Late at night in Star Lake Castle, Thales sat alone on the top deck of the Jackal Tower, staring down at the Star Lake in the distance.

King Kessel and Captain Adrian returned to the royal capital that night, leaving only Sonia and her Star Guards, causing a commotion in the banquet hall of the main castle until the early morning...

Mallos and Aunt Valencia were in a state of distress, and as for the Duke of Star Lake himself, he returned to the bedroom early on the grounds that he was too drunk.

("Fart! I clearly saw the juice he drank!" The Fortress Flower drunkenly tugged on Marius' collar)

But only Thales himself knew that he would rather get drunk and unable to sleep than welcome the king's visit.

A cat meows from the distant eaves, echoed by the barking of dogs on the ground, plus the faint chirping of cicadas. Star Lake Castle under the moonlight is full of wildness and comfort.

Why?

Thales looked at the sparkling waves on the Star Lake with his eyes in trance.

Why now? Why Jenn, why South Shore?

Thales lowered his head and pulled out a heavily bandaged dagger from its sheath. After returning from escaping in the desert, for various reasons, instead of removing it, he strengthened the camouflage on the JC to ensure that it

Will not be seen coming out.

More importantly, why him?

Thales casually took out the bone ring "Kortaksa" and hung it on the tip of the dagger.

The ferocious bone ring complements the sharp blade, making it even more desolate under the moonlight.

What exactly did Kessel V want from him?

Why is the king so confident yet so casual?

Where will the Fuxing Palace start and how will it deal with the aftermath so as to ensure the effect without causing trouble?

What is his role, how should he act, and what can he do?

Countless questions and hesitations flooded Thales' mind.

There was light moving on the Xunying Tower not far away. Thales knew in his heart that this was the change of patrol sentry. Judging from his figure, it might be Pioneer Officer Supa Langlai leading a group of local Bright Star private soldiers.

The prince skillfully climbed down the observation deck, crouched to avoid sight, and waited for the end of the shift. The patrol sentry was more focused on the threats outside the castle, but if one of them turned around in the middle of the night and saw the head of Duke of Star Lake in the center of the castle, it would definitely not be a command.

Pleasant things.

Thales leaned against the wall, his eyes condensed.

Well, at least he knows one thing.

That is, he must obey the king's instructions, go to the Emerald City, and participate in this political conspiracy with an uncertain future in any way.

Not just because he was bound by an oath, not just because he had a personal grudge with Zhan En, not just because this matter was inevitable.

Even more because this is his choice, his right, and his bargaining chip. After he experienced painful lessons such as "Dragon Blood" and "Sand King", he risked his future and life to escape from the fingers of the Iron Fist King.

, a little freedom gained through hard work.

This freedom may not be much, but it is crucial.

As in the past, Thales had no idea about the plan, means, process, or details of the Fuxing Palace's plan to deal with Zhan En. He was excluded and could only act according to the circumstances.

But it was also different from the past. This time, Thales received a clear order, was told the answer in advance, and was even recognized as an independent third-party chess piece, no longer drifting in the kingdom's chess game.

Besides...

【I don't care what you do as long as it gets done.】

Thales shook the dagger in his hand, and the bone ring "covenant" flipped up into the air and was grabbed by him...

And now, what he has to do, what he can do...

"No, sir, I mean Lordess, Lord Satherley, this can't be done, it can't be done, really, I, I can't!" An embarrassed and panicked male voice came faintly from under the observation tower.

Thales, who was practicing his skills, changed his expression.

"Oh, I understand, so you don't like me?" Then came a sassy female voice, her words were aggressive.

What?

Thales swallowed his throat and entered the hell sense.

"No, how dare I... You are very powerful, very elegant, very charming, but I, I belong to the royal guard..." The man became more and more panicked.

Thales held his breath and tiptoed up to the observation deck on the other side, carefully exposing half of his head and looking down.

Diagonally opposite, two floors below him, "Zombie" Grover was leaning stiffly on the observation deck, with the sky behind him.

Sonia Satherley, the famous flower of the fortress, stood in front of him drunkenly, holding his shoulder with one hand, almost forcing Glover out of the lookout.

"That means I'm not worthy of your royal guards?" Sonia leaned forward, with a cold light in her misty eyes.

Glover shuddered slightly.

"No, sir! I mean it's my duty, and I have to protect His Highness..."

"Don't worry about that! I can guarantee that His Highness Thales won't have any objections and may even help me as long as you are willing." Sonia shook her head and showed an evil smile.

Thales frowned fiercely, while Grover's expression was stiff and he shook his head desperately.

Seeing that the man would rather die than obey, Sonia, whose eyes were misty, was silent for a while, and then she understood something. She beat Glover's chest rhythmically:

"Aha, I understand. Do you think you are incompetent? Hehe... you don't have enough experience in all aspects?"

Glover's face turned red.

"No." He denied it flatly at first, but then he realized that this was a breakthrough and quickly admitted: "I mean, yes, Chief Sutherley, I, that, I can't! I have never... um, I am not good at this.

I still have little experience, so even I... I definitely won’t be able to endure it, and I won’t be able to hold on for long..."

But Sonia took a step forward, almost pressing on Glover, and slapped his shoulders with both hands!

"Don't worry, I will teach you!"

Fortress Flower's eyes shone brightly, the curvature of the corners of her mouth became wider and wider, and her tone became weirder:

"And it starts from scratch, demonstrating it in person, step by step, step by step, teaching you every step, oh..."

Thales, who was eavesdropping above, changed his expression several times. Was this what he should have heard?

Glover couldn't bear it anymore. He pushed Sonia away violently, turned around and broke away:

"No, we, we can't do this. Lady, sir, this, this is against the rules... By the way, I still have duties to watch tonight, why don't we talk about it next time..."

But before he took two steps, Fortress Flower's arm pressed against the wall and stood in front of him: "But I want you, I really, really, desperately want you."

"I want it now."

Glover swallowed his throat and breathed faster.

Sonia, who smelled of alcohol, had blurred eyes and approached Glover unsteadily:

"I know, actually you want it too, right?"

"And I happen to be the commander of Broken Dragon Fortress. I have a heavy responsibility to protect our country. In other words, it's not just me, but the entire kingdom that wants you."

The Flower of the Fortress wore a smile that could not resist, and forced Glover to the corner step by step. The latter's face that had not changed for thousands of years was now infinitely frightened.

"Are you really serious about not thinking about it anymore?"

Damn it.

Thales, who was eavesdropping on all this, rubbed his face.

What the hell is this?

The prince squatted under the observation tower with complicated emotions, making sure that they could not see him, and then forced (extremely unwillingly) the sins of the Hell River to flow into his throat and mouth, adjusting the frequency.

After a few seconds, he pinched his nose, took a deep breath, and opened his mouth to speak:

"Meow, meow"

The cry penetrates the obstruction and echoes back and forth, as if it is in the ears.

Fortress Flower and Glover were both startled. They separated suddenly and looked around.

"Meow" Thales continued to imitate a certain black cat who dared to say harsh words to Aunt Valencia, elongating the tone vividly and pretending to be a cat that was sleeping soundly here and protesting against human interference.

Glover finally got rid of the panic. When he thought of something, he immediately looked serious:

"Ah, it's that damn black cat. It must have gone to the Duke's place to eat and peek at confidential documents again. This, this is an emergency, it's quite dangerous. I, I have to protect Duke Thales' room...

"

Sonia seemed to wake up a little and looked at him in disbelief.

Glover coughed and straightened his clothes: "Um, Chief Satherley, Lady, I'm very grateful for your favor, but no, I'm sorry, I can't, I can't... I have to go on duty, if you

If necessary, I can recommend other brothers in the guard to take their place. For example, there is a great young man in the guard wing..."

The Fortress Flower narrowed her eyes, obviously extremely dissatisfied.

Glover was so angry that he didn't dare to say a word.

"Meow" came the third cat meow overhead, each sound more urgent than the last.

Finally, Sonia let out a long sigh.
To be continued...