Thales was walking in the corridor of the Palace of Heroes, feeling depressed.
Nicolai is a terrible liar.
He concealed something about King Nun's decision back then, and even about Morar.
Things have become very clear: the former White Blade Guards, Lisban, and the Dark Room, these three hold secrets that must not be known to Thales or even Thelma. In other words, to a large extent, this secret will be detrimental to the latter two.
.
Thales didn't even have to verify whether the horrifying secret Rumba told him was true.
This is Thales's conclusion.
However……
On the way to the dining room, Thales couldn't help clenching his fists.
However, Longxiao City is facing the most complex and chaotic situation in six years:
The international situation is about to change, testing the Grand Duchess's choice;
The thoughts of the Grand Duke in the country are unpredictable, and they are waiting to see the position of Longxiao City;
The vassals in the territory were eager to covet the marriage and power of the Grand Duke;
King Nun's haze fills the sky, shrouding the successors of the Dragonlance family.
And the most terrifying opponent, the current co-king of the Dragon Kingdom, Charmaine Lombard, is secretly holding a sharp blade, sharpening it, preparing to seize all possible benefits in this impending storm.
Selma, the lonely and vulnerable girl Thales feels a little sad when she thinks of this, living between them, facing countless threats.
And the assistants she thought she could trust around her all this time, whether it was the extraordinary Nicolai or the cunning Lisban, have just been proven by Thales: they are not trustworthy.
Thales stood blankly at the door of the dining room, his fists clenched in his hands, getting tighter and tighter.
In the past six years, all the peace has been an illusion, all the leisure has been an illusion. Behind the name Selma, there is probably a ruthless deception of the late king.
Before his eyes, Alex's convulsions before she was poisoned appeared again, as well as her face gradually losing life.
And Thelma, no, she is a little slippery person... This was not the life she wanted in the first place, but she was forced to face it all, surrounded by enemies on all sides, helpless, and at a loss in the forcibly arranged fate.
The most important thing is: she lives in a cage created by lies, unaware of the threats around her.
If I had not discovered this secret, this matter, would Thelma have lived as the Grand Duchess in ignorance or even confusion, until the day when the final truth was cruelly stripped out under the sun?
If that day comes, when the conflict breaks out in Longxiao City, the king's sword falls, and the secret of the bloodline is revealed...
How can she, a lonely and helpless girl, bear all this?
Thales let out a painful breath, feeling depressed and tired.
She had a chance to escape.
It was you, Thales, who asked her to become Thelma Walton six years ago.
And now, you, a hostage who is helpless and ostracized, what can you do?
What can you do for her?
What angle and stance should you use to intervene in this internal struggle within Exeter?
what to do.
what to do?
Six years later, they still live under the shadow of Dragon Blood. Six years later, they still can't escape the clutches of King Nun. Six years later, they...
"Prince Thales, do you need help?"
A cold and polite call awakened Thales from his own world.
"Ms. Jinx," Thales put away his worries, tried his best to get rid of the heavy state, and looked at Jinx who was standing at the door of the dining room: "I'm sorry, but..."
Thales looked at the light coming from the dining room and vaguely saw the girl's figure.
"Can we be alone for a while?"
Jinx frowned and scanned the prince's body with an appraising look, suspicion revealed in her eyes.
"Last time it was because the lady was in a bad mood, which we can understand," the court lady in charge of the Grand Duchess's daily life said calmly: "But this time..."
"I really need to talk to her alone."
Thales looked at the female officer with the most sincere eyes imaginable: "Please, Ms. Jinx."
"This is very important."
"If you still care about the Grand Duchess, if you know her current situation..."
Thales looked at Jinx steadily with a solemn expression.
This time, Lady Jinx looked at him for a long time.
It's like looking at antiques.
"I don't know what happened, Your Highness," finally, the cold and rational female officer spoke softly, with her usual business-like tone: "But Madam, she..."
The female officer suddenly stopped talking.
The next second, Jinx made an action that the prince thought she would never do.
She sighed.
For the first time, Thales saw fatigue in the eyes of this well-maintained female officer and wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.
"She's just a little girl."
Thales lowered his head and nodded slightly: "I know, so..."
"But she is not just a girl," Jinx interrupted him without any rebuttal, "she is also the ruler of Longxiao City."
Thales raised his head and looked at her strangely. He always felt that there was something different about the female officer today.
"Many times, precisely because of Your Highness's constant concern, consideration and companionship, the lady will feel that she is safe and let go of her worries and vigilance."
"As a friend, you take care of her and worry about her," the female officer's tone was no longer serious as in the past, but full of helplessness and emotion: "This is her luck."
Jinx's next words had an ulterior motive:
"But the problem is, she's not safe."
"She shouldn't feel that way."
Thales looked at Jinx and was speechless for a moment.
"We will leave now, Prince Thales," the female officer's expression returned to a rigid expression, as if her previous sensibility was just an illusion. She bowed slightly and said, "I wish you and Madam a pleasant meal."
The prince frowned, and he suddenly discovered that the conscientious but serious and annoying female official he had known before turned out to have another side.
"Also, the lady is not in a good mood. Today..." Ms. Jinx lowered her voice and said in an extremely cryptic manner:
"You know, it's been another month since you got kicked in the knee..."
Another month?
Thales was slightly startled.
By the time he realized what the other party meant, Jinx had already turned around and left.
[It is precisely because of Your Highness’s constant concern, consideration and companionship that the lady feels that she is safe...]
The second prince watched her leaving with the two maids with complicated emotions. He lowered his head and hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, tried to adjust his mood, and stepped into the Grand Duchess's dining room.
Thelma sat quietly at the dining table, appearing alone under the lights on both sides.
"Wow, lettuce," Thales sat across from the Grand Duchess, looked at the food on the table, and smiled: "I haven't eaten it for a while."
Sure enough, the table was full of light food such as fruits and vegetables, and even the broth was piping hot. This was strange. Under the threat of Nicolai, the chef would check a dish several times before it became cold. It was nothing new.
Already.
It's the Grand Duchess's "once a month" recipe.
Thelma raised her head under the light, and the prince couldn't help but notice that she was a little tired.
So, is it a physiological reason, or...
"Hey," the Grand Duchess looked at him with a look that the prince rarely saw, and the latter couldn't read the meaning: "Tales."
Her voice didn't seem to contain much emotion:
"You said today that you have something important to tell me?"
Thales exhaled, and the troubles he faced before seemed to come back to his mind instantly.
"Yeah, I, uh..."
Thales, who took a deep breath, was speechless as he spoke.
He looked at Thelma who looked slightly gloomy in front of him, maintaining the most basic polite smile, but suddenly he didn't know what to say.
Selma, you are actually facing an extremely bad situation and are not safe?
Even if you have weathered this storm, survived the forced marriage by the vassals and the fight between Ronnie and the king, you will still be in a difficult situation.
Because the people you thought you could trust are actually lying to you?
You are alone, you are in danger, and even your biggest secret is already in someone's hands?
"Huh?" Thelma's eyes fell on his lips, slightly confused.
But Thales frowned, and slowly clenched his fists under the table. He still smiled but struggled in his heart, not knowing where to start.
Should I tell her the truth? Nicolai and Lisban were not loyal to her, at least not faithfully?
They may be plotting a plan laid out by King Nun. Are you just a puppet to be manipulated?
Is this playing into Lomba's plan? Are you using me to destroy the internal harmony and relationship between the principal and his ministers in Longxiao City?
However...does Longxiao City still have the so-called "harmony"?
If she doesn't know and has been deceived, will she be hurt more and more severely when the secret is revealed?
"What’s wrong with you?"
Thelma looked at his silent look and asked softly:
"Are you worried about something?"
Finally, Thales let go of his clenched fists and exhaled.
"As usual, you know, outdoor class, I got a good beating from Nicolai," the prince turned his smile into a covert self-mockery:
"Maybe I should try using lime powder next time."
According to the usual practice, Thelma should frown and look at his wounds, then smile and respond to the prince's teasing one after another.
But today...
"No," Thelma looked at him steadily and shook her head firmly: "It's not because of this."
Thales was slightly surprised and cast a questioning look.
"I can feel it."
"It's because of something else," Thelma asked sharply: "What do you want to tell me?"
The second prince looked at the serious-looking Grand Duchess and was silent for a few seconds.
"Listen to me, little slippery man," Thales finally calmed down, removed his hypocritical smile, and asked in a rather heavy and tired tone: "You have been... the Grand Duchess for six years."
"This is not too short."
Thelma stared at him, and the girl turned her head sideways, her expression indistinguishable under the shadow of the lamp.
She nodded.
"But in the past six years..." Thales looked at the girl sitting on the hard and wide chair, and thought of the way she sat alone in the Hall of Heroes, and felt a little unbearable:
"Are you tired, annoyed or depressed?"
The girl seemed a little surprised. She raised her head: "What?"
Thales sighed and said bravely: "What I mean is that from the moment you took the position of the Grand Duchess, you were forced to bear the looks of vassals, people's suspicions, and countless affairs.
There are also intrigues and intrigues. The princes are watching, the king has evil intentions, even Nicolai and Risban..."
As he spoke, Thales couldn't help but lower his head, feeling a little frustrated.
"I know you don't actually want all this," he said with a somewhat guilty feeling, "What's more... you had the opportunity to leave back then, and leave that uncomfortable chair."
At this moment.
"I'm scared."
Thales raised his head: "Huh?"
"At that time, when you want to go back to the Palace of Heroes and let me become Thelma to save this country," Selma managed to smile under the light of the light: "I was very scared."
"I was thinking that if you had to go back and face the princes, you might not be able to come back."
"And I'm not ready to be a Grand Duchess at all."
The girl sat at the other end of the dining table, her slightly red face reflecting the lights, which seemed out of tune with the solemn decoration around her.
"But you didn't hesitate at the time. You said, carrying two countries and the fate of so many people on your back, you couldn't just walk away and leave a sea of fire behind."
Thales looked at her silently.
His fists were firmly pressed on his knees.
"Because you are not afraid."
"So I thought: I can't be afraid either."
Thelma raised her lips slightly, seeming to be unexpectedly happy: "And you said, you said you would always stay with me and protect me... Just like in the Hall of Heroes, you took me away from His Majesty without hesitation.
Take me away, and in the past six years, you and Charles have been protecting me..."
"I know, no matter what I encounter..."
After hearing this, Thales couldn't bear it any longer. He suddenly raised his head:
"but I can not!"
The Grand Duchess stared at the excited prince with surprised eyes.
"I can't protect you."
"You are the Grand Duchess of Longxiao City, in a chess game that ordinary people can't imagine, and I am just a powerless prince," Thales thought of Lisban's meticulous rhetoric, and thought of Nicolai's eyes that concealed everything.
Thinking of the intense vigilance and strict supervision everywhere in the Palace of Heroes, he gritted his teeth and said:
"We face too many threats, too many dangers, too many problems."
"Rumba, Ronnie, the earls of Longxiao City, and..."
Thales took a deep breath and struggled: "You know, I don't have the ability to protect you at all."
Thelma looked at him blankly, her lips trembling slightly.
Thales thought of Jinx's hint and couldn't help but add: "I can't protect you forever and even Lisban and the others..."
The Grand Duchess interrupted him.
"Black Sand Leader's proposal."
Thales said:
"What?"
The girl pursed her lips, her face turned pale, and her smile slowly disappeared.
She forced a smile and murmured: "Ciel told me this afternoon: you went to meet the people from the Black Sand Territory, so this is, this is what you are going to come to me to talk about today."
Talston had a headache.
"I just," the prince sighed: "Listen, Lumba, he may really want to win over you through me, but I still..."
"Tales," the girl's voice was low and intermittent: "You want to go home, don't you?"
The expression on the Grand Duchess's face reminded Thales of two years ago, when she read the tragic bard "Jasmine's Flag of War", in which the indomitable Jasmine ended up dying in the rain, and she probably had the same expression.
"Is this the condition given to you by the king to let you return to the country?" Before Thales could answer, Thelma smiled coldly: "And you feel tired and tired. You don't want to accompany an ignorant and boring person anymore.
The girl is playing games, so she came here to tell me that you can no longer protect me."
I saw her laughing at herself: "Is this the 'important thing' you said?"
Thales' breathing stagnated.
"That's right, a stupid, clumsy, and weird-tempered little girl." Thelma lowered her head: "It's very annoying."
Thales held his forehead in pain: "No, Selma, no, that's not the case. Listen to me, what I want to tell you is..."
"You miss home, right?" However, the girl didn't seem to be listening to him at all, but said to herself, "If you have the chance, you will leave here without hesitation, leave Longxiao City, and lose yourself."
Leave everything behind and go home?"
Thales was stunned.
Putilai asked him the same question.
At that time, his answer was...
"I..." Thales said a word, but he gritted his teeth.
He wanted to answer no, to say that he didn't miss home, to soothe her for the time being with lies.
but……
"You know, as long as you are still here," Thales took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. He could only answer cautiously: "Selma, I will not leave easily."
The girl raised her head slightly.
silence.
"I'm sorry, I'm not in a good mood today," Selma seemed to reply a little after a few seconds. The girl shook her head and smiled reluctantly: "I'm not questioning you, Charles, they must be very dissatisfied with you.
I'm just...sorry."
She apologized and tilted her head.
"You have been imprisoned here for six full years, far away from your relatives and friends, and facing many dangers. The king, the Grand Duke, the vassals, and the people of Longxiao City in the North are not good to you," Thelma laughed at herself.
He shook his head as if: "Of course you want to go home."
"I'm not qualified to criticize your ideas."
She lowered her head in despair.
Thales looked at the Grand Duchess in front of him and suddenly realized: In the six years since she became the Grand Duchess, she had been stepping on thorns all the time, frightened and struggling to survive. She had never felt stable and comfortable for a moment.
The prince felt sad.
No.
Imprisoned people.
It's not just me.
But I want to tell her that the road ahead of her will only be more difficult, more dangerous, and more...
Suddenly, an impulse and emotion emerged from his heart.
At that moment, the muscles in Thales' arms tightened slightly.
He slowly puffed out his chest and raised his head.
"Thelma, let me ask you."
The prince looked straight at the gloomy girl and said in the most solemn tone:
"If you had a chance I mean, 'if' there was a chance..."
"Are you willing to leave?"
One second.
Two seconds.
"What? Me?"
The girl with reddish eyes raised her head like a frightened rabbit: "Leave?"
"Well, yes," Thales nodded vigorously and looked directly into Thelma's eyes: "Let's leave this city together, leave this country, leave these disturbances, leave these dangers, leave these boring traps
Trick, leave the fate imposed on you by King Nun!"
At that moment, Thelma was completely stunned.
"Leave... to where?"
The second prince who only saw stars stood up from his seat. He leaned his arms on the table and looked at her sharply with a serious expression.
"Should you plug it in, little slippery man, I'll ask you again."
"Are you willing to leave everything behind and follow me back to the stars?"