In the Palace of Heroes, after parting with Putilai who had a strange expression, Thales walked out of the narrow and desolate Blood Courtyard with a book under his arm, following his habit of the past three years, and walked directly to the stables accompanied by his entourage.
Huaiya followed behind him with a look of helplessness. Rolf seemed to have been used to this scene for a long time, and just followed the prince's footsteps quietly.
Behind them are a handful of Star Soldiers. Most of them are the dozen or so old guys who were recruited from the Broken Dragon Fortress and went through many difficulties with the prince along the way. They include the veteran Genard and the new recruit Willow who is no longer a new recruit.
.
Further out, the personal guards and palace guards of the Grand Duchess of Longxiao City were passing news back and forth as if facing a powerful enemy. From time to time, groups of soldiers set off to clear the way. The leader, Lord Justin, had a dark face and a tense expression.
, but still meticulously performed his obligation to protect the safety of this special guest.
After all, this is the order of the Grand Duchess.
"For the sake of safety, I sincerely suggest that you delay leaving the palace for a few days, at least until the Grand Duchess's hearing is over." Huaiya seemed to be unable to stand the leisurely pace of the second prince: "At that time, the White Blade Guards...
What I mean is that the Grand Duke’s personal guard has enough manpower to protect you during your trip, instead of focusing most of your energy on the Hall of Heroes like now.”
Attendant Huaiya glanced at the surrounding Northland soldiers. There were at least half fewer men than usual when the prince traveled: many vassals from Longxiao City were visiting around the political day, and most of the Grand Duke's personal guards in Longxiao City, whether they were
The remaining former White Blade Guards and the elite soldiers newly trained by the Fallen Stars in recent years were all transferred to the Grand Duchess.
Thales took out the brown book under his arm, played with the words "The Beginning and End of the Knights Temple of Human Light" on the cover, and nonchalantly whistled the whistle Rolf taught him.
Wyatt Castle, during the six years that Exeter served the prince, he only returned to the country twice. Each time he came back, he seemed to have matured a lot, but he was as serious and "overexerted" as ever.
, the string that is always tight in my body never relaxes.
This won't work.
Especially... facing an opponent like that.
Thales kept smiling and said silently in his heart.
The prince said easily: "Northlanders are not idiots when it comes to security issues such as assassins. Even children who have been burned are afraid of fire, let alone a country where the king has died."
Lord Justin, a former White Blade Guard who was walking beside him, gave a loud "hum" without concealing it and muttered something. To Thales, who had a good hearing, it seemed that "the Star People have the nerve to say that".
Thales pretended not to hear and shrugged: "Besides, being under house arrest in an enemy city like a prison is already a very miserable thing, but don't deprive me of the little fun I have left."
"Misery? I see that you are enjoying your current 'prison' life," Huaiya rolled his eyes, and as he was familiar with the prince, he rarely retorted: "Besides, no prisoner has ever had a good relationship with the 'warden'
To such an extent that she can promise you the freedom to choose your "free time" every month."
"Don't make it so simple, just go out and play chess..." Thales smiled, and waved his hand to Huaiya without looking back: "That's because I endured the humiliation and went through all kinds of hardships to show my respect to the master and the master of Longxiao City.
What a pitiful right the Earl of Risban has fought for."
Enduring humiliation and hardships?
Huaiya's face suddenly turned as dark as Lord Justin next to him.
Are you referring to the countless times you dragged the Grand Duchess to skip classes, causing uproar in the Palace of Heroes?
"Do you really want today?" Huaiya's innate character allowed him to hold back his continued complaints. The attendant said with a straight face: "If it doesn't work, just stay in the palace and play chess. Anyway, you are on your own."
Down."
Under the surveillance of King Charman, in the treacherous atmosphere of Longxiao City, and in front of His Highness the Prince's status as a very important task, except for those who are specifically looking for trouble and have ulterior motives, which Exeter noble would dare to fight with the Star Kingdom's
The sole heir sits at the opposite table and plays chess?
"The focus is not on playing chess, but on 'having fun,' Huaiya," Thales kept walking and slowly slapped the book on his left palm: "I don't expect people like you to be able to freely enter and leave Longxiao City.
, can understand the mood of the prisoner himself.”
Huaiya shook his head helplessly, waiting to speak again.
"Okay, okay, Huaiya, please do it and say less." Thales waved his index finger back and ended the conversation lightly: "Learn from Medila next to you, he never
Talk too much."
Huaiya frowned and looked suspiciously at the ghost of Sui Feng, Medila Rolf.
Sure enough, Rolf, who was mute, said nothing and extended a provocative middle finger to Wyatt with an expressionless face.
"I can't deny this," Huaiya sighed painfully, lowered his head and rubbed his forehead: "He really doesn't talk much."
Thales whistled.
At this moment, a young and exaggerated female voice sounded from above the head:
"Oh! Little Thales, are you leaving the palace again?"
A few of the newly arrived Grand Duke's guards nervously raised their crossbows upwards, but the others seemed to be calm and accustomed to it. Wyatt and Rolf almost rolled their eyes at the same time.
With a splash, a short figure wrapped tightly in a cloak jumped down from the tree on one side. He kept up with one hand on his hips and extended a thumb with the other hand: "Don't worry, as long as I am here, he will never
There will be safety issues!”
"Why do you always like to lie on the branches, Miss Ada?" Wyatt dissatisfiedly asked Miss Cloak, who was supposed to be the prince's first guard.
"With such a strong sun, of course you need to find shade!"
Huaiya raised his head suspiciously, wondering what "shade" and "branches" had in common.
"Sorry, Ada, I just want to go to the Spear Zone to play chess." Thales sighed and replied angrily: "I'm not going to hunt rabbit meat in the suburbs."
"Eh?"
Ada rested her hands on her hands and walked backwards in front of him. The cloak covering the upper half of her face could not hide the disappointment in her voice: "Can't you take two more steps?"
"Take the extra two steps from the Spear District to the outskirts of the city. Are you talking about the dragon's 'two steps'?"
Ada said pitifully: "The food in the Palace of Heroes is always cold when served. Don't you think...boy, think about it, the rabbit meat is hot!"
"The cold meals in the Palace of Heroes are for your safety. Check the food..."
"Speaking of safety," Ada clenched her fists and sighed bitterly: "As your bodyguard in front of and behind the horse, I fought bloody and bruised to save you from the hands of the enemy, and finally saved the entire dragon.
Xiaocheng... I just want to eat some hot meat now, but you can't even make such a small request..."
"Are you talking about a certain lady who came to the Palace of Heroes six years ago with a foul mouth, only to find that everything was over, so she happily asked me for money to pay off the debt to prove that she was not a burglar?"
The prince answered without any hesitation.
The next second, Thales turned his steps and tilted his head skillfully, just in time to avoid the angry elf lady and avoid the finger that she poked at him while standing on tiptoe.
"Hey, hey, hey, you actually dodged it again! The third time!" The lady in the cloak froze on the spot, raising her right index finger and saying tremblingly:
"Why are you so skilled!"
Thales exhaled, shook his head, and continued to walk forward, leaving behind a helpless Ada ("Where did the cute little Thales go before, who could never avoid my finger of death?"
), and countless soldiers and guards who ignored her and walked forward.
Over the past six years, everyone has long been accustomed to the strangeness of this guard: Wyatt responded with a sympathetic look, and Rolf simply blew a low-pitched whistle with a trembling sound to set off her mood at this time.
Thales felt the special wave that gathered on the soles of his feet and the side of his neck slowly disappear, felt the faint fatigue in his tendons, and frowned.
Just now, it was this familiar wave that helped him avoid Ada's fingers.
Thales, with a solemn expression, recalled what the man holding a black sword said on a bloody night long ago.
[This is a cursed power... You can only improve it through special methods...]
Sure enough, six years have passed...
The effects and costs of this thing... Thales clenched his fists and felt the soreness and numbness in his legs and neck.
No progress at all.
Thales walked into the stable next to the Palace of Heroes and kicked his boots on a horse stool to conceal his purpose of relaxing his tendons.
The prince came to the familiar stable, surrounded by people on both sides. A strong black horse stuck its head out of the fence and stretched out its nose to him affectionately.
"Have you treated her well?" Thales smiled and scratched the black horse's chin, looked at her teeth, and said to the groom beside him:
"You know, Jenny likes to be clean."
The full-time groom of the Palace of Heroes patted his chest proudly and promised the prince that his horse had never been so healthy.
Dark Horse Prince Jenny's exclusive mount was brought to Longxiao City by the Star Kingdom's mission three years ago. She is a good girl carefully selected from thousands of mounts. She is a hybrid of a northern war horse and a plain horse.
, she inherited both her mother's violent temper and her father's strong footwork, and she was not shy about many riders who tried to subdue her.
What was surprising and rare was that Thales, who had never been talented in horseback riding, got along very well with Jenny. Even Viscount Connie, who was leading the mission at the time, was amazed.
Thales smiled softly, stuffed the book in his hand into the bag on the saddle, and untied Jenny's reins. At the same time, Wyatt and the other soldiers also began to look for their mounts.
At this moment.
"Dear Prince Thales, good day."
A melancholy and peaceful female voice came from outside the stable: "As a fifty-six-year-old elder, I need to remind you to pay attention to the safety of this trip."
The soldiers and guards all moved out of the way and bowed to the visitor, while the people in the stars frowned in unison.
Thales closed his mouth that was open with a smile, turned his back to the new lady, and sighed.
"Good day, Ms. Jinx," he said without looking back, still making preparations before departure, "I thought you should stay by the side of the Grand Duchess at this moment, help her behave appropriately, and show her grace to the vassals and nobles.
What a graceful look."
Jinx, one of the personal ladies of the Grand Duchess: an aristocratic woman in her fifties who looks like she is in her thirties. She wears simple clothes, has simple hair accessories, behaves well, and always has a straighter face than Wyatt.
You should have a serious face, but be impeccable in your language and etiquette.
It is said that she is the widow of a powerful vassal under the late King Nun. Six years ago, she was invited to the Palace of Heroes by the Regent of Lisban. She took care of the Grand Duchess's daily life and taught her the corresponding etiquette. She should have been like the princess in the Renaissance Palace.
Like Ni Bakvi, she is an excellent and competent female official. If she had not asked the Prince of the Stars, who was reading leisurely, to follow him to attend the Northland etiquette class.
By the way: She was also one of the reasons why Thales took the Grand Duchess to skip class for the first time.
Ms. Jinx still had the same voice that made people unconsciously nervous: "In addition, I also brought words from several other adults."
"I suggest you listen carefully even if you are from the South."
Hearing this, Thales helplessly stopped what he was doing, turned around and bowed to her.
Ms. Jinx nodded with satisfaction, raised her neck like a swan's neck, and cleared her throat.
"Your Excellency, the Grand Duchess of Longxiao City, asked me to remind you that during the period when she was in power," the lady said proudly, "these new books arriving in the palace..."
"Okay, Ms. Jinx," Thales scratched his ears with a headache: "Please tell Her Majesty the Grand Duchess, I will wait until she returns to open the gift."
Ms. Jinx narrowed her eyes. Although her expression remained unchanged, Thales knew that she was dissatisfied with the prince's interruption.
But a few minutes later, the lady spoke again.
"The Earl of Lisban also asked me to remind you that when he was accompanying the Grand Duchess as regent," the female officer lowered her posture slightly this time, but still looked directly into Thales's eyes: "For your safety and Longxiao City
honor, please obey the king’s edict..."
"Okay, Ms. Jinx," Thales stroked Jenny's horse head, calming her dissatisfaction with the master's delay in untying her restraints: "Please thank the Earl of Lisban for me, who is busy with the regency and still takes the time to care about me.
, and told him: I will not run out of the ax area and spear area."
Jinx frowned slightly.
"at last……"
"Captain Seri Nicolai asked me to remind you that because the political day is particularly special, please be sure to cooperate with Lord Justin and the Guards when you go out." The lady's voice softened, but it was still nervous: "Also,
Because of your bad record of returning after eight o'clock two months ago..."
"This time, once you come back past five o'clock in the afternoon, he is going to recall all the guards and lock the city gates. He also recommends that you take care of your own food and accommodation."
Thales frowned, took a deep breath, and exhaled for a long time.
He automatically filtered Ms. Jinx's beautification in his mind and restored the original words spoken by the Fallen Starman with his arms crossed in displeasure and a pale dead face: "You asked him not to come back after five o'clock.
Just die outside!"
The prince pushed open the fence, stepped on the horse stool, saddled up and mounted the horse.
"Okay, Ms. Jinx," the prince said, facing the serious female officer, and pondered for a few seconds: "I'd like to trouble you again, and tell that person... to Lord Nicolai..."
Lady Jinx raised her eyebrows.
"Five o'clock?" Thales sighed and said seriously:
"Why doesn't he die?"
The next moment, Thales flicked the horse's reins without hesitation, and rode out with Jenny's loud neighing sound!
The prince rushed past the astonished female officer without looking back, and the guards and soldiers who followed him followed suit, including the helpless Wyatt, the calm Rolf, and the sulky Ada.
He shook the horse's reins and galloped out of the square in front of the Palace of Heroes, heading towards the first city gate.
The journey from the Palace of Heroes to the Spear District did not take much time, especially with the full cooperation of the Grand Duke's personal guards and patrols, the streets and roads were smooth and smooth.
When he just teased Huaiya, he was not lying about one thing: Thales fought for it and had the hard-won opportunity to play chess in the Spear Zone not far from the Palace of Heroes.
Thales, who was jolting on the horse, controlled the ups and downs of his body, looked at Jenny's ears and her cheerful pace from behind, and curled the corners of his mouth.
In the past six years, at least his riding skills have improved by leaps and bounds. In terms of culture, Exeter may be slightly inferior to the stars with special inheritance, but when it comes to the emphasis on military skills, even the most rude and low-level nobles of the North have to leave behind.
There are a lot of colleagues in the stars.
Thales still remembered that during the outdoor course (that's a polite term) between him and the Grand Duchess, when Nicolai, who was in charge of the "class", discovered that his only two students, Thales, were unable to ride horses because they were allergic to horses.
Not good, when the Grand Duchess resisted getting on her horse because of fear in her heart...
The expressionless Fallen Starman directly asked for a thick rope, tied them tightly to the horse, and then set the horse's tail on fire.
Once a day, two hours each time.
Ten days after the effect was immediate, both he and the girl became equestrian "masters", at least experienced ones, despite vomiting and dizziness.
After completing this step, Nicolai untied the rope and began to leisurely correct their riding posture and skills, and introduced the horse equipment.
Then it’s time to take up arms…and then it’s time to hunt on horseback…
Later, a former White Blade Guard told Thales privately: Multiply the duration and frequency by two, and then turn the torch that lights the ponytail into a honeycomb, which is the standard riding training of the White Blade Guard.
The prince couldn't help but sigh when he thought of this.
The next second, Thales pulled the reins on his hands, exerted a slight force, and at the same time sat back deeply, sliding his legs gently back to a relaxed position.
The smart Jenny immediately began to slow down. Thales, who confirmed this, also loosened the reins in time to show encouragement, comforting this beautiful girl who was excited, uncontrollable in passion, and eager to vent. She let out a dissatisfied hum.
.
Jenny's horse's hooves hit hard, and after a few seconds, she stopped in front of their destination.
The mounts of Lord Wyatt and Justin also stopped.
While Thales was stroking and praising the elated Jenny, who had recently gotten into the bad habit of attracting the owner's attention with dissatisfied coquettishness, he lamented that the horses were no less difficult to deal with than humans. He thought of the few people with the black sand collar.
Hundreds of Cavalry God knows how much time and energy it takes to train a skilled galloping cavalry.
Thales stepped off the stirrups, handed the reins to Gennard behind him, and raised his head to look at his destination, a chess and card room in the Spear District.
It is said that this place was originally a well-decorated aristocratic hotel. Until the owner who ran it alone was killed by robbers in the catastrophe that swept through Longxiao City six years ago, one of his fellow Conmas people invested in the hotel.
I came here and it was converted into an entertainment room for the nobles according to the original decoration. I heard that the business was pretty good.
Of course, the word "business is good" has no meaning today. Ever since Prince Xingchen chose this place as his monthly travel destination three years ago, this chess and card room has had to accept that it is cleared once a month, waiting for the prince's visit.
Fate, but obviously this is not a bad thing, because after that, its business increased instead of falling, and everyone rushed to see the "place where the mysterious prince who had lived in the palace for a long time had fought".
Thales stepped into the chess and card room amidst the boss's flattering voice: hundreds of Grand Duke's personal guards and patrols had already thoroughly searched the place and isolated the surrounding areas.
The prince looked at the empty hall and sighed.
He slowly climbed the steps and arrived at the box on the second floor. Guards ranging from Justin to Wyatt followed closely behind him, ranging from Rolf to Wyatt.
Under the guidance of the boss, Thales skillfully stepped through a door and arrived at the largest box. It was a semi-open-air box with a large area. The terrace on one side faced the streets of Spear District downstairs, and was the prince's chess seat.
It's right next to the terrace, and you can have a panoramic view of the street from here.
Thales passed the terrace and was not surprised to see countless guards and patrols guarding key points from the street to nearby buildings. There were at least two hundred people with bows and crossbows cocked, patrolling regularly to guard against possible uninvited guests, almost
Everyone was staring at themselves on the terrace.
With this kind of formation and atmosphere, coupled with martial law, even if the number of people is reduced by half, it is impossible for the tragedy of six years ago to happen again.
Once bitten by a snake...
The prince shrugged, sat down in his seat, and put down his book.
He turned his attention to the chessboard and chess pieces in front of him. Starting from the Kingdom of Allenbia, "The Rise and Fall of Empires" has been circulated in the Western Continent for nearly a hundred years but is still popular. The seat opposite the chess player that was supposed to be empty.
"Okay," Thales looked at the red king standing on the chessboard. He looked at the familiar and unfamiliar black and red chess pieces in the chess box with a little emotion, and at the same time, he looked at Huai who was still checking the surroundings relentlessly.
Ya and Justin said: "You can go out. Anyway, we don't close the door and there is a terrace. It's the same for you to guard outside the door and on the street."
"As before, I want to stay by myself."
Behind Wyatt, Rolf nodded slightly. After putting down a plate of food and water that had been inspected, he grabbed the boss who was still ready to say something to please him and headed to the first floor. Ada had long since disappeared and was probably on the roof.
"Prince Thales," Lord Justin, the former White Blade Guard, said cautiously: "Old rules, three hours, if you need anything..."
The prince breathed out: "I will let you know as soon as possible."
Lord Justin nodded, looked at each other with Huaiya, and both walked to the door ten meters behind Thales, guarding the entrance and exit while staring at the prince who was reading and playing chess at the same time.
"It's like this every time." Thales shook his head and smiled softly. He continued to take out the chess pieces from the chess box and began to place them on the chess board one by one.
Silence returned to the box and the street, with only the footsteps of soldiers coming from time to time, and the faint sound of Wyatt complaining to Rolf from behind.
Just when Thales had placed the penultimate chess piece and was about to get the last chess piece.
Two slender, white fingers with beautiful nails suddenly appeared.
His fingers fell from the sky, grabbed the black king, gently placed it in Thales's chess formation, arranged it, straightened it, even aligned it with the chess grid, and turned the front side to the direction perpendicular to the red square.
Meticulous and extremely precise.
"Thanks."
Thales raised his eyebrows, raised his head, and nodded gently to the sudden appearance of the uninvited guest.
The prince's long-lost friend, the magician of air, Ashida Sarkon, sat elegantly and quietly on the seat opposite her, staring at the chess pieces on the chessboard, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised.