Early in the morning, on the road to the Northern City Gate in Eternal Star City, a team of soldiers from the city defense team tactfully avoided the people in the empty space in front of them and consciously prevented others from approaching.
"Don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to openly kill the prince in the capital."
The Guardian Duke of Land of Cliffs Region, Koshder Nanchester, stood tall and straight in the middle of the road. He flicked the snow on his cloak, which was covered with the symbol of the Great Deer Antler.
He said coldly, "I just want to see him."
He stood in front of the continuous line of carriages and looked at the vigilant Jadestar Private Soldiers, waiting for their master's reply.
Gilbert got off the carriage and looked at the Great Deer Antler carriage and a few guards from the Nanchester Family, as well as another carriage with the symbol of the Tricolor Iris Flower in the distance. He frowned.
"Duke Nanchester, if you want to send the diplomat group off, you can wait at the Northern City Gate … Intercepting them halfway is not how a suzerain of a land should behave."
Koshder's expression was unpleasant as he pointed at the carriage in the distance. "It's not just me. There's also the boy with the Tricolor Iris Flower."
Gilbert quickly thought about the situation at hand.
"We all know that even though he's only seven or eight years old, he's not an ordinary child." Koshder shook his cloak impatiently. "Send the news to the second prince and let him make the decision."
A tender child's voice came from the third carriage.
"It's okay, Gilbert! Let me handle it. "
Thales pushed open the car door. Accompanied by the nervous Wya Caso and the vigilant Midira Ralf, Thales walked to Koshder with a calm expression.
Koshder looked at the child with a complicated gaze and gestured to the side of the road.
Thales took a deep breath and nodded. He waved at the attendant and the Phantom Wind Follower before following Koshder to the side of the road.
"What kind of drama is this?" The vice diplomat of the diplomat group and the prince's instructor, the thin Lord Putray, got off the carriage impatiently, as if he had been disturbed from a beautiful morning.
Gilbert shook his head. "A fight within the kingdom."
"So peaceful?" Putray narrowed his eyes and looked at the Duke of Land of Cliffs and the second prince in the distance.
"Peace?" Gilbert frowned and glanced at his old friend.
"It's so peaceful that I'm about to cry." Putray curled his lips and said sarcastically, "You should go to the Eastern Continent, to the Kirin Holy Capital, and see the infighting between the Chen royal family, the eunuchs, and the nobles in the Mane Ye Dynasty. Of course, you haven't been there before, so it's normal for you to have shallow knowledge."
Gilbert exhaled discontentedly through his nose. He could not find any effective words to refute him.
Damn bards.
Thales looked at the hostile Duke of Great Deer Antler in front of him and pondered over the other's intentions.
He must have come with a purpose.
But we are destined to be enemies.
Be vigilant.
"I didn't expect that the first person to come would be you," Thales said quietly.
Koshder snorted softly.
"I don't want to see you in front of so many people … Fakenhaz's sarcasm is too annoying." The One-Eyed Dragon stared at him coldly. "Brat, I know you're very smart. I'll cut the crap and listen …"
'I don't like you--no one ever dared call me a hypocrite. '
Thales spread his hands helplessly. "Then what do you want me to call you? Liar? Swindler? "
Or … Actor? Best Actor? Sect Leader Yue?
Koshder ignored his words. The scar on his blind left eye looked hideous.
"But I can still cast aside my prejudices. In the future, the Land of Cliffs Region can fully support you to become the Supreme King and suppress the nobles who are eager to cause trouble, as well as the suzerains with ulterior motives. The Great Deer Antler acknowledges you as its master, and the Jadestar Family will still be the Royal Family. "
Thales was stunned for a moment.
'What?'
Thales' eyebrows twitched. "I thought that the Great Deer Antler and I were already sworn enemies."
But Koshder ignored him.
"There is only one condition," the One-Eyed Dragon said with certainty.
Thales, who was shocked by the One-Eyed Dragon's abnormality, breathed a sigh of relief. "As expected, you won't be friendly to me for no reason."
"There is a price to every battle, and a reward to every victory." Koshder narrowed his only eye. "This is the Nanchester Family's language."
The prince raised his head and met the One-Eyed Dragon's gaze.
"So, what 'price' do I have to pay to receive your 'reward'?" Thales, who was extremely vigilant, asked cautiously.
"It's very simple," Koshder said with a stern expression.
"King Kessel will abdicate, and you will be crowned king in advance."
'Abdicate … Crown …
'What …
'What?'
Thales took three seconds to comprehend this sentence.
Then, his expression changed abruptly!
Koshder did not seem to be joking at all. He kept looking at him seriously.
The two stared at each other for a full five seconds.
"Ha, you actually tried to sow discord between the only Jadestar father and son." Thales grinned. "Don't you know that everything I have now is because of His Majesty … Father?"
"This is not sowing discord, but a sincere proposal and invitation." The One-Eyed Dragon's expression did not change, and his tone was serious.
"What we fear and loathe is not Jadestar, nor you — our grudges are nothing compared to the kingdom — but your father.
"The Iron Hand King."
Thales stared at the One-Eyed Dragon with a burning gaze.
"What do you think the 'New Star' was formed for? Do you think that Arunde's actions are really just because of personal hatred and dissatisfaction? "Koshder said with unprecedented seriousness.
Koshder said in an unprecedentedly serious tone, "This is all the suzerains' self-preservation! To continue the family that has existed since the founding of the kingdom … "
"Enough!"
Thales interrupted him without hesitation.
'What a joke, this level of provocation …'
Thales said coldly, "I only see all of you pressuring the disaster-stricken royal family, pressuring my father, questioning my identity, obstructing the rights I deserve …"
But the One-Eyed Dragon's expression changed. With a furious expression, he interrupted him loudly!
He said, "Brat! If you can only listen to the story of the sorrowful king and the resolute royal family described by the king's partisans, then you might as well dig out your own eyes and leave only your ears! "
Thales froze for a moment.
The One-Eyed Dragon exhaled a few times and said to him word by word, "You underestimate your father, underestimate the Iron Hand King, underestimate the fear he instilled in the whole of Constellation."
Koshder said slowly,
"Since the Bloody Year, Kessel has become more and more domineering, almost crazily seizing power.
"From supporting a Duchess of Blade Edge Hill, who could only survive by relying on the royal family's prestige, to indirectly controlling the two great families in the southwest — controlling the piranhas at the southwestern estuary of the kingdom and the richest Morning Sun Flower.
"Then, he made an exception and recruited the 'Three Marshals' to build an astonishingly large royal regular army.
"Then, there was the central tax bill that weakened the suzerains, the fixed conscription bill, and the border county development bill that produced a large number of new nobles.
"And his favorite National Conference — using thousands of public opinion to force the suzerains to submit and hand over their power to the royal family. It was the same during the Desert War and the succession of the throne. The Higher Parliament, where the suzerains united to speak, was useless. When making decisions, only the voice of the king and the cheers in the square could be heard.
"He even wanted to intervene in the succession of the Six Great Clans and the Thirteen Distinguished Families.
"Even the internal strife in the Covendier family two years ago had his shadow in it."
Thales felt a chill in his heart.
'What … is this?'
Koshder said with a gloomy expression,
"Do you really think that when a national war is imminent, no one is willing to send troops for the king? Is it really because we do not care about Constellation's survival?
"Your father and his wits are terrifying."
"If we let him do as he pleases for twenty years, the nineteen noble families, from their power, wealth, status, people, and territories, will all be devoured cleanly … We will either submit or be destroyed. Constellation will return to the system of the Empire! With such a king around, how can we not panic? How can we not resist? How can we not do our best to protect ourselves? "
Koshder's single eye was ablaze. He took an oppressive step forward.
"You saw it … The Northern Territory was forced to rebel, Blade Edge Hill almost became a royal territory, South Coast Hill suffered a great blow due to family strife, Eastern Sea Hill was so scared that it became a coward, Western Desert barely protected itself with the importance of the western battlefront." His gaze was stern and solemn, "As for the Land of Cliffs Region, they did not want to sit still and wait for death.
"New Star used Eckstedt's power to curb Kessel's royal power. This was already our last resort when we were at our wit's end, other than raising our troops."
Koshder gritted his teeth. "It is a small matter that we did not succeed …
"But if Kessel continues to act willfully …"
Thales stared at the Duke of the Land of Cliffs in shock.
This was another version of the current situation in Constellation that he had heard.
It was far different from the version that Gilbert had instilled in him.
"The Bloody Year changed him. Kessel is now like a real emperor." Koshder's voice was mournful, "He wants to dominate everything in this country.
"He treats every suzerain as an enemy. He is merciless in suppressing and plotting against them. He treats Constellation as his personal carriage, and he has no control over his horsewhip and spurs …
"Those who can be used will be used as bargaining chips, and those who cannot be used will be suppressed and eliminated. Those who go along with him will prosper, and those who go against him will die."
Thales frowned tightly as he recalled how a few counts questioned the king's authority at the beginning of the National Conference.
"This is not a good thing, whether it is for our suzerains, for Jadestar, or for all of Constellation …
"If this goes on in this ancient country, sooner or later, there will be a great disaster!" Koshder gritted his teeth. His single eye was like lightning.
"You are about to go to Eckstedt. This is not a good errand … but it will allow you to see another Constellation from another angle. See how the children of the Northern Wind and the Dragon view us."
Thales lowered his head and calmed his breathing.
"Why did Tormond agree to rule together with the suzerains? Wasn't it precisely because of the tyrannical rule of two generations of the Empire that led to its eventual destruction? "
Thales opened his mouth, but immediately swallowed the word 'calamity' back into his stomach.
He had a feeling that the end of the Empire was not as simple as the 'calamity strike' that Gilbert mentioned.
Koshder turned around coldly and pulled up his cloak. "If your goal is to become a tyrant like your father, and you are willing to pay the price of Constellation's downfall, then pretend that I never said these words today."
The One-Eyed Dragon stared at Thales, who was deep in thought. His gaze was complicated. "But you said that day … if you care about Constellation's stability, stability, peace, and prosperity … if this is your wish, and not to become the only supreme king …
"Then my suggestion will be valid forever."
Duke Nanchester left his final words and turned to leave.
"Have a safe journey. Don't embarrass Constellation."
Thales stared at the departing One-Eyed Dragon in a daze.
'This person …
'This is another Koshder, completely different from the Duke of the Land of Cliffs who forced the king to appoint a crown prince during the National Conference.
'No,' he told himself. 'This is all a scheme by the other party to ruin Kessel's image, to drive a wedge between father and son …'
A voice from a very long time ago rang in his mind.
"'From a feudal state to a centralized, absolutist state, this is the only way for almost all European countries to go through …"
But Thales still clenched his fists lightly.
He raised his head and looked at Koshder, who was walking away, and Zayen Covendier, who passed by him.
"I hope I did not disturb you." Zayen bowed politely.
"Of course not," Koshder replied coldly, "I will be satisfied if you don't fall for the trap and think of me as the mastermind behind the assassination."
Zayen's expression froze as he watched Koshder board the carriage.
Thales, who felt a headache coming on, sighed deeply. He looked at Zayen and asked impatiently,
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