Thales sat in his seat, but his body did not feel like his own.
He realized that at this moment, in the Imperial Conference Room, he was the only one facing the King.
He could not turn a deaf ear to it, nor could he lower his head to hide.
"This morning, when the military intelligence from the north arrived, regarding Dragon Clouds City …"
King Kessel's voice rang out in the narrow room, lacking the echoes and emptiness of the council chamber.
But it made people feel even more suffocated.
"Gilbert insisted on letting his student listen in, saying that this was the prince's' practical lesson '."
"However, even in front of the Emperor, when he was wrangling over your farce last night, he was not this anxious."
When Thales thought of Gilbert, gratitude and disappointment surged in his heart at the same time.
"Today, Bob Cullen specifically mentioned that pirates from the north are becoming increasingly rampant. He said that he wants to reorganize the Huigang Navy to protect the trade interests of the seven ports of the East Blue."
Kessel sat on the main seat. Even the Everlasting Lamp could not light up the darkness in his figure.
"Koshder's men, on the other hand, rushed to the Department of Agriculture and Pastoral Affairs early in the morning. With the excuse of preparing to purchase seeds for the spring ploughing, they checked the amount of grain exported to the Land of Cliffs Region. Most of the grain was also grown in the Northland."
Thales tried his best to inhale.
Prime Minister Cullen and the One-eyed Man of the Land of Cliffs.
"As for Eckstedt …"
The king snorted coldly, and his words were filled with disdain.
"Elaphure City's diplomat group has been in Eternal Star City for a long time, but they've been very patient. It was only after the banquet last night that they released the messenger crow to communicate with the country."
"Those Northlanders from Reformation Tower are really clean, and we can't get anything on them. It's a pity that the Doyle Family is unlucky. They exposed the matter of them selling grain privately."
Jorge of Elaphure and Levi of Reformation Tower.
Thales stared at the map on the table.
"You ran around for that girl, thinking you were doing it discreetly."
The Iron Hand King's voice suddenly tightened and focused on Thales like a scattered Mystic Gun.
"Actually, every single one of my movements is completely exposed."
Thales suddenly felt his mouth go dry.
Obviously, the tea in Ballard Room was not prepared for the Duke of Star Lake.
"And I thought that you would calm down a little in front of the foreign ministers at the Imperial Conference and put away your rutting tail feathers."
"Obviously …"
"I underestimated your determination, Duke of Star Lake, or should I say, North Star."
King Kessel paused for a moment and repeated the word coldly but sarcastically.
"For … love?"
The King's voice fell.
Thales looked up.
"But …"
The teenager instinctively retorted,
"That's not love."
No …
The King's eyes pierced through the darkness, piercing the sunlight.
It descended on Thales.
"Not love?"
His father's response was scornful.
"That's worse than love."
"Is it the desire for youth and beauty? Or are you interested in conquering noble women? "
Kessel the Fifth's voice boomed like thunder.
"Or are you just an arrogant pig who can only rely on your swaying penis to find self-esteem?"
Thales shut his eyes.
Over the past six years, the library, the Hall of Heroes, Shield District, the dining room, the study … Countless scenes from his memories assaulted him in that instant, but none of them helped the situation before him.
But we're not.
Thelma.
No.
The youth clenched his fists.
He struggled to breathe, trying to expel the discomfort that he had not felt in the past six years.
Why?
Why did he feel so uncomfortable, suffocated, out of control, and irritated?
"No."
Thales looked up and defended himself with difficulty.
"Thelma and I, we have a good relationship, that's true."
He withstood the Iron Hand King's cold gaze, just like withstood the Day before the Bitter Cold Blizzard, and also withstood the desire to retreat in his heart.
You can't run away.
Find a way out.
Face him.
Just like facing his past opponents: King Nuven, King Chapman …
"But outside of our personal friendship, I treat her …"
Face him.
Face it.
Face … them.
Thales took a deep breath and finally said those words.
"I have a responsibility to her."
At that moment, Thales felt the air around him circulate, just like his words and thoughts.
A rhetorical question came from the dark room, not much better than before.
"Responsibility?"
Thales found himself nodding slightly.
"That's right.
"Six years ago, I personally — no, I should say that you and the kingdom used all of our power to send that girl to the throne of Heroic Spirit Palace."
King Kessel did not speak.
The youth met the king's gaze, slowly regained his train of thought, and said in a firm tone,
"All of Constellation …
"We all have a responsibility to bear."
The prince seemed to have returned to the state he was in when he faced the vassals in Eckstedt.
"And I don't think that this responsibility is a meaningless moral burden."
Thales suddenly realized that Ballard Room actually had quite a few windows.
But what entered the room through them was cold air, not light.
"Because of what happened six years ago, that girl is naturally close to us, to Constellation."
The Duke of Star Lake sorted out his logic and spoke methodically.
"In Eckstedt, in Dragon Clouds City, in a group that is incompatible with us in terms of interests and ideology, this is especially valuable."
The king did not move.
Only his gaze remained the same.
"So I believe that Saroma can be trusted and expected.
"Even from the kingdom's point of view, my attention and help to her is not a meaningless effort."
Thales tried his best to portray himself as a counselor in front of the king. His words were confident and firm, just like Solder and Kirkirk just now.
"As I said, she is enough to be Constellation's ally."
He stared at his father intently.
King Kessel chuckled.
"Constellation's ally?"
He asked hoarsely, like a beast opening its eyes from hibernation.
"Or your weakness?"
'Weakness.'
For some reason, Thales suddenly thought of the Black Prophet, whom he had not seen for a long time.
He thought of their first meeting.
Thales gulped.
"I understand your concern."
He armed himself to the teeth, braced himself, and treated the person in front of him as a formidable enemy like Nuven and Chapman.
"A Camian once told me that you can't just look at numbers and profits when doing business. Sometimes, you also have to rely on word of mouth and connections."
The king snorted.
"Business?"
But Thales just continued.
"Even in the most ordinary of wars, our allies will be attacked, our friends will be attacked, and our comrades will be threatened.
"But this does not mean that they are our weaknesses."
Thales tightened his croaky voice, which had yet to go through puberty, to make himself sound more mature and rational.
"On the contrary.
"To reap profits, you have to take a relative risk.
"So last night, for the sake of our interests, I could not stand idly by."
He had to be resolute and certain.
"Because I believe that the girl will bring us greater value and benefits."
Thales stared at the pair of eyes that were incredibly piercing in the darkness and tried his best to raise the shield that belonged solely to him.
King Kessel was silent for a long time.
So long that Thales' sitting posture became stiff.
Finally.
"We."
The Iron Hand King sneered.
"You use 'we' to coerce your reasoning.
"You tell me that this is what 'we' should do."
The next moment, the king pressed down on the arm of the chair.
Kessel came out of the darkness into the sunlight, revealing his figure, his face, and his gaze like a stone statue.
And the nine-pointed star symbol on his clothes.
It was even more obvious than the symbol on Thales' collar.
"But what about yourself?"
For some reason, the king's action sent a chill down Thales' spine.
Like a fierce beast revealing its claws from the fog.
"Your own feelings, your own intentions, your own considerations, your own preferences …"
The king said coldly,
"And where are you?"
'Where am I?'
Thales frowned.
He stopped thinking about other things and replied,
"I am among 'us'.
"If, in addition to the interests and standpoint of the kingdom, you can also consider sincerity and not betray my personal friendship with her, then everyone will be happy …"
But the king's response came like a shadow.
"No."
Kessel's tone was steady, but there was an unshakable majesty to it.
"You are pretending to be among 'us'."
Thales furrowed his brows.
"Because you think that I am a rational and calm king born for Constellation, a cruel king who only has eyes for the kingdom."
The Iron Hand King's words were incomparably cold.
"I despise emotions and impulsiveness, and only care about gains and losses.
"That's why you racked your brains and spent so much effort just to disguise yourself as me and face me."
Thales was stunned for a second.
"To prove that what you are doing is in line with the principle of interests and political considerations," the king's words were calm.
"So that I will believe in your words.
"So that I will let go of your recklessness and let go of your girlfriend."
Thales was about to retort, but the Iron Hand King's next sentence completely froze him.
"Just like your usual trick: to understand your opponent's methods, their logic, and then defeat them on their battlefield."
Kessel snorted coldly. He rubbed his fingers gently.
"To deal with King Nuven with exquisite calculations.
"To fight back against Chapman Lampard with a desperate gambit.
"To deal with Williams with a domineering attitude …
"Or like last night.
"Using the weakness of human nature to play a remote game with the boy from the Covendier Family."
Thales stared at the king in a daze.
He knew.
The king's words echoed in Thales' mind.
'Usual trick …
To pretend to be like him and face him … '
The teenager suddenly had an illusion that he was stripped naked from head to toe and was standing naked in front of the king.
There was nowhere to hide, nowhere to adapt, and nowhere to escape.
"But some things can't be disguised."
Kessel the Fifth raised his eyes.
"Just like last night."
'Last night.'
Thales' pupils moved.
The Iron Hand King stared at him from afar.
That feeling came again.
The kind of oppression that neither King Nuven nor King Chapman had ever given him.
The kind of powerlessness that made him feel as if a thousand pounds were weighing down on him, and he opened his mouth to speak but felt as if a fishbone was stuck in his throat.
"Why?"
The king spoke softly, but found it difficult to parry.
"Last night, why did you put yourself at risk?
"You personally participated, and you enjoyed it?"
Thales felt as if he was seeing double.
It was Anker and Doyle's faces.
The teenager took a deep breath, focused, and tried his best to explain.
"The situation at last night's banquet was tricky. I was in a dilemma, and no choice was appropriate.
"So I personally participated in order to find a third way, to show them a completely different Thales Jadestar, so that we …"
But at this moment.
"Lies."
Thales stopped talking.
"You personally participated, not because of 'us'."
King Kessel stared at him from afar, as if he was watching a game of chess.
"And it was because of you.
"You wanted to save the chess pieces and the game at the same time."
Thales felt a chill in his heart.
"Because this is who you are.
"No matter what, you always want to find a way for everyone to be happy, a perfect choice that meets the highest expectations in your heart.
"It's best if there are no ripples, no harm.
"To avoid the ugliness and sacrifice that you are most unwilling to face."
Thales felt his breathing become more and more sluggish.
"I —"
He wanted to speak, to relieve the pressure, but …
It's useless, Thales.
The teenager opened and closed his lips in vain, thinking bitterly.
It's useless.
He knows.
Thales lowered his head in a daze.
And just like he said, you have nowhere to hide.
No excuses.
"But what I don't understand is …"
The king continued speaking.
"Don't tell me that damned fate doesn't give you a damned response every time?"
Thales was stunned.
At that moment, King Kessel's gaze seemed to cut open his chest.
"You slaughtered everyone at the National Conference, but received even more malice and suspicion.
"You turned the tide in Dragon Clouds City, but brought up an enemy more terrifying than your predecessor.
"You spoke up for the archduchess in Heroic Spirit Palace, but put yourself in danger of being targeted by public anger, and had no choice but to turn to an even worse ally.
"You had an ambiguous attitude in Blade Fangs Camp, and seemed to be enjoying a better life. But at the banquet last night, you were hit hard by the irreconcilable conflict between both sides, and ended up in a sorry state."
As he listened to these personal experiences, Thales felt his body become more and more numb.
'Is that so?
As for my choice …
Fate, gave me a response every time? '
"Just like last night, when you wisely and wisely secured the chess pieces and the game, and won your position and reputation …"
The king's tone was sarcastic.
"But you left the shit on your ass for the entire kingdom to wipe."
Thales was stunned.
More excuses emerged from the bottom of his heart, but when the words reached his mouth, he could not bring them out.
"A third way? Ha, just like how you are used to the willfulness of a street beggar, but delusional about the status and glory of the kingdom's bloodline. "
Hearing this, Thales could not help but tremble.
"You wander around the top of a cliff, but delusional about the view of the sky.
"And you think that as long as you are not afraid of death, you can have a firm foothold."
Kessel's rebuke was like a sharp blade, and it cut into his heart.
The king's sharp gaze left Thales, and he looked into the air.
"Just like you and that girl from Dragon Clouds City."
Thales allowed the supreme king's voice to drill into his ears, but he could do nothing about it.
"You tell yourself that out of value and position, a powerful ally can bring you benefits.
"But you also tell yourself that out of love and desire, a beloved lover will make you willing to sacrifice yourself."
In the next moment, King Kessel's words took a sharp turn.
"But if you confuse these two points, drift between the two, and think that you can handle both with ease, and take care of both.
"Then you are wrong."
The king's gaze was deep and cold, and he enunciated each word clearly.
"Until you understand that every time, every self-righteous and perfect choice, there is a greater price."
The teenager gulped again.
"I think that she, the Lady of Blazing Blood, has already proven her value and position in that battle."
Thales adjusted his voice so that he did not sound so lost and helpless.
But for some reason, his sentence was stuttering.
"She is very powerful … She can be very powerful.
"She can bring benefits to us …"
The king snorted coldly.
"You know," he looked straight at Thales and said coldly,
"I'm not talking about her."
Thales' body swayed a little.
The Iron Hand King said sarcastically,
"Polaris."
'Polaris.'
'Polaris again.'
Thales had never hated this title as much as he did at that moment.
Just like how he hated this moment.
"What about you?"
After struggling for a while, Thales' voice finally rang out faintly.
"Your Majesty."
The teenager's voice was not loud, and the pitch was not steep, but it sounded like a powerless question that had gone through a lot of hardships.
"Honorable Lady Jines, is she your ally, or your lover?"
In the darkness, King Kessel's eyes suddenly moved.
The air around him was no longer frozen.
But there was an additional tension like before an avalanche.
"And are you really as you said, someone who despises feelings and impulsiveness, and only cares about gains and losses …"
Like a drowning person coming to the surface and gasping for breath, the teenager's words fluctuated.
"A rational, calm, and cruel king who only has eyes for the kingdom …
"Able to distinguish everything clearly and without confusion?"
Kessel's gaze sharpened.
But Thales could not tell if there was anger or sadness surging in his eyes.
But he suddenly realized that this was the first time he had refuted his father today.
Or … the first time in his life?
The stone statue named King Kessel moved in his seat. He raised his chin slightly, and there was a hint of anger in his voice.
"You —"
But Thales interrupted him.
"I am a Jadestar."
He inhaled with all his might, as if this was the only way to avoid suffocation. He even had to grab his palm hard to keep his voice from changing.
"As the Prince of Constellation, as the bloodline of the kingdom …
"If I cannot even be responsible for a girl who has suffered because of me …"
Thales realized that he could not control the pause in his words, but he still tried to finish them.
"Then, in times of crisis, at the critical moment, what right do I have to stand up and be responsible for my kingdom and my compatriots?"
King Kessel's gaze changed, and there was a different light in it.
Thales stared at the king.
"That's right, this has nothing to do with her.
"It only concerns me."
A few seconds passed.
The waves in the king's eyes finally subsided.
He looked at Thales again, and his tone was firm.
"You care about her."
Thales shuddered.
At that moment, the teenager actually did not dare to raise his head and look at his father again.
But he still had to face it.
Just like Kessel's questioning of his past behavior just now.
He still had to answer.
"I do care about her."
The teenager did not know what his expression was like at the moment.
He knew how difficult it was for him to break through all the obstacles and obstacles before his words could come out of his throat.
Just like what he was thinking at the moment.
"She is my true friend, my friend in times of need.
"My savior, my classmate," Li Yundong said.
Thales lowered his head sadly, and his voice also became softer.
"Of course I care about her, care about her, and maybe even … like her."
'Little Rascal.'
King Kessel did not respond, not even a sarcastic and disdainful snort.
He only looked at his son in silence.
Thales took a deep breath.
He forced determination out of his gaze, and forced away the pain.
"So that's even less of love."
It did not have to be love.
It could not be love.
The moment he said this, Thales' heart trembled. He felt as if he had stepped on air.
Weightlessness, imbalance.
He was at a loss.
Thales looked at King Kessel, trying to catch his breath in a trance, deliberately forgetting everything else.
Until the king replied faintly,
"Is that so?"
There was no ripple or ripple, no praise or criticism.
Thales closed his eyes, then opened them again.
"I am very realistic."
After the discomfort, Thales could finally adjust his sitting posture without any hindrance. With an inexplicable emotion, he raised his head proudly.
"I am your son, of the Jadestar bloodline, heir to the kingdom."
King Kessel's face moved slightly under the sunlight.
"I have long understood that my fate is destined to be full of ups and downs, full of misfortune and misfortune."
Thales glanced sideways slightly, a little gloomy.
"But just like you, I have made my choice."
The next moment, he looked at the king again, as if he was looking at another version of himself, and spoke the subject of the next sentence in the language of the ancient Empire.
"I was born for the stars."
The king looked back at him silently.
Ballard Room was as silent as before, but the air was no longer blocked.
Thales exhaled, like a prisoner who had broken free from his shackles and was breathing luxuriously under the sunlight.
The teenager gritted his teeth.
"So I will not, and cannot, have any improper thoughts towards her, romantic feelings, or thoughts that go beyond the bounds of propriety."
Will cause the same disaster …
And bring it to her.
"Precisely because I care about her, care about Saroma, care about my friend."
King Kessel did not say a word.
With a mixture of pain and discomfort, Thales uttered the words that had been buried in his heart for a long time, confirming things that he had already figured out.
"So that is definitely not love."
That cannot be love.
Absolutely not.
At that moment, he was like a bird freed from its shackles, finally able to spread its wings and soar into the sky boldly.
Until his wings broke and he fell to the ground.
"You asked me where I am," the young duke said in a low voice. He suddenly liked the darkness of the stone room.
"I am here, in Renaissance Palace.
"Just like you.
"Father."
Thales' mood sank.
"And you don't have to worry … about her and me."
As soon as he finished speaking, Thales realized that he was sweating profusely and breathing rapidly.
This was far from the demeanor that the Duke of Star Lake should have.
The silence in the room lasted for a long time.
It was as if he wanted to leave enough time for this confession.
Until the meaning behind it was completely understood.
"Is she well?"
King Kessel suddenly spoke, startling Thales.
But the teenager immediately fell into dejection.
"I don't know."
He closed his eyes and opened them again, trying to eliminate all expressions.
"I also … don't want to know."
Ballard Room was completely silent.
It seemed like a long time had passed.
Finally, the king's figure voluntarily retreated in the light.
He sat in the shadow of his seat again.
His face was no longer visible.
Only the voice of the king could be heard from afar.
"Sometimes, I am really strange."
King Kessel's words were as sharp and harsh as ever, but there was no longer that prickling sensation.
"Why is your rationality on par with your stupidity?
"Why are they in the same mind?"
The king snorted coldly.
"And still able to coexist peacefully."
Thales did not speak.
He sat at the long table in a daze.
Just now, the teenager understood a little.
In his life, he had faced three kings.
King Nuven's tyrannical methods were a combination of strength and gentleness, a mixture of kindness and authority, as unfathomable and immeasurable as the sea.
King Chapman, on the other hand, pressured and threatened him with tangible benefits, as if a blade was pressed against his neck and a thorn in his back.
But the Kessel the Fifth in front of him.
The Iron Hand King.
He was completely different from the other two.
As the Supreme King of Constellation, he did not speak eloquently and did not know how to speak boldly.
But Kessel had an even more bizarre and terrifying ability.
With this ability, he could transcend kindness and authority with just a few words, directly strike at the heart, and grasp the most damned vital point.
Forcing Thales to face his true self.
Calm and tranquil.
But heartbreaking.
The king reached out and moved a cradle on the table.
The door to Ballard Room opened.
A few unfamiliar royal guards appeared at the door. A person walked past them and into the room.
It was the scarred man from the Secret Intelligence Department.
But Thales did not seem to hear it. He just sank into his seat expressionlessly.
"Take him out," King Kessel's voice rang mercilessly.
"Let him see the mess he left behind."
Thales looked up absentmindedly.
"What?
"Don't dawdle." The king lowered his head again and flipped to the next document.
"There are much more important matters in Ballard Room.
"Remember what you said today."
Thales did not remember what happened next.
He did not even remember how he walked out of Ballard Room in a daze.
He also did not remember how the scarred man stiffly put his hands behind his back and apologized stiffly, saying that the king's orders could not be disobeyed, but Lord Mallos could not leave for the time being and asked His Highness to come with him.
Until Thales followed him absentmindedly out of the palace through a side door and into a carriage.
"Where are we going?"
Feeling the swaying of the carriage, Thales, who had finally adjusted his emotions, came back to his senses.
"The Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department, Your Highness — His Majesty's orders."
Opposite him, the fierce-looking scarred man scratched his face as he answered.
'Secret Intelligence Department.'
Thales frowned.
But he found something even more wrong.
The scarred man in front of him …
His voice, became different?
Noticing the prince's gaze, the knife-scarred man smiled faintly and stretched out his hand to tear off the skin on his face.
Thales widened his eyes.
"Long time no see, Your Highness."
The person in front of him threw away the scarred mask and lowered his head to fiddle with his eyes. His voice was relaxed and humorous.
"How have you been?"
Thales was stunned.
'It's him.'
"You don't look happy, why …"
His old acquaintance, the Barren Bone man Raphael Lindbergh, opened his dark red eyes in the carriage and looked straight at Thales.
"Dumped by your girlfriend just now?"
Thales' expression froze.
"Raphael."
The prince, who was already in a bad mood, leaned back.
"One more word of nonsense from you …"
The Duke of Star Lake stared straight at the top of the carriage and said expressionlessly,
"I'm going to ask for the honorable Lady Miranda's hand in marriage."
Raphael's face fell.
Then, the carriage became completely silent.
No words were spoken throughout the journey.
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