Selma recovered from her initial shock and confusion.
"You want to take me away? Take me back to the stars?"
The lights around the dining room swayed slightly in the wind, as if echoing the girl's words.
She raised her head and her voice trembled slightly: "Is this what you mean?"
Facing the girl's green eyes, Thales was speechless for a while.
A touch of embarrassment and relief came to his mind at the same time.
I.
I just said...
Thales had a splitting headache, but the words had already been spoken. He could only keep thinking about this sudden idea and the possibility of implementing it.
The prince kept rubbing his hands and observing the expression of the Grand Duchess:
"I mean, I think...you now..."
But Thales immediately closed his mouth: at this moment, the Grand Duchess was staring at him quietly through the pince-nez given to her by the prince with a look that Thales could not understand.
At that moment, Thales felt like he didn't recognize the girl in front of him.
"But why should I follow you?" Thelma spoke softly, her voice seemed to come from dozens of meters away, hazy and ethereal.
"In what capacity and for what reason should I follow you?"
Thelma turned her head slightly, her voice was steady and her words were intermittent, as if she was carrying an unparalleled weight: "Is it just like the agreement His Majesty Nunn said back then... to be your fiancée?"
At that moment, the girl's eyes seemed to have some kind of terrifying power, forcing Thales to turn his gaze elsewhere, as if the other person's expression was the most terrifying poison in the world.
The second prince has never been so embarrassed.
Perhaps the only occasion comparable to this was the first time he met King Kessel.
Especially after he realized that he might have said something that could easily be misunderstood.
Thales took two deep breaths and shook his head hurriedly: "Hey, no, Selma, I didn't mean for you to elope with me just now..."
At that moment, it was as if someone had frozen the air in the room.
The Grand Duchess lowered her head.
"What's that for?" Thelma spoke slowly, her voice turning cold.
Thales, who was becoming more and more embarrassed, let out a painful breath and spent a few seconds to reorganize his emotions.
"Free Alliance, marriage, vassals, Black Sand Territory, Qiyuan City," he squeezed out these words stiffly, and the sentences were not coherent, "all of these, these are just the beginning."
"In the future, you will even face more terrible things, such as having to make cruel choices, or the enemy's conspiracy that has been brewing for several years..."
For example, you may eventually lose your position as a grand duke, and the tragic fate that will follow.
"You will see more and more terrible things, but you are standing in the most vulnerable position, with very few chips in your hand, and even the people around you..."
Thinking of Nicolai's secretive appearance and Lisban's serious and solemn demeanor, Thales subconsciously kept silent.
"I can't protect you all the time, Thelma, and neither can anyone else," Thales took a breath, and the more he spoke, the heavier he felt:
"For your safety, to stay away from these dangers..."
The Grand Duchess gently raised her head and interrupted the prince.
"I see."
Thelma's expression changed.
"Take me away for my safety," Thelma looked away and snorted with a half-smile: "I understand, this is the reason."
"I see."
"There can't be any other reason, right? You can't say that word."
That word?
Thales looked at her like this, and an unspeakable feeling filled his heart.
No.
No, Selma, you...
"Just like in the past," the girl sighed softly, with a slight melancholy in her eyes: "You worry about me, love me, and pity me just because I am weak and need protection, like a certain puppy."
"So you have to take me away."
"Like the past, is the only reason for this."
Thales took a deep breath: "Selma..."
But Selma seemed to be immersed in her own world and ignored him.
"That's right, that's me, the weak and helpless me who closes my eyes and waits for death. I can only wait for others to reach out to me."
Thales was slightly startled.
The girl's eyes were frozen in space, and her voice trembled slightly:
"Do you still remember, six years ago, when I was captured by that monster Blood Calamity...it was all human, or all human parts: eyeballs, lips, ears, internal organs, hands and feet, soaked in blood
, everything trembles before your eyes...dark, greasy, and bloody."
Thales' memory was brought back to the pet body of the hydra Kilikagisa, and he felt a sense of discomfort when he thought of those severed bodies and limbs.
He lowered his head, said nothing, and had nothing to say.
"I remember I couldn't stop shaking and crying," Thelma squeezed the tablecloth in her hands and looked at the food on the table with a pale face, "because I could only cry, I could only cry, I could only cry
, all I can do is cry and wait to die."
"At that time, can you imagine how I felt?"
The lights in the dining room swayed slightly, and their shadows trembled.
Thales only felt his mouth and tongue heavy.
"I'm sorry, that's..." he said with difficulty.
That's my fault.
The prince whispered in his heart.
It was me who caused you...
Thelma suddenly raised her head and stared at Thales closely, her eyes softening a lot.
"Until you, Thales, you appeared in front of me with that strange dagger, covered in blood, and your face full of exhaustion," the Grand Duchess said calmly, but could not hide the ups and downs in her voice: "Just like you on the same night.
, with the majesty of His Majesty Nunn, he pulled me away from him without hesitation."
Thales paused slightly.
"When I was most desperate, you came to save me." She said calmly.
"You are the only bright color in that nightmare, Thales."
"Can you imagine that feeling?"
Thales stared blankly at Thelma who was acting unusually, and felt quite uncomfortable.
"Like now, again," the Grand Duchess sighed slightly, looking at the knife and fork next to her hand with a complicated expression: "Are you coming to save me again?"
"Save the girl who has always been under your care and protection, save that shrinking, timid, trembling little slippery head?"
"Because this is the only image of me in your heart, right?"
"So, I can never be looked at squarely by you and seen as an equal by you."
Thales frowned deeply, feeling that the strangeness given to him by the girl in front of him became even more profound.
she……
"Selma," Thales' voice was filled with doubts and uneasiness, "What happened? Why did you...ask like that?"
Thelma sneered.
"You know, for more than a month, Charles has been trying to convince me that getting too close to you is not a good thing."
The Grand Duchess shook her head vigorously, as if she wanted to get rid of something dirty from her mind: "But I told him: from that nightmarish night six years ago, I know that even Charles, even Nicolai
Lord, even Justin, even the entire Longxiao City has betrayed me."
"You, Thales Bright Star, will not hesitate to stand in front of me and protect me just like you did when you faced the disaster six years ago."
Thales trembled suddenly.
"If you are like this, I can't even believe you," Thelma lowered her head and twisted the corner of her mouth into a bitter arc: "Who else can I believe?"
The girl turned her gaze and tried to use the reflection of her glasses to block the glint in her eyes, but Thales still captured that moment.
"I know you have many secrets, Thales," Thelma's tone was hoarse with fatigue and disappointment: "Whether it's persistently looking for records about the End War and the dragon, or going out to play chess once a month
The request, or the disaster of blood and the disaster in blue, and the reason why they are looking for you..."
At that moment, Thales didn't speak.
But when he looked into the girl's eyes, he couldn't help but tremble slightly.
turn out to be……
"But I didn't tell any of them to Charles or the others," the Grand Duchess took a deep breath and said, "I know you must cherish these secrets very much, and I also know that since they are your secrets, they will never be harmful to me.
"
"Yes, Thales, I believe in you," Thelma lowered her head and said hoarsely: "Believe in you with my life."
silence.
The complex and unspeakable taste filled Tails' heart, making his mouth taste bitter.
Yes, Thelma is not a little girl without any characteristics.
On the contrary, she is very sensitive and sharp, but most of the time, she hides herself behind the lenses.
No one knows, and probably no one cares.
including me.
"But, Thales Bright Star, what am I to you?"
Thelma raised her head with difficulty.
Once again, the girl gritted her teeth and said: "Is it your burden? Is it the responsibility you can't shake off? Is it the bargaining chip in your hand? Is it worth it for you to save me again and again? Or is it the fiancée you were forced to agree to?
"
Thales swore that he had never seen such a look on Thelma's face.
It was a mixture of complex emotions ranging from melancholy, hesitation, pain, resentment, anger and grievance, all gathered in the glittering eyes of the Grand Duchess behind her lenses.
It was as if the little slipper he had known for the past six years was just a false shell, as if the Selma in front of him was the true face that Thales had never discovered.
"No, neither."
She held back the tears that were almost forced out of her eyelids and choked out:
"Now, I understand."
The second prince could not say anything anymore. He just stared blankly in front of him, looking at this little slippery man that he didn't recognize, or that he didn't care about.
Thelma twisted her stiff neck and forced herself to look at Thales.
She couldn't hide her sobs, which unknowingly contained a hint of sarcasm:
"You, Prince Thales, are different from most noble people. You have a unique and warm heart and your own principles. You can't stand the suffering of those around you while you remain indifferent..."
"So you always lend a helping hand to the weak, huh?"
"as me."
Thales looked at her sadly, feeling heavy in his chest.
Disappointment and pain flashed in the depths of Thelma's crystal eyes, releasing an indescribable light behind the lenses.
"You can't stand it when I'm forced to decide about my marriage. You can't stand it when I'm in danger. You can't stand it when I face all the princes alone. So you come to save me without hesitation, just like you didn't hesitate to come back to save me."
When you go to the Palace of Heroes, it’s the same as facing the princes.”
"Of course, you still feel guilty and feel that you should be responsible for sending me to the position of Grand Duke, right?"
"So, you pity me, sympathize with me, help me, and protect me," Thelma tried her best to make her sobs sound like a sneer, but she was obviously unsuccessful, "but to you, I am nothing more than a sneer at best.
You are just one of the countless weak people you have pitied and rescued. Whether I think about it or not, there are no more."
The next second, the girl clenched her fists and her arms trembled slightly, as if she was enduring some great pain.
An uneasy silence returned to the dining room.
Only two breaths remained: one trembling and unstable, the other long and dull.
Thelma gritted her teeth, her eyes behind her pince-nez were soaked with tears, and her chin trembled slightly.
Finally, a drop of crystal slipped from the corner of her left eye.
Thales closed his eyes, sighed and lowered his head.
Thelma gritted her teeth. She reached out her hand, trembling but firmly wiping away the tears on her left face, but she couldn't stop the tears from falling from her right eye: "So, you will never put me in the same world as you."
You will never treat me as yours, yours..."
She couldn't speak any more.
Thelma turned her head to the other side to prevent Thales from seeing her tears.
"That's the whole point of 'Take Me Away'. It's better to take away a weakling in need of rescue than to rescue any puppy on the street, because that's where I stand in your eyes."
"Selma..." Thales sighed. He tried his best to force himself to speak, and at the same time deliberately avoided the topic he least wanted to talk about: "Maybe you shouldn't think so much, we have always been friends.
Partners who have fought side by side since..."
"partner?"
"No."
"You said that Lyanna Tebak is like a brilliant diamond, shining under the sun, making you never forget it," Thelma laughed coldly with tears in her eyes, her expression sad and decisive: "In comparison, the dragon
Thelma of Xiaocheng, no, the little slicker of Longxiao City, is probably just an annoying and incompetent weakling, waiting for your charity and protection."
Thales clenched his fists.
"Of course not," he gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words from between his teeth: "You...you are different to me."
"different?"
The girl took a deep breath, took off her glasses, and wiped the tears from her face vigorously.
Thelma shook her head and snorted with a choked voice:
"No, Thales, after six years, I know you too well."
"Perhaps you haven't noticed it yourself: the only women you can truly appreciate and admire are those who are strong, independent, self-centered, and exude dazzling light. Your eyes will always light up only for them."
Thales frowned.
"Like the Duchess, she can make you admire her sincerely even if she is thousands of miles away; like the Lady Princess Jini, as a teacher, even if you haven't seen her for six years, she has never faded from your heart for a moment; like the Fortress
Flower, she is like an iron wall to resist the warriors in front when the storm comes."
The second prince took a deep breath and felt his mouth and tongue were stiff.
"Even the female vampire you mentioned, the ugly one who betrayed you, pushed you into a desperate situation, and called you Selina or some other Talina."
"At least she is powerful and terrifying, and can make you extremely fearful and inexplicably wary every time she is mentioned, and then put her in the most critical position in your eyes."
Thelma put on her pince-nez again, and the area around her eyes was slightly red and swollen.
"Only people like them can attract your attention and make you unforgettable. They can stand in front of you, look directly into your eyes, and talk to you equally and independently." Her tone returned to calmness, but the words were
But the mood is full of coldness: "And that girl who can only huddle in the library, obey the vassals, be extremely afraid of politics, and tremble in the face of difficulties, she can't..."
"She can only hide in the corner of your eyes forever, be protected, led, and pitied forever. She can only be helped, favored, and rescued by you."
"I can never stand in the same world as you."
"Even if I am as noble as you, even if I am as kind-hearted as you, even if I am as kind as you, there is actually no difference between my vassals: only strong ones can make them obey, and similarly, only independent and self-reliant women can make you look at them like not long ago,
The female warrior from the Black Sand Territory."
"And if I were just a weak girl, I would receive contempt and contempt from my vassals. But from you, I will receive condescending pity and sympathy."
Thales had nothing to say.
He wanted to tell her no, that it was all unnecessary conjecture.
but……
Thales remembered what Lady Jinx told him before:
[Many times, it is because of Your Highness’s constant concern, consideration and companionship that a woman will feel that she is safe and let go of her worries and vigilance.]
【But the problem is, she is not safe.】
【She shouldn't feel that way either.】
Yes, little slippery little Selma, what exactly is she to him? The responsibility brought by guilt? The sustenance retained because of pity?
Or is it because of her...
Thales raised his head and looked at the girl's beautiful face, which was slightly red against the backdrop of platinum hair. He felt depressed inside.
The little girl who looked up in confusion in the library seemed to appear in front of her again.
Six years ago, when I took her out of that hall, I probably never thought that today would happen.
But, after six years, I thought I knew her very well.
I thought I was helping her, protecting her, and planning for her wishfully...
Thales sighed: But actually, I have never understood her, nor have I tried to understand her.
Just think of her as...
"Have you forgotten, Thales?" Thelma looked at the cold broth on the plate and laughed subconsciously: "You told me before that you didn't want me to be forced.
Become what others want you to be,"
"You want me to be who I want to be."
This time, the Grand Duchess of Longxiao City did not hesitate and raised her eyes without hesitation.
"so……"
"I refuse, Thales."
The girl did not turn her head or look away. She looked directly into Thales's eyes and her tone was affirmative:
"I won't go with you."
"If I listen to you and leave obediently, shrink away and leave happily, then I will always be the little girl you helped."
"I'm tired of being a little girl, Thales," Thelma exhaled, holding her lower abdomen with a pale face. She gritted her teeth and looked firmly: "I'm tired of being yours."
'Little girl, I'm fed up with you taking me away from danger and living in a greenhouse."
Thelma's eyes flashed coldly, and behind the lenses she released an indescribable coldness: "Furthermore, as the Grand Duchess of Longxiao City, I will not and cannot leave with a star prince, no matter what I face.
The hardships and dangers, the powerful enemies and fierce battles, this is my home. I was born here, and I will die here."
Until one day, I can stand face to face with you.
Thales.
She said silently.
Silence fell in the dining room.
The Grand Duchess and the Prince sat on both sides of the dining table, facing each other quietly, as if the food on the table were just decorations.
It seemed like a century had passed before Thales finally spoke with difficulty.
"Selma..."
With a sense of disappointment for himself or for the other party, he whispered: "Okay."
The second prince let out a long sigh, his eyes darkened: "I understand."
Thelma chuckled, let go of the hand pressing her abdomen, and her face softened slightly.
"fine."
The Grand Duchess seemed to be in a rather depressed mood, and she shook her head.
"I know," she said calmly, "I know you are just impulsive occasionally."
Thales frowned slightly.
she……
"You are not alone, Thales." Thelma looked out the window with a complicated expression, as if she was looking at a hazy painting covered with a gauze scarf.
"Behind you are your country and your people."
"Have you considered the consequences of kidnapping the Grand Duke of Longxiao City?" The Grand Duke smiled and shook her head as if to ridicule, but that smile seemed quite difficult to Thales, "You bring
Leaving me will only keep me away from troubles, but it will bring more people and more terrible disasters."
"If you come to your senses," Thelma sighed, "if you reconsider this choice, you won't say that again, because of the reason why you want to save me, and the reason why you can't bear to see them suffer.
,it's the same."
"There is probably no girl in this world who is worth such a high price for you."
Thales clenched his fists.
No.
You, you are still different after all.
Who are you……
Who are you……
At this moment, the dining room door rang.
"Madam, Prince, please forgive me for disturbing you," the rich voice of Earl Lisban came steadily: "Can I come in?"
The weird atmosphere in the room seemed to be broken instantly.
Thales and Thelma quickly gathered themselves, adjusted their state, and welcomed the regent in.
The Earl of Lisban was still in his serious attire, with a calm expression. He seemed not to have seen the red eyes of the Grand Duchess, nor the prince's disappointed look.
However, the moment Lisban spoke, listening to his unusual tone, Thales had an ominous premonition.
really.
"Your Excellency the Grand Duchess, Prince Thales, the letter crow from Qiyuan City has just arrived."
Lisban's words suddenly made the two of them serious.
"The meeting of elders of the Freedom Alliance has just ended: the first tentative letter has been sent to Qiyuan City, proposing to lower tariffs."
Thelma took a breath: "So..."
Lisban nodded, his eyes solemn: "The Grand Duke of Qiyuan City, Kurikun Roni, has issued a warrant to fully mobilize all troops and supplies from his immediate territories and vassals, and at the same time recall the wandering troops stationed in the desert.
Use all our strength to block the borders to the West."
Thales' pupils narrowed slightly.
In the Hall of Heroes, the image of the long-haired Duke with strong temperament reappeared in his mind.
At that moment, Lisban's expression was solemn: "At the same time, he has sent a large-scale official mission, which will arrive at Longxiao City in the near future."
Thales and Thelma looked at each other, confused.
The prince raised his head: "Ronnie sent a formal envoy not just to say hello. I guess he has already learned that the Black Sand Leader has sent someone?"
Lisban raised his eyebrows slightly and snorted softly, as if he was blaming Thales for his recent actions.
"Please be prepared, two of you, no matter who is behind this chess game," the regent's eyes swept over the two of them, and his words seemed to envelope the small dining room with the power of a brewing storm: