Raphael was spreading out a map and studying the route on it carefully.
There was still a dull pain inside his right arm. As the Black Prophet said, he had used that kind of power too often.
That insatiable blood-eating monster.
Raphael frowned slightly.
But he put it aside immediately - he had too much to worry about.
Such as these messes in the Northland.
Another example is the little boy behind him.
Raphael sighed, rolled up the map from Longxiao City to Qiyuan City, and then looked at the second prince standing next to him.
But the moment he turned around, he keenly noticed that something was not right about Thales's expression.
Thales was seen frowning and staring at Raphael with complicated eyes.
"You should go and rest, our journey will not be peaceful," Raphael felt a little uncomfortable when he saw him, and couldn't help but said: "You'd better be energetic enough..."
But Thales just stared at him steadily, and his eyes slowly turned to Raphael's hands.
When the young man in the secret department became impatient, the second prince spoke softly:
"The man who lost your hands is the Duke of the North, Val Arend."
"right."
Raphael's breathing stagnated slightly.
His face twitched slightly, and then turned into a relaxed smile: "Random guesses are not..."
Thales interrupted him.
"I recognize the letters on the torture brands on your hands."
Thales said silently:
"That's the engraved ancient imperial letter, a."
"Representing the Arlend family with a white eagle."
Raphael's words were blocked in his mouth, and his face was stiff.
After a few seconds, the man from the secret department gently exhaled and remained silent.
It took a long while before Raphael shifted his gaze.
"It seems that Cly Fox taught you well," he said calmly, as if he didn't care, "even though it was only a short month."
After receiving the default answer, Thales took a deep breath and thought of what the little slippery man had just told him.
"I once heard Val Arend say that by cooperating with Lombard, winning the throne was only the first step."
Thales looked directly into Raphael's eyes with sharp eyes.
"What's more important is to create a war-free northern border."
The second prince said softly: "For example, his daughter will marry Lumba's son, the two kings who have been feuding for thousands of years will take the first step towards reconciliation, the stars and dragons will slowly merge into one, and the north will enjoy peace forever.
"
Raphael didn't move.
He just listened quietly to the prince's words.
Thales looked at his expression and suddenly showed a complicated smile.
"I guess he must have been very distressed when he found out that his daughter had a lover of low status." Thales sighed, keeping his eyes on Raphael's face, and said softly: "And he's also a ridiculous person.
Bone Man.”
Raphael, who had always been expressionless, finally frowned visibly when he heard this.
"So Duke Arund destroyed your sword-holding hands as punishment and warning," Thales looked at Raphael's hands and slowly shook his head: "He took away your most important thing and destroyed a sword.
The pride and reliance of a scholar, right?"
Raphael lowered his head.
At that moment, his hands seemed to be burning.
That was the moment when the hot iron penetrated into the muscles, bones, flesh and blood, and the unforgettable burning pain came from the depths of the bone marrow.
It seems like just yesterday.
More than these……
And then there were the days of struggling in the endless dark abyss and the boundless bloody hell.
Raphael's eyes were frozen in mid-air.
Take away the most important thing?
From a promising terminal tower seed to a useless person?
Or crawl out from the most terrible torture again?
No.
Raphael's distracted eyes refocused.
"You should use your intelligence where it should be used." The young man from the secret department returned to his normal expression and said calmly.
But Thales still refused to give up: "Why did he spare your life?"
"He has no reason to spare you... Wouldn't it be nice for a Raphael who disappears from now on?"
Raphael closed his eyes.
"A long time ago, I saved his daughter's life, and he was very grateful to me," the man from the secret department replied slowly: "But Val is a stubborn and strong man. Not taking my life is already the maximum he can do."
Merciful."
Thales breathed out.
"That makes sense." He murmured.
Raphael's eyes moved: "What?"
I saw the second prince slowly leaning against the wall, looking lost and lonely.
"Your Majesty has known about it for a long time, right?"
Thales sighed and spoke, his voice so low that it didn't even sound like it came from his mouth.
Raphael frowned: "You know what?"
Thales sighed slowly and slowly said what he had just figured out.
"Duke Arend."
"His conspiracy and his rebellion, his usurpation of the throne, and even the plans of the 'New Star' nobles."
Thales said in a daze: "Your Majesty Kessel - I mean father, he has known about it for a long time, right?"
Raphael frowned and looked at Thales solemnly.
this boy……
"Don't make any assumptions about your king, even if you are a prince."
The young man from the Secret Department warned: "This is advice from the Secret Department."
Thales snorted lightly and seemed not to care at all.
The prince took a step forward with a complicated expression, and looked at Raphael with a look that gradually became clear.
"So he does know."
"He knew from the beginning that Arlend was disloyal and usurping the throne," Thales sighed: "And the reason why His Majesty did not take any action or even let it go was because he was just waiting, waiting for the other party to truly of rebellion.”
Raphael's brows furrowed tighter and tighter: "Wait?"
The man in the secret department snorted disdainfully, as if he had heard the most ridiculous thing.
"You think too much……"
"If His Majesty knew about this from the beginning, then why did he allow the situation to deteriorate and allow the Duke of the North to truly embark on the road of rebellion and put the North in danger?" Raphael shook his head: "I said, don't Just make assumptions..."
Thales clenched his fists.
He suddenly raised his voice, as if he wanted to shout out all the resentment and grievances he had felt over the past few days:
"Because he needs this chance! Damn it!"
What Raphael wanted to say stopped at his lips. He looked at the prince with his chest rising and falling, slightly surprised.
"Miranda told me that His Majesty has sent officials to stabilize the situation in the north." Thales gasped, unable to stop the trembling in his chest.
"It's very reassuring, isn't it?"
"But this is the key," Thales raised his head, gritted his teeth, and Kessel's resolute face appeared in front of his eyes, "Tell me, Raphael."
The prince stared at Raphael, staring into his red eyes.
Thales couldn't help but think of the one-eyed dragon Coster of the South Triest family, and what he said before he left.
[You underestimate your father, the King of Iron Fists, and the fear he brings to the stars.]
"If there had not been the assassination of Prince Morar, the pressure of the war from Exeter, the desperate act of Arend and his imprisonment, and the North becoming leaderless and at a loss what to do," the prince opened and closed his lips, He said harshly: "Then your Majesty, he can still..."
Taylor paused.
Raphael's eyes were slightly frustrated.
Thales gritted his teeth and forced himself to finish the rest of his words:
"Then he can still defend the enemy in the name of war without any hindrance..."
"Send his direct officials and nobles to Cold Castle..."
"It is natural to add standing troops to the fortress, and then take over important territorial affairs such as taxation, judgement, and land..."
"Until the Bright Star Royal Family completely replaces the Duke of the North in prison..."
"Will the northern territory, which has been ruled by the Arlend family for generations, be completely included in the royal power?"
After saying these words forcefully, Thales felt a pain in his head and his body swayed uncontrollably.
He held the wall with one hand, and pressed his forehead hard with the other hand, rubbing it constantly.
Val Arrender, Kessel Brightstar...
The sudden change in the Exeter mission, everything in the Hall of Stars, his own appearance and the breakthrough he thought was exquisite...
Now it seems that everything is...
all……
Thales felt his forehead hurt more and more.
There, a fragment of memory poured out uncontrollably and merged into the vast sea of memory.
It only consists of a few words, but it is a chilling fragment.
Uncle Zheng...
Zheng Bo Duan Yu Yan.
"As His Majesty's biggest, most important eyes, ears and accomplice, the kingdom's secret department..."
"Tell me, is that so?" Thales opened his eyes and tried his best to control his voice, but despite this, he still made half of the people in the room turn around frequently.
Raphael didn't speak for a long, long time.
But the prince seemed to be very patient. He stared at the visitor from the secret department motionlessly, with extremely complicated emotions surging in his eyes.
Finally, Raphael let out a long sigh, his expression full of infinite emotions of the same complexity and subtlety, and uttered a few weak and helpless words: "No comment."
This is not an answer at all.
But the prince already got the news he wanted to know.
At that moment, Thales slowly relaxed like a deflated rubber ball.
He leaned against the wall unconsciously, his expression stiff.
"Why," Raphael looked at Thales indifferently, with a hint of solemnity in his words: "Why do you think so."
Thales snorted subconsciously.
"Although you have said many times not to listen to the words of the Scarlet Witch," the prince's voice was very tired, like another person speaking: "But you have to know that lies that are enough to shake people's hearts are all based on certain facts.
.”
Raphael's color changed slightly.
"What Kashan said to Miranda," Thales closed his eyes and exhaled sharply: "'If you don't want this land to be taken away by despicable means', 'Northland only belongs to the Northlanders'—"
—Now I understand."
"The Scarlet Witch is not out of touch."
He smiled bitterly and sadly: "Those who want to seize the northern territory from Arend are not just Exeter, not just Lombard."
"I didn't think of that much until I just heard about the history of the 'Wise Lord' Mindis III from a long time ago," Thales said in a daze: "A lot of my doubts were instantly solved."
Raphael frowned slightly.
A wise king?
"Your Majesty, he..." The corners of Thales' mouth twitched slightly. He tried to recall the appearance of the iron-fisted king, but what always appeared in his mind was his cold and solemn voice and short and powerful movements.
"Isn't he afraid that the Exeter people will really...really move south in large numbers?"
"Aren't you afraid that they will take away the North?"
Thales clenched his fists and squeezed the scars he had cut in his hands.
Raphael sighed slightly.
"With all due respect, Your Highness," Raphael said softly.
"If it weren't for your unexpected actions, including giving the doctor the opportunity to contact the dark room, and the inexplicable appearance outside the Palace of Heroes," the young man from the secret department slowly shook his head: "The current Exeter should be as we expected.
, turned into a mess.”
Thales laughed inexplicably.
His chest was trembling slightly, and his laughter was continuous and unclear.
"Has he always been this risky?" the prince asked feebly, "or has he only been this way since the Bloody Years?"
Raphael said nothing.
But he didn't understand what was so funny about it.
Thales chuckled at the end and lowered his eyes to the ground with an unclear expression.
"About the ownership of the North...does Miranda know?" He suppressed his smile and said softly: "Does she know that you are also in it?"
This time, Raphael froze in place.
Miranda.
That girl.
"No... comments." Raphael still said this, but this time, there was a considerable pause and tremor in his words.
Raphael's red eyes trembled slightly and his breathing quickened.
Miranda.
Such a girl with a delicate mind and keen senses...
How could she...
Raphael closed his eyes.
How could you not know?
"If that's what you're after..." With heavy breathing, the secretive man tried to end the conversation.
But he was interrupted again by Thales.
"help me."
Two words gently.
short.
powerful.
But there is no dejection or sadness.
Raphael was slightly startled.
Um?
"What?" The person from the secret department opened his eyes slightly and looked at the prince in confusion.
In front of him, Thales also slowly raised his head.
"I said," the prince's voice completely lost its previous hesitation and weakness, and became decisive, resolute, and unquestionable:
The prince cast a rare look from his gray eyes and looked directly at Raphael.
"I need your support, Raphael Lindbergh, to help me convince them..."
"help me!"
Raphael was truly stunned.
"What are you going to do?" the man from the secret department asked subconsciously, forgetting even his honorific title.
Thales chuckled lightly. His hands had already left the wall, and he stood firmly on the ground, looking directly at Raphael.
His face was full of openness and relief.
Raphael was suddenly surprised to find that Thales was different at this time.
His eyes were filled with an unprecedented look.
It seems to be burning with blazing flames.
Never go out.
"Whether you or I, no matter the secret department or the kingdom," Thales said slowly, his face was as ice, and his tone was as iron as iron, full of rare determination: "No matter whether it is an accident, failure, or my mistake, you
Regardless of the negligence..."
"But after we have worked hard for so long, paid so much, and experienced so much..."
"You are willing to lose all your chips to Lumba's hands."
"Push the kingdom into the abyss of war?"
"Are you willing to accept this sad situation and acquiesce to this bad ending?"
"The matter has come to this, you..." Raphael frowned, looking at such a prince, he felt at a loss in his heart: "What else do you want to do?"
"What else can be done?"
Thales gave him a mysterious smile.
At that moment, it was as if Raphael met for the first time this Prince of the Stars who had returned from an accident and brought countless accidents.
Not the helpless little boy being pushed away by the waves in Mindis Hall.
Nor is he the desperate Jedi prince in the Hall of Stars.
Not even a puppet struggling in Game of Thrones.
But Prince Thales.
The unique Thales Bright Star.
"What do you want to do?"
The Star Prince spoke calmly, as if what he was facing was just a small question: "Of course..."
The figure of Charmaine Lombard suddenly appeared in front of Thales' eyes, as well as his resolute and forbearing face.