When enemies meet, it is like taking a breath of spring breeze.
I was extremely jealous when my close friends reunited.
During the days when he was living under the shelter of others in Longxiao City, Thales had dreamed of returning to the stars countless times.
But if there is anything that can extinguish his homesickness, then the elegant and perfect smile of the Duke of Iris, Jenn Kelvindill, is probably one of them.
Prince Thales will never forget the crazy scenes he encountered in the stars when he went north on a mission six years ago: whether it was a mummy-like vampire witch opening its bloody mouth and dark eye holes at him, screaming miserably, or...
The pure white bloodthirsty monster without limbs pressed him down irresistibly and bit his neck.
The above two served as the surprise scene at the end of most of his nightmares in the past six years, second only to Giza who occasionally appeared as a hidden level boss (in the ultimate nightmare), urging him to go to bed early and get up early, and to stay optimistic.
Every time he thought about this, Thales felt a dull pain in his neck.
It felt like it was being tightened and bitten through.
So Thales will not forget the culprit of all that.
"I didn't expect you to come, my friend the Duke," Thales smiled like a flower. His right arm went around Zhan's back and put his other shoulder. In the eyes of others, he looked like the Duke of Iris.
Brothers, let’s travel together:
"At least, it won't be this early."
Zhan En also smiled gently and put his left arm around Thales' neck, just like his own brother, naturally and affectionately:
"In the past few months, I have missed His Highness deeply,"
"Can't wait to see you."
"My prince friend."
Zhan En's voice is as gentle and gentle as ever, friendly and easy-going.
Even better than before.
I miss you deeply...
Thales chuckled.
"So what is it this time?"
Thales showed off his profound skills in selling business with a quick rope, his smile was bright and sunny, his tone was cheerful, and his volume suddenly lowered:
Thales' voice was so soft that even Glover, Doyle, and Zhan's old butler Ashford who were following them didn't hear him clearly.
He stayed close to Jenn:
"Should you do like the people from the North and just roll up your sleeves and fuck me?"
In full view of everyone, Zhan En burst out laughing.
The guests who were blocked by the guards and servants and waiting to enter witnessed this harmonious scene and nodded with joy.
Many people talked about this scene in tacit understanding: Apparently, the Duke of Nan'an had just laughed because of a humorous joke made by the prince. What was rare was that the Duke showed his true feelings without any pretense.
The prince is also sincere and without pretense.
You see, big shots are actually ordinary people. They live the same life as us, have similar joys, and suffer from similar troubles. If you don't believe it, just look at their smiles. How are they different from you and me?
So, we, the prince, the duke, they are just in different positions, there is no distinction between us, we are all important members of the kingdom, working hard for the future of the stars.
Since they have worked hard for the Kingdom and steered the ship, we must have hope and faith in them.
Even if they have shortcomings, we must put ourselves in their shoes, be tolerant and patient.
This is the right kind of love... Hey! My dear friend, please stop crowding out and losing your place - it’s none of my business if you don’t see it! I came here today just to see the true appearance of His Highness and the Duke.
! Hey, they are leaving, hurry up! Oh, those in front, please move out of the way! If you block it, I can’t see it! Prince Thales! Duke Zhan! Please walk slower!
"Tales! You..."
Zhan En ignored the little twists and turns outside the court. He only saw him shaking the prince on his arm affectionately, lowering his head to the latter's ear:
"You know, I've been thinking about it for the past six years..."
He whispered softly, like spring rain moistening things:
"How should we get along if you return home with honor?"
There is a hidden edge in the words.
How do we get along?
Thales sneered almost inaudibly, but inexplicably, the scene of King Nun's angry eyes and cold voice flashed in his mind, challenging the enemy who killed his son in a duel.
"We have to respect each other and stay in our own way..."
They are still moving forward steadily.
But for a moment, Zhan En's gentle whisper suddenly cooled down:
"Or will you be entangled in hatred until death?"
Thales' steps hesitated slightly.
Even Zhan also slowed down.
It sounds like a ceasefire request.
but……
Thales slowly turned his head, his smile remained the same, but his eyes became colder.
"Don't worry," Zhan En patted him on the shoulder in a friendly manner, like an elder brother encouraging him to move forward, telling the waiters and guards who witnessed this scene:
"You have plenty of time to think about it, because you have to worry about today..."
"It's not me."
From an angle that no one could see, the smile in Zhan En's eyes faded slightly.
At least.
It's not just me.
Thales was silent.
But the next second, His Highness the Prince's eyebrows moved slightly, and then he burst into laughter!
Zhan En also lowered his head and smiled.
Their stride length returns to normal.
In the eyes of others, the jokes between the Duke of Nan'an and the Duke of Star Lake were obviously getting easier and more relaxed, and the more they talked, the more easy-going they were. Didn't you see that they were all laughing so hard?
Mallos, who had been leading the way, frowned slightly.
Ashford, the butler in the back, remained expressionless.
The watchman signaled to Thales that he could take over and lead the Duke to the banquet hall. But the happy prince waved his hand and insisted on accompanying the Duke throughout this journey.
The guests on the other side noticed this scene and expressed their feelings about the friendship and affection between the two.
"You know, for a while I didn't understand why you insisted on my death - even though we no longer have conflicts."
Thales's laughter gradually subsided, and he spoke quietly, while vigorously patting Zhan's back.
Duke Iris' body swayed slightly, but his smile remained unchanged.
"But later, I figured it out."
Thales leaned on Zhan's shoulder and winked slyly:
"What do you think?"
Got it?
At that moment, Zhan En's footsteps became fragmented.
The Duke lowered his head slightly, as if thinking about something.
Thales matched his steps understandingly and waited for the other party's response with a smile.
"A little advice, Your Highness."
A few seconds later, Zhan En raised his head, his expression unchanged, but the corners of his lips moved slightly:
"Take care of yourself, kid, and stop meddling in other people's business."
Although the smile remained, the warmth in Zhan's tone was firmly transmitted to Thales's ears, giving him the illusion of a slight chill on his back.
Zhan En glanced lightly, but there was a flash of cold light:
"Don't ask for trouble."
"Repentance remains."
Thales was heartbroken.
Duke Xinghu remained silent.
The next moment, they walked into the banquet hall.
Many of the guests who had entered before had already taken their seats and were waiting gracefully and patiently, greeting each other from time to time. There were also many people who stood together in small groups and chatted happily and politely.
The arrival of the Duke of Nan'an and the Duke of Xinghu undoubtedly attracted everyone's attention. First, the guests who were close to each other saluted one after another, and then the people in the distance stopped talking. Perhaps they did not expect to see the big shot so quickly.
After sitting down, a few seconds later, an almost commotion broke out in the banquet hall.
The slightly more important guests - Mr. and Mrs. Doyle with flattering smiles, Viscount Lozano Glover, including the one with the child (after seeing the nine-pointed star badge on the baron's hand, gathered around Lady Eleanor
Eleanor Barney (whose number of ladies suddenly increased) all stood up and saluted.
The atmosphere suddenly became lively.
Zhan and Thales naturally let go of each other, returned gifts to the guests in a tacit and cooperative manner, and responded to their greetings from time to time.
Different from the state meeting that was a mixed bag six years ago, the people who were invited to attend the Holy Day and Prince's homecoming banquet were naturally not ordinary people. Even the guests on the periphery were neither humble nor overbearing, friendly and decent, and the waiters and guards performed their duties conscientiously.
He made way for the Duke and Prince and watched them go without disturbing their conversation.
However, only Thales knew.
In this warm and harmonious moment, where the host and guest were harmonious, and they were a family, the invisible confrontation between him and Zhan reached its peak.
The boy's steps are short and slightly faster.
Jenn's strides are longer and slightly less frequent.
The two walked in parallel, adjusting the pace for each other from time to time, but for some reason, the rhythm of their feet just couldn't reach a certain point.
But at that moment, Thales truly smiled from the bottom of his heart.
Does he know, Jenn?
Thales thought silently.
The ruler of the Iris family and the South Coast Territory, Duke Jenn Kelvindir, is feared and worshiped in the Kingdom of Stars.
His threats, his warnings, his serious tone...
Compared with those people...
Many faces passed through Thales' mind:
King Nun caressing the ring, King Charmaine caressing the sword, the sinister and sinister Dagger, the creepy and weird Ricky, the legendary Wings processing the head, the giggling Duke of the West Wasteland...
Compared with them...
The young man chuckled inwardly.
The excitement created by the two people in the banquet hall subsided slightly, and the guests dispersed again and returned to small groups.
The next second, Thales' smile faded slightly. He put down his greeting hand and grabbed Zhan's shoulder unceremoniously.
"You know, I'm taking Bachelor Julio's math class recently."
"So I'm curious."
It looked as if the prince remembered something interesting, leaned forward and whispered to the duke.
Thales kept his mouth still and spoke from between his teeth:
"I'm very curious: six years ago, when I was in an accident when I went north, and you transferred those baronies and the limestone mines to the royal family in order to get my father's mercy and forgiveness..."
"How much revenue do you have to lose every year?"
The voice fell.
Zhan En's breathing was slightly messed up.
Barony.
Lite crystal mine.
income……
Zhan's arm muscles tightened slightly.
"this matter."
He smiled and turned to Thales.
"I thought we were done..."
But the prince responded to him with a brighter and brighter smile:
"And do you know how I got here in the fierce and dangerous Northland in the past six years?"
At that moment, the owner of the Kevin Deere family felt his shoulders tighten:
"Times have changed, Jenn."
Thales leaned against the other person's ear and raised a malicious smile:
"Don't ask for trouble."
"Repentance remains."
Zhan En looked at him steadily.
His expression slowly stiffened.
In the eyes of many people, Prince Thales was extremely happy. He kept saying something in Duke Kevin Deere's ears all the way, and the latter listened patiently and dotingly to the young man's words, showing no displeasure at all, let alone being cold.
Face.
As close as brothers.
Seeing that the person is so happy, the corners of his mouth are raised.
Since the prince and the duke, one is young and pure, lively and cheerful, the other is elegant, wise, gentle and honest, they jointly create a friendly and enthusiastic atmosphere...
Then the surrounding guests will naturally be deeply affected and resonate from the bottom of their hearts.
I wish I could be one with these two leaders, noble role models who set an example for the world.
As a result, the banquet hall suddenly turned into a sea of joy: the red-eyed feuding people who used to meet each other no longer quarrel, laugh and forget their grudges, embrace each other like brothers and tolerate each other, and strangers who have never been in contact with each other also feel like old friends at the first sight, and they have a happy conversation.
, I just lamented that it was too late to meet again and it was a pity.
The Mindis Hall at this moment truly shows the unique spiritual outlook and characteristics of the times, unity and high morale of the nobles and the common people inside and outside the palace of the Kingdom of Stars.
Thales and Zhan finally stopped.
The two of them still stared at each other with smiles on their faces, as if everything was silent.
Mallos in front had to raise his voice to remind the two people who were immersed in each other's eyes: the guests had been delivered and it was time for His Highness to go back to greet other guests.
Finally, Zhan smiled, stretched out his hands, held Thales' shoulders, and his tone softened.
"I understand, Your Highness."
"Please take it easy."
Zhan En lowered his head and pursed his lips:
"If the stars are here, the empire will be eternal."
Thales raised his eyebrows.
Then, Thales grinned happily, stretched out his arms without any grudge, and hugged Zhan hard!
"That's good, I hope we'd rather be friends..."
Zhan En's face froze, and he only felt that his waist was tightly tightened, and the strength gradually increased.
I saw Thales burying the side of his face on the Duke's chest, and said coldly from an angle that no one could see:
"Don't surrender to your enemies."
The next second, the prince let go of the duke, turned back into the cheerful and sincere Thales, and laughed.
Zhan looked at him and laughed too.
In order to cooperate with the prince and the duke, the well-behaved nobles around them secretly peeped and at the same time raised their voices in a good manner to make the two people's laughter less abrupt.
Thales seemed to be really happy. He laughed up and down, waved to Zhan, then turned and left, quickly walking in between Glover and Doyle (he looked at the prince with strange eyes).
between.
At the moment when no one was watching, the boy relaxed because he had laughed so much that his facial muscles were almost numb.
But he let out a long breath deep in his heart.
Somewhat strange.
Feeling Zhan's eyes from behind, Thales, who became tired again, thought to himself.
Jenn Kevin Deere.
As one of his most unpleasant enemies, this guy is still as sinister, as deep, and as hateful.
But in my memory, the former Duke of Iris didn't seem to be so...
initiative?
Thales thought deeply while walking towards the exit of the banquet hall accompanied by the guards, preparing to return to his original position and continue to perform his duty of welcoming guests.
However, before he finished thinking...
The accident happened.
When he passed a group of foreign guests, a tall and majestic figure, even more powerful than Glover, suddenly stood up!
The other party burst into his sight with a fierce momentum!
In an instant, both Glover and Doyle's expressions changed.
But the two guardsmen were well trained. They instantly bent their knees and pressed their swords. Before the opponent came close, they would unsheath their swords and kill the assassin!
Until Mallos' strong hands stretched out just right.
Hold their shoulders tightly!
This avoids the embarrassment of having the Star Prince make his first appearance in front of everyone, causing the guests to be bloodied.
"Hold still." Mallos scolded in a low voice.
At the same time, a rich and rude voice, with an accent that Thales was all too familiar with, sounded in the banquet hall:
"Look who this is?"
The majestic guest stood in front of Thales and laughed.
The nervous Glover and Doyle were startled. They glanced at Marius who was stopping them, and then noticed that although the other person was scary in stature, he was unarmed and standing at a safe distance.
They overreacted.
Thales, on the other hand, looked at the stranger in front of him in astonishment - this man with a body as thick as his beard, thick but slightly rustic clothes, and who looked like a big bear.
"An old friend of our people in Exeter!"
"Prince Thales..."
I saw the bearded man in front of me happily opening his thick arms, happily shouting out the next word with a powerful voice:
"Polaris!"
Thales was stunned.
Just wait a moment...
North, what star is north?
He turned around in confusion and glanced at the guests around him. They who were watching out of curiosity immediately turned back, each performing his duties and looking for his mother.
But this did not prevent Thales from recognizing the other party's familiar accent.
He comes from...
"Look!"
The bearded man’s laughter was rough and majestic, full of energy:
"The prince who grew up drinking the milk of us northerners is just different!"
Thales was stunned again.
What...what water?
"sorry?"
The prince finally adjusted himself and responded politely and appropriately:
"In fact, I...when I arrived at Longxiao City, I was already..."
Thales continued awkwardly in his heart:
Weaned.
Wait, in this world, when he was a child...
Have you ever drank milk?
But he was still greeted by a burst of rude laughter.
"I'm Jorge, no last name."
The Northlander who called himself Jorge slapped his chest hard. If there was a rumble of drums, several star nobles not far away were startled and subconsciously moved away.
"I am an official of Grand Duke Gadro, and I bring you the pride and hospitality of Elk City!"
Thales' complexion changed.
Grand Duke Gadlo.
Elk City?
The northern geography that was once so familiar came back to his mind again.
Among the ten major territories of Exeter, if Qiyuan City is in the far west, Elk City is in the far east.
In fact, the Gadlo family of Elk City is located in a remote place, but it is close to the mountains and cliffs, close to the ice and the sea. With few high-quality ports and harsh coastal environment, it is difficult to maintain a long and narrow space that is rare in the entire Kingdom of Exeter.
Coastline:
To the north, they can support Sentinel and Glacier Sea by sea to defend against the Glacier Orcs;
To the south, Elk City's fleet can respond to the Reconstruction Tower and Black Sand Territory, and remotely control the stars of the East China Sea ports;
To the east, the vassals of the Gadlo family have to sail and fight with the Kasai pirates, the "sons of the maiden" who roam the island, to protect the shipping routes;
Even, in some extreme times, they have to face threats from the other side of the End Sea and sound the first horn of continental war.
Six years ago, Grand Duke Gadlo did not respond to King Nuen's invitation to come to Longxiao City to witness the night that shocked the Western Continent.
But Thales remembered what the Earl of Lisban called him - "that sanctimonious goatee".
However……
Thales looked thoughtfully at the familiar yet unfamiliar Northlander Jorge.
He came to attend... his homecoming banquet?
"It's a great honor to meet you, and Haoyue is also shocked!"
Jorge spoke nonsense grammar, but he laughed boldly and happily raised his arms to Thales:
"My North Star!"
Thales raised his eyebrows.
"North, Polaris?"
Thales repeated in confusion.
What the hell kind of name is this?
"yes!"
Every call from Jorge seemed to make the floor tiles beneath his feet vibrate:
"You have been in Longxiao City for six full years, boy named Canxing!"
He clapped his hands vigorously, ignoring the disdainful looks from Glover and Doyle:
"So after you return to China, everyone calls you Polaris..."
"Because you are the most knowledgeable and the one who has lived in the north the longest in the past few hundred years——"
Jorge looked excited, and the sound shook the dome:
"King of the Stars!"
At that moment, it seemed that the entire banquet hall fell silent.
Everyone turned their heads and stared at this corner.
One second, two seconds.
Jorge noticed the sudden silence of the people around him and was stunned for a moment.
He looked around cautiously.
The officer from Elk City took a deep breath and looked at the stiff-faced and hopeless Prince in front of him.
He seemed to realize something.
"Well, maybe what I mean is..."
Jorge grinned and rubbed his protruding belly awkwardly, like a big bear taking a bath.
I saw him innocently spreading his hands and smiling awkwardly: