Kingdom’s Bloodline

Curfew at the Saber Camp, only the faint sound of wind left on the streets.

The two people in the hut faced each other silently, thinking about each other.

"I have seen the tragedy of Heisha Ling, and after returning from Fengzhao City, in those days when I was most depressed, decadent, frustrated, bored, and constantly conflicted with my father, I returned to my old fief and locked myself up. "

Kuai Rope quietly looked at the flickering lights.

"In the wilds of a remote country, I met Dana."

Hearing the unfamiliar name, Thales couldn't help frowning:

"Dana?"

Kuaisheng was still in a trance.

"On the surface, she is just an ordinary shepherdess."

"When I said impatiently that afternoon that I was a relative of the nearby order officer and that it was just an accident to break into her sheepfold, let alone steal her sheep, she immediately demanded twenty silver coins from me with bright eyes. , just to frighten one of her milk sheep."

Kuaisheng was immersed in the memories of the past, and chuckled: "I lost a milky ewe, and turned around to beat a rich fat sheep, why not?"

"That's how we got to know the domineering shepherdess and the self-destructive sheep thief."

Thales watched the other person's expression, and found that Kuaisheng's eyes were extremely gentle.

"Is there anything special about her?" he couldn't help asking.

Kuaisheng raised his head and raised the corners of his mouth.

"Oh, Dana is the most special." Like an ordinary person showing off his virtuous wife to his neighbors, Kuaisheng has a funny expression and a smug tone: "Especially after being raised by a gruff old dwarf."

"She was always smiling, lively and unrestrained, even after her adoptive father passed away. She was very unreserved even by Northlander standards. Her dwarf adoptive father taught her to drive sheep by teaching her to swing a hammer, for God's sake , it hurts to be whipped by her shepherd's stick."

Moral, who had changed his name and surname, was still smiling, and Thales read from his complaints the unique ease that belonged to the fast rope.

Apparently he didn't hate Dana's cane as much as he said.

"Dana works two jobs, one is shepherd and milking, the other is helping in the tavern, but she is a shrewd girl."

Speaking of that girl, Kuai Sheng beamed with joy: "She once swung a cane and drove five or six sheep thieves away, beat the crap out of the hidden village chief, and used sweet words to beat the drunks who were looking for opportunities to profit. Coaxed out of pocket, she knows how to play tricks on the tavern owner who deducts her wages, and fights back against the owner's daughter who bullies her."

Following the other party's narration, Thales lowered his head and pictured this unusual shepherd girl in his mind: fierce, cheerful, and waving a cane, like a fierce and cute little wolf cub, protecting his body with his forelegs. Food, claws and claws around.

"She would often count the coins hidden under the bed with bright eyes, but she was not like other girls in the village, just to save a dowry, and then rely on a man who would marry her to make a living, or dress up beautifully, Looking forward to being the mistress of some great man."

"Because she always believes that her life will not be bound by anything."

Kuai Sheng's eyes dimmed: "It's the exact opposite of me."

He looked at the lights obsessively: "She believes that one day, she will save enough money, then board the carriage that drives out of the village, arrive at the port of Elk City, buy a boat, and become a female navigator who explores everywhere home, travel around the world, and radiate a lifetime of light in the stormy seas and mirages."

female navigator.

Thales remembered something and subconsciously looked at the fast rope.

"But she doesn't know that, except for passengers, sailing ships don't accept women. They think women on the sea are ominous." Kuaisheng lowered his eyes, and the corners of his mouth were still raised: "An old sailor told me that it is said that Muhai girls don't like homosexuals."

Thales didn't speak.

"I don't know if it's love, or just young affection, but at least when I lie next to Dana, I smell the scent of goat milk on her body, look at her cheerful and lively smile, and even taste the sweetness on her lips. when soft,

I can forget a lot of bad things. "

Kuaisheng said blankly: "In front of her, I am Moral, not the heir of the walking dead. I can speak out my truest desires and thoughts as much as I can, without saying that my desire to travel around the world is a A mercenary's dream, to present yourself as a tough warrior of the North."

The fast rope stopped, as if savoring the mood at that moment.

The moonlight was shrouded in clouds, the poor-quality lamp oil was slowly running out, and the simple house made of clay was getting darker and darker.

But no one wanted to turn the lights back on.

"What happened next?" Thales said in the darkness.

Quick Rope took a breath and changed his position.

He seemed to have just recovered, and continued his story: "In this way, I went back and forth between Dragon Clouds City and the fief, witnessing the darkness and distortion of power while feeling the joy and tenderness of Dana."

"For Dana, for her ideal of traveling around the world, I tried to meet my father's request against my will, but I only resisted his urging marriage. I racked my brains again and again to convince him that the future Grand Duke of Dragon Clouds City There has to be a wife who is in the political interest, so there can be no rush."

"Father was very relieved. He thought I was enlightened and knew how to weigh the pros and cons for Dragon Clouds City. Although he didn't know the reason why I suddenly cheered up, he didn't care so much. He probably thought that disciplining me was the same as disciplining Suriel. .”

Kuaisheng sneered, and there was a touch of sadness in the laughter.

"But, of course, it can't last long."

"Father still found a good wife candidate for me, and let me try it in the name of modification, even though she and her family are in the enemy country."

.

enemy country.

At that moment, Thales raised his head abruptly, unable to hide the surprise on his face.

"So, your mission six years ago..."

Kuai Sheng nodded and sighed silently: "Yes, six years ago, according to the plan, after the revision, Dragon Clouds City would propose marriage to the only daughter of the Lunba family, the noble descendant of the Empire, and the only daughter of the Duke of Arend for their heir. .”

He shook his head in disgust: "Although Exter just hanged the old Duke Arend in Cold Castle more than ten years ago."

Thales frowned: "Miranda? How is that possible?"

Quick Rope sighed.

"Whether asking for a marriage is just a means. My father doesn't want to let the Kingdom of Stars slowly recover after the war, and he doesn't want to use the fortress as an excuse to support himself. He wants to test King Kessel and the Arend family, and beat them by the way. Black Sand Collar, the reaction of all three will tell us what to do next."

"So this is the meaning of your mission," Thales said in a daze:

"Prepare for the next war or negotiation, whether it is the stars or the black sand collar."

Nova, and dragon blood.

He tensed his arms.

Kuaisheng snorted softly, and his tone revealed sarcasm: "Yes, whether it is to win over your northern territory, divide the interior of the stars, or modify to gain benefits, suppress the black sand collar, and by the way, accumulate the prestige of future king election for me...Father, He is always so well-planned, he can achieve multiple things with one stroke, a simple thing can be played by him in a variety of ways and has far-reaching meaning."

Speaking of King Nuen, Kuai Rope's mood dropped a lot.

"Don't play chess with him on the same board, Thales, because you don't know how deep his tactics are and how many cards he has in this game," Kuaisheng said indifferently: "And those who were played by his father Those who are above without knowing it are extremely sad.”

Don't play chess with him on the same chessboard...

Playing with people above the applause without knowing it...

Thales' breathing became short of breath.

He remembered the conversation with King Charmain in the carriage.

When talking about King Nun, both he and Charmain could feel a trace of awe and chill from the heart in the eyes of the other party.

Who would have thought that a person who had been dead for many years could make them so embarrassed?

Quick Rope's tone was full of complicated melancholy: "I guess, Charmain and Conkley, after countless defeats against the king, they finally realized this: don't play games with King Nun."

The two were silent for a while.

"The later things are probably the templates of many knight novels and bardic poems." Kuaisheng smiled reluctantly: "My father finally found out that his son and heir were actually obsessed with a country shepherdess, so he resisted him. duty of."

Thales raised his brows: "I guess, the Born King is not very happy."

"Not too happy?"

Kuaisheng sneered, with a hint of resentment in his tone: "Your words are too polite, Thales."

"And then?" Thales asked.

The fast rope paused.

From this moment on, his silhouette in the dark became desolate and desolate.

"Father sent someone to my fief in private, Thales."

Quick Rope lost and said: "He found Dana."

"He found her."

There was a long silence.

After a long while, Thales asked with difficulty:

"what happens?"

Kuaisheng didn't seem to have the motivation and desire to continue, but after all, he spoke again, and this time, his voice became hoarse.

"Dana is dead."

The person who spoke was like a walking dead, motionless and lifeless: "On the day I heard the news and rushed back to the fief."

Thales held his breath.

Kuaisheng said dryly, as if telling someone else's story: "I frantically pushed the White Blade Guard away, but only found her cold body in the sheep pen for a long time, with a smile still on her face."

"She was poisoned."

Kuaisheng's voice trembled, with a shallow cry of fear and regret.

"They told me that she committed suicide by taking poison herself, but... Thales..."

Poisoned.

At that moment, Thales remembered that night in the Palace of Heroes.

It reminded me of King Nun's delicate ring.

Triumph.

I remembered the girl from before, Alex.

Thales shuddered for a moment.

Prince Star Star refrained from speaking.

The only sound left in the room was Kuai Rope's painful panting.

In the end, Kuai Rope calmed down.

"chain."

Thales came back to his senses: "What?"

"The chains of power, Thales." Without knowing where to start, Kuai Rope's voice carried a touch of determination:

"That night, I stared blankly at Dana's body, just like I looked at Suriel's body."

"It suddenly dawned on me that I never broke free from it."

Thales listened quietly, but what emerged in his mind was the catacombs in the Fuxing Palace, those large and small stone pots and urns.

Lyman's Pass in Black Sand Territory.

Oni Prince Tower in Saber Camp.

Boom.

The fast rope leaned back, and the back of his head hit the wall heavily.

"From the beginning of my birth, I have been under such a chain, whether it makes me restrain myself, be content with the status quo, and be an obedient and harmless viscount, or urge me to turn to the original way and become an ambitious and intimidating king, never escaped."

He gritted his teeth and said, "I'm deceiving myself and others in the pull of it loosening and tightening, back and forth."

"finally, I understand."

The fast rope came to the edge of the bed, he put his legs down on the ground, put his elbows on his knees, leaned forward, and stared straight at Thales.

"I can either obey, give in, and let it lock my body and mind tighter and tighter," Kuaisheng's tone made Taylor's heart tighten: "or abandon it completely."

"Be true to yourself."

Thales remained silent.

"Moral was already dead, Thales, not when he was assassinated by the Starmen, or when he escaped from the Palace of Heroes," Kuaisheng said coldly, "but when he was the son of Nunn, as the He was already dead when the bloodline started its own life."

"And it wasn't until the night when I climbed the black path with difficulty and climbed out of Dragon Clouds City that the man named Moral came alive for the first time."

"On that day, I saw that I was really saving myself with my own hands. After reversing my fate and shattering all illusions and luck," Kuaisheng's eyes shone brightly in the darkness:

"Totally spurn this chain called power, which is actually a prison, and say 'no' to it and everything it represents, including the forced bondage called 'responsibility', including the 'virtue' Hypocrisy, including self-deception called 'Dayi'."

Kuaisheng's voice disappeared, leaving only determination and determination.

After a long time, Thales, who was full of emotions, struggled to speak out.

"So you chose to leave."

Thales sighed: "No matter what kind of infamy you may bear: coward, timid, or evasive."

Kuaisheng laughed disapprovingly: "You can think what you want, but I..."

But Thales' next sentence made Kuaisheng slightly taken aback:

"Maybe sometimes, it takes more courage to follow the path expected by others than to follow the world's eyes."

There was a little exclamation in Thales' tone.

"Maybe." The way Kuaisheng looked at him gradually changed, it was no longer the kind of faint joke, but serious and serious.

The moonlight reappeared from the clouds and sprinkled silver light.

The two princes looked at each other silently.

Thales felt the firmness and determination in the opponent's eyes, as well as the vague hesitation and confusion.

"But how did you do it, Mo Kuai Rope," Thales couldn't help asking, "Never look back?"

"Those... can you really let go easily?"

"During the days when you left, didn't you regret it?"

This time it was the turn of the fast rope to stall.

he mused.

For a moment, Thales found a trace of struggle between his brows.

But Quick Rope finally stretched his brows.

"Six years ago, I survived from the sea, and when I heard the news of the drastic change in Exeter and the death of my father... I was also shocked, despaired, and regretted."

"But like I said," Fast Rope sighed deeply:

"Father's ending is doomed, whether I'm here or not."

"As for Dragon Clouds City and Exeter... I'm there, they may become better or worse, but I don't think they will become better or worse just because of me."

At that moment, Kuaisheng was like an old sailor who had experienced too many storms and waves. On the evening of returning from the last voyage, he told everyone a story around the fire:

"I don't want to be too greedy, and I can't be too greedy, trying to control things that are beyond my scope. If history has two results, then should I cry bitterly because of Dragon Clouds City without me, or should I cry for Dragon Clouds City? Survived without me, and cheered?"

Thales was stunned.

"The only thing I can do is save myself."

"That's all."

He said quietly: "That's enough."

"And I am here, in the desert, on the sea, and I do my best to maintain the operation of a small fleet, the livelihood of a small shop, the survival of a small team, and help these little people who can count on one hand... ..."

Quick Rope looked out at the same mottled wall and desolate alley through the window: "Actually, I don't think what I'm doing here, and I don't think the value I can find here is more important than In the secret room of Dragon Clouds City, moving chips like an immovable elder, talking and laughing happily with the princes, involving any historical mission, national economy and people's livelihood at every turn, would be even more insignificant or humble."

"I just... chose my own life."

Thales listened quietly, with surprise in his eyes.

In the end, Prince Xingchen looked away and heaved a sigh of relief.

He seemed to have just fought a big battle and was quite tired.

"Sorry, fast rope," Thales leaned against the wall, relaxed his whole body, and smiled slightly: "Just now, I said some inappropriate and self-righteous things, accusing you, you know, and suddenly met the person who caused you to live in a foreign country. When he was the chief culprit of the six-year hostage..."

Thales spread his hands.

Kuaisheng raised his eyes and smiled: "I understand."

"So you've calmed down? That's the end of the interrogation?"

The two looked at each other and smiled, and the hostility that was once unfamiliar slowly dissipated.

"Yes."

"I understand, that's your choice," Thales said softly, letting go of the grudges in his heart: "And I have no right to comment."

"I respect your choice."

Quick Rope took a deep breath.

He spoke softly, with two short words, but there was some emotion in his words: "Thank you."

"Don't get me wrong, I don't completely agree with your opinion," Thales twisted his waist, soothing his bleeding back: "Especially about the operation of history, or your opinion on responsibility."

Kuaisheng blinked: "But you said it, you respect my choice."

"This is far more valuable than total approval."

Quick Rope quietly watched Thales' silhouette in the dark night.

he laughed.

"Thanks."

Thales raised his eyebrows.

"Okay, I accept." He hummed softly.

But Kuai Rope shook his head.

"No."

"This thank you is for Alex."

At that moment, Thales froze.

Kuaisheng looked at Thales seriously: "In your Dragon Clouds story, you talked about so many secret things, such as duels, disasters, Rumba, coronation, as if you witnessed it with your own eyes, but you didn't Mention yourself."

"Either you're pure bragging, like a hearsay street peddler."

He narrowed his eyes: "Or, you were in it at the time, Thales Canxing."

"So, thank you for helping her on that night that sounded so scary, the current Grand Duchess of Dragon Clouds City."

Thales exhaled heavily.

"You just said," Thales frowned, "Your grades in politics were poor?"

Kuaisheng shrugged his shoulders and smiled again: "Of course it's not as good as someone who killed all sides at the state conference..."

"No." Thales shook his head, and before he could speak, he asked and answered by himself.

"I was thinking, Quick Rope, you might be smart."

"Smarter than most nobles who seem old and smart."

Thales sighed:

"It's just that your teacher didn't find out."

Kuaisheng's smile faltered slightly.

He sneered and continued the topic just now.

"I know what kind of character that girl is."

Kuaisheng said lightly: "Although Alex is annoying, besides her mother's appearance, she also inherited her father's self-esteem and arrogance, but she is not a bad girl, it's just that her unruly childhood made her a bit arrogant. .”

Thales' heart seemed to be tightened all of a sudden.

Alex.

Hearing Kuaisheng talk about the girl in his memory, his heart felt empty.

What appeared in her eyes was the painful twitch before she died.

No.

Thales thought dully as if his soul had left his body.

No, Moral.

He doesn't know yet.

he does not know……

"I'm so relieved to have you watching over her."

Kuaisheng grinned: "So, thank you, Thales."

"Thank you for doing so much for her, both what I know and what I don't."

but.

But she... But in his memory, the girl he mentioned has been...

Thales gritted his teeth.

"Be careful, Thales," Kuaisheng squinted at him, and changed the topic: "Although I just said, no matter whether someone cares about or is cared about..."

"But the love between you may be more bumpy than me and Dana."

At this moment, Thales froze in place.

love?

"Quick Rope, you misunderstood..." Thales sighed.

But the fast rope cut him off.

"Don't think this is far away from you, Thales, in this era, blood and family background are a curse."

The fast rope propped up his knees, pointed to Thales, and said with a serious expression: "As you are, one day, there will be someone relatives, friends, prestigious people, people you trust, they will come to you, I tell you with righteousness: for a higher good, for some more people, for a greater goal..."

"You have to surrender yourself, your love, your life, your freedom, to yield to them, to be their captive, to join their game."

Thales was stunned.

"And your choice will determine what kind of person you are."

Quick Rope stared closely at Thales, making the latter quite uneasy.

"But no matter how you choose, no matter what you have to sacrifice or leave behind," Kuaisheng said without moving, "you have to make sure that this is your own choice, Thales."

"Don't let other people decide for you."

Exeter's ex-prince narrowed his eyes: "Never."

Thales looked at him blankly.

He was full of emotions at the moment, and his whole brain was filled with pity for Alex, guilt for deceiving Moral, worry about the future of the little slicker, emotion for the chain of power, and dumbfounding over misunderstanding.

Incomparably complicated.

Speechless.

"As for me, don't worry," Kuaisheng raised his eyebrows, smiling sincerely and simply: "I've solved Dean, and I will go far away, neither going back to Dragon Clouds City, nor showing myself."

"Not to trouble my niece, and of course, not to trouble you either."

"This is my promise, the promise of the Northlanders."

The light was too dim, so he didn't notice Thales' strange expression, and said seriously: "If you really love her, Thales, you and Alex..."

"Then you have my blessing, although you can't publicize Moral Walton's blessing."

"The separation is only temporary. I hope you will meet again soon and get married eventually."

Me... me and Alex...

See you soon?

Where will we meet again?

In Hell River?

Thales stared at him blankly, not knowing whether to puncture or reject.

Finally, he sighed and said nothing.

Facing the hopeful Kuaisheng, Prince Xingchen squeezed out an ugly and awkward smile.

"Thank... thank you."