In the hall of the mansion of Secret Manor, Thales stopped in front of a portrait facing the porch.

"This is Leinster Kevin Deal."

Raphael's voice came from behind.

The man in the painting is handsome and well-dressed. He is sitting on a red leather chair, playing with a slightly unsheathed dagger in his hand - the exposed dagger blade transmits cold light, and the tip of the dagger is inlaid with gems.

"One of the Six Knights of the Revival King—Deadly Iris."

Hearing this surname and nickname, Thales realized something. He looked at the tapestry under the frame:

[Leinster P.T. Kevin Dill, former 27-20]

"Seven hundred years ago, he funded Prince Tormund, who had not yet become king, and recruited and trained the first batch of professional spies and spies. He made great contributions to the end of the war and the founding of the Star Nation. He was the kingdom's first intelligence officer.

Manager."

Raphael stared at the portrait as if he were staring at a real person:

"Recognized as the founder of the kingdom's secret science."

The fatal iris depicted by the artist is only thirty or forty years old. His expression is focused but his brows are slightly furrowed. He has a melancholy and misty temperament, and there seems to be endless sorrow in his chest that cannot be resolved.

Make the viewer feel pity.

Leinster Kevin Deere.

The founder of Secret Science.

The prince was thoughtful:

"He is also the ancestor of the Kevin Deere family and the first Duke of South Bank?"

"Exactly."

Thales nodded, said nothing, and followed Raphael's footsteps.

Stepping indoors and stepping on the star-blue carpet common in the kingdom, the mansion hall that appeared in front of Thales was open and bright, completely different from the old and desolate outside the manor.

Thales looked around:

"It seems bigger than it looks from the outside."

The sunlight shines through the window, making the silver double cross stars on the wall carpet and hanging flag shine brightly, which is unexpectedly deep and dark.

"That's thanks to the original owner of this manor. The architectural layout is unique and has a lot of hidden things inside."

Raphael didn't look away and kept walking.

"It's a pity that the manor suffered bad luck during the Year of Blood and was almost burned to rubble."

"Otherwise it wouldn't have become our headquarters."

Several people in casual clothes were sitting in the hall busy, some were dealing with documents, some were talking in low voices, and they turned a blind eye.

There is little difference from an ordinary municipal department.

almost.

Raphael led the boy into a side hall.

Whether it was the corners, columns, stair handrails or even the shape of the ceiling, Thales could see the past luxury and splendor of this place and its historical deposits. However, Raphael walked very fast and was obviously used to such a rhythm. The young man was in vain.

To appreciate it, you can only take a quick look at it.

Until he saw another classical bust in a corridor.

[Halva C.M. Karabyan, 14-65 BC]

The man in the painting is nearly middle-aged, but there is no trace of twilight between his eyebrows. He even has a slight smile at the corner of his mouth with a mustache, looking simple and sincere.

It is in perfect contrast to Leinster, which has a city in its chest.

"That's Steward Halva."

Noticing that Thales' pace had slowed down, Raphael only took a glance and revealed the identity of the person in the painting:

"Deputy and Successor to Leinster."

Thales's heart moved.

Raphael nodded slowly:

"Thanks to his talent and persistence, the intelligence network that was originally privately managed by Leinster did not become a short-lived accident due to poor reputation after the death of 'Deadly Iris', but was officially named 'Kingdom Secret Service'.

Recruiting talented people and customizing the rules have been passed down to this day."

Thales' eyes moved to the wall carpet under the picture frame. There was a sentence embroidered with gold thread on it. The font was simple, half text and half white, somewhere between modern imperial language and contemporary common language:

[The king’s ears and eyes are the sentinels of the country, and it is my duty to keep the secrets in the know.]

Raphael continued:

"Of course, Halva eventually rose from the position of intelligence chief, was promoted to a higher position, and became the prime minister of the kingdom with one person under his command and more than ten thousand people. He was known as the 'wise prime minister' in history."

"Zhi Xiang," Thales repeated this nickname while recalling Gilbert's history class:

"'Wise Prime Minister' Karabyan?"

His face looked strange.

"I know what you're thinking."

Raphael thought of something and sighed:

"Whenever this nickname and this last name are put together..."

"It's quite a contrast, isn't it?"

Thales snorted, then suppressed the desire to curl up his lips, looked solemn, and continued to move forward.

They walked smoothly and quietly along the way, passing through countless corridors and ending in the foyer. Occasionally, someone passed by holding a stack of scrolls, appeared from one door, and disappeared from another. The pace was urgent and the state was busy. When they met the two people, they just nodded.

"It seems there aren't many people on duty?" the prince asked curiously.

"Whether it's because of a certain prince's accident in the Western Wilderness or a certain prince's accident at the banquet, many people have stayed up for days and nights without taking shifts," Raphael said without caring about Thales's face:

"Have mercy on them."

Thales could only shrug awkwardly.

"But what are we doing here? Since Kevin Deere can't be punished and there's nothing you can do about the case."

Raphael glanced at him and was about to answer, but a door behind him suddenly opened and a man stopped them:

"Raphael, you guys have finished preparing the white gloves. Do you want to come and take a look?"

When the man said this, he kept glancing at Thales, wanting to salute but hesitating.

Raphael was thoughtful, but Thales frowned.

"He said, butts?"

Thales approached Raphael suspiciously and asked in a low voice:

"Butt?"

Raphael turned around and spread his hands indifferently, as if he didn't see the prince's face:

"It's a special team under me that told you its full name."

"Need to repeat?"

Thales forced himself to smile.

Raphael raised his eyebrows understandingly, turned back and walked towards the man: "Very good, Dani, let's check the procedures. It won't take long."

"By the way, keep your eyes in a normal position."

The man at the door immediately retracted his furtive glance at Thales.

Thales was about to follow, but the Bone Man blocked the door with his hand:

"No, I'll come out soon. Just wait for me here and don't move around."

Raphael gave him a pleasant smile and closed the door.

Thales, who stayed in the corridor, rolled his eyes.

Hum, wipe your ass.

The corridor was still quiet, and Thales was bored. He simply took a few more steps and looked at the portraits hanging on both sides of the corridor: most of them were men in their prime to middle age, either calm and serious or aggressive.

In contrast, one particular painting caught his eye first:

It was a full-length portrait of a woman.

She lay stretched out on her side on the dark sofa. Her complexion was fair and beautiful, her facial features were deep and impressive, and her clothes were full of exotic style. She even did not hesitate to reveal her slender thighs, showing off her sexy and sultry figure. Under the artist's wonderful brushwork, she became

Even the curled toes look green, delicate and lovable.

But unlike the figure that makes the man's blood rush, the expression on this lady's face is cold and mysterious, not caring about everything around her.

Comparing the two, Thales looked at her, sometimes seeming to be charming, sometimes feeling noble and inviolable.
To be continued...