Palace of Heroes, the dining room of the Grand Duchess.
"I need an explanation for today's farce."
Thelma stared at the two people in front of her with an ugly expression: one of them had a calm expression, and the other seemed to be smiling.
"Or you can get out of the Palace of Heroes now and take care of the food and accommodation for you two."
The Grand Duke said coldly.
"Wow," Ian Ronnie, the heir to the Grand Duke of Qiyuan City, leaned on the backrest in the most comfortable posture, looked at the angry Grand Duke with interest, turned his head and asked Thales, who was pondering: "
Is this what you told me 'she's easy to talk to'?"
Thales took a deep breath.
Well, maybe it's because that's coming.
But before he could speak, Thelma's anger suddenly rose.
"You, Your Excellency Ian Roney," the Grand Duchess said coldly, "I remember you are here to ask for help?"
"Uh-huh." Ian nodded briskly.
"Just because of your arrogance, exaggeration, pretentiousness and rudeness?" Thelma showed no mercy: "And your rare talent of humiliating the entire Longxiao City when they first met?"
"Also, tonight's welcome banquet has been canceled because no one is willing to attend, unless I agree to their request for a duel at the banquet."
"They are quite enthusiastic. Look, luckily I brought Monty here." Facing the Grand Duchess who was charging to accuse, the frivolous Viscount chuckled and snapped his fingers: "Problem solved."
Seeing the other party's flirtatious attitude, Thelma's face turned even darker.
"Passion? Do you know how ugly the scene was after you left, and how many nobles expressed their indignation to me?"
Thales swore that with his sensitive hearing, he heard the sound of the Grand Duchess grinding her teeth behind her lips: "You have to be lucky that they disarmed before entering the palace."
"Ah," Ian shrugged at Thales with a nonchalant look on his face: "Hypocritical and old-fashioned Northlanders."
"If you have this kind of energy, why don't you go to the Black Sand Territory and kill the king?"
Thelma was furious, she took a breath and stared at Ian who was indifferent.
"Oh, you also know that the envoys from the Black Sand Territory are in the city, and they will know everything that happened today and pass it back to Black Sand City and pass it on to the king?"
"And do you know how many of the vassals of Longxiao City will change their attitude towards Qiyuan City and the Black Sand Territory because of your actions today?"
Hearing the name of Black Sand Collar, Ian's pupils suddenly condensed.
He nodded slowly on the backrest.
"That's a problem."
He turned to Thales, his eyes focused: "But we will solve it, right?"
But Thales just said nothing. He clenched his hands and pressed them against the dining table, pressing his knuckles from time to time. This was a habit he learned from the bald Archduke Lecco six years ago.
Thelma seems to have had enough of arguing with the heir of Qiyuan City.
"Tales, you arranged this meeting," the Grand Duchess adjusted her glasses and glared dissatisfied at Thales, who looked calm and seemed to be deep in thought:
"Say something!"
Ian smiled silently, imitating Thelma's angry expression, deliberately showing a resentful look, turning to Thales, shaking his head and making a silent mouth gesture: Say something.
This made Thelma's anger reach its peak:
"If the people who come to Qiyuan City for help are people like you, then you can..."
"Selma."
Thales spoke softly.
He raised his eyes and looked across the table from a distance at Miss Thelma, whose cheeks were puffed up because of anger.
"Calm down, you are the Grand Duchess, there is no need to get angry easily."
Ah, this is the girl who rejected his impulsive proposal here a few days ago and proposed to stay in Longxiao City and face all unknown dangers.
That little naughty guy.
He will miss her.
Thales slowly curved the corners of his mouth and smiled unconsciously.
Selma, who was originally angry, was a little embarrassed by his stare.
She remembered the method that Thales had taught her to calm down, and took a few deep breaths.
"I...I think," the girl unconsciously turned her gaze away, snorted, and gave Ian a hard look at Ian who was smiling strangely, but her tone was much gentler: "Maybe we shouldn't waste any more time.
"
Ian raised his eyebrows. He looked at Thales, who was calm, and then at Selma, who turned her head, with a surprised expression.
He yawned, and it seemed that he had spent a lifetime struggling to get up from the chair. He lazily picked up a piece of cheese from the table, chewed it and said to himself: "I knew I had found the right person."
…”
Under Ian's strange reminder, Thales came back to his senses.
The prince coughed and asked calmly:
"The Earl of Risban didn't come?"
"Charles said he was going to appease the nobles," Thelma shook her head, still immersed in dissatisfaction: "He also said that he hopes that you can still perform well in the face of the earls at the next political hearing.
So easy.”
Thales' eyes narrowed.
Ian stopped chewing the cheese in his mouth.
"The next political hearing..."
"So he understands," the prince said softly: "As expected of Long Mu."
Thelma looked confused: "What?"
"Maybe Monty told him something," Ian started chewing the cheese again, but his brows were already wrinkled: "That big mouth, on the way, he heard that I was coming to propose."
Hearing the word "proposal", Thelma let out a heavy breath and her eyes became dangerous again:
"What on earth are you two talking about?"
Thales didn't speak, but his thoughts were moving faster and faster.
Only Ian swallowed the cheese in his mouth vigorously, tilted his head, and smiled disapprovingly: "It seems that you are not as smart as you look, madam."
"Sure enough, beauty and wisdom are both related..."
Before he finished speaking, the Grand Duchess was once again offended.
"And you are even more annoying than your nickname." Thelma said coldly.
Ian was slightly stunned at first, then he smiled and shrugged cheekily: "It's a great honor."
Thales sighed and decided not to be silent anymore.
"Selma," the prince sat upright and looked at the two of them seriously: "This is Ian Ronny, representing Qiyuan City."
Following his eyes, Thelma and Ian looked at each other, one with a wary face, the other with disapproval.
"And he came to propose to you."
Thales said lightly.
Thelma didn't move.
But the next second, the Grand Duchess sneered.
"Yes, thank you for the introduction." Thelma looked at Thales with an evil look in her eyes, the accusation and anger in her eyes almost overflowing.
She looked at Ian with an appraising look, without concealing the disgust in her eyes, and said sarcastically: "At least he is about the same age, right?"
Thales said nothing.
It was Ian who answered.
"Look, she still doesn't understand," Qi Yuancheng's heir didn't even look at the cold-faced Grand Duchess. He smiled contemptuously, shrugged and said to Thales:
"My mother used to say that if a woman took charge, she would..."
"I don't know what your mother said, Ian." Thales turned his head sharply and interrupted him coldly.
Ian hesitated slightly, and his raised finger stopped in mid-air.
"To be honest, I don't care," Prince Xingchen said with a serious face, "But if you still want to complete this mission, then respect her. She is the Grand Duchess of Longxiao City, and she is the key to this chess game."
He looked at Ian's eyes that slowly put away his playful look, and said in a deep voice: "He is also my friend."
Ian was stunned.
"And you, Selma," Thales looked seriously into the eyes of the Grand Duchess, "please believe me, we are standing on the same side of the chessboard."
"This guy is like this, we have to get used to it..."
Thelma snorted softly, as if she was still angry at Ian.
But she didn't speak anymore.
Ian breathed softly, frowned, and seemed to understand: "Oh."
The next moment, Ian leaned back, close to Thales's ear, stretched out his hand to block the sight of the Grand Duchess, and whispered: "Why, you haven't tamed her yet?"
This time it was Thales' turn to be stunned.
The solemn look on his face hadn't disappeared before he asked in surprise: "What?"
tame?
Ian sighed, with a feeling of regret that iron cannot become steel.
Thelma looked suspiciously and looked at the two people who were biting their ears secretly.
"You know, you were the one who helped her to the seat," Ian suppressed his voice, his tone full of annoyance and dissatisfaction: "And it's been six years, my highness! Even a princess of a country doesn't have to do this.
How long?"
Thales blinked and seemed to understand.
"Men are more or less special to the first woman, but," Ian curled up his mouth and made a bitter face, as if he had experienced it, and continued to say sadly: "Unless you are in bed, don't let her crawl into it.
Come up on your head..."
Boom!
There was a muffled sound, accompanied by Ian's groan of pain.
The successor of Qi Yuancheng twisted his face and sat back on his chair with his belly in his arms, a look of pain at being betrayed.
Following Ian and Thales, Thelma was also stunned.
She looked at this and that in confusion: "You..."
"He had some stomachache, but he's feeling better now," Thales, who remained calm, retracted his elbows and didn't even look at Ian, who was pale and sweating. "Let's get back to business."
"Selma," the prince took a deep breath, leaned close to the table, and said seriously: "You have to know that it is said to be a proposal but first of all, it is impossible for him to propose successfully."
Thelma's eyes moved.
"There is only one direct ruler left in Longxiao City. Without external force or pressure," Thales said with a slight force on his palm, shaking off the proposal Nunn had given him in his mind: "Internally and externally,
It is impossible for you to marry an outsider who has considerable power, both emotionally and rationally."
"For the vassals of Longxiao City, this is tantamount to attracting terrible foreign enemies out of thin air and taking away power from their hands. For the Grand Dukes of Exeter, this means that Longxiao City and Qiyuan
The next successor of the city is likely to merge the two into one, which is equal to the imbalance of the balance of power in the ten major territories."
Thales looked at the Grand Duchess sincerely: "And Qiyuan City is not strong enough to ignore or even suppress these objections. Neither the vassals, nor the Grand Dukes, nor even the King will allow you to get married."
Listening to the prince's words, Thelma was distracted for a moment.
"So, a proposal from an outsider..."
Thelma looked at Thales steadily: "They won't allow it, right?"
"Is it?"
Thales felt very uncomfortable being stared at by her, so he quickly looked away.
"So, he sent a message saying that he came here to propose to me, to..."
Lord Ian, who was stroking his stomach in displeasure, snorted coldly: "Of course it's to lure us out, but in fact Prince of the Stars plays an important role in the politics of Longxiao City: If you want to win over the Grand Duchess, you have to start from Tire.
Si Canxing starts."
ah?
Thales paused slightly.
The Grand Duchess's face turned red rarely.
After thinking about it, Tails suddenly darkened his face: "Is this what the rumors are spreading outside?"
"At least that's what Black Sand Collar does, right," Ian sighed, jokingly:
"What conditions did the king give you in order to win over you? Twenty virgins?"
Thales automatically ignored Ian's joking tone, and his nerves became tense for a moment.
What conditions were given to me...?
The expression of King Charmaine who was confident of winning seemed to appear in front of him again, holding him firmly in his hand.
Thales resisted the urge to see Selma.
Damn it.
Don't take this seemingly frivolous young man lightly.
"What," the second prince asked calmly, "do you want to say generously, 'I'll give you double'?"
Ian showed an unintelligible smile.
"I'm very happy," Ian shook his head with a normal expression, and then added the last sentence slowly:
"If they slap you."
The Star Prince snorted angrily in response.
But when he thought of Lumba's words, his heart felt cold.
Although it's not a slap.
But it's almost there.
Thelma sighed softly: "Let's get back to the topic...so the proposal is just an excuse?"
"It's not just an excuse, it can also explain a lot of things." Ian smiled with an understanding look on his face. He clicked his tongue at Thales and made exaggerated movements of his hands: "Look, when the marriage of the Grand Duchess was mentioned, there was a bang.
, the living Prince Thales appeared."
Thales rubbed his forehead and exhaled in pain.
"How old are you, Ian?"
"Nineteen." Ian's smile remained unchanged: "Exactly one year older than the Grand Duchess."
No, he is four years older.
Thales added silently, looking at Selma in understanding.
"Really," the prince said lightly, "I feel like you have just turned nine."
"Ah, in view of your glorious deeds when you were seven or eight years old," Ian knocked on the table, picked up a piece of butter bread again, bit into his mouth, and said vaguely: "Well, let's take this as a compliment."
Thales breathed out.
He gradually mastered the way to talk to the Viscount of Fengcheng.
Thales turned his thoughts and recalled the conversation just now.
From the moment he met Thelma, Ian deliberately showed his disdain for the Grand Duchess, but unknowingly asked about her relationship with the vassals of Longxiao City and her control over the territory.
He deliberately made the situation out of control, but in fact he looked at himself many times, perhaps to observe when he would speak out to dissuade a fight, so as to detect his influence on the Grand Duchess, and also to make insinuations about his actual relationship with the Grand Duchess.
Twice, twice he openly and covertly tested the Black Sand Leader's attitude towards him and his own attitude towards the Black Sand Leader.
Thales secretly raised the alarm in his heart.
Ian Roney.
He seems to be a frivolous, unruly and unruly aristocratic son.
In fact, the most thoughtful and sharp edges are hidden in words that look like jokes.
This "nuisance".
But for now, this isn't a bad thing.
"Let's get down to business," Thales cleared his throat: "Ian sent me a message specifically, saying that he wants to propose to you."
Thelma's expression was still ugly, but she had begun to listen to Thales' words.
"But as I said, a proposal is simply impossible. I guess he has other things to discuss with me and you outside of normal diplomatic channels in a reliable and credible private setting."
"So I went to the Palace of Heroes in advance."
Thelma looked suspicious and looked at Ian.
Ian blinked and swallowed the buttered bread.
"After meeting, he told me: Qiyuan City is different from other Northern Grand Dukes. Their position is special and their politics are special. Any assistance from the interior of Exeter is of great significance to them."
Not only that, he also kept hinting to himself that as the future heir of Qiyuan City, he, like Prince Xingchen, was a foreigner who was forced to live among the people of the North.
Thales sighed: "And he also reminded me: He knows that the one who influenced Longxiao City to send troops to aid Qiyuan City was none other than the conflict between the vassals and the Grand Duke. It started with your marriage."
At that moment, Thelma's eyes were locked on Ian.
"Believe me," His Excellency the Viscount snorted, rather disapprovingly: "When it comes to the struggle between the Grand Duke and the vassals in his territory..."
He looked sharply: "I'm afraid there is no place in the entire Exter where I feel more deeply than the Ronnie family in Qiyuan City."
Thelma looked at Thales thoughtfully, and then at Ian.
"So... what do you want?" the Grand Duchess calmed down and asked calmly.
Ian smiled.
"He has a proposal," Thales looked at Thelma intently:
"An unusual solution to the crisis."
The Grand Duchess bit her lower lip lightly, seeming to be more interested in the food on the table.
But Thales knew that she was thinking.
"That's why we don't have time to waste on those boring and unnecessary ceremonies and banquets." Ian's face lost the cynical look. He became solemn and no longer paid attention to the food on the table: "
This matter requires us to discuss in secret, decide together, plan in advance and the time is tight."
"I apologize to you, Her Majesty the Grand Duchess, everything from this afternoon to just now is a superficial temptation," Ian said firmly: "Please believe that Qiyuan City is not just a requester who comes to beg for help.
, in fact, I come here with sincerity and know your current difficulties and embarrassment, and Qiyuan City will use our methods to solve your problems in exchange for your commitment and assistance."
"And all I need is a little trust from you."
No one spoke.
The lights in the dining room swayed slightly, illuminating the shadows of the three people.
Like a small boat drifting in the waves.
Thelma looked at Thales seriously.
At that moment, Thales somehow remembered their desperate escape in Longxiao City six years ago.
The prince of the stars nodded to her.
Finally, the Grand Duchess turned her head, serious and calm.
"And what's your method of 'solving my troubles'?"
Ian Ronny from Qiyuan City grinned and nodded slightly to Thales.
The next second, he looked at Thelma gently, spoke softly, and uttered the familiar words again: