have all been completed," Vogel said unhappily.
"Captain Adrian is persuading His Majesty to cancel the secondary arrangements and leave early."
"Can we put an end to this farce?"
Mallos pondered for a moment, then his eyes lit up.
"Perhaps, perhaps the assassin is still biding his time."
"Still biding?" Vogel said disdainfully.
"After His Majesty and the dukes have left …"
Mallos looked up.
"That will take away a large number of guards, and make the rest relax."
The watchman looked up at the prince's seat. There, the Duke of Iris Flowers and Prince Thales seemed to be in the middle of a heated conversation, as though no one else was present.
He frowned.
"And brings the target closer."
Beside Thales, Zayen raised his wine glass again and watched the amorous anecdote that had attracted the attention of the crowd in the banquet hall.
A green-faced old Baron was quarrelling with an old friend of many years, accusing him of seducing his daughter, whom he had planned to marry to his son, in spite of his age, his honour, and the friendship between the two families.
Zayen retracted his gaze.
"King, vassal, and then king.
"Count Caso just proudly told me that your teacher in the north was Meryl Hicks.
"This was his teaching?"
Hearing the familiar name, Thales was in a daze.
"Half of it," he said wistfully.
"The Old Crow provided me with a lot of historical materials and details. I have to thank him for his persistent questioning, forcing me to think about every possible or impossible answer."
As if the previous life was not enough.
Zayen raised his glass to him.
"What about the other half?"
Thales shook his head.
"That's another person's … I guess it's a way of thinking."
Zayen looked puzzled.
"Three stages." Thales was a little absent-minded.
"Affirmation, negation, negation of negation."
Looking at Zayen's puzzled expression, Thales smiled.
"Or you can understand it this way: King, vassal, and then a new king."
Zayen immediately understood, but he still frowned.
"Way of thinking? Who said that? "
Thales sighed.
"Hegel.
"I don't remember. Who is he?"
Thales shook his head, "You won't know. To be honest, he was a very, very, very long ago …"
The prince thought for a moment and smiled.
"Probably a wizard."
Zayen was stunned.
'Wizard?'
He looked at Thales, the seriousness in his eyes deepened.
"I see," the Duke of Iris Flowers said faintly.
"Very enlightening."
Zayen's gaze froze. No one knew what he was thinking.
Thales looked at Zayen's thoughtful look and suddenly smiled.
"You know, according to this logic …"
Thales felt something in his heart.
"You have an apple, I also have an apple. If we exchange, each will still have an apple."
Zayen looked puzzled.
Thales raised his finger.
"But you have an idea, I also have an idea, when we exchange …"
Zayen seemed to have understood something and continued,
"Two ideas?"
But Thales shook his head.
"No, more than that."
He was a little lost in thought, "That way …
"We will have an unprecedented third …
"New idea."
Zayen was silent for a long time.
At this moment, Thales suddenly saw King Kessel get up from his seat, and his attendant Stanley draped his cloak over his shoulders.
The entourage of the king began to move.
Some guests noticed the king's actions and came forward to bid farewell. But King Kessel did not seem to want to be high-profile. He just waved casually and disappeared from the side door, surrounded by the royal guards.
Queen Keya and Jines were not there, and Kessel's back looked even more lonely and cold.
And the royal guards around him looked like they were facing a formidable enemy.
Thales' heart tightened: if the assassin wanted to make a move, this was the last chance.
He ignored Zayen's sizing gaze and looked around warily.
However, a minute passed. Even when the king's huge entourage walked out of the banquet hall, no one jumped out with weapons and shouted slogans to assassinate the king.
Thales watched the last person in the king's entourage disappear and breathed a sigh of relief.
Well, he did not expect the other party to say "son, I'm leaving."
The prince subconsciously broke his perfect sitting posture, stretched, and hurriedly sat up straight before anyone could correct him.
For some reason, without the king present, Thales felt much more relaxed, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
Obviously, Thales was not the only one who felt this way — the biggest evidence was that after the king left, the music in the banquet hall grew louder instead of weaker, and the crowd's agitation increased instead of decreasing.
But …
What if the assassin's target was not the king?
Thales touched the knife on the table, turned his eyes, and confirmed with Mallos.
Fortunately, the Star Lake Guards guarded the main roads around him very well.
"His Majesty left just like that?" Zayen frowned.
"Yes."
Thales turned back, and the absurd idea of Zayen taking the hit for him popped up in his mind again.
"There are other guests present, I think it's time for you to …"
But Zayen interrupted him.
"Your opening toast today was not bad.
"To God, to the country, to the king, to others, to faith." Zayen's gaze focused on Thales, clearly not wanting to leave.
"But few would say: to myself."
Zayen said lightly,
"To myself."
Thales frowned slightly.
He felt that Zayen's mood had changed.
Because of the king's departure, there were more guests who wanted to squeeze to the Duke of Star Lake's side, but they were all stopped by the Star Lake Guards. The reason was ready-made and obvious: His Highness Thales was having a pleasant conversation with Duke Zayen and was not to be disturbed.
"Tell me, Thales."
Zayen once again addressed the prince by his name. He swirled the wine glass in his hand and said softly.
"Have you ever thought …"
The Duke of Iris Flowers raised his head from his seat and looked at the huge pillars in the hall with a serious gaze.
"Back then, if that Lady Serena had not taken you by surprise and abducted you to Vine Manor, making you and I enemies from the beginning …
"Later, if she had not sneaked into your convoy, and attracted the Night Queen's pursuit …
"Then today, we would be in a different situation?"
Thales stared at Zayen, his expression turning serious.
"What do you mean?"
But the Duke of Iris Flowers smiled slightly.
"Jadestar and Covendier, Enneagram and Iris Flowers, we actually don't have to be enemies.
"You and I, we can let bygones be bygones and stand together …"
Zayen stared at him, emotions churning in his eyes.
"In the future, in this crumbling world …"
"Achieve greatness."
Thales' gaze shifted.
Zayen slowly approached him, raised his wine glass for the third time, and revealed his signature, refreshing smile.
"As long as you are willing to accept peace — and no longer be my enemy."
Thales was stunned.
Zayen raised his eyebrows, moved his wrist, and gestured at Thales' wine glass on the table.
The two stared at each other for a few seconds.
At that moment, Thales felt like he had returned to many years ago.
Back then, in the Northlanders' military tent, another much rougher man did the same, pushing his wine glass to the then prince and inviting him to drink with him.
Thales quickly came back to his senses. He looked at Zayen's expression and smiled.
"Let bygones be bygones and stand together …"
"This sounds familiar," the prince said playfully.
"Six years ago, when I was on a diplomatic mission to Eckstedt, didn't you say something similar?"
Zayen's expression darkened.
Thales looked at the other's expression and remembered what Duke Fakenhaz said in Ghost Prince Tower:
"But you have to be more careful and vigilant.
"The powerful nobles and suzerains will scramble to find you and rope in the prince who has just returned to the kingdom. They will do everything they can to win you over to their side and turn you into the vanguard of Renaissance Palace."
Thales stared at Zayen's expression and chuckled.
"I'm sorry, but maybe you should say: Jadestar and Covendier, let's just unite by marriage and become one family. In the future, our bloodlines will blend, advance and retreat as one, and share the Constellation Throne?"
At that moment, the prince clearly saw Zayen's expression turn cold and his breathing quicken.
It was like a warm spring breeze suddenly crashing into a cold air mass.
On the periphery, Doyle, who had returned to stand guard, yawned and nudged the honest-looking Guard Officer Ferri beside him.
"What did His Highness and the Covendier family talk about? Are they so close? They haven't left after so long … "
"Speaking of which, Ferri, don't you think that although many ladies tried to get close to him tonight, His Highness, he, he, prefers to stay with men?"
Perhaps not expecting Doyle to answer him, Ferri, who was staring at the guests loyally, froze for a second.
"Uh, I think so?"
Doyle looked puzzled.
"Why do you think that is?"
Ferri answered without hesitation.
"Because His Highness is also a man."
Hmm?
Doyle was stunned. Feeling that something was wrong, he pondered for a while but could not find a flaw in this sentence.
In front of Thales, the Duke of South Coast gently put down his wine glass.
"Our past conflicts were caused by accidents or forced by circumstances, but they were never intentional or personal grudges."
Zayen took two deep breaths as if adjusting his mood.
"But this time, I'm serious.
"This time, it's just me and you. It has nothing to do with the families behind us. There's no need to involve them."
The Duke of Iris Flowers' tone was stiff, as if he was forcing himself to endure.
'It's just you and me. It has nothing to do with the families …
This time, I'm serious … '
Thales chuckled in his heart.
What's with this scumbag script of deja vu?
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