Obviously, as the captain of the Duke of Star Lake's personal guard, Mallos was not happy to see Thales open the door to welcome guests on the first day he moved into his new residence.
But under the watchful eyes of countless bureaucrats, servants, and guards, the insistence of the second prince, and more or less pressure from Master Karabyan’s background, Cohen was still politely invited into the newly tidied living room—of course
, before that, the captain of the Duke's personal guard, the watchman Lord Mallos, did not forget to remind his master:
The other party is the heir to the Karabyan family.
And today is the first day when the prince returns to the royal capital.
This must mean something.
Hearing this reminder, Thales could only smile numbly.
Then tense up as always.
Go and face the person in the living room...
"I knew it. I told them that the prince's memory is not bad, and he will definitely remember me, and he will definitely not forget to fight side by side... Sure enough..."
"I have written to you in the past few years, but I don't know why, but you never replied to me...until one time I met Kasuo boy who was returning to his hometown, and he told me that the Fallen Stars had intercepted the letters written to you.
Most of the letters, damn..."
Thales sat in the main seat, looked at Cohen who was chattering away, glanced at the familiar living room, and tried hard to suppress the emotion in his heart.
Back then, I was right here...
Cohen paused for a moment. He looked at Thales who was lost in thought, raised his palms to measure from his belly to his chest, and said in surprise:
"Hey, have you grown taller?"
Has grown tall.
Thales looked at the chair he was sitting on and remembered six years ago.
Maybe.
At that time, when I was sitting here, my feet could not even touch the ground.
Thales was silent for a long time.
For a long time, Cohen was a little overwhelmed and subconsciously sat upright in his chair.
"Yes."
Thales finally spoke up, with a faint smile but a profound meaning:
"I've grown taller."
But Cohen stopped smiling.
He looked towards the open hall door.
There, Mallos was standing at the door with his arms folded, looking at his two subordinates with a smile, and occasionally glancing at the meeting in the hall with his peripheral vision.
The vigilance officer was careful:
"Did I... come at the wrong time?"
Thales turned his eyes.
Cohen scratched his head:
"They don't look very happy, especially the leader, well, the one with the fake smile on his face..."
Outside the open door, a maid was about to bring tea to the Duke and the guests, but was stopped by Marius with a smile and a raised hand. Doyle, who was grimacing, and Glover, who was as stiff as before, both stepped forward and began to inspect.
.
Not very "happy".
certainly.
Thales thought lightly.
Although the time with him was not long, from the moment he walked out of the meeting hall...
Obviously, even Cohen felt something.
Thinking of this and what Mallos said, Thales forced himself to smile:
"That's Marius."
"Tormund Mallos."
"Watchman of the Royal Guard."
"That's it," Cohen said with a look of surprise and awe:
"It's the famous Marius."
Mallos
Well, this name does sound a bit familiar...
Cohen struggled with the memory.
Where did you hear it coming?
Thales adjusted his mood and said with a smile:
"Don't worry, he is just strict. After all, this is my first day back, and Mallos is my personal guard captain."
Cohen quickly put the unrememberable last name out of his mind.
"Captain of the Guards, wow, Your Highness," Cohen looked surprised and looked back and forth at the layout of the living room:
"It's been upgraded a lot compared to the Northland, right?"
The security officer looked around excitedly and curiously:
"Mindis Hall, I was only taken here once by the old man when I was very young... He said it is a good place and of great significance."
Cohen patted his chair with joy:
"Perhaps many big shots have sat in my seat."
"Yes, six years ago," Thales said with nostalgia:
"The Black Prophet sat in your chair."
Cohen, who was in high spirits, had a meal.
Thales smiled slightly, remembering the intense meeting that year.
I wonder how I will react now, six years later, when I face Morat Hansen again?
The prince unconsciously clenched his fists.
In his impression, the Black Prophet from six years ago seemed mysterious, terrifying, and creepy.
But six years later, he knew that the other party was not that scary, right?
At least... Black Prophet also had his leg broken.
In front of him, Cohen moved parallel and quietly changed seats:
"You may not believe it, but the time the old man brought me here..."
"He was summoned by the crown prince. I suddenly felt urgent to urinate, but the servant who took me disappeared. Then I couldn't find the place and suddenly found a vase in the corridor..."
"Ahem!"
Doyle, who was coughing loudly, came up with tea, just in time to interrupt Cohen's unconscious narration.
"Cohen," Doyle said in a normal tone, but gave the guest a sharp look from an angle that Thales couldn't see:
"This is His Highness's palace, and thanks to His Highness's generosity, you can be the first to visit here."
"Pay attention to your manners."
Cohen snorted and didn't care, as if "I know the prince very well", and while watching Doyle leave, he picked up the tea cup and drank it down in protest.
The next second, the vigilance officer's expression changed and he squirted hard into the teacup.
"Ah, wow, ah... Swing, swing, swing to death... Take it, take it on purpose..."
Cohen stuck out his burned tongue and fanned himself awkwardly.
Thales watched the interaction between Cohen and Doyle in surprise, then picked up his teacup and tried it.
Well, the temperature is just right.
Under Cohen's displeased gaze, Thales coughed to break the embarrassment:
"So, you've known Doyle for a long time?"
"Ha, ha... damn... more, more... oh, you mean d.d!"
Cohen managed to smooth out his tongue:
"He is my...well, that..."
Cohen's tone was a little uncertain: "The grandson of a certain great-uncle's brother-in-law?"
"Well, probably."
Granduncle's brother-in-law.
It's a shame he remembered.
Thales looked at Cohen's bright blond hair and then at Doyle's dark blond hair, and suddenly found that he was in a better mood.
At least, the depression brought out from Fuxing Palace is no longer like a black cloud, making it difficult to breathe.
"But you'd better stop playing with him, Your Highness," Cohen's expression changed, he came closer to Thales, and whispered to Doyle's back: "That guy is..."
"Playboy brother."
All right.
Thales had a strange expression on his face, but he unconsciously raised the corners of his mouth.
As far as snitching is concerned...
You are indeed relatives.
"So...where is the Casso boy? The one with the single-edged sword?"
Cohen didn't pay attention to this episode. He straightened up and looked for the figure in his impression:
"And that smoking uncle who is very good at conspiracy?"
Cohen recalled, scratching his chin:
"Including the mute who can fan..."
Cohen paused and said suspiciously: "Wait, the mute isn't here, right?"
Wyatt Castle.
Putilai Nyman.
Medila Rolfe.
Thales was slightly lost in thought.
"They are still dealing with my legacy in the North, but they will be back soon."
The prince quickly came to his senses and answered perfectly.
Cohen breathed a sigh of relief and touched his throat warily.
Well, that mute, it's better not to meet him.
Looking at Cohen's expression and looking at the strange yet familiar environment, Thales found that he missed the old people even more.
"It's unimaginable, Your Highness!"
Just a few seconds later, Cohen regained his energy and was full of excitement:
"Six years ago, we were still in the north, fighting and killing together..."
The vigilance officer's enthusiasm for the prince made the latter a little overwhelmed:
"But... look at this place again, Your Highness, you are now a Duke! Duke of Star Lake!"
Cohen took a deep breath, his face lit up with joy, as if he remembered something that made him exhale and raise his eyebrows:
"Even my old man has to salute you!"
But you didn't salute.
Thales rubbed his forehead helplessly.
"So, why Mindis Hall?"
Cohen patted the chair with great interest:
"You are not yet under age...why not Fuxing Palace?"
Thales was about to answer, but hesitated.
He glanced at the royal guards outside the door.
"I... have poor health and am more afraid of the cold," Thales said with a smile as he recalled the story of the 'Fog King' who came out of the palace to recuperate.
"My father let me live here."
Thales was a little worried.
He suddenly discovered that compared with six years ago...
He could no longer treat his friends without any grudges or reservations.
"Afraid of the cold?"
Cohen looked at him in surprise:
"But you stayed in the north for six years!"
Telvin forced a smile:
"Maybe, that's why they sent me back."
"Prevent me from dying of frostbite in the North."
Cohen was stunned.
His face was full of suspicion and he looked at the prince in front of him again.
One second later.
"ah!"
Cohen reacted as if he had a sudden realization, and smiled again:
"Your Highness, you really know how to joke!"
"Afraid of the cold? You are the hero who bravely entered the Palace of Heroes and saved Longxiao City!"
Thales could only continue to smile in return.
"But you can't fool me."
Having said this, the vigilance officer's eyes lit up:
"So, how did you come back from the Northland?"
Thales' smile froze.
Another question that is difficult to answer.
"Although the announcement said that it was the Kingdom of Exeter that sent you back as a gift, there was also a letter of credence from their king greeting His Majesty..."
Cohen was thoughtful, with a shrewd light flashing in his eyes:
"But I am a man who has fought in both the Northland and the Western Wasteland. I know the place very well, so I know things..."
Cohen smiled mysteriously:
"It's definitely not that simple."
Thales was stunned.
But unexpectedly, Cohen looked confident and had no intention of questioning him.
"I know," the security officer snapped his fingers confidently:
"This year, whether it's the war in the Freedom Alliance, the civil strife in the Black Sand Territory, or anything else, it's just the surface of things."
Looking at Cohen in front of him, Thales was a little surprised.
He means……
"And the truth is that someone with good intentions has already planned everything secretly..."
Cohen waved his hands with an "I know it all, stop pretending" expression on his face:
"Just for your safe return!"
At that moment, Thales was suddenly shocked.
What?
Cohen?
When did he...
Is it the secret science? Raphael told him?
"Hehe, not only that, I also know that the caring person..."
I saw the alert officer looking shrewd:
"And the planner of all this..."
Thales looked at the other party slightly nervously.
It has to be said that the Cohen in front of him gave him an unfathomable and impressive feeling.
Cohen stood up suddenly and said with great enthusiasm:
"...It's you, Your Highness!"
The entire living room fell silent.
Only Cohen's voice floated in the living room, lingering.
The security officer maintained a handsome posture as if he was identifying the murderer, looking cool and cool.
On the top of his finger, Thales froze in place.
Doyle outside the door looked here curiously, but was forced back by Mallos' smile.
After a few seconds, Thales recovered and tried to open his mouth:
"ha?"
However, as if he had rehearsed it in advance, Cohen changed his steps, retracted his right hand and waved his right arm out, confidently saying: "I know you too well, Your Highness!"
"I know that someone as smart as you is the initiator of all schemes!"
Cohen was excited:
"Just like six years ago..."
"This time, you were also the one strategizing in the middle. With the help of the Freedom Alliance and the Black Sand vassals, you successfully provoked an internal fight between Longxiao City and the Black Sand Territory..."
Thales' eyebrows began to twitch.
"At a time when the two major forces were fighting each other and had no time to care, you successfully escaped and returned home safely!"
"And severely weaken the Kingdom of Exeter!"
Cohen's posture remains graceful.
He knew that at this moment, his eyes were shining with the light of wisdom.
Waiting for the response from the person in front of you.
In front of Cohen's expectant eyes, Thales tried his best to raise his eyebrows.
"Uh, bad, almost."
After being affirmed, Cohen's eyes lit up!
"Those Yankees," the alert officer said happily:
"You must have taught the hell out of them, right?"
Thales took a deep breath:
"Um, that's about... more or less."
Cohen became increasingly excited:
"That's why you were made a Duke as soon as you came back because you have made great contributions to the country!"
Upon hearing this, Thales replied numbly:
"Bad, bad, almost."
Hearing the prince's admission, Cohen retracted his arms and clenched his fists hard!
yeah!
He was completely unaware of Thales' complicated expression at this moment.
"Hey, how about it? Since I learned my lesson six years ago, I have been doing politics in the past few years." The security officer narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, looking very knowledgeable:
"My resourcefulness has also improved!"
Thales silently looked at Cohen with a cheerful face.
"Well," a few seconds later, Thales broke into an awkward smile:
"Yes, yes."
Cohen suddenly beamed, like a squirrel finding a pine cone.
"So, how have the people in the North treated you these years?"
Thales had not yet recovered from Cohen's "witness" blow, and he sighed.
"Um, how should I say..."
But Cohen, who was full of confidence, waved his hand and interrupted him.
"Oh, I understand."
Cohen raised his head with a look of empathy:
"When we were in the Terminator Tower, my teacher was a Northerner, and Miranda was technically a Northerner... They, oh my god..."
Cohen seemed to remember something and shuddered a little.
The security officer's disgusted expression was halfway through, and he suddenly turned around and narrowed his eyes at Thales:
"You understand?"
Thales looked at him blankly:
"Um, I...that..."
Facing Cohen's expectant and longing eyes, the prince could only smile with all his strength:
"Yeah, I understand, I understand."
"Look!"
Cohen slapped his thigh excitedly:
"I knew you understood!"
Thales tried hard to suppress the twitching of the corners of his mouth.
Cohen sighed.
"It's a pity that no one else understands."
But he immediately brightened up and looked at the confused Prince eagerly as if he were his own brother:
"But it doesn't matter, it's enough for us to understand!"
Thales could only giggle and nod along with Cohen, suppressing the terrible question:
What do you know?
In this fruitful dialogue, His Excellency the Duke of Xinghu felt for the first time that his IQ level was slightly insufficient.
While Thales was immersed in the sadness of his damaged IQ, Cohen suddenly stood up and slapped his thigh.
"Okay, it's time for me to go."
Taylor was stunned for a moment.
"Go? Now?"
I saw the security officer smiling and saying:
"Your Highness, take care of yourself!"
Thales looked at Cohen who looked happy and said doubtfully:
"This...is it over?"
Cohen blinked, as if he didn't understand:
"yes."
Thales was stunned for a few seconds and then said:
"You...you don't have anything else to do?"
"Yes," Cohen rolled his eyes and became depressed:
"I have to go to the hall to sign in this afternoon, otherwise the director will deduct money again..."
etc.
Is this the end?
As the heir to one of the thirteen noble families...
On the second prince's first day back in the royal capital...
No temptation, no coaxing, no purpose, no pleasing, no coercion, no conspiracy?
Without what Mallos reminded...everything?
The Duke stared blankly at the dejected Cohen in front of him.
For the first time since returning to the stars, Thales felt a little uncomfortable.
Thales came back to his senses and shook his head:
"No, I mean..."
The prince hesitated for a moment and looked at Cohen with a serious look.
"How is your father?"
Thales still spoke, with a hint of discomfort and guilt:
"Leaded by Vola...Your Majesty Count Karabyan?"
Cohen was also stunned:
"he?"
"I don't know, it should be good... I haven't written to him for a long time."
The young Duke was quite surprised:
"But... you came all the way today just to spend a few minutes... chatting with me?"
Cohen paused and thought deeply.
After a few seconds, he shrugged after thinking to no avail:
"Yes, I just came to see you."
The security officer rubbed his head, looking confused.
"if not?"
This time, it was Thales' turn to be stunned.
At that moment, the Wings of Legend, Norbu of the Secret Science, the Duke of West Wasteland, Dela Croma, Earl of Black Lion, Watchman Marius, Gilbert, Captain Adrian... Since returning home, many people have
Many faces flashed through Tails' mind.
but……
Compared with the people in front of them...
Thales looked at the stupid Cohen in front of him with a complicated mood.
The big security officer looked at him with the same confusion and blinked.
After a long while, the Duke, who was deeply touched, came back to his senses and took a deep breath.
"Cohen."
"You are the eldest son, right?"
"The Karabyan family of the Two Towers and Long Swords?"
The moment he heard "eldest son", Cohen's whole body wilted like an eggplant beaten by frost.
"Yes?"
Cohen said listlessly.
Thales looked silently at the young master of the Karabiyan family in front of him, the orthodox heir of the Vola Territory.
"So after you graduated from the Terminator Tower, you went directly to the Western Wasteland? To the 'Thunder Crow'?"
The security officer raised his hand:
"Yes."
"Your father didn't stop you?" Thales gently rubbed the teacup in his hand:
"You know, you are the heir to the family's territory and title..."
"Oh, speaking of this..."
Cohen tried to cheer up and faced these headaches.
"My old man...wait a minute, how do you know that I served in the Western Wasteland and went to the Thunder Crow?"
The security officer looked at him suspiciously.
However, Thales remained calm:
"Everybody knows."
Cohen thought about it seriously and then suddenly realized:
"That's right, everyone knows."
"As for my father, of course, he stopped me. He didn't want me to join the army, nor did he want me to go to the Western Wilderness. What I mean is," Cohen replied thoughtfully, but his tone gradually dimmed:
"At least he tried to stop it."
Thales stared deeply at Cohen.
For the first time, he felt that he saw something different in this big man.
"But you went anyway."
The prince said silently.
Cohen exhaled slowly:
"I went anyway."
The living room was silent for a while, as if both parties needed time to digest these few words.
"Didn't he put pressure on you after that?"
Thales looked at the reflection in the teacup and asked in a daze:
"Forcing you to go back and be a...qualified heir?"
Cohen was slightly shocked, as if he remembered some bad memory.
But he still smiled:
"Of course."
"You can't imagine."
There was a trace of imperceptible regret at the end of Cohen's words:
"The way he forced me to retire..."
He said no more.
"But you are still here," Thales said calmly: "In the royal capital?"
"yes."
The security officer was also slightly lost in thought.
"At least in the royal capital, the old man doesn't dare to mess around," Cohen sighed and said helplessly:
"If I leave the royal capital, I doubt he will send an army to tie me up...ahem..."
Cohen shrugged and smiled his usual smile.
Cheerful as always.
Thales looked at him silently.
He is laughing.
The prince told himself.
Cohen.
At that moment, Thales suddenly felt:
It turns out that I am not alone.
There was silence between the two for a while.
There was a gentle knock on the door from Mallos in the distance.
It's time to meet guests.
"Cohen."
Thales put down the tea cup in his hand and slowly raised his head.
"Thank you……"
The prince released his gentlest, but also most sincere smile today:
"Nice to meet you."
Cohen raised his eyebrows:
"Yeah, I'm very..."
But the vigilance officer was interrupted.
I saw Thales minding his own business and saying:
"...I can see old faces."
"very nice."
Thales' expression was indifferent and his words were profound.
As soon as he finished speaking, Cohen's expression changed.
He looked at the prince blankly, showing doubts.
"What's wrong?" Thales laughed.
Cohen narrowed his eyes, as if he wanted to take a closer look at the owner of Mindis Hall:
"You are different."
Thales laughed dumbly:
"Really, do you think so too?"
Cohen nodded seriously.
"Yes, you have become, become..."
He tried his best to scan the Duke of Star Lake in front of him.
In the end, Cohen, who had been thinking for a long time and couldn't find an adjective, could only choke out one sentence:
"It's gotten...bigger."
Thales chuckled.
Looking at the smile of the prince in front of him, Cohen frowned.
He turned his head and remembered the child who was trapped under his arm in the tunnel.
Well, she was cuter when she was little.
Thales's heart moved and he remembered something.
"By the way, do you remember Rolf?"
Cohen's thoughts were confused and he said blankly:
"What?"
"My subordinate, the one wearing the mask..."
"You mean..." Cohen thought deeply for a while, then suddenly said:
"…mute!"
Seeing Cohen's happy expression, Thales sighed:
This might be a bad idea.
but……
"Cohen."
Taylor paused for a moment, then raised his head.
This time, the prince's expression was extremely serious.